How I Accidentally Bent My Best Friend - Chapter 28.1

Chen Yushu wanted to stomp her foot to reactivate the motion-sensor light when she suddenly heard Lu Wei’s footsteps approaching. Her heart tightened instantly, and she completely forgot what she was doing.

Soon, the footsteps stopped, followed by the warmth of a nearby presence and the faint scent of hair.

Chen Yushu shuddered violently, then froze, not daring to move a muscle. In the quiet space, their breaths intertwined, yet she could hear nothing only the frantic beating of her own heart echoing in her ears.

“I’ll help you.”

Lu Wei’s voice came from behind her ear, so close it felt as if she were speaking right against it.

Chen Yushu’s throat tightened. She let out a muffled “Mm,” feigning composure as she shoved the keys into Lu Wei’s hand, then stiffly shrank to one side.

Even with a bit of distance between them, Chen Yushu still felt breathless, as if the air around her had been monopolized by Lu Wei, carrying her scent, yet only sparing her the slightest whiff.

Suddenly, Lu Wei chuckled. “Why are you giving me the keys?”

“Huh?” Chen Yushu looked up in confusion. In the darkness, she couldn’t make out Lu Wei’s face. Her mind was still muddled, unable to grasp her meaning.

Just then, a phone screen lit up Lu Wei had turned on the flashlight. “I meant I’ll hold the light for you.”

Embarrassed, Chen Yushu’s face flushed crimson. Awkwardly taking back the keys, she bent down, carefully aimed for the keyhole, turned it, and the door opened.

She let out a sigh of relief, pulled the door open, and slipped inside without looking back, mumbling, “I’m going in.”

At that moment, Lu Wei grabbed her wrist her palm dry and slightly warm.

“What’s wrong?” Chen Yushu didn’t move. After a moment of silence, she asked.

“I” Lu Wei uttered a single word, drawing it out before it faded between her lips, leaving only silence.

“What are you doing standing at the door? Why aren’t you coming in?” Chen’s mother’s voice suddenly called from inside. Chen Yushu hurriedly replied, “Coming right away.”

“Go on in,” Lu Wei whispered softly, then slowly released her hand.

Chen Yushu turned around urgently, about to ask what was wrong, when she heard Lu Wei say gently, “Goodnight.”

With that, Lu Wei turned and walked toward the opposite door.

Watching her retreating figure, Chen Yushu felt a sudden emptiness in her chest. A sour ache welled up inside, and her lips trembled uncontrollably.

“Out with Lu Wei again? Roaming around so late at night.” Chen’s mother turned on the entryway light and couldn’t help scolding, “Look at you what kind of state are you in? A girl out so late.”

Slam!

The door closed. Fighting back the sting in her eyes, Chen Yushu lowered her head and silently changed her shoes, the lump in her throat growing heavier.

“Cat got your tongue? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“I’m going to bed, Mom. You should rest early too.” After quickly saying this, Chen Yushu rushed into her bedroom and shut the door behind her.

Chen’s mother, hands on her hips, fumed loudly, “Can’t even take a little criticism? Who knows what kind of spell that Lu Wei has cast on you.”

Muffled by the door, Chen Yushu could faintly hear her mother’s voice. She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths as warmth instantly spread across her eyelids.

She had tried so hard to get back on track, so why did every little thing strain their relationship like this?

Was there really no middle ground to be found?

Chen Yushu let out a long sigh, her mind going blank a protective mechanism in moments of confusion.

For a long time, she sat wearily on the bed, her gaze still fixed on some point in the void, lost in thought.

Just then, Chen Yushu noticed the half-open cabinet door by her feet, revealing a pretty paper bag. She bent down, pulled the cabinet open, and took out the bag.

Most of the items inside had been gifts from Lu Wei some impractical, so they had been stored here.

Chen Yushu opened the bag and looked inside. A flood of fragmented memories instantly rushed into her mind. Carefully, she took out each item one by one.

The last item was a small Doraemon bell. When she shook it, it jingled softly.

Lu Wei had given it to her in their second year of high school. She had hung it on her bag ever since. At first, she complained it didn’t ring loudly enough and called it a “broken bell.” Later, when Lu Wei left for training camp, she walked the night roads alone every evening, with only the sound of the bell for company.

Longing was silent, but the bell rang out.

However, she often returned to the dormitory late, and the roads were eerily quiet. With every step she took, the bell would ring three times—strange and unsettling.

When she finally made it home for the holidays, she couldn’t hold back any longer and called Lu Wei, complaining, “What’s the point of giving me a bell like this?”

Lu Wei, in the video call, laughed so hard she could barely straighten up, retorting, “Next time, I’ll give you an even bigger and louder one.”

Chen Yushu was immersed in the memories, reliving the emotional ups and downs of her sixteen-year-old self.

Then, her eyes were drawn to a duck-shaped timer. Lu Wei had given it to her during the final semester of their senior year, right in the thick of the college entrance exam crunch. She had been doing timed practice drills every day.

However, the clock in the classroom was inaccurate, and the numbers on it were too small to read easily both troublesome and straining on the eyes. On their way home from school, she couldn’t help but complain to Lu Wei about it.

The very next day, during the long break, Lu Wei quietly called her out and mysteriously slipped a small duck into her hand.

“Here, this is for forward timing, press this for countdown, and the small text next to it is”

Unexpectedly, their exchange was spotted by Teacher Zhang, who happened to be coming down the stairs. “What are you two whispering about? The college entrance exam is just around the corner, and you’re still so careless!”

Hearing the voice, Lu Wei bolted like a cat spotting a mouse, scurrying to the other end of the hallway.

“What did she give you this time?” Teacher Zhang approached and naturally noticed the object in her hand. “We’re at such a critical moment, Xiao Shu. You mustn’t let trivial things distract you from your goals.”

She had no choice but to quickly explain that it was a timer.

Teacher Zhang chuckled softly. “Finally, something practical. Go on inside.”

Back at her seat, she couldn’t resist holding the little duck, stroking it over and over, admiring it from every angle. But time was precious, so she reluctantly set it down.

Amid the piles of books, the little duck was a rare splash of brightness, silently illuminating that small corner of her world.

Her deskmate soon noticed the duck and asked who had given it to her.

She couldn’t help but boast quietly, “Well, it’s from Lu Wei.”

Her deskmate immediately sighed in admiration, envying her for having such a wonderful friend.

She suppressed a smile, her heart brimming with hidden sweetness.

That evening, she couldn’t resist testing out the duck timer. She set the time, picked up a practice exam, and started working.

Just as she was about to finish, a sharp “quack, quack, quack!” erupted.

It came from the duck’s mouth.

The previously silent classroom burst into laughter.

She froze for a few seconds before realizing what was happening and frantically tried to turn it off.

After evening self-study ended, she naturally scolded Lu Wei again. Lu Wei, laughing and trying to placate her, feigned grievance.

Those days seemed to still be right before her eyes, vivid and clear.

Chen Yushu set down the little duck and opened an envelope-like pouch filled entirely with drawings Lu Wei had made for her.

Among them was a flipbook animation, specially drawn by Lu Wei to apologize after making her angry.

There were also several postcards depicting the scenery of Qiongwu City, recording their travel plans together.

As she flipped through them, Chen Yushu’s vision gradually blurred. A tear unexpectedly splashed onto the drawing paper, followed by two, three… quickly smudging the image.

She hurriedly moved the paper away, but the tears wouldn’t stop.

Every corner of her memories, whether sunny or gloomy, held traces of Lu Wei. Year after year, time spun like silk, weaving them together strand by strand, twisting into an invisible thread that bound them tightly.

Only, that thread used to be pure friendship, but now it was tangled with her excessive feelings, becoming precarious, as if it might one day suddenly snap under the strain.

Those beautiful memories had instantly become an unreachable future, only to be mourned and cherished.

Ran Qin’s words echoed in her mind at just the right moment.

If you break up one day, you won’t even be able to stay friends.

Being too greedy can easily lead to losing everything.