How I Accidentally Bent My Best Friend - Chapter 28.4

Lu Wei rubbed her head, swallowing the rest of her words in defeat.

The first class was fairly relaxed. After the teacher finished the instruction, everyone was allowed to practice freely.

Chen Yushu dribbled the basketball in place, and soon her hands grew numb. Jiang Yuran, who was beside her, had stopped at some point and was sneakily looking around. “Look, the teacher’s gone!”

With that, Jiang Yuran tossed her basketball into the net bag, clapped her hands, carefully pulled a wet wipe from her pocket, wiped her hands clean, and handed another to Chen Yushu.

Chen Yushu hesitated, unsure whether to follow along. “Are we really going to slack off like this.”

“Who said it’s just us?” Jiang Yuran turned and gestured for her to look behind them.

A row of people sat on the steps by the court, their basketballs at their feet, chatting or playing on their phones.

A few seconds later, the two joined them, turning their slacking into an open, unabashed affair.

Chen Yushu chose a spot facing Lu Wei and sat down. Lu Wei’s class was also having free practice, but since their teacher was present, no one dared to slack off.

Perhaps noticing her gaze, Lu Wei paused her dribbling and looked over from afar. The next second, she dribbled the ball and ran straight toward her.

“Ugh, as if heartbreak isn’t bad enough!” Jiang Yuran pouted, tactfully moving aside while glaring resentfully at the two.

Just as Lu Wei was about to reach them, she suddenly swerved, executed a swift three-step layup so fast it was almost a blur and with a crisp swoosh, the ball went in.

As she jumped, a glimpse of her smooth, flat stomach flashed, pale and dazzling.

Landing, Lu Wei put her hands on her hips, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and looked over at Chen Yushu, her smile bright and unrestrained.

“Peacock spreading its feathers,” Jiang Yuran commented aptly.

Chen Yushu nodded in agreement.

Just then, Lu Wei picked up the ball, called out her name, and raised it overhead. “Catch!”

The next second, a basketball came flying toward her. Chen Yushu’s pupils contracted in shock as she hurriedly stood up and dodged. The basketball traced a beautiful arc and flew straight out of the court.

Chen Yushu froze for a moment, then doubled over, laughing gleefully.

“Who threw the ball out?!” a furious roar came from somewhere. “Whoever threw it, go get it back now!”

Chen Yushu couldn’t hold back anymore, laughing so hard she crouched down.

“Hahahaha, serves her right for showing off.” Jiang Yuran was also beside herself with laughter, slapping her thigh in amusement.

Lu Wei stood in place, awkwardly rubbing her nose, about to slink off to retrieve the ball when she heard someone call her name from behind.

“Lu Wei, come play soccer.”

The person was about 1.75 meters tall, with long legs and a lean build. They wore a loose soccer jersey, had medium-length hair casually tied back in a small ponytail, and a black headband across their forehead. Their features were striking and sharp, and they held a soccer ball tucked between their arm and waist, looking like a character straight out of a manga.

Lu Wei turned her head and called back, “Wait for me, I’ll be right there.”

Chen Yushu, confused, stood up and looked curiously in that direction. Just then, she felt the person next to her stand up as well.

“Shushu, I feel like my love has arrived.”

Huh???

Chen Yushu stiffly and slowly turned her neck to look at Jiang Yuran, only to see her staring straight ahead as if her soul had left her body.

Chen Yushu: “Uh, didn’t your love just leave?”

The first class was relatively simple, mainly covering lab rules, instrument familiarization, and basic chemical operations.

After the lecture, everyone took turns practicing with the relevant instruments and procedures.

“You’ll be using these instruments in future experiments, so give them a try. Don’t forget to write your lab reports when you get back. Oh, and class monitor, arrange for someone to clean up. Make sure to lock the door when you leave.” With that, the teacher packed up and left.

Chen Yushu acknowledged the instruction, but since she hadn’t made prior arrangements, she had to stay behind and clean up herself.

Gradually, the lab emptied out until only Chen Yushu, her three roommates, and two male students remained.

“We’ll help you clean up,” one of the boys offered.

“Okay,” Chen Yushu nodded, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen. “What are your names? I’ll skip you next time we have cleaning duty.”

“I’m Zhou Wen, don’t you remember?” Zhou Wen said, sounding surprised. “This is Hu Hui.”

Hearing this, Chen Yushu frowned slightly. “Weren’t you in the previous group?”

Zhou Wen scratched his head. “Oh, I had something to do in the morning, so I swapped with someone.”

“Oh.” Chen Yushu put the paper away without another word and turned to tidy the nearby lab bench.

Ten minutes later, seeing that things were mostly cleaned up, Chen Yushu told the others to leave first, saying she would lock up.

Jiang Yuran whispered, “Do you want me to stay with you?”

Chen Yushu: “No need, I’m going to find Lu Wei later. You can head back with the others.”

“OK.”

The others left, but Zhou Wen lingered, leaning against her lab bench and trying to act familiar. “Hey, I haven’t seen you online lately. I wanted to play with you.”

Chen Yushu wasn’t oblivious to his intentions, but she couldn’t be bothered to engage. Out of politeness, she replied, “I uninstalled the game.”

“Oh, I see. Yeah, games can be addictive if you play too much. By the way, I’ve always been curious about something.”

“So chatty!” Chen Yushu secretly rolled her eyes behind his back, speeding up her movements as she spoke before he could ask another question: “I’m done. Are you leaving?”

“Yep.”

After Chen Yushu locked the door, she saw Zhou Wen leaning against the wall, seemingly intending to walk with her. She lowered her head, pulled out her phone, and bit her lip in annoyance.

Just then, she noticed Lu Wei had sent her several messages, the earliest one over half an hour ago, saying she had already arrived at the foot of the lab building.

Chen Yushu quickly replied: [I stayed behind to clean up. Are you still there?]

Lu Wei: [Finally remembered me? You heartless woman! And here I was, waiting for you like a fool.]

Her heart clenched, and she replied that she’d be right there, then hurried outside.

Immediately, Zhou Wen’s footsteps sounded behind her, almost walking side by side. “Why so fast? In a hurry?”

Chen Yushu gritted her teeth impatiently and replied coldly, “Someone’s waiting for me. I’m going ahead.”

“Is it your partner?”

Chen Yushu ignored him completely. As soon as she finished speaking, she quickened her pace again, almost breaking into a jog to get away.

Once downstairs, Chen Yushu was slightly out of breath as she scanned the area for Lu Wei. Where was she? Where did she go?

“Silly, I’m over here!”

Following the voice, Chen Yushu immediately turned and saw Lu Wei standing in the middle of a small bridge, wearing a beige maxi dress with a light cardigan over it. Above her were two osmanthus trees, and beside her, a clear blue lake reflected her figure.

A gentle breeze lifted the hem of her skirt, swaying it to one side, as if brushing softly against the depths of Chen Yushu’s heart.

Chen Yushu’s face warmed slightly, and she quickly averted her gaze, swallowing quietly as she tried hard to recall, what was the first word in her little notebook again?

“I’ve been waiting so long! Why aren’t you hurrying up?”

At the sound of Lu Wei’s complaint, Chen Yushu steadied her heartbeat, took off her lab coat, and strode toward her.

As Chen Yushu drew closer, Lu Wei, for some reason, grew increasingly restless. She fought the urge to run forward but couldn’t help shifting her feet in tiny, impatient steps, her arms spreading open as if silently urging Chen Yushu to hurry, to go faster.

Just as Chen Yushu was about to reach her, someone suddenly called her name.

Chen Yushu halted abruptly and turned around in confusion.

“Whew you dropped your pen. You were running so fast, I almost couldn’t catch up.” Zhou Wen panted, holding out a pen.

Chen Yushu took it, thanked him, and turned to leave, but Zhou Wen blocked her path.

“Oh, by the way, what do we use to write the lab report?”

Chen Yushu replied, “There’s special paper for it. I’ll send a notice later for everyone to purchase it.”

Zhou Wen gave an “oh” and asked again, “So how do we write the lab report?”

Suppressing her impatience, Chen Yushu answered in one breath, “I’ll ask the teacher and post all the details in the group chat.”

“Good.” Zhou Wen seemed completely oblivious to her irritation and pulled out his phone. “Then let’s exchange WeChat so I can transfer the money to you.”

Chen Yushu didn’t move, her expression cooling several degrees unconsciously. “No need. I’ll post a payment QR code in the group.”

Hearing this, Zhou Wen reluctantly put his phone away, though his expression still showed a hint of unwillingness.

On the bridge, the smile on Lu Wei’s face stiffened, fading slowly as Chen Yushu turned away, until it vanished completely.

Her hands no longer felt as light as before, as if suddenly burdened with a thousand pounds, gradually sinking down. A gust of wind blew past, leaving her feeling hollow and empty, making her instinctively grab her own wrists.

From her perspective, Chen Yushu and Zhou Wen stood sideways facing her. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, only the movement of their lips opening and closing.

Lu Wei’s breath hitched, suddenly finding the scene unbearably glaring. An impulse surged within her to tear this picture apart, to carve out a vast, insurmountable chasm between them.

Then, a wild thought escaped her lips.

She didn’t want Chen Yushu to fall in love! She didn’t want it, not even a little!

The intensity of the feeling was so overwhelming that she had no time to consider how selfish or unreasonable the thought was.

She didn’t even want to explore the reasons behind it, simply harboring a straightforward aversion to anyone who grew close to Chen Yushu.

Lost in her own world, Lu Wei was completely unaware of how unpleasant her expression had become.

It wasn’t until Chen Yushu turned and walked toward her that she slowly snapped out of it, forcing her stiff facial muscles to form what she hoped was a normal expression.

As Chen Yushu approached, she said, “Let’s go.”

The hug that should have happened never came, and Lu Wei’s heart sank once again. Disappointed, she lowered her gaze and couldn’t help but let out a sullen “Mm,” hoping the person beside her would notice and make up for it.

Thinking she was upset about waiting too long, Chen Yushu explained, “I wasn’t checking my phone earlier. I thought you’d be drawing for a while.”

Lu Wei lifted her eyelids to glance at her and gave an ambiguous “Oh,” laden with emotion.

“Sorry for making you wait so long,” Chen Yushu said, looking at her seriously.

Lu Wei kept her head bowed low and let out an unhappy hum. Had it only been a few days since they last saw each other? Why were they being so distant? What, were they planning to break up? Go their separate ways?

It was all because of that guy! So annoying!

The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she felt. Pouting, she mumbled under her breath, wanting to ask Chen Yushu who he was, but then she remembered what Chen Yushu had said that day at the karaoke and instantly fell silent.

After crossing the small bridge and reaching the flat road, Lu Wei bent down to pick up a long tree branch, occasionally tapping it on the ground.

Chen Yushu glanced at her curiously. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Lu Wei replied lazily, dragging the branch across the ground, producing a grating sound.

It clearly didn’t seem like “nothing.” Lu Wei had never been good at hiding her emotions, and Chen Yushu suddenly understood why she was upset.

But since Lu Wei wasn’t asking, there was no reason for her to offer an explanation.

Still, seeing Lu Wei looking so pitiful and wronged, her heart softened. In the end, she resigned herself and asked, “Is there anything you want to ask?”

Lu Wei abruptly looked up, stammering, “What?”

“I said,” Chen Yushu repeated, looking at her, then added, “If not, forget it.”

“Wait!” Lu Wei quickly stopped her. After hesitating for a few seconds, she muttered, “Who was that person who called you earlier?”

Hearing this, Chen Yushu wasn’t surprised at all and replied in one breath, “His name is Zhou Wen. He found my pen and returned it to me. If I had to guess, he probably wants to pursue me, but I don’t like him.”