How I Accidentally Bent My Best Friend - Chapter 35.1

The art exhibition was scheduled to start at 9 a.m. on Sunday. To make an early trip and return sooner, the two decided to book tickets for 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Chen Yushu still had experiments scheduled for Saturday, preparations in the morning and the actual experiments in the afternoon. To catch the high-speed train, she specifically arranged to be in the first group.

However, this week’s experiment turned out to be more complex than expected. The instructor spent over an hour just explaining the procedure. As soon as the signal to begin was given, Chen Yushu immediately started her work.

Her lab partner was a male student who hadn’t paid close attention during the lecture. He had intended to ask her for guidance, but she moved so swiftly and executed each step with such precision and steadiness that there was no room for him to intervene.

Feeling awkward just standing there, he asked, “Is there anything I can help with?”

Chen Yushu glanced up at him. It didn’t seem right to leave him idle, so she replied, “How about you take over stirring? Add this while stirring, and once it boils, switch to low heat.”

“Okay,” the boy promptly took over.

“The distilled water is almost out. I’ll go refill it,” Chen Yushu said, picking up the wash bottle. She walked to the lectern, filled it, and couldn’t resist checking her phone. Mentally calculating the time, she estimated that stirring would take at least forty more minutes, followed by a thirty-minute water bath and ten minutes of cooling. There should still be enough time.

With that in mind, she returned to the lab bench and checked the state of the solution it had just started boiling.

There was no other choice but to wait patiently.

“I’ll take over,” Chen Yushu said, checking the time. She took the glass rod and stirred continuously, hoping for crystallization to occur sooner.

Yet, even after half an hour, the solution showed little change.

Just then, a student nearby exclaimed excitedly, “Look! There are finally particles forming!”

Chen Yushu leaned over to take a look and immediately felt puzzled. That shouldn’t be the case, she had started heating earlier, so why was her solution still unchanged?

Turning to the boy beside her, she asked, “Did you add the reagent earlier?”

“Yeah, the one next to your hand,” the boy replied. “Strange, why isn’t ours crystallizing?”

Chen Yushu picked up the bottle and examined it. “This is ethanol! It’s for washing the crystals. Didn’t you know that?”

“Huh? Really?” The boy froze for a moment, looking confused as he leaned closer. “You said to add that one, so I just picked it up without checking the label.”

Biting her lip to suppress her frustration, Chen Yushu poured out the solution in the evaporating dish and said calmly, “It’s fine. Let’s start over.”

Other groups had already moved on to the next steps. As Chen Yushu stirred the solution, she kept glancing at the time on her phone, growing increasingly anxious.

Just then, Lu Wei sent a message asking when her experiment would end.

Chen Yushu: Not sure yet. We made a mistake earlier and are redoing it.

Lu Wei: No worries, there’s still time. I’m at the studio just let me know when you’re done.

Chen Yushu replied with an “okay,” but her anxiety only intensified.

Time slipped by, and soon it was 5 p.m. Students around her had finished their experiments one after another, presenting their results to the instructor for evaluation.

Chen Yushu was still a few steps behind, needing another twenty minutes or so to complete her work. Factoring in the time to leave campus and catch a taxi, it seemed unlikely she would make it in time.

Feeling disheartened and irritated, she messaged Lu Wei, suggesting she go ahead without her.

Lu Wei: No way, I want to go with you.

Lu Wei: Sticking to you jpg.

Chen Yushu let out a soft sigh. Just then, a classmate opened the door and left the lab. Her gaze inadvertently swept past, and in her peripheral vision, she caught a glimpse of a familiar color. The door opened again, and Lu Wei was leaning against the opposite wall. She suddenly looked up, her eyes meeting Chen Yushu’s.

In an instant, the door closed again, cutting off their line of sight.

Chen Yushu: “You should go now, or you’ll be late.”

Lu Wei: “No, I want you to come with me.”

Chen Yushu, growing impatient, put her hands on her hips. “Are you a three-year-old? You need someone with you everywhere you go?”

Lu Wei: “Hehe, I’m your bestie, isn’t that allowed?”

“Get lost,” Chen Yushu muttered under her breath. But worried that Lu Wei would miss her plans, she thought for a moment and suggested, “Why don’t you wait at the school gate first? If I’m not there by 5:30, you should go ahead, okay?”

Lu Wei: “And what about you? Are you not coming?”

Chen Yushu: “It depends. I’ll try to hurry.”

Lu Wei: “Alright, I’ll wait for you. But hurry up, I really want to go to the art exhibition with you.”

Chen Yushu’s heart softened, and a sense of urgency surged within her. At the same time, she nervously prayed that this experiment would succeed otherwise, she’d have to repeat it tomorrow morning, and there’d be no way she could make it to the exhibition.

Fortunately, the final result of the experiment was good. Breathing a sigh of relief, Chen Yushu quickly checked the time: 5:28.

Without a second thought about whether she could still make it, her body had already sprung into action. The distance from the lab building to the school gate was about 900 meters. Her best time for the 800-meter run in middle school was 4 minutes and 1 second. Now, as she ran, she kept an eye on the stopwatch on her phone one minute, one and a half minutes…

The north wind howled, whipping her clothes backward. Clutching her phone tightly, Chen Yushu didn’t dare stop for even a moment.

Watching the time tick from 5:30 to 5:31, her heart tightened. She desperately wanted to ask if Lu Wei had left, but she had no time to send a message. All she could do was keep running forward.

Finally, she reached the school gate in just under four minutes.

Chen Yushu scanned the area but didn’t see Lu Wei. The time now read 5:33.

It was time to go.

Her hand dropped, and she fought back her disappointment, feeling hollow inside. As she slowly turned around, her calves began to ache from the intense run, making her walk unsteadily. She paused, and despite her efforts, her nose tingled with unshed tears.

“I’m here! Chen Yushu, come back!”

Chen Yushu stood still, hesitating for a few seconds, wondering if she had imagined it until Lu Wei’s voice called out again from behind.

She whipped her head around, and the moment she saw the other girl, her eyes instantly welled up. A mix of bitterness and overwhelming joy surged in her heart, turning the tip of her nose red.

In that second, she suddenly understood.

She could stay silent, remain unnoticed, and pretend nothing was wrong but she couldn’t control the impulse to run toward her, just as she couldn’t control her own heart.

“What are you standing there for? Hurry up and get in the car!”

Seeing Lu Wei about to walk toward her, Chen Yushu sniffed, and all the weariness in her body vanished. She dashed over quickly, but as she reached Lu Wei, she couldn’t help but chide, “Didn’t I tell you to leave right after 5:30? What if you couldn’t make it in time?”

Lu Wei pulled open the car door. “That’s why we need to hurry now.”

Chen Yushu quickly slipped into the car and urged the driver anxiously, “Sir, can you drive a little faster?”

“What time is your bus?” the driver asked.

Lu Wei got in and closed the car door, saying, “Six-oh-five.”

The driver remarked, “You students never leave earlier, always cutting it close. I’ll do my best run a bit once you arrive.”

Lu Wei replied, “Alright, thanks, driver.”

Chen Yushu leaned back in the seat, as if all her strength had drained away. Her eyes were closed, and she breathed lightly, panting softly.

“Ran that hard, huh? Your face is all red.” As she spoke, Lu Wei reached out and touched it. “So cold.”

Chen Yushu lazily responded, “Probably from the wind.”

“Is that so?” Lu Wei leaned in closer and suddenly chuckled. “Then let me warm you up.”

A questioning sound escaped Chen Yushu’s throat. The next moment, she felt something press against her it was Lu Wei’s face.

“What are you doing?” She jerked away, frowning at Lu Wei and rubbing her own cheek.

“Ungrateful.” Lu Wei pouted. “I offer you warmth, and you complain.”

Chen Yushu slapped a hand over Lu Wei’s face. “Then let me give you some too. Want it?”

“Hehe.” Lu Wei immediately grabbed her hand, pressing her palm more firmly against the curve of her cheek. “Of course I do.”

“Shameless.” Chen Yushu muttered under her breath, then turned away and closed her eyes again, feigning sleep.

Outside, the sky had darkened, and shop signs lit up one after another. The car sped along, the scenery blurring past like a mirage. Lu Wei held Chen Yushu’s hand, resting it on her own thigh. The car was quiet, and Chen Yushu’s breathing was especially clear. Listening to it, Lu Wei felt a gradual sense of peace rising in her heart, comforting and reassuring.

About twenty minutes later, the car stopped.

The driver said, “Just made it. Hurry up, and remember to leave earlier next time.”

“Got it, thanks, driver.” Lu Wei paid, opened the door, and bent down to help Chen Yushu out.

The temperature difference between day and night in the north was stark. The afternoon had been sunny, but by evening, the temperature had plummeted.

As soon as Chen Yushu stepped out, she shivered from the cold and instinctively tightened her lab coat around herself.

“Why are you wearing so little?” Lu Wei started to take off her own jacket.