How I Accidentally Bent My Best Friend - Chapter 50.2

Once outside the teaching building, the two walked slowly toward the school gate. The night breeze was cool, and Chen Yushu, wearing the same thin jacket from the day, shivered and hugged her arms tightly.

Seeing this, Lu Wei glanced at her with a hint of guilt, wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and rubbed her arms. “Is that better?”

A few strands of Lu Wei’s hair, blown by the wind, brushed against Chen Yushu’s neck and cheeks. Feeling the sudden closeness and warmth, Chen Yushu stiffened slightly and tried to distract herself by asking, “Your mom came to give a lecture today. Did people say something unpleasant?”

Though it was just a simple question, Lu Wei felt a lump form in her throat. After a moment, she replied, “Not really.”

“So, they did.” Chen Yushu turned to face her, gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind Lu Wei’s ear and patting her head softly. “They don’t know you. Don’t listen to their nonsense. Don’t be upset.”

The emotions bottled up all day surged to the surface. Lu Wei’s throat tightened, and she lifted her gaze, fighting back tears. “It’s not just because of that.”

“What else?” Chen Yushu patted her back and asked patiently.

Lu Wei looked at her, biting her lip hesitantly before slowly saying, “Do you think I really can’t compare to Wang Zhizhi?”

“Is that all?” Chen Yushu chuckled lightly and, without much thought, nodded. “Of course.”

“What did you say?” Lu Wei stared at her in disbelief, wondering if she had misheard. Hurt, she asked again, “Are you serious?”

“Yes, but I forgot to add a condition.” Chen Yushu smiled. “If you mean right now, then yes, you can’t compare to your mom.”

Hearing this, Lu Wei felt slightly better but still somewhat annoyed. She couldn’t help but murmur in a light, reproachful tone, “I thought you’d comfort me.”

“I haven’t finished.” Chen Yushu took her hand and continued walking slowly forward.

Lu Wei raised her eyebrows slightly, a hint of joy appearing on her face as she looked at her expectantly. “Oh, I see. Are you trying to say that I’ll be able to surpass Wang Zhizhi someday?”

Chen Yushu shook her head and hummed disapprovingly.

“What do you mean?” Lu Wei paused mid-step, tightened her grip on Chen Yushu’s hand, and said indignantly, “Chen Yushu, is this how you comfort someone?”

“I haven’t even said anything yet,” Chen Yushu chuckled, glancing at her. “I just think your premise is flawed.”

Lu Wei was taken aback, furrowing her brows in confusion.

“Let me ask you, between Picasso’s Guernica and Monet’s Water Lilies, which one do you think holds greater value?”

“How can you even compare the two?” Lu Wei pondered for a moment before replying.

Chen Yushu nodded in agreement and asked again, “Then, between Monet’s Water Lilies and Luncheon on the Grass, which one is more valuable?”

Seemingly surprised by the follow-up question, Lu Wei hesitated and murmured, “That’s not comparable either.”

Chen Yushu smiled faintly. “Exactly, they can’t be compared.”

Suddenly understanding, Lu Wei muttered gloomily, “I see what you mean now.”

“Then stop overthinking it. Let’s go.”

“Mm.” Lu Wei followed, though a lingering sense of frustration remained in her heart. She couldn’t help but complain, “But they’re always comparing me to Wang Zhizhi.”

“Because you’re her daughter. It’s not just about comparison there are expectations too,” Chen Yushu said. “But you are you, and she is she. There’s no need to care about the meanings others impose on you.”

“What about you?” Lu Wei tilted her head to look at her, asking nervously, “Do you think I can do it?”

Without hesitation, Chen Yushu nodded. “Though I don’t fully understand it, in my heart, you are the most amazing! I believe more and more people will come to like and affirm you in the future.”

As her words trailed off, the two stepped under a streetlight one after the other, their shadows instantly falling onto the ground. Lu Wei stared blankly at Chen Yushu’s glowing profile, feeling both strange and familiar, as memories from the past suddenly flooded her mind.

“So beautiful! Though I don’t really understand it, I’m sure someone will like it someday.”

As a child, she looked up, her big eyes filled with surprise. “You really think it’s beautiful?”

Hesitantly voicing her question, she slowly pulled out the drawing paper tucked under her elbow, then looked at Chen Yushu with a mix of nervousness and anticipation.

“Mm!” Chen Yushu leaned in, examined it carefully, and nodded firmly. “Not just beautiful it’s unique. You’re the first person I’ve ever met who draws like this.”

“Really?” Her eyes brightened considerably, but the next moment, she lowered her gaze dejectedly. “But everyone else says my drawings are ugly, even the teacher.”

“How could that be?” Chen Yushu quickly interjected, scrambling for words to comfort her.

“But now it seems they just had no taste!” Proudly, she picked up the drawing, carefully placed it on Chen Yushu’s desk, and said generously, “You’re also the first person I’ve met who knows how to appreciate art. I’m giving this drawing to you.”

“Okay.” Chen Yushu visibly relaxed, smiled, and fetched a book to carefully slip the drawing inside. “I’ll stick it on my wall as soon as I get home from school.”

She stared blankly at Chen Yushu’s actions for a moment before a surge of immense joy welled up in her heart. She hugged Chen Yushu, then held her small hand, and even pressed her cheek against hers to plant kisses yet none of it seemed enough to release the overwhelming emotions.

Finally, she danced around excitedly and declared, “From now on, you’ll be the first to see all my paintings.”

True to her word, in the days that followed, whether it was an art class assignment or a casual doodle, she would ceremoniously bring it to Chen Yushu.

And her wildly imaginative, unconventional style only Chen Yushu would patiently examine and carefully preserve every piece, even those the art teacher dismissed as messy scribbles.

Despite being such a reserved person, Chen Yushu would always widen her eyes with great effort, pouring all her sincerity into her words: “It’s really beautiful! Weiwei, you have to believe me! What they say isn’t true! Don’t be sad, Weiwei.”

Usually, she would ask, “Really?”

Once she received that affirmation, her mood would instantly brighten. She no longer cared what others said, she trusted only Chen Yushu.

Around that time, Wang Zhizhi intentionally began nurturing her in this direction, hiring several renowned teachers for her.

Unlike her art teacher at school, one of these instructors looked at her work and nodded appreciatively. “You have a lot of spirit, though there’s a slight lack of emotional depth. But you’re still young.”

What did “lack of emotional depth” mean?

She didn’t understand and immediately repeated the teacher’s words to Chen Yushu. “A mountain is just a mountain? What else could it be? Could it be a tiger?”

Chen Yushu thought for a moment and ventured a guess based on her own understanding: “Mountains are majestic, so when you see one, you feel a sense of openness, and your brushstrokes should reflect that boldness?”

She blinked in confusion. “Is it really that complicated?”

“It’s not hard to understand,” Chen Yushu said, turning and pointing at the sunset behind the school building. “Look, isn’t it beautiful?”

She followed Chen Yushu’s gaze. The sunset blazed like fire across the sky. She nodded. “Yeah, it’s pretty.”

“And when you see such a beautiful scene, doesn’t it naturally make you happy?”

She frowned slightly, her eyes widening in puzzlement. Just then, Chen Yushu suddenly turned her head, her ponytail swaying, silhouetted against the sunset behind her like a vividly colored oil painting.

A spark flashed in her eyes, and her confusion vanished. “Shushu, you’re so beautiful.”

The sunset was lovely, but seeing Chen Yushu made her even happier.

Later, as she received systematic training, her painting style gradually shifted, aligning with more traditional approaches. Slowly, her classmates, her teachers more and more people began to praise her work.

Yet, strangely, even with increasingly professional and positive feedback, she rarely felt that same sense of validation or the profound joy that once filled her heart.

“Achoo!”

A cold wind swept over her, sending chills through her body, but as Lu Wei watched Chen Yushu’s retreating figure, warmth flooded her chest.

It wasn’t the blazing heat of the sun, but more like a gentle crescent moon, casting soft, soothing light that enveloped her tenderly, comforting her heart. It felt like a pot of porridge bubbling softly, little bubbles rising and bursting, releasing a wondrous sensation.

Stepping back into the night, Lu Wei’s gaze lingered on Chen Yushu, now tinged with complex emotions. She knew it.

But she couldn’t see the intensity in her own eyes so vivid and profound.

For several days afterward, Lu Wei found herself in a state of vague confusion, unable to deny her feelings yet too afraid to acknowledge them.

Whenever she saw Chen Yushu, she felt like a mouse spotting a cat, wanting nothing more than to flee, yet terrified that he might notice her avoidance and mistake it for intentional coldness. Forced to grit her teeth and interact with him, each day felt like an ordeal.

By the weekend, Lu Wei could bear it no longer. Using the excuse of needing to focus on her painting, she checked into a hotel.

She had hoped for at least a couple of days of relief, but to her dismay, Chen Yushu showed up by Saturday afternoon.

When she opened the door and saw him standing there, her eyes widened like copper bells. Panic and guilt surged within her, yet she had to feign composure. “Weren’t you supposed to be doing experiments this week?”

“I finished it this morning.” Chen Yushu walked straight in, complaining, “The bathroom is clogged and someone still went in to shower. Now it’s flooded, and who knows when it’ll be fixed. I came here to take a bath.”

“Huh? How did that happen?” Lu Wei closed the door and followed closely behind, then suddenly realized, “What? A bath?”

“Yeah.” Chen Yushu was startled by her reaction. “Will it disturb your drawing?”

Lu Wei nervously licked her lips. “That’s not the issue.”

It’s just,

“That’s good then. Go ahead with your drawing. I’ll be done quickly.” As she spoke, Chen Yushu untied her hair, took her pajamas from her bag, and entered the bathroom.

Lu Wei couldn’t help but feel frantic inside. How could she explain? It didn’t affect her drawing! But it affected her!

However, within moments, she dismissed that thought.

The sound of pattering water reached her ears. Lu Wei stared at the drawing paper, unable to make a move. She tried to focus, but no matter what she did, the sound seeped into her ears, stirring her imagination.

Lu Wei hurriedly cut off the thoughts while silently scolding herself.

Ugh! She treats you as a friend, and you’re here, How can you face Chen Yushu?

Ugh! This is so lewd! So perverted! Stop thinking about it!

In just a short while, the temperature on Lu Wei’s face rose, feeling slightly warm.

Finally, the sound of water stopped, replaced by the whir of a hairdryer. Not long after, Chen Yushu emerged from the bathroom in her nightgown.

Hearing the noise, Lu Wei quickly lowered her head, pretending to sharpen her pencil.

Chen Yushu glanced at Lu Wei, seeing her so focused, and didn’t call out to her. She quietly got into bed, pulled the blanket up to her waist, and took out her phone to reply to messages.

“Aren’t you cold?” Lu Wei quickly glanced at her and asked.

“It’s fine. I’ll sleep soon.”

Hearing this, Lu Wei breathed a sigh of relief and began to concentrate on her drawing.

The room suddenly fell silent, with only the soft scratching of pencil on paper a sound so soothing it was almost hypnotic. Chen Yushu, who had been lying on her side playing with her phone, soon felt drowsy and closed her eyes.

As the sketch neared completion, Lu Wei’s hovering hand grew sore. She couldn’t resist standing up to stretch and move around.

Just then, a glimpse of a snow-white back caught the corner of her eye. She froze mid-motion and unconsciously looked over.

Chen Yushu lay on her side with her back to Lu Wei, the blanket bunched at her waist. One strap of her nightgown had slipped down to her arm, revealing a large expanse of skin on her back.

With just one glance, Lu Wei averted her eyes, her gaze wandering restlessly. After a moment, she let out a long exhale and sat back down.

Yet, the small turmoil in her heart refused to settle. Her eyes were on the drawing paper, but her mind had drifted elsewhere.

Lu Wei couldn’t resist she lifted her head for a quick look, then a second, a third.

Forget it, I should just help her pull up the blanket.

Thinking this, Lu Wei softened her footsteps and quietly approached.

Up close, her gaze unavoidably fell on Chen Yushu. Her fair skin was smooth and delicate, her beautiful shoulder blades like a pair of butterflies ready to take flight.

For a moment, Lu Wei stood frozen in place, suddenly forgetting to breathe.

How long had passed? Something in her mind tugged at her, drawing her closer, closer.

Reaching the bedside, Lu Wei crouched down, holding her breath, leaning forward, carefully stretching her neck to examine Chen Yushu closely.

Her gaze replaced her hands, tracing inch by inch over Chen Yushu’s face. But that was far from enough. Lu Wei’s mind went blank, driven by an inexplicable emotion, she couldn’t help but lean closer.

Her soft breath fell upon Chen Yushu’s nose and lips. Lu Wei abruptly halted, biting her lip unconsciously. A sudden urgency surged within her, compelling every cell and inch of her skin to seek the utmost intimacy.

She wanted to hold Chen Yushu tightly, to kiss her, and even more.

The thought flashed through her mind, yet it etched itself clearly in her consciousness. Lu Wei’s body stiffened instantly, her gaze slowly refocusing as she looked at Chen Yushu once more.

Just the sight of that slender neck was enough to send her imagination running wild.

It’s over! Lu Wei’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. It seemed she had truly fallen for Chen Yushu.

Thump!

The realization struck her heart like a hammer, solid and undeniable.

Clear and direct, leaving no room for excuses or evasion. Even the sound of her heartbeat felt exposed and unrestrained. Lu Wei listened quietly, sinking into overwhelming panic.

“Mmm.” Just then, a soft murmur came from the bed, as if the person was about to wake.

Startled, Lu Wei wanted to leap away immediately, but her mind suddenly went blank. She froze in place, motionless.

The next second, Chen Yushu slowly opened her eyes, meeting her gaze directly.