How I Accidentally Bent My Best Friend - Chapter 7

“If you were to confess to me.” Lu Wei rubbed her chin, pretending to ponder, her smile gradually widening. “Then I’d have to roll out the drums and gongs to marry you home. Ah, what can I say you’re my first wife, after all.”

Hearing this, Chen Yushu felt a lump rise in her throat, stuck between swallowing it down or spitting it out.

Fortunately, Lu Wei didn’t notice and was just joking around.

Unfortunately, it was just a joke.

A joke that delivered a death sentence.

“What time is it now?” Chen Yushu’s expression was barely holding together as she stiffly changed the subject. “We should check out soon, right?”

Lu Wei glanced at the time. “Half past ten, still early. What were we talking about again? Oh right, why didn’t you react at all? Do you really dislike me that much?”

Chen Yushu’s mind was in chaos. She ignored Lu Wei’s words, deflecting with unrelated remarks as she stood up, muttering to herself, “Let’s pack up and get going. I need to use the bathroom.”

Nearly fleeing into the bathroom, Chen Yushu braced herself against the sink, fingers gripping the marble edge as she took shallow breaths. Her mind remained blank, as if lost in a fog.

After who knows how long, Lu Wei’s impatient voice came from outside. “Chen Yushu, are you done yet? I really can’t hold it anymore.”

“Almost.” Chen Yushu exhaled slowly, splashing cold water on her face before looking up at her reflection in the mirror. The hair at her temples was damp, clinging to her cheeks. A droplet slid down the bridge of her nose, past a tiny mole at its tip.

Dejected, she looked like a drowned rat.

Tilting her head back, Chen Yushu fanned herself with her hand, but the heat only seemed to intensify. Finally giving up, she grabbed a tissue and roughly wiped her face.

Lu Wei was already waiting impatiently outside. The moment the door opened, she rushed in. Chen Yushu sidestepped past her, relieved that Lu Wei wouldn’t notice anything amiss.

Pulling back the curtains, the blazing sunlight poured in, stinging her eyes. Chen Yushu reflexively shut them before turning to sit on the bed. Picking up her phone from the nightstand, she saw the low battery notification as soon as she unlocked it.

Dismissing the alert, she checked her messages and found a new WeChat group named “4008” a dorm group chat.

The latest messages were from her roommates, worried about her not returning last night. She typed a reply, briefly explaining the situation.

Someone responded almost immediately: [Glad you’re okay! By the way, they’re handing out military training uniforms today. What size do you wear? We’ll grab one for you.]

[I think Xia Ke is about your height, so we can just get the same size.]

From the tone, Chen Yushu recognized the senders as Ye Chiwan and Jiang Yuran. She replied with a simple “Okay, thanks.”

Just as she sent the message, Lu Wei emerged from the bathroom.

Having mostly regained her composure, Chen Yushu put away her phone and said, “Grab your stuff. Let’s go.”

“Wait.” Lu Wei raised a hand in a stopping gesture before walking straight to a corner. “What’s this?”

“Isn’t that your fairy wand? Did you forget?” Chen Yushu walked over, picked up the piece of sugarcane, and shoved it into Lu Wei’s arms, unable to resist a sarcastic jab.

Lu Wei stared at the object in her hands, bewildered. “No! Where’s my fairy wand? It’s gone! I really bought one!”

Now it was Chen Yushu’s turn to be surprised, though she kept up the mocking tone. “Oh, really? Then where did it go?”

“Chen Yushu, you.” Lu Wei raised the sugarcane as if to hit her, then angrily took a bite, chewed it, spat it into the nearby trash can, and hugged the sugarcane tightly with a pained expression. “I shouldn’t have bought this for you now I’m out fifty bucks!”

“Don’t make it sound so noble. Just admit you wanted to play with it yourself.”

“Pfft, you’re the one being hypocritical. The fireworks I bought last year were for dogs to play with.”

Chen Yushu rolled her eyes and suddenly said, “Wait, how much did you just say?”

Lu Wei, sensing danger, nervously held up five fingers.

“Fifty!”

“What kind of sparkler costs fifty!”

Whether it was Chen Yushu’s loud voice or her fierce demeanor, Lu Wei clutched her chest in fright, trembling as she weakly gestured, “You know, the kind with stars and circles.”

Chen Yushu planted her hands on her hips, her chest heaving with anger. “How many did you get in total?”

“Oh, and there were heart-shaped ones too,” Lu Wei quickly added. Seeing Chen Yushu’s expression darken further, she gulped and slowly held up two fingers in a peace sign.

“Only four!”

Lu Wei was so startled by the shout that she plopped onto the bed, slowly pulling the blanket over her face to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.

“Lu Wei!”

“Don’t be so mean,” Lu Wei whined. “They’re actually really pretty. If you saw them, you’d love them too.”

“Pretty? Does pretty put food on the table?”

“Of course it does!” Lu Wei suddenly grew more confident. “Like when I look at your face, I can eat two extra bowls of rice.”

Chen Yushu was momentarily speechless before finally sputtering, “You’re insane.”

Seeing this, Lu Wei smirked triumphantly got her.

At this point, getting angry was pointless, so Chen Yushu just scoffed, “Here, take your fifty-dollar sparklers and get out.”

“Ahhh!” Lu Wei immediately wailed dramatically, clutching her chest as if in need of oxygen. “My fifty bucks! My sparklers!”

Chen Yushu shook her head in amusement, pulling out the room key and twirling it in her fingers. “Face reality. At least you still have your sugarcane.”

“Ah, Chen Yushu!” Lu Wei, provoked, bared her teeth and lunged forward, smacking Chen Yushu’s butt. Not satisfied, she trapped her against the wall with her long arms, blowing air and tickling her mercilessly.

Chen Yushu doubled over, squirming in the tight space until she finally surrendered.

“Thought you were tough? Now you’re begging for mercy?” Lu Wei relented, panting slightly as she leaned against the wall.

Chen Yushu wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and glared up only to find Lu Wei looking down at her, her fair, delicate chin slightly tucked in, her captivating peach-blossom eyes brimming with amusement as they locked onto hers.

Chen Yushu couldn’t stand Lu Wei’s gaze, those eyes always seemed full of affection, especially when focused.

Forgetting what she’d meant to say, Chen Yushu shifted uncomfortably against the wall and swatted at Lu Wei’s arm. “Let me go.”

Lu Wei pouted. “Will you stop being mean to me?”

“Fine, I won’t,” Chen Yushu said coolly. “From now on, I just won’t care at all.”

“I didn’t say you shouldn’t care,” Lu Wei softened instantly, tugging at her sleeve. “Just, be a little gentler?”

Chen Yushu snorted and ducked out from under her arm. “If you want someone gentle, go find someone else.”

“Look at you, always saying things like that.” Lu Wei quickly caught up and hooked her arm around Chen Yushu’s neck from behind. “Am I really that fickle of a person?”

“Stay away from me.”

“I won’t.”

“Lu Wei, you’re really annoying.”

“I’ll annoy you as much as I want.”

Chen Yushu didn’t return to the dorm until after lunch. As soon as she pushed the door open, she saw her roommates trying on their military training uniforms.

“Shushu, you’re back! Your uniform is on your chair. Go try it on if it doesn’t fit, you can still exchange it,” Jiang Yuran said while adjusting her cap.

“Okay, thanks.” Chen Yushu walked over and picked up the uniform with a frown, her reluctance palpable.

Just then, Jiang Yuran suddenly gasped dramatically. “Oh no, guys!”

“What’s wrong?” Ye Chiwan asked immediately.

Xia Ke, who had been organizing her things, also turned to listen.

Jiang Yuran clutched her chest in despair. “I heard the instructor assigned to our class is a total tyrant!”

Ye Chiwan: “How do you know?”

Chen Yushu’s attention snapped to the conversation, this was exactly what she wanted to ask.

“Inside info. Well, actually, a friend told me. It’s probably true.” Jiang Yuran held her phone with a grave expression. “Is there any way to skip this training?”

That was exactly what Chen Yushu desperately wanted to know!

If the rumor was true, it would be adding insult to injury for someone as physically inept as her. What was already going to be grueling might now require a complete transformation.

Chen Yushu felt suffocated and immediately pulled out her phone to complain to Lu Wei.

But just as she finished typing, she hesitated.

At that moment, the chat suddenly displayed “typing” above. Startled, her finger slipped, and the message sent.

Coincidentally, Lu Wei was also texting about the military training, but her tone was far from Chen Yushu’s misery. She even sent a photo of herself in the uniform.

Chen Yushu opened the full image. The lighting was dim, but it did nothing to dull the radiance of the person in the center. Lu Wei held her phone in front of a mirror, half her face obscured by a baseball cap, a strand of hair falling over her chest. Her neck was slender and fair, the uniform half-unbuttoned to reveal one shoulder, the hem loosely tucked into her pants. The belt hung slack around her waist, and the cuffs were rolled up, exposing her ankles.

The whole outfit was a complete mess.

Chen Yushu instinctively saved the photo. She’d done this many times before, but looking at the image still made her face burn with embarrassment, as if she’d done something wrong.

Returning to the chat, the screen was flooded with Lu Wei’s messages, along with a few more shameless selfies.

Lu Wei: [So? Bet you’re totally smitten.]

Chen Yushu rolled her eyes and immediately sent three vomiting emojis in response.

Lu Wei: [Oh? You’re pretty well-informed. Can you ask around and find out who our instructor is?]

Chen Yushu scoffed: [The social butterfly doesn’t even know this?]

After sending it, she turned to Jiang Yuran. “Do you know who the instructor for the art class is? Can you ask for me?”

“Art class? Aren’t we all in the chemistry department? There’s no art class.” Jiang Yuran tilted her head in confusion, then grinned. “Wait you’re not asking for yourself, are you? You’re asking for someone else.”

Only then did Chen Yushu realize she was being teased. She pressed her lips together, slightly embarrassed.

A moment later, Jiang Yuran said, “Alright, here’s a list. I’ve sent it to our group chat.”

Chen Yushu thanked her and forwarded the list to Lu Wei, then scrolled up to check the messages she had missed.

[Don’t push yourself too hard when the time comes. If you faint like you did in high school again, I won’t be able to show up in time to give you water, medicine, or perform CPR.]

Seeing this, Chen Yushu bristled instantly. [Stop talking nonsense! I had heatstroke back then did I even need CPR?!]

Lu Wei: [I was just worried! And don’t think I’m lying our high school classmates can vouch for it!]

Lu Wei: [Just wait, I’ll go find witnesses right now!]

Flustered and furious, Chen Yushu clutched her phone, typing so hard she nearly cracked the screen. [Are you insane? Lu Wei, get back here! Lu Wei!]

Lu Wei: [This was a life-saving favor don’t even think about denying it!]

“Lu Wei!”

The outburst startled everyone in the dorm. Only then did Chen Yushu realize what she’d done, and she immediately wished she could vanish into a hole from sheer embarrassment.

“Hahahaha, did Lu Wei piss you off?” Jiang Yuran shot her a knowing look. “Shushu, if there’s anything you can’t handle, just drag her over here. We’ll help you deal with her.”

“I never knew you had this side to you. She must’ve really gotten under your skin,” Ye Chiwan added with a laugh.

Jiang Yuran blinked. “But seriously, I’m so curious about what she said to you.”

“N-nothing,” Chen Yushu stammered, her face burning red as she clutched her phone guiltily.

The little episode soon passed, and everyone returned to their own tasks.

Chen Yushu leaned back in her chair, turning away from the others, and cautiously pulled out her phone to check.

Lu Wei had actually gone out and dug up “evidence.” As Chen Yushu skimmed through the chat logs Lu Wei had dug up with their old classmates, she felt like she needed oxygen.

What an absolute embarrassment so shameless and unruly. How on earth had she ever fallen for her?