I Helped My Best Friend with Her Romance—and Fell for the Enemy’s Strategist - Chapter 17

Of course, it’s pure love, absolutely pure love.

I don’t feel anything at all, especially not a single spark of passion.

But Song Wanqing feels perfectly content.

After all, this is a date…

For her to manage even this much is already quite an achievement.

Who in the world goes on a first date with their crush, especially when they haven’t even confessed their feelings, and immediately starts holding hands, hugging, and kissing?

Wouldn’t that just get them arrested as a creep?

In this fast-paced era, a slow-burning relationship like the one between her and Yu Qiuli is the most precious kind, isn’t it?

What do they even know?

Do they understand what a slow pace means?

Honestly.

Lin Ruocheng doesn’t get it, but she respects it. If Song Wanqing actually starts dating, she won’t have to help her come up with ideas every day.

She can finally retire from her role as the relationship strategist.

Life as a sophomore isn’t exactly easy, and on top of that, the student council has been keeping her busy lately.

She really doesn’t have much time to worry about Song Wanqing’s love life.

Several days of peaceful life passed.

The two “robots” still hadn’t made any progress, even though they now took evening walks together on the sports field every night.

Calling it a date was a stretch, it was really just walking around the track.

Literally, just walking.

Truly, just walking. No hand-holding, no hugging, nothing.

Neither of them spoke to the other; they just walked.

It was like they were taking an evening stroll to lose weight or aid digestion. The funny thing was, Song Wanqing still felt perfectly satisfied with the situation.

She’d giggle to herself every day, acting as if she were already in a relationship.

But whenever Lin Ruocheng asked about their progress, there was still none to report.

Song Wanqing even showed her their chat history.

Lin Ruocheng had no idea how she managed to read through it.

[Song Wanqing]: Have you eaten?
[Yu Qiuli]: Yes.
[Song Wanqing]: What did you eat?
[Yu Qiuli]: Food.

Or conversations like this:

[Song Wanqing]: Have you eaten?
[Yu Qiuli]: Not yet.
[Song Wanqing]: Remember to eat soon.
[Yu Qiuli]: Mm.

Lin Ruocheng was so exasperated she felt like she’d reached the pinnacle of frustration.

When would these two ever step up their game?

She had initially thought Song Wanqing might be slightly better than Yu Qiuli, but now it seemed she had spoken too soon.

They were equally hopeless.

With this pace, when would these two ever start dating?

Couldn’t they be a little more proactive?

Besides, hadn’t they already met each other’s close friends?

They could try making a move through their friends.

But after a glance at her best friend, Lin Ruocheng knew it was hopeless to rely on her.

It would be better to just rely on herself.

Once Lin Ruocheng made up her mind, she checked her schedule for the afternoon.

There was a ballroom dance class.

Their ballroom dance classes weren’t held every day, only two or three times a week.

Of course, it was just to earn credits.

And she was basically sacrificing herself for her friend. If Song Wanqing still hadn’t made any progress in her relationship,

Lin Ruocheng would honestly feel like vomiting blood.

She and Song Wanqing were in the finance department, while Yu Qiuli and Fu Yanxi were in business management.

Although the two majors were somewhat similar, their course schedules were quite different.

Some of their classes didn’t even overlap.

“Alright, stop messing around. Order two hundred cups of fruit tea, half with full sugar, half with 30% sugar, all separated. Your crush will be out of class in an hour. Then, specially order one cup with her favorite flavor. This one you have to order separately, and when class ends, you personally hand it to her. Make sure it’s the most unique one, got it?”

“Huh? Why?”

Lin Ruocheng really wanted to smack her. She was teaching her how to chase a girl.

Otherwise, Song Wanqing would probably stay single for life.

Being single seemed to suit her better anyway.

Song Wanqing’s family was just as wealthy as the Lin family, and they were business partners.

They didn’t object at all to their only daughter liking girls.

But she wondered if ordering so much was excessive.

Wouldn’t one cup be enough?

“The reason I’m telling you to order so many is so you can wait outside their lecture hall after class. I just checked, that lecture hall seats over two hundred people. Since she’s interested in you, you need to win over the people around her first. Even if it’s just pillow talk later, they’ll put in a good word for you. Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”

Back when she helped other girls pursue their crushes, she mostly used this tactic, of course, only when both parties were already interested. Most of those girls would take the initiative themselves, waiting outside the lecture hall with a cup of milk tea or fruit tea. But her best friend wasn’t like most people.

So, she had to teach her step by step.

“Okay, I’ll order now. By the way, do you still want lemon black tea?”

“Yeah, and get me another cup of black tea, 30% sugar, less ice.”

“You’re drinking two cups by yourself?”

Lin Ruocheng felt that the college entrance exam wasn’t the hardest thing, the hardest thing was coaching Song Wanqing in love.

In her entire life, she’d only met one Song Wanqing.

She never wanted to help with this again.

She had no idea how many brain cells she’d already killed.

“Let me ask you, who is Yu Qiuli closest to?”

“Definitely that strategist and best friend of hers we met last time.”

“Good, you remember. Last night, I asked everyone I know who’s familiar with Fu Yanxi and basically figured out all her preferences. I even made a PowerPoint. ‘To catch the bandits, first catch the king’ do you get it? Win over the other side’s strategist first, and she’ll be on your side too. Wouldn’t that make chasing your goddess much easier? God, you’re so dense.”

To successfully understand Fu Yanxi, Lin Ruocheng hadn’t just asked people close to her.

She’d also reached out to student council members, people who went to the same high school as her, and even classmates, all just to help Song Wanqing, this clueless person, get into a relationship.

She really was the best best friend in the world, bar none.

Looking at it now, she and Fu Yanxi had some similar interests.

But the overlap wasn’t huge.

It was only then that she realized they’d actually attended the same middle school, though she’d never paid much attention to Fu Yanxi back then.

She’d never heard of her, let alone interacted with her.

After all, in middle school, she hadn’t liked anyone.

Her only focus had been sleeping.

Song Wanqing recruited four freshmen guys to help carry the nearly two hundred cups of fruit tea.

In her hand, she held the one specially meant for Yu Qiuli.

The group arrived outside the lecture hall.

Lin Ruocheng also had a cup in her hand, the exclusive lemon black tea for Fu Yanxi.

Hers was indeed different from all the others.

She placed a small figurine of a line-drawn puppy next to the straw.

There was no other way, since she wanted to stand out from the rest.

First and foremost, she had to be unique.

After standing at the door for over ten minutes, the lecture hall finally ended its class.

The teacher was tidying up the teaching materials.

Lin Ruocheng gave Song Wanqing a meaningful look.

Song Wanqing walked in and handed the first cup to the teacher.

Then, she placed the remaining fruit teas on the podium.

“Classmates, I’d like to treat everyone to some fruit tea today. Consider it a chance for us to get to know each other.”

Everyone started whispering among themselves.

Yu Qiuli placed her hands under the desk and pinched her thighs hard.

She was a little nervous too, never expecting the other person to be so direct.