Let Me Go, My Childhood Sweetheart [Rebirth] - Chapter 11

The broth from the beef rice hadn’t actually spilled, but Jin Yi had been so panicked that she thought she’d been scalded; in reality, the bag was just a bit hot to the touch.

The beef rice was as delicious as ever, and Jin Yi and Qu Yin both devoured their meals with gusto. Once everything was cleaned up, they settled into a lazy evening, with Qu Yin lying on her bed playing games.

Jin Yi didn’t know what to do with herself. After spacing out for a while, all sorts of messy thoughts started drifting into her mind: the things Chu Weiran had said, and her attitude. Suddenly remembering Chu Weiran’s comment about her pajamas, she moodily opened a shopping app and started browsing.

After picking out several items, she finally settled on a set and put it in her cart, but something about it felt oddly familiar, as if she’d seen it before. She thought about it for a moment.

Oh, right. It seemed to be the same brand and style as Chu Weiran’s pajamas. The only difference was that Chu Weiran’s were pale purple, while the set she chose was avocado green.

Great. She was starting to act weird again.

“Old Qu, I’m going to sleep.”

“Mm-hm,” Qu Yin replied distractedly, busy with her game.

Jin Yi smacked her lips, thinking about her strange behavior today and the fact that she had to spend more time with Qin Zhaomu tomorrow. It made her feel restless.

During the several hours spent with Qin Zhaomu the next day, Jin Yi maintained a stony expression and refused to speak to her. At first, Qin Zhaomu tried to say a few words, but seeing that Jin Yi wasn’t interested in responding, she took the hint. When there were no customers, she stood in a corner by herself, lost in thought.

Jin Yi didn’t want to deal with her, but she was so on guard that her attention kept involuntarily drifting back to Qin Zhaomu.

Qin Zhaomu herself didn’t notice, but Chu Weiran—who had come to see a movie with Jing Miaomiao—caught it immediately.

Jing Miaomiao was walking ahead, swaying with excitement as she checked out the latest films. She turned back to ask Chu Weiran what she wanted to see, only to find Chu Weiran’s expression looking a bit off. A strange feeling flickered through Jing Miaomiao’s mind, but then Chu Weiran’s expression returned to normal.

At that moment, Jin Yi and Qin Zhaomu noticed them. Jin Yi froze for a second, but Qin Zhaomu instantly snapped into professional mode.

“What movie would you like to see?”

“Hmm… what’s playing lately?” Jing Miaomiao was thick-skinned; Chu Weiran’s look didn’t stay in her mind for even a minute. She waved to Chu Weiran. “What are you standing there for? Hurry up and come over.”

Chu Weiran stood a short distance away, her eyes fixed on Qin Zhaomu. She had anticipated a scene like this before coming, and she thought she could control her emotions. She didn’t blame Qin Zhaomu for her death in her past life—she knew she had been too manic. What she couldn’t accept was the way Qin Zhaomu had toyed with Jin Yi’s feelings.

Initially, she had believed Qin Zhaomu truly loved Jin Yi. When she discovered the truth, her hatred for this woman knew no bounds. Unfortunately, at that time, Jin Yi avoided her like the plague, giving her no chance to speak during their rare encounters. Otherwise, things might not have…

“Weiran, what’s wrong?” After calling her name and getting no response, Jing Miaomiao turned around to see her staring intensely at Qin Zhaomu, her eyes red.

Qin Zhaomu was in the same major as them; they knew her, but weren’t close. Jing Miaomiao had never seen Chu Weiran look at Qin Zhaomu with such a look. Chu Weiran usually ignored people she wasn’t close to, offering only cold indifference, let alone a gaze so full of hostility. If one didn’t know better, they’d think Qin Zhaomu had stolen her boyfriend.

“I’ll handle this,” Jin Yi said, having watched from the side. She stepped forward and signaled for Qin Zhaomu to move aside.

As they brushed past each other, Jin Yi didn’t notice the smug curl of Qin Zhaomu’s lip. Then, Qin Zhaomu said in a moderately loud voice, “Xiao Yi, didn’t you say you don’t like Chu Weiran? I should be the one to serve her.”

Her tone was the usual gentle and kind one, but the moment Jin Yi heard it, she felt that wave of nausea again. She remembered Qin Zhaomu saying something similar in her past life; it was during a small gathering with both their parents. Jin Yi had acted a bit reluctant, and Qin Zhaomu had asked if she disliked Chu Weiran.

They had probably talked about it before that, too, but Jin Yi had never cared. Her disliking someone didn’t reflect on the person’s character, and besides, her situation in her past life was different from now.

Qin Zhaomu was saying this on purpose now—and probably back then too—but Jin Yi had been so resistant to the idea of having dinner together that she hadn’t taken the words to heart.

Jin Yi’s expression was dark. She had taken over the task specifically to prevent these two from interacting. Qin Zhaomu’s words were directed at Jin Yi, but after saying them, she didn’t seem to care about Jin Yi’s reaction at all. Her eyes were fixed on Chu Weiran. She had long suspected that Chu Weiran liked Jin Yi, so she wanted to provoke her.

Unable to take it, Jin Yi frowned and snapped, “Can you stop being so disgusting? Who told you I don’t like her?”

Qin Zhaomu’s gaze snapped back to Jin Yi’s face. She had left early on the day Ye Yuan confessed to Chu Weiran, so she hadn’t seen Jin Yi looking for her. If she had, she wouldn’t be as incredulous as she was now. Whenever she had mentioned Chu Weiran in the past, Jin Yi’s expression had always been unpleasant.

Despite her surprise, Qin Zhaomu instinctively adopted a fragile look, her voice sounding hurt. “Xiao Yi…”

Hearing Qin Zhaomu use that nickname again, Chu Weiran couldn’t contain her anger. “Is ‘Xiao Yi’ a name you’re allowed to call her?”

Qin Zhaomu saw the sheer venom in Chu Weiran’s eyes and felt a sudden wave of panic. But she had to keep up the act. Her eyes reddened quickly, and tears began to well up.

“Xiao Yi… I’m sorry…” As she spoke, she reached out to grab Jin Yi’s sleeve, but Jin Yi dodged her.

Standing to the side, Jing Miaomiao couldn’t stand it any longer and rolled her eyes dramatically. “Qin Green-Tea, can you stop acting? It’s really gross.”

As soon as Jing Miaomiao spoke, a tear rolled down Qin Zhaomu’s cheek. She looked pitifully at Jin Yi, then at Chu Weiran, but didn’t dare look at Jing Miaomiao.

“Who are you to her? Do you know what she’s thinking?” Qin Zhaomu remained silent but leaned closer toward Jin Yi.

Jin Yi scrambled to get away, and in doing so, ended up right beside Chu Weiran. They locked eyes, and Jin Yi suddenly felt a bit bashful. Although Qin Zhaomu was being meddlesome, Jin Yi had actually disliked Chu Weiran at this point in her past life. Her childhood trauma was too real—Sister Weiran was terrifyingly fierce!

But now, she couldn’t let “Qin Green-Tea” manipulate her. She took Chu Weiran’s hand and gave it a little wave in front of Qin Zhaomu. “Look closely. Our relationship is great, so stop talking nonsense in the future.”

Qin Zhaomu looked at their joined hands, her face flushed with embarrassment and anger.

Chu Weiran, who hadn’t been in the mood for a movie, suddenly felt her spirits lift as Jin Yi took her hand. She even gave Jin Yi’s hand a little squeeze, taking full advantage of the situation.

Both of their hands were soft, but Chu Weiran’s were never as warm as Jin Yi’s. When they were kids, she often made Jin Yi warm her hands; the colder the winter, the colder her hands got, while Jin Yi’s stayed warm.

Chu Weiran remembered, and clearly, Jin Yi did too. But Jin Yi wasn’t thinking about holding hands; she was remembering how, after every snowfall, Chu Weiran would shove her cold hands down the back of Jin Yi’s neck to warm them up. She instinctively shrank her neck and let go of her hand.

She was still on the clock; she couldn’t be holding hands with a customer. It was too embarrassing.

“Senior, what movie are you seeing?” Jin Yi asked Jing Miaomiao. After suddenly holding someone’s hand, she was too embarrassed to look at Chu Weiran, but the sensation lingered—Chu Weiran’s hand was much softer than when they were kids. And she didn’t seem quite so bossy anymore.

But as soon as that thought crossed her mind, Chu Weiran proved her wrong. Qin Zhaomu, who had been snubbed, was trying to act invisible, but Chu Weiran wasn’t having it.

She pointed at Qin Zhaomu and said, “Let her sell us the tickets.”