Let Me Go, My Childhood Sweetheart [Rebirth] - Chapter 17

By the time Jin Yi returned to her dorm after dropping off Chu Weiran, it was already very late. The room was pitch black when she entered; Qu Yin was not there.

Since Qu Yin was always out partying anyway, Jin Yi was used to it. She took a shower and climbed into bed, falling asleep almost instantly from exhaustion. She also had a very erotic dream.

She dreamed of Chu Weiran with her clothes in disarray, leaning delicately into her arms with a soft and languid voice. Chu Weiran was nuzzling against her over and over. In the dream, Jin Yi had all the desire but none of the courage. Internally, she wanted to swallow Chu Weiran whole, yet her mouth kept saying, “Please, conduct yourself with dignity.”

Then the scene shifted. Jin Yi was no longer herself; she was a bystander. She watched her other self hugging Chu Weiran while saying those high-and-mighty words, and she felt so frustrated she wanted to step in and do it herself. In the dream, she grabbed her own hand, intending to place it on Chu Weiran’s body. Just as she was a fraction of an inch away, she suddenly jolted awake.

The autumn sun was piercingly bright, reflecting off Qu Yin, who was standing right by her bed. Jin Yi rubbed her eyes.

“Did you go stupid in your sleep again?” Qu Yin patted her face, her tone a bit anxious.

“Oh, what time is it?”

“Past ten.”

“Oh.”

Jin Yi responded casually, then suddenly bolted upright. “Am I going to be late for class?”

“It’s the weekend.”

After saying this, Qu Yin noticed Jin Yi did not react. Looking down, she saw Jin Yi lying back on the bed, staring blankly into space. Having been woken up so abruptly, Jin Yi took a moment to process, and then the details of last night’s dream came flooding back.

It was so embarrassing. She was supposed to be focusing on studying hard and making progress every day. How could she? Her mission was to protect Chu Weiran and prevent her from getting entangled with that scumbag again. It was not about getting together with Chu Weiran.

She felt a surge of panic. It really was just a dream, she thought. Otherwise, how could Chu Weiran be that gentle? Coquettish, soft, and sweet; that was nothing like the Chu Weiran in her memory.

And yet, yesterday’s Chu Weiran had been a bit soft. Especially when she was huddled in her arms, she was terrifyingly soft.

Jin Yi was still a bit dazed from her sleep and forgot she had an important task. The moment she unlocked her phone, it nearly crashed from the barrage of WeChat messages from Chu Weiran. Every single message translated to: “Jin Yi, why haven’t you come to pick me up yet?”

Usually, she went to get Chu Weiran before nine o’clock, but today it was already past ten. She sent a message back asking if it was the weekend. Chu Weiran replied almost instantly.

“I’m going shopping. You’re coming with me.”

That was Chu Weiran’s usual tone; Jin Yi could even visualize the look on her face. But Jin Yi did not reply because she did not want to go shopping.

Jin Yi lay there for a while longer. By the time she was ready to get up, Qu Yin was already dressed. With her hair down and wearing a sexy bodycon skirt, Jin Yi almost mistook her for the Qu Yin from several years in the future.

“What are you up to?”

Qu Yin tossed her hair, answering with what she thought was a flirtatious air, “Am I not beautiful?”

“Ugh.” Jin Yi mimed gagging herself. “What are you acting up for?”

“Oh, I have a date to go shopping with an underclassman today.”

Shopping again. Why did everyone love shopping so much? As a “lazy-cancer” patient, the thing Jin Yi hated most was shopping, and what she feared most was shopping with Chu Weiran. Back when Chu Weiran first started becoming obsessed with fashion, every shopping trip would nearly break Jin Yi’s legs.

“Fine. Have a nice date with your underclassman.”

“Thanks. I really felt the lack of effort in that blessing.”

Jin Yi waved her off without explaining; she really was just humoring her. Qu Yin stomped her feet in annoyance at her attitude, but then, as if remembering something, she smiled and walked over to Jin Yi’s bed, gently stroking her face.

“I really should thank you, though. If I hadn’t seen you and Chu Weiran all tangled up yesterday, I never would have met that little underclassman.”

“Tangled up?”

“When was I ever tangled up?” Mid-sentence, Jin Yi’s confidence buckled. She remembered. She and Chu Weiran had been quite physically close yesterday. And in her dream too, it was so embarrassing.

Qu Yin teased her for a moment and then stopped, grabbing her hand instead. “Last night was just one drama after another. Last night, that senior couple who were always rumored to be together got caught red-handed.”

Hearing the word “drama,” Jin Yi immediately thought of last night’s events.

“Stop beating around the bush. Just say it was Ye Yuan and Qin Chaomu.”

“You knew?”

“I knew. I was right near there last night.”

“Aha! Jin Yi, and you still say you weren’t tangled up!” Qu Yin’s voice suddenly spiked. Startled, Jin Yi instinctively slapped her shoulder. “Are you trying to scare me to death?”

“You’re the one scaring me! You actually have a thing with Chu Weiran! You even walked her back.”

“I didn’t.”

“Don’t you know where that little grove is on the way to?”

“I.”

“I what? Hmph. Here I was thinking I’d share some gossip with you, but you knew before I did. I mean, couldn’t those two just go get a hotel room? They had to be so disgusting on campus.”

“So, what happened to them?”

Jin Yi finally asked the important question. Qu Yin slapped her thigh. “Expulsion is a long shot, but they were disciplined. I heard Ye Yuan was supposed to go to a pretty good company for an internship; that’s probably out the window now.”

“That’s it?”

At the same time, in her own dorm, Chu Weiran was also listening to Jing Miaomiao talk about Ye Yuan and Qin Chaomu. She felt the outcome was a bit too lenient.

“Those two claim they’re in a relationship and talking about a future together. Everyone knows Ye Yuan was crazily pursuing you before; who’s going to believe that nonsense now?”

“Does anyone actually believe it?”

“Actually, yeah.” Jing Miaomiao, halfway through her makeup, suddenly leaned in close to Chu Weiran and whispered, “The ‘Old Witch’ from our college believes it. She’s always favored Ye Yuan; everyone knows it’s because he knows how to suck up to her.”

Chu Weiran laughed mockingly. Ye Yuan might have had no other talents, but when it came to brown-nosing, if he was second, no one dared claim to be first.

“Anyway, enough about that. I’ve asked an underclassman out. I’m going shopping.”

Jing Miaomiao pulled out a new JK uniform and showed it off in front of Chu Weiran. “I just bought this. Pretty, right?”

“Can your taste be a little more mature?”

“Nope.”

Chu Weiran sat on her bed watching Jing Miaomiao happily dress up, feeling a trace of jealousy in her heart. She wanted to ask a little underclassman out too.