Let Me Go, My Childhood Sweetheart [Rebirth] - Chapter 7

The memory of her past life, where Chu Weiran lay in her arms as her life faded away, was what finally snapped Jin Yi out of her embarrassment.

In that life, Jin Yi never found out if Chu Weiran lived or died in the end. Now, more than anything, she needed to see her with her own eyes.

Jin Yi pulled her hands away from her face. When she saw Chu Weiran wearing a delicate lace dress, her eyes grew misty. The Chu Weiran standing before her was still that same vibrant, lively girl.

Jin Yi brushed a tear from the corner of her eye. Just as she was about to speak, Qu Yin beat her to it, sounding a bit intimidated.

“Senior… are you here to eat, too?”

“Why else would I be here?”

Choked by Chu Weiran’s blunt retort, Qu Yin shut her mouth and sat up straight. Her skin was thick, but not that thick.

Jin Yi let out a quiet, secret laugh. This was the Chu Weiran she remembered; she was never one to let someone off easy.

Qu Yin had no idea the two were actually old acquaintances. Seeing Chu Weiran walk closer to Jin Yi, Qu Yin forgot her own embarrassment and jumped between them like a shield.

“Senior, I said all those things just now. It had nothing to do with her!”

Jin Yi kept her head down, but she heard every word. Chu Weiran’s voice was actually quite beautiful, being cool and crisp yet with a hint of youthful daintiness. In her past life, the last few times she had heard that voice, it had sounded lifeless and hollow.

The current Chu Weiran was much better.

As the footsteps drew closer, Chu Weiran looked at the bowing Jin Yi. She had no thoughts other than a desperate urge to get closer. Just as she reached out a hand to touch her, Jin Yi suddenly stood up.

She looked at Chu Weiran with a smile as bright as a flower. Chu Weiran froze. For years, Jin Yi had done nothing but avoid her, so why was she acting like this now?

“Senior Chu, I heard someone is confessing to you later?”

“Uh… yeah,” Chu Weiran managed to reply, snapping back to attention.

“Then… can you just not go?”

The air seemed to still. Before Chu Weiran could react, Qu Yin grabbed Jin Yi and pulled her back.

“Senior, don’t misunderstand! She’s just…” Qu Yin scrambled for an excuse. Jin Yi was acting crazy by interfering in the School Beauty’s personal business. “She’s lost her mind! She didn’t sleep well today, so she’s not thinking straight. Please don’t be angry; we’re leaving right now!”

Jin Yi realized she had been impulsive. At this point in time, they were essentially strangers. Having a childhood friend title didn’t give her the right to overstep like this. She didn’t struggle as Qu Yin dragged her away.

Once they were gone, the tension left Chu Weiran’s body all at once, and her eyes filled with tears.

Qu Yin was about the same height as Jin Yi, but she loved throwing her arm over Jin Yi’s shoulder, nearly hoisting her up as they walked. They were a good distance from the cafeteria before Qu Yin finally let go.

Jin Yi felt a surge of frustration. She had to stop Chu Weiran from getting involved with Ye Yuan again in this life.

“Why were you in such a hurry to drag me away?” Jin Yi’s tone was accusatory.

Qu Yin snapped back immediately. “I was trying to save you! What does her meeting a suitor have to do with you?”

“I…” Jin Yi was speechless. How could she explain? No one would believe the truth.

Seeing Jin Yi fall silent with a frown, Qu Yin felt a pang of guilt. Maybe she had been too harsh? She nudged Jin Yi’s shoulder. “Look, I get it. Chu Weiran is irresistible. I like her too, so I understand how you feel.”

“I… that’s not it…”

“Oh, don’t be shy!”

Who’s shy? Who says I like Chu Weiran?

Jin Yi angrily shook off Qu Yin’s arm, her face turning red with frustration. “Stop talking nonsense! She and I… we…”

She didn’t know how to finish that sentence. The more she tried to explain, the messier it got.

“Don’t worry, Yi,” Qu Yin laughed, seeing her flushed face. “I’ll keep your crush on Chu Weiran a secret. Hahaha!”

“Qu Yin, that’s enough!” Jin Yi hissed through gritted teeth. They were in the small garden near the cafeteria where people were passing by, and Qu Yin’s voice was loud. Everyone probably heard that she liked Chu Weiran.

“It’s just so rare for you to actually like someone,” Qu Yin said, doubling over with laughter.

“I don’t like her.”

“Please, it’s Chu Weiran. She is the School Beauty level of existence! If you don’t like her, who could you possibly like?” Qu Yin rolled her eyes. “Look at Ye Yuan. He’s been chasing her since freshman year. He’s been rejected countless times and he still won’t give up.”

Jin Yi’s expression soured at the mention of Ye Yuan. This time, she would end that.

“It’s almost six,” Jin Yi said suddenly. “Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“To see Ye Yuan get rejected. At the artificial lake, the dating holy ground! I heard he prepared a huge surprise.”

Before Jin Yi could blink, Qu Yin was dragging her across the campus again. It had been a confusing day, but if not for Qu Yin, she’d probably still be staring at her dormitory ceiling.

As they neared the spot, Jin Yi gave Qu Yin a tug and asked, “Why does this confession feel like a formal date?”

“What do you mean?”

“Ye Yuan is making such a big scene out of this. Isn’t he afraid that Chu Weiran won’t show up at all?”

Qu Yin’s eyes widened, and she looked at Jin Yi with a hint of disdain. “Jin Yi, do you actually like Chu Weiran or not?”

She continued, explaining the situation, “This isn’t just about Ye Yuan making a scene. It’s about Chu Weiran. She likes it when her suitors make a grand spectacle of their confessions.”

Holy crap, she’s crazy! Jin Yi grumbled internally. Then, remembering Chu Weiran’s bossy and willful nature, she shuddered instinctively. She said seriously, “I’m telling you, Qu Yin, don’t say I like Chu Weiran ever again.”

“Why? If you like her, you like her. What’s the harm in saying it? Besides, I wouldn’t even mind if you liked the same person I used to like.”

“…I beg you, please mind!”

Qu Yin seized the opportunity, her face lighting up with excitement. “You admitted it!”

“Admitted what?” Jin Yi was confused.

“Admitted that you like Chu Weiran!”

Jin Yi was even more dazed. Thinking back on her words, she realized it wasn’t surprising that Qu Yin had misunderstood.

“That… no… I don’t!” Jin Yi stomped her feet in frustration, a light sweat breaking out on her forehead. But no matter what she said, Qu Yin seemed convinced.

As they were talking, they didn’t notice two people appearing behind them who had overheard almost their entire conversation.

Jing Miaomiao nudged Chu Weiran and teased, “Weiran, both of them are saying they like you.”

Chu Weiran glanced at her friend and then fixed her gaze on Jin Yi. She replied with feigned indifference, “So what if they say they like me?”

Jin Yi had been denying it the whole time, hadn’t she? She clearly doesn’t like me at all.

Chu Weiran bit her lip, looked away from Jin Yi, and said to Jing Miaomiao, “Let’s go.”

She spoke quite loudly, causing Jing Miaomiao to look at her in surprise. It seemed as though Chu Weiran had raised her voice on purpose.

Sure enough, after they took a couple of steps forward, both Jin Yi and Qu Yin turned around. Qu Yin remained her usual boisterous self, but Jin Yi was different. Realizing that Chu Weiran might have heard her, her face turned bright red. This was the definition of social death.

What made it even worse was that Qu Yin, that idiot, waved to Chu Weiran quite casually. “Senior Chu, we just came to join the fun!”

Join the fun? Join your grandmother! Jin Yi had regretted knowing Qu Yin more than once in her past life, and she felt the same way now.

Chu Weiran didn’t seem to mind. She nodded to Qu Yin and continued walking with Jing Miaomiao. However, as she passed Jin Yi, she heard Jin Yi say in a moderately loud voice, “Can you just not go over there?”

Chu Weiran’s body stiffened. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Jin Yi. Just as she was about to ask why, Jin Yi pulled Qu Yin behind her. It was an almost exact repeat of what happened in the cafeteria.

“Senior Chu, she’s lost her mind. Please don’t mind her.”

“Qu Yin… mmmph…” Jin Yi tried to speak, but Qu Yin covered her mouth.

In the commotion and the fading light of dusk, no one noticed that Chu Weiran was biting her lip hard, her right fingernails digging into her thigh.

No one knew the true nature of the relationship between the two of them. Aside from Chu Weiran, only Jin Yi knew how irrational her request actually sounded.

With one of them silenced and the other believed by her friend to simply have gained another suitor, Jing Miaomiao gave Chu Weiran a gentle nudge from behind. She whispered, “Shall we go?”

“Mm…” Chu Weiran’s voice was low and slightly nasal. Jing Miaomiao found it a bit odd but didn’t think much of it, assuming the cold weather was making Chu Weiran feel under the weather.

Once the two had left, Qu Yin finally removed her hand. Both girls were out of breath from the struggle.

“Phew! Jin Yi, and you still say you don’t like Chu Weiran? Just look at what you’re doing.” Qu Yin rested her hands on her hips to catch her breath, then leaned in to grab Jin Yi’s arm, only for Jin Yi to shove her away.

Jin Yi truly couldn’t understand. Qu Yin claimed Jin Yi liked Chu Weiran, and claimed she liked her too. So why was it that trying to stop Chu Weiran made her “crazy”?

Jin Yi was fuming, and Qu Yin could tell. She draped an arm over Jin Yi’s shoulder and said, “Yi, it’s not that I’m trying to stop you from pursuing love, but Chu Weiran is really not someone we can handle.”

From the first time she saw Chu Weiran, Qu Yin had been captivated by her beauty. But it ended there. She never thought about actually being with her; it was pure admiration. She could tell that Chu Weiran wasn’t her type of person, nor was she Jin Yi’s type.

“So, just keep your feelings to yourself,” Qu Yin concluded.

Qu Yin’s interpretation was completely different from Jin Yi’s intent. She didn’t like Chu Weiran at all, okay?

“I still have to stop her,” Jin Yi said, walking forward alone.

Seeing that Jin Yi wouldn’t listen to reason, Qu Yin grew anxious. “Are you really crazy? Do you actually think Chu Weiran could end up with Ye Yuan?”

Jin Yi turned back and asked, “Why couldn’t she?”

“Chu Weiran would have to be blind to settle for Ye Yuan.”

But she was blind! Jin Yi thought. And so was I.

All day, Jin Yi had been reflecting on her past life. If she didn’t get together with Qin Zhaomu, and Chu Weiran didn’t get together with Ye Yuan, then those two toxic people could just deal with each other. If that happened, neither she nor Chu Weiran would have ended up so miserable.

She wanted to stop Chu Weiran just in case she happened to be “blind” at this particular moment. Besides, Ye Yuan was trash; she had to save her childhood friend from him.