My Idol Turns Out To Be My Ex-Girlfriend - Chapter 38

He Ye was completely exasperated by her “asking for a friend” routine. “Did your ‘friend’ get scammed by a blind date into paying for dinner again? How much did it cost this time?”

Lin Sanyuan replied, “No, it’s just a friend of mine. She accidentally dated someone without realizing it and then dumped them, but she has no memory of it. What should she do in this situation? Waiting online, it’s pretty urgent.”

He Ye expressed deep skepticism toward this “friend.” Sanyuan didn’t seem like the type to date anyone, let alone date someone and then dump them. What poor soul was this unlucky?

However, He Ye favored loyalty over logic. “It’s normal to break up, right? If it’s over, why does it need ‘handling’? Since she doesn’t even remember the person, they clearly weren’t a ‘snack’ worth keeping in mind. Just forget it. Why bother with them? A proper ex should stay out of sight, like they’re dead. They shouldn’t be coming around looking for her.”

Sanyuan’s situation was different, and she was so anxious she was slapping her own thigh. “No! The problem isn’t the breakup, the problem is that this relationship wasn’t ‘innocent’! I forgot that I slept with them, and now they’ve shown up at my door acting like they want an official title. What am I supposed to do!”

In his head, He Ye screamed, Holy crap! His jaw nearly hit his phone screen. Almost the instant he processed it, he hit the voice call button.

Sanyuan was so startled she nearly threw her phone. Terrified that Tang Hengzhi would find out she was calling for backup, she forcefully declined the call and typed, “What are you doing!”

He Ye realized, “Damn! It’s this late, are the two of you together right now?!”

Sanyuan suddenly realized she had accidentally killed off the “friend” in the conversation. She was terrible at lying. Helpless, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and admit it, “Yeah.”

He Ye replied, “You’re out here doing world-shaking things! How do you even forget something like that? You’re a legend!”

Sanyuan asked, “What do I do now?”

He Ye tried to steady himself. “Teacher San, you didn’t pull a ‘run away with the ball,’ did you?”

Sanyuan asked, “What does ‘run away with the ball’ mean?”

He Ye replied, “It means sleeping with them, getting pregnant, giving birth, and then dumping the kid on them while disappearing. Doing that heartless ‘abandoning husband and child’ thing.”

The popular Three Lives, Three Worlds TV series had a plot exactly like that. The female lead lost her memory after giving birth, and the poor single dad eventually showed up with the kid to demand an explanation. That’s a nightmare to handle. Scumbags of all genders fear that trope.

Sanyuan felt her entire body catch fire. Teacher Tang probably couldn’t go that far just yet. Her hands shook as she typed, instinctively using the word “she.” But, not wanting He Ye to know she was queer just like him yet, she silently deleted it and typed, “He doesn’t have the equipment for that.”

He Ye was shocked once more. “You’re something else, Teacher San. You aren’t picky at all, you actually slept with a guy who’s ‘kidney deficient’?” He opened Taobao, looked up some traditional male vitality pills, and shared a link with her. Eat something healthy for a change, sis.

Whether Tang Hengzhi was “deficient” or not, Sanyuan didn’t know and couldn’t remember. But she felt a bit defensive. “He is not deficient. He is very strong and healthy.” Her fingers looked quite long, at least.

God, she thought, everything changes when an ex comes back for an accounting. She was even starting to think dirty.

He Ye took a few deep breaths. This is bad, Teacher San is catching feelings. He started to get the vibe. “San’er,” he typed, “this sounds like lingering feelings. It’s not a big deal. If you still like him, get back together. If you don’t, tell him to get lost. Why does a grown man need an official ‘title’ anyway? Aren’t you girls usually the ones who lose out more in this?”

Sanyuan wasn’t sure if Tang Hengzhi should want a title. He Ye’s logic worked for heterosexual relationships, but the problem was they were both women.

Looking deeper into it, Sanyuan was the “bottom” and Teacher Tang was the “top.” While it wasn’t about who “lost out,” she was definitely the one who had been slept with. Once that question was settled, she moved to the next one.

Sanyuan asked, “How do I make sure if I still like him or not?”

He Ye leaned into his mischievous side. “Simple. Sleep with him again and you’ll know. If it feels good and you think he’s great, then you definitely like him. The body’s desire doesn’t lie.”

Sanyuan didn’t reply. Her mind was filled with the phrase: The body’s desire doesn’t lie.

She didn’t need to sleep with her again. Just having her lip bitten had felt amazing. Teacher Tang was incredible, why would she need to do it again to find out?

A moment later, He Ye sent another message: “Remember to use protection.”

What kind of protection do women even use!

Aaaah! Her phone felt “unclean.” She quickly turned it off, feeling incredibly guilty, like a thief.

When Tang Hengzhi came out of the shower, Sanyuan was already fast asleep on the bed, wrapped in the quilt and hugging a pillow. After drinking, Sanyuan couldn’t stay up late.

Walking to the sofa, Hengzhi picked up the wine bottle that had rolled onto the floor. She thought for a moment, then walked to the bedside and reached under the covers to feel Sanyuan’s feet. Half-asleep, Sanyuan kicked at her palm.

She had indeed gone to sleep without taking off her socks. Hengzhi removed them for her and tucked the quilt in. Sanyuan had showered before coming over, and when Hengzhi had kissed her earlier, she had smelled the scent of body wash. Her clean little face was buried in the quilt, her messy hair draped over her shoulders, looking warm and soft.

Sanyuan always liked wearing pure cotton white socks, so any stain became instantly noticeable. Hengzhi went to the bathroom to wash the red wine stains out of the socks and hung them up to dry.

When she returned, she heard faint, sobbing whimpers coming from under the quilt. Hengzhi’s heart clenched instantly. Thinking Sanyuan had woken up, she knelt by the bed and anxiously pulled at the covers.

But she found that Sanyuan wasn’t awake. She seemed trapped in a nightmare. The front of her furrowed brow was bunched up, her expression restless. Perhaps it was the alcohol making her sweat, but in the late autumn night, fine beads of perspiration dotted her nose and forehead.

Her eyes were closed, a red flush crept to the base of her lashes, and cold tear tracks marked her fair skin. Her body shook slightly with her sobs, a quiet, messy cry that soaked her cheeks.

Hengzhi’s hand froze in mid-air, her eyes filled with blank panic. Sanyuan never used to be like this when she slept. A year seemed to have changed many things.

She hadn’t expected to hear her own name in those midnight sobs. Hengzhi slowly withdrew her hand. Her chest felt hollowed out, making her look like a silent shadow in the night. She let out a self-deprecating laugh, a sound as light as autumn rain.

Sanyuan was awakened by a knock at the door. Sprawled on her pillow, she reached under the covers for her phone. It was 6:30 AM. She wanted to get up and open the door, but footsteps sounded in the room, someone had beaten her to it.

Before the person was seen, her voice was heard. He Wenyu was standing at the door sighing, sounding miserable. “Heng’er, I am never ordering seafood BBQ in a tourist area again. It nearly sent me to the afterlife. That injection yesterday made my whole body swell up, it was terrifying.”

Tang Hengzhi leaned against the doorframe, not moving out of the way. She slowly unscrewed her thermos and took a sip of hot water that was just the right temperature. Pulling her high-collared trench coat tighter, she lazily raised her eyes but said nothing.

Wenyu thought her expression was odd. Seeing her perfectly put-together outfit, it looked like she had been up for a while. “Uh… why are you up so early?”

Hengzhi glanced at Wenyu’s swollen eyelids and the corner of her mouth quirked up. “You realize it’s early?”

As friends, they had always been on good terms. But Wenyu knew she was queer and had the common decency of a lesbian, after graduating, she stopped sharing a bed with Hengzhi. When they traveled, they always booked two separate rooms. So, knocking at 6:30 AM was indeed an intrusion.

However, Wenyu was notoriously shameless and lacked manners in front of Hengzhi. More importantly, she knew Hengzhi had suffered an allergic reaction yesterday and hadn’t gone to the hospital, only taking medicine. She wasn’t sure how she was doing.

Wenyu squinted at her. “What did you eat yesterday to get that allergic? You okay now?”

Hengzhi looked down at her water. “I’m fine.”

“Really? Why do I see red marks on your neck? They’re all over. That medicine isn’t working, the symptoms haven’t faded at all.” Wenyu reached out to pull at her collar. Hengzhi was wearing a trench coat today with a high collar that covered most of her neck.

But it didn’t cover behind her ears. Wenyu was about the same height as her and saw clearly with one glance. Hengzhi used her thermos to block Wenyu’s hand, her eyes flicking up with cool indifference. “Don’t touch.”

“Crap, what is that look for? You think I’m flirting with you?” Wenyu grumbled. “Where’s the kid from last night?”

“You mean Qiao Lian?” Hengzhi asked. “She stayed with me while I got my shot until 2:00 AM. She walked me back and then went to her own hotel to rest. That girl has a very steady personality, she even knows how to pull out an IV needle.”

Hengzhi nodded. “Go buy breakfast.”

Wenyu understood. Qiao Lian had looked after her all night, so she should buy some breakfast for her since hotel food wasn’t great. But Wenyu was still exasperated. “It’s only 6:30. Won’t buying breakfast now wake her up? She didn’t get back until after 2:00. And what about little Sanyuan? What time did she head back after her antics yesterday?”

Hengzhi said nothing, staring blankly at the ripples in her thermos.

Wenyu scoffed. “Move out of the way. Why are you blocking the door? It’s freezing. What, are you hiding a beautiful woman in there and won’t let me in?”

It was a pure joke, but when she entered the room and saw Lin Sanyuan sitting upright on the bed with a blank stare, Wenyu froze like a wooden statue.

Sanyuan didn’t wear a coat to sleep, just a pure cotton short-sleeved T-shirt. Her hair was a mess, and she had dark circles under her eyes. She looked like she hadn’t slept well, her eyes were red and watery, making her look quite pitiful, almost like she had been “devastated.” She seemed half-awake, clutching her phone and spacing out, not even wearing her glasses.

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