My Straight Childhood Friend Successfully Pursued Me After The Breakup - Chapter 19

“Ran Ran.”…

“Ran Ran.”

“Hmm?” Tao Ran seemed to be thinking about something. She suddenly snapped out of it and smiled as she looked at Zuo Xian.

Zuo Xian felt the condensation in her palm gradually warming to her body temperature. This first snow melted into a sweet rain in her heart, watering the tender sprout that had grown deep within her.

It was green and crisp, trembling slightly with Zuo Xian’s strong heartbeats.

In that moment, Zuo Xian knew clearly.

This seedling belonged to Tao Ran.

She lowered her eyes, unsure if the joy was greater or the panic was more intense, until Tao Ran walked over, grabbed the edge of her jacket, and pulled the zipper up. A slightly cool index finger then lifted her chin.

A breeze swept by, causing the girl’s hair to flutter. With the streetlight and the snowy scenery behind them, the moment was exactly like a scene from a TV drama.

Tao Ran looked at Zuo Xian and gently touched her cheek. “Are you that tipsy?”

Zuo Xian was completely captivated by her. If Tao Ran had confessed at that moment, Zuo Xian would have agreed without hesitation.

No, Tao Ran wouldn’t even need to initiate it.

“Ran Ran, did you ask someone to send me something before?” Zuo Xian looked at her, nervously swallowing. “It was a pink box.”

“A pink box? Yes, I did ask someone to give you something.” Tao Ran suddenly realized. She finally remembered why the girl from earlier looked familiar.

That box was given to Zuo Xian through her.

“Ran Ran, so you…”

“The box was given to me by that girl who talked to you today; she asked me to give it to you. I knew she looked familiar!” Tao Ran laughed twice, but then saw Zuo Xian instantly freeze.

“What did you say?” Zuo Xian felt like her throat was stuffed with stones; her voice was almost squeezed out, dry and rough.

She stared intently at Tao Ran, refusing to blink even as the wind made her eyes sting, afraid of missing Tao Ran’s expression.

Tao Ran frowned slightly. “A Xian, what’s wrong? I said that box was given to you by the girl who stopped you today. Was there something bad inside the box?”

Something bad.

Zuo Xian suddenly felt a wave of injustice, but also a desire to laugh. The item wasn’t sent by Tao Ran, and the confession wasn’t from Tao Ran.

What about her then?

“A Xian?”

“It wasn’t something bad,” Zuo Xian managed a faint smile, her eyes feeling hot. Her voice trembled. “It was a confession letter. Her confession letter to me.”

“A confession?” Tao Ran was thoroughly shaken, muttering, “But isn’t she a girl?”

That sentence struck Zuo Xian’s sore spot, and her heart felt instantly pinched, a sharp pang of pain.

“What’s wrong with a girl? Who says girls can’t like girls?” Zuo Xian pressed her lips together, turning her gaze away from Tao Ran, biting down hard to suppress her rapidly quickening breath.

She seemed to be challenging Tao Ran, but even more so, she was stating to herself: “I like girls.”

Zuo Xian likes girls. Tao Ran’s pupils dilated in shock.

Neither of them spoke again. Zuo Xian hung her head, feeling miserable, while Tao Ran was deep in thought.

Aunt Li’s car arrived quickly. After they got in, the agonizing silence continued. Aunt Li frequently checked on them through the rearview mirror.

The two teenagers occupied opposite ends of the back seat, each looking out the window. Although the car heater was on, the air felt frozen.

They didn’t exchange another word until they each arrived home.

Upstairs on the fifth floor, in her bedroom.

Tao Ran sat at her desk, her mind still replaying Zuo Xian’s words.

A flash of light crossed her mind. Her eyes cleared, and she couldn’t help but chuckle, speaking to herself.

“So girls can like girls. It’s possible…”

Tao Ran walked to the window and pushed it open.

The night wind mixed with snowflakes hits her face. Tao Ran’s eyes were bright as she watched the snow drifting in the air, silently repeating Zuo Xian’s name in her heart.

Zuo Xian held back her tears until she got home.

She sat blankly on the edge of the bed, letting the tears stream down, her heart utterly desolate.

First love had blossomed, only for everything to turn out to be a misunderstanding.

What kind of situation was this…

No one could have predicted things would unfold this way, just as a month ago, Zuo Xian never could have imagined Tao Ran would like her.

A month later, the current Zuo Xian couldn’t help but admire her past self for understanding Tao Ran.

Tao Ran truly didn’t like her.

Zuo Xian sniffled, wiping her face twice to dry her tears. The next second, her face was wet again.

The tears seemed endless.

Zuo Xian slid off the bed onto the floor, sitting on the carpet, leaning against the bed frame, and quietly sobbing with her arms wrapped around her knees.

“Waaah… why am I so unlucky…”

“What a horrible first snow, it’s all lies, waaah…”

Her eyes filled with tears, she looked through the window at the swirling snowflakes, and the cinematic scene of the first snow from a little while ago reappeared in her mind.

She was unwilling to accept it.

Tao Ran, I won’t give up.

That night, Zuo Xian and Tao Ran, harboring completely different feelings, both gazed out at the first snow, silently repeating the other’s name.

The next day, Zuo Xian didn’t get up until close to noon.

Grandma Liu felt sorry for her studying so hard and let her sleep in on a rest day without waking her.

The bedroom was dim. Zuo Xian groggily turned over, staring at the ceiling and savoring the lingering effect of her dream.

She had just had a dream that she confessed to Tao Ran the previous night, and Tao Ran accepted.

A sense of joy and fulfillment from the dream still lingered in her heart when she woke, but her mind clearly knew the real memory was different.

The huge discrepancy between emotion and reality made Zuo Xian feel a little disoriented. She took a while to compose herself before getting out of bed.

Inside the bathroom, Zuo Xian listlessly brushed her teeth. Catching a glimpse of herself, she saw a girl with red, swollen eyes in the mirror, her beautiful features clouded with a hint of sorrow.

She straightened her back, trying to appear as positive and energetic as possible.

Spitting out the foam, Zuo Xian stretched her lips up at the corners, practicing a bright smile at her reflection.

Looking at the familiar, cheerful smile in the mirror, Zuo Xian silently cheered herself up.

Even if Tao Ran didn’t like her now, did she really have to give up and wallow in self-pity?

She at least had the advantage of having been close to Tao Ran for a long time. If they hadn’t grown up together, she might not even have the chance to get close to Tao Ran.

Therefore, this was not the time for self-reproach.

It was just about pursuing someone; she refused to believe she couldn’t do it!

However, the pursuit had barely begun when Zuo Xian met her first hurdle.

She wanted to go see Tao Ran, but before she even left the door, she saw the message Tao Ran had sent her.

There were only four words in the chat box: I have gone abroad.

Zuo Xian knew that Tao Ran’s father was overseas and that her family’s main business was also abroad. She then confirmed with Aunt Jiang.

It was indeed her father’s request. Tao Ran probably didn’t even have time to send a few more explanatory messages before being taken onto the plane.

Zuo Xian looked at the four characters again, perceiving a sense of rush and urgency through the neat system font.

There was nothing she could do but gloomily cradle the freshly squeezed juice Grandma Liu had made and sit curled up on the sofa, sending a few messages to Tao Ran.

But Tao Ran must still be on the plane right now. Who knew when she would reply?