That Girl Who Skipped Class — You're In Big Trouble! - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

On the beach, three or five young white people with surfboards walked past An Qianyáng. A blonde girl in a blue bikini was among the young people, chatting happily.

When An Qianyáng came back to her senses, she realized she had been staring intently at that girl’s long legs.

She sighed and finished the last sip of lemonade in her cup.

It was summer vacation, and she and Li Chénchén had been in Cairns for three days. For more than a month, she hadn’t had any contact with Xiao Xuán; it was as if nothing had happened.

“I’m going swimming,” An Qianyáng glanced at Li Chénchén, who was lying beside her scrolling on his phone, then stood up and rushed towards the sea.

“Yángyáng, slow down, wait for me!” Li Chénchén yelled after her, “We agreed to return to the hotel early today; Uncle An said he wants to have dinner with you.”

An Qianyáng reached the water’s edge, ready to jump in, but Li Chénchén grabbed her arm. “Yángyáng, I think you’ve been acting a little strange lately.”

“Strange in what way? Just say what you need to say.”

“We’ve been together for almost a year, right? I remember you never used to like exercise, and you weren’t this fond of swimming. These past few days, besides swimming for hours, you’re constantly zoning out. You don’t respond when I ask you things, and you keep playing games. Speaking of which, didn’t you say you hated playing Lianliankan (a matching game), calling it something only little girls play? Is something bothering you?”

An Qianyáng’s heart sank. Yes, she hadn’t even realized it herself. What was wrong with her lately? Besides catching herself looking at girls whenever she was distracted, she had been absent-minded about many things.

“Li Chénchén, are you sick? I finally made it to Australia, of course I want to swim my fill. Get out of the way!”

An Qianyáng pushed Li Chénchén and then plunged into the sea, swimming dozens of meters in one breath.

As the seawater completely submerged her head, she quieted down.

In the darkness, a scorching face pressed against her neck. An Qianyáng could even smell the delicate fragrance emanating from her hair…

An Qianyáng took a deep breath and continued to explore underwater.

A pair of hands tightly wrapped around her shoulders. She could even feel the softness of that person’s chest…

The owner of those hands gently licked her lips, slowly sucking and guiding…

An Qianyáng abruptly swam to the surface, looking at the water splashing around Li Chénchén not far away with an extremely complicated expression.

…

In the hotel restaurant, a waiter was serving a bottle of red wine.

An Zixiáng, wearing a clean tracksuit, looked at the dishes in front of them and smiled at Li Chénchén: “Are you having fun, Chénchén?”

“Very fun, thank you, Uncle An. The weather here is great. Yángyáng took me to learn some surfing from David these past few days,” Li Chénchén scratched his head and accepted the food An Zixiáng put on the rim of his bowl.

“As long as the young people are happy. Your father called me today, you know, asking me to keep a good eye on you. Yángyáng, no more playing with your phone! Eat properly!”

“Uncle, when will the hotel officially open?”

“Soon, around the end of October. All departments are in place. By the way, Dean Li from your Design School said he’ll come here for the year-end party. Swimming pool parties, seaside KTV, foot massages—we have it all.”

“Dad, you know our Dean Li? Why didn’t you tell me?”

An Qianyáng stopped peeling her shrimp, her eyes wide.

“Huh? It’s no big deal. You never asked me,” An Zixiáng sipped his red wine. “Dean Li is my alumnus. A few years ago, when your school was recruiting, I recommended several overseas students to him. I remember one called something like Xiao, who studied computer science. I think she became a teacher at your school later.”

“Xiao??? Xiao Xuán??” An Qianyáng blurted out.

“I don’t quite remember the name. She’s a girl who did her undergrad and graduate studies in Australia, right? She used to work part-time at the Pullman Hotel. I think your Uncle Chéng really admired her, so I recommended her to Dean Li.”

“Uncle An, you really have an eye for talent. Teacher Xiao is the star professor at our school now—she’s pretty, articulate, and is even rumored to have been on CCTV’s famous lecturer series several times,” Li Chénchén put down his chopsticks and chimed in.

“Oh? Really? Sounds like Old Chéng has a knack for judging people,” An Zixiáng smiled and clinked glasses with Li Chénchén. “Come, Little Li, let’s have a drink. You must tell your dad when you go back that Uncle An treated you well.”

An Qianyáng silently ate her salad without speaking.

…

After dinner, An Qianyáng and Li Chénchén walked past a small fountain in the hotel lobby and stepped onto the burgundy carpet towards the elevator.

“Yángyáng, are you tired? Should we go for a walk nearby?”

Li Chénchén looked at a marble sculpture not far from the elevator and asked casually.

“I’m a bit tired. I want to rest.”

“Okay.”

An Qianyáng and Li Chénchén had rooms on the same floor. Li Chénchén walked out of the elevator with An Qianyáng, discussing their plans for the next few days.

“Hey, Uncle An isn’t at the hotel tonight. Do you want me to accompany you? We can also discuss where to go tomorrow.”

An Qianyáng didn’t reply. Li Chénchén followed her into the room, where An Qianyáng opened the floor-to-ceiling window. White moonlight shone on the sea, with cold, icy light patterns gently swaying up and down.

Li Chénchén watched the girl turn around. Her long, wavy hair was spread over her shoulders, and she had a thoughtful expression.

He couldn’t help but walk forward, wrap his arms around her, and begin to kiss her neck. An Qianyáng held Li Chénchén’s head and began to emit soft gasps.

An Qianyáng felt her skirt had been mostly taken off, and a heavy, low moan came from his ear. Unconsciously, she opened her eyes. The familiar face kissing her suddenly turned into Xiao Xuán’s flushed, disoriented face. She could even feel her eyelashes fluttering!

She violently pushed the absorbed Li Chénchén away.

“Chénchén, I suddenly feel a bit unwell.”

A confused Li Chénchén spread his hands, looking helpless and anxious.

“What’s wrong? I mean, what is wrong with you?”

“It’s just… a bit unwell… maybe I got a little dizzy from swimming today.”

“No, you were perfectly fine just a moment ago.”

“Can’t I be unwell now? You should leave. I want to sleep.”

“Why have you been so strange lately? You know this makes me feel awful, right? You speak less than three sentences to me every day. Am I less fun than your Lianliankan?”

“Can you stop bothering me now? I told you I’m not feeling well!”

“Yángyáng, even though An Dōng and the others all say I have a good temper and spoil you, you can’t treat me like this. I canceled the internship my family arranged just to come on this vacation with you! My dad kicked me out and said he wouldn’t even pay for my tuition and living expenses! And what about you? Not only have you not been intimate with me for a month, but you spend all your time swimming or playing by yourself, and you’re always staring blankly, thinking about god knows what! You don’t have a shred of focus on me!”

An Qianyáng pondered for a moment, resting her hand on the windowsill, her back to him.

“How about you go back tomorrow? I’ll ask my dad to book your ticket.”

“What? Yángyáng, have you fallen for someone else? You’ve been like a different person this whole time! You’re completely not the girl I, Li Chénchén, knew before!”

“How many times do I have to tell you? I’m very confused and uncomfortable right now. I need to be alone.”

“Fine! I’ll buy my own ticket back, I don’t need the young miss to take care of it!”

The door slammed shut with a “bang.”

An Qianyáng sat down, immediately feeling distraught.

She finally understood: she had developed a desire for a woman.

The person she had been thinking about all these days… was that unrestrained university professor in the bed, the one who remained as calm as plain water even after being drugged, and the one who kept saying she would compensate her… Xiao Xuán!