The Premeditated Seductress Childhood Friend - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Suitors

Song Yixi listened to the two-hour lecture with absolute focus.

By the end, her head was spinning, as if a door to a whole new world had been flung open. She looked at the people around her, but no one seemed surprised; they all acted as if this was common knowledge. In fact, hardly anyone had been paying attention—most were hunched over their own business.

Song Yixi couldn’t wrap her head around it. No one had ever told her about these things. She nudged Yu Wei’s shoulder and asked, “Was the teacher talking about same-sex romance?”

Yu Wei, busy playing a game, gave a casual “Mhm.”

“Why aren’t you surprised at all?” Song Yixi asked.

“Surprised by what?” Yu Wei looked perfectly natural. “These lectures are given by professionals, not our regular school teachers, so it’s normal for them to talk about anything. Besides, same-sex romance is such a common topic now. College students are open-minded, so of course they’d start with us for science popularization.”

“Is it that common?” Then why haven’t I heard of it? “No, I’m not asking why the topic came up. I’m asking why you aren’t surprised by the concept itself.”

Yu Wei blinked and looked up, staring at Song Yixi like she was a cavewoman. “I told you that you need to spend more time on the internet. Do you not play with your phone at all?”

“I do,” Song Yixi said, “but I really didn’t use it much before.”

When she was little, she loved playing with Xu Qingyu. Xu Qingyu didn’t like her using electronic devices, saying the current atmosphere was bad and the internet was a mess, so she shouldn’t be exposed to it too early. Song Yixi had agreed and truly stayed away. For her, eating, drinking, and making Xu Qingyu happy were far more interesting than electronics.

Later, as she grew up and Xu Qingyu got busier, Song Yixi had nothing to do, so she asked her mom to sign her up for training classes—magic, horseback riding, archery, painting, dancing… too many to count. But she lacked patience and usually quit after a few lessons. She’d learn the bare minimum, think she was amazing, and run off to perform for Xu Qingyu.

By high school, when she finally had a phone, she was busy with sports and didn’t have time to scroll. It was only during the summer after the college entrance exams that she had free time, but because of the “birthday gift incident,” she was busy dodging Xu Qingyu and working a part-time job. Looking back, she didn’t know whether to praise her own hard work or her total lack of awareness.

Yu Wei put a sympathetic arm around her. “Promise me, go online more.”

Song Yixi pushed her away irritably. “I’m asking you seriously—is this topic really that common?”

Yu Wei went back to her phone. “Forget the ‘topic,’ there’s literally a couple in our class, okay? I told you to come listen to the gossip, but you wouldn’t. The TCM seniors told some truly explosive stories.”

“There’s a couple in our class?” Song Yixi had no memory of this. She didn’t care. “The things the TCM seniors said… were they real events that happened in their department?”

Yu Wei nodded. “Pretty much. It’s all very close to us, stuff from the last few classes.”

Song Yixi leaned in. “Anything about Xu Qingyu?”

Yu Wei immediately knew what she wanted to ask. She had realized long ago that Song Yixi had zero interest in general gossip; she was only interested in Xu Qingyu. So, Yu Wei put down her phone and said mysteriously, “Yes, quite a lot.”

Song Yixi was hooked. “What?”

Yu Wei suddenly played hard to get. “I don’t remember.”

Song Yixi knew she was doing it on purpose, but she didn’t press. When it came to Xu Qingyu, Song Yixi always held a certain breath of pride; she didn’t want to seem too concerned. Little did she know, Yu Wei had seen right through her.

“You really want to know, don’t you? Tell you what, give me some gossip about you and the Senior, and maybe I’ll remember something.”

Song Yixi didn’t take the bait. “I don’t remember either.”

“Don’t remember, huh?” Yu Wei mused. “Same-sex… romance… the Senior… hiss, so hard to guess.”

Song Yixi gritted her teeth. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“That’s fine. If you don’t get it, you don’t get it,” Yu Wei said with a smile. “I guess you also don’t care about the stories of the Senior being frantically pursued by people?”

“I don’t care.”

Dropping those words, Song Yixi grabbed her bag and walked out. It was almost five o’clock; she had to pick up Xu Qingyu.

But Song Yixi didn’t want to see her in her current state. Her mind was a mess, thinking about the lecture and Yu Wei’s words; it left a bitter taste in her mouth. She drove to the teaching building and sat in the car, unable to untangle her emotions. Hearing the bell ring for the end of class, Song Yixi hesitated for a moment and then got out.

She left the keys in the ignition, sent Xu Qingyu a message, and walked away. She wanted to find a quiet place to think, so she put her phone on silent.

She didn’t know that Xu Qingyu was standing on the second-floor balcony, watching her from afar. She didn’t call out or stop her; she just let her walk away. Once Song Yixi’s figure completely disappeared from view, Xu Qingyu picked up her phone and messaged Yu Wei: Are you with Song Yixi?

Yu Wei: We were at the lecture together this afternoon. She left right after it finished.

Xu Qingyu looked up the afternoon’s lecture. There was only one—on the Psychology of Love. She checked the guest speaker; a famous psychologist whose recent research reports were all about same-sex relationships.

She arched an eyebrow slightly, the corners of her mouth curling upward. Good. Saves me the trouble of giving hints.

Unaware, Song Yixi had walked far away and, with a heavy heart, bought an ice cream. When she was unhappy, she wanted to eat. Looking at the sinful sugar on the ice cream, she scooped a large spoonful into her mouth.

The moment the rich sweetness exploded in her mouth, Song Yixi let out a deep sigh. The taste of the ice cream didn’t soothe her; instead, it reminded her of the kiss with Xu Qingyu.

She had originally thought there was nothing wrong with two girls kissing, but now she realized the problem was huge. Two girls could fall in love. She had stolen Xu Qingyu’s first kiss—what would Xu Qingyu do now? And what if Xu Qingyu started liking girls just because she kissed her?

She didn’t care about her own lack of shame, but she couldn’t ruin Xu Qingyu. Xu Qingyu was so good to her.

Did Xu Qingyu even know that two girls could date? Probably not. If she knew, how could she have let her kiss her? If she found out, would she blame her?

The more Song Yixi thought, the more confused she became. She finished the ice cream in no time. She stood up and went to order a drink. While waiting for her order, she saw a man and a woman walk in; the man was holding a parasol for the woman.

The scene under the TCM building flashed back into her mind. Yu Wei said someone was frantically pursuing Xu Qingyu. Was it the person holding the umbrella? Was the one with the umbrella the same person as #08 on the basketball court?

Xu Qingyu said she wasn’t looking at #08. But did she like the person holding the umbrella for her?

Xu Qingyu, Xu Qingyu…

Dazed, Song Yixi took the milk tea handed to her. Her fingers curled and tightened slightly; the cup suddenly burst under the pressure. She stared at the liquid dripping onto the back of her hand, thinking once again of the trace of water that leaked from the corner of Xu Qingyu’s mouth when she drank.

And the taste of Xu Qingyu’s water bottle.

That was sweeter than milk tea.