The Premeditated Seductress Childhood Friend - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Elixir of Immortality

Song Yixi shuddered.

Clearly, it hadn’t been a dream.

She grabbed Yu Wei’s wrist, wanting to bolt, but from the corner of her eye, she saw Xu Qingyu leaning down to pick up her noodles. The bowl was steaming—obviously scalding hot—and Xu Qingyu’s delicate, pampered hands were reaching right for it.

Song Yixi’s brow tightened. Forgetting everything else, she strode over.

As if she had predicted Yixi would come, Xu Qingyu retracted her hands before touching the bowl, allowing Song Yixi to carry the noodles for her.

Song Yixi found an empty table, slammed the noodles down, and turned to run. She didn’t linger for even a second.

Xu Qingyu arched an eyebrow, twirling a chopstick between her fingers. She made no move to speak to her.

Watching Song Yixi dash back and forth, Yu Wei was bewildered. “The vibe between you two… why is it so weird?”

Song Yixi felt an inexplicable surge of guilt. “She can’t handle hot things. I was just being kind-hearted.”

Yu Wei clicked her tongue. “How old is she that she still can’t touch hot things?”

Song Yixi whispered, “She’s different. She’s been ‘weak’ since she was little.”

So weak that by the time Song Yixi was running all over the place, Xu Qingyu was still in a wheelchair, unable to even stand steadily. She spent over a decade in that chair. Cold or hot—she couldn’t touch either. If she did, she got sick. Song Yixi had simply grown into the habit of taking care of her.

Not wanting to look at Xu Qingyu any longer, Song Yixi pulled Yu Wei. “Let’s go. Let’s eat on the second floor.”

Yu Wei pressed her, “Why are you acting like you have a secret crush on her?”

That sentence gave Song Yixi goosebumps. “You can eat whatever food you want, but you can’t just say whatever words you want.”

“Fine, fine, I won’t say it. Let’s eat.” Yu Wei stopped at the noodle window. “This looks delicious. I want noodles. There’s nothing good on the second floor; let’s stay here.”

Resigned, Song Yixi ordered a bowl of noodles too. But when it came time to find a seat, Yu Wei headed straight for Xu Qingyu.

Song Yixi was stunned. “What are you doing?”

Yu Wei acted as if she hadn’t heard, sitting down right across from Xu Qingyu. “Senior, are you eating alone?”

Xu Qingyu looked up, her gaze quite cool. “Mhm.”

“Sorry, Senior, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Song Yixi’s roommate, Yu Wei.” As she spoke, she waved Song Yixi over. “Why are you being so slow? Come on, your childhood friend is eating all by herself.”

Song Yixi’s wrist wobbled, nearly spilling her soup. She gritted her teeth, walked over, and sat next to Yu Wei, whispering, “You’re a real piece of work.”

Yu Wei ignored her and focused on chatting with Xu Qingyu. “Senior, the two of us want to move out early. When do you have time to help us look at apartments?”

“I’m quite busy.” Xu Qingyu picked up two strands of noodles, moved them slowly toward her lips, then—as if remembering something—dropped them back into the bowl. “I only have time this afternoon.”

Song Yixi buried her head in her noodles, pretending she hadn’t heard. Yu Wei immediately chimed in, “We don’t have classes this afternoon! We’ll have to trouble you then, Senior.”

Cough, cough, cough—

Noodles caught in her throat. Song Yixi looked at Yu Wei in disbelief. How was the apartment hunting settled for this afternoon? And with Xu Qingyu?

Yu Wei noticed nothing. “Senior, do you want something to drink? Milk tea? My treat—”

“No.” Song Yixi interrupted. “She can’t drink anything with tea in it.”

Yu Wei pondered. “Coffee then?”

Song Yixi refused again. “Coffee irritates the stomach. No.”

Yu Wei frowned. “Look, the Senior hasn’t even said anything, and you’re over here saying ‘no’ to everything. She’s helping us look at houses; are we really just going to give her a bottle of mineral water?”

Song Yixi said seriously, “Mineral water isn’t okay either. Only warm water. There’s some behind the cafeteria; I’ll fill a cup for her to take on the road later.”

Yu Wei’s mouth twitched. “You are truly stingy.”

“How am I stingy? It’s her…” Song Yixi pointed at Xu Qingyu, who was watching the “show” silently. Suddenly, she realized—how did she end up agreeing to go apartment hunting with Xu Qingyu? She had been totally led into a trap by Yu Wei.

Pulling her hand back, Song Yixi picked up her bowl and sat huffily at the neighboring table. She didn’t want to deal with either of them—one was “black-bellied” and the other was a total fool.

Yu Wei called out, “Why are you getting angry? I’ll stop calling you stingy. Come back, this is rude.”

Song Yixi ignored her, covering the ear facing Yu Wei with one hand.

Yu Wei sighed. “So petty.” She turned back to find Xu Qingyu’s bowl still full; she had barely eaten. “Senior, are you not eating?”

Xu Qingyu had already put down her chopsticks. “Mhm. It’s too hot; I don’t have an appetite.” She looked toward Song Yixi and added, “What a shame. It’s a waste.”

The moment the words left her mouth, Song Yixi sat back down. She naturally pulled Xu Qingyu’s bowl toward her and, without a hint of hesitation, lowered her head and started eating.

Yu Wei was flabbergasted. “Why are you stealing her noodles?”

Xu Qingyu said softly, “It’s fine.”

Song Yixi had always had a big appetite. Since they were kids, the milk, cookies, snacks, and leftovers in Xu Qingyu’s room were always handled by her. Later, as they grew up and Yixi became self-conscious and wanted to lose weight, she refused to eat Xu Qingyu’s leftovers. When the elders asked if they were drifting apart, Yixi said no, while Xu Qingyu just stared at her in silence.

That look always made Yixi panic. She would sneak over to ask what was wrong and refuse to leave until she got an answer.

Xu Qingyu would say: “I just feel it’s a waste… such good food… but it’s fine, let it go to waste.”

The moment Yixi heard that, she’d get anxious, insisting it wasn’t a waste and telling her not to overthink things. From then on, Yixi would rather run extra laps than let Xu Qingyu’s food go unfinished.

After finishing, Song Yixi stood up and habitually reached out her hand toward Xu Qingyu. Xu Qingyu handed her the water bottle she always carried.

Song Yixi took the cup and told Yu Wei, “It’s hot outside. Wait for me here.”

Yu Wei blinked, puzzled. She asked Xu Qingyu, “She was talking to you, right? Why don’t you two actually speak to each other?” It was like they were in a cold war.

Xu Qingyu shook her head, looking equally lost. “I’m not sure. She hasn’t talked to me in a long time. She doesn’t even reply to my texts. Maybe she’s angry with me.”

“How could she be angry with you?” Yu Wei slapped her thigh, getting excited. “You have no idea—to buy that laptop for you, she wouldn’t even replace her own broken phone. It doesn’t even have an AC remote function. When the AC got turned off last night, she just had to sit there fuming. You two definitely have a misunderstanding. Don’t worry, Senior, I’ll help you investigate.”

Yu Wei took out her phone. “Let’s add each other, Senior.”

Xu Qingyu didn’t refuse, acting very polite. “Then I’ll have to trouble you.”

“No trouble at all!”

After adding her, Yu Wei was delighted. She had no hobbies other than collecting the contact info of beautiful girls. Unfortunately, Xu Qingyu’s social feed was empty—a bit bland. Her profile picture was dull too, looking like some kind of medicinal herb. It didn’t exactly inspire conversation.

Curious, Yu Wei asked, “Senior, what is your profile picture?”

Xu Qingyu’s flat tone suddenly took on a hint of tenderness. “The Elixir of Immortality.”

Yu Wei laughed. “There’s no such thing.”

Xu Qingyu said nothing.

Indeed, there was no such thing.

But there was a certain fool who believed in it—a fool who once braved a torrential downpour to run ten miles of mountain paths to pick a herb and bring it back, coaxing her: “Eat this, and it won’t hurt anymore.”