The Premeditated Seductress Childhood Friend - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Eating Something Else

Furthermore, the taller Song Yixi no longer seemed quite so innocent.

Xu Qingyu had pondered this for a long time, unsure where the thought came from, but her feelings toward Song Yixi had become very strange. It wasn’t until she reopened that book on her desk—the one about two girls falling in love.

When people begin to doubt themselves, they do many inexplicable things. Within a week, for instance, Xu Qingyu watched over a dozen movies and anime and bought seven or eight more books of the same genre. After finishing them all, she felt they were just fiction, so she scoured various forums and message boards for real-life accounts.

She told Song Yixi, “I’m not like you; I can’t run around everywhere. During those boring hours stuck in my room, I can only rely on learning to grasp information about the outside world.”

Song Yixi’s heart rate quickened. “Then tell me… you’re saying it’s okay for two girls to kiss?”

“Did I say that?” Xu Qingyu arched an eyebrow. “I don’t think that’s quite what I meant.”

Song Yixi’s lip twitched. “Then what did you mean? You clearly knew, yet you didn’t tell me.” She felt like a fool once again, especially in front of Xu Qingyu. She had already accepted that she couldn’t beat her in academics, but this was a total sweep across the board. Was Xu Qingyu playing with her?

Xu Qingyu smiled. “You wanted to kiss, and I wanted to teach you. We grew up together and know everything about each other; it was just helping each other out. What does such a small thing have to do with whether two girls can date?”

Song Yixi was stunned. She hadn’t expected such an explanation. Xu Qingyu rested a hand on her thigh, her fingertip hooking slightly.

“Or rather… are you thinking about dating me?”

Song Yixi shuddered and unnaturally reached for the basket behind her. “I made sandwiches. Do you want one?” It was a very clumsy attempt to change the subject.

Xu Qingyu played along and didn’t press her. “Mhm, I’ll have a bite to try your cooking.”

Song Yixi kept her head down, breaking off a piece of sandwich for her. As she handed it over, her earlobes were red enough to bleed. Xu Qingyu noticed, and the curve of her lips tilted upward. She took a bite and praised, “It’s delicious.” She sounded sincere.

Song Yixi didn’t speak, eating in silence. Xu Qingyu had truly changed; she was so eloquent now that Song Yixi often found herself unable to reply. But one thing was good: Xu Qingyu complimented her now. She liked this version of Xu Qingyu.

After finishing the sandwich in a few bites, Song Yixi clapped her hands clean and took a bottle of milk from the basket. “Do you want some?”

Xu Qingyu shook her head. She felt a bit nauseous thinking about drinking it.

“Alright.” Song Yixi opened the milk and took a large gulp. She didn’t like using straws; it was too slow.

“Mhm…” Because she drank too fast, some milk spilled onto her clothes. Song Yixi looked down, fumbling in her pocket for a tissue. After searching for a while and finding nothing, she shook out her shirt. Just as she was about to wipe her mouth, a warm kiss pressed against the corner of her lips.

Song Yixi froze. It took a long time for Xu Qingyu to slowly pull away. The sweetness of the milk spread through Xu Qingyu’s mouth. She pursed her lips and said, “I didn’t agree.”

Song Yixi was still clutching her shirt, her head lowered so she couldn’t see Xu Qingyu’s expression. She didn’t react immediately. “What?”

Xu Qingyu tucked a stray hair behind Song Yixi’s ear. “No kissing—the reason you gave me isn’t enough.”

Song Yixi swallowed and looked up. “What would be enough?”

Xu Qingyu looked at her, her gaze falling deep into Song Yixi’s eyes. “Once I’ve taught you, we’ll stop. Now tell me, have you learned?”

Song Yixi opened her mouth to say yes, but Xu Qingyu added: “Did your sister teach you well?”

Song Yixi shut her mouth completely. She couldn’t bring herself to say it. Xu Qingyu touched her ear and whispered softly, “So silly.”

Hearing those words from Xu Qingyu’s mouth made Song Yixi’s heart skip a beat. Thump, thump. She bent down and lifted Xu Qingyu’s legs, resting them across her own knees. “Can’t soak them for too long.”

Another subject change. Xu Qingyu smiled and tried to pull her legs back. Her feet were dripping wet from the lake, and she didn’t want to get Song Yixi’s pants wet. But Song Yixi held her knees firmly, letting the water rub off on her own trousers without a hint of annoyance.

“Dry them off and put your socks on.”

Xu Qingyu watched her, dazed. “But your pants are wet now.”

“So they’re wet.” Song Yixi pointed at the sun. “They’ll dry in a bit.”

Xu Qingyu couldn’t help but smile widely. She suddenly remembered that since they were children, Song Yixi had always been the one to take the best care of her. The level of her devotion even surpassed that of Xu Qingyu’s own parents.

“Song Yixi.” She called her name softly.

Song Yixi kept her head down while helping her with her socks, responding with a simple “Mhm.” Xu Qingyu didn’t say anything else, just watched as she tied her shoelaces.

After tying two bows, Song Yixi asked, “What did you want to say?”

Xu Qingyu shook her head. “I just suddenly wanted to call your name.”

Song Yixi let out a “Tch.” “Is my name that easy to say?” In her memory, Xu Qingyu called her name often—first and last name together—and then would just look at her deeply without saying anything else. When she was young, she didn’t understand. She still didn’t understand now.

Xu Qingyu said, “It’s not because the name is easy to say. It’s because ‘Song Yixi’ is your name.”

Song Yixi was still confused. “Are you playing word games?”

“No.” Xu Qingyu held onto her shoulder to stand up. “What’s next on the itinerary?”

“Taking you to do some things that ‘bad kids’ do.” Song Yixi brushed off her pants and stood up with her. She put the basket back in the trunk and led Xu Qingyu to the orchard where she had once gotten lost.

The owner of the orchard was a neighbor who had watched Song Yixi grow up. Since she had been a mischievous child who frequently wrecked the trees, her mother had eventually paid the owner a sum of money to let her run wild. Song Yixi opened the old wooden gate with practiced ease and led Xu Qingyu inside.

“It’s your first time here, right? Uncle Wang grows so many kinds of fruit. It’s October now, so the pomegranates should be ripe.”

True to her word, Song Yixi found the pomegranate trees. Looking up, she saw bright red fruit hanging in dense clusters. It was indeed Xu Qingyu’s first time. She looked at the pomegranates and saw a vibrant, bursting sense of life.

Song Yixi pulled her to the side. “Stay here and be careful.”

Before Xu Qingyu could respond, Song Yixi nimbly scrambled up the tree. Xu Qingyu watched her anxiously. Song Yixi hugged the trunk with one arm and shook the branches with the other; the dense leaves rustled loudly as pomegranates began to fall one by one.

Xu Qingyu had never seen a scene like this before. It felt as if all that vitality was falling specifically for her. She looked up and saw Song Yixi beaming down at her.

“You can start picking them up! Take as many as you want; we’ll just settle it with Uncle Wang later.”

Xu Qingyu leaned over and picked one up. “That’s enough.”

“One isn’t enough!” Song Yixi jumped down and gathered a pile of them, using the front of her shirt as a pouch. “I’ll bring these back for you so you can eat them slowly.”

Xu Qingyu’s gaze slid up from the pomegranates in her arms to Song Yixi’s face.

“But right now, I want to eat something else.”