The Premeditated Seductress Childhood Friend - Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Idiot

Clutching the pomegranates, Song Yixi asked foolishly, “What do you want to eat? I’ll take you to pick it.”

Xu Qingyu took two steps forward and grasped Song Yixi’s wrist. “Open it. I want a taste.”

“Mhm.”

Song Yixi didn’t overthink it. With a quick crack of her hands, the crystal-clear red fruit was revealed. Xu Qingyu picked out a single aril. Song Yixi watched, expecting her to eat it, but the pomegranate was fed directly into Song Yixi’s mouth instead.

Song Yixi froze for a second, instinctively opening her mouth to bite down. Xu Qingyu’s index finger rested against her teeth, preventing her from biting. Song Yixi looked up at her, dazed.

Xu Qingyu braced herself against Song Yixi’s shoulder and stood on her tiptoes. Taking advantage of Song Yixi’s momentary lapse, Xu Qingyu kissed her.

The moment their lips touched, Xu Qingyu hooked the pomegranate aril with her tongue. Song Yixi’s breath hitched, and she began to fight for it. The fruit bumped against their teeth, the juice bursting and flooding their mouths.

Song Yixi finally understood what Xu Qingyu meant by “wanting to eat something else.”

When they finally pulled apart reluctantly, Song Yixi couldn’t even bring herself to spit out the seed. Having tasted enough, Xu Qingyu tapped Song Yixi’s shoulder lightly with her finger and turned to leave without a trace of lingering attachment.

Song Yixi stared at her back, her breathing ragged, unable to recover for a long time. She thought to herself that she was likely done for. Xu Qingyu only had to crooked a finger, and she couldn’t refuse. To be precise, as far as Song Yixi was concerned, Xu Qingyu could do whatever she wanted with her.

And yet, she didn’t even have the desire to change the status quo. She was actually ecstatic about the intimacy between them. Taking two deep breaths, Song Yixi gathered the pomegranates and chased after her.

Xu Qingyu was already in the car. Song Yixi opened the trunk, put the fruit inside, and brushed the dust off her clothes. She was wearing black, so the dirt wasn’t obvious, but fearing she might soil Xu Qingyu’s car, she cleaned herself thoroughly before getting in.

Not daring to keep Xu Qingyu out too long, Song Yixi drove home and told her to go upstairs and rest while she went to find Uncle Wang to pay for the pomegranates.

Uncle Wang hadn’t seen her in a while. Seeing that she only had seven or eight pomegranates, he laughed and told her to keep them for free.

“That won’t do, Uncle Wang. Please take this.” Song Yixi left the cash and turned to run.

Uncle Wang quickly called his son over and handed Song Yixi a whole basket of fruit: apples, pears, grapes, hawthorns, and lemons—all kinds of seasonal fruits. “Take these back for your parents to try, too.”

“Alright, thank you, Uncle Wang!” Song Yixi tossed the pomegranates into the basket, picked it up, and smiled at Uncle Wang’s son. “Thanks, Wang Hang.”

Wang Hang’s face flushed. Only after Song Yixi had run off did he whisper, “She’s so pretty now that she’s thinned out.”

Uncle Wang said, “I told you, girls change as they grow up. Little Song was always a beauty in the making. Regret it now? Too late.”

Wang Hang huffed. Before Song Yixi lost weight, he used to get into fights with her—and not just once. Every single time, it was because of Xu Qingyu.

Although Song Yixi had a short fuse, she was usually the type to use her words rather than her fists. But the moment something involved Xu Qingyu, she would resort to violence immediately. Most people in the neighborhood knew about Xu Qingyu’s condition; the adults were sympathetic, but the kids were unwilling to play with her, afraid of getting into trouble.

Wang Hang was the same. He and Song Yixi often caused trouble in the orchard together. Whenever Song Yixi picked fruit, she wanted to bring some to Xu Qingyu. Wang Hang would try to stop her, fearing that if something happened to Xu Qingyu after eating them, he’d be blamed.

Song Yixi insisted Xu Qingyu would be fine and told him not to curse her. Wang Hang, stubborn, retorted that everyone knew Xu Qingyu was sickly and wouldn’t live many more years. Then, the two of them would start brawling.

Looking back, Wang Hang felt those words were quite thoughtless. Fortunately, Song Yixi didn’t hold grudges; if she won, she just made him apologize, and once he said sorry, it was over. Just like in high school, when Wang Hang looked down on Song Yixi for being fat and pretended not to know her at school, she didn’t hold it against him.

He thought it probably wasn’t too late; an apology should fix it. So he took out his phone and sent her a message: [I’m sorry about high school. Are you still willing to hang out with me?]

Song Yixi, who had just received the message, was in the kitchen cutting fruit. She glanced at the text but wasn’t in a hurry to reply. She arranged the fruit on a plate first and brought it up to Xu Qingyu.

When she got upstairs, she was about to call Xu Qingyu to eat when she saw her frowning deeply, her hand scratching at the skin on her shoulder. Song Yixi saw that her neck was already flushed red. She quickly set the plate down and grabbed Xu Qingyu’s hands to stop her.

“If you keep scratching, you’ll break the skin.”

Xu Qingyu looked up, her lip pouting slightly in a pout. “It itches.”

Song Yixi couldn’t handle her acting spoiled. “I shouldn’t have taken you to the orchard. Go take a shower; I’ll go to your house to get your medicine.” Xu Qingyu had sensitive skin; the slightest irritation would cause an allergic reaction of redness and itching. This was also why she refused to use second-hand furniture.

“Mhm.” Xu Qingyu endured the itch and stood up. “The anti-itch ointment is in my desk drawer. Look for it.” She handed the house key to Song Yixi and went to shower.

Song Yixi tossed her phone on the table, took the key, and hurried next door. The nanny greeted her warmly. “Little Song! What brings you here?”

“I’m here for medicine.” Without time for small talk, Song Yixi dashed upstairs as if she were in her own home.

Entering Xu Qingyu’s room, Song Yixi opened the desk drawer and began rummaging. The desk was large with many drawers, and since she didn’t know exactly where the ointment was, it took some effort. She pulled them open one by one; everything was perfectly organized.

Song Yixi didn’t make a mess, nor did she touch things randomly—until a photograph caught her eye.

It was a photo taken when she graduated middle school. She hadn’t lost weight yet; she was chubby, and due to puberty, her face was covered in acne. She looked quite foolish. Song Yixi herself felt embarrassed looking at it and couldn’t understand why Xu Qingyu would keep it.

She picked up the photo and flipped it over. On the back were two lines of writing. The first line: Very cute. The second line: Idiot.

A wave of warmth flooded Song Yixi’s heart. Inexplicably, she remembered Xu Qingyu saying: “Someone who only likes you because you lost weight and became beautiful doesn’t truly like you.”

Comparing this to Wang Hang’s apology on her phone, Song Yixi suddenly understood. She had known Wang Hang for years and knew his character; he wasn’t a bad person, but his disdain for her had been real. Now that he wanted to hang out, she didn’t even need to think to know it was because she had become attractive.

Only Xu Qingyu would call her “cute” at her ugliest.

Song Yixi’s hand trembled as she held the photo. Thinking about the years they had spent at odds, she felt she had missed out on so much. Because others disliked her, she had assumed Xu Qingyu disliked her too.

Xu Qingyu calling her an “idiot” was entirely justified. She tucked the photo away, her eyes reddening as she grumbled, “Lying through her teeth. Where is the ‘cute’ in this?”