Try Saying You Don't Like It - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The triennial class reunion was once again held at Ruolai KTV.

Yin Qiuman arrived a few minutes late, having finished dinner at home. As a result, she was immediately cornered by a few familiar female classmates from high school who insisted she participate in a game of Truth or Dare.

Yin Qiuman wasn’t good at this game, so, without suspense, she lost.

“Truth or Dare? Manman, hurry up and choose one!” Xiao Hua, the class monitor, was the most enthusiastic. Her eyes were fixed on Yin Qiuman with excitement. In the past, Yin Qiuman would attend every reunion but would always sit quietly for a while before quietly slipping away, making it difficult for her old classmates to find a chance to really interact with her. Today, they were determined to let Yin Qiuman feel their “resentment.”

Xiao Hua’s words were met with unanimous agreement, and everyone chimed in.

“Right, right, hurry up and choose!”

“Manman, don’t worry, whether you choose Truth or Dare, we will be… very kind.”

That last remark clearly didn’t match the word “kind,” and Yin Qiuman understood, feeling helpless. Having failed to sneak away, there was no way she could make an easy exit today.

“I choose… Dare, I guess.” After some thought, Yin Qiuman decided.

“Dare? Okay, then… call the first person on your phone’s contact list and tell them ‘I love you.'” Xiao Hua, acting as class monitor, decisively chose for everyone.

This was the kind of drama everyone loved to see, and Xiao Hua’s suggestion was unanimously approved.

“Yes, yes, I love this kind of drama.”

“Who is the first person in Manman’s contact list? Male or female?”

“I’m curious about that too. We’ve known Yin Qiuman for so many years and have never heard of her dating.”

“Maybe she has dated, but kept it secret from us old classmates?!”

The discussion made everyone even more curious about the person in Yin Qiuman’s list.

“But it could also be her parents,” a classmate raised a hand to argue.

“Get lost!”

Everyone was cheerfully discussing, failing to notice Yin Qiuman’s hand slowly tightening around her phone.

The first number in her contact list… belonged to He Xinglan.

A string of numbers that might not have existed for seven years.

“Can I change it? I’m afraid I’ll spoil the fun,” Yin Qiuman lowered her head, looked at the numbers that were familiar to her very core, then looked up at everyone and asked.

“That’s a phone number of a… good friend from seven years ago, but we haven’t been in touch for seven years, so it might… already be disconnected,” Yin Qiuman explained.

“Really?” Everyone exchanged glances. “Should we switch it then?”

“Switch what? I think she should call this one,” Xiao Hua disagreed with the suggestion to change the Dare, becoming even more eager. “Manman said the phone might be disconnected. If it is, then we let Manman off easy. But if it’s not disconnected… hehe, then we’ll have a story to hear!”

The gossip in Xiao Hua’s eyes made Yin Qiuman feel helpless, but she also felt a slight urge to proceed. After all, when He Xinglan left her side back then, she said she would discard everything related to her, let alone this phone number she had obtained just for Yin Qiuman.

But what if?

Yin Qiuman couldn’t quite figure out what she was hoping for.

Under everyone’s urging, she eventually dialed the number.

The phone was on speaker, and Yin Qiuman’s heart hammered in her chest. She simultaneously hoped to hear the automated voice saying the number was disconnected and longed for that familiar “Hello.”

She waited for a while, maybe a few seconds.

A few brief “beep, beep, beep” sounds rang out in the KTV room.

The call went through—it wasn’t a dead line—but no one answered.

Yin Qiuman was disappointed first, then relieved.

“Don’t blame me now,” Yin Qiuman’s face returned to a smile as she looked at everyone.

The moment Yin Qiuman finished speaking, the phone in her hand rang.

Xiao Hua looked over even before Yin Qiuman did and exclaimed, “It’s the same number!”

Yin Qiuman was stunned. She called back? Yin Qiuman couldn’t quite believe it. She looked down, her hand gripping the phone tightly. It really… called back?!

“Answer it, answer it quickly!” Yin Qiuman’s momentary distraction made Xiao Hua smell the scent of groundbreaking gossip, so she urgently urged her.

Clutching her phone, Yin Qiuman flatly refused Xiao Hua, “Class monitor, my Dare is over.” Then, quickly muttering an apology, Yin Qiuman grabbed her phone and swiftly left.

The moment she was out of the KTV room, Yin Qiuman didn’t dare delay and pressed the answer button. She opened her mouth, but her voice seemed stuck in her throat.

It wasn’t until the familiar woman’s voice, hidden deep in her heart, came through the line.

“Hello~”

“Yin Qiuman?”

The woman’s voice on the phone was slightly different from the one in her memory. The voice in her memory was more immature, conveying a sense of youth and vitality. Now, the voice was like it had weathered trials, sounding calmer and more mature.

So, things actually had changed?!

Yin Qiuman felt a little disappointed, though she couldn’t pinpoint why.

“Yin Qiuman? Is that really you?”

The voice called out again, and only then did Yin Qiuman reply.

“Mhm.”

“It really is you.” The calm, mature voice held a trace of laughter, as if returning to the past. “Long time no see. Do you have time… to come out for a chat?”

“Come out for a chat?” Yin Qiuman was taken aback.

“I’m back in Haicheng. Came back to see my grandparents, though… they probably don’t miss me much.”

Only then did Yin Qiuman hear the noisy background voices in He Xinglan’s phone—it sounded like people playing mahjong together. He Xinglan didn’t play mahjong; she was always uninterested in such amusements, so naturally, no one was paying attention to her.

Her thoughts drifted back to when they first crossed paths. That time was also during a holiday, and Yin Qiuman had met He Xinglan at a roller skating rink. Yin Qiuman had gone there specifically to play; she had stayed up late for several nights to finish her school work and rewarded herself with two hours of fun. He Xinglan, on the other hand, was there to pass the time out of boredom.

Although they were classmates, they rarely interacted. They would nod upon seeing each other as a greeting, and then go their separate ways. It was just that the academic champion, who was invincible in studies, turned out to be completely inept at skating. She fell countless times and stubbornly made no progress. Yin Qiuman was determined not to lose, so the more she failed, the harder she tried, intent on learning it, but in the end, she still didn’t master it, even with He Xinglan stepping in to teach her.

Yin Qiuman was lost in her memories until He Xinglan’s voice came through: “Shall we meet?”

“Meet,” Yin Qiuman blurted out without hesitation.

Eighteen-year-old He Xinglan was etched into Yin Qiuman’s mind, but what would twenty-five-year-old He Xinglan look like?

Carrying this curiosity, Yin Qiuman agreed to meet He Xinglan at a coffee shop near the KTV.

Yin Qiuman arrived first and chose a window seat. She held a warm cup of coffee, occasionally looking out the window, and occasionally glancing toward the entrance.

“Welcome!”

The waiter’s voice came from the coffee shop entrance. Yin Qiuman quickly put down her coffee, took out her phone, and pretended to be busy. In truth, Yin Qiuman herself didn’t know what she was pretending to do on her phone.

“Oh, is the academic champion so busy?”

“No,” Yin Qiuman quickly put away her phone and looked up.

At first sight, Yin Qiuman was momentarily lost in a daze.

The woman had a neat, high ponytail, a brown short down jacket, a light-colored high-neck wool sweater underneath, and black Martin boots under form-fitting blue jeans… This style of dressing was also loved by eighteen-year-old He Xinglan.

Seeing Yin Qiuman staring at her intently, He Xinglan smiled and naturally sat down opposite Yin Qiuman.

“It feels familiar, doesn’t it?” He Xinglan said with a hint of helplessness. “I mixed up my luggage with someone else’s at the airport when I came back and didn’t have any clothes to wear. Fortunately, my grandparents kept some of my old clothes.”

Yin Qiuman withdrew her gaze, murmured assent, took a sip of her coffee, and said, “It still suits you very well.”

“It’s alright. It definitely suited me in the past, but people grow up, and styles change,” He Xinglan finished speaking and waved to the waiter. “One hot Americano, please, thank you.”

“And you…” He Xinglan looked at Yin Qiuman after ordering.

Yin Qiuman’s heart instantly jumped, her hands gripping the coffee cup tightly, like a criminal awaiting sentencing.

“Have you changed?” He Xinglan asked, her gaze fixed on Yin Qiuman, seemingly mixed with other intentions.

Yin Qiuman pursed her lips and avoided answering He Xinglan’s question, instead asking one of her own: “That phone number… have you been using it all this time?”

The moment Yin Qiuman finished, she heard He Xinglan’s soft laugh.

“You’re still using it too, aren’t you?”

“I…” Yin Qiuman wanted to explain, but she suddenly realized that no matter how she explained now, He Xinglan probably wouldn’t believe it. Would He Xinglan think she still harbored feelings for her? But was a relationship that lasted only a week worth seven years of remembrance? Yin Qiuman thought such a thing would sound absurd even to her own ears.

“I just… don’t like changing numbers. Many people know this number of mine,” Yin Qiuman found a suitable excuse for herself.

“What a coincidence, me too,” He Xinglan nodded in understanding, then shamelessly used Yin Qiuman’s excuse. “But I only have you as a contact in this number.”

Yin Qiuman could almost hear herself swallowing, followed by her heartbeat speeding up with every thump. What did He Xinglan mean? Only one contact, a phone number she said she would discard but kept all along—He Xinglan’s single sentence instantly tangled Yin Qiuman’s thoughts into a knot.

But Yin Qiuman didn’t have the courage to ask for clarification.

Evidently, He Xinglan had no intention of needing an answer either.

The waiter placed the hot Americano He Xinglan ordered in front of her. He Xinglan didn’t drink it but instead placed the hot Americano in front of Yin Qiuman, swapping it with the coffee in Yin Qiuman’s hand.

“If you like it, you like it; if you don’t like it, you don’t like it. Academic champion, can’t we be more direct?”

“And it’s only me who wouldn’t mind drinking after you,” He Xinglan said, picking up the coffee Yin Qiuman had been drinking and taking a few sips very naturally.

It was just like in high school when she would always take the water cup placed beside Yin Qiuman’s books, drink all the bitter black coffee inside, and replace it with sweet cappuccino. And when Yin Qiuman looked over, she would act like she had done a good deed, saying she didn’t mind drinking after her.

He Xinglan left after drinking just one cup of coffee. Her grandparents, though enjoying mahjong, hadn’t forgotten their granddaughter. They called He Xinglan when they noticed she was out of the house.

Yin Qiuman walked home, pondering all the way, still unable to figure out what He Xinglan meant.

Yin Qiuman had one flaw: she was stubborn and prone to overthinking. This trait helped her maintain excellent grades but also caused her to stay awake all night, staring at her phone until dawn. The familiar number was on the screen, but she couldn’t press it a single time.

Ding-dong.

A new message arrived on her phone.

“Manman, guess who I ran into?” It was Xiao Hua, her tone betraying surprise.

Before Yin Qiuman could ask, Xiao Hua sent the answer.

“He Xinglan! It’s He Xinglan!”