Try Saying You Don't Like It - Chapter 65

Chapter 65

“Wh-what?” He Xinglan was completely stunned.

She didn’t even know how long she stood there, staring intently at Yin Qiuman, before finally forcing a smile that was extremely stiff.

“Manman, are you… kidding me?”

“Is there something I did wrong? Tell me, I’ll change, I promise I’ll change.” He Xinglan quickly grabbed Yin Qiuman’s hand, holding it tightly, as if Yin Qiuman would disappear from her sight if she released even a little pressure.

She didn’t want to break up.

She had just started dating Yin Qiuman, she didn’t want to break up.

Yin Qiuman didn’t speak, letting He Xinglan hold her hand. She didn’t flinch even when it hurt, remaining cold as if in the Arctic, and detached as if nothing concerned her.

Yin Qiuman was not a person who openly displayed her emotions, but He Xinglan had experienced her warmth, so she was even more certain that her current coldness was real.

Her words about breaking up were true.

But she had only been dating Yin Qiuman for less than a week, and they had been happy and joyful these past few days since confirming their relationship. Why did she suddenly… get tired of it?

Or did Yin Qiuman feel it wasn’t suitable?

But if she felt it wasn’t suitable, why didn’t she tell her from the beginning?

Or did she think it was suitable at first, but realized they weren’t compatible during these few days of dating?

But was the happiness and joy of these past few days fake?

He Xinglan’s mind was a mess. She had so many questions, and none of them had an answer. She looked at Yin Qiuman, hoping she could tell her, but Yin Qiuman didn’t.

In fact, after saying the word “breakup,” Yin Qiuman only glanced at her before shaking off her hand and walking away.

He Xinglan skipped class again.

She couldn’t understand why Yin Qiuman would break up with her out of the blue. She couldn’t figure out what she had done wrong.

She was afraid that going back to the classroom would make her relentlessly press Yin Qiuman for an answer, embarrassing Yin Qiuman and making her hate her more. So, He Xinglan climbed over the only low wall at the school and walked the streets of the small county town for a long time, subconsciously finding her way back home.

Her grandmother was surprised to see He Xinglan: “Why are you home so early today?”

He Xinglan had been a good girl for a week, and her grandmother had almost forgotten her granddaughter’s true nature.

“Did school let out early?”

Since it was Friday, her grandmother asked this.

“No,” He Xinglan replied perfunctorily. She walked into the house and collapsed onto her grandfather’s rocking chair, radiating a sense of defeat.

She was listless, seemingly disinterested in everything.

Her grandmother looked at He Xinglan, smiled gently, and sat down beside her.

“Unhappy?”

“Did you quarrel with a good friend?”

“Or did you do something bad again to make someone angry?”

“It’s okay. If we do something wrong, we just apologize sincerely. They’ll surely forgive you once they feel your sincerity. Grandma’s Xingxing is the best.” Her grandmother said, stroking He Xinglan’s head. The gentle tone slowly calmed He Xinglan’s agitated heart.

He Xinglan pursed her lips, tilted her head in thought, and then asked: “Grandma, what if I apologize and she still won’t forgive me?”

“What if she is determined to cut ties with me?”

He Xinglan’s worry wasn’t baseless or nonsensical. Today’s Yin Qiuman truly left her feeling insecure. She was scared. She had lost her confidence.

“Determined to cut ties, huh…” Her grandmother hadn’t expected He Xinglan to ask this. After thinking carefully for a while, she answered her granddaughter: “If she’s determined, it means she and our Xingxing were not fated to be friends. If there’s fate but no connection, we shouldn’t force it.”

“As the saying goes, a forced melon isn’t sweet. Xingxing will definitely make better friends in the future.”

“Fated but no connection? A forced melon isn’t sweet?” He Xinglan buried her head, murmuring these two phrases.

After a long while, He Xinglan looked up at her grandmother.

“You’re right.”

“Fated but no connection. A forced melon isn’t sweet. And I, He Xinglan, won’t befriend just anyone.”

“Then… I’ll give her one more chance.” He Xinglan thought aloud: “If she takes back what she said or apologizes to me, I will forgive the hurt she caused me.”

He Xinglan quickly got up after speaking, leaving her grandmother’s house like a gust of wind.

She quickly checked the time. If she returned to school now, she could still catch the last class of the afternoon.

He Xinglan ran, dripping with sweat. Just as she reached the classroom door, someone blocked her way.

“Xiao Hua? What are you doing?” Seeing the person blocking her, He Xinglan was impatient: “Move out of the way, I need to go back to class.”

“Class?” Xiao Hua looked at He Xinglan as if she had heard the biggest joke: “What class are you going to? Didn’t you skip?”

“You behaved for a week. I, the teacher, oh, and Yin Qiuman, all thought you had turned over a new leaf and changed for the better. I didn’t expect you couldn’t keep up the pretense for more than a week.”

“Skipping class? Manman’s goodwill was completely wasted on you.”

Xiao Hua spoke bitterly, almost spitting at He Xinglan.

But soon, Xiao Hua’s resentful expression changed into a bright smile.

“But it doesn’t matter. Manman won’t care about you anymore.”

“Let me tell you some good news: Manman told the teacher to change seats. Now, she’s my deskmate again,” Xiao Hua bragged.

He Xinglan immediately looked toward her and Yin Qiuman’s former seats in the classroom.

Her textbooks and things were still on her desk, but all of Yin Qiuman’s books and homework on the adjacent desk had vanished.

It was clean, as if she had never been there.

So, Xiao Hua was telling the truth?

Yin Qiuman told the teacher to change seats?

Why did she change seats? Was it because she broke up with her?

Did she rush to cut ties with her immediately after breaking up with her?

He Xinglan stared blankly at the direction of her and Yin Qiuman’s desks, a cold smile curling on her lips.

Good, very good. As expected of the top student, such efficiency.

He Xinglan wished she could slap herself twice right there. She had just been thinking that as long as Yin Qiuman softened her stance or even just held her hand, she would forget all the unpleasantness of today. She was even finding reasons to convince herself, but she never expected that Yin Qiuman wasn’t just talking; she was already physically taking action to draw a clear line between them.

She skipped class, Yin Qiuman didn’t look for her, and she didn’t even give her a reason for the breakup before bothering to change deskmates.

Was she, He Xinglan, some kind of untouchable, contaminated trash?

Thinking this, He Xinglan felt a rush of blood surge into her chest. She turned without hesitation, didn’t enter the classroom, and left immediately.

So she wanted to distance herself from her? Fine, she’d grant her wish.

He Xinglan, running out of the school fuming, went home and immediately called her parents, her goal being two words: transfer school.

He Xinglan’s parents were stunned by their daughter’s call.

Especially with how firmly their daughter demanded a transfer over the phone, the couple exchanged glances, thinking their daughter must have been wronged at school.

Recalling how busy they had been with work and how little time they spent with their daughter, they felt guilty. That night, He Dad contacted the school and arranged for He Xinglan’s transfer.

He Xinglan hadn’t come again.

Ever since she told the teacher she wanted to change seats, Yin Qiuman couldn’t help but look at He Xinglan’s seat.

Yin Qiuman understood why He Xinglan hadn’t come that afternoon. She thought that after a weekend, He Xinglan would surely get over her anger and come back to school for class as usual.

But she didn’t come on Monday. She didn’t come on Tuesday. On Wednesday, there was still no sign of He Xinglan.

Yin Qiuman couldn’t help but go to the class teacher’s office.

“Teacher, He Xinglan… why hasn’t she been to class?” After much hesitation, Yin Qiuman finally asked.

“He Xinglan? She transferred schools. Didn’t you know?” The class teacher looked at Yin Qiuman in surprise.

She had seen Yin Qiuman and He Xinglan constantly together last week and thought they had a very good relationship. When she received the news of He Xinglan’s transfer, she even complained that Yin Qiuman hadn’t told her.

Now, it seemed… Yin Qiuman had no idea about He Xinglan’s transfer?

The class teacher saw Yin Qiuman’s face instantly turn pale, immediately sat up straight, and asked Yin Qiuman: “Did you two… quarrel?”

Yin Qiuman shook her head. It wasn’t a quarrel, it was just… a breakup.

“Oh, not a quarrel. Then she didn’t even tell you she was transferring.” Seeing Yin Qiuman shake her head, the class teacher relaxed and chose a comfortable sitting posture.

Yin Qiuman smiled bitterly. How could she have told her? She must… hate her now.

Breaking up out of nowhere, changing seats without explanation…

Yin Qiuman suddenly looked at the class teacher, her face full of anticipation: “Teacher, do you know which school He Xinglan transferred to?”

If she knew which school He Xinglan transferred to, she would find her after graduation.

He Xinglan was so easy to coax. If she sweet-talked her then, she definitely wouldn’t be angry with her anymore.

Yin Qiuman thought this and felt that the future was promising.

But the class teacher shook her head.

“I’m sorry, Student Yin Qiuman, I don’t know where Student He Xinglan transferred. I heard her father arranged the transfer overnight. I only received the transfer notice…”

So, she and He Xinglan would never see each other again?

Realizing this, Yin Qiuman’s face instantly went deathly pale, and a sharp pain twisted in her chest. She regretted it.

The class teacher thought Yin Qiuman was grieving the departure of a good friend, so she patted Yin Qiuman’s shoulder.

“It’s okay. It’s only a temporary separation. You and He Xinglan are so close; you’ll definitely meet again in the future.”

Will they really meet again?

What if He Xinglan never comes back?

Leaving the class teacher’s office, Yin Qiuman looked up at the sky and asked herself.

She got no answer for a long time.

Actually, Yin Qiuman had an answer in her heart, but she was still unwillingly holding onto some fantasies.

Fantasizing that He Xinglan hadn’t actually transferred, that she was just angry with her, using the transfer as an excuse to provoke her, secretly hiding in a corner watching her reaction, fantasizing that when He Xinglan’s anger subsided, she would come out on her own, sit back in the classroom, and continue to be her deskmate…

But Yin Qiuman held onto these fantasies until the day of the college entrance exam, and He Xinglan never appeared again.

Moreover, because He Xinglan’s relationship with the rest of the class was generally distant, Yin Qiuman received no further news about He Xinglan.

She didn’t know her phone number, nor did she know which school she had transferred to, or if she was taking the first major exam of her life today, just like her.

Coming out of the exam hall, facing her parents’ concerned eyes, Yin Qiuman felt exhausted, and confused besides.

She was confident she had done very well on the college entrance exam, but what was she going to do next after finishing it?

Yin Qiuman’s original plan was to find He Xinglan after the exam. She would go to her to reconcile, tell her she was wrong, and shouldn’t have broken up with her out of fear. She wanted to tell her that they could be together now, because after finishing the exam and going to university, they would be free.

She wouldn’t be afraid anymore.

Her plan was sound, but it had one fatal flaw: she couldn’t find He Xinglan anymore.

Yin Huaishan and Leng Ci, seeing their daughter emerge from the exam hall, were initially eager to ask about the situation, but seeing her distracted look, the couple exchanged glances. Had their daughter messed up the exam?

Thinking of this, Leng Ci quickly comforted her: “It’s okay, Manman, it’s okay even if you messed up. At worst, you can repeat a year and take the exam again tomorrow.”

“Yes, yes. Dad believes in Manman, you can definitely do it,” Yin Huaishan echoed from the side.

Yin Qiuman shook her head when she heard this: “I didn’t mess up. I’ve done all the questions on the paper.”

Is that so… Leng Ci and Yin Huaishan looked at each other. Leng Ci cautiously asked: “Then… why is Manman unhappy?”

Yin Qiuman: “Because there’s a problem I don’t know how to solve.”

Seeing the confusion on her daughter’s face, Yin Huaishan immediately patted his chest: “What problem? Tell Dad. Dad will give you some advice.”

Yin Qiuman pursed her lips and hesitated for a moment. She was afraid the question she asked would reveal a clue, but she really couldn’t help it.

“Dad, what should you do if you suddenly lose contact with your friend?”

“Suddenly lost contact? Are all means of contact gone? Don’t you have mutual friends?” Yin Huaishan asked.

Yin Qiuman nodded, then shook her head.

“Yes, I don’t.”

Yin Huaishan: “Then all you can do is wait.”

“Wait?”

Yin Huaishan nodded slightly under his daughter’s gaze: “Yes, wait.”

“Stay where you are, and wait until the day you meet again.”

“Of course, you might not wait for her, after all… what if she doesn’t come back?” Yin Huaishan looked at the disappointment on his daughter’s face and felt a little sorry, but he had to tell the truth.

He couldn’t give his daughter a baseless expectation, could he?!

Yin Qiuman looked deflated, but she quickly adjusted her emotions.

The answer Yin Huaishan gave her was one of the answers she had imagined, wasn’t it?

Half a month later, the college entrance exam results were released. Yin Qiuman’s score was more than enough to get into her dream university.

So, Yin Qiuman left the small county town. Four years later, Yin Huaishan received a call from his daughter.

“Dad, I’ll be home at ten tomorrow morning.”

Staying at home for a week, Leng Ci and Yin Huaishan fed their daughter well every day, wishing they could fatten her up in one go, looking at her slender body.

When Yin Qiuman went out to meet up with classmates, Leng Ci and Yin Huaishan sighed: “If only Manman could find a job at home…”

But Leng Ci and Yin Huaishan never expected their wish to come true?!

Yin Qiuman had been home for almost half a month. When Yin Qiuman returned from outside, she said with joy to Yin Huaishan and Leng Ci: “Dad, Mom, I found a job. It’s right here in our county town.”

“What? You’re not planning to leave?” Yin Huaishan and Leng Ci were so surprised they both stood up from the sofa.

They thought Yin Qiuman had come home for graduation season to spend time with them out of filial piety, but they didn’t expect their daughter had no intention of leaving once she returned.

Of course, Yin Huaishan and Leng Ci were happy to have their daughter stay nearby, but Yin Huaishan was still a little worried.

“Our little county town… Manman, won’t it affect your development?” It wasn’t that Yin Huaishan didn’t want his daughter to stay, but he also didn’t want the efforts of her years of hard study to be wasted.

Big cities offered more and better opportunities. That was where their daughter should be.

“But I want to stay with you.” Yin Qiuman smiled slightly, looking at the worry on her parents’ faces. She stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Yin Huaishan’s arm, and affectionately leaned her head on his shoulder.

Staying with her parents, and waiting for her.