Chapter 24

Yue Hao blinked, lost. “Huh? Did what on purpose? Bro, you’re so strange today.”
Chen Huo met Yue Hao’s innocent gaze and could only let him go in silence.
No one could know what was actually going on in his head. Besides, this was all just an accident, nothing to do with Yue Hao himself.
Resigned, Chen Huo swallowed his grievances with a sullen pout.
Yue Hao launched into his usual chatterbox mode: “Bro, the Yun heiress is back and everyone from the other classes is losing their minds.”
Chen Huo didn’t even bother to pretend to care. The Yun family, this so-called heiress, none of that had anything to do with him right now. There was only one thing on his mind.
“What if I just straight-up confess to her?” Yue Hao suddenly said.
“No way!” Chen Huo blurted, and immediately realized how weird he sounded. Luckily, Yue Hao was too dense to notice and just kept going: “I just think with feelings, you have to be honest if you know what you want. Or else, if you miss your shot, you’ll probably regret it forever.”
Fortunately, Yue Hao had said similar things before, so Chen Huo had a counter ready. “But you’re not even close with her right now, man. She’d definitely turn you down.”
He gave himself a mental fist bump, perfect response. If it were up to him, he’d give up too!
Sure enough, just as expected from lifelong bros, Yue Hao nodded earnestly. “You’re totally right, bro.”
Chen Huo nodded, satisfied.
“But I still want to confess anyway.” Yue Hao said, voice steady.
“……”
Panic mode: activate.
“Aren’t you, aren’t you afraid of getting rejected?” Chen Huo really stressed the word, like it weighed on his heart, too.
“If she actually said yes… Wow, I can’t even imagine how happy I would be.” Yue Hao drifted into daydream land, giggling to himself.
Chen Huo watched him and instantly felt annoyed. This idiot was seriously deluding himself.
“But even if she says no… I think I’d survive.” Yue Hao’s tone softened with a hint of gloom.
Chen Huo was honestly confused by all that. He blurted, “But don’t people confess because they want to actually be together?”
“Of course. But you can’t force someone to like you back. Just because I have feelings for her doesn’t mean she owes me anything. Plus, she’s amazing, there’s no way I’m her only admirer. Rejection is just part of the game.” Yue Hao shrugged, as if it were obvious.
Chen Huo, who’d never considered it from that perspective, was left dumbfounded by Yue Hao’s answer.
Was that really true? Was it possible to like someone even if you couldn’t be with them? Even if she chose someone else…
Before he could spiral further, Yue Hao startled him back. “...So bro, can you help me deliver this love letter to her?”
“...Me?”
Chen Huo pointed at himself, incredulous.
“Yeah, bro. I’m worried she’ll just shut me down to my face, but if you hand it over for me, at least there’s a chance she might think about it and change her mind later. Bro, come on, you’re my wise, heroic brother! We grew up together, right? We’re basically two halves of a pair! Just help me out, okay? Look, didn’t I buy you soy milk this morning?” Yue Hao massaged his shoulders flatteringly.
The more Chen Huo listened, the more bitter he felt inside. He glanced at the untouched soy milk he’d stashed in his desk, who would’ve thought that one measly soy milk would sell him down the river?
Yue Hao’s words sounded like a curse, the kind that wormed into your mind and wouldn’t go away. Chen Huo’s refusal kept getting stuck in his throat until finally, he managed to squeeze out a single syllable: “...Fine.”
Chen Huo swore he’d never spoken that quietly in his life. His voice was so tiny and mosquito-like that he found himself annoying.
And even with his mumbled tone, Yue Hao still heard it.
“Bro, you’re really my one and only brother!” Yue Hao gazed at Chen Huo like he was his personal superhero.
Chen Huo was dead inside. He didn’t want to say a word.
Honestly, he was worried he might just sew Yue Hao’s mouth shut so his friend could never talk again.
Yun Zhuoqing came back from the restroom to find someone standing beside her seat.
She didn’t pay it any mind, the scene had already played out enough times today, and didn’t bother to see who it was.
But as she walked by, the person called out to her.
“Yun Zhuoqing.” The voice was stiff, almost forced.
Hm? Was someone actually looking for her?
Yun Zhuoqing looked up and saw Feng Mingxuan’s totally awkward face.
She remembered this girl, last week, she’d started a rumor about her and Wen Shuran, and then ended up being completely shut down by Song Hanyue. If she remembered correctly, they’d never really interacted otherwise. So why stop her today?
Thinking that, Yun Zhuoqing just sat down as usual.
Feng Mingxuan hadn’t expected to be ignored so thoroughly, not a hint of hesitation, not even a glance, and watched Yun Zhuoqing take her seat, feeling more and more humiliated. The idea of apologizing to her made her skin crawl.
Part of her wanted to bail, but then she caught Yun Nianyi’s anxious gaze from across the room.
No way. She’d already promised Little Yi she’d make peace with Yun Zhuoqing. At the very least, she couldn’t pick a fight with Yun Zhuoqing while Nianyi was watching.
Feng Mingxuan hadn’t come here of her own accord. After retelling the whole story to Yun Nianyi, Nianyi didn’t really blame her, “everyone thought so, it’s not just you,” Nianyi had said.
No lie, Feng Mingxuan agreed with that. She genuinely thought she hadn’t done anything wrong.
Still, Nianyi had asked about Yun Zhuoqing a lot that day, out of polite curiosity for her new desk mate. It was pretty clear to Feng Mingxuan that Nianyi held no grudge against Yun Zhuoqing. With her naturally sweet personality, the two might become friends someday, and then, well, things could get awkward. Feng Mingxuan didn’t really think Nianyi would ever ditch her over Yun Zhuoqing, but why create more issues? Yun Zhuoqing herself wasn’t important, but Yun Nianyi absolutely was. Being friends with the Yun heiress was a golden ticket, and only an idiot would risk it for someone like Yun Zhuoqing.
So she’d told Yun Nianyi she knew she’d crossed the line and would apologize to Yun Zhuoqing soon. Sure enough, Yun Nianyi’s mood brightened considerably, and Feng Mingxuan felt vindicated.
But imagining a scenario and living through one are totally different things.
Especially when, deep down, Feng Mingxuan still looked down on Yun Zhuoqing, a “special-admission” student. She’d contributed to Mingxuan’s embarrassment that day, too. The more she thought about it, the more her lips felt glued shut, totally uncooperative.
She stood there, stiff as a post, until people nearby started shooting her strange looks. Mingxuan realized that if she waited any longer, it would only get more embarrassing, so she gritted her teeth and whispered, “Yun Zhuoqing, I, I’m sorry.”
Yun Nianyi finally saw her spit it out and quietly directed her gaze to Yun Zhuoqing, only to be taken aback.
Yun Zhuoqing hadn’t responded at all. Mingxuan felt like a bug on a hot skillet, and finally glanced at Yun Zhuoqing to see what was going on, only to realize Yun Zhuoqing had headphones in, totally absorbed in her English listening assignment.
Mingxuan’s preamble had taken so long that Zhuoqing thought she was just calling her name for fun, so she’d moved on to her listening practice.
Mingxuan’s face turned from red to white and back again. It felt like Yun Zhuoqing was deliberately humiliating her. Her self-control was about to snap; she wanted to just throw down and see who would go out in flames.
Worst case, she could just convince Yun Nianyi to stay far away from Yun Zhuoqing in the future. She was certain she’d always matter more to Nianyi than Yun Zhuoqing ever could!
Under the desk, Nianyi furrowed her brow. Right before Mingxuan erupted, she jumped in to help. She tapped Yun Zhuoqing, and when Zhuoqing looked up with confusion, Nianyi gave her a soft smile and a discreet nod toward Mingxuan.
Zhuoqing didn’t turn directly; instead, her gaze lingered on Nianyi’s face for a few seconds before shifting finally to Mingxuan.
Nianyi looked down, the faint upward curve of her lips barely tilting downward.
What was she looking for? Why look at her so suddenly? Could Yun Zhuoqing have figured something out?
That suspicion made Nianyi restless. Her confidence started to waver.
[Host, please remember to keep up appearances. Don’t let the protagonist see through you.]
Nianyi looked down again and realized, at some point, her right hand had dug red marks into the back of her left.
Only then did she realize she didn’t actually feel as untouchable toward Yun Zhuoqing as she’d imagined. Ever since Zhuoqing had appeared, the string in her heart had been pulled painfully taut; she’d never really let down her guard, not for a moment. Every tiny gesture from Yun Zhuoqing ran on endless replay in her mind.
She was squeezing her hands so hard that red marks bloomed across her skin, how could she possibly be as calm as she wanted to appear?
Yun Nianyi stared at the marks on her hand, the very symbols of her fear, her eyes darkening with something almost dangerous.
Feng Mingxuan couldn’t be bothered to figure out what Yun Nianyi was thinking. Now that Yun Zhuoqing was finally looking at her, really looking at her, the anger she’d felt moments ago dissolved instantly, replaced by anxiety.
“I, I want to apologize. I shouldn’t have misunderstood you that day. I’m sorry.” Feng Mingxuan tried to force a smile, and failed completely.
Now Yun Zhuoqing finally understood why she was acting so out of character, standing in front of her desk like this.
“It’s fine. I get where you’re coming from.” Yun Zhuoqing’s tone was serene, untouched.
Feng Mingxuan felt a chill run down her spine. “You, you get what, exactly?” Did Zhuoqing know she’d been jealous because Yun Nianyi was coming back, and she was scared to lose her spot as Nianyi’s closest friend? Or that she’d tried to use Song Hanyue to embarrass Zhuoqing out of pure spite?
Yun Zhuoqing didn’t notice the panic flickering in Mingxuan’s eyes, she just nodded like nothing was wrong. “Yeah, I know. You CP shippers are all like this.”
“…CP shippers?” Mingxuan blinked. Was this a new way of calling someone an idiot, or had she fallen behind on internet insults?
“Jiang Nuan told me, CP fans always get all riled up when their ‘ship’ talks to anyone else, even if it’s just a normal conversation, they overthink everything. I totally get it.” Zhuoqing looked like the very image of understanding. She’d only learned the term from Jiang Nuan a few days ago, but already she was an expert at throwing it around.
“I forgive you,” Yun Zhuoqing said breezily, as if Mingxuan’s attempts to sabotage her hadn’t left a scratch, or rather, as if she’d never even noticed. In Zhuoqing’s eyes, all she saw was a poor CP fan, watching Wen Shuran talking to her and then getting scolded by Song Hanyue. If anything, Mingxuan seemed the more pitiful one.
Thinking of this, Yun Zhuoqing offered her a word of encouragement: “Hang in there, don’t give up!”
Confident that she alone understood the real relationship between Wen Shuran and Song Hanyue, Zhuoqing decided to give Mingxuan, a shattered CP fan, a little hope.