Chapter 10: Encounter |
Chapter 10: Encounter
"Beep!"
Before Su Qing could finish her sentence, the call was disconnected.
Su Qing was momentarily stunned, then angry. Zhou Yuwen dared to hang up on her? But then she remembered, oh right! Zhou Yuwen was only 19 years old now and didn’t know her yet!
Ugh! Why did she start talking to him like that out of nowhere?
Feeling foolish, Su Qing slapped her forehead. She needed to remember that she was now ten years older than Zhou Yuwen and should take things slowly.
"Qingqing?"
As Su Qing was feeling annoyed, Zheng Yanyan walked over with a curious look and a cup of milk tea. "What happened? Did Zhou Yuwen not answer?"
"No, he answered," Su Qing replied, looking surprisingly happy.
"Um, no," Zheng Yanyan grabbed Su Qing's arm and whispered, "These two guys are boring, and you don’t look happy. Why don't we head back to the dorm?"
"Huh?" Su Qing was surprised. In her memory, Zheng Yanyan and Chang Hao were good friends throughout college. It couldn’t end because of her; she still needed this connection to get to know Zhou Yuwen better.
"Well, I think the thinner guy is okay, and he’s from your hometown," Su Qing suggested, trying to help Chang Hao.
"But he talks so annoyingly. I prefer more mature guys," Zheng Yanyan said, blinking her eyes.
Su Qing felt a bit smug, thinking that the most mature guy would be her boyfriend.
"Come on, we’re already here. It’s boring to go back to the dorm. Let’s play a bit more!" Su Qing was doing her best for Chang Hao.
The four of them chatted for a while longer in the cafeteria. Su Qing tried to matchmake Chang Hao and Zheng Yanyan, but Zheng Yanyan showed little interest. With her long legs crossed, she sipped her milk tea, giving perfunctory responses to Chang Hao’s attempts at conversation.
Around six o'clock, Li Qiang, who had been largely ignored, finally spoke up, reminding them they had a class meeting soon. "Chang Hao, aren't we going back to the dorm?"
"Geez, what’s the rush? We’ll head back soon. Hey, Yanyan, don’t you have a class meeting?" Chang Hao, who had been calling her Yanyan during online chats, now said it casually.
Zheng Yanyan didn’t mind and replied, "Our class meeting is tomorrow."
"Oh, that’s nice."
"Alright then, since you have a meeting, let’s wrap this up. Come on, we’ll walk you back to your dorm." Su Qing suggested.
"Wait, did I hear that right?" Zheng Yanyan was baffled. She had never heard of girls walking boys back to their dorm.
But thinking it over, everyone understood. They just didn’t get why Su Qing was so fixated on Zhou Yuwen. Were they a couple having a fight? Usually, the guy should apologize first, right?
Chang Hao felt a pang of jealousy. If he had a girlfriend who cared for him like this, he wouldn’t even mind not having a Beijing residency.
Everyone understood Su Qing's intentions, and they played along, especially Zheng Yanyan, who was now very curious about the guy Su Qing was so obsessed with.
The group walked back to the boys' dorm.
As luck would have it, Zhou Yuwen had just returned to his dorm, and they met downstairs. Zhou Yuwen was looking down, fiddling with his new iPhone 5s when he heard a familiar voice call out his name.
Zhou Yuwen looked up, and seeing Su Qing after ten years was a shock. In those ten years, he had occasionally met Su Qing, so he hadn’t noticed how much she had changed. Seeing her as she was ten years ago, he realized how beautiful she was, and why he had fallen for her in the first place.
Su Qing approached Zhou Yuwen with a sweet smile, almost bewitching him, but he quickly steadied himself.
"Who are you?"
Nearly recognizing her, Zhou Yuwen's question made Su Qing frown slightly before she understood.
Chang Hao and the others were even more confused.
"Let me introduce myself. I’m Su Qing from Xu Zhou No. 1 High School. You were in Class 18, and I was in Class 2. We might have met, but I guess you don’t remember me." Su Qing smiled.
"Oh, were you secretly in love with me?" Zhou Yuwen tried to stir the waters.
"???" The others were even more bewildered.
"Yes! Zhou Yuwen! Let’s start over!" Su Qing gave Zhou Yuwen a bright smile and offered her hand. She was determined to start anew with him.
Looking at the beautiful and cheerful Su Qing, Zhou Yuwen knew this was just a facade. She appeared pure and elegant but was actually lazy and messy behind the scenes.
Ha! Want to trick me into marriage again to wash your underwear? Dream on!
"Sure, we can get to know each other, but I should let you know, I already like someone."
"You like someone?" Su Qing's smile faded, her voice becoming dangerous.
"Who do you like?" Su Qing couldn’t act anymore and turned to interrogation mode.
"Uh, actually, I don’t know her name. I just saw her today at school. She was wearing jeans, a black T-shirt, and a baseball cap. Really, I think she’s beautiful! It was love at first sight! Hey, if you find her, let me know," Zhou Yuwen laughed.
As Zhou Yuwen mentioned love at first sight, Su Qing’s eyebrows furrowed, and the intense anger that arose made even the reborn Zhou Yuwen feel a bit scared.
"You have someone you like?" Su Qing's voice was low but frightening.
"..." For the sake of his future, Zhou Yuwen nodded.
"Okay, I understand."
To his surprise, Su Qing didn’t argue further. She just turned and walked away.
"Hey! Qingqing!"
The whole situation left the bystanders confused. It was clear that Zhou Yuwen had rejected Su Qing, and she was very angry. Zheng Yanyan ran after her.
Before leaving, Zheng Yanyan called out to Zhou Yuwen, "Hi, handsome, see you again!"
"Huh? It’s you. Want to exchange contacts?" Zhou Yuwen quickly took out his phone.
Su Qing, who was about to leave, felt a pang in her heart.
"Damn it! Old Zhou, you’ve gone too far! Do you know what she means to me?!" Chang Hao panicked.
Zheng Yanyan just laughed. She noticed Zhou Yuwen had the latest iPhone 5s, which she had begged her parents for all summer but was refused.
"No, maybe next time," Zheng Yanyan said, winking playfully at Zhou Yuwen before pulling Su Qing away.