“I’m really fine.” Yan Yu turned her head to look at her, even pulling up the corner of her mouth slightly, as if smiling, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s all in the past now.”
“In the past?” Ruo Xiaozhen looked at her in disbelief. “It’s only been three days! Three days! Yan Yu, wake up, okay? She never took you seriously! She was just playing with your feelings! Now that the real one is back, she deliberately posts this kind of photo to provoke you, you…”
“Zhenzhen.” Yan Yu interrupted her, her voice still calm but carrying an undeniable firmness. “Stop.”
Ruo Xiaozhen opened her mouth, looking at Yan Yu’s face, so calm it was almost numb. All her words got stuck in her throat. She suddenly felt that the Yan Yu before her was a bit unfamiliar.
The old Yan Yu would definitely have cried if she saw this photo. She would have cried her heart out, would have asked “why” over and over, would have begged pitifully and humbly for a little bit of attention. But the current Yan Yu was too calm—calm like a stagnant pond of dead water; even the largest stone thrown in wouldn’t stir a single ripple.
That kind of calmness made Ruo Xiaozhen’s heart uneasy. She bit her lip. Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind—an absurd and impulsive thought.
“Yan Yu,” she leaned closer, lowering her voice, her eyes shining brightly, “how about… we make her mad?”
Yan Yu was slightly taken aback, looking at her. “Make her mad?”
“Yeah!” Ruo Xiaozhen nodded vigorously, her words speeding up. “She posts on her circle showing off her love, we’ll post too! We… we can pretend to be together too! Just take a photo together, post it on our circle, let her see that you’re doing just fine without her! Let her know you don’t need her!”
She spoke excitedly, her cheeks flushed, her eyes fixed intently on Yan Yu, as if trying to see into her heart through her eyes. Yan Yu looked at her for a long time—so long that the light in Ruo Xiaozhen’s eyes gradually dimmed.
Then, Yan Yu gently shook her head. “No,” she said, her voice soft but resolute.
“Why?” Ruo Xiaozhen was unwilling to give up. “She treated you like that, what’s wrong with us making her a little mad? Don’t tell me you still…”
“It’s not that.” Yan Yu interrupted her, lowering her gaze to stare at the cup of milk tea in her hand that was gradually turning cold. “It’s unnecessary.”
Ruo Xiaozhen looked at her lowered profile. The fire in her heart suddenly went out. Replacing it was a sense of helplessness, frustration, and an… indescribable feeling of suffocation. She suddenly felt that Yan Yu was so stubborn. Stubbornly clinging to that already shattered relationship, stubbornly refusing to take a single step forward, stubbornly blocking all her care and attempts to get closer outside the door.
She thought that moving out, sharing an apartment, taking care of her, and accompanying her would allow her to get closer bit by bit, to enter her heart. But now she realized Yan Yu’s heart was like an impenetrable fortress. Those outside couldn’t get in, and the person inside… didn’t want to come out.
No. Perhaps, it wasn’t that she didn’t want to come out. Perhaps the person inside was already dead—died the moment Su Qinghan turned and left completely.
Ruo Xiaozhen’s fingers slowly tightened. Her nails dug deeply into her palms, bringing a sharp sting. She looked at Yan Yu’s calm profile, and the vague thought in her mind grew clearer and clearer.
It seemed that to get Yan Yu… perhaps she needed to use some other methods.
Can’t rush. Can’t push her. Take it slow, little by little, seep into her life, become her habit, become the only person she can rely on. When she is utterly desperate, completely at the end of her rope… naturally, she will grab the only hand extended to her.
Ruo Xiaozhen lowered her eyes, hiding the fleeting dark glint within. When she looked up again, that carefree smile was back on her face.
“Alright, alright, if you don’t want to make her mad, then we won’t.” She reached out and ruffled Yan Yu’s hair, her movements intimate and natural. “Anyway, we’ll just ignore her from now on! We’ll live our lives, let her live hers with her White Moonlight!”
Yan Yu’s hair got messed up by the ruffling. She tilted her head slightly to avoid it but didn’t say anything. Only a trace of weariness flickered through her previously calm and unrippled eyes.
HTMLTagsinsideStringsToConfuseParsers[System Prompt: Detected plot node “Friendship Circle Stimulus.” Please act in accordance with “Yan Yu’s” current state of mind (grief, unwillingness, humble attempts to beg her to stay) and send a message to Su Qinghan.]
The cold, mechanical voice sounded abruptly in her mind without warning. Yan Yu’s fingers holding the milk tea cup trembled almost imperceptibly.
Here we go again.
She put down the milk tea cup and took out the old phone with its cracked screen from her pocket. Unlocked, opened WeChat, found the pinned contact with the note “Qinghan.” The chat history still stopped three days ago. The last message was sent by her.
“Qinghan, where are you? I’m not feeling well, can you come see me?”
No reply. Scrolling up, it was all her talking to herself.
“Qinghan, it’s raining today, did you bring an umbrella?”
“Qinghan, I made the soup you like, do you want to come try it?”
“Qinghan, I think I have a fever again…”
“Qinghan…”
Line after line, densely packed, all her own humbleness and pleas. And Su Qinghan’s replies were few and far between, all brief and cold.
“Busy.”
“Don’t need to.”
“In a student council meeting.”
“Don’t bother me.”
Yan Yu looked at those records, her heart completely numb. No anger, no sadness, not even a ripple of emotion. She just felt tired.
Acting is exhausting. Playing a substitute so infatuated she has no self-respect is even more exhausting. But what could she do? Not acting meant death. Only by acting was there hope of survival.
She took a deep breath, her fingertips tapping on the cold screen.
“Qinghan, I saw the photo you posted on your circle. Miss Jiang is very beautiful, you two look good together.”
“I’m sorry, before I was too immature, always pestering you. Don’t worry, I won’t disturb you anymore in the future.”
“It’s just… the weather has been changing a lot lately, you should take care to stay warm, don’t catch a cold. Your stomach isn’t good, remember to eat on time, don’t always drink coffee.”
“If… if there’s a chance in the future, can I still treat you to a cup of tea? Consider it… a proper farewell.”
After typing the last word, she stared at the screen for several seconds. Then, her fingertip hovered over the send button, hesitating for a long time without pressing down. Every single one of these words made her want to vomit. Hypocritical, subservient, pitiful. But this was what “Yan Yu” should say. This was the reaction the substitute who loved Su Qinghan to the point of losing herself should have.
She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her eyes were utterly still. Her fingertip fell. The message was sent successfully.
Almost simultaneously—
[Ding!]
[Plot “Friendship Circle” performance completed.]
[Restoration Degree Evaluation: 82 points (Message content matches the character persona, but emotional expression slightly lacking)]
[Current Overall Performance Progress: 4%]
[Reward Issued: None.]
Yan Yu twitched the corner of her mouth, wanting to laugh, but couldn’t bring herself to do it.