After settling Yan Yu down, Su Qinghan fled. The brief physical contact from earlier had thrown her heartbeat into complete disarray. Su Qinghan had never experienced this feeling before.
Back when she was with Yan Yu, her heart was at peace.
Later, when Jiang Muyun returned home, she chose to end her relationship with Yan Yu and go back to Jiang Muyun. During that time, her mood hadn’t experienced such fluctuations either.
‘She had thought she was that kind of person—calm and restrained, not someone who could be unsettled by anyone.’
But now.
‘She realized she was mistaken.’
‘Why? Why was it only Yan Yu who could elicit such a reaction from her?’
‘This accelerated heartbeat—it felt like the feeling of… love, which she had once looked down upon and deemed childish?!’
‘Impossible, it definitely isn’t that. It must be because I walked too fast, that’s why my heart is racing!’
‘She absolutely refused to believe she was the kind of person who could be trapped by romantic feelings.’
Su Qinghan shook her head violently, telling herself this. After borrowing the repair tools, she came back and simply fixed the wheelchair.
On the way back, Su Qinghan noticed a kiosk on the right side of the corridor. A small kiosk, exquisitely crafted. Above the window hung a handwritten sign. Inside the freezer, neatly arranged, were animal-shaped ice creams—ocean-themed: dolphins, whales, starfish, clownfish, life-like.
Su Qinghan walked over and bought two. One was clownfish-shaped, the other dolphin-shaped. The light blue cream was adorned with two chocolate-drop eyes.
Then she turned back to look for Yan Yu, who was sitting in her seat. “Um, would you like one?”
Yan Yu did not refuse her kindness.
So she handed the dolphin-shaped one to Yan Yu. As she passed it over, her fingers brushed Yan Yu’s fingers. Just a light touch, separated in an instant. Like two strings vibrating at the same frequency.
Su Qinghan’s fingers retracted slightly.
“Your body… is it okay for you to eat this?” she asked, pretending to be nonchalant.
Yan Yu thought for a moment and nodded. “The doctor said I can have a little.”
“That’s good.” Su Qinghan lowered her head, her thoughts in disarray. “…Also, your hands are cold. Wear more clothes next time.”
After saying this, she rarely showed a hint of shyness.
When she had handed over the ice cream, their hands had lightly touched. Just a fraction of a second of contact, but Su Qinghan clearly felt the temperature of Yan Yu’s fingertips. That coolness seemed to spread all the way up from her fingertips, through her blood vessels, reaching her heart, causing that already irregularly beating heart to become even more flustered.
She didn’t know if Yan Yu had noticed her strangeness. She only knew that she didn’t dare look up at Yan Yu.
Yan Yu sat in her wheelchair, holding the dolphin-shaped ice cream, taking small bites. Her gaze fell on Su Qinghan’s profile—that profile pretending to be calm while eating the ice cream.
‘At that moment, a very subtle feeling suddenly welled up in her heart.’
‘Very light, very faint, like bubbles rising from the bottom of her heart, pausing on the surface for an instant, then silently popping.’
‘The woman who had once looked down on Yan Yu, who had once wanted to discard her like an old piece of clothing—under her meticulous scheming, had finally begun to develop a different kind of feeling toward her.’
‘Three years of every silent companionship, every hesitation to speak, every grievance she had swallowed alone in the dead of night. The love that was originally promised had become a transaction in Su Qinghan’s eyes.’
‘Those unseen efforts, those unreciprocated expectations, were like ships sinking into the deep sea, lying quietly at the pitch-black bottom.’
‘She would not forget what Su Qinghan had done to her. Would not forget those icy cold stares, would not forget those perfunctory tones. Would not forget lying alone in a hospital bed, the fluid in the IV tube dripping drop by drop, while her phone screen never lit up.’
‘She was going to put on a show. But she was not a real substitute, let alone a devoted supporting female character. To her, Su Qinghan was nothing more than a tool to farm money and skills—and nothing else.’
Yan Yu lowered her gaze, then raised it again, her eyes once again becoming soft and warm. Since Su Qinghan had already changed toward her, it was time for her to make the next move.
Not just blindly pretending to be devoted and flattering Su Qinghan. She was going to pull all the characters into her script, making everyone a part of advancing the role-playing progress.
The day at the aquarium ended quickly.
At the exit of the exhibition area was a souvenir stall. The wooden table was covered with dark blue velvet cloth, displaying various trinkets: postcards, refrigerator magnets, plush toys, keychains… prices ranging from a dozen yuan to over a hundred.
Yan Yu’s wheelchair suddenly stopped as it passed that stall.
Su Qinghan also stopped, looking down at Yan Yu, about to ask what was wrong. She noticed that Yan Yu’s gaze was fixed on a set of keychains.
It was a seashell-shaped keychain. The shell was milky white with delicate patterns on the surface. The metal fastener was rose gold. In the center of the shell was set a small round gemstone, a very pale blue, clear and translucent.
Yan Yu looked at that keychain, and the light in her eyes changed.
“What’s wrong?” Su Qinghan asked.
“Qinghan,” Yan Yu didn’t answer directly, but turned her head to look at her. “Over the years, you’ve given me many gifts, but you’ve rarely accepted my return gifts…”
Su Qinghan was stunned for a moment, then lightly shrugged, a nonchalant smile curling at the corner of her mouth. “I don’t need your gift. Don’t waste the money.”
Su Qinghan really didn’t need it. She was the eldest daughter of the Su family—what things hadn’t she seen, used, or possessed? A ninety-yuan keychain was indeed nothing in her eyes.
But Yan Yu was insistent. Her voice wasn’t loud, but her tone carried an unyielding determination. “But I want to give it to you.”
Then she wheeled herself to the stall and stopped in front of that seashell keychain.
“I’ll take this one,” she said to the stall owner.
“Eighty yuan.” The stall owner was a young girl with twin ponytails and a sweet smile.
Yan Yu paid. The metal fastener jingled in her palm, and the blue gem on the shell sparkled under the light. She turned her head, her gaze landing on Su Qinghan.
Su Qinghan stood still, hands in her coat pockets, her expression somewhat troubled. She opened her mouth, as if about to say something to refuse. But Yan Yu didn’t give her a chance to speak.
Yan Yu wheeled herself in front of Su Qinghan, looked up, and raised the keychain with both hands to Su Qinghan’s eyes. “Qinghan, this is for you.”
Su Qinghan lowered her head, looking at the keychain lying in that slender, fair hand. The shell’s patterns were clearly visible under the light, and the blue sapphire sat quietly embedded within.
Su Qinghan hesitated.
Yan Yu blinked, her eyelashes fluttering lightly. “Is it not okay?”
That tone, that expression, the slight tilt of her head—a pitiful look that said, “If you reject me, I’ll be very sad.”
“No… it’s not that I’m saying no.” The corner of Su Qinghan’s mouth twitched slightly.
Yan Yu’s face lit up with a smile. She picked up the keychain from her palm, leaned forward slightly, and clipped it onto the metal ring of Su Qinghan’s shoulder bag.
“Qinghan, I understand everything,” she said softly while clipping it. “Although I’ve long known that there would be others by your side… but… I still hope you… can understand my feelings… So it’s settled.”
Then she withdrew her hand, looked up, and met Su Qinghan’s eyes. She couldn’t speak. Su Qinghan stood there as if nailed to the spot. It wasn’t because she had nothing to say, but because she had too much to say—so much that it got stuck in her throat, and she couldn’t squeeze out a single word.
That keychain was now attached to her shoulder bag. The milky white shell and the dark brown leather went surprisingly well together. The light blue gemstone glimmered quietly beside the metal ring of her bag.
“…Thank you.” Her voice was very small.
“You’re welcome,” Yan Yu smiled, without directly replying. “Well… how about I treat you to dinner tonight?”
Su Qinghan said, “Mm, since we’re out, having a meal is nothing. I know there’s a famous Western restaurant nearby.” Su Qinghan unconsciously pulled her hand out of her pocket and gently touched the seashell, feeling a strange sensation in her heart.
“Alright,” Yan Yu smiled. “Thank you for being willing to eat with me, Qinghan.”
The two visited a few more exhibition halls inside the aquarium, took some photos, and then left the hall. By now the sun was setting, and it was time for dinner. Su Qinghan pushed her to the reserved restaurant.
It was a seaside Western restaurant with a white exterior. Huge floor-to-ceiling windows faced the aquarium and the seaside park. The interior decor was minimalist, clearly not a cheap place.
Yan Yu had thought that having dinner with Su Qinghan would be a good opportunity to continue advancing their relationship.
But just then, Su Qinghan’s phone rang.
“Ring, ring—” The ringtone was especially jarring in the twilight, breaking the quiet and delicate atmosphere between the two.
Su Qinghan frowned, pulled out her phone from her pocket, and glanced at the screen. Yan Yu didn’t deliberately look at her phone screen, but her peripheral vision still caught the name displayed for the incoming call.
Her expression changed in that instant.
Three words: Jiang Muyun.
Yan Yu lowered her eyelids, pretending not to have seen that name.
The ringing continued. Once, again, like a small hammer slowly tapping on Su Qinghan’s heart. She held the phone, her knuckles turning slightly pale.
“Qinghan?” Yan Yu’s voice came from beside her.
Su Qinghan snapped back to reality and looked up. Yan Yu was watching her, her gaze without blame, without questioning, not even any special emotion. She just looked at her quietly, as if waiting for her to make a decision.
“What’s wrong?” Yan Yu asked. “Not going to answer?”
Su Qinghan opened her mouth, wanting to say “It’s nothing,” but those three words got stuck in her throat and wouldn’t come out. Clearly it wasn’t nothing. Her expression, her movements, the way her hand holding the phone trembled slightly—every detail screamed “Something’s wrong.”
The ringing continued. People passed by, their gazes sweeping over inadvertently, then moving away.
Su Qinghan felt as if she were standing on center stage, a spotlight on her, her usually calm face now filled with embarrassment. She didn’t know what to do.
Answer, or not?
If she answered, Jiang Muyun would definitely ask where she was and who she was with. Given that woman’s personality, these two questions were almost inevitable. And Su Qinghan couldn’t tell the truth—how could she say it? “I’m at the aquarium with Yan Yu”? Once those words left her mouth, the nature of things would completely change. It would no longer be “just two friends hanging out,” but irrefutable “betrayal.” At least Jiang Muyun would think so.
But what if she didn’t answer?
Su Qinghan’s peripheral vision landed on Yan Yu. That girl sat in her wheelchair, her hands resting quietly on her knees. She didn’t urge or press; she was just waiting, waiting for Su Qinghan to make a choice.
Su Qinghan knew very well that no matter what she chose, she would hurt one of them. She had always prided herself on being calm, had always thought she could control everything. But at this moment, she realized she couldn’t control anything. She couldn’t even control her own heart. That heart had been restless from the first second she saw Yan Yu. And this call from Jiang Muyun seemed to spread all the chaos out in the sunlight, leaving her unable to deceive herself any longer.
“Qinghan,” Yan Yu spoke again. “You said… you would have dinner with me tonight, right?”