“I’m really fine.”
Yan Yu turned her head to look at her, even managing to pull up the corners of her mouth slightly, as if smiling, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.
“It’s all in the past.”
“In the past?”
Ruo Xiaozhen looked at her incredulously.
“It’s only been three days! Three days! Yan Yu, wake up, will you? 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 yet carrying an undeniable firmness.
“Don’t say anymore.”
Ruo Xiaozhen opened her mouth, looking at Yan Yu’s face, which was so calm it was almost numb. All her words got stuck in her throat.
She suddenly felt that the Yan Yu before her seemed a bit unfamiliar.
The Yan Yu from before would definitely have cried if she saw this photo.
She would have cried her heart out, would have asked “why” over and over again, would have begged pitifully and humbly for a little bit of attention.
But the Yan Yu now was too calm.
Calm like a stagnant pond of dead water; no matter how big a stone you threw in, it wouldn’t stir up a single ripple.
That kind of calm made Ruo Xiaozhen’s heart uneasy.
She bit her lip. Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind.
A ridiculous and impulsive thought.
“Yan Yu,” she leaned in closer, lowering her voice, her eyes shining brightly, “How about… we make her jealous?”
Yan Yu was slightly taken aback and looked at her.
“Make her jealous?”
“Yeah!”
Ruo Xiaozhen nodded vigorously, her words speeding up.
“She posts on her Friendship Circle to show off her love, we can post too! We… we can pretend to be together too! Just take a photo together, post it on our Friendship 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 red, 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 yet resolute.
“Why?”
Ruo Xiaozhen was unwilling to give up.
“She treated you like that, what’s wrong with us making her a little jealous? Could it be you still…”
“That’s not it.”
Yan Yu cut her off, lowering her eyes to stare at the cup of bubble 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 died out.
Replacing it was a sense of powerlessness, frustration, and also a kind of… indescribable suffocation.
She suddenly felt that Yan Yu was so stubborn.
Stubbornly guarding that already shattered relationship, stubbornly refusing to take a single step forward, stubbornly… blocking all her concern and attempts to get close outside the door.
She had thought that moving out, sharing an apartment, taking care of her, accompanying her, would allow her to gradually get closer, to enter her heart.
But now she realized, Yan Yu’s heart was like an impenetrable fortress.
People 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 walked away completely.
Ruo Xiaozhen’s fingers slowly tightened.
Her nails dug deep into her palms, bringing a sharp, clear pain.
Looking at Yan Yu’s calm profile, the vague thought in her heart grew clearer and clearer.
It seemed, to get Yan Yu, perhaps… she needed to use some other methods.
She couldn’t rush.
She couldn’t push her.
She had to take it slow, bit by bit, seep into her life, become her habit, become the only person she could rely on.
When she was completely desperate, completely at the end of her rope…
Naturally, she would grab the only hand stretched out to her.
Ruo Xiaozhen lowered her eyes, hiding the fleeting dark glint within them.
When she looked up again, that carefree smile was back on her face.
“Alright, alright, no jealousy then.”
She reached out and ruffled Yan Yu’s hair, her movements intimate and natural.
“Anyway, we’ll ignore her from now on! We’ll live our lives, let her live hers with her White Moonlight!”
Yan Yu’s hair was messed up by her ruffling. She tilted her head slightly to avoid it but didn’t say anything.
Only a trace of weariness flickered through her eyes, which had been calm and unruffled.
[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 stay) and send a message to Su Qinghan.]
The cold, mechanical voice sounded abruptly in her mind without warning.
The fingers holding the bubble tea cup trembled almost imperceptibly.
Here we go again.
She put down the 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 log 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 some?”
“Qinghan, I think I have a fever again…”
“Qinghan…”
Line after line, dense and numerous, all filled with her own humbleness and pleas.
Su Qinghan’s replies were few and far between, all brief and cold.
“Busy.”
“Not needed.”
“In a Student Union meeting.”
“Don’t bother me.”
Yan Yu looked at those records, her heart utterly numb.
No anger, no sadness, not even a ripple of emotion.
She just felt tired.
Acting was really tiring.
Playing the role of a substitute so infatuated she had no self-respect was even more exhausting.
But what could she do?
If she didn’t act, she would die.
Only by continuing to act was there hope of surviving.
She took a deep breath, her fingertips tapping on the cold screen.
“Qinghan, I saw the photo you posted on your Friendship Circle. Miss Jiang is very beautiful. You two look good together.”
“I’m sorry. Before, I was too immature, always clinging to you. Don’t worry, I won’t disturb you anymore in the future.”
“It’s just… the weather has been changing a lot lately. Please 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 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, humble, pitiful. But this was what “Yan Yu” was supposed to 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 filled with stillness.
Her fingertip fell.
The message was sent successfully.
Almost simultaneously—
[Ding!]
[Plot “Friendship Circle” role-playing completed.]
[Restoration Degree Evaluation: 82 points (Message content aligns with character setting, but emotional rendering is slightly lacking.)]
[Current overall role-playing progress: 4%]
[Reward issued: None.]
Yan Yu tugged at the corner of her mouth, wanting to laugh, but couldn’t manage it.