“Sorry, I shouldn’t have messaged you at a time like this.”
“It’s fine, it was my own carelessness. I had just finished showering and hadn’t even tidied myself up, but I couldn’t resist calling you right away.”
I didn’t want Gu Fan to think I had caught a chill because he failed to take care of me. If it was my own foolishness, then I should bear the consequences.
Besides, Gu Fan’s words sounded more like polite courtesy than anything serious. I absolutely couldn’t take them at face value. Better to just go along with it—this way I could even make it seem like I cared so much about his messages that I replied before my hair had even dried.
Crouched by the heater, I realized too late that while I’d been focusing on finding the right words to chat with Gu Fan, the cold had already seeped quietly into my bones.
Even now, wrapped tightly and with doors and windows sealed, I couldn’t stop shivering.
Haaah~ Was this me suffering the bitter fruit of my own actions?
Smiling bitterly in silence, I hunched my shoulders, curling up into a little cat-ball. My tail trembled as it pressed weakly against my waist, my cat ears drooped limply, and the still-damp hair weighed heavily with droplets, making my head feel a little dizzy.
“Zhi Nian, should I hang up for now? If we keep talking, you might actually catch a cold.”
“Mm? N-no need for that. I’m already wiping my hair with tissues, it’ll be dry soon. Let’s just keep chatting slowly.”
“…Alright then. Just make sure you wipe properly, don’t get distracted.”
What a joke. We’d only just started talking—how could I let it end so quickly? I wasn’t about to be defeated by a little cold like this.
Grumbling, I shuffled over to the nightstand, grabbed a handful of tissues from the box, and slapped them straight onto my hair. The tissues soaked through instantly.
Tch, what a hassle. This is exactly where the downside of being a woman really shows. If only there were some kind of tool that could dry hair instantly, I wouldn’t have to fuss over it every single day. It’s such a waste of time—and right now, it’s getting in the way of my chat with Gu Fan.
“Gu Fan, how about we skip class tomorrow?”
I tossed out the question as if casually, staring at the phone lying by my bed, watching the seconds tick by… one, two…
“Better not. Did you forget something important happening next week?”
“Something… important? What is it?”
I tilted my head, puzzled, after racking my brains for a while.
In my eyes, there are very few things that count as important. Eating, studying, working… all those are just the bland routines of life.
The only time I need to pour in my full attention is every moment I get to be with Gu Fan. Only then do I rack my brain to come up with ways to please him—and then perfectly turn those thoughts into reality.
“Next week’s final exams. They determine class placement, you know.”
“…Huh? R-really?”
“Zhīnián, you didn’t know? The homeroom teacher should have mentioned it in class.”
The homeroom teacher’s class… oh, right, Chinese. But every time it’s Chinese class, I end up face-down on my desk, fast asleep.
After all, every night I toss and turn, imagining all kinds of dreamy, fantastical things that might happen between me and Gu Fan.
And even when I do fall asleep, I keep dreaming about him endlessly. Naturally, my sleep quality is pretty terrible.
“Mm… I don’t know, maybe I just ignored it.”
How could I possibly tell Gu Fan that I sleep through class?
In front of Gu Fan, my image has always been that of a well-behaved and obedient catgirl. Sleeping in class is something only bad kids do, and bad kids are looked down upon—sometimes even punished.
Even if Gu Fan is gentle and refined, like a noble gentleman, he still cares about how others behave around him.
If he were to find out how lazy I usually am in school, he would definitely look down on me in his heart.
As for skipping class… that doesn’t count! That’s just something we discussed together, an occasional way to relieve study stress.
Missing one or two classes isn’t a big deal. As long as I put in some effort, I can make up for it.
Compared to the energy it takes to revise, being able to spend so much time with Gu Fan on a school day is clearly more valuable.
Clenching my fist, I squeezed the wad of wet tissues still in my palm that I hadn’t thrown into the trash. Water seeped out, dripping between my toes.
I stared at them quietly, and for some reason, I started smiling. My resolve suddenly felt a lot firmer…
“So, are we still skipping class?”
“Of course.”
If it were me back when I had just crossed over, being pressed like this by Gu Fan, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to resist giving in and following his lead.
But now… I won’t so easily give up on my own decisions. The bond between me and Gu Fan is only growing stronger—
The deepening bond between me and Gu Fan has also become the confidence that lets me be this stubborn.
Although Gu Fan’s health has recovered, and no signs of illness have reappeared, his lifespan of three years has stretched into at least sixty or seventy years of time. You could say there’s plenty of time to squander.
But after going back and forth in my mind, I still don’t want to give up any chance I can grasp in the present.
I just want to interact with Gu Fan every single moment.
Even if I can’t talk to him, just watching him from afar is enough to make me very, very satisfied…
Or so I thought.
When I actually imagined myself in that situation, I realized I wasn’t nearly as satisfied as I believed.
All I felt was a rush of pleasure blowing through my heart like the wind—and then emptiness followed.
It seems I really do want Gu Fan to always stay by my side, endlessly providing me with this intoxicating pleasure.
“Do you feel confident about next week’s exam?”
I knew exactly what Gu Fan wanted to say.
He was trying to hint, “Shouldn’t you set aside this time to study? What if you fail the test?”
Hmph… If I were just an ordinary first-year high school girl, maybe I’d worry about my grades a little.
I’d probably want to make sure I ended up in the best class with Gu Fan, instead of risking something big for something small.
But I’m different.
I’ve already gone through the trials of three years of high school—even if it was only during senior year that I actually studied seriously.
Although I’ve forgotten quite a bit, as long as I deliberately review some materials these next few days, I should be able to handle the first-year lessons just fine.
“This is all Gu Fan’s fault… If he hadn’t asked me out to go New Year’s shopping, I would’ve studied seriously.
But since Gu Fan sent the invitation a whole day in advance, I’ll definitely be too restless tomorrow, and won’t be able to focus on studying.”
I weighed my words carefully. In the end, I gave up on boasting to Gu Fan about how good my grades and foundation were, and instead said something else.
It came out with a bit of a spoiled tone—would Gu Fan accept it?
“It’s my fault, my fault. I should’ve told you after school tomorrow.”
Gu Fan apologized with a trace of guilt in his voice. My heart skipped a beat, like it had fallen out of rhythm. Not wanting him to misunderstand, I quickly replied—
“Eh?! No, no… I was just joking, don’t take it seriously, okay? Please…”
I was really scared… This hard-earned ambiguous relationship we’d been building up—what if it got destroyed by my careless, unpolished words?
“Hmph, I was just teasing you too. Don’t worry so much.”
Ugh, Gu Fan is so bad… teasing me at a time like this… he’s really going to drive me crazy!