Addicted to You - Chapter 15

Zhou Yiheng said he would take her out, so she followed him without even asking where they were going.

Looking through the car window, she saw the seaside. In her memory, the sea should be vast, with sea winds blowing across its flat surface, waves hitting the embankment, the sky thick with overcast clouds, standing there imbued with a melancholic flavor.

After getting out of the car, Xu Yu followed behind him.

The beach was crowded, the Golden Week effect in full swing, with numerous vendors hawking their wares.

She observed every person passing by; most were couples.

Zhou Yiheng walked up beside her and asked with a smile, “What are you looking at?”

She withdrew her gaze, shook her head, and then asked him why he had brought her to the beach.

The boy seemed to have everything planned. “You’ll see in a bit.”

Xu Yu chose to trust him and continued following him.

Not far away, a crowd had gathered around what looked like a makeshift stage. The sound of speakers drifted towards her ears.

“Looks like it’s starting soon,” he said.

“What is?”

“A band performance.” Before she could react, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a run.

Xu Yu ran with him, not looking at the path, but at the section of her arm where he held her. People coming towards them seeing two reckless runners quickly made way.

The recklessness of youth, forging their own path.

He pulled her through the crowd, yet carved a path for her, placing her right at the front.

Zhou Yiheng stood behind her. Because of the crush, their bodies occasionally pressed together.

Sunlight, noise, heat, sweat.
All mingled together in an instant.

She felt her ears burning again.

…

…

Several trendily dressed, wildly coiffed individuals stood on the makeshift stage. The one in the middle had a half-man bun and wore an electric guitar slung across his body.

“Thanks for your support, everyone. Next, we’ll play an original song for you: ‘In A Moment’.”

Music rose amidst the applause. It was Xu Yu’s first time watching a live band performance, and she focused intently on the figures on stage.

The rhythm was bright and lively, the lyrics beautiful and rhyming. She’d heard similar songs played on the school radio before, but this felt different. Maybe it was the atmosphere.

Or maybe it was because there was someone standing behind her.

When the four-minute song ended and the band prepared for the next one, she heard the voice behind her ask, “Do you want to keep watching?”

After a second’s thought, she nodded.

Then, the two of them watched the entire performance, nearly two hours long.

Zhou Yiheng usually couldn’t even be bothered with the twenty-minute big break at school, yet now he’d stood with her in the crowd for two hours. He was somewhat impressed by this girl; she hadn’t even shifted her stance once in two hours.

As the crowd began to disperse when it ended, Zhou Yiheng thought they could finally leave. But the girl didn’t move. He looked at her suspiciously.

Xu Yu looked embarrassed. “Zhou Yiheng, my legs… I think they’ve gone numb.”

Looking at her, a slight smile tugged at Zhou Yiheng’s lips. “Thought you were tough. Turns out you get numb legs too.”

Xu Yu tried to see if she could walk. Just as she lifted one leg, she saw the boy crouch down in front of her, offering his back. Amidst the lingering noise, she still heard him say, “Get on.”

She had never been this close to a boy before.

“No need, I can probably manage.”

Zhou Yiheng ignored her protest, repeating firmly, “Get on.”

Her fingers clenched white, her palms sweaty and sticky. Xu Yu felt her heartbeat intensify.

The crouched figure urged, “Hurry up.”

As if steeling herself, she scrambled onto his back.

The sudden movement caused the person in front to sway slightly before steadying himself.

He secured her legs. Her pants rode up a little, revealing a glimpse of pale, smooth ankle.

Afraid of making him uncomfortable by pressing against him, Xu Yu held herself rigidly straight.

Suddenly, the person in front called her name.

“Xu Yu.”

She reacted strongly, answering with a high-pitched, “Yeah?”

“You’re making me uncomfortable like this,” he said.

Xu Yu bit her lip. “Then… what should I do?”

“Lean on my back, and cross your arms over my chest.”

His words sent an electric current jolting through her whole body, leaving half of her feeling numb.

“Want me to show you?” he offered.

“No!” she answered immediately.

After several seconds of internal struggle, she finally did as he said.

The girl leaned her whole body forward against him, her arms crossed loosely over his chest.

The person in front stiffened slightly. The moment she pressed against him, he could feel the soft press of her chest. Because she usually dressed very conservatively, he’d almost forgotten that, like everyone else, she was developing. His throat felt dry and scratchy. Zhou Yiheng swallowed.

The sea breeze was strong, yet Xu Yu still felt uncomfortably warm.

Walking like this attracted even more stares. Xu Yu tried not to look anywhere else and began studying him instead.

Her eyes traveled from the top of his head down to his neck. His jet-black hair was tousled by the wind. Old folks said people with a cowlick were blessed. She thought he must be very blessed. Her gaze moved to his ears – nicely shaped contours, but probably twice the size of hers, and unusually red today. When she reached his neck, nothing particularly stood out, except for a very small black mole on the nape. He probably never even knew it was there.

She finished her inspection, and they still hadn’t arrived.

Everyone around them was laughing, only the two of them remained silent.

She wanted to break the silence. “Why did you suddenly bring me to see a band performance?”

“Because I like it.”

Her heart skipped a beat.

“Because I like the atmosphere of a band,” Zhou Yiheng explained. “Freedom, laughter, abandon. They stand on stage singing what they love, immersed in the music, forgetting about life’s money, interests, and all the dirty stuff. And the people below get swept up too, chasing that feeling along with them.”

Listening to his words, Xu Yu became thoughtful. “Even though the world is chaotic and noisy,” she blurted out, “at least there’s music and words.”

Zhou Yiheng’s eyebrows lifted, then he broke into a smile.

Xu Yu asked what he was laughing at. He said he thought she was right.

The two of them spent the whole day together. Xu Yu occasionally saw messages pop up on his phone, but he only glanced at them disinterestedly.

At dusk, Xu Yu walked on the inside of the street, Zhou Yiheng on the outside.

There were no words between them, yet the atmosphere spoke volumes.

“I’ll come find you again tomorrow,” he stated, not asking for her opinion this time, but declaring his intent.

Xu Yu happened to step on a small stone, a slight pain shooting through her foot, making her frown slightly. “Going to see another band performance?”

“Do you want to?”

The image of him carrying her because her legs went numb flashed in her mind. Not wanting a repeat, she shook her head.

“Then… is there anywhere you want to go?” he asked.

She didn’t know and shook her head again.

“Then…”

“Zhou Yiheng,” she interrupted, “don’t come find me tomorrow.”

The surrounding temperature seemed to drop. Xu Yu could feel the shift in the mood of the person beside her. She quickly added, “I mean, you could go hang out with your friends. I don’t really have anywhere I want to go, and honestly, my plan for this holiday was just to do homework and read.”

Even though the plan sounded perfectly normal, hearing that it didn’t include him plunged Zhou Yiheng’s mood. “Didn’t you even think about me?” he complained.

Suddenly, Xu Yu’s eyes widened, astonished he would say such a thing. Why would she think about him?

Not knowing how to respond, she flushed crimson in an instant.

Dark clouds instantly chased away the clear sky. The air was thick, humid, and sticky – rain was surely coming again.

A mother and son walked past. Xu Yu heard the mother grumble, “So annoying, this rain just won’t stop.”

She looked at Zhou Yiheng and found the boy’s eyes fixed steadily on her, without a hint of evasion.

In the distance, the dark clouds grew thicker and denser – a storm was brewing.

“It’s going to rain,” she said, a trace of anxiety on her face. “You should head back.”

Raindrops began to fall. Dry spots on the ground darkened like ink splashes, only to fade back to dusty yellow almost instantly as the water evaporated.

A drop hit the tip of her nose. As she lifted her hand to wipe it away, she heard him say, “Xu Yu, can you really not see it?”

The rain intensified, hammering down. She felt several drops strike right against her heart.

She wasn’t unfamiliar with boys confessing to girls. In her first year of high school, a boy in her class liked a pretty girl in their grade. To win her over, he constantly went to her class with snacks, waited to walk her home after school, and took her out during the holidays. They even came to buy things once when Xu Yu was helping her grandmother at the stall. Later, she saw them together.

She already knew the answer in her heart, but deliberately asked anyway, “See what?”

“I like you.”

Thunder cracked. Xu Yu’s entire heart seemed to flash with the lightning.

The rain poured down in torrents, but somehow, at that moment, an umbrella appeared above her head, shielding her from the downpour.

The four words “I like you” were so simple, yet right now, she couldn’t quite grasp them.

“I’m sorr…” she started.

“Forget it,” he cut her off, his voice tight. “It’s been a long day. I’m heading back.”

With that, he passed her the umbrella. Looking at the spot where his hand had gripped hers, she could still feel the lingering warmth.

The person before her was gone. She wanted to run and shelter him, but saw he was already soaked from head to toe.

Emerging from the shower, steam wreathed the boy’s body.

Lin Qi asked where he’d gone so early in the morning. Beside him, Yang Xinyue, who was cutting fruit, paused, almost nicking her finger.

“None of your business,” Zhou Yiheng replied curtly, not stopping as he toweled his hair and walked to the single sofa to sit down.

“Went to find your deskmate?” Lin Qi pressed.

“…”

His silence was confirmation enough. Lin Qi chuckled. “Look at you coming in all dejected. Don’t tell me you got rejected?”

Already irritated and barely warmed the sofa cushion, Zhou Yiheng stood up and headed towards his room.

Yang Xinyue, who had just finished cutting the fruit, asked if he wasn’t going to eat any. He mumbled something about being tired as a reply.

Lin Qi took the plate she had been about to offer and popped a piece of fruit into his mouth.

“Is Ah Heng really interested in Xu Yu?” Yang Xinyue asked, staring blankly at a spot.

The person chewing answered vaguely, “Xu Yu? Who?” Then he remembered. “You mean his deskmate? Not sure. But he seems somewhat invested. Then again, wasn’t it always like this when he dated before? Starts off acting super attentive, gets bored, then breaks up.”

…

…

Xu Yu followed her holiday plan strictly every day. Although his name wasn’t written anywhere in that plan, she still spent over ten minutes every day thinking about him.

To stop herself from thinking about him, she kept herself busy with many tasks, but found it useless.

Finally, she surrendered.

Fine, think about him then. It’s not like anyone will know.