Addicted to You - Chapter 2

After a week, Xu Yu and Song Yuan had become more familiar with each other. On Friday after school, Song Yuan insisted on dragging her to a trendy street near the school. In the end, Xu Yu gave in.

Most of the people there were couples—guys dressed fashionably and girls looking even more stylish. Wearing their school uniforms made them stand out and feel a bit out of place. Xu Yu got lost in thought and didn’t even notice when someone beside her was talking.

Song Yuan noticed and asked what was wrong.

Xu Yu shook her head. “Nothing.”

All the food stalls were really popular, with long lines outside every shop.

“There’s an ice cream shop! Let’s get some!” Before Xu Yu could answer, Song Yuan had already pulled her into the line.

In front of them stood a couple. The girl whispered something into the boy’s ear, and they both started laughing.

Xu Yu heard the laugh and looked up, locking eyes with the boy. He made an unfriendly hand gesture at her. She understood what it meant but didn’t care. She looked away.

Suddenly, someone bumped into her shoulder.

She stumbled forward a little. Before she could turn around, a cheerful male voice apologized, “Sorry!”

She turned—and it was him—the person she was never supposed to touch. His name was Zhou Yiheng.

Song Yuan saw someone bump into Xu Yu and immediately stood up for her. “Hey, Zhou Yiheng, that apology was pretty weak!”

Before the boy could reply, a girl clinging to his arm spoke first, “What more do you want? Ah Heng already said sorry.”

Xu Yu looked at the girl speaking. She didn’t recognize her—she wasn’t from their class.

Song Yuan argued back, “She didn’t say it was okay. You think that’s it?”

Girls never like to lose an argument. In the end, someone always has to take the hit.

The girl looked at Xu Yu. “Hey, are you okay?”

Xu Yu snapped out of her thoughts. “I’m fine,” she said quietly.

Zhou Yiheng stared at her. He knew his metal accessory had hit her, and she had blocked it with her own shoulder. He could still feel the pain from it—she looked so thin, how could it not hurt?

“You sure you’re okay?” he asked, frowning.

Xu Yu held back the pain and nodded.

Well, if she said she was fine, he wouldn’t push it. He wasn’t the type to make a big deal out of nothing.

Song Yuan looked at her with concern. “You’re really okay?”

This time, Xu Yu finally answered out loud, “I’m okay.”

The two turned back to stand in line.

But Xu Yu felt a chill down her spine, like someone was staring at her, making her feel exposed.

Zhou Yiheng had his hands in his pockets, face calm. He looked straight ahead, but his eyes kept drifting to one person—her. His girlfriend had to call him several times to get his attention.

“Ah Heng, were you even listening?” she pouted.

“Huh? What did you just say?”

Even though he wasn’t paying attention, the girl didn’t mind. “I want strawberry flavor later.”

They seemed totally out of sync. Right after she said that, he said, “Let’s go back.”

“What?”

“Next time I’ll bring you here again, okay?” His voice turned soft, like a gentle boyfriend.

“…Okay.” The girl gave in.

Once they left, Xu Yu no longer felt cold.

Maybe it was the other girl’s flashy clothes, but she couldn’t help turning her head.

Among the crowd, she saw a figure standing still, hands in his pockets, hair slightly messy from the wind, looking like a movie character. The girl next to him was nudging him, but he didn’t move. He stood tall and unmoving.

Xu Yu looked away.

The trendy street was getting more crowded.

Song Yuan spotted a stall selling jewelry and dragged Xu Yu over.

The table had colorful stones tied with cords, plus other cute little accessories—it all looked pretty.

Song Yuan held up a light blue bracelet. “Is this one nice?”

Xu Yu, still holding her ice cream, nodded slightly. “Yeah, it’s pretty.”

Hearing that, Song Yuan kept the bracelet and continued picking through others.

Xu Yu waited quietly beside her. As they were about to leave, Song Yuan stopped her.

“Xu Yu, this is for you.” It was the bracelet she said looked nice.

Xu Yu was surprised. She had only said it looked good, yet Song Yuan bought it for her.

She almost reached out but hesitated and pulled back.

“Thanks, I…” she started, but Song Yuan interrupted, “Come on, just take it. It’s a gift—our deskmate gift. Look, I got one too. We’re bracelet twins!” She pulled out a matching one and added, “Honestly, I don’t really have any close friends in our class. Everyone has their own little group. But when I saw you, I just felt like we could be good friends. So… will you be my friend?”

It was… Xu Yu’s first time making a real friend.

She didn’t really know how she felt, but she nodded.

She thought Song Yuan was like a little sun, and she was like an unknown iceberg. In the end, she accepted the bracelet.

Song Yuan was so happy she hugged her tightly.

Xu Yu wasn’t ready for the hug. Her hand accidentally hit someone, her ice cream shook—and dropped to the ground.

“Ah!” someone nearby shouted.

Their joy was instantly broken. They turned to look.

A girl in a school uniform stood there.

The ice cream had landed on her shoes.

The girl looked sad at first, then angry.

“I’m sorry!” Song Yuan quickly apologized.

But the girl wasn’t easy to deal with. “Is ‘sorry’ enough? My shoes are ruined.”

Song Yuan said, “We really didn’t mean to. We’re sorry.”

The girl rolled her eyes and pointed at Xu Yu. “You, apologize to me.”

Xu Yu’s smile vanished. She looked emotionless and said flatly, “Sorry.”

The girl realized Xu Yu was easy to push around, which made her even more annoyed.

“‘Sorry’ is enough?” she snapped.

Song Yuan couldn’t take it anymore. “Then what do you want?”

“I want her to clean my shoes.”

That demand would make anyone angry. But Xu Yu just stood there like nothing happened.

Zhou Yiheng had come outside for a smoke from the pool hall and happened to see everything.

He had already seen a guy earlier make a rude gesture to her—and she didn’t say a word. Now, he was curious to see if she had any temper at all.

Everyone has a temper, right? But he was wrong. Xu Yu didn’t get angry. She was used to staying quiet and hiding her pain.

The mood got colder. The girl waited for them to act.

Xu Yu just stared off and didn’t speak. She realized this place wasn’t a fresh start—it was another kind of prison. If she didn’t clean the shoes and the girl was from a powerful family, it could cause big trouble. Xu Yu had come to Beicheng to study, not to make enemies. And even if something did happen, Luo Jie would blame everything on her. No one would protect her.

While Song Yuan kept arguing, Xu Yu silently pulled out a tissue from her bag.

Her eyes had no light as she lowered her gaze to the dirty sneakers.

Just as she was about to squat down, a pair of sneakers stepped into her view. Her fingers froze.

“What are you doing?” Zhou Yiheng stepped between her and the girl.

His sudden voice startled her. She stood up straight and looked up.

He was pretending to smile, but his eyes were warm and bright.

Zhou Yiheng glanced at her then looked away, expression unreadable.

Xu Yu didn’t keep staring. Now that someone stood between them, it felt crowded. She took a small step back.

The girl’s face changed when she saw him. “Ah Heng-ge, why are you here?”

The way she called him sounded close. Xu Yu guessed they were familiar.

“Just hanging out nearby. What’s going on here?” He said “what’s going on” but didn’t even glance at Xu Yu.

The girl huffed, “Hmph, it’s her! She ruined my new shoes.”

Zhou Yiheng looked down at the shoe, then back at the girl. “It’s just a small stain, right?”

“But these are brand new! I waited so long to get them.”

He smiled helplessly.

Just when Xu Yu thought he would ask her to clean the shoes, he turned to her and said, “Can I borrow that tissue?”

She froze but handed it to him.

He smiled politely. “Thanks.”

Then he turned, squatted down, and started wiping the girl’s shoes himself.

Xu Yu’s heart skipped a beat. Song Yuan’s eyes widened in shock.

The girl was so surprised she stepped back, but Zhou Yiheng grabbed her ankle and cleaned the shoes quickly and efficiently. Then he stood up.

“All good now?” he asked, smiling.

“Y-Yeah,” the girl stammered.

He was fast, clean, and confident. The dirty tissue was already in the trash. While everyone else was still frozen in surprise, he was already walking back to the pool hall.

The girl was too stunned to move. Song Yuan took the chance to pull Xu Yu away.

Once again, Xu Yu watched his back as he left.

In Beicheng, aside from Song Yuan, this was the first time someone stood up for her.