Addicted to You - Chapter 7

Perhaps her words resonated within him, or perhaps the sincerity in her eyes moved him. In the end, he went.

The whole family sat neatly at the table, no one daring to pick up their chopsticks.

As Zhou Yiheng walked in, Tang Ping glanced at him but said nothing.

Seeing her beloved grandson, Su Yitang rose, leaning on her cane. She shook off the person supporting her.

Spotting his grandmother, Zhou Yiheng quickened his pace. “Grandma, why did you get up?”

The old woman beamed with joy. “Your mom said you weren’t coming tonight. Were you trying to surprise me?”

“Were you surprised?”
“Yes, yes, I was!” she replied, taking his hand as he helped her back to her seat.

An empty seat beside the old woman was clearly reserved for him.

Everyone saw it and understood Zhou Yiheng’s standing in Lin Huai’s heart. They remained silent.

The meal passed relatively peacefully. Although Tang Ping left midway, causing Zhou Yiheng some displeasure, since his grandmother said nothing, what complaint could he voice?

After dinner, the old woman, finding the noise bothersome, sent the younger family members back to their respective homes, keeping only Zhou Yiheng behind.

Lying sprawled on the sofa playing a game, he saw his grandmother approaching and quickly turned off his phone, sitting up straight.

Su Yitang smiled kindly. “Still sulking at your parents?”

Zhou Yiheng remained silent.

Su Yitang chuckled. “They are your parents after all. However much they might have failed you when you were young, aren’t they trying to make up for it now?”

He stayed quiet.

Seeing his silence, Su Yitang wisely changed the subject. “How’s school lately? I heard from Lin Qi you’ve got a new girlfriend and also changed desk partners to another girl.” Su Yitang learned about his school life through her grandson Lin Qi. Being somewhat open-minded, she didn’t pry much, as long as it wasn’t anything illegal.

Zhou Yiheng knew Lin Qi, that big mouth, would tell his grandmother. He smiled and confirmed it.
“Is your desk partner your girlfriend?”
That little blockhead would probably be waving her hands in denial if she were here, he thought, smiling as he shook his head. “No. Just desk partners.”
For now.
“Oh. If you like a girl, you should keep your distance from others. Don’t make her jealous or upset.”
He’d often heard this advice but never paid it much mind. He gave a noncommittal “Hmm” and fell silent.

After chatting for a while, the old woman went off to sleep, telling him to rest early too. He didn’t plan to stay and figured he should head home for once.

Just as he was about to leave, Lin Qi came downstairs and called out, “Hey, not staying the night?”
“Nope.”
Having grown up together, they were direct with each other. Lin Qi didn’t press him further.

Opening the door, Zhou Yiheng remembered something and turned back. “Could you talk about something else in front of Grandma next time? And stop being such a gossip.”
Lin Qi nodded understandingly, asking which “something else” he meant: “Oh. You mean the new girlfriend thing or the desk partner thing?”
Zhou Yiheng rolled his eyes, turned, and walked out, leaving a parting shot before closing the door: “The latter.”

Returning to school on Monday, it was as if they had completely forgotten that afternoon.

Xu Yu continued “taking notes” for him during science classes, but now he wasn’t sleeping. He listened with a lazy air, occasionally correcting her mistakes.

After the second class, it was supposed to be the long break. However, continuous gloomy rain turned it into free time indoors.

Xu Yu was dragged to the bathroom by Song Yuan, with a detour to the campus store.
They chatted and laughed on their way back.

Song Yuan hesitated but finally asked, “Yu Yu, about you and Zhou Yiheng…” She trailed off.
“What?” Xu Yu looked puzzled.
Song Yuan pressed on, “Is there something going on between you two?”

Not sure why Song Yuan thought that, Xu Yu explained there wasn’t. She recounted seeing him kissing someone else that day and how she’d agreed to take notes to ease her guilt.
Hearing this, Song Yuan felt relieved. After all, Zhou Yiheng was notoriously known throughout the school as a player.

Their conversation drifted to other topics.
Suddenly, students from other classes started streaming past them towards their own classroom.

Song Yuan spotted a familiar face and asked what was happening.
The girl looked excited. “Haven’t you heard? Xu Xuan from Class 3 is causing a scene because Zhou Yiheng wants to break up with her!” She dashed off to join the spectacle.

Speak of the devil. Song Yuan pulled Xu Yu along to see the drama.
They squeezed to the front line of the “battlefield.”

Zhou Yiheng had his back to them; Xu Xuan faced them.
They could only see his back – black T-shirt over school uniform pants, white sneakers on his feet. He stood casually, fiddling with his phone.

Xu Xuan was furious at his indifferent attitude, her anger practically written on her face. She yelled at him, “Did you ever take this relationship seriously?”

The crowd thought Xu Xuan’s question was foolish. Didn’t she know Zhou Yiheng was a player?

Xu Xuan continued her tirade: “Why didn’t you come out when I looked for you yesterday?”
Xu Yu’s heart skipped a beat. Yesterday was when she’d run into him at the bus stop.

The boy finally looked up from his phone, his tone careless. “We broke up the day before yesterday.”
Boys in the crowd snickered. Xu Xuan, humiliated, flushed red and pale in turns.
“But I never agreed!” she protested, trying to salvage the situation.
Zhou Yiheng replied coldly, “Then I’m unilaterally announcing it now. We’re done.”
He felt annoyed and started heading back to class when he spotted Xu Yu standing slightly behind and to his right.
Xu Yu saw him the moment he turned. Their eyes met again, but quickly darted away.

Xu Xuan instantly caught the exchange. Jealousy flared within her. She sneered mockingly, “I see now. You’re smitten with that new girl, aren’t you? My friend told me, and I didn’t believe it, but now I do. You two are thick as thieves, colluding together!”

Most people present knew exactly who Xu Xuan meant. All eyes turned towards Xu Yu.
Panic flashed in Xu Yu’s eyes. She didn’t know where to look, so she lowered her gaze.

Hearing this, Zhou Yiheng stopped. If Xu Xuan had only insulted him, he wouldn’t have cared. But dragging an innocent person into it changed things. He turned back, his gaze sharp and dangerous. “Who are you calling ‘thick as thieves’?”
Xu Xuan wasn’t backing down. She pointed at the girl behind him. “Her! Do I need to announce her name to everyone?”

Almost everyone looked over. Xu Yu felt like she was being paraded for public shaming, stripped bare. The sensation was like intense, scorching ultraviolet rays burning her skin, sharp and painful.
Then, in the next second, the strongest ray vanished.
Someone stood in front of her, shielding her from the glare.
White sneakers appeared in her lowered line of sight. She slowly raised her head, looking straight ahead, even though all she saw was his back.

Zhou Yiheng’s patience was wearing thin, his tone growing harsher. “Xu Xuan, keep our issues between us. Say whatever you want about me, but leave innocent people out of it.”

Xu Xuan remained relentless. “Isn’t it true? You keep stepping in for her. Aren’t you just bewitched by her?”
Xu Yu found it almost laughable. She couldn’t see what about her – her pitiful family, her pitiful background, her pitiful self – could possibly bewitch him.

The murmurs grew louder. Just as everyone seemed poised to see her humiliated, a fearless voice cut through the noise:
“So what if I am?”

Instantly, Xu Yu’s pupils dilated slightly, her eyelashes giving a faint tremble.
The onlookers were stunned. How could two seemingly unrelated people be connected?

As the words reverberated through her body and echoed in her mind, she felt a spot in her heart grow warm. She still couldn’t believe he hadn’t denied it.
The speaker remained as nonchalant as ever, his air one of careless defiance.

Xu Xuan was left speechless and utterly humiliated, realizing she was the fool.
The warning bell rang. Everyone scrambled back to their classrooms. The incident ended with the fading chime.

A lingering unease remained. Even after sitting down, Xu Yu felt Xu Xuan’s voice echoing in her ears. Until the person beside her called her name.
“Xu Yu.”
She snapped back to reality and looked at him. “Hmm?”
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
Honestly, she was used to such remarks and didn’t take them to heart. But when he shielded her, she had been momentarily stunned.

Zhou Yiheng rubbed his nose. “Don’t take Xu Xuan’s words to heart.”
She just gave another quiet “Hmm.”

Her subdued response seemed to irk him slightly. He swiveled his chair to face her fully. “Couldn’t you just…”
Xu Yu had been lost in thought and answered distractedly. Hearing his tone, she turned immediately. “What?”
Seriously… “Couldn’t you just say a few more words?” he asked, the last three words noticeably dropping in volume.

Say a few more words? What did he want her to say? Or what did he expect her to say?
Finally, she asked a question: “Why did you break up with Xu Xuan?”
Hearing her ask, the boy seemed satisfied. He sat up straight, lazily pulling a book from his desk drawer. Flipping through the pages, he answered, “Because I didn’t want to date anymore. So we broke up.”
That reason was truly… unassailable.
“Were all your past relationships like that?” she asked.
Zhou Yiheng didn’t answer immediately. He pondered why she said “past.”
Before he could formulate a response, she asked another question: “Will you be like that with your future relationships too?”
Would he also break up just because he didn’t feel like dating anymore?
He was completely stumped. What the future held, he truly hadn’t thought about.
He was just about to speak when the teacher walked in. Xu Yu said, “Class is starting,” effectively ending the conversation.

The morning’s events had spread throughout the entire grade. Wherever Xu Yu went now, eyes followed her.
Song Yuan was fuming. She often yelled at people who stared, but Xu Yu, afraid she’d start a fight, always held her back.
“Yu Yu, how can you just swallow it like this?” Song Yuan was genuinely indignant on her behalf.
Sometimes, Xu Yu really thought about standing up for herself. But then she’d reconsider and give up. The outcome would be the same. People wouldn’t think her righteous or kind; they’d just brand her as sharp-tongued. And “sharp-tongued” wasn’t a compliment in today’s world.
“Look, autumn is here,” she said suddenly.
In front of them stood a tree. The leaves on its branches had turned yellow. Slowly, a few drifted down in the wind.
Song Yuan didn’t understand. What was so special about a withering tree?
Xu Yu smiled. “Let’s go. I still haven’t figured out a few math problems.”

Autumn had arrived. Leaves fell because they withered. With the changing seasons, they harbored no complaints. And she, like any leaf on that tree, should harbor none either.
Zhou Yiheng walked under the tree and picked up a leaf that had just fallen. It was unremarkable, just an ordinary leaf.
Watching the girl who smiled so brightly, he smiled too.
Autumn is here, but spring isn’t far away.