After Breaking the Ice-Beauty's Heart - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Not Too Far, Not Too Close, Zhou Nianzhi Knew It Was Song Yuli.

“Lin An called me,” Song Yuli said concisely. “She said she couldn’t get in touch with you and asked if you wanted to go to the class reunion.”

Zhou Nianzhi tried to swallow her pain, but she couldn’t stop herself from sobbing. She looked down and said in a low voice, “I don’t think so… Their reunion is definitely back home, and I’m not going back.”

Song Yuli simply hummed in agreement and didn’t say anything else, standing there silently and watching Zhou Nianzhi.

Zhou Nianzhi’s emotions calmed down a little, and she tried to use one arm to stand up. But she found her limbs were a bit numb and her head felt dizzy. Even standing up was difficult.

She was standing on the ground, but Zhou Nianzhi didn’t feel solid at all.

As the world spun, she felt as if she were falling into the sea.

As Song Yuli grabbed her wrist, she called out her name again: “Zhou Nianzhi!”

This time, she had caught her.

Zhou Nianzhi slowly came back to herself, but before the touch could fully register, she pulled her hand away. Her hand instinctively went behind her back, and she said in a muffled voice with her head down, “Thank you.”

Song Yuli didn’t reply.

On the not-so-warm night, Zhou Nianzhi fanned herself with her hand. The atmosphere was incredibly awkward, so she turned and started walking toward her home, saying, “I’m going back now.”

She received no reply.

But footsteps followed her.

Not too far, not too close, Zhou Nianzhi knew it was Song Yuli.

Perhaps the late hour had broken down her defenses, or maybe it was the emotional breakdown she had just experienced, but she couldn’t think of anything else. Her mind was filled with the thought, “Why is Song Yuli also near the hospital? Is she sick? I hope not—”

But she didn’t feel she had the right to show concern for Song Yuli, so she could only remain silent and keep walking.

She passed through a quiet street and turned a corner to a slightly livelier barbecue stall. A few friends were gathered, drinking cold beer, their faces flushed as they ate their meat. Sometimes they would hug and cry, confiding their troubles, and other times they would throw their heads back in loud, happy laughter.

The aroma of the barbecue and the clinking of glasses drifted over. Zhou Nianzhi couldn’t help but say, “We used to come here for barbecue, too.”

Song Yuli replied from behind, “The day our university acceptance letters came out.”

“Yeah,” Zhou Nianzhi said. At this moment, she didn’t want to think about the pain in front of her. She only wanted to live in those brilliant memories, in the good times before they grew up. “There was me, you, Lin An, and Yunyun.”

That day, Zhou Nianzhi didn’t bother eating the barbecue. Instead, she drank soda as if it were alcohol, crying loudly, “Ah! I’ll never see you guys again, boo hoo hoo…”

Qin Yunyun poked Zhou Nianzhi’s arm with her elbow and said, “We’re just not going to the same university. Don’t talk like we’re all, you know, dead.”

Lin An looked at Zhou Nianzhi’s red, tear-streaked face and laughed for a long time, almost falling over. She slapped the table and said, “Nianzhi, you’re about to cry snot bubbles, hahahaha…”

It wasn’t until she felt Song Yuli’s cold stare that Lin An reined in her laughter a bit. When she saw Song Yuli reach out to wipe away Zhou Nianzhi’s tears, she stopped laughing completely and just focused on eating her barbecue.

Lin An didn’t laugh, but now it was Zhou Nianzhi’s turn.

Thinking back on it now, Song Yuli’s favoritism and protectiveness had been so obvious even back then.

The night wind blew, and Zhou Nianzhi, only wearing a T-shirt, actually felt a little chilly. She instinctively shivered, but a worry inexplicably arose—

What if Song Yuli puts her jacket on her?

She was overthinking it.

After walking for a bit, she realized Song Yuli hadn’t noticed her action at all.

Thank goodness she didn’t.

Song Yuli no longer had a jacket, umbrella, or snacks ready for her at a moment’s notice.

Amidst the chill, Zhou Nianzhi remembered the scene at the barbecue again.

After Song Yuli went out to buy water, Lin An had leaned into her ear and whispered, “You know, Song Yuli is really good-looking. Both guys and girls like her.”

Zhou Nianzhi, who had just wiped away snot, hadn’t fully recovered, but she was already nodding her head and kept saying, “Mhm, mhm.”

Soon, when Zhou Nianzhi fully came to, she turned her head to Lin An, raised her eyebrows, and said, “Lin An, why are you suddenly saying that?”

Lin An waved her hand. “Don’t overthink it.”

Zhou Nianzhi smiled, though she didn’t mean it. “I’m not overthinking it at all.”

“That’s good,” Lin An continued. “I’m just curious why she’s only good to you. Everyone else thinks she’s an ice queen who looks down on everyone. Until someone saw her holding an umbrella for you, getting your jacket for you, and buying you water and snacks…”

Zhou Nianzhi was happy hearing this. She held her face and grinned. “That’s because I’m cute, obviously!”

Lin An gently pushed Zhou Nianzhi’s head and laughed. “Stop being so conceited. And, let me tell you, Song Yuli, she…”

Zhou Nianzhi was listening intently, but Lin An suddenly went silent. She leaned in again and asked, “What? What about Song Yuli?”

Lin An still didn’t say a word.

Zhou Nianzhi was about to ask again when she heard Song Yuli’s voice from above her head—

“She’s back.”

Zhou Nianzhi instantly understood why Lin An had suddenly stopped talking. The moment she looked up, she was taken aback by the coldness radiating from Song Yuli.

But this very same aloof Song Yuli was holding two bottles of water, offering them to her, and asking, “Which bottle do you want?”

Whichever bottle Zhou Nianzhi chose, Song Yuli would drink the other.

“Do you want to buy a bottle of water?” Song Yuli’s question interrupted Zhou Nianzhi’s thoughts, forcing her back to reality.

Zhou Nianzhi turned her head in the direction of Song Yuli’s voice and realized they had arrived in front of a 24-hour convenience store. She licked her lips. She had been crying for so long that she was indeed a bit thirsty.

“Okay,” Zhou Nianzhi followed Song Yuli inside.

When she entered, Song Yuli had already paid. This time, she had also gotten two bottles of water.

But she didn’t let Zhou Nianzhi choose.

She just handed one directly to her.

Zhou Nianzhi didn’t look at the bottle she was given. Instead, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the water in Song Yuli’s hand was lychee-flavored.

Song Yuli gestured with the bottle she had given her.

Zhou Nianzhi quickly took it. She looked down and saw it was a drink meant for reducing “heat.”

She froze, thinking, Could Song Yuli really read my mind? How else would she know I had gotten ‘heat’…

After taking a sip, Zhou Nianzhi suddenly remembered that she couldn’t just take something from her for free!

She screwed the cap back on, walked to Song Yuli’s side, took out the cash from her bag, and handed it over.

Song Yuli didn’t take it, refusing her. “I don’t really use cash.”

Zhou Nianzhi was startled, finally saying “Oh” and quietly putting the money back.

She thought for a moment, her grip on the water bottle tightening. She bowed her head and said, “Then I’ll buy you the same bottle next time to pay you back.”

Song Yuli was silent.

Zhou Nianzhi didn’t say anything more, and just assumed Song Yuli had agreed.

They didn’t speak for the rest of the walk.

They were as distant as two strangers who had just met.

Whenever Zhou Nianzhi wanted to speak to break the silence, the image of Song Yuli standing with another girl in the market would pop into her mind.

She thought, Perhaps Song Yuli is just nice to everyone now?

It wasn’t until they got out of the elevator and were about to part ways at their respective doors that Zhou Nianzhi spoke, calling out to Song Yuli.

Song Yuli tilted her head. Her stray hair fell down and rested casually on her white T-shirt. She looked at Zhou Nianzhi, her clear eyes filled with confusion.

Zhou Nianzhi hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke: “Can I get Lin An’s contact information from you?”

Song Yuli straightened up, her expression unchanged, but her eyelids trembled slightly. After a long pause, she asked, “How should I give it to you?”

“You can just read me her phone number,” Zhou Nianzhi said with a light chuckle, her tone still a bit polite. “I’m sorry for the trouble.”

Song Yuli lowered her eyes, took out her phone, and, like a cold machine, softly read out Lin An’s phone number.

“Thanks,” Zhou Nianzhi saved the number and wrote down Lin An’s name. Then she waved goodbye to Song Yuli. “I’m going now.”

Back in her apartment.

Zhou Nianzhi turned on the light, changed her shoes, and lay on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling.

It was the sound of a beverage bottle slipping from her hand and hitting the floor that woke her.

She rolled over, picked up the bottle, unscrewed the cap, and held it up high, shaking it in front of the light. She forced a smile, squinting her eyes, and said, “Cheers!”

To the past!

To a brand-new future!

To undying friendship and love!

To our eternal youth!

She laughed twice, then tilted her head back and took a big gulp.

A drop of water slid down the corner of her mouth. Zhou Nianzhi wiped it with a tissue, only to find that it was a tear.

Why am I crying again?

Zhou Nianzhi was too exhausted to wipe away her tears. She just placed the tissue directly over her eyes.

The entire room echoed with her crying.

When she was little, whenever Zhou Nianzhi went to Qin Yunyun’s house with Lin An, the entire house would be filled with the sound of their three-way laughter. Zhou Nianzhi was especially lively back then, always having endless jokes to tell. As soon as she told one, Lin An would laugh so hard she’d clutch her stomach, wiping away tears and saying, “Oh, oh, my stomach hurts from laughing.” Qin Yunyun would first criticize them for having a low tolerance for humor, then she’d be infected by their laughter and start laughing herself, so they’d all laugh together.

The adults would often chat together. Sometimes they would say how boisterous the three girls were, and other times they would sigh, reflecting on how good it was to be young, without a care in the world. All it took was an ice pop or an outing with friends to make everything right.

As a child, she was so focused on growing up that she didn’t understand why the adults envied them. After all, they had homework to do every day. Who would want to remember such a hard time?

Now, Zhou Nianzhi was willing to remember.

Her eyes blurry with tears, she opened her phone and looked at Lin An’s phone number that she had just saved.

Years ago, to completely leave her hometown, she had replaced her SIM card and phone, afraid that those painful memories would find her again.

But she was wrong.

Time hadn’t washed away her pain. Instead, it had robbed her of so much joy.

Beep—

A sound came from her phone.

Zhou Nianzhi suddenly realized she had accidentally called Lin An.

It was almost 1 a.m. It was too late to bother anyone, but her fingertip hesitated over the phone, and she decided to let the call go through.

The phone on the other end connected.

“Hello—” The voice was groggy, clearly annoyed at being woken up.

Zhou Nianzhi’s nose stung.

This was Lin An’s voice.

The Lin An she had grown up with, running around the yard together, often huddling together and laughing like fools.