After Breaking the Ice-Beauty's Heart - Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Her Heart Pounded Like a Drum All Night.

The water from the shower fell with a splattering sound, and out of the corner of Zhou Nianzhi’s eye, she could always glimpse the things Song Yuli had prepared for her.

Ah.

What in the world was Song Yuli thinking?

Zhou Nianzhi’s mind was in a jumble. She thought for a long time but still couldn’t figure out Song Yuli’s thoughts.

It was the same before, and it was the same now.

On that day in high school when it was raining heavily, Sheng Ning picked up Zhou Nianzhi from the security office. At that time, she truly believed that someone would come to pick up Song Yuli, so she left her and went home.

It was only later when her grandma mentioned it by chance that she found out that Song Yuli hadn’t called her grandma at all.

Song Yuli never intended to bother anyone, from beginning to end.

Including Zhou Nianzhi.

When Zhou Nianzhi found out about this, she was both angry and heartbroken.

Although she didn’t understand why she felt such strong emotions at the time, she thought it was just the concern of deskmates. So, she ran to Song Yuli in a huff and asked, “I remember the security guard told us to call our families, and you did too. Why did your grandma seem to know nothing about it?”

Song Yuli didn’t say anything.

This made Zhou Nianzhi even more anxious. Her speaking speed quickened, and she frowned, “Tell me! Do you not trust me that much? If you’re upset about anything, I can comfort you.”

“I called my mom,” Song Yuli said, her voice low. “Maybe I shouldn’t call her ‘mom.’ I should call her Qingqing, like Grandma does, or politely address her as ‘auntie’ like other kids.”

“But…” Zhou Nianzhi blurted out. She wanted to say more but then suddenly remembered what her grandma had told her about Song Yuli’s parents. She realized that she shouldn’t continue, so she quickly stopped talking. The anger she had felt a moment ago subsided, and she apologized in a muffled voice, knowing she was in the wrong. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know…”

“But I can only call her using someone else’s phone,” Song Yuli said, tugging at the corners of her mouth and giving a bitter smile. She rested her head on her desk, turned to look at Zhou Nianzhi, and asked, “Isn’t that strange?”

Zhou Nianzhi perked up. She quickly waved her hands, and her tone softened. “No, it’s not strange. Not strange at all.”

Song Yuli’s eyelashes trembled. Then, she buried her chin in her arms and said softly, “I just wanted to hear her voice.”

Next to them, other students were chasing each other, laughing, and sharing funny stories, running and jumping without a care in the world. In all the noise, Zhou Nianzhi only heard Song Yuli’s voice clearly.

It was very soft.

As soft as a hallucination.

But also very heavy.

So heavy that Song Yuli didn’t want to speak.

No wonder after they got together, Song Yuli would ask Zhou Nianzhi a thousand times, “Zhi Zhi, you really won’t leave me, will you? I’m not afraid of a long-distance relationship. I’ll listen to you, but can you promise me that I’ll be able to hear your voice when I’m feeling down?”

But the very person who was so afraid of being abandoned was abandoned by Zhou Nianzhi.

She still remembered how the young and naive Zhou Nianzhi would feel that Song Yuli was being too insecure whenever she heard her ask these questions. She would smile and comfort her, “Of course I won’t! Zhi Zhi likes Little Song the most. How could I bear to abandon my Little Song?”

But all the vows from the past had turned into smoke.

They disappeared into the past.

No.

She couldn’t think about it anymore.

She turned off the shower, and as the sound of the water stopped, her thoughts also flew away. Zhou Nianzhi dried herself with a towel and put on her pajamas.

The moment she put on the pajamas, Zhou Nianzhi looked at herself in the mirror. The bunny pajamas were the same. They were the ones she used to wear when she stayed at Song Yuli’s house. They still had a faint, clean scent, as if they had just been washed and dried.

She looked up at her reflection.

She had only gotten a little thinner and hadn’t grown taller, so she looked more or less the same as before.

So why did she look so different?

Was it because she had been crying so much?

But she was just so sad. She just wanted to cry.

Like now, for example.

Tears were sliding to the corners of her mouth again.

They tasted even more bitter than before.

Because once a person has a taste of something sweet, the bitterness that they could once endure becomes even more bitter.

Why did she cry so much?

Zhou Nianzhi crouched down, not daring to make a single sound of crying.

She wanted to complain to God—

Why did she have to suffer so much?

But Zhou Nianzhi’s complaints couldn’t be voiced.

To control herself, she pinched her thigh, leaving painful red marks.

Her heart ached so much.

It hurt so much that she couldn’t breathe.

Song Yuli, who was making the bed, suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart. The movements of her hands became increasingly stiff. After she had with great difficulty put down the sheets and bamboo mat, she leaned over and clutched her heart.

It hurts.

This was probably what it felt like to have a thousand arrows pierce your heart.

It was like a thousand thorns were stabbing her heart, and the bl00d was flowing. The pain extended to every organ and shot straight to her head. Her entire head felt heavier and heavier and was buzzing.

Bl00d traveled up her throat and into her mouth. Song Yuli swallowed, finding that her mouth was incredibly bitter.

She could only lean against the wall, taking deep breaths, trying to ease the endless pain.

Was this a side effect from being beaten up today? Song Yuli closed her eyes and gently rubbed her temples.

No.

Suddenly, Song Yuli opened her eyes, put down her hands, and slapped her head a few times, trying to make herself more sober.

It’s Zhi Zhi.

Song Yuli started to walk toward the bathroom. Every step was extremely painful, but she wouldn’t stop.

She was crying. She was getting closer.

The wind came to the sea.

“Knock, knock—”

There was a knock on the bathroom door.

Zhou Nianzhi’s vision was blurry with tears as she looked toward the source of the sound.

Splash.

The last drops of water fell from the showerhead.

Into the puddle on the floor.

The sea was getting choppy.

“Zhou Nianzhi,” Song Yuli called out softly.

Someone followed the wind and jumped into the sea.

Song Yuli’s voice came from outside the bathroom.

“You’ve been in there for a long time. Did something happen?”

In a daze, Zhou Nianzhi seemed to see—

That person kept running toward her as she was falling.

Song Yuli’s tone was a little anxious. “Are you okay?”

In a flash.

That person reached out and told her to grab her hand.

Zhou Nianzhi wiped away her tears and replied, “I’m fine.”

The moment her tears were wiped away.

Through the seawater,

She saw clearly that the person who had grabbed her hand again and again,

was Song Yuli.

“Then come out soon,” Song Yuli said. “It’s too hot in there. There’s a fan outside.”

Zhou Nianzhi pursed her lips, then gave a relieved smile. She let out a long “okay—”

After she had washed up, dried her hair, and opened the door, Zhou Nianzhi saw that Song Yuli was still sitting on the sofa, playing on her phone.

Zhou Nianzhi scratched her head apologetically. “I’m sorry. I took a little too long, so I made you wait.”

Song Yuli said, “It’s okay. I had something to do.”

“Then you should go do it,” Zhou Nianzhi said, a little awkwardly, pinching the corner of her pajamas. “I’m not bothering you, am I?”

Song Yuli, who had just finished sending a message, turned off her phone, stood up, and said, “I’m done.”

“Oh…” Zhou Nianzhi let go of her pajamas. Something suddenly popped into her head, and she quickly said, “I just remembered, I didn’t finish my ginger soup.”

Song Yuli said, “You don’t need to drink it.”

“Huh?” Zhou Nianzhi was confused. “Even though I’m not a big fan of ginger soup, I can’t waste Grandma’s kind gesture.”

“I finished it,” Song Yuli said calmly.

“Oh, okay then,” Zhou Nianzhi said, nodding and holding her clothes in her arms. “Thank you.”

Song Yuli replied, “You’re welcome.”

Zhou Nianzhi hesitated for a moment and then called out “Song Yuli” a little shyly.

Song Yuli looked confused. “What is it?”

Zhou Nianzhi’s fingers rubbed against her palm for a long time before she slowly said, “Where am I sleeping tonight?”

She remembered that she had wanted to sleep on the sofa before, but Grandma was worried that she wouldn’t be comfortable, so she had no choice but to let her squeeze in with Song Yuli.

Song Yuli’s room wasn’t very big. It only had a single bed. It was fine for one person, but it was a little cramped for two. That was why Grandma had kept saying, “Zhi Zhi is really being put out.”

At first, when Zhou Nianzhi found out that she would be sleeping with Song Yuli, she didn’t think much of it. After all, she had stayed overnight at Qin Yunyun’s house with Lin An before. The three of them could squeeze onto one bed, so what was the big deal about two people?

It was a big deal.

Maybe it wasn’t because of anything else but because the person next to her was Song Yuli.

The first night she slept with Song Yuli was in high school. Zhou Chenggang had to work the night shift, and her mom also found a part-time job at night, so she couldn’t come home to cook dinner for Zhou Nianzhi. So she left her some money to buy something to eat.

Zhou Nianzhi took the money and thought that she shouldn’t eat alone. She hesitated between going to Lin An’s house and Qin Yunyun’s house, which were in two different directions, and then she turned around and went in another direction—

Toward Song Yuli’s house.

She had originally wanted to invite Song Yuli out to eat, but it just so happened that they were having dinner at her house, so Zhou Nianzhi’s timing was perfect. It was as if she had come all the way to mooch a meal.

After dinner, Zhou Nianzhi put her hands on her stomach and sighed, “That was so delicious.”

“Girl, you should eat more if it’s delicious,” Grandma said with a look of relief and a smile.

Zhou Nianzhi grinned and said, “Grandma, you can call me ‘Zhi Zhi.'”

Grandma called out, “Zhi Zhi.”

Zhou Nianzhi replied, “Mhm!”

Grandma smiled and suddenly said, “Zhi Zhi won’t be leaving tonight. It’s too late for you to go home.”

Zhou Nianzhi didn’t even think and nodded. “Mhm!”

Suddenly, she realized what she had just agreed to. She quickly waved her hands and said, “No, no, no, Grandma. I didn’t tell my mom that I was going to stay overnight at a friend’s house. Thank you for dinner, but I have to go back.”

“Oh, Zhi Zhi—” Grandma called out to Zhou Nianzhi. “Don’t worry. Just give your mom a call.”

Zhou Nianzhi was conflicted, not knowing what to do. She turned her head and looked at Song Yuli, who was sitting there perfectly still. She didn’t say anything to make her stay or to make her go.

She just stared intently at Zhou Nianzhi.

Her expression was unreadable.

But Zhou Nianzhi didn’t know what she was thinking. Her soul was probably captivated by Song Yuli’s eyes. For some reason, she really wanted to stay that day and spend time with Song Yuli, so she let Grandma call Sheng Ning.

Sheng Ning originally disagreed, as she didn’t want to bother anyone, but the moment Grandma got on the phone, Sheng Ning agreed.

Zhou Nianzhi stood to the side, completely shocked. The two people, who didn’t even know each other, were able to chat on the phone, laughing and talking.

Was this what adult social skills were like?

So, that night, Zhou Nianzhi put on Song Yuli’s new bunny pajamas, bid farewell to the sofa she wanted to sleep on, and squeezed in with Song Yuli for the entire night.

It was a real sacrifice for her.

Because that night, her heart pounded like a drum all night.

She was completely unable to sleep until morning.