Beware Of The Best-Friend-Kiss Friendship Trap - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Not A “1” Until She Stuns With A “1”

Chu Weiyue sorted the large bags of purchases by category, preparing to take a shower and go to bed.

Busy with organizing, she didn’t notice until she returned to the bedroom that Jiang Yiqiu had changed her clothes but was still wearing the rabbit ear hairpin on her head.

“Huh, you haven’t taken it off yet?”

Jiang Yiqiu glanced at her, a hint of faint helplessness in her expression: “Don’t you like it?”

The implication in her words was too obvious. Chu Weiyue’s eyes brightened. She recalled how she had been persistently coaxing and pestering her to wear it just a while ago, and felt a little embarrassed again.

She quietly sized up Jiang Yiqiu, took a step, then another, inching closer to Jiang Yiqiu’s side.

Seeing the other person busy retrieving clothes from the wardrobe and not paying attention to her, Chu Weiyue extended her arm and went to pinch her rabbit ear again.

She whispered in her ear: “Qiuqiu, you really are so cute like this.”

Jiang Yiqiu didn’t turn around, but the corner of her mouth couldn’t help but lift, and she softly hummed in acknowledgment.

Chu Weiyue stood by, watching Jiang Yiqiu take the clothes from the bottom layer and then look up to reach for the upper layers. She was shorter than Chu Weiyue, and the wardrobe was tall. She stood on her tiptoes, barely touching the top compartment.

She was only wearing a sweater, the hem barely covering her waist. As she stood on her toes and raised her arm, the sweater hem lifted, exposing a section of snow-white bare waistline.

Chu Weiyue saw it from the corner of her eye, and her breath hitched.

Jiang Yiqiu’s figure was slender. The small exposed patch of her side waist was porcelain-white, with smooth lines, like warm jade that became hot to the touch. It made one instinctively wonder about the soft, firm texture of placing a palm on that side of the waist.

Jiang Yiqiu seemed completely unaware, focused on dealing with the wardrobe. Chu Weiyue stared at her in a daze for as long as she was reaching up.

Until Jiang Yiqiu turned her head to look at the person beside her, raising an eyebrow: “What are you looking at?”

Chu Weiyue’s heart tightened, feeling a surge of panic at having her thoughts seen through: “I…”

Jiang Yiqiu didn’t seem to mind: “Aren’t you going to help?”

Chu Weiyue snapped out of it, finally realizing that Jiang Yiqiu couldn’t reach the clothes on the upper layer. She quickly stepped forward, extended her long arm, and easily retrieved them: “Here.”

Jiang Yiqiu took them, the corner of her lip curving: “Thanks.”

Perhaps it was due to her own guilty conscience, but Chu Weiyue felt that smile carried a deeper meaning.

Realizing this, she wanted to punch herself twice. What kind of nonsense am I thinking now!

The two returned to the bedroom. Chu Weiyue, having been affectionate all evening, was finally content and proactively helped Jiang Yiqiu remove the rabbit ears, casually hanging them on the hanger by the door.

They took turns showering. Chu Weiyue came out, toweling her hair, and saw that Jiang Yiqiu was already lying down, motionless, with steady breathing.

Chu Weiyue thought she was asleep, so she moved gently, closing the bathroom door.

Hearing the movement, Jiang Yiqiu’s slender eyelashes fluttered, and she opened her eyes: “Finished washing?”

Chu Weiyue replied: “I thought you were asleep.”

“I have a headache. I don’t feel well.” Jiang Yiqiu’s voice was weak, sounding very tired.

“A headache? You were fine just now.” She walked to the bedside. Jiang Yiqiu’s eyes were closed, her face was flushed unnaturally, and a thin layer of sweat beaded on her forehead.

She touched Jiang Yiqiu’s forehead: “Did you catch a chill outside and get a fever?”

Jiang Yiqiu shook her head. Her complexion was very poor, her breathing was rapid, and her breath was hot. She seemed to be enduring pain, constantly clutching her head and rubbing her temples, trying to alleviate the unbearable pain in her brain.

Chu Weiyue took her temperature: $38.7^circtext{C}$.

She really had a fever.

She was a little panicked. Even if it was just a fever from a cold, it shouldn’t be this uncomfortable. What was going on?

She couldn’t figure out the reason, so she first took out the medicine box and gave Jiang Yiqiu some medicine.

“Why would you suddenly have a headache? I’ve never seen a fever accompanied by such a severe headache.” Chu Weiyue worried.

“It’s happened before.” Jiang Yiqiu reassured her in turn, her voice unsteady, her face flushed, and the corners of her eyes tinged with a rosy color from the fever. “It might be too much work, or too many late nights.”

After taking several pills, the medicine slowly began to take effect, and Jiang Yiqiu’s complexion eased.

Seeing her look a bit more comfortable, Chu Weiyue felt slightly relieved. She helped her lie down and tucked the blanket around her. After the person in bed settled into a steady sleep, she quietly got up.

She turned off the main lights in the room but left the small nightlight beside her bed on, in case the patient developed other symptoms, making it easier to check on her.

Chu Weiyue gently smoothed away her furrowed brow, feeling a bit heartbroken. No one has been taking proper care of her when she’s away.

She had to take good care of her.

Jiang Yiqiu’s health was poor, and she didn’t dare leave her alone at home. She only had one class tomorrow, so she called in sick and also contacted the class teacher to switch classes, deciding to stay and care for the patient first.

After calling in sick for herself, she didn’t forget Jiang Yiqiu: “I’m going to use your phone to call in sick for you.”

Jiang Yiqiu was drowsy with the fever, and it took a while for her to lightly hum in affirmation, though it was unclear if she had fully heard her.

“Who should I contact for leave at your company?”

She asked softly several times before Jiang Yiqiu finally responded: “Just tell Xiao Chen.”

Xiao Chen was her assistant.

Seeing the phone wallpaper, Chu Weiyue paused, then smiled.

Her wallpaper of Jiang Yiqiu was in a white dress, while Jiang Yiqiu’s wallpaper of her was in a black suit.

Chu Weiyue’s facial features were delicate, with a high nose bridge and deep-set eyes, giving her a cold and stunning beauty when she wasn’t smiling or talking. Already tall with long legs, that fitted suit accentuated her legs even more, making them seem endless.

This was a photo shoot she had with Jiang Yiqiu in college. The clothes were specifically chosen by Jiang Yiqiu, who said she would look great in them, so Chu Weiyue went along with her idea.

She took the photos without much personal feeling, but as for Jiang Yiqiu, Chu Weiyue didn’t know how the other person felt, but she had seen her take out that set of photos to look at several times.

Especially this lock screen one.

Later, a roommate saw the photo somewhere, cornered her, and exclaimed with a click of her tongue while holding her shoulder: “I didn’t realize it. I didn’t know you had this kind of potential.”

Chu Weiyue was utterly baffled. What potential?

When she asked her roommate where she had seen the photo, the roommate was very surprised: “Didn’t you see it? It’s viral on the school forum! You weren’t ‘1’ until you stunned everyone with a ‘1’.”

Another person teased: “I’ve said it before, as long as Xiao Chu keeps her mouth shut, she’s an ultra-A stunner.”

Thinking about it now, it still seemed ridiculous. What kind of nonsense is this?

Chu Weiyue knew Jiang Yiqiu’s phone password but also respected her privacy. She unlocked the phone and immediately opened WeChat, making sure not to look at anything else.

Seeing her own name pinned at the very top, she nodded in satisfaction.

Then, seeing the unread messages below, she was momentarily stunned.

Chu Weiyue swore she only wanted to send a message for Jiang Yiqiu and had no intention of snooping through her chat history.

But she accidentally glanced at a contact name that was familiar.

Jin Ning.

A huge “!” popped up above Chu Weiyue’s head.

No way, is this Jin Ning the actress Jin Ning, the one she liked?

Didn’t Qiuqiu say she didn’t know Jin Ning?

A misunderstanding. It must be a misunderstanding.

Chu Weiyue tried to console herself that it was a mere coincidence of names, but very coincidentally, the content of the unread message displayed under “Jin Ning” was: I’m wrapping up in January. I’ll come find you when I get back.

Chu Weiyue: !!!

The Jin Ning who’s wrapping up a shoot! The Jin Ning who’s acting! There’s no escaping it now!

The evidence was right in front of her; she couldn’t not believe it.

After the initial excitement, remembering Jiang Yiqiu’s feigned ignorance of Jin Ning, annoyance and grievance washed over her.

Chu Weiyue sat on the bed holding the phone. She couldn’t bully a patient, so she could only shoot a resentful glare at the unconscious person.

Jiang Yiqiu clearly knew, yet she didn’t tell her!

Chu Weiyue was wronged, but Chu Weiyue didn’t say anything.

She found the assistant’s name, edited the leave request, and sent it. Chu Weiyue was so consumed by the thought of Jiang Yiqiu hiding things and deceiving her that she didn’t even pay attention to what had been discussed in the previous messages on the screen. After receiving a reply, she put the phone away.

While fiercely thinking that Jiang Yiqiu had lied to her, she was simultaneously getting medicine, feeding her water, changing her cold towels, and contemplating what kind of nutritious breakfast she should make tomorrow.

Jiang Yiqiu was feverish and confused, completely unaware that her secret had been exposed.

Chu Weiyue looked at her fever-red face. Her grievances could only be swallowed. She continued to dutifully tend to her, bringing tea and water while feeling annoyed.

And spitefully pinched Jiang Yiqiu’s face while she was asleep.

As an act of revenge.

After angrily pinching her a few times, Chu Weiyue slightly widened her eyes—

Holy cow!

So soft!

She quietly observed Jiang Yiqiu.

She was sleeping soundly.

So, she seized the opportunity to pinch her a few more times.

Jiang Yiqiu slightly frowned from the pinching. Half-asleep, she instinctively reached out, grabbed Chu Weiyue’s hand, and mumbled her name: “Yueyue…”

Chu Weiyue felt guilty, thinking she had discovered her face-pinching. She softly asked: “What’s wrong?”

After a few seconds of silence, Jiang Yiqiu spoke again, still calling her name: “Yueyue… don’t go, don’t leave me.”

Chu Weiyue’s heart melted completely. All her anger and the feeling of being lied to were thrown to the back of her mind. She soothed her in a gentle tone: “Mhm, I won’t go. I’ll stay with you.”

Jiang Yiqiu didn’t seem to hear. Her brows slowly relaxed, she released Chu Weiyue’s hand, and fell back asleep.

Chu Weiyue spent the entire night revolving around the bed and didn’t know when she finally drifted off to sleep.

She had the same dream she had a few days ago.

She was in that orchard again and encountered that sweet, crisp, perfect big apple. The apple looked so tempting that Chu Weiyue couldn’t resist and ate heartily.

She could even spare a thought to appreciate how well the apple grew, knowing she liked crunchy ones.

Mealy apples are so disgusting, they can’t even be called apples!

This apple was so delicious, plump and red, full of juice. She couldn’t get enough of it.

Chu Weiyue kept munching, and suddenly the bright red apple reminded her of Jiang Yiqiu’s flushed, feverish face.

She was eating with gusto and enjoying herself when the apple suddenly came alive and extended two arms. Chu Weiyue was baffled. Is it going to…

Before Chu Weiyue could react, the apple waved its arms, flew over, and delivered a loud “smack” across her face.

What the heck!

Chu Weiyue shot open her eyes, awakened by the pain.

She was in a daze for a few seconds, but the burning pain on her face reminded her it wasn’t a hallucination.

It was 3:00 AM.

Anyone who was suddenly woken up in the middle of the night by a slap would be furious. Chu Weiyue’s temper flared, and she shot up. Who the hell hits someone in the middle of the night? I won’t be named—

She turned her head and saw Jiang Yiqiu, the only other person awake in the room, and her anger was immediately extinguished by a bucket of cold water.

It’s Qiuqiu…

Well, then it’s fine.

Jiang Yiqiu looked like she was sleeping soundly. She probably accidentally hurt her while dreaming.

Chu Weiyue pouted. Seeing the arm that had just slapped her exposed, she silently tucked it back under the blanket and carefully tucked the corners.

She tried to hold it in, but couldn’t help but feel wronged. She hugged Jiang Yiqiu through the blanket and complained tearfully, like a little wife: “Qiuqiu, why did you suddenly hit me? It hurts so much. When you wake up, you have to rub it for me…”

Even her complaint had to be whispered softly, afraid of waking her up.

Halfway through her murmuring, she realized something was wrong.

Jiang Yiqiu was asleep, but her brows were tightly furrowed. The flush had left her face, leaving her pale, and her lips were tightly pursed. She was sleeping very restlessly.

Chu Weiyue’s heart tightened. Seeing her in such distress, it looked like she was having a nightmare.

She softly called Jiang Yiqiu’s name. The other person seemed oblivious. After a while, she started murmuring something under her breath.

Chu Weiyue leaned in to listen. A trembling voice reached her ear, muffled and hard to discern.

“Yueyue, Yueyue, don’t go. Don’t go, it’s dangerous… stay by my side… dangerous…”

It sounded like it was about her.

If this had happened a week ago, Chu Weiyue would have just thought it was a nightmare and wouldn’t have paid it much attention.

But after the system’s reminder that they were living in a book, Chu Weiyue couldn’t help but overthink it.

She considered a possibility: Could it be related to the plot?

Since both she and Jiang Yiqiu were the female leads, and she had the system’s help, could Jiang Yiqiu also be affected and know something?

Chu Weiyue had read many novels and knew that precognitive dreams were one way to know the plot.

She recalled the fragmented words Jiang Yiqiu had said.

Don’t go? Don’t go where? Dangerous? Where is the danger?