Confession to You in Early Summer (GL) - Chapter 10
Jiang Youyi couldn’t win against Yan Wei in an argument and was very angry.
Recently, Yan Wei had indeed been very abnormal. Not only had her grades plummeted, but she had also learned to smoke. Under normal circumstances, she should have been in evening self-study at school at this time, but she had actually skipped it to come online outside of school.
Since Jiang Youyi’s birthday, Yan Wei had done too many things that subverted Jiang Youyi’s past impressions. Jiang Youyi couldn’t help but wonder if the words she had said that day had had a bad influence on Yan Wei, causing Yan Wei to become like this now.
People said that one who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black. Sure enough, the mud from her own mire had still corrupted the good student.
It was her fault, it had been wrong from the beginning.
Jiang Youyi suddenly stopped talking.
Yan Wei had a bad premonition. She sensed the fear before a storm in Jiang Youyi’s silence.
Had she pushed Jiang Youyi too hard?
What if it backfired?
Yan Wei wanted to say something to ease the atmosphere, but her usually quick-witted brain wouldn’t cooperate at this time. She was too afraid of messing things up, so she was too nervous to speak.
Just then, Jiang Youyi said to her, “Yan Wei, if the things I said that night made you become like this now, I apologize to you.”
“I shouldn’t have come to provoke you, and I shouldn’t have said those things to you. Just consider my brain was flooded… Oh, I actually drank a little wine that day, I was drunk, so you don’t have to take what I said that night seriously.”
“I don’t like you at all. We are incompatible and have no common topics. The reason I pretended to be crazy while drunk was because I knew you would definitely refuse. How could a good student like you have an early romance? Especially since we are both girls, this way I would have an excuse to distance myself from you.”
“So I thought of this disgusting way to make myself feel relieved, without having to take responsibility. But now things have developed beyond my expectations, and I feel very tired and don’t want to act anymore. You absolutely don’t need to feel guilty because of my vile behavior, let alone wrong yourself to cater to my preferences and continue to be friends with someone like me.”
“I’m just trash, a bad person, I’m simply not worthy.”
Jiang Youyi looked very calm, with no expression on her face. When she said these words, she kept looking at Yan Wei, allowing Yan Wei to clearly see her dark eyes.
Yan Wei’s initial shock gradually subsided, and her legs felt stiff from standing. Jiang Youyi’s last words drilled into her ears: “Let’s just go our separate ways and not interfere with each other. You go back and continue to be your good student, and I will keep my distance from you from now on, okay?”
Her chest felt a little tight, like a stone was pressing on it, making it hard to breathe.
Yan Wei thought: Jiang Youyi, you are truly ruthless. If I hadn’t read your diary, I might have almost believed you!
“Although today isn’t April Fool’s Day, I won’t believe a single word of what you just said,” Yan Wei stood stubbornly, straightening her back. “Jiang Youyi, it’s okay if you don’t like me, but I have a few heartfelt words that I hope you can patiently listen to.”
“I don’t know what your definition of a good student is, but I have never thought of myself as a good student. I’m just afraid to indulge myself and afraid to make promises easily. Whether you believe it or not, this is the real me now.”
“I didn’t change myself for you. You don’t need to be responsible for my behavior. If you started to dislike me because you saw my true nature, I have nothing to say.”
Yan Wei couldn’t quite distinguish between dream and reality anymore. If this was really a dream, at least in the dream, she wanted to be a little braver and not have regrets because of her own cowardice again.
Even if doing so was futile, she just wanted peace of mind.
The rejection that night was a foregone conclusion, but if she were to make the decision again now, she would still refuse, but she would choose a gentler way to avoid the later awkwardness, embarrassment, and their mutual decisiveness.
Her feelings for Jiang Youyi were actually very complicated. What Jiang Youyi liked was the her who was excellent in academics and conduct, gentle in nature, and surrounded by various halos. She wasn’t sure if the her who had returned from the future seven years later could still be liked by Jiang Youyi.
More importantly, she wasn’t sure if her feelings for Jiang Youyi were more about liking or more about the regret caused by obsession, so she had been carefully probing, not daring to confess her intentions, wanting to give them both some buffer time.
“Friend” was the best excuse.
She didn’t necessarily have to become lovers with the current Jiang Youyi, nor did she think that love was the only perfect ending. What she hoped for was that Jiang Youyi could get out of her predicament and pass the college entrance exams safely, so that they would have more time to look forward to the future.
Furthermore, if her parents knew of Jiang Youyi’s existence, they would definitely attribute her rebellion and all the changes they deemed bad to Jiang Youyi, possibly causing more harm to Jiang Youyi, something she absolutely wouldn’t allow.
Before her wings were strong enough to protect Jiang Youyi, she would keep her feelings to herself and examine herself, but at the same time, she also wanted to give herself a chance.
She wouldn’t let go again.
A conversation that was supposed to be heart-to-heart ended inexplicably. It seemed that no one had achieved their initial goal, but some unseen things were quietly changing.
Zhou Xiaoxiao and Zhang Yutong had been browsing in the mall for two hours. They had just come out of the bookstore when they saw Jiang Youyi and Yan Wei walk out of the restroom next to the internet cafe one after the other.
“Yan Wei!” Zhou Xiaoxiao looked pleasantly surprised, holding the books she had just bought, waving and greeting Yan Wei.
Zhang Yutong’s attention, however, fell on Jiang Youyi beside Yan Wei, and then she looked at the internet cafe with its flashing esports lights, looking thoughtful.
Yan Wei also hadn’t expected to run into Zhou Xiaoxiao here. Her gaze went past Zhou Xiaoxiao and Zhang Yutong to the bookstore behind them, and she finally understood that the newly opened bookstore Zhou Xiaoxiao had mentioned was in this mall.
“You guys bought a lot of things,” Yan Wei said with a polite smile.
This kind of smile often appeared on Yan Wei’s face, but Jiang Youyi had seen another side of Yan Wei. Seeing Yan Wei smile like this again, she felt it was very fake.
Yeah, a bit perfunctory.
But she just liked it very much, even, it seemed, more than before.
Zhou Xiaoxiao was visibly happy to meet Yan Wei in the mall. She automatically ignored Jiang Youyi, who was indifferent to her, and spoke to Yan Wei, “Yan Wei, when are you going back to school? We can take a taxi with Yutong!”
“Are you going back so soon?” Yan Wei was a little surprised and turned to ask Jiang Youyi, “What time is it?”
Jiang Youyi glanced at her watch. “8:30.”
“That’s still early! The dorm curfew is 10 o’clock, and taking a taxi back will take at most twenty minutes.”
Yan Wei didn’t want to go back so early. Jiang Youyi definitely wouldn’t go home. Once she left, Jiang Youyi would go back to the internet cafe.
Although this internet cafe was relatively clean, in Yan Wei’s eyes, the environment wasn’t good at all. Moreover, they had just had a small conflict, and she couldn’t be sure if those unsavory characters would cause trouble for Jiang Youyi.
She still wanted to persuade Jiang Youyi to simply apply for on-campus accommodation, so she had other plans for the remaining hour.
“We can only come out once a week. Once we go back, we’ll have to wait until next week. We finally left school, how can we be willing to go back so early?” Yan Wei changed the subject with a smile. “Are you guys hungry? The taro ball place in front looks pretty good, want to try it? It’s on me.”
After speaking, she pointed to the new product promotion advertisement hanging in front of the taro ball shop and said to Jiang Youyi, “Try this signature one, you’ll like it.”
Jiang Youyi coolly turned her head away.
Only Yan Wei, who was closest to her, saw the slightly red ear tip peeking out from the gap in her hair.
It must be a coincidence.
How would Yan Wei know she liked desserts?
Author’s Note:
Yan Wei: Taro ball bubble milk tea, no taro balls, no milk, just bubbles.