Confession to You in Early Summer (GL) - Chapter 18
“Yan Wei? Who are you looking for?” A girl opened the dorm door, looking at the person outside with surprise.
Yan Wei peered inside through the crack in the door. “Is Jiang Youyi here?”
“She went to the restroom, do you want to come in and wait?”
“Thank you.”
Yan Wei waited by Jiang Youyi’s bed for two minutes. Jiang Youyi came out of the restroom with a pale face and a pack of tissues under her arm. Seeing Yan Wei when she opened the glass door, she paused. “What are you doing here? Lights out soon.”
She didn’t walk forward, leaning against the doorframe to relax her numb limbs.
“Came to thank you, and also to take my jacket back,” Yan Wei said, picking up her school uniform jacket from Jiang Youyi’s bedside. She threw two palm-sized heat packs on Jiang Youyi’s small table, adding a small box of motherwort extract, smiling meaningfully. “Tit for tat.”
The lights-out bell rang in the corridor. Yan Wei waved. “Rest early, I’ll go back first.” With that, she opened the door and left.
Jiang Youyi used half a cup of hot water to dissolve the motherwort extract. After drinking it, the dragging pain in her lower abdomen eased, and it felt like her hands and feet were also warming up.
While saying, “Who would want to use heat packs in this weather,” she tore open the heat pack bag, stuck it on her stomach over her pajamas, then climbed into bed and curled up into a ball under the covers.
Running a hundred-meter sprint during period cramps was truly a lesson learned in bl00d.
The next day, Yan Wei ran into Jiang Youyi during a class break and greeted her, casually mentioning, “Don’t go to the sports field tonight, go back to sleep early.” Anyway, Jiang Youyi had excellent athletic ability and could get a place even without practicing. She was still on her period and should rest well.
Jiang Youyi didn’t say anything, hummed in agreement, and turned back to the classroom.
As soon as the bell rang for the end of evening self-study, Yan Wei and Zhou Xiaoxiao went to the sports field to run together, and this continued for three days in a row.
In the blink of an eye, it was the weekend again. Jiang Youyi packed her bag to leave, but Yan Wei intercepted her halfway. “Where are you going? Internet cafe?”
“What’s it to you?” Jiang Youyi looked unhappy, her attitude very stiff.
Yan Wei was stunned. Had she accidentally offended Jiang Youyi again?
“What’s wrong with you?” Yan Wei asked.
“Nothing.” Perhaps realizing her tone just now was too cold, Jiang Youyi looked away, took a deep breath, and softened her tone. “Not going to the internet cafe today, going straight home. Didn’t go back last week, my mom called Teacher Xu, and Teacher Xu is going to personally take me back later.”
Yan Wei knew that Jiang Youyi’s mother and Teacher Xu knew each other from before, but she hadn’t expected their relationship to be this good.
“If you don’t want to go home, why don’t you ask Teacher Xu to arrange for you to stay at school for the weekend?” Yan Wei lowered her voice, asking doubtfully.
With Teacher Xu talking to Jiang Youyi’s mother, the procedures for staying at school should be easy to arrange.
Jiang Youyi didn’t answer, remaining silent for two seconds before changing the subject. “Everyone’s gone, if you don’t go to the cafeteria soon, there won’t be any food left.”
Her resistant attitude was too obvious. Yan Wei’s second attempt to probe also ended in failure. She didn’t continue to persuade her, otherwise, Jiang Youyi would probably argue with her later, and besides, she did have the suspicion of being nosy.
But she still didn’t understand what Jiang Youyi was angry about.
“Okay, let’s go downstairs together,” Yan Wei shrugged, picking up a stack of mock exam papers from the table.
The two walked downstairs and were about to part ways when Jiang Youyi suddenly spoke. “The midterm exams are next week, have you reviewed?”
It was rare for Jiang Youyi to care about her grades. Yan Wei guiltily evaded the question. “It’s alright, I guess.”
“‘Alright, I guess’? What does that mean?” Jiang Youyi expressed doubt about Yan Wei’s recent study habits.
The good student who used to study for an extra twenty minutes in the classroom every day had been leaving evening self-study on time for over half a month, and on weekends she would read novels and comics, and also go out to chat and wander around everywhere.
Although Yan Wei might have played a one percent role in pushing things along, and Yan Wei had righteously told her that she herself wasn’t a good student, Jiang Youyi still felt it was abnormal and was worried about Yan Wei’s grades.
How could things continue like this?
“You’re worrying too much,” Yan Wei awkwardly nudged Jiang Youyi’s shoulder. “Hurry up and go, Teacher Xu will be waiting anxiously.”
Jiang Youyi didn’t say anything more, adjusted her backpack strap, and turned to leave.
As soon as Jiang Youyi left, Yan Wei suddenly felt a sense of boredom.
During this period, they saw each other all the time, and could occasionally exchange a few words. Yan Wei had almost forgotten those lonely days without Jiang Youyi.
Now that Jiang Youyi was just going home, Yan Wei felt as if the entire campus had become empty. Even the April breeze on her face was no longer warm, carrying a bit of chilly coolness along with her silent mood.
She missed her a little.
Persuading Jiang Youyi to stay at school for the weekend wasn’t entirely without her own selfish motives.
She wasn’t sure if it was obsession or not.
She just wanted to see her at any time.
Yan Wei had no appetite. She went to the cafeteria, ordered some seasonal vegetables with rice, took a few bites, and returned to the dorm. The other students staying at school had all gone out to play. Yan Wei was alone in the dorm, doing practice problems seriously at the small table board.
When Zhou Xiaoxiao returned, Yan Wei had just finished a set of math mock exam papers. Having not seen Yan Wei so focused on studying for a long time, Zhou Xiaoxiao was both surprised and gratified.
Finally taking it seriously. A top student was a top student after all. Which student really didn’t care about grades?
Yan Wei didn’t know what Zhou Xiaoxiao’s little brain was thinking all day long, only feeling that the way the other girl looked at her, suddenly curving her lips into a “hee hee” smile, was a bit strange and creepy.
Yan Wei suddenly put down her pen, picked up a bag of potato chips, and shook it loudly at Zhou Xiaoxiao. “Want some?”
“Offering kindness for no reason is either treacherous or thieving!” Zhou Xiaoxiao’s round face narrowed her eyes, looking at Yan Wei warily, sizing her up for a few seconds.
Yan Wei looked sincere, the dorm light creating highlights in her pupils, like a pool of clear autumn water.
Zhou Xiaoxiao deeply felt her vocabulary was lacking. For a moment, her brain went completely blank, unable to think.
She grabbed the potato chips, opened the bag, and ate them in one go. “Speak, what is it?”
While eating, her cheeks puffed out, accompanied by crunching sounds, like a little hamster hoarding winter food.
Yan Wei leaned over the table and said to Zhou Xiaoxiao, “I want you to help me ask what Jiang Youyi is doing now.”
The snacks in her mouth suddenly lost their flavor. Zhou Xiaoxiao’s eyes widened. “That’s it?”
“Yeah,” Yan Wei’s eyelashes fluttered, her hands clasped together in a request. “Please~”
Zhou Xiaoxiao lowered her head, put another stack of potato chips in her mouth, then took out her phone in front of Yan Wei, edited a text message, skillfully typed a string starting with “Yan Wei asks if you…”, contact Jiang Youyi, send.
Buzz—
The text message was sent, and a reply came back within a few seconds. The content was very short, only two words. Even if Zhou Xiaoxiao hadn’t intended to see the specific content, she scanned it at a glance.
She handed the phone to Yan Wei. “Here, replied, see for yourself.”
Busy.
Yan Wei: “…”
Yan Wei stared at Zhou Xiaoxiao’s phone screen, falling into a long silence.
Jiang Youyi was still angry. Yan Wei felt a bit frantic. When exactly had she provoked this easily agitated kitty again!