Copycat - Chapter 15

Chapter 15

◎Our Relationship◎

Before Zhou Ziyan confessed, everyone, including Wen Jiao, thought she was a copycat.

It was shortly after the start of freshman year. In the dorm, “Wen Jiao, that outfit of yours is so nice!” Li Ranran, after combing her hair, looked envious. “Where did you buy it? I want it, boo hoo hoo.” Wen Jiao casually said, “Taobao, do you need the link?” Li Ranran glanced at the other roommate wearing the same outfit and laughed, her tone a little sarcastic. “Never mind, our styles are different. No matter how good it looks, I would look out of place. I can’t learn the essence.”

Wen Jiao didn’t reply, but Yu Zhou, who was still in her top bunk, sat up, her tone a little warning. “Li Ranran.” “What?” Li Ranran pouted and mumbled softly, “I didn’t say anything wrong.” At that time, they had just started living together. In less than a semester, everyone’s personality was fully revealed. Li Ranran was arrogant, Yu Zhou was easygoing, Wen Jiao was indifferent, and as for Zhou Ziyan… she was a complete punching bag.

Zhou Ziyan sat on her chair with her head down, her long hair covering the side of her face, making her expression unreadable. Wen Jiao thought she didn’t take it to heart until she saw her Adam’s apple nervously bob twice. Wen Jiao: “…” In the end, her heart softened. She took the initiative to smooth things over. “Dressing style isn’t fixed. It’s a good thing to be willing to try more,” she said. “Fine,” Li Ranran said with a smirk, her expression not looking very pleased.

The atmosphere was a little awkward. Wen Jiao was silent for a while and then took the initiative to change the subject. “Do you guys know that a milk tea shop opened downtown? I heard it’s really good.” She glanced at Zhou Ziyan’s ear twitch out of the corner of her eye and changed the topic. She suggested, “How about we all go and try it after class? A dorm team-building activity?” “How are we going to go?” Yu Zhou shook her head. “It’s a new trendy shop. The line is a whole street long. If we go to line up after class, it will probably be closed before we even get to the front.” Li Ranran sighed. “We won’t be able to get a fresh one. Maybe it’ll be easier to buy after the hype dies down. Let’s go then.” Wen Jiao smiled and didn’t mind too much. After all, her original intention wasn’t to drink delicious milk tea, but to make the atmosphere in the dorm less awkward.

…

“You still remember that,” Zhou Ziyan said, her face red, as she lay on Wen Jiao’s shoulder. Wen Jiao’s lips curved into a smile, a little helpless. “I was really scared when I got back that day.” That night, Wen Jiao went back to the dorm after dealing with the student union’s chores. Halfway up the stairs, she suddenly ran into Zhou Ziyan, who mysteriously pulled her aside. Zhou Ziyan opened the door to a single dorm on the same floor with a key. Her beautiful long hair hung on both sides of her earlobes, and she looked like a harmless little white rabbit.

“What’s wrong?” The door opened, and Wen Jiao asked in confusion. When she looked up, she saw milk tea bags all over the floor. Without a doubt, they were from the trendy shop she had mentioned that morning. There were all kinds of flavors of milk tea in the bags. The person had even considered hot and cold and the sugar level. Wen Jiao’s expression was a little stunned. Zhou Ziyan carefully approached her and said softly, “I didn’t know what flavor you liked, so I bought a little of everything… I hope you don’t hate me… I didn’t deliberately imitate you, I just…” The Zhou Ziyan at that time couldn’t say anything more obvious.

Wen Jiao’s expression was serious. Ever since they started living together, Li Ranran had always been deliberately targeting Zhou Ziyan, often making a big deal out of nothing. Zhou Ziyan was also always pitiful, looking like she was easy to bully. Wen Jiao didn’t like to meddle in other people’s business, but at that moment, she also frowned slightly, and her mood was heavy. She had to do something about the bullying happening right in front of her. She grabbed Zhou Ziyan’s shoulder. Zhou Ziyan was stunned for a moment and didn’t resist, but she lowered her head even more, trying to hide her very red cheeks.

“Look up.” Wen Jiao’s tone was serious. “Doesn’t it hurt your neck to always look down at others?” “Zhou Ziyan, be honest with me. Is someone in the dorm bullying you and forcing you to do this?” “Huh?” Zhou Ziyan’s expression was a little blank.

…

The sky gradually darkened. By the time they reached the residential area, the streetlights along the road were already on. Wen Jiao carried Zhou Ziyan forward step by step. Zhou Ziyan nestled into her neck, her eyes a little resentful. The road was still not long enough. Zhou Ziyan’s voice was muffled. “If Li Ranran knew about our conversation, she would probably be so wronged she would cry.”

“Do you remember what you said back then?” Wen Jiao asked. Zhou Ziyan’s face was even redder, and she said in a muffled voice, “I remember.” In the single dorm, Zhou Ziyan was in a daze for a while, and finally, from Wen Jiao’s serious expression, she realized that the other person had misunderstood. She waved her hands repeatedly, her tone anxious as she explained, “No, no one in the dorm is bullying me. Everyone is very nice.” “…I did it on my own free will.” Wen Jiao looked at her, pursing her lips, with a look of disbelief. She asked for more details. “How long did you wait in line for these milk teas?” “Two…” hours, she was going to say. However, the words were on the tip of her tongue. She secretly glanced at Wen Jiao’s expression and saw that she was looking at her with a serious and earnest expression, so she knew that lying would only deepen the misunderstanding. She finally lowered her head and confessed. “I waited for six hours.”

“Why?” Wen Jiao asked. “You waited for six hours just to buy milk tea?” “Didn’t you say you wanted to drink milk tea?” Wen Jiao was slightly stunned and looked down at her. The girl wearing the exact same clothes as her had her eyelashes lowered. The long, thick eyelashes trembled slightly. “…I just wanted to be nice to you and hope you would be happy.” “If you’re happy, I’ll be even happier.” Wen Jiao remembered being silent for a long time back then. A lot of Zhou Ziyan’s actions seemed illogical to her. She even once thought that even though the other person was so rich, she was deliberately being disgusting by buying so many cheap identical items and placing them in the dorm. Wen Jiao never would have thought that Zhou Ziyan’s affection for her was full from the very beginning.

The milk tea she bought was eventually finished by the girls on the same floor. Wen Jiao stayed by Zhou Ziyan’s side, helped her carry the milk tea bags, and watched her knock on each dorm door. That was the first time in a semester that Zhou Ziyan had talked to someone from the same major who wasn’t her roommate. Although it was a misunderstanding, Zhou Ziyan wasn’t without gains. Starting that day, people started smiling and saying hi to her on her way to and from class with her backpack.

…

Home.

Zhou Ziyan lay in bed, listening to the sound of water splashing in the bathroom. Her mind uncontrollably began to imagine Wen Jiao with her wet hair, water dripping from the ends, and her head tilted back. Her cheeks gradually turned red. The sound of water in the bathroom suddenly stopped. She quickly grabbed the ice pack from the bedside table and put it on her cheeks, which were red as if she had a fever, afraid that Wen Jiao would notice. The sound of footsteps got closer, and Zhou Ziyan’s heart also started to race. However, the footsteps stopped just as they reached the point where the open bedroom door could be seen. They walked into another bedroom instead. Zhou Ziyan secretly let out a sigh of relief, but also felt a little regretful.

When a person with a normal physiology sees the person they like come out of the bath, they will have a reaction. Her feelings were complicated. She was both looking forward to Wen Jiao knowing her desires and afraid that it would scare the other person away. In the end, she could only lie in bed nervously, praying for the heavens’ favor.

After a while, there was a knock on the bedroom door. Zhou Ziyan wasn’t sleepy at all, she was just pretending to have her eyes closed. As soon as she heard the knock, she immediately opened her eyes and looked at the door. A girl wearing a light white silk nightgown stood outside the door, revealing her slender calves and fair shoulders and neck. She politely asked, “May I come in?” Zhou Ziyan swallowed. “Yes, you can.”

Wen Jiao walked to the chair. She crossed her legs, her jade-white toes curled up slightly, and looked down at the instructions for the pain relievers and medicated oil. Zhou Ziyan turned over, her back to Wen Jiao, her face flushed. Wen Jiao noticed her movement and was slightly stunned. “Apply the medicated oil once a day. You don’t need to apply it again today. Take the pain relievers no more than twice a day. This medicine has strong side effects, so only take it if the pain is unbearable. I’ve placed it on the bedside table for you.”

Wen Jiao stood up and poured a cup of hot water. When she stood up, her field of vision became wider. Holding the warm cup, she could see the other person’s slightly red profile and curled toes. Am I dressed too revealingly? Wen Jiao always wore this nightgown in the dorm. She remembered her gaze often meeting Zhou Ziyan’s. Although the other person’s eyes always darted around, she had never thought much of it, only assuming she was just a shy person. Now that she thought about it, perhaps she had been too slow. This nightgown can be put away, Wen Jiao thought to herself. She bent over slightly and placed the cup where Zhou Ziyan could easily reach it. She wanted to leave and give the other person some privacy, but just as she turned around, the lace edge of her silk nightgown was lightly tugged. Wen Jiao’s steps paused, and she looked down at the owner of the hands.

“…Wen Jiao.” Zhou Ziyan’s voice was a little shaky. Because she had come in a hurry, Zhou Ziyan hadn’t brought anything. Wen Jiao had to find her one of her own nightgowns, a dark purple V-neck silk nightgown. Wen Jiao thought it was very ordinary when she wore it, but she didn’t expect Zhou Ziyan to look so… shapely in it.

“Mhm.” Wen Jiao looked at her, her eyes trembling slightly. “What is it?” “Everything I said to you at the cafe was serious.” Zhou Ziyan pursed her lips, her Adam’s apple bobbing with difficulty. Her words were slow, but her attitude was unusually firm, not as weak and easily bullied as she usually was. Wen Jiao looked at her calmly, waiting for her to continue. “My feelings for you aren’t the kind of feelings you have for a friend or a confidant, but the kind of feelings you have for a lover.” Wen Jiao’s eyelashes trembled. Zhou Ziyan’s fingers, which were clutching the edge of the nightgown, tightened even more. “I can be responsible for every word I’ve said. Please take me… and our relationship seriously.”

The air seemed to freeze. Wen Jiao didn’t know what to say. She could only stand there, quietly gazing at the girl who was speaking. The awkward atmosphere suddenly calmed Zhou Ziyan down. She looked up, gazing at the person she loved who was standing there quietly. “I can’t stand it anymore.” “Do you know, Wen Jiao?” “Every time someone stays by your side for a little longer, I feel like I’m going to break down. I want to go through every single thing they’ve ever done, just to find something negative to prove to you that you’re not a good match.” “Look at me. Only I will never betray you. Only I…”

As Zhou Ziyan spoke, she was biting her lower lip tightly. A few drops of crimson bl00d seeped out of her pale lips, like a fanatical poppy blooming on a fragile white sheet of paper. Her heart was pounding like a drum, and her vision was a little blurry. In a trance, a faint coolness came from her lips. A pair of fair hands gently stroked her lips, wiping away the drops of bl00d, leaving only a cold, pure, and soft touch.

“I understand.” Wen Jiao looked at her bitten lower lip and frowned slightly. She found a hemostatic ointment from the first-aid kit and gently applied it to her lower lip, which had been bitten by her canine teeth, with a cotton swab. Her movements were careful and tender. “…I’ll give it serious thought.” “Our relationship.”