Copycat - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

◎Talking Past Each Other◎

Wen Jiao pulled back her bed curtain and sat on the cold bed, deep in thought.

Zhou Ziyan was undoubtedly a good roommate. Clean, tidy, considerate, and she would even leave a light on for people who came back late. Even if she disliked how Zhou Ziyan imitated her, she should be more tolerant of her as a roommate.

Wen Jiao’s self-reflection was interrupted by a phone vibration. In the silence, the sound was especially jarring. Fearing she would wake up her sleeping roommates, she quickly put her phone on silent mode. She opened her WeChat messages.

Mousse Yu: What’s going on with you and Li Xu?

Wen Jiao kept it brief: “I rejected him.”

Mousse Yu: My friend saw Li Xu with a girl and a bouquet of flowers at the study cafe outside the west gate.

Mousse Yu: Didn’t he confess to you tonight? It wasn’t you?

A bad feeling arose in Wen Jiao’s heart. Sure enough.

Mousse Yu: My friend took a photo.

Mousse Yu: Photo.jpg

The photo only showed the smooth profile of the girl’s face and her gentle smile as she looked down. But Wen Jiao recognized her the moment she saw the photo.

She stood up and pulled back the half-closed curtain of the upper bunk. It was empty, with no one inside. She glanced at the time on her phone—1 a.m. Wen Jiao took a deep breath and typed furiously.

A minute passed. Mousse Yu stared at the “typing” status below the note and slowly typed a question mark.

Mousse Yu: ?

Mousse Yu: Are you writing a thesis in the chat box?

Wen Jiao typed and deleted, typed and deleted, and in the end, didn’t send anything.

She didn’t seem to have the right to comment on Zhou Ziyan going out with a guy late at night. Even though it made her feel terrible.

Mousse Yu: If you ask me, your roommate is a copycat.

Mousse Yu: It’s one thing for her to imitate you all the time, but now she’s getting worse. She’s even trying to steal a conceited guy who just confessed to you?

Wen Jiao frowned slightly. This time, she replied quickly.

Wen Jiao: Don’t say that. She didn’t do anything terrible.

Mousse Yu pouted, disappointed with her.

Mousse Yu: Sis, is that the point? The point is that she’s getting worse. She’s looking for dates among the people who are chasing you. What is that if not a rivalry?

Mousse Yu: Anyway, we’re moving campuses and getting new roommates in half a year. Why don’t we stop putting up with it and just confront her?

Wen Jiao sighed silently. She turned off her phone screen and lay flat on her bed, tossing and turning. The dorm room was quiet. She could hear the steady breathing from the bed opposite her and the sound of the air conditioner’s heating unit. The cold wind howled outside in the winter night, and the warm air inside created a layer of mist on the windowpane.

It didn’t matter why Zhou Ziyan had gone out with Li Xu. Even if Mousse Yu’s words were true, Wen Jiao didn’t care. Wen Jiao’s gaze fell on the inky black night outside the window. She was only doing it out of a roommate’s duty, not wanting her somewhat annoying upper-bunk roommate to encounter danger while walking alone at night.

It only took Wen Jiao a few minutes to convince herself. She put on her socks, shoes, and clothes, and quietly closed the dorm room door. Before closing the door, she stared at the desk lamp’s location for a while.

The door was gently shut, and a faint light appeared in the once-dark room. The desk lamp was on at the same brightness as before, its dim light just enough to illuminate one desk and the half of the floor near the door.

The cafe was directly opposite the school’s west gate. After midnight, the west gate would be closed, and only the main gate would be accessible. After Wen Jiao went downstairs, she headed straight for the school’s main gate. She was in a hurry and walked quickly, and soon noticed two figures, one tall and one short, under a streetlamp.

Zhou Ziyan and Li Xu were walking side by side on the sidewalk along the school fence. Li Xu stood next to Zhou Ziyan, trying hard to find a common topic. But only when he talked about things related to Wen Jiao would the person huddled in her down jacket show some interest and respond to him.

“Is Wen Jiao really going to intern at the M&A department of ER Investment Bank this winter break?”

Zhou Ziyan repeatedly confirmed the answer to this question. She got a definite answer.

“Yes,” Li Xu sighed. “I don’t know how she got in. For a top investment bank like ER, my resume was screened out in the first round of the autumn recruitment.”

Zhou Ziyan nodded thoughtfully. “So she’s going to intern at ER.”

She had secretly looked at the A4 sheet Wen Jiao had left face down on her desk when she was away. It was a very impressive resume. Zhou Ziyan had already guessed that Wen Jiao might go for an internship this winter break. However, even she hadn’t expected Wen Jiao to be recruited as an intern by ER with just a bachelor’s degree. Zhou Ziyan chuckled inwardly. She was indeed the person she had a crush on for so long.

Smiling cat.jpg

Seeing that she was interested in the internship, Li Xu thought she also wanted to send her resume to ER. He said with a bitter smile, “It’s not that easy to get into ER. And this year’s interns have already been filled, unless you have connections.” “Don’t even think about it, junior.”

Zhou Ziyan didn’t argue and smiled dismissively. Speaking of work, Li Xu became a little self-pitying. The finance industry relied heavily on background. His family’s conditions were decent, but his background couldn’t make up for his lack of ability. Top investment banks had basically all rejected him. Knowing that the junior he had always liked was going to ER, he sighed heavily, feeling an indescribable sense of frustration.

He leaned towards a double-income family in the future, but he didn’t want the woman to be too career-driven. In this regard, Wen Jiao didn’t quite fit his expectations for a future wife. As he was feeling frustrated, a gentle female voice, low in tone, like a warm spring breeze, brushed past his ears, causing a tingly sensation.

“It’s okay, senior.” The voice gently advised him: “Don’t be so self-deprecating.” “Even though you’re not as good as Wen Jiao in terms of IQ, EQ, or looks, you still have potential. You’re a potential stock.”

When Li Xu heard the first half of the sentence, he lowered his eyes and looked at the girl beside him. At that moment, he was suddenly dazed, and his ears automatically filtered out the rest of what the girl said. “Although you’re far behind Wen Jiao, but…” The night encouraged romance. Under the streetlamp, Li Xu stared intently at the beautiful girl beside him.

Zhou Ziyan and Wen Jiao had completely different styles. One was so cold it made people’s hearts pound, while the other was so warm it felt like a gentle breeze. Under the streetlamp, the girl’s smooth brown hair was slightly wavy and fell obediently on her fair collarbone. Her apricot-shaped eyes were round and gentle, and the baby fat on her cheeks made her look graceful and charming when she smiled.

Li Xu suddenly realized. Zhou Ziyan was actually the image of the wife he had fantasized about. Gentle and considerate. Unlike Wen Jiao, who was so career-driven that she barely went home during any holidays.

“Senior, to be honest, you two don’t have very compatible personalities. Your constant pursuit of Wen Jiao will also make her very tired.” “You shouldn’t be so fixated on Wen Jiao. It’s better for both of you this way. I believe you’ll definitely meet a life partner who is more suitable for you.”

Li Xu stared into the girl’s eyes and noticed that they contained a hint of expectation. He quickly understood. Was she hoping that he would look at someone more suitable for him right next to him? The faint moonlight shone sadly in the girl’s worried eyes. Li Xu suddenly understood her unspoken feelings. His expression went from shock to realization, and finally turned into a melancholy sense of mutual appreciation.

On his journey of pursuing Wen Jiao, he would always see a girl standing not far away. Sometimes he would even mistake this person for Wen Jiao because they always wore similar clothes and accessories. It turned out that while he was silently guarding Wen Jiao, someone else was silently guarding him in a similar way.

Li Xu’s gaze towards Zhou Ziyan became more and more gentle. He cautiously created a little distance between them. Zhou Ziyan thought she had successfully gotten rid of another love rival and felt happy. Both of them were satisfied as they swiped their cards and entered the school.

The campus was silent. In this quiet atmosphere, Li Xu suddenly stopped and said hesitantly, “Ziyan, I…” “Hmm?” Zhou Ziyan was startled by his sudden intimate address. Her big eyes were full of confusion. At that moment, a gust of wind blew, lifting a lock of her curly hair and revealing her slightly red, frozen ear.

“Never mind,” Li Xu said. Seeing the girl’s shy, slightly red ears, he swallowed the words of rejection. He still had feelings for Wen Jiao and wanted to maintain a certain social distance from other women, but his body unconsciously leaned towards his ideal image of a wife.

What Wen Jiao saw when she went out was this intimate scene. She watched expressionlessly. Her fingers, tucked into her pockets, unconsciously twisted together until they turned white. Seeing them talking so happily, she’s face turned cold, and she casually threw the unopened hand warmer in her pocket into the nearest trash can.

The dorm room door was gently pushed open. Zhou Ziyan returned to the dorm at 2 a.m. As she walked into the room, the hot air from the air conditioner greeted her. Seeing the desk lamp on, Zhou Ziyan was both surprised and happy. Someone had left the light on for her in the dorm. If only it were Wen Jiao, she thought.

Zhou Ziyan quietly approached the lower bunk and heard the steady breathing from inside the curtain. After midnight was Wen Jiao’s birthday. After making sure Wen Jiao was asleep, Zhou Ziyan carefully opened her cabinet and put the gift she had been holding in her arms inside. She sat on the chair and thought for a long time, crumpling up many imperfect papers and throwing them in the trash before finally keeping one satisfactory note. Although Li Xu had talked to her about Wen Jiao, she hadn’t actually planned to go out so late. It was only because the gift she had bought was still at the courier station, which was very close to the cafe, that she reluctantly accepted Li Xu’s invitation.

Zhou Ziyan rubbed her hands together, a faint sense of anticipation for this birthday. Wen Jiao would definitely be happy. Maybe… after her birthday, their relationship could even improve. The girl changed into a thin nightgown in the darkness. The tight-fitting dress outlined her graceful figure. She stood on the ladder, held onto the handle of the upper bunk, and agilely climbed into bed, as nimble as a kitten. She fell asleep peacefully and contentedly.

In the unseen darkness, someone slowly opened their eyes. Wen Jiao didn’t sleep all night.

The midday sun slanted down through the dorm room’s balcony door. Zhou Ziyan opened her groggy eyes and pulled back the blackout curtain. When she woke up, the other three people had already left. The note she had left on Wen Jiao’s desk last night was gone, and there were signs that the cabinet under the desk had been opened. It looks like Wen Jiao has already received the gift, Zhou Ziyan thought. She had just sat down at the desk when she found a small note pressed under the mirror.

The handwriting on it was delicate and elegant, but it made Zhou Ziyan unable to smile.

No need for the gift. Thank you for your kindness.

Zhou Ziyan’s hand holding the note trembled slightly. Sure enough, she found the untouched gift she had retrieved last night under the desk.

A discreet luxury car was parked a few hundred meters from the school’s main gate. A woman dressed in expensive clothes and a sophisticated outfit walked over. The driver in the luxury car immediately got out and bowed to open the door for her.

“Miss Zhou,” the driver said. “The family head has informed you to return to the old mansion as soon as possible.”

Zhou Ziyan was wearing expensive couture, with a hint of unnoticeable frustration in her eyes. Hearing the driver’s words, she said in a flat tone, “Since you’ve already made the decision for me, why bother asking?”

The driver was an old servant of the Zhou family. Hearing this, he just smiled faintly, “After all, you are the third young lady of the Zhou family.”

Zhou Ziyan lowered her eyes. “Am I?” But besides being rich, she was treated worse than a dog in the Zhou family.