I Fell In Love With My Rival (GL) - Chapter 16

Three days after Fu Erqiu wrote down the conic section formulas for Su Chunyin, she finally managed to memorize them flawlessly. Even when Fu Erqiu randomly quizzed her, she passed without a hitch.

But it didn’t end there. After Su Chunyin asked her about the English question 23 and Physics problem 3 on behalf of Yang Yuxia, Fu Erqiu casually gave her even more grammar structures and physics formulas to memorize.

Now buried under a mountain of formulas, Su Chunyin wore a constant frown. Even when she tried to nap at her desk during class, her sleep was fitful—her dreams haunted by Fu Erqiu drilling her over formulas she just couldn’t recall, that cold face silently watching her struggle.

Jolted awake by such a nightmare, Su Chunyin lay slumped over her desk for a while, dazed. Finally, with a heavy sigh, she resigned herself to pulling out the little notebook Fu Erqiu had written for her and resumed memorizing.

She was so focused, she didn’t notice Yang Yuxia frantically signaling at her until Mr. Chen came down from the podium and tapped her desk.

“What are you muttering so seriously about?” he asked, glancing at the notebook in her hand. “Ah, English and Physics, huh? Very studious. But shouldn’t we show a little respect to Emperor Wu of Han while we’re at it?”

Mr. Chen taught history. And today’s lecture was on the Han dynasty’s great emperor.

Su Chunyin’s flustered explanation about “respect” clearly didn’t fly with Mr. Chen. After class, he kept her behind to deliver a long-winded lecture—on the importance of humanities in education, and how history fuels human progress. By the end, he assigned her a 1000-character essay detailing Emperor Wu’s life and the lessons it held for her personally.

By the time Su Chunyin pushed open the door to the Little Laundry Shop, her footsteps were heavy with defeat.

Dragging herself inside, she saw Fu Erqiu sorting through a pile of clothes. The girl glanced up in mild surprise.

“You’re here?”

“Oh, so that’s how it is!” Su Chunyin stomped up to the counter, tossed her backpack onto the small table, and grabbed Fu Erqiu by the collar, tugging her down slightly.

“What do you mean ‘you’re here’? So, I’ve been coming here for days and in your eyes I’m basically invisible?”

Fu Erqiu didn’t reply. She frowned and stared at her intently. After a moment, she spoke in a rather serious tone:

“Whether it’s me or this laundry shop… we’re not toys for you to play with. Su Chunyin, if you’re done playing, then go back.”

Su Chunyin wanted to argue that she wasn’t just fooling around, but halfway through she faltered. After all, hadn’t she come here just to make friends and hang out? Her voice dropped, a little aggrieved.

“I’m not playing…”

In the days that followed, Su Chunyin threw herself into proving she wasn’t just “playing.” She visited the Little Laundry Shop even more frequently—showing up not just in the evenings but also rushing to Class 1 right after school.

Ever since Lu Fang said they weren’t “the same kind of people,” she’d stopped bothering him altogether. Now she’d just politely greet him at the classroom door, then head straight for Fu Erqiu’s desk.

Over time, she started to notice a pattern: most of the time Fu Erqiu ignored her completely. But if she mentioned needing help with a question or complained about being so hungry from skipping breakfast, Fu

Erqiu would either pull out a workbook to explain things to her or fish out two soda crackers and a couple of lollipops from her pocket.

Su Chunyin also discovered that when she called Fu Erqiu “Jie Jie” (older sister) sweetly, Fu Erqiu still looked cold, but somehow became a lot more patient.

As the final exams approached, Su Chunyin practically made Class 1 her second home. She hung around Fu Erqiu constantly, and for less important classes, even bribed her deskmate to switch seats with her. Every day, she followed Fu Erqiu like a little tail, endlessly chirping “Jie Jie this” and “Jie Jie that.” Eventually, a few Class 1 students began teasing her:

“Su Chunyin, gave up on chasing Lu Fang and now buttering up Fu Erqiu to gather enemy intel instead?”

Su Chunyin was completely oblivious to how obvious her intentions had become. When she wasn’t glued to Class 1 or the Little Laundry Shop, she was texting Qiu Ye, ranting about how slowly the ‘friend-making process’ was going.

One afternoon, she excitedly brought a notebook to Fu Erqiu to ask a question. But Fu Erqiu had something to do and was heading out. Su Chunyin stood in the classroom doorway, calling out in a sing-song voice:

“Jie Jie, good jieJie, Qiu Qiu-jie jie, sweet Qiu Qiu-jie jie, just explain this one to me first, please? Just this one~”

Even that wasn’t enough. She wrapped both arms around Fu Erqiu’s shoulders and started rocking her back and forth, blinking her sparkly eyes up at her. The whole scene was absurdly clingy.

At that moment, Song Rao—who had gone to Class 1’s bathrooms because her own was too crowded—walked in and caught the whole thing. Her jaw dropped. She immediately pulled out her phone and bombarded

Su Chunyin with messages:

[Chunyin, what are you doing? Is this how you make friends? I’ve seen couples less clingy than you two!]

Flustered, Su Chunyin quickly let go and let Fu Erqiu leave. Song Rao grabbed her and dragged her to the little grove behind the school.

“Girl, I told you to be friends with her—not this kind of friend! Aren’t you laying it on a bit thick?”

Su Chunyin didn’t think she was doing anything wrong. Annoyed, she snapped,

“What do you know? Besides, I am just making friends. Why do you care so much?”

Song Rao looked genuinely worried.

“If I had seen you two like this a few days ago, I wouldn’t have said anything. But lately I found out…”

Su Chunyin perked up.

“Found out what?”

But Song Rao hesitated.

“Nothing. I haven’t confirmed it yet. Just… if you want to be friends, be friends. But don’t get too close.”

Too close?

Su Chunyin didn’t exactly take Song Rao’s words to heart, but they stuck in her mind.

Each time she sat at the cramped desk in the laundry shop doing homework, with Fu Erqiu bustling around nearby—her arm sometimes just a foot away—she’d wonder: Is this what she meant by ‘too close’?

Each time she leaned in next to Fu Erqiu’s desk to listen to her explain a problem and watched her long lashes lower, her breathing soft and audible—she’d wonder: Is this too close?

Each time she deliberately acted cute and Fu Erqiu silently handed her snacks, their fingers brushing ever so slightly—she’d wonder: Is this too close?

Su Chunyin had no answer. She couldn’t draw a clear line around what Song Rao meant by “too close.” But she kept thinking about those unfinished words—I recently found out… Found out what?

Fortunately, Song Rao didn’t keep her in suspense for long. The weekend before finals, she called Su Chunyin out for a private talk.

“I wasn’t sure at first,” Song Rao said. “But now I’ve pretty much confirmed it.”

“Confirmed what?” Su Chunyin asked.

Song Rao tapped her chin.

“Remember that day in the karaoke room when we heard Fu Erqiu take a phone call?”

Of course Su Chunyin remembered. They ended up at the police station that day—it was one of the most humiliating experiences of her life. Just thinking about it made her grit her teeth. Once I become friends with Fu Erqiu, I’m definitely getting revenge.

“And do you remember what she said on that call?” Song Rao leaned in, lowering her voice conspiratorially.

Su Chunyin tried to recall. A vague memory surfaced.

“You mean…”

Song Rao nodded and mimicked Fu Erqiu’s tone.

“‘What does it matter to you what gender I like!’”

She pinched her voice into a shrill imitation. It didn’t sound much like Fu Erqiu, but it jogged Su Chunyin’s memory.

Back then, the comment hadn’t seemed important. But now that Song Rao pointed it out, it carried a very different weight.

While Su Chunyin was still processing it, Song Rao dropped the bomb:

“Word on the street is… Fu Erqiu doesn’t like men.”

Su Chunyin blinked.

“Then… she just doesn’t. So what?”

Song Rao rolled her eyes.

“Ugh, let me put it this way—she likes women!”

Likes… women?

Su Chunyin froze. Her neck creaked as she slowly turned her head, and that sentence echoed in her brain again and again: She likes women.

Song Rao, her throat dry, took a sip of her drink.

“At first I thought, if she likes women, you should probably keep your distance. But now…”

She grinned, eyes glinting with mischief.

“This could be the perfect opportunity! If you ask me, forget about being her friend—just seduce her and start dating her already! That’ll really crush Lu Fang’s hopes once and for all!”