I Fell In Love With My Rival (GL) - Chapter 28.1

The next day, Su Chunyin hobbled into the classroom with a cane, limping slightly. Fu Erqiu followed behind her, quietly ensuring her safety.

Seeing this, Song Rao rushed over to check the injury on Su Chunyin’s foot. When she heard that it was just a sprain and not too serious, she finally let out a sigh of relief. “It’s swollen like that? You probably won’t be walking properly for a few days.”

Su Chunyin’s foot was indeed still swollen, though it looked much better than it had the night before. Still, it would take time to fully heal.

Worried, Song Rao bombarded her with questions. Last night, when she heard that Su Chunyin was at a clinic, she had been so anxious she almost drove over. It took a lot of persuasion from Su Chunyin to calm her down. What Song Rao didn’t know was that Su Chunyin had stayed the night at Fu Erqiu’s house. All she saw was how attentive Fu Erqiu was when they walked in together. After finishing her round of questioning, she raised her brows suggestively at Su Chunyin. “Well, well… making progress, are we? Fu Erqiu the top scholar seems to treasure you quite a bit.”

Su Chunyin glanced toward Fu Erqiu, who wasn’t far away, then quickly looked away in embarrassment. “It’s not like that.”

Song Rao merely chuckled without commenting.

Although what happened between Su Chunyin and Fu Erqiu the night before hadn’t caused too much of a stir, it had alarmed the two supervising teachers enough that they reported it to the school. The very next day, a safety lecture was added for all students and faculty, covering various safety protocols and precautions.

As for the haunted house that lacked proper safety measures—one of the main reasons Su Chunyin and Fu Erqiu got trapped—Song Rao, still furious, had already reported it and even hired a well-known lawyer, determined to hold them accountable.

Although the haunted house’s inadequate setup had led to the incident, Su Chunyin later reflected and realized her own recklessness and poorly timed curiosity had played a part too. After returning, she apologized to Fu Erqiu. She didn’t say much in response, only reminded her to be more careful and not put herself in danger again.

The school’s safety seminar was held in the auditorium. The cushioned seats made Su Chunyin sleepy after a short while. Her cane—bought that morning by Fu Erqiu after seeing how difficult it was for her to walk—rested beside her. Though it was inexpensive, it was sturdy.

Whenever she began to nod off, she would reach out and touch the cool surface of the cane, which sobered her up a little. Inevitably, her thoughts would drift to Fu Erqiu—the one who had bought it for her.

Last night, she had been woken by the heat while sleeping in Fu Erqiu’s bed and accidentally uncovered something she had long suspected:

Fu Erqiu was Qiu Ye.

Qiu Ye was Fu Erqiu.

No wonder she got along so well with both of them. No wonder their profile pictures looked so alike. No wonder both names contained the word “Qiu.”

It turned out… they were the same person all along.

Thinking of this, Su Chunyin couldn’t resist turning around to sneak a glance. The auditorium seats were arranged by height within each class, so Fu Erqiu was sitting just three seats behind her, attentively listening to the lecture.

Fu Erqiu is Qiu Ye…

After spending a night digesting the realization, Su Chunyin was finally able to fully connect the two identities in her mind.

She recalled every moment she had shared with Qiu Ye, and then with Fu Erqiu. A dilemma formed in her heart—should she tell her?

Carefully reviewing her past conversations with Qiu Ye, Su Chunyin realized that Fu Erqiu probably didn’t know the little boss who had hired Qiu Ye to chat was her. To her, she was likely just a fellow hobbyist she had met online. She shook her head with a wry smile—wasn’t that what she herself had thought at first?

Then she remembered her alt account. If she had used her main account to add Fu Erqiu, she would’ve immediately known who she was. Likewise, if she had been using her real identity, she would’ve figured her out as well.

But if that had happened, maybe they wouldn’t have gotten along so well. Maybe they wouldn’t have become friends.

“Gotten along well?” Su Chunyin sighed. She had completely forgotten—she’d once told Qiu Ye all kinds of things about Fu Erqiu, even confessed her plans to “seduce” the top student, just phrased a little differently.

If Fu Erqiu ever found out that the little boss was actually her, it wouldn’t just ruin the seduction plan—she’d probably question whether her friendship with her was ever genuine.

She couldn’t let her know that she was Qiu Ye’s employer! Su Chunyin made a firm decision on the spot: stall for time. Even if she eventually found out, the later the better.

But how long should she wait?

Su Chunyin thought for a moment:

Maybe… until she agrees to be my girlfriend.

Once that idea took root, she decided to accelerate the pace. She pulled out her phone and sent Qiu Ye a message.

The safety seminar dragged on tediously, but having recently experienced a real danger, Su Chunyin stayed awake and listened attentively until the end.

The placement exam was scheduled for the next day. Their homeroom teacher calmly announced it despite the class’s collective groans. Once again, Fu Erqiu slid a notebook over to her and reminded her to review.

That evening, Su Chunyin received a reply from Qiu Ye. She stared at the numbers and read them aloud softly: “September 13th…”

That was Fu Erqiu’s birthday. Su Chunyin wanted to give her a gift.

But time was short and options were limited. She was a bit distressed, unsure what would be appropriate.

The next day, Su Chunyin was visibly tired during the exam—partly because she had stayed up racking her brain for a gift, and partly because she had spent the night reviewing the key notes Fu Erqiu had made for her.

The notes worked wonders. As she answered the questions, Su Chunyin found that many of the question types had been covered in the notebook. Thanks to her thorough review, she was able to answer most of the paper with confidence.

After the exam, Su Chunyin expressed her gratitude. “Thanks for the notebook, Sister Qiuqiu~”

Fu Erqiu didn’t respond. So, she spun her chair around, leaned over the backrest, and stared at the girl still writing: “I can feel it—my ranking is definitely going to jump this time! Then my mom will definitely keep hiring you to tutor me.”

The girl paused her writing and said, “You’re actually quite smart. You just didn’t study seriously before. If you make up for the gaps in your knowledge, you can maintain good grades even without tutoring.”

Su Chunyin thought about it and grinned. “So… I can take that as a compliment?”

Fu Erqiu didn’t even blink. “No need to take it as one. It is a compliment.”

Delighted by the praise, Su Chunyin swung her dangling legs. “Qiuqiu-jie, are you free next weekend?”

The girl finally stopped writing. “Why?”

Su Chunyin leaned in closer. “I have something really important to tell you. Don’t skip out, okay, Qiuqiu-jie?”

Fu Erqiu set down her pen, not looking her way. “I’m not free.”

Su Chunyin stuck out her tongue and made a face at her.

The news that Su Chunyin wanted to give Fu Erqiu a gift soon spread to the “Chirpy Study Support Squad.” The reason? After pondering for a long time and still not coming up with anything, she turned to Song

Rao for help. Song Rao said she’d think about it—then immediately told the rest of the group.

Yang Yuxia and Xu Chang, who were isolated over in the humanities building and hadn’t seen Su Chunyin or Song Rao in ages, were eager to make their presence felt in the group and started throwing out random suggestions:

[Gold! There’s no one who doesn’t love gold!]

[Alcohol! Give her a bottle and then… you know… do this and that!]

Song Rao, at least, was a bit more reliable:

“She might not accept anything expensive, but something handmade would be far more meaningful. On her birthday, ask her out—take her to dinner, watch a movie, then head up the mountain to watch the fireworks. When the fireworks bloom in the sky, give her the gift. I refuse to believe that even a lesbian who’s never dated before could resist something that romantic.”

After a pause, she added:

“Not even a straight girl could!”

Su Chunyin’s heart stirred. Fu Erqiu’s birthday was just next Saturday. She had already been planning to ask her out on that day, which was why she had asked earlier if Fu Erqiu was free. But in her mind, the plan had been vague. She hadn’t figured out the specifics. Now, with Song Rao’s suggestion, she finally had a solid direction to work with.

“Thank you,” she replied sincerely.

While Song Rao had offered a practical plan, none of them had any clue about what specific gift to give. Su Chunyin spent a long time searching online, finding the most common gifts were things like scarves or origami wishing stars.

Knitting a scarf would take too long—there was no way she’d finish in time even if she started learning right away. As for folding stars, although meaningful, they required daily dedication and patience, which didn’t suit Su Chunyin’s current situation at all.

After a fruitless night of indecision, Song Rao suggested she check out the local handmade goods market.

Su Chunyin slapped her forehead—of course! How had she forgotten?

That weekend, Su Chunyin and Song Rao wandered through the artisan market together. Jiangcheng, located by the sea, had many flourishing markets, and the handmade goods fair was one of the more well-known ones.

The market was held once a week, and all the vendors sold handcrafted items. As they strolled through the aisles, they saw everything from practical bamboo and wooden goods—like baskets and stools—to clever little trinkets like Luban locks and miniature wooden figurines made by artisans.

Although both girls had lived in Jiangcheng all their lives, it was their first time visiting this popular market.

Song Rao was quickly drawn in by the variety of interesting items. She wandered from stall to stall, poking and prodding, listening to one vendor’s explanation before moving to another to watch a demonstration.

As a result, they ended up spending several extra hours at the market.

Su Chunyin, growing frustrated, finally said, “That’s enough. If we keep going like this, we’ll waste the entire day here. Don’t forget—we skipped class to come here!”

Even on weekends, Jiangcheng No.1 High only gave students Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon off. The rest of the time was still scheduled for lessons. Their trip to the market had been a covert escape.

Song Rao pouted. “Well, did you even find something you want to give her?”

Su Chunyin lowered her gaze and didn’t answer. That was exactly the problem. They had browsed the entire market, seen all sorts of things, and yet she still hadn’t found anything that felt right to give.

“We’ll have to think of something later,” she said helplessly. But how much later could they afford? It was already the weekend—Fu Erqiu’s birthday was in just one week. If she wanted to gift something handmade, she’d need the rest of the week to make it. There wasn’t a single day to waste.

Seeing her like that, Song Rao didn’t push further. “Alright, let’s head back then.”

She looked around and frowned. They had wandered deep into the far end of the market. “Ugh, where even are we?”

Su Chunyin also glanced around. This area was sparse—few vendors, even fewer customers. Up ahead, a small, half-open shop caught their attention. A few wooden carvings were scattered behind the dusty glass window.

Both girls stopped and let out a soft “Huh.” Their eyes were drawn to the carvings.

Su Chunyin ended up negotiating with the shop owner for a long while and finally decided—she would carve a wooden sculpture for Fu Erqiu herself.

The moment she saw the shop, the idea had taken root. She wanted to carve a sculpture featuring both herself and Fu Erqiu. After some thought, she pulled out the photo they had taken together under the green zen tree and decided to base the carving on that.

It had been over a month since that photo was taken, yet as Su Chunyin stared at it, the memories of that day were still fresh in her mind, like it had just happened.

She gazed at the photo in a daze. After a while, her fingers twitched, and she set it as the background for their private WeChat chat.

On this alternate account of hers, the only contact was Fu Erqiu. Initially, she had made it to hide her Moments posts and prevent awkward overlaps between Fu Erqiu and Lu Fang. But now, with a custom background, the whole account felt like it was created solely for Fu Erqiu. With just one contact, the feed was filled entirely with her—it gave off an oddly intimate vibe.

Carving required some art skills, and Su Chunyin wasn’t good at drawing. Fortunately, the wood carving shop—though advertised as a “DIY only” experience—offered a lot of support. The owner helped sketch the photo onto the wooden block and taught her the basics of carving.

Su Chunyin wasn’t aiming for perfection—just enough to recognize the two of them.

Fu Erqiu had still been attending school, but she always seemed burdened by something, vanishing as soon as class ended. As a result, she never noticed the little wooden object Su Chunyin was working on.

The second-year curriculum was demanding. Carving after going home wasn’t practical, so Su Chunyin simply brought the block to school and worked on it during breaks.

Many students were curious and asked her what she was carving. She would squint and smile, waving them off:

“It’s for someone special.”

Song Rao would often come check on her progress, making exaggerated faces whenever she heard her say that.

“Ugh, you really look like some hopeless romantic idiot right now.”

Su Chunyin didn’t respond—her heart and soul were completely immersed in the carving.

Partway through, she suddenly remembered that Fu Erqiu didn’t have a pen holder on her desk. Inspired, she spoke with the shop owner again and decided to turn the sculpture into a pen holder.

With the owner’s help, she hollowed out the wood block. The detailed 3D carving was simplified into a shallow relief, which was easier to complete. Realizing she still had some time left, Su Chunyin added one more detail to the back—the large red maple tree that stood outside Fu Erqiu’s house.