I Fell In Love With My Rival (GL) - Chapter 6
After Lu Fang’s image had utterly collapsed in Su Chunyin’s eyes, Fu Erqiu’s image quickly followed suit.
Fu Erqiu’s downfall was more gradual, though. Su Chunyin struggled to accept it. “That can’t be true… Fu Erqiu doesn’t seem like that kind of person.”
Song Rao raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And you know what kind of person Fu Erqiu is?”
“…” Song Rao had a point. Not only did Su Chunyin not truly know what kind of person Fu Erqiu was—she didn’t even know what she looked like. At that moment, the mental image of Fu Erqiu—the studious,
gentle girl—faded, gradually replaced by the vision of the pink fox spirit from the screenshots.
“She…” Su Chunyin wasn’t even sure why she wanted to defend Fu Erqiu, but just as she was about to say something, Song Rao leaned in and whispered, “Remember at your birthday party when you asked me what I wanted to tell you?
After hearing some gossip about Lu Fang these past couple of days, I finally remembered. I wanted to tell you I think something’s going on between Lu Fang and Fu Erqiu. I saw Lu Fang buy milk tea for her!”
“Milk tea?” Su Chunyin frowned. She couldn’t mentally picture Lu Fang and Fu Erqiu in that kind of situation together.
“Hard to believe, right?” Song Rao nodded, a knowing look on her face. “I swear I saw it. To be precise, Lu Fang bought the milk tea and handed it to Fu Erqiu, but she didn’t drink it. After a while, she gave it to Lin
Zhizhi.”
Su Chunyin’s thoughts were a mess—one moment she was remembering Lu Fang shielding her in childhood games, the next she was imagining him handing milk tea to Fu Erqiu. Then suddenly, her mind jumped to the screenshots Little Freckle had sent her. In one of them, the pink fox spirit had pestered Lu Fang to buy her milk tea. And what had Lu Fang replied back then?
[“When I’ve got money, sure.”]
So now that he did have money, he bought milk tea—but for Fu Erqiu?
Su Chunyin’s thoughts swirled chaotically. In her mind, Fu Erqiu’s face slowly merged with the image of that coquettish pink fox. And when Song Rao mentioned that Fu Erqiu didn’t drink the milk tea but gave it to Lin Zhizhi, it made that overlap even more convincing.
Song Rao patted her shoulder. “Anyway… my condolences.”
Su Chunyin nodded stiffly, completely distracted for the rest of the day.
That evening, she collapsed on her bed at home, overwhelmed by everything that had happened. She opened WeChat. Her two most recent chats were with Little Freckle and Qiu Ye. She didn’t feel like talking to
Freckle or discussing Lu Fang with Xu Chang, Yang Yu, or anyone else. So, she opened her conversation with Qiu Ye and tentatively typed:
[Are you there?]
The reply came almost instantly: [I’m here.] They seemed to be online.
Su Chunyin, still emotionally tangled, typed without much coherence:
[A really good person cheated.]
[Your boyfriend?]
She went to the bathroom, splashed her face with cold water, and returned a bit calmer:
[No. Someone I grew up with—a really good friend.]
[Can you tell me more?]
Su Chunyin gave a general overview of Lu Fang:
[He’s been my friend since we were little. He’s super smart, kind, and all our teachers liked him…]
Once she started talking about Lu Fang, her words flowed. Memories surfaced—so many vivid ones. But halfway through her typing, Qiu Ye sent a new message:
[Do you like him?]
That hit Su Chunyin like a gut punch. She felt exposed. She wanted to ask, Was it that obvious? But looking over her own messages… yes, it was obvious. After a long silence, she skipped the topic and continued:
[I only found out recently that he’s been in an online relationship for a long time, but he also accepted another girl’s confession in real life.]
She briefly explained what had happened between Little Freckle, Lu Fang, and Fu Erqiu.
After hearing everything, Qiu Ye cut right to the point:
[So, all of this is based on your assumptions and interpretations?]
Su Chunyin paused.
Qiu Ye followed up:
[I think you should talk to him directly. Even if he’s been distant lately, from what you’ve described, he doesn’t sound like someone who would do this. Maybe it’s all a misunderstanding.]
Qiu Ye’s words hit home. Though all the evidence pointed to Lu Fang being two-timing, some part of Su Chunyin still hoped—maybe she was wrong. Maybe she misunderstood everything.
Now that someone had voiced what she secretly wanted to believe, Su Chunyin felt a wave of relief.
[Thank you. That really helped. What’s your address? I want to send you some milk tea!]
A moment later, Qiu Ye replied:
[No need. I don’t drink milk tea.]
Su Chunyin thought for a moment and sent another message:
[Then let me just send you a cash transfer instead.]
Last time, the companion chat service had mentioned Qiu Ye really needed money, so she probably wouldn’t refuse.
As expected, Qiu Ye didn’t reply for a while. So, Su Chunyin sent over a red envelope. Qiu Ye accepted it.
[?]
She had sent 200 yuan.
[I’m covering next month’s milk tea too.]
Originally, she and Qiu Ye had agreed to a one-month trial chat service. With this, she was signaling that she wanted to extend it.
After a while, Qiu Ye responded:
[Thanks, Boss.]
Even after so many hours, seeing “Boss” again made Su Chunyin’s feelings twist in a complicated way—but after this conversation, it felt a little warmer, a little closer.
________________________________________
After chatting with Qiu Ye, Su ChunyIn sent a message to Lu Fang that night. By the next morning, there was still no reply.
She thought about it, then sent a direct text:
[Lu Fang, I want to talk to you once your Olympiad training is over.]
Not just to ask about the rumors with Little Freckle and Fu Erqiu—but to address the growing distance between them.
Su Chunyin had planned to wait until after his training to sort it all out.
But plans never go as expected.
That afternoon, Little Freckle crossed two districts just to find her. They met in a milk tea shop. Her eyes were swollen like peaches—clearly, she’d cried hard.
Su Chunyin frowned. “What happened?”
Before Little Freckle could even speak, tears started falling again. Su Chunyin grabbed tissues from the counter and quietly asked for the full story.
A few minutes later, Little Freckle clutched a strawberry milkshake, sobbing:
“That… that pink fox messaged me again.”
It turned out the pink fox had been in contact with her all along—those screenshots had been sent privately. That morning, she’d sent more messages—this time, far more direct.
Little Freckle cried as she recalled the message:
“She told me to break up with Brother Fang, said I was taking someone else’s place. She said they’re already together in real life—and even sent me photos of them together… sob…”
Su Chunyin’s expression darkened. “Let me see your chat history.”
Little Freckle handed her the phone. Su Chunyin skimmed quickly—the pink fox’s tone was passive-aggressive and manipulative. It was clear Little Freckle had been emotionally overwhelmed.
Then Su Chunyin’s eyes landed on the photos the pink fox had sent.
One of them showed a dimly lit avenue, Wutong Road, with streetlights glowing in the background. Standing under them was a boy in a white school uniform, and beside him—just barely visible—was a sleeve with blue trim.
Su Chunyin recognized that sleeve. She knew the exact photo.
A loud scrape of a chair.
She stood up suddenly and stormed out of the milk tea shop.
Little Freckle called after her, but Su Chunyin heard nothing.
To hell with misunderstandings.
To hell with “maybe I got it wrong.”
Lu Fang was two-timing her—with that vixen, Fu Erqiu!
Suddenly, every puzzle piece snapped into place. She realized she had never truly known her childhood friend—and had vastly overestimated Fu Erqiu’s character.
Su Chunyin walked toward school. Along the way, acquaintances greeted her, but she only gave brief, stiff replies. At the entrance to Class 1, she paused, took a deep breath, and pulled out her phone to call Lu Fang.
But the call didn’t go through. The line was busy—again and again.
Her reason snapped.
She grabbed a student walking out of the classroom. “Is Fu Erqiu inside?”
“Yes,” the student replied.
Su Chunyin took another deep breath and glanced out the hallway window.
Later, she would remember every second of what happened next.
It was a late afternoon in late June. The sky above Jiangcheng was bright and cloudless, and the summer sun poured unrestrained across every inch of the school. The old elm tree beside the academic building cast a heavy shadow over the playground.
Cicadas buzzed outside the windows. The bell signaling the end of the lunch break would ring in fifteen minutes. Class 1 was starting to stir—some students went for water, others to the bathroom, and a few rested their heads on their desks, stealing a moment of sleep.
That was the first time Su Chunyin truly saw Fu Erqiu.
She stood at the doorway, kicked the classroom door open, and scanned the room with a bold, defiant expression. “Who’s Fu Erqiu?”
The room fell silent. All eyes turned to guide her gaze.
A girl seated in the back slowly looked up from her notes, face calm. “I am.”
Su Chunyin froze.
Despite all her mental preparation, she hadn’t expected Fu Erqiu to be… this beautiful.
Someone had pulled the curtain open behind her, and the golden sunlight spilled onto Fu Erqiu. She seemed to glow, her features almost ethereal. Her hair wasn’t tied up as it usually was—it flowed like a waterfall over her shoulders. Her almond-shaped eyes, slightly upturned at the corners, swept across the room coldly, as if her gaze carried the chill of a mountain spring.
She was stunning. Unforgettably so.
Not the nerdy, glasses-wearing girl Su Chunyin had imagined.
Not the flirty, manipulative green tea type either.
But a cold, aloof beauty—one that stood out effortlessly.
The words Su Chunyin had prepared got stuck in her throat. It wasn’t until Fu Erqiu tilted her head slightly and asked, “Is something wrong?” that Su Chunyin finally remembered why she had come.
She steadied herself and strode forward—grabbing Fu Erqiu by the collar of her school uniform—