I Heard I'm a Hearthrob - Chapter 3

Physical education class was a rare moment of relaxation for high school students. As soon as the teacher dismissed them, Qiu Shuang eagerly began wandering around or looking for a quiet spot to rest.

But Song Ya’s arrival shattered the brief tranquility. She plopped down beside Qiu Shuang, her gaze fixed intently on her. Qiu Shuang felt a surge of irritation at this inexplicable stare. Based on her understanding of Song Ya, any approach from her meant either trouble—forcing Qiu Shuang to apologize—or simply a petty display of temper.

Song Ya possessed a strikingly assertive appearance, often described as having an “older sister” face. Though not particularly tall, her strength was unexpectedly formidable. Rumor had it that her family had enrolled her in taekwondo classes as a child, and she had nearly pursued a professional career before abandoning it due to unforeseen circumstances, ultimately choosing dance instead.

“Did Chen Wanjun say bad things about me to you?” Song Ya’s sudden accusation left Qiu Shuang silent.

“No, Wan Jun just told me to focus on studying. The college entrance exams are coming up soon.”

“But you can’t just stop talking to me altogether. Are you trying to end our friendship?”

Song Ya stood up, her figure blocking the sunlight from Qiu Shuang’s eyes.

Qiu Shuang watched as Song Ya leaned down, her lips close to her ear.

“Shuangshuang… you’re a good girl. You don’t want to be isolated again, do you? Listen to me and stay away from that b1tch.”

“I like her.”

Hearing Song Ya’s obvious bias toward Chen Wanjun, Qiu Shuang smiled faintly. Song Ya straightened up, her beautiful face appearing particularly repulsive in Qiu Shuang’s eyes.

“You like her? What’s that worth?”

As Song Ya stood, her gaze naturally drifted to the glimpse of pale skin visible through the open collar of Qiu Shuang’s uniform. She turned her head away.

“Button up the top button of your shirt.”

Only then did Qiu Shuang look down. Their summer school uniforms were simple short-sleeved shirts with two buttons at the collar, but students typically only fastened one, given the summer heat. Though puzzled, Qiu Shuang ultimately complied, not wanting to face the consequences of disobedience.

“It’s done.”

“Let me tell you, Qiu Shuang, only one of us can stay—either me or Chen Wanjun.”

Song Ya’s sudden threat left Qiu Shuang silent, but the arrival of another person shattered the tension.

“Song Ya’s right. You should have chosen between us before. Either pick her or pick me.”

Qiu Shuang really didn’t want to make this pointless choice, especially since she didn’t even have a choice.

“Maybe I should just play by myself from now on?”

“No!/Absolutely not…”

After saying this, the two girls exchanged a glance, then huffed and turned away, leaving Qiu Shuang alone in place.

The school bell rang again, putting an end to this meaningless quarrel.

Lu Chen didn’t know what had happened, but when he noticed the strange atmosphere, he simply smiled without saying a word. He probably understood what was going on and found these girls “interesting.”

Back in her seat, Qiu Shuang let out a long sigh.

To everyone else, Chen Wanjun, Qiu Shuang, and Song Ya had always been the so-called “unbreakable campus F3.” But was their relationship truly as solid as others believed?

“What are you doing?”

Qiu Shuang opened her eyes to find Chen Wanjun sitting grimly at the edge of her bed. Turning her head, she saw Song Ya lying beside her, the two girls in their school uniforms, back-to-back, having drowsed through the afternoon on the same dorm bed. Qiu Shuang refrained from commenting on how Song Ya had ended up in her room.

Chen Wanjun yanked Qiu Shuang up.

“How did you end up cuddling with her?!”

Facing the person she liked, Qiu Shuang wanted to clarify things.

“I don’t know. I just fell asleep.”

Chen Wanjun pulled Qiu Shuang behind her. Song Ya sat up, a smile playing on her lips as she watched the two.

“Why were you trying to take my clothes off…?”

Qiu Shuang looked at her, puzzled. Chen Wanjun tugged open Qiu Shuang’s collar, checked for any marks, and only then let out a sigh of relief before glaring at Song Ya.

“What’s wrong with two best friends sleeping on the same bed? What’s your problem? If you’re not happy, come join us. Let’s all sleep together.”

Heh, Chen Wanjun chuckled.

Just as Qiu Shuang was about to speak, Chen Wanjun waved her hand dismissively and walked away.

Qiu Shuang tried to chase after her but tripped and fell hard. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in an unfamiliar environment.

She was no longer a high school student; she had arrived in a new world…

She dreamed of Chen Wanjun again.

Her phone buzzed with a notification from a “special contact.” Qiu Shuang picked it up and saw a message from Lu Chen.

Lu Chen: Are you ready? Let’s go check out the cafeteria together.

Qiu Shuang: Okay.

Knowing someone familiar was at the same school made Qiu Shuang relax slightly. But she also understood she shouldn’t always rely on Lu Chen; she needed to become independent. With this in mind, she glanced at her roommate, remembering they still had classes to attend on their first day.

“Chen Jining, I’m going to explore the campus and get familiar with the environment. Want to come?”

Chen Jining sat at her desk, clicking away on her laptop without even turning her head.

“No need, freshman. I’m a sophomore and arrived several days ago. Just go explore yourself. If you have any questions, you can ask me when you get back. Oh, and remember to wear sunscreen.”

Qiu Shuang gave an okay sign, left the dorm room, and closed the door behind her. As she walked downstairs, she immediately spotted Lu Chen waiting for her.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting.”

“No problem, I just got here myself. Though I didn’t expect you to be assigned to this building.”

“What do you mean?” Qiu Shuang looked at him, puzzled.

Lu Chen smiled and replied, “Nothing. This building is really nice—close to the dining hall and classrooms. Everyone wants to live here. You’re lucky to have been assigned here directly.”

Lu Chen didn’t voice the rest of his thoughts. He suspected this building required extra fees, as it housed exclusively double rooms. Qiu Shuang didn’t need to wonder who had paid for her share; after all, aside from Song Ya, the nouveau riche, no one else would do something like that.

From Lu Chen’s observation, Qiu Shuang seemed unaware of the special treatment she was receiving. There was no need to reveal it to her, especially since she already disliked Song Ya.

Qiu Shuang followed Lu Chen through the campus, a knot of anxiety tightening in her chest. She knew Chen Wanjun had also enrolled at this university, and she longed to confront her, to demand why she had suddenly blocked her.

Yet she also dreaded meeting those cold, indifferent eyes. Lu Chen noticed Qiu Shuang’s unhappiness but said nothing. After completing the remaining formalities and buying their necessities, the two parted ways.

Lu Chen watched Qiu Shuang’s figure recede into the dormitory building. She knew Qiu Shuang loved Chen Wanjun and saw her only as a friend. She should maintain that boundary forever, but she couldn’t help stealing glances at Qiu Shuang’s eyes.

She wanted to smooth the worry lines between Qiu Shuang’s brows, to wipe away her sorrowful tears, but she had no right.

All she could do was watch her walk away, again and again.

“Shuangshuang, when will you finally be happy…?”

Chen Jining found Qiu Shuang’s demeanor upon her return somewhat odd. The younger woman seemed preoccupied with something. Chen Jining tried to remind herself to view Qiu Shuang through the eyes of a normal person, but her professional training always compelled her to analyze.

“Qiu Shuang, are you alright? You seem a bit down…”

“I’m fine, thank you, Senior Sister.”

Chen Jining watched Qiu Shuang return to her bed. When the younger woman’s blanket slipped off, she reached down to pick it up. Her snow-white arm instantly caught Chen Jining’s attention, but a strange black wristwatch on her wrist puzzled her. In this era of ubiquitous smartphones, why would anyone still wear such an antiquated timepiece?

This junior is truly a peculiar person, Chen Jining thought.

Shaking her head, Chen Jining returned to her online lecture. If everything went according to plan, she would graduate early and study abroad. She needed to finalize her study schedule.

“Twelve hours a day to start,” she muttered. “I’ll adjust as needed.”

Qiu Shuang’s inner turmoil didn’t last long, as military training was next on the agenda. To her delight, she saw Chen Wanjun again.

The questions Qiu Shuang had wanted to ask vanished the moment she laid eyes on Chen Wanjun. Chen Wanjun was equally surprised to see Qiu Shuang, never expecting they would end up in the same major.

706 is good enough, she thought.

“Wan Jun, I…”

“Move aside.”

The curt words froze Qiu Shuang in place. She watched as Chen Wanjun, clad in her military training uniform, brushed past her without even a glance back.

In the days that followed, Qiu Shuang felt like she was sleepwalking. She drifted through military training in a daze and began formal classes.

Chen Wanjun sat silently, Qiu Shuang right behind her. She could feel Qiu Shuang’s gaze occasionally sweeping over her, and a bitter resentment stirred within her.

Why does she have to sit behind me? Chen Wanjun thought. She kept fighting the urge to turn around and look at Qiu Shuang, but remembering her decision and the mocking voices that haunted her, she clenched her fists and vowed never to look back.

The moment Qiu Shuang sat down in class, she felt drowsy and wanted to nap on her desk. But as soon as she laid her head down, she heard a male classmate behind her say, “Hey, why are you sleeping on the first day of class? You should be studying hard!”

This old-fashioned lecture made Qiu Shuang fall silent. She stubbornly remained slumped over her desk, ignoring him.

Before she could respond, another male voice chimed in, but his words immediately grated on her nerves.

“She’s just a girl. What’s the point of studying? She’s pretty enough. She’ll just marry a rich guy later anyway.”

Hearing this, an unnamed fury ignited within Qiu Shuang. She was about to retort when a familiar, icy voice cut through the air from the front of the room.

“Pretty girls just need to find a man to live off for the rest of their lives? How do you know so much about that? Is your dad a gigolo?”

The boy in the back row started to stand up, but the boy next to him pulled him back down.

“This is all your fault for running your mouth. Apologize to her.”

Chen Wanjun chuckled at the two boys’ back-and-forth banter before turning her gaze to Qiu Shuang, who was silently staring back at her. Such a crude, pathetic attempt at flirting. Men are truly disgusting. And why do you always attract so much attention?

“Thank you…” Qiu Shuang murmured.

Qiu Shuang sighed and looked at Chen Wanjun. When Chen Wanjun stood up after class and approached her, Qiu Shuang understood the unspoken invitation and followed her.

They walked to a deserted corner where Chen Wanjun, seemingly furious, shoved Qiu Shuang against the wall.

“Why didn’t you retort? Why aren’t you paying attention in class?”

Qiu Shuang looked at Chen Wanjun, puzzled. Maybe I’ll never truly understand her. If she remembered correctly, Chen Wanjun seemed to enjoy Qiu Shuang’s pitiful, helpless gaze, as if begging for her help.

Love is a mystery I’ll never solve. Qiu Shuang was adept at pretending to be the person others wanted her to be.

She had been eyeing this cake for a long time. Even if the jam inside might be sour, so what? At least it looked beautiful.

“Wan Jun, if I remember correctly, didn’t you used to hate it when I studied?”

“What are you talking about…?”

Qiu Shuang heard the tremor in the other woman’s voice. She relished this moment, having silently torn a tiny corner of the window paper, letting Wan Jun mistakenly believe she had accidentally discovered something.

See? You’re scared again. So why did you abandon me? You were the one who barged into my life. Promise you’ll never leave me… okay?

“Did Song Ya say something to you?”

Qiu Shuang brushed away Wan Jun’s hand from her arm and looked at her. See? You’re angry. Even like this, you can’t hide your beauty.

“Wan Jun, I like you. Can you like me back?”

Qiu Shuang stared at her. Yes, you’re a terrible person. You’re afraid my name will climb to the top again. You’re afraid I’ll take away your only claim to fame, aren’t you?

“Qiu Shuang, can’t we just go back to being good friends like before? Why do you always have to pressure me like this?!”