I Heard I'm a Hearthrob - Chapter 4

Chen Wanjun was bewildered. She simply wanted to maintain their friendship. Was that so impossible?

Why did Qiu Shuang keep bringing up this sensitive topic, again and again? Every time Qiu Shuang looked up at her with pleading eyes, Chen Wanjun felt her soul tremble. She feared losing control in the next moment, agreeing to Qiu Shuang’s request, and having everything she had worked for destroyed. Chen Wanjun could never become a lesbian; she had to remain a conventional, ordinary person to achieve the worldly success she craved.

“…But I really do like you so much.”

Chen Wanjun watched Qiu Shuang’s tears fall. She desperately wanted to embrace her, to kiss away the tears on her face, but she couldn’t. One wrong move would lead to another, and she would lose everything. As if steeling herself, she took a deep breath and shoved Qiu Shuang away forcefully.

“Stay away from me, you disgusting lesbian.”

Caught off guard by the sudden push, Qiu Shuang stumbled and fell to the ground. She glanced up at Chen Wanjun, bewildered. How strange, she thought. You’ve just hurt me, yet tears are streaming from your eyes?

The other person seemed about to help her up, but ultimately turned and walked away.

Qiu Shuang glanced at the retreating figure and the wound on her arm, feeling nothing. Compared to what she had endured before, this was nothing.

After casually brushing off the dust, she headed toward the spot Lu Chen had arranged to meet. Halfway there, she caught her reflection in a pristine glass window, revealing her “dejected” appearance.

Do I really look this pathetic?

Qiu Shuang smoothed out the wrinkles in her clothes and slapped her cheeks firmly. She didn’t want Lu Chen to worry, nor did she want to show him any undignified side of herself. He was her last friend.

“How are you feeling?” Lu Chen asked, sitting beside her and asking simple questions. After a brief exchange, Chen Jining, who had spotted his unlucky junior classmate from a distance, approached them.

Qiu Shuang saw Chen Jining sit across from her and introduced them briefly.

“This is my high school classmate, Lu Chen, a computer science major. And this is my roommate, Chen Jining, a second-year senior sister.”

Both parties nodded politely, giving Qiu Shuang face. With an outsider present, Qiu Shuang couldn’t discuss personal matters, so they naturally parted ways.

On the way back to the dorm, Chen Jining casually asked, “Was that your girlfriend just now?”

Qiu Shuang was curious. She didn’t think her sexual orientation was so easily discernible.

“Senior Sister, what makes you think she’s my girlfriend? Do I look particularly gay?”

It was understandable that Qiu Shuang was puzzled. She genuinely couldn’t understand what had led Chen Jining to make such a statement.

Chen Jining calmly unlocked her phone, opened the Confession Wall app, and handed it to Qiu Shuang.

“You’re on the Confession Wall. Someone posted that you’re a lesbian and looking for a relationship. Haven’t you noticed the sudden influx of friend requests on WeChat lately?”

Qiu Shuang frowned. She rarely logged into WeChat or checked her Moments. For her, WeChat’s primary function was for making transfers. It was true that she had received a number of strange friend requests recently.

She dismissed them all as freshmen and sophomores trying to get campus cards, not even glancing at their profiles.

“I didn’t send this. Is this even legal? Isn’t this a violation of my privacy?”

Seeing the other party’s complete indifference, Chen Jining fell into a rare silence. In all her years, she had never encountered someone like Qiu Shuang.

“You can take legal action or contact the Confession Wall to ask…”

Before Qiu Shuang could finish, an urgent call came through. She answered, only to be met with a barrage of shouting.

“Check the Confession Wall and see what’s going on! Have you lost your mind? If you want a boyfriend, I can introduce you to someone! Why are you posting on the Confession Wall?!”

Hearing Song Ya’s furious roar on the other end, Qiu Shuang was startled. The news had spread this quickly? It had already reached other universities? Sigh, if this account had such reach, why not use it for advertising?

To appease the volatile lunatic, Qiu Shuang could only explain that she had nothing to do with this and didn’t know what was happening. But she promised to resolve it.

After hearing Qiu Shuang’s explanation, Song Ya briefly breathed a sigh of relief. She had genuinely believed Qiu Shuang was just looking for someone random, which would have infuriated her.

Her tone suddenly softened as she asked Qiu Shuang when they could go out for a meal or shopping together.

This abrupt shift amused Chen Jining, who was watching Song Ya’s phone call while observing his unlucky roommate.

Qiu Shuang was undeniably beautiful, radiating the fragile, easily broken aura of a classic “white moonlight” or “white lotus” character. However, this also made her a magnet for unsavory types. Anyone with malicious intent would eagerly await the chance to see such a beautiful face pleading pitifully for their mercy.

A beautiful plaything—pretty, “weak,” and emotionally supportive, with you at its center.

“Qiu Shuang, you should be more careful about who you befriend in the future.”

Thanks to some unknown financial influence and the efforts of many, the Confession Wall controversy gradually faded. However, the rumor that a freshman girl was a lesbian had already spread. Qiu Shuang showed no reaction to this.

After all, she already knew who was pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Qiu Shuang felt she must be sick. Despite how the other woman had treated her, she should have stayed away, yet she kept drawing closer. After all, what she had lost had to be repaid a thousandfold, ten thousandfold.

Stop now, after the other woman had achieved success, and become her so-called true white moonlight?

Qiu Shuang loathed that narrative. She wanted the other woman to suffer eternally, only then could she willingly extinguish the flames of anger in her heart.

Chen Wanjun felt she must be going mad. She had deliberately leaked the news to make the other woman back down, but she could see that the other woman genuinely didn’t care. How could she be so detached?

Chen Wanjun wanted to see the other woman suffer, to fall to rock bottom and once again reveal that shattered expression. But why had she changed? Though still someone Chen Wanjun liked, she was no longer the person she truly desired.

“Are you alright?”

Chen Jining’s voice reached Qiu Shuang’s ears. She had drifted off again, and Chen Jining was looking at her with concern.

“Are you still thinking about her?”

“……”

“Talk to me, Qiu Shuang,” Chen Jining said.

Qiu Shuang’s eyes widened as she stared at her roommate. She couldn’t believe that Chen Jining, who was usually so aloof, would say such a thing. I really don’t understand women anymore, she thought.

Chen Jining’s next words barely dispelled her confusion.

“What are you thinking? This isn’t a confession, nor is it an expression of romantic feelings. I wouldn’t be so casual with someone I truly liked. The important thing is for you to break free from this state.”

Chen Jining paused.

“Homosexuality isn’t a sin. You just happen to be attracted to someone of the same gender. Besides, ‘dating’ me would be very helpful for your current situation.”

“The person you mentioned… I’m sure they already dislike you. If you had a girlfriend, they might stop targeting you. And…”

Chen Jining trailed off, her remaining words unspoken. She had recently been researching a new topic: the relative contributions of innate and environmental factors to homosexuality.

Chen Jining wasn’t homosexual or heterosexual. Strictly speaking, she might be asexual. From childhood onward, she had never truly liked anything; her sole focus was glory.

She wanted to be number one, always and forever.

“No, I…”

“I also need to deal with the seniors who are pursuing me. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

Qiu Shuang had little choice but to agree. As an understanding junior sister, she should agree. Moreover, forming a new relationship would only muddy the waters further.

“But you’re not even gay… and besides…”

“Qiu Shuang, I’m not gay or straight. I’m a celibate. I’ve never considered marriage or having children. You don’t need to worry about this affecting me. Besides, being ‘gay’ is the perfect way to deter that annoying guy. And you need a shield, don’t you?”

“Chen Wanjun hates you because she thinks you’re obsessed with her. But if you’re with me, she might think you’ve moved on and give up her cold treatment.”

You’re wrong, Senior Sister. She’ll go crazy.

“Fine.”

Hearing Qiu Shuang’s agreement, Chen Jining breathed a sigh of relief. She felt guilty for secretly treating Qiu Shuang as an observation target.

She could only try to make up for it through her future actions and help Qiu Shuang resolve some of her problems.

Of course, Chen Jining had her own ulterior motives. She suspected everyone would be curious about one thing:

Can love be easily transferred?

Does love involve base competition?

Does love fundamentally change people’s nature?

Qiu Shuang wasn’t some love-obsessed fool, nor would she wallow in a melodramatic, unrequited teenage romance. She simply no longer wanted her former “friend” to direct such unwarranted malice toward her. That kind of feeling must be too painful and utterly pointless.

Meanwhile, miles away at another university, Song Ya remained completely unaware of this arranged romance plan. It wasn’t until the dead of night, when she saw the updated post on her friend’s social media, that she reacted. Before she could even process it, she clicked on the post and saw two hands clasped together. Song Ya instantly leaped out of bed.

“Song Ya, what are you doing up in the middle of the night?!”

Her roommate across the room exclaimed in surprise. Who could have imagined their roommate, who had been sleeping soundly moments before, would suddenly jump out of bed like that?

“Shuangshuang… you’re secretly dating someone without my permission…”

“Find out who this person is for me…”

In the pitch-black night, Song Ya stared intently at the unfamiliar hand.

“B1tch.”