I Heard I'm a Hearthrob - Chapter 6

Qiu Shuang lay curled under the covers, pondering a question:

Are humans just inherently perverse? We crave what we can’t have, then despise what’s easily within reach.

Lost in thought, Qiu Shuang heard a knock at the door.

Lu Chen stood outside, holding a container of food. He had originally planned to talk to Qiu Shuang about Chen Wanjun, but then Qiu Shuang had inexplicably made a public announcement.

Having been Qiu Shuang’s deskmate for three years, Lu Chen knew her well. She was definitely not someone who took love lightly. This impulsive move was most likely for Chen Wanjun’s sake.

I’m actually a little jealous, Lu Chen thought. Some people get all the affection without even trying.

On his way to Qiu Shuang’s room, Lu Chen had run into Chen Jining, who told him Qiu Shuang hadn’t been eating and seemed unwell. He then went to buy some porridge and brought it over.

“Come in,” Qiu Shuang called out, still huddled under the covers.

Lu Chen pushed the door open and found Qiu Shuang alone in the dorm room. The window was open, letting in a chilly breeze. Her pitiful, tear-stained face peeked out from beneath the blanket.

“It’s me, Shuangshuang. I heard you haven’t eaten, so I came to check on you. I even brought your favorite congee.”

“I don’t want to eat…”

“Shuangshuang, if you don’t eat, your stomach problems will flare up. Open your mouth.”

Watching Lu Chen lift the bowl and spoon to her lips, Qiu Shuang hesitated before taking the spoon and feeding herself.

Lu Chen glanced at the red mark on her neck.

“Looks like Shuangshuang is getting along well with her girlfriend.”

“She’s not my girlfriend. Wan Jun bit me…”

Lu Chen’s mood darkened.

On the campus field, Chen Jining faced the homophobic woman.

“As Qiu Shuang’s official girlfriend, I think we should have a serious talk about the marks on her neck.”

As Chen Jining spoke, Chen Wanjun scrutinized her.

She’s not as pretty as me, nor as… she thought. Why would Qiu Shuang choose her?

Could this seemingly cold woman possess some unique charm?

“Alright, let’s have a good talk. And while we’re at it… I’d like to know how you seduced her.”

Chen Jining nearly burst out laughing at Chen Wanjun’s words.

She swore Chen Wanjun must be the strangest person she’d ever met—loving yet afraid to fully commit, retreating yet unwilling to withdraw too far.

“I heard from Qiu Shuang that you hate le. Shouldn’t our being together please you? Qiu Shuang will never like you again. Aren’t you happy about that?”

“Did you sleep with her?”

Chen Wanjun stared intently at the other woman, trying to discern any trace of intimacy.

“Why do you assume we slept together? As far as I know, it’s been less than three days since we officially announced our relationship. Do you really think we’re the kind of people who would be so casual?”

“Oh, so you’ve only known each other for a few days and you’re already together? Doesn’t that make sleeping together casual for you too? Besides, isn’t that what relationships are for?”

Chen Jining’s expression turned serious. It seemed the situation was worse than she’d imagined. She had initially thought Chen Wanjun was just an awkward oddball.

But she never imagined that beneath this facade, the other woman was hiding something even deeper.

“Chen Wanjun, even if I weren’t Qiu Shuang’s girlfriend, I’d still say you’re a failure as a friend and a failure as a lover. I don’t know what made you think Qiu Shuang was a promiscuous girl, but at least from this moment on, I’ve uncovered what you’ve been hiding.”

“You think Qiu Shuang is promiscuous? You think she only wants to be with you for s3x? You think she’s obsessed with your body?”

At this point, Chen Jining couldn’t help but laugh.

“The most ridiculous thing is you. It’s you who harbors lust for her. It’s you who wants to sleep with Qiu Shuang. It’s you who wants to get close to her body. By deceiving yourself, you’re only pushing her further away. You don’t hate le; you’re afraid that shedding your shell will reveal your own ugliness.”

“You can fool yourself all you want, but don’t think you can fool me, junior.”

With that, Chen Jining turned and left, leaving Chen Wanjun sitting alone.

She clutched the corner of her dress tightly. Things weren’t going as she’d imagined—they were far worse. She should just try to be normal.

But the mere thought of Qiu Shuang embracing someone else, of those filthy hands touching her skin… No, absolutely not.

Qiu Shuang was hers, and no one could ever take her away!

“Does it hurt?” Lu Chen carefully touched the red mark. Qiu Shuang clearly lacked experience, knowing only how to bite and gnaw, no better than a dog.

The sudden touch made Qiu Shuang’s brow furrow. She had always been extremely cautious about physical contact.

Even accidentally bumping a bruise would give her an odd sensation. At first, she thought there was something wrong with her nerves, but later she learned it was simply due to her high sensitivity.

From then on, Qiu Shuang became fiercely protective of her personal space, never allowing anyone to touch her.

“Do you still like Chen Wanjun?” Lu Chen asked, seizing the opportunity.

She didn’t want Qiu Shuang to be with her out of guilt, nor did she want to be her second choice. How greedy of me.

Lu Chen understood that if Qiu Shuang realized her feelings, even if she didn’t reciprocate, she would feel guilty. She didn’t want to put Qiu Shuang in such a difficult position.

Chen Jining returned to find this scene:

A girl wrapped in a blanket and Lu Chen with a tender expression.

“Looks like I came back at the wrong time.”

Lu Chen smiled, easily defusing the joke.

“Our Shuangshuang has always been a bit delicate. I’m counting on you to take good care of her from now on.”

Chen Jining raised an eyebrow and glanced at Qiu Shuang.

“Of course. As her girlfriend, I’ll definitely take good care of her…”

The atmosphere suddenly grew tense. Qiu Shuang set the remaining porridge on the table, and Lu Chen, seeing this, said she had other matters to attend to and turned to leave.

Chen Jining watched Lu Chen’s retreating figure, the light in her eyes dimming, before turning back to Qiu Shuang, still wrapped in the blanket.

“You’re truly a remarkable person, Qiu Shuang.”

“Oh?”

Chen Jining smiled, swallowing the unspoken half of her sentence. You inexplicably stir up people’s possessiveness and competitive spirit.

The period of their agreed-upon relationship with Chen Jining had been quite pleasant, but Qiu Shuang found herself increasingly troubled by Chen Jining’s public displays of intimacy.

By the third day of their relationship, Chen Jining had already noticed this quirk: Qiu Shuang’s strange evasiveness and the way her body stiffened at her touch.

“Highly sensitive?” Chen Jining mused. She bet Qiu Shuang would be easy to manipulate. Someone this sensitive would probably…

Meanwhile, Qiu Shuang was grappling with her own thoughts. She could feel herself being drawn to Chen Jining, and objectively speaking, Chen Jining was a truly wonderful person.

Beautiful darlings really do attract monsters…

Chen Jining licked her canine tooth. And I’ve never been second best in my life…

Perhaps she should break up with Qiu Shuang. She couldn’t let herself fall deeper. Chen Jining knew all too well that if this continued, she would devour her, transforming her into something else entirely. The thought was thrilling, but deeply unethical.

Chen Jining prided herself on her composure. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing control, and she dreaded any deviation from her meticulously planned course.

Just like that inexplicable moment when she had suddenly blurted out the request for Qiu Shuang to become her agreed-upon girlfriend.

Then, like a fool, she took her on dates and acted intimately in public.

Chen Jining questioned her own heart. Was what she felt now truly just to avoid that annoying junior, as she had claimed back then?

Chen Jining didn’t know. She glanced down at her phone, then back at Qiu Shuang. She still couldn’t understand why they had been inexplicably assigned to the same dorm.

The empty four-person room, occupied by only the two of them, felt particularly spacious.

Though the answer had been clear since the first day she met Qiu Shuang’s best friend: the friend had secretly paid to get Qiu Shuang a single room.

With this thought, Chen Jining sat on her bed, quietly watching the sleeping Qiu Shuang. A prodigal first love returning to her, a devoted best friend—Qiu Shuang seemed to have no need for someone like her, someone who appeared cold, emotionless, and robotic.

Chen Jining tried to suppress the emotions deep within her heart, but the mere thought of Qiu Shuang with someone else brought a suffocating pain, as if she couldn’t breathe. Her eyes stung, and in the quiet of the night, she silently wept.

Chen Jining was truly unwilling to accept her situation. She didn’t want to remain just a contractual girlfriend, but the semester was nearly over. Winter was approaching, but could spring be far behind? She recalled her original plan: she was supposed to study abroad.

As a contractual girlfriend, could her partner wait for her? Or, more realistically, what excuse could she possibly use to stay by their side?

“Qiu Shuang, what am I supposed to do with you…”

In the days that followed, Qiu Shuang noticed Chen Jining’s increasingly strange behavior. The senior sister seemed to be initiating more intimate gestures, though she always used the annoying junior brother as an excuse. Qiu Shuang couldn’t understand it and ultimately concluded that perhaps her senior sister was simply different. Was this how she expressed closeness?

Qiu Shuang didn’t understand, and if she couldn’t understand, she decided to stop trying.

At the arcade, Qiu Shuang stood with her backpack, which contained a charging cable and a bottle of mineral water, watching her senior sister stubbornly try to win a plushie from the claw machine.

“Senior Sister, what are you doing?”

“Winning a plushie. Couples usually do this, right?”

“…Whatever makes you happy.”

Author’s Note:

Chen Wanjun: Mine, mine, mine!

Chen Jining: Mine, mine, mine!

Lu Chen: Baby, don’t look at them. All the Chens are crazy.

Qiu Shuang: …I give up.