Let's Do Some Questions - Chapter 61

It wasn’t until the students’ light exclamations during the break that Song Man realized it was actually snowing.

It was only the end of November, and it rarely snowed this early in Qingcheng.

Qingcheng usually gets snow around the end of December, but not much, just a thin layer each time, barely enough to build a decent snowman, and it only happens once every two or three years.

Today’s snow came exceptionally early, exciting the students for a while.

Song Man didn’t go to the window to look, but when she left the teaching building, she opened her palm, caught a few snowflakes, and watched them quickly melt into water in her hand.

“Wear more layers these next few days.”

Song Man held Chu Fengqiu’s hand and reminded her again, wishing she could wrap Chu Fengqiu up like a ball.

After reminding Chu Fengqiu, Song Man felt a bit strange herself.

Actually, she wasn’t such a talkative person at all, let alone constantly reminding others about such trivial matters. Even with her own parents, Song Man wouldn’t nag like this, because she felt that they were adults, not children, and they would know if they were cold or hot. But this didn’t apply to Chu Fengqiu at all; Song Man had developed a conditioned reflex.

Song Man looked up and took a photo of the branches covered with a thin layer of snow.

The snow on the ground had long been trampled into a layer of ice by students coming and going, and then melted into water, making the paths a bit muddy.

Song Man sent the photo to Ailan, telling her it was snowing in Qingcheng.

They were still in touch. Ailan would occasionally share her current life with her, telling Song Man what new dishes she had learned, maintaining an appropriate distance – staying in touch without being bothersome.

Upon receiving the photo from Song Man, Ailan sent a few smiling faces.

【Ailan】: Did it snow this early this year? It hasn’t here yet.

【Ailan】: Sigh, I really want to go back.

【Song Man】: Then come back.

Song Man felt that the most comfortable place to be was the place one was used to. She might seem restless, lively, and inconsistent, but she could like something for a long time. If she liked to eat something, she could eat it for every meal for a month without getting tired of it, until she was sick of it.

“Who are you chatting with?”

Chu Fengqiu leaned closer curiously but didn’t impolitely look at Song Man’s screen, just watched Song Man’s face.

“With Ailan, telling her it’s snowing in Qingcheng.”

Chu Fengqiu immediately became alert, walking beside Song Man and linking arms with her.

“How has she been lately?”

Chu Fengqiu asked casually, though in fact, before Song Man mentioned this person, she had almost forgotten this unqualified love rival.

“Pretty good.”

That’s what Ailan told her, and Song Man also felt she should be doing pretty well.

The photos she posted showed good spirits, and the dishes she made were carefully plated, suggesting she was living life with care.

Song Man’s phone vibrated. Ailan had replied.

【Ailan】: Can’t go back yet, the work here isn’t finished, can’t take time off.

【Ailan】: Maybe I’ll go back for Lunar New Year, might depend on the situation.

【Song Man】: Okay.

The conversation seemed to end there, but a few minutes later, Ailan sent another message.

【Ailan】: How are you and Chu Fengqiu lately?

Song Man looked at the screen with some confusion, then glanced at Chu Fengqiu with the same confusion.

“Do you two have a private friendship?”

Otherwise, why are you asking me and I’m asking you?

Sometimes friendship is really strange. Chu Fengqiu and Ailan were both Song Man’s good friends, and they met through Song Man. But just thinking about Chu Fengqiu getting along well with Ailan behind her back filled Song Man with an inexplicable frustration.

“No.”

Chu Fengqiu still had contact with Ailan? She wished this person would stay far away and never appear before her and Song Man again.

“Really?”

Song Man’s face showed suspicion. She felt that given Chu Fengqiu’s personality, it was impossible for her to have a good relationship with Ailan. It wasn’t about one looking down on the other, it just felt like they wouldn’t get along.

“Of course.”

Chu Fengqiu glanced at the screen, saw what Ailan had sent, and knew what she wanted to ask.

Ailan wanted to ask, “How are Song Man and her (Chu Fengqiu)?” not “How are Song Man” and “her (Ailan)?”. Song Man, knowing nothing, misunderstood Ailan’s meaning.

Most of the frustration in Song Man’s heart dissipated, and she replied to Ailan calmly.

【Song Man】: Pretty good.

【Ailan】: Pretty good… That’s good.

【Ailan】: Okay, Man Jie, I’m going back to work.

Ailan looked at the response on the screen, then watched the light on her phone gradually dim.

Ailan felt she had mostly let go. Thinking of Chu Fengqiu no longer made her so indignant, just a little worried that Song Man was unaware of the situation.

After leaving Qingcheng, on the train, Ailan looked at the receding scenery and wondered if she truly liked Song Man.

She didn’t know if it was a sudden flutter of the heart, a possessiveness towards a certain feeling, or a dependence on the radiant girl who had pulled her out of the mire.

Ailan’s first eighteen years had been truly miserable. It was only with Song Man’s appearance that she felt a sense of relief.

Actually, for a moment when they parted that day, Ailan wanted to express her feelings to Song Man.

But she gave up. Because she felt that sentence was very important, and once said, it couldn’t be taken back. But now that she thought about it, there wasn’t much difference in not saying it anyway; the outcome wouldn’t change. It was better to keep her last bit of dignity and remain a good friend in Song Man’s memories in the future.

Song Man put away her phone and went home with Chu Fengqiu. But after dinner, she walked towards the front door.

“Lao Chu, I need to go out for a bit.”

Song Man tied her shoelaces with her back to Chu Fengqiu and opened the door.

“Where are you going? Want me to come along?”

“No need.”

Song Man replied, followed by the sound of the main door closing.

Song Man had been with Chu Fengqiu all day. Song Man thought she should have forgotten that dream, but then realized she hadn’t. She felt she should go out to calm down, do something else to distract herself, forget about what happened this morning, then sleep happily tonight, and continue getting along well with Chu Fengqiu tomorrow.

It was still snowing lightly outside. The driver was wiping the car, thinking Song Man needed it and preparing to open the door, but Song Man waved him off. She planned to go for a walk by herself.

Snowflakes silently fell and covered her shoulders. Song Man went into the garage, ready to pick out one of her beloved cars, when she remembered she hadn’t taken the keys from her room at all.

If she went back to get them, she would inevitably run into Chu Fengqiu again. Song Man scratched her head and just walked out on foot.

There were few people in the villa area. On the road, there were only tire tracks left by passing cars; the rest of the ground was white. Stepping on it made a slight crunching sound. The snow covered by footprints had turned into ice. Song Man stepped around for a while, felt a bit childish, and then continued walking out.

Her phone was in her pocket, but Song Man didn’t know who to contact.

She knew she could call Deng Wei and Xiao Mao and the others to hang out. She also knew she could call Qin Xiangyi and Zhuang Yushi to play. But there was no one she could confide in about her feelings.

Who could she tell about kissing her best friend in a dream?!

And a same-s3x friend at that!

Annoying!

So annoying!

Song Man looked at the snow on the branches. Even with the cold wind blowing, she felt hot all over from the annoyance.

Song Man left the residential area, walked for a while, and hailed a taxi. When the driver asked where she was going, Song Man paused.

She didn’t know where she was going either.

“Go to First Hospital.”

For some reason, Song Man just said that.

Actually, she only knew Lingnan was hospitalized, but she didn’t know which hospital Lingnan was in, or if Lingnan had already left the hospital.

She arrived at First Hospital. Song Man scanned the code to pay and stood at the hospital entrance.

She didn’t know what she was doing there. She wasn’t deliberately looking for Lingnan; she just wanted to see if she could run into Lingnan here, without notifying her. She really wanted to confide in someone about some things, but she wasn’t quite willing to let down her guard.

She could only use this method to tell herself that if they met, it was fate, and if they didn’t, it was also fate.

Because it was snowing, no one was active below the patient wards. Song Man stood on the small path, quietly watched the sky for a while, and then felt quite ridiculous.

She had always thought of herself as cool, unique, reckless, and spontaneous, but standing there, she felt like an idiot.

Song Man didn’t meet Lingnan, but somehow she figured some things out on her own.

Did Song Man like Chu Fengqiu? Song Man didn’t know.

In fact, being slow to realize things, she hadn’t even considered this question. If it weren’t for Lingnan’s situation opening up a new world for her, she wouldn’t even know that this kind of love existed.

She just felt comfortable being with Chu Fengqiu, thought Chu Fengqiu was very beautiful, and felt Chu Fengqiu was her ideal equal partner and opponent who could constantly surprise her. But Song Man didn’t know if this was “liking.”

Song Man thought about it for a while, feeling conflicted, and decided to let nature take its course.

Being with Chu Fengqiu was happy, playing games with Chu Fengqiu was joyful, doing practice problems with Chu Fengqiu was comfortable. In short, being happy was enough.

After figuring things out, Song Man stood on the road and called Chu Fengqiu.

“Lao Chu, can you come pick me up? The snow outside is really heavy.”

Song Man’s head and body were already covered in snowflakes. She brushed them off, and they turned into water, the coldness seeping into her body.

Song Man didn’t go into a shop to shelter from the snow, just stood with her hands in her pockets, waiting for Chu Fengqiu to arrive.

When she saw Chu Fengqiu rushing out of a taxi, running towards her with an umbrella, she suddenly felt happy.

No one knew Chu Fengqiu’s frustration when the door closed, just as no one knew Chu Fengqiu’s panic when she received Song Man’s call.

It was a feeling of wanting to appear instantly before Song Man, which she forcefully suppressed, finding an umbrella before leaving.

When she left, the driver happened to be at Song Man’s mother’s company, so she could only jog out of the residential area. On the road, she could see a string of footprints, which, judging by the marks, should belong to Song Man.

So she walked the path Song Man had taken until it disappeared, then hailed a taxi.

When she got out of the car, she saw Song Man standing by the road, the snowflakes almost turning her black hair white. Chu Fengqiu didn’t know what was wrong with Song Man, only felt a pang of heartache. She quickly left the extra fare and ran towards her girl.

As soon as she ran over, she was pulled into a full embrace.

“You made me wait for so long.”

Song Man complained softly in her arms.

“Next time I’ll come faster.”

Chu Fengqiu brushed the snowflakes from Song Man’s hair and said softly.

“I was kidding.”

Song Man looked up at her, smiling, her eyes bright and beautiful.

“You didn’t come late at all.”