The Gaze of the Radio Girl (GL) - Chapter 21

The card was originally in the box.

But at the critical moment, Wu Lele chickened out, pulled it out, and tucked it into her pocket.

Aran was too important to her. What if it didn’t work out?

Hesitating like this, someone called Xue Ran “class leader,” and Wu Lele’s hand, ready to pull it out, shrank back.

“They’re calling you.”

“I know.” Xue Ran lowered her eyelashes, saying nothing.

After a while, the others kept calling persistently, and Xue Ran finally stood up, reaching out to her. “Come on, let’s see what they’re up to.”

Wu Lele let out a sigh of relief and grabbed her hand.

The group by the bonfire was playing the King Game.

As the birthday star, Xue Ran couldn’t escape and had to join.

“Witch, you play too.”

“No, she…” Xue Ran opened her mouth.

But it was too noisy, and no one heard. Wu Lele was pushed to sit next to Xue Ran.

Hu Xin and Hu Lei were there too, sitting on Xue Ran’s other side.

“Come on, new round of drawing!”

The lots were made from torn A4 paper, soft and drooping in someone’s hand, with thin ends sticking out.

When it was Wu Lele’s turn, only the last lot remained.

Confused, she opened it: 8.

“Aran, what’s yours?”

Xue Ran turned her lot toward her: 1.

“Hey, class leader, no way! Everyone has to hide their number. Don’t break the rules, or it’s no fun.”

“Alright, everyone has a number now, right? So, who’s the king this round?”

A boy from the class raised his hand. Wu Lele recognized him but couldn’t match a name.

He sneaked a glance at her, and the next second, Xue Ran’s deliberately lowered voice came. “Give it to me.”

“Hm?”

At the same time, her palm, resting behind her, was pried open. Xue Ran’s warm fingertips took her lot.

Before she could react, the host spoke again. “Now, the king will pick two numbers to complete a task, and those chosen must obey without question.”

The king glanced at Wu Lele again and said, “I order number 3 to kiss number 8!”

…Huh?

Wu Lele’s palm warmed as the lot was stuffed back into her hand.

She looked at it. The lot, originally number 8, had somehow become number 12.

She whipped her head toward Xue Ran, but only saw her profile, and instead locked eyes with Hu Xin on the other side.

Hu Xin’s face was full of shock, her mouth agape, staring at Xue Ran.

Host: “Who’s 3? Who’s 8? Come on out!”

The crowd was losing it, cheering and jeering.

Hu Lei stood up, holding his lot, and looked at Wu Lele. “I’m 3.”

Wu Lele looked down again, confirming she hadn’t misread. It was indeed 12.

So, where did 8 go?

“I… I’m 8…”

Following the voice, the person with number 8 was Hu Xin.

For a moment, silence fell.

Wu Lele looked at Xue Ran and blinked. “Aran…”

“Shh.”

The Hu siblings clearly struggled, looking like they were headed to their doom.

Amid the jeering, Xue Ran gestured for silence, grabbed a drink as an excuse, and walked away.

Soon, Wu Lele got a message from Xue Ran: Come here.

Hu Xin and Hu Lei were pushed to the bonfire, all eyes on them.

Wu Lele took the chance to crouch low, slip away, and vanish into the night with Xue Ran.

“Never played this kind of game before?”

Wu Lele shook her head. “I rarely hung out with classmates before.”

“When you get to college, there’ll be more games like this. Be careful not to get set up, okay? If you can’t handle something, message me.”

“Thanks, Aran. But what about the sports rep?”

“They’re siblings, so it’s easier to deal with. Besides, the rule only says ‘kiss,’ not where. Hu Xin can handle it.”

“That’s good…”

“By the way, what were you going to say earlier?”

“…Nothing, nothing.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

Xue Ran narrowed her eyes.

Wu Lele felt guilty, pretending to casually look away, then said, “Well, it’s not exactly nothing…”

“What?”

“…I want to soak in the hot spring.”

Xue Ran stared at her, covering her face. “Then let’s go. Together?”

“Hm… huh?”

When Wu Lele came to, she was already soaking in the hot spring.

Steam swirled around. Xue Ran, in a swimsuit with her long hair tied up, looked like a peeled egg.

Scenes from comics and novels popped into Wu Lele’s head, too vivid. She turned away, not daring to look.

They’d seen each other bare before, so why did a bit of cloth make it feel awkward now?

Help, her mind was impure.

Through the steam, Xue Ran stared at Wu Lele’s back, watching her neck and ears redden, unable to guess her thoughts.

Lately, crystals were a hot topic among the girls in class.

So, when Xue Ran saw the bracelet Wu Lele gave her, she immediately thought of moonstone’s meaning—lovers’ stone.

Was Wu Lele wishing her luck in love?

No way.

So she waited and waited, but Wu Lele never spoke up.

Xue Ran splashed the hot spring water, clapping her hands and drenching Wu Lele.

Xue Ran: “…”

Wu Lele: “…”

“…Hand slipped.”

Whoosh, Wu Lele got splashed again, every hair on her body soaked.

“…So this is how you soak in a hot spring?”

Wu Lele turned, wanting revenge.

But she couldn’t get the hang of it—her splashes were either too weak or too short. Giving up, she just scooped and splashed.

Xue Ran: “Wait! I don’t want to wash my hair tonight!”

Wu Lele: “Too bad, Aran.”

“No!”

“My hair’s already wet, so you’re joining me.”

“Wait, Lele, stop, I won’t splash you anymore, I swear, I’m done.”

“Are you surrendering?”

“I surrender, I surrender, I really surrender!”

Xue Ran, laughing, was cornered at the pool’s edge, grabbing Wu Lele’s hands tightly.

Wu Lele was leaning forward, and with that grip, she lost balance, falling toward Xue Ran, stopping just five centimeters from her nose.

Her hair trembled, water droplets falling, rolling onto Xue Ran’s collarbone, pooling like a spring.

Wu Lele’s eyes didn’t know where to look, following her instincts from lips to neck, then downward.

Scenes in her mind screamed again. Wu Lele wanted to log out, shut down, reboot.

But the button was hidden.

Xue Ran raised her hand, gently pinching Wu Lele’s earlobe, brushing against her cheek.

“Lele, is soaking in the hot spring really all you wanted?”

It wasn’t, but Wu Lele couldn’t decide. She didn’t want to be rash with her crush; she was afraid of losing her.

This step was too hard for her.

“Lele, look at me.”

Her chin was gently lifted, but Wu Lele half-closed her eyes, not daring to look.

“Lele…”

That restless hand moved to her eye corner, as if urging her.

“Lele, you like me, don’t you?”

Wu Lele finally opened her eyes, caught off guard, plunging into Xue Ran’s gaze, unable to escape.

“Lele, answer me.”

Xue Ran’s soft voice carried a cosmic allure…

Wu Lele froze, her eyes regaining some clarity.

Noise came from the entrance—the bonfire party crowd was back.

She scrambled up. “I-I think I soaked too long.”

Xue Ran looked away. “…Yeah.”

“I… I’m going to shower.”

“Okay… go ahead.”

Wu Lele climbed out, grabbed her towel, phone, and room key, stumbling a few times, nearly falling.

Hu Xin felt a gust pass by but couldn’t see clearly. Looking toward the source, only Xue Ran remained in the misty hot spring.

Too close.

Wu Lele ran back to the room.

Her mind was a mess, unsure where that familiar feeling came from.

For a long time, she hadn’t thought of the Deep Space Witch; her mind was full of Aran. But just now, the Deep Space Witch’s shadow crashed in again, overlapping with Xue Ran, familiar yet strange.

What went wrong?

She locked herself in the bathroom, turned on cold water, and mechanically washed her hair and rinsed.

In a daze, her phone seemed to ring outside.

She quickly finished, wrapped her hair, and stepped out.

Looking down, it was all missed calls from the same unknown number.

Who?

It was so late—was this some dedicated scam call?

Soon, the phone rang again.

Wu Lele answered, and a familiar voice came through. “Lele, is that you?”

“What’s wrong with Wu Lele?”

Hu Xin, now in her swimsuit, sat beside Xue Ran, starting her interrogation. “And you! What was that about?”

Xue Ran, expressionless, raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know?”

“What should I know?”

“Your brother’s handiwork.”

Hu Xin’s mind raced, taking a moment to catch up. “You mean they cheated to pair that guy with Wu Lele? Wait… did Hu Lei know?”

“Anyway, don’t do this again. It’s rude, classless. What do you take girls for? Isn’t this harassment?”

Hu Xin gritted her teeth. “That kid… I thought he’d moved on. Wait till I get back to deal with him!”

Xue Ran thought she meant the rejected love letter and had no interest in chatting further. She got up and left.

In the room, Wu Lele curled up, feeding mosquitoes on the balcony, not reacting even when Xue Ran returned.

Across the two beds, Xue Ran stared at her for a few seconds, said nothing, grabbed her pajamas, and went to the bathroom.

Xue Ran felt awkward.

She’d been too hasty, pushing too hard. What if she drove Wu Lele to Sister An?

She stood under the shower for a long time, only coming out when she guessed Wu Lele was asleep.

But Wu Lele was still on the balcony, unchanged.

Xue Ran softened.

Pretending to dry her hair, she slid open the glass door.

The night breeze blew in, lifting Wu Lele’s hair slightly.

“Lele, not sleeping?”

Wu Lele, like she’d lost her soul, flinched and turned to look.

After a long pause, she snapped back. “Going to sleep now.”

Xue Ran reached for her hand but stopped midway, only saying, “Come inside.”

Until the lights went out, Wu Lele didn’t say another word.

…Was the impact that big?

Across the narrow aisle, Xue Ran lay on her side, watching the back of Wu Lele’s head.

Wu Lele’s sleeping posture had changed, curled back into her turtle shell.

Xue Ran’s heart trembled, sensing something was off.

“Lele… asleep?”

No response, just faint breathing.

The next morning, Xue Ran woke early. A slight turn of her head let her see Wu Lele.

The Wu Lele from last night, tucked in her shell, had somehow broken out, arms sprawled, sleeping soundly.

Xue Ran doubted if the curled-up Wu Lele from hours ago was an illusion.

The wake-up call came at a bad time, interrupting her gaze.

She picked up the phone, mumbled a few replies, hoping they’d hang up soon.

Too late—Wu Lele rolled over, stretched with a groan, and grinned at her. “Morning, Aran.”

Her worries vanished, and Xue Ran smiled. “Morning.”

That day had no real plans—some picked fruit, some swam, some kept soaking in the hot spring.

Wu Lele didn’t want to go anywhere, as usual, lounging on Xue Ran’s bed, reading.

Xue Ran offered her bracelet and hands. “Help me.”

“I tried it carefully; you can totally put it on with one hand.”

“Hm… maybe I’m clumsy…”

“…Fine.”

“Do it for me every day.”

“Sure.”

Xue Ran smiled faintly. Wu Lele’s reading comprehension was, as expected, not great.

After the trip, both were several shades darker.

The day to check scores finally came.

Xue Ran nervously entered her exam number.

The results popped up. Wu Lele didn’t know what the numbers meant, but she understood the last line: “Ranking withheld…”

Xue Haichao: “…Withheld, does that mean it’s high in the province?”

Lin Ran: “I don’t know. Linlin, what do you think?”

Xue Lin: “Pop the champagne. She can get into Jing University, with her pick of majors.”

Xue Ran didn’t hesitate. Her first choice was Jing University, psychology, followed by majors that could transfer to psychology, ranked by relevance.

Then, submit.

The graduation countdown began.

That day, she saw Wu Lele secretly order a bouquet of flowers.