Chapter 114: Remove the “Seems Like”
The dorm was empty. Chen Qianxi closed the door and took a deep breath, her chest feeling heavy, as if a stone were pressing down on her. She couldn’t breathe properly.
Images of just now flashed in her mind—Du Zhuo kissing that girl. He actually kissed her. He really likes her…
Chen Qianxi leaned her head back against the door, feeling powerless and agitated.
A few minutes later, Lin Yuejiu arrived at the milk tea shop. Chen Qianxi ordered milk tea for her, but in front of herself was only a cup of cold water.
Lin Yuejiu sat down and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
Chen Qianxi took a deep breath. “I feel… off.”
“Off how?”
“I feel really upset.”
“Why? Did you see something that made you uncomfortable?”
“Yes… I did.”
“What did you see?”
Chen Qianxi opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated.
“Qianxi, it’s just me here. It’s okay to tell me.”
After a moment of thought, Chen Qianxi spoke. “When I came out of the counselor’s office today, I saw Du Zhuo.”
“Mm… and?”
“I saw him with a girl.” Chen Qianxi unconsciously traced the cup’s rim. “They were… um…”
She didn’t finish the sentence, but Lin Yuejiu seemed to understand. It must have been the carefully planned fake-kissing scene they had arranged.
“Qianxi, do you know why you’re feeling upset?”
Chen Qianxi froze.
“You’re upset because you saw Du Zhuo with another girl. You’re angry.”
Instinctively, Chen Qianxi held her breath, as if she already knew what Lin Yuejiu was going to say next.
“Because…” Lin Yuejiu smiled gently, “you like Du Zhuo.”
A white flash appeared before Chen Qianxi’s eyes. At the end of the light was Du Zhuo’s face.
“Impossible!” Chen Qianxi instinctively denied.
“Really impossible? Think carefully. If you weren’t jealous seeing Du Zhuo with another girl, why would you be upset? Why would you come to me to talk about it? Weren’t you looking for someone to help you realize the truth?” Lin Yuejiu asked.
Chen Qianxi hesitated, but deep down, she realized it was true—she had been searching for someone to wake her up to the fact she didn’t want to admit.
“Qianxi, admitting something isn’t that hard. Face your heart. When your heart tells you what to do, you should follow it. Don’t betray your own feelings.”
Chen Qianxi lowered her eyes. Her heart… what exactly was it feeling? As Lin Yuejiu spoke, she felt no resistance to the idea of liking Du Zhuo. So… she liked him?
Scenes of her and Du Zhuo together flashed before her—teasing him, getting him to accompany her to buy books, playing around, comparing grades, bickering…
Lin Yuejiu sipped her milk tea quietly, waiting patiently.
Chen Qianxi murmured, half-dazed, half-awake, “I… I like Du Zhuo.”
Lin Yuejiu put down her cup, nodded, and said, “Good. Remove the ‘I… I like’ hesitation—you like Du Zhuo.”
Chen Qianxi slowly raised her eyes. “Yuejiu, you… you seemed to know all along?”
Lin Yuejiu curved her eyes and propped her chin on one hand. “You just realized?”
“Why?” Chen Qianxi asked, puzzled. “I didn’t know… how did you know?”
Lin Yuejiu tilted her head. “Isn’t this always the way? Those involved are confused, but the bystander sees clearly.”
Chen Qianxi thought about it, and it made sense.
“So… what should I do now?”
“Do nothing.”
“Huh?”
Lin Yuejiu smiled mysteriously. “Someone will come to you.”
Lin Student: [Teacher Xu, guidance complete.]
Teacher Xu: [Did it work?]
Lin Student: [Of course! I acted, and it definitely worked!]
Teacher Xu: [Mm, my girlfriend is the best.]
Lin Student: [Then quickly tell Du Zhuo that Qianxi knows her feelings for him, so he can get ready to confess.]
Teacher Xu: [Okay.]
Lin Student: [Also, ask him if he needs any tips from us.]
Teacher Xu: [Alright, I’ll wait for his reply.]
A short while later, [he said he doesn’t need any help; he wants to handle it himself.]
Lin Yuejiu raised an eyebrow. [Alright.]
Teacher Xu: [He said just tell her where to meet him, that’s all he needs.]
Lin Student: [Got it.]
Lin Yuejiu then told Chen Qianxi, instructing her to wait at that place tonight.
Chen Qianxi believed completely and nodded in agreement.
After parting ways, Chen Qianxi went to the small garden she had passed earlier, sat on the bench where she had seen Du Zhuo seemingly kissing another girl, and felt heartbroken.
She sat alone for a few minutes, checked the time, and was about to take out her phone to ask Lin Yuejiu when a shadow fell over her. She looked up and saw Du Zhuo standing there, hands behind his back, as if hiding something.
“Uh… long time no see.”
Chen Qianxi mumbled softly, “We literally just met today…”
Du Zhuo didn’t hear her. “Huh?”
“Nothing. Did you come to see me for something?”
Her tone sounded unfriendly, her expression equally so. Du Zhuo thought for a moment, then pulled out what he had been hiding behind his back. A large bouquet of pink roses appeared in front of her. Chen Qianxi froze.
“You said before you really liked pink roses, so I got these for you. I hope you like them.”
Chen Qianxi instinctively accepted them, her face lighting up. “Th-thank you…”
Then she remembered that he had seemed to kiss another girl today. Anger flared in her chest, and her expression darkened.
Du Zhuo looked at her nervously. “You don’t like them? I clearly remember you like pink roses.”
Chen Qianxi’s chest felt sour, almost to the point of tears. He had already kissed another girl today, so why would he remember something she said unconsciously? He was too much!
Seeing her upset expression, Du Zhuo finally remembered why he came. “I came today to explain.”
Chen Qianxi pursed her lips. “Explain what?”
“I didn’t actually kiss that girl today. It was fake.”
Hearing this, Chen Qianxi felt a flicker of joy, her lips wanting to curl into a smile, but she suppressed it. “I saw it with my own eyes. How could it be fake?”
“Sometimes what you see isn’t real. That was just a staged scene; I never actually touched her.”
“Even if you didn’t touch her, you’ve been spending a lot of time with her lately, right? You’ve been talking and laughing together.”
“You weren’t just recently close with another guy yourself?”
Chen Qianxi looked up. “How do you know that?”
Du Zhuo turned his head. “I saw it.”
Chen Qianxi was silent for a moment. “Why did you call me here?”
Du Zhuo took a deep breath, giving himself courage. “I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?”
Chen Qianxi froze.
He… likes her too?
“Will you say yes?”
Chen Qianxi looked into his eyes, seeing the nervousness and anticipation.
Since she had just realized her feelings, there was nothing left to think about. Lin Yuejiu had said to face her heart. She now knew clearly what she felt, and even if there had been misunderstandings, she didn’t want to reject his confession.
“Okay.”
