Lin Xian, probably won’t come over tonight, right?
Early in the morning, under the influence of her biological clock, Xiao Wanqing woke up a few minutes before her alarm, as usual. She turned her head and saw Lin Xian, just a short distance away, sleeping soundly, bathed in the faint morning light. Her heart felt a long-lost sense of peace.
The feeling of waking up next to Lin Xian and seeing her sleeping face was different from many times before. Today, she seemed to have less of the anxiety of potential loss, and more of a genuine sense of stability and satisfaction. She gazed at Lin Xian for a long while, propping herself up on her elbow, and gently kissed Lin Xian’s forehead, then she tiptoed out of bed to prepare breakfast for them both.
At noon break, Xiao Wanqing lay on the folding bed in her office, ready for a nap. But turning over and over, her mind was filled with Lin Xian’s every action, every smile from the past, and the words she had said to her last night.
She eventually sat up, brushed her hair away from her forehead, leaned against the wall, lost in thought. After a while, she clenched her fist lightly, picked up the mobile phone next to her, hesitated for a long time, but still sent a message to Wen Tong.
She tentatively asked Wen Tong: “Wen Tong, if, if I now want not just to accompany Lin Xian for a while, always ready for her to leave at any time, but to have her, to walk with her for a long time. Is this thought too greedy, too much?”
The moment the coin is flipped, you actually have the answer in your heart. The moment the question was asked, Xiao Wanqing knew how much she hoped for a positive reply.
Wen Tong has been busy preparing a plan for restructuring the company and negotiating the development of new business lines; she’s swamped every day. Xiao Wanqing had finished lunch and was ready for a nap, and she had just finished her current tasks, ready to find time to eat.
She had just moved the cooled takeaway, opened the packaging of the disposable chopsticks, when Xiao Wanqing’s message came in. Wen Tong put down the chopsticks and picked up her phone, looking down to read Xiao Wanqing’s message carefully.
Her eyes were deep, showing neither joy nor sorrow. After a while, she bowed her head, let out a long sigh, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.
Her hands on the phone, her fingers flying rapidly, she replied to Xiao Wanqing: “When in love, isn’t it more over the top to not fully think about being with someone for a long, long time, and only think about when to run away?”
With no other caring, trustworthy, or reliable people around her to consult, the attitude and opinion of Wen Tong were actually very important to Xiao Wanqing. Carrying a subtle unease and anxiety, she waited for Wen Tong’s reply, only to receive, after a moment, a somewhat teasing counter-question from her.
But did this mean Wen Tong wasn’t opposed to her idea? A spark of light flickered in Xiao Wanqing’s eyes. She had just begun to feel relieved when, as if remembering something extremely worrisome, her brows furrowed once more.
“What about Sister Zhou Qin? I’m letting her down. Wen Tong, am I really not doing something terribly wrong?”
Wen Tong hadn’t picked up her chopsticks again, seriously waiting for another message that might come from Xiao Wanqing. Indeed, it wasn’t long before her phone vibrated, the screen lighting up again.
Frowning, Wen Tong looked at the message content, her thumb unconsciously rubbing it gently. Putting oneself in Zhou Qin’s shoes, of course, what Xiao Wanqing was doing seemed terrible and hard to accept, might even make one feel betrayed and deceived, leading to loathing and annoyance.
But from Xiao Wanqing’s perspective, what was wrong with the feelings between Xiao Wanqing and Lin Xian?
Xiao Wanqing had simply fallen for someone. And even then, she wasn’t the one who initiated it.
Consider this as her being biased then.
With a measured gaze, Wen Tong took a deep breath, after much deleting and editing, finally formulated a reply to Xiao Wanqing: “It’s definite that Sister Zhou Qin will find it hard to accept at first. But when it comes to feelings, where is the clear dividing line of right and wrong? Since you and Lin Xian have developed feelings and can no longer extricate yourselves, the only thing you can do is to minimize the level of difficulty for Sister Zhou Qin to accept, isn’t it?”
Xiao Wanqing stared at the screen, somewhat dazed. Could she and Lin Xian truly reach this stage? Did she really qualify to prepare for this stage with Lin Xian?
Engrossed in thought, the next message from Wen Tong came in.
Wen Tong seemed to be jesting with her: “Besides, huh, Lin Xian, that wolf in sheep’s clothing, will sooner or later shed her disguise and bring a wife back to Sister Zhou Qin. As time goes by, Sister Zhou Qin will understand that it’s more reassuring to entrust Lin Xian to someone well-known like you than to other women of uncertain character.”
Xiao Wanqing couldn’t help but burst into laughter upon reading Wen Tong’s description of Lin Xian in such a manner. Why does it sound like these metaphors are anything but praise for Xianxian? Where did Wen Tong get such a big opinion about Xianxian? But her attention gradually shifted to the latter part of Wen Tong’s message. Entrusting Lin Xian to others, whose good and bad she didn’t know, could she really be at ease?
(If you're not reading on littlepandatranslations.com, it means this has been stolen)
Lunch break was almost over, and there was no chance for a nap. Xiao Wanqing returned to her desk, took out a small mirror from her bag to comb her hair and touch up her makeup.
Could she also possibly become Lin Xian’s optimal choice? Xiao Wanqing looked at herself in the mirror, involuntarily asking herself.
She put down the mirror, turned her head, and saw the bright sunlight outside the window, the world was bright and shining.
For a moment, she felt as if the world really had changed overnight, ever since Lin Xian asked her if she wanted to see the world from a different perspective.
On Wednesday night, since the student she tutored had an exam organized by the evening self-study session at school, Lin Xian had a rare break from her part-time job. After both had finished their work at hand, they tidied up the desk and together busied themselves with carving seals.
Xiao Wanqing always had the habit of practicing calligraphy, and her seal was carved by Wen Tong, which suited her perfectly. Xiao Wanqing liked it very much and had been using it ever since she received it. Lin Xian, knowing this, silently felt jealous but was helpless about it.
She didn’t know how.
So afterward, Lin Xian found an excuse in her interest for seal carving, purchasing a complete set of tools including seal stones and carving knives, and began to ponder over it whenever she had leisure time. Xiao Wanqing only had a superficial understanding of the craft, but seeing Lin Xian study it so diligently, she couldn’t help but feel intrigued and started to learn as well. Over time, the two genuinely developed an interest in it, spending time together immersed in research and designing seal scripts whenever they had the chance.
However, this time, just as the two had entered this state where silence spoke louder than words, Lin Xian’s phone placed on the table rudely vibrated.
The screen displayed an unknown call from a number not saved in her contacts.
Lin Xian instinctively wondered if it was yet another one of those disorderly calls. She had just dealt with several calls about selling estates and insurance earlier in the week. She frowned slightly and casually slid the red button, hanging up the call.
“Uh, probably another marketing call,” she explained nonchalantly to Xiao Wanqing.
Just as she picked up the carving knife again, her phone vibrated once more. The caller ID showed the same string of numbers.
“Why don’t you take it? If they’ve called twice, it must be someone you know who needs you,” Xiao Wanqing stopped her seal carving and kindly suggested.
Lin Xian was interrupted and felt slightly unhappy, but she agreed with Xiao Wanqing’s words. So, she pulled out a tissue to wipe the dust off her hands, answered the call, and held the phone up to her ear.
As soon as the call connected, a noise loud enough to hurt one’s ears, full of blaring music, came through. Lin Xian couldn’t help but pull the phone away a little and said politely with a frown, “Hello, yes?”
“It’s me, Lin Xian,” a male voice came through, somewhat slurred and overly excited.
Lin Xian couldn’t recognize whose voice it was.
The boys she was familiar with included only Xu Chengjun, a few male members of the debate team, and some secretaries and officials in the student council. None seemed to match the voice. “May I ask who this is?”
“I, Zhang Sichao, can’t you recognize me?” The boy asked with a chuckle. There were faint sounds of laughter and teasing from both men and women in the background.
Lin Xian’s brows furrowed tighter.
She had been paired with Zhang Sichao for group homework in a spoken language class a few times, barely exchanging a few words altogether. Where did he get her phone number from, and where did he find the confidence to think she would recognize his voice?
“Do you need something?” Lin Xian asked with cold patience, the voice sounding somewhat indifferent. This Zhang Sichao sounded like he was somewhat drunk, making no sense.
(If you're not reading on littlepandatranslations.com, it means this has been stolen)
“I…I…” On the other end of the phone, he fumbled for words, unable to continue.
Just as Lin Xian’s patience was about to run out, ready to hang up, suddenly there came a loud sound of glass crashing and noisy uproar from the other side. The next second, Zhang Sichao, raising his voice, shouted loudly, “Lin Xian, I like you, will you be my girlfriend?”
Since the noise was loud from the beginning, Lin Xian didn’t press the phone against her ear but kept it at a distance, so the sound insulation wasn’t very good. This shout, through the speaker, faintly echoed in the quiet study.
Lin Xian was stunned before she realized what had happened. She instinctively looked towards Xiao Wanqing, who had also been paying attention to her. Xiao Wanqing looked at her quietly, her eyes deep, Lin Xian couldn’t read her emotions.
She stared intently at Xiao Wanqing, asking coldly, “Are you playing Truth or Dare?”
The other party stammered after shouting, “No… I’m not. Xianxian, I… I’m serious.”
Hearing her nickname from a practically stranger made Lin Xian feel goosebumps rising. She was angry. Not only because the other party was drunk and resembled a harasser, but also because he called her by her nickname in front of Xiao Wanqing as if they were close.
“Are we that familiar?” Lin Xian retorted emphatically.
“I don’t accept it.” She didn’t want to say another word, decisively hanging up the phone. She frowned, while inexplicably feeling guilty as she rebuked, “Absolutely ridiculous!” She purposely moved closer to Xiao Wanqing, meeting Xiao Wanqing’s gaze fiercely as she blacklisted this number.
She affectionately wrapped her arms around Xiao Wanqing, whose expression remained neutral, showing neither joy nor anger, and asked softly with trepidation, “Xiao Xiaowan, did you hear that?”
“Yes, I heard it.” Xiao Wanqing suppressed the tumultuous emotions in her eyes, responding in a subdued tone.
“Don’t misunderstand. This boy is a classmate of mine. I only teamed up with him and a few other classmates for after-school assignments a few times. We barely spoke to each other, and I have no idea what got into him.”
“Xiao Xiaowan, I’ve been very serious about maintaining my distance with both boys and girls outside. You believe me, right?”
“Yes, I believe you.” Xiao Wanqing concealed the fluctuations in her emotions, controlling her response to appear calm and composed, trying to reassure Lin Xian.
However, the more composed she remained, the more uneasy Lin Xian became.
“Is he handsome? Are his academic results very good?” Xiao Wanqing suddenly couldn’t help asking calmly. She was still a bit annoyed after all. It must be because of her great confidence in herself that she dared to pursue her girlfriend so rashly.
Upon hearing Xiao Wanqing asking the question with a tone as if she was inquiring about the weather, Lin Xian’s heart inexplicably cooled.
Is this what Xiao Panpan is concerned about??
She lifted her head to seriously scrutinize Xiao Wanqing’s expression. Xiao Wanqing looked really calm, so calm that Lin Xian felt it was somewhat cold.
Xiao Panpan asked what this meant. Whether someone is handsome or has good grades, what does that have to do with her? Was she thinking of backing out again? Was she questioning the feelings between them?
Suddenly, Lin Xian felt a tiredness and disillusionment she couldn’t quite describe.
Even someone as cool and rational as Sister Lian Zhi, when faced with someone pursuing her, couldn’t keep her composure, barely hiding her jealousy. Xiao Panpan was so calm; didn’t she care at all?
She let go of Xiao Wanqing, whom she had been embracing, stood up, and responded in a low voice, “I don’t know, I’ve never paid attention to him.” Then, she left the study with a “I’m going to take a shower,” not waiting for Xiao Wanqing’s reply.
Xiao Wanqing watched the girl’s clearly upset back, somewhat stunned. Lin Xian, she’s upset, isn’t she?
(If you're not reading on littlepandatranslations.com, it means this has been stolen)
She hadn’t even gotten angry yet, but Lin Xian had already become angry first?
Lifting her left hand that had been resting beside her chair all this while, she saw the ghastly wound on her index finger, which had been accidentally cut by a carving knife upon hearing the confession. Fearing that the bleeding would be discovered by Lin Xian, she quickly put it down and had been pinching it tightly with her thumb.
Touching it lightly, it unexpectedly started to bleed again.
It wasn’t until Xiao Wanqing tidied up the study and was passing by Lin Xian’s bathroom on her way to take a shower that she, as usual, knocked on the door and called out to Lin Xian. Lin Xian, however, just uncharacteristically replied to her simply with a “Hmm.”
The displeasure was very obvious.
Xiao Wanqing furrowed her brows in confusion, not understanding the situation. She suppressed the resurgence of her fears and the overwhelming jealousy in her heart, feeling the unexpected outburst from Lin Xian, which also made her feel somewhat wronged.
She stood at the bathroom door for a long time, lifting her hand to affectionately stroke the door panel. Her fingers slid up and down the door, gradually curling into a fist.
In the end, she turned around dejectedly and went back to her room.
Lin Xian, probably won’t come over tonight, right?