21 – Counting Stars Together
The last class was exceptionally torturous for Suyun, as someone kept turning to glance at her, their gaze filled with curiosity and jealousy.
She didn’t understand why Qin Xue had specifically come to find her today.
Perhaps it was because she finished class too late, delaying work? Coming to hold her accountable?
…….
“Ding ding ding.”
As this class ended, it was also time to leave school; outside, it had grown dark and the corridor was pitch black.
The people in the classroom couldn’t wait to rush out.
Suyun also thought about quickly slipping up to the restroom on the third floor to adjust her outfit.
So she picked up her backpack and prepared to leave, but the front, Mr. Zhang De-yi, called out to her.
“Hey, do you have any plans for tonight?”
“Huh?” Suyun looked at him, somewhat confused.
“Moving, what other plans could there be?”
“After moving, what then?”
“Move in and sleep.”
Why ask that?
“Oh, I see, big brother, I understand.” Zhang De-yi nodded in realization, his gaze at Suyun full of admiration.
Moving, it must be so he could sleep holding his sweet, soft girlfriend tonight, what’s there to ask about?
Suyun felt a wave of unease.
Because she had just learned some things, she was now very wary of Zhang De-yi, and with his childlike expression at that moment, she felt like running away.
This couldn’t be the aftermath of being a simp…
Then Suyun slipped out of the classroom, navigating through the crowd, successfully making it to the girls’ restroom on the third floor.
No one noticed; perfect wardrobe change!
Upon coming downstairs, Suyun was surprised to find Qin Xue indeed waiting at the entrance on the first floor.
This Institute Building had two small doors on the left and right, and a larger main entrance in the middle, where more people typically entered.
She thought people would be seated somewhere waiting.
Qin Xue noticed Suyun coming down, and a trace of warmth appeared in her cold eyes.
“Little Yun, you’ve made me wait a whole hour.” Qin Xue’s tone was hard to categorize as normal, fluctuating in pitch as if mocking.
“I’m sorry… I had class.” Suyun stood in front of Qin Xue, lowering her head apologetically.
Seeing Suyun’s adorably helpless look, Qin Xue wasn’t prepared to say much.
While they conversed, people occasionally passed by, glancing their way.
“So, what do you want with me?” Suyun, feeling the stares, had an itch to escape.
Qin Xue held Suyun’s chin with one hand and lifted it, forcing Suyun’s evasive gaze to meet hers.
“Ah, what are you doing…” The silver-haired girl clearly panicked.
“Can’t I find you for no reason? Didn’t we agree you’d be my girlfriend?” Qin Xue’s tone took on an accusatory note, her voice slightly raised.
“?!” Suyun’s pupils dilated at the words, cautiously glancing around.
People were watching them.
Why was there even a girl taking out her phone? Hey! No sneaky filming.
“Hehe.” Seeing Suyun’s adorable reaction, Qin Xue satisfactorily let go of her hand.
It seemed like she might run away if teased any further.
“I came to invite you to dinner.”
“Okay…”
You could have said that earlier.
Now free, Suyun felt embarrassed as she listlessly followed Qin Xue to the cafeteria.
It was now after class hours, so there were quite a few people in the cafeteria.
They waited in line for a few minutes before getting their meals, then found a corner to sit in.
At first, they ate in silence, which felt somewhat strange in the bustling cafeteria.
Suyun hadn’t interacted much with girls before; in the past ten years, she had only focused on studying, reclusive like, completely different from the boys who could spark interest in girls with just a few words.
With no topics to discuss, she could only eat in silence.
“I’m sorry about yesterday.” Qin Xue finally broke the silence, hesitating for a while before speaking as she picked at her eggplant.
“Yesterday?” Suyun paused, then recalled what had happened.
“Oh, it’s fine; I was in a bad mood, so I reacted like that.”
“Aren’t you angry?” Qin Xue looked up at Suyun, noticing no traces of resentment in her eyes.
But the fact that Suyun came to her house today already answered the question.
Not only wasn’t she angry, but she was also quite worried about her, which was completely different from those girls she had encountered before who only got sulky and wanted her to comfort them.
“I was just a bit startled…”
“Sorry, I won’t do it again.” Qin Xue spoke softly, reaching out to pat that fair little head.
(Dodge)
“Uh.”
“Don’t touch.” Suyun shot her a fierce glare, a trace of red flickering in her dark eyes.
Hugging was fine, but touching her head was not allowed.
“Okay.” Qin Xue awkwardly withdrew her left hand and continued eating.
……
After finishing their meal, Qin Xue dragged Suyun to the playground.
At six in the winter afternoon, the sky had turned dark, but there were still many practicing athletes on the field.
They were preparing for the sports meeting next Tuesday.
With people running around, it was hard to walk about freely, so they found a higher step to sit on.
Nearby, several couples sat on the steps, whispering to each other, occasionally hearing the sweet cooing of the girl.
Uh…
For some reason, when Suyun heard it, it felt like time paused for a moment.
When she came alone previously, there wasn’t such a feeling, but coming with Qin Xue today made her a bit more attentive.
“I’ll count stars with you tonight.” After settling in, Qin Xue looked up at the sky.
Compared to more than a decade ago, there were hardly any stars visible now, their brilliance obscured by thick black fog.
Suyun settled beside Qin Xue.
“So, I don’t actually look at the sky to count stars…” she replied somewhat helplessly.
Counting stars felt so childish; she wasn’t a child anymore.
“Because of some people, these stars have disappeared. Humans are really terrifying.” Qin Xue ignored Suyun’s remark and continued her own thoughts.
But unlike ordinary chit-chat, there was a hint of resentment in Qin Xue’s tone.
“Maybe.” The topic suddenly shifted to people, and Suyun didn’t respond right away, giving an uncertain answer.
“They only see money and interests.” Qin Xue continued.
“Mm.”
Then Qin Xue talked a lot more, and Suyun kept responding with “mm” without thinking much.
It didn’t mean she was being dismissive; she just didn’t know what to say.
After chatting for almost half an hour, Qin Xue paused and asked her a question.
Qin Xue turned, facing Suyun.
“Are your grades good?”
“Not good.”
“Well…” Qin Xue showed a hint of disappointment, but quickly put on a friendly smile.
“If one day I disappeared, would you feel sad?” Though she smiled, there was instability in Qin Xue’s tone.
“Ah? Of course I’d feel sad! What are you trying to do?” Suyun immediately sensed something was off, uneasily looking at Qin Xue.
Her eyes widened.
“Just kidding, look at how scared you are, haha.”
“Little Yun, why are you so adorably naive? It makes me want to bully you even more.” Qin Xue teased, covering her mouth as if trying to hold back laughter.
“I’m not naive…” Suyun felt like she wanted to bite someone.
Why was she always teasing her?
Seeing Qin Xue still in the mood to play with her eased Suyun’s heart.
She thought her family had organized a gathering like matchmaking, just that wealthier families were more focused on seeking benefits.
But it seemed like it wasn’t the case.
“Little Yun, I have to go now. I need to buy candy for Yuan Yuan; she’ll cry if she waits too long.”
“Okay, bye.”
In the darkness, she waved goodbye to Qin Xue.
That slender silhouette slowly disappeared from the playground until she could no longer see her.
Today, because of time constraints, she didn’t have to do housework; she could just sit here and chat with Qin Xue.
What Qin Xue had said felt very profound; she couldn’t quite understand it.
But Suyun didn’t have time to analyze it now.
Because tonight she would be moving and needed to take a shower. Being alone now, she needed to quiet down and think about some issues she hadn’t considered before.
There were still quite a few things to deal with.
