Glutinous Rice Cakes

Su Yanyue, wearing a thick black down jacket, strode into the room.

Yang Fei jumped up from her chair in the dormitory and ran over to give her a bear hug: "Yan Yue, you're finally back!"

How's filming going in Lidong Province?

Su Yanyue blinked her peach blossom eyes, her eyelashes fluttering: "It's fine. Except the weather is still as cold as ever."

"Yes, that's how it is here. Even though it's in the south, it's still freezing cold in early March. I feel like spring and autumn are just a formality."

"By the way, Yan Yue, if this drama becomes popular, you have to give me your autograph."

"How could I possibly ascend to immortality if I only played a minor supporting role?"

...

The two chatted at the door, interspersed with bursts of laughter.

Jiang Yichun stood there, holding the suspense novel, saying nothing.

Her gaze fell on the silver ornaments hanging by Su Yanyue's ears.

The butterfly-shaped object shimmered and stung her eyes.

Su Yanyue wasn't originally a student in their major; she was in the performing arts department of the art academy.

She was a year younger than them, and because of the school's dormitory assignment system, she ended up living in their dormitory.

I heard that she became famous as a child dancer when she was young, and later became a child actress.

She always has expensive cosmetics on her desk, and her social media is always filled with beautiful photos.

She's never at school; she's always on set, traveling all over the country.

She and Yang Fei were in the same school dance club, so they spent more time together and naturally had a better relationship.

Jiang Yichun and she were able to exchange a few words, but their relationship ended there.

Jiang Yichun watched the two laughing and joking, then looked down at the novel again.

Ravines.

There's always a gap between myself and others. Although Su Yanyue is a good person, I always find it difficult to connect with her or her conversations with Yang Fei.

Perhaps, it's my own...

"Yi Chun, it's been a long time!"

Jiang Yichun's previously scattered thoughts suddenly fell on the girl in front of him.

Su Yanyue was looking at her with a smile.

She put down her mystery novel and forced a smile: "Su Su, long time no see!"

"How's filming going? Is it progressing smoothly?"

Su Yanyue pushed her suitcase to the table and plopped down in a chair: "It went pretty smoothly, but I was starving for a long time because I was going to be on camera."

"Speaking of hunger... Yi Chun, I brought you and everyone in the dorm some local specialties from the county where I was filming!"

Jiang Yichun's jumbled thoughts vanished the moment he heard "local specialty".

"Specialty products? Food?"

"Of course!" Su Yanyue opened the bag that was placed to the side. "I told you in the group chat that I would bring you guys some delicious food."

"I will definitely keep my word."

She took out a whole round, green pastry wrapped in plastic film from her bag.

"Yan Yue, you went to the Green Grassland to film a movie?" Yang Fei exclaimed in surprise.

Jiang Yichun chuckled: "This pastry isn't made of grass, is it?"

"What? Feifei, can you be serious for once?" Su Yanyue scolded playfully. "Yichun, this is definitely not made with grass. This is a mugwort glutinous rice cake, made with mugwort leaves, and it smells amazing."

"It's just a pity that these pastries weren't made fresh; they would taste even better if they were freshly made and warm."

She placed the green cake on the table and looked at the two of them: "Want to try some?"

Yang Fei frowned at the greenish-blue pastry, took a few steps back, and sat back down in her chair: "I'll decline, I'm on a diet right now."

Jiang Yichun's gaze remained fixed on the green cake.

She thought of her hometown, where in spring, they would gather mugwort from the fields, pound it with glutinous rice to make dumplings, and then steam them into little green balls.

"Xiaochun, eat more if you like it. Grandma made a lot."

She held out her hand: "Su Su, give me one."

"Okay!"

Su Yanyue opened the plastic film, broke off a triangular piece of cake, and stuffed it into Jiang Yichun's hand.

Jiang Yichun stared at the cake, took a deep breath, and took a bite.

Unlike the soft and fluffy chiffon cake, this cake has a slightly chewy texture and the stickiness of glutinous rice.

Jiang Yichun couldn't help but chew a few more bites.

The aroma of glutinous rice, mixed with the subtle fragrance of mugwort, spread between her teeth.

The cake had gone cold, but it transported her back to the fields of her childhood.

She took deep breaths of the unique scent of spring.

She chewed slowly, listening to the two continue their conversation.

Yang Fei peeked out and asked, "Hey, by the way, Yan Yue, did your boyfriend come with you to film this time?"

"Oh, him." Su Yanyue paused in packing her things, then sighed softly, "We broke up."

"ah?"

Jiang Yichun almost dropped the cake in his hand.

"Squeak—" The door was opened again.

Zhang Xingxing walked in carrying a large basket of toiletries.

As soon as she opened the door, she saw the three of them gathered together as if in a meeting.

Jiang Yichun was holding a green thing in his hand and eating it with relish.

She placed the basket on the table and frowned: "Why does the atmosphere in the dormitory feel strange?"

"Yes. I just said I broke up." Su Yanyue shrugged.

Zhang Xingxing frowned even more: "You broke up? My God!"

Yang Fei started complaining again: "Hey, Yan Yue, is it okay to say this so openly? And... isn't it said that people are never in a good state after a breakup?"

"Besides, didn't you and your boyfriend start dating right after graduating from high school?"

Su Yanyue shrugged: "Yeah, as time goes by, feelings fade."

"It was a peaceful breakup, so there's nothing to regret."

"He's doing well too, it's just that we don't see each other often."

"I really didn't feel any romantic feelings anymore, so we broke up."

The atmosphere in the dormitory plummeted.

Yang Fei turned back to watching her drama, Zhang Xingxing packed her things, and Su Yanyue looked down to reply to group messages.

Jiang Yichun swallowed the last bite of glutinous rice cake, took out the past years' English written test questions from University A that He Yinxin had given her during the day from her bag, and began to sit down at her desk to write.

The English questions were densely packed on the white paper, and her thoughts drifted away with these strings of words, returning to the girl sitting diagonally behind her.

On the day Su Yanyue arrived, she was wearing a floral dress and carrying several bags as she walked into the dormitory with a group of tall boys.

"This is my boyfriend. He helped me move my luggage. Don't worry, he'll leave after putting the luggage in the dorm."

The boy grinned foolishly; he looked extremely well-matched with her. He carried two large suitcases on his shoulders and wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Yes, yes, I'm leaving now. Yueyue, you pack your own things."

After adding her as a friend, Jiang Yichun often saw photos of her and her boyfriend on her WeChat Moments.

The two embraced, smiling broadly.

Jiang Yichun felt that the two of them were a perfect match, a match made in heaven.

Didn't expect them to break up too?

As she pondered the question, she subconsciously drew a small heart split in two next to the question.

Is it true that all close relationships inevitably end in separation?

He Yinxin leaped before her eyes like a ghost.

"It was a very pleasant first collaboration."

Her hand holding the pen trembled slightly as she wrote a "C" as the answer to the last question.

"Hey, by the way, speaking of dating, have you ever been in one?" Su Yanyue put down her phone and turned around.

Zhang Xingxing shook her head: "I've never been in a relationship. My idea is to go on blind dates if I can't find a partner."

"I feel that my parents' judgment is more reliable."

"Scumbags are too common in society nowadays."

Yang Fei suddenly fell backward, squinting her eyes: "Love? That's my territory now!"

"From junior high school until now, I've had five or six relationships!"

"I have wronged him, and he has wronged me."

"So I've seen a lot of men. If any of you ladies are looking to marry a gentleman, you can ask me for my advice."

She clasped her hands in a fist and bowed, saying, "I will certainly do my utmost to help you!"

"puff."

The other three girls in the dormitory were all laughing out loud at Yang Fei's silly antics.

Su Yanyue laughed a few times and then said, "As for me, the person I just broke up with was my first love. I'm easygoing about relationships; if I can find someone, I will, and if not, then so be it."

"Moreover, I want to pursue a career as an actor, and being in a relationship might affect my career."

“Yan Yue, you’ve said this countless times—you said it often even before you broke up with him,” Yang Fei sighed. “And what about you, Xiao Chun?”

Jiang Yichun, suddenly called upon, shuddered and stiffened in her chair: "I don't want to date. Dating is too exhausting."

"I also have all sorts of other random things to do."

"Being single since birth is great too."

"I like someone."

"You like someone, who is it?" Yang Fei started joking, "That guy who confessed to me last time, or..."

"The robot guy?"

Jiang Yichun turned around and glared at Yang Fei: "Feifei, what are you saying? I... I don't like any of them!"

What I mean is that I like being alone!

"W-who is the 'AI Bro'? I only know that idiot 'Confession Bro'!"

Jiang Yichun's emotions were out of control and surged forth.

When reason returned, she instinctively covered her mouth.

Yang Fei laughed so hard she almost fell over: "He Yinxin!"

Jiang Yichun clutched his pocket: "He...he...we just..."

Yang Fei laughed and said, "I went to the cafeteria to buy some light snacks tonight and saw you two eating together."

"But I know you didn't actually talk about it. Given Director He's personality, and your attitude... you were just discussing the postgraduate recommendation process, right?"

Jiang Yichun let out a long breath and nodded: "Yes. That's how it is. I reached a small agreement with him, and he agreed to tutor me for applying to A University for graduate school."

"Besides, he doesn't seem like the type to like girls. I feel like he's just an emotionless but considerate and caring robot."

"Anyway, I don't feel like being with a guy."

Yang Fei narrowed her eyes: "I understand, I understand. I was just teasing you."

She stood up and gently patted Jiang Yichun's shoulder: "Little Chun is so cute when he's in such a hurry."

"Feifei, you really are..."

Jiang Yichun, his cheeks burning, turned back around and lowered his head to check his English answers again.

Her heart pounded uncontrollably against her chest.

Yang Fei laughed and turned back to continue watching the show.

Everyone went back to doing their own thing until the dormitory lights went out.

Jiang Yichun lay behind the bed curtains and opened his phone.

She looked at the pinned chat, which was a conversation she had with her mother.

The date next to the mother's profile picture is from one week ago.

She hasn't spoken to her mother for a week.

Jiang Yichun typed in the chat box: "Mom, my roommate gave me a glutinous rice cake made with mugwort today. It was delicious. I want to go home."

Her fingertip paused on the words "I want to go home," and she pressed the delete key to delete the last sentence.

She pursed her lips, then deleted the entire sentence, exited the chat with her mother, and opened her WeChat Moments instead.

She posted a message on her WeChat Moments: "I'm a little homesick. School is so tiring. I want to get some rest. I hope that after a good night's sleep, I'll be full of energy for the next day!"

She pressed send, turned off her phone, and crawled into bed.

The dormitory was silent except for the sounds of breathing and the soft tapping of fingers on the screen.

Jiang Yichun tossed and turned but couldn't fall asleep.

Romance, postgraduate studies, family—these intertwined memories washed over her mind.

Looking at the dark curtains above her head, she thought of her childish and naive post on her WeChat Moments, and her ears burned again.

She turned around, took out her phone again, opened her Moments to delete it, but found several red dots on it.

Guan Shuoxi, Yang Fei, and others liked your post on WeChat Moments.

[Guan Shuoxi: Hugs to you, Xiaochun. Get some rest. Just like you said, tomorrow is another new day.]

Her finger hovered over the delete key for a moment, but ultimately she didn't press it.

She slightly raised the corners of her mouth and replied:

Thank you, Sister Xixi, I will continue to work hard!

After replying to the message, her gaze fell once again on the profile picture in the "likes" section.

A familiar white profile picture caught her eye once again.

He Yinxin, he actually liked my post on WeChat Moments?

This shouldn't be a bot I bought by accumulating likes, right?