Chapter 60 P - Lily of the Valley
Chu Beiling was completely confused. A cold wind blew in through the cracks in the window, and the drawing paper on the table was slightly lifted up by a corner.
He casually pressed down but bumped into an innocent water glass lying to the side. Chu Beiling quickly grabbed a pile of drawing paper, spilling the remaining water from the glass all over half the table, dripping down the edge.
The once tidy desktop was now a mess.
Chu Beiling snapped out of her daze and began cleaning Lin Tingdao's desk. After cleaning and grading the homework, she didn't return to the American Education Center until half an hour before class.
Carrying a pile of drawings back to the art classroom, Xu Tunan reached out and hooked his arm around his neck: "It's just going to the office to get some homework, why do you look like you've lost your mind?"
Chu Beiling placed a pile of drawing paper on the desk by the window, glanced subconsciously at Xing Yu sitting in front of the easel, and then looked away: "If you were also forced to correct homework in the office with a soft knife, you would also lose your soul."
Xu Tunan was skeptical, so he pretended to be deep and pinched his chin, looking like a master solving a mystery: "You don't look like you've lost your soul while revising the painting, but rather like you've been heartbroken."
“I’ll talk to your grandpa,” Chu Beiling said, dissatisfied.
Xu Tunan said with a grin, "Sure~ I'll give you my grandpa's contact information right now."
Chu Beiling: "Get lost."
Xu Tunan said earnestly, "It's okay to be heartbroken, but it's your problem that you're not telling us who your ex is."
Chu Beiling suppressed the urge to kill him and decided not to waste time arguing with this idiot. She directly admitted, "Yeah, you know my partner. You can give him a greeting card another day, and I'll treat you to dinner with him."
Xu Tunan understood: "Sure~ We'd be happy if you and Xing Yu treated us to dinner."
"..." Chu Beiling was speechless. What drawing dog doesn't go crazy? Their mental state is quite beautiful. When they go crazy, even dogs can be caught and paired up. They are abstract to the extreme. When they make jokes, they have no sense of restraint at all.
But why does everyone think that way, linking him and Xing Yu together and believing they're dating?!
But then I thought about it again, and it only proved that he and Xing Yu were indeed close, but Xu Tunan, that idiot, said such a thing.
That is simply an intermittent episode of neurosis.
It can be cured.
"If Xing Yu hears you joking around like that, he'll kill you first." Chu Beiling smiled and said, "Hu Tutu, watch your skin."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Xu Tunan, that idiot, preemptively shouted, "Xing Yu, Chu Fanfan is swearing, come and teach him a lesson!"
Chu Beiling rolled her eyes. Holy crap.
The purple sunset filled the entire sky, casting its even glow. Xing Yu looked up from among the wisteria, his eyes appearing unusually deep due to the purple sunset, as if he were about to smile.
This is clearly a sign that they're about to teach him a lesson.
Chu Beiling's eyelids trembled slightly, lifting and then lowering again. He felt inexplicably guilty and looked away as if he hadn't seen anything.
He kicked Xu Tunan in the calf again: "Huahua and I love each other and will never break up. Don't curse me. If you talk nonsense, I'll sew your mouth shut."
After saying that, Chu Beiling walked towards Xing Yu, sat down next to him, and quickly explained, "Hu Tutu just said something really outrageous. Just pretend you didn't hear it, okay?"
Xing Yu lifted his eyelids: "So why did you lose your soul? What did you do with the soft knife in the office just now? Was your phone discovered?"
"Guess, guess, you're really good at guessing," Chu Beiling said, picking up a paintbrush and sketching as she spoke. "But it's pretty much the same. My phone wasn't taken away, but Ruan Dao actually suspected me of having a relationship. I said I was chatting with you, and Ruan Dao said a bunch of nonsensical things."
He shrugged and blurted out in his soft Wu dialect, "What do you mean, 'listen'? I don't understand."
Xing Yu's hand trembled, and the eraser fell from his hand onto the easel, bounced, and rolled to the ground. His Adam's apple bobbed: "What did she say?"
The art student's eraser fell to the ground and was gone forever. If he acted quickly, there might be a chance to save it. Seeing that Xing Yu was staring at him without any reaction, Chu Beiling bent down to find the eraser for him.
Xing Yu glanced at him and said, "Don't bother looking for it, you won't find it."
Chu Beiling looked around but couldn't find it, so she gave up and asked again, "Do you have any more erasers?"
Xing Yu tapped the slender nib of the pen with his fingertips and shook his head: "This is the last one. I haven't had time to buy it yet."
Chu Beiling reached into the toolbox and took out an eraser, cutting it in half with a utility knife and giving it to him: "This is the only one I have, so use it sparingly, lest the floor eats it up."
Li Dong and Sheng Xia sat down in front of the easel next to them. Li Dong raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, "Why are you so generous to Xing Yu?"
"If you don't have an eraser, I'll reluctantly cut it in half for you," Chu Beiling added. "Just remember to return it to me."
“I forgot to buy some whitebait when I went back to school this week, can you scoop some out for me?” Li Dong said, reaching his wicked hand into his toolbox.
Chu Beiling slapped her hand away: "If you dare touch me, I dare to kill you."
Li Dong sneered, and Sheng Xia handed Da Bai over: "Use mine first."
Her original intention was to tease Chu Beiling, who was so infatuated with women that he forgot his friends, but she didn't expect that the adorable Shengxia would seriously hand the big white dog to her.
Li Dongxin melted instantly, reaching out to ruffle Sheng Xia's fluffy head: "Sweetie, you don't need it, you can use it yourself."
Chu Beiling: "..."
Just as he was about to speak, Li Dong pointed at Xing Yu behind him: "Take a look back. Shouldn't you take care of this? You're staring at him like a statue waiting for his wife."
Chu Beiling turned her head back, but Xing Yu looked away and turned his face away, appearing nonchalant.
He suddenly turned around: "Brother, is this how you use the 'Waiting-for-Wife Stone'?!"
Li Dong chuckled twice, speechless, and turned to talk to Sheng Xia.
Tch~ what a jerk.
Chu Beiling turned to comfort Xing Yu: "Don't mind them. They're just drawing and getting themselves into trouble."
"Hmm." Xing Yu finally managed to utter a single word after a long pause, his hand frozen on the drawing board for a long time without moving, his whole body leaning forward.
Chu Beiling always felt that Xing Yu had a little princess living in his heart, but others disagreed.
Just like now, Xing Yu clearly wanted to know what Lin Tingdao had just said to him, but he stubbornly refused to ask, insisting on waiting for him to speak up and tell him on his own initiative.
Well, Your Highness, you have your reasons for being arrogant.
Chu Beiling leaned closer and briefly repeated Lin Tingdao's words in a voice that only the two of them could hear.
Xing Yu's hand trembled, and he lost his grip on the hard charcoal. Chu Beiling reacted quickly, bending down to snatch the charcoal back from mid-air: "Why are you so distracted today?"
Xing Yu's Adam's apple bobbed: "So what do you think?"
"What do you mean, what do you think?" Chu Beiling was full of questions, but quickly realized what he was talking about: "We have a good relationship, isn't that good?"
Xing Yu paused for a moment, then looked back at the screen: "Whatever makes you happy."
This time, a rather oblivious person noticed that Xing Yu's mood was clearly not very high.
Chu Beiling tentatively asked, "Are you angry?"
Xing Yu shook his head and uttered two words curtly: "No."
Well, it sounds like she's angry.
Chu Beiling pondered for a moment. He had merely repeated Lin Tingdao's words without embellishing them. So what exactly was wrong with Xing Yu, and why was he unhappy?
Ah, the little princess's thoughts are indeed hard to fathom.
Chu Beiling asked, "Did I just say something wrong?"
Xing Yu's Adam's apple bobbed twice, and he glanced sideways to meet his gaze: "Not angry."
Chu Beiling raised her chin: "No, I'm absolutely certain that you're angry."
He didn't understand and asked earnestly, "Why are you angry?"
Xing Yu stared at him for a moment, his lips slightly parted, but he ultimately said nothing.
The next second—
Chu Beiling's face fell: "Or are you saying you don't consider me your best friend?"
Xing Yu's eyes were like a dark, tranquil pool, flowing with countless profound and complex emotions. He stared at him for a long time without saying a word.
The more he didn't answer, the more flustered Chu Beiling became.
The thought that Xing Yu might not actually think they had a good relationship sent a strange sense of irritation through him, slowly eroding his heart and making him feel uncomfortable all over.
Chu Beiling's face was grim, a mixture of anger and grievance in her eyes, and her voice was hoarse as she asked, "You really think that way?"
The more Xing Yu didn't answer, the more his fear and resentment burned, and the angrier he became.
As their eyes met, the preparatory bell rang, and one after another, people carrying toolboxes entered the art classroom, sat down in front of the drawing board, and took out their paints and brushes from their toolboxes and placed them at their feet.
December nights come suddenly, and the pale purple sunset that fills the sky only briefly transitions to deep purple before gradually turning black.
At this moment, Chu Beiling was caught in a deep emotion for some reason, feeling both angry and somewhat desperate, which almost tore him apart.
But Xing Yu still didn't say anything, just stared at him.
The anxiety in his chest was escalating, and he was about to explode. Chu Beiling couldn't take it anymore and almost pulled Xing Yu off the chair and slammed him against the wall: "Why won't you say anything?!"
"Why aren't you saying anything?!" Xing Yu smiled and shook his head. "Of course... you're my best friend."
Chu Beiling wasn't particularly pleased with Xing Yu's response, as his answer was rather reluctant and unwilling.
They've known each other since childhood, but their relationship was bad before. Over the past year, their relationship has gotten better and better. They're practically inseparable 24/7 except when they're sleeping, and even when they sleep, their heads are touching.
The first thing I see every morning is the other person, and the last thing I see before I go to sleep is also the other person.
In Chu Beiling's heart, Xing Yu was already different from everyone else, but Xing Yu didn't think so—
This made him very unhappy.
I'm very unhappy.
Xing Yu pursed his lips, clenched his fist inwardly, and his knuckles turned from blood red to pale white. After a moment, he released his hand: "Don't be angry. I do think so."
He sighed dejectedly, "You'll always be my best friend."
"Then you..." Chu Beiling stopped midway through her sentence, not intending to continue. Since Xing Yu had already said that, there was no point in delving into it further; it would be too pretentious.
In the following days, Chu Beiling would disappear from Xing Yu's sight as soon as class ended, and no one knew where she went. She didn't eat with them, and she returned to the dormitory very late at night. They couldn't catch her at all.
Whenever he wanted to have a proper talk with Chu Beiling, Xu Tunan would stop him with various excuses.
Xing Yu hadn't been able to find time to properly communicate with Chu Beiling, and because the two almost argued about whether they were good friends on Sunday, Chu Beiling kept avoiding him, driving him to the brink of madness.
Chu Beiling was completely oblivious to Xing Yu's abnormal, almost insane emotions.
That day, Xing Yu said they would be friends for life, and his arrogance had completely vanished. He was very oblivious and at ease, and no longer took it to heart.
Because she was preparing for Xing Yu's birthday, Chu Beiling had been making preparations recently. In order to keep the surprise a secret from him, she tried to avoid him as much as possible and asked Xu Tunan to find a way to keep Xing Yu occupied while she went to the reception room to make the preparations.
Chu Beiling ordered handmade paper, balloons, white glue, and other craft materials for making lily of the valley flowers online and had them delivered to the school's reception office.
With his sweet talk, he persuaded the gatekeeper to temporarily store the materials and the finished lily of the valley flowers there, and not to let anyone else touch them. He would then come to the gatehouse to make lily of the valley flowers whenever he had free time.
Half of it has been completed, but the other half is still not finished. However, Xing Yu's birthday is coming soon, so Chu Beiling is working hard to catch up.
Chu Beiling, with his obsessive-compulsive tendencies, kept fiddling with the folds of the lily of the valley, trying to make each handmade lily of the valley as close as possible to the texture of a real flower. To imitate it, he even sprayed on lily of the valley-scented perfume.
The corner is now filled with elegant white lilies of the valley, and a faint fragrance wafts in the air. At first glance, it looks like a real sea of lilies of the valley.
The security guard came in and exclaimed in surprise, "Wow~ you've done so much?"
Chu Beiling looked up, then lowered her head again to continue her work: "Hmm, there's still half left to finish."
The gatekeeper picked up the half-finished lily of the valley, glanced at it, and put it down. He looked at Chu Beiling earnestly and said, "Let me tell you, you are students now, and studying is the most important thing. Don't do anything like confessing your feelings, especially not in school. If you do it so openly, the teachers will definitely not let you off the hook."
Ever since the gatekeeper heard that he was going to do this, he would say this every time he saw him.
Chu Beiling could only explain again and again, "No, it's really for a boy."
"So you and that boy are really close?" The security guard replied, "Anyway, your studies are the most important thing right now. You can date later, okay?"
The gatekeeper had always been skeptical that he was doing all this for Xing Yu. This time, Chu Beiling said a few more words: "His birthday is coming soon. No one ever remembers his birthday or welcomes him into this world, so I want to give him an unforgettable birthday. It's that simple."
The security guard looked at him with a puzzled expression: "You're so thoughtful." Then he asked, "Why don't you just buy flowers online? You can't buy everything online these days!"
Chu Beiling: "Fresh lily of the valley flowers are too small, and they can't be preserved forever."
The security guard nodded and continued, "Why didn't you ask someone to help you?"
"I can manage by myself." Chu Beiling glanced at the time; there was still half an hour before lights out.
He quickly tidied up his things, put the prepared lily of the valley into a cardboard box filled with bouquets, and then cleaned the reception room.
Before leaving, Chu Beiling gently covered the bouquet with a plastic sheet and said to the gatekeeper, "Uncle, I'm leaving now. Please keep these flowers safe for me and don't let anyone touch them."
The security guard waved his hand with a smile: "I know, hurry back to your dorm, the lights are about to go out."
Chu Beiling sprinted back to Danqing Yayuan and turned into the dormitory building.
The moon was obscured by dark clouds. The lights in the school's large flower bed had just blown up a couple of days ago and the logistics department hadn't come to replace them yet. Only a blurry silhouette could be seen standing in front of the dormitory flower bed through the dim light.
I wonder who's standing here alone when the lights are about to go out.
As he walked in, the dark clouds dispersed, and a silvery-white light gradually spread across the pitch-black night sky, revealing Xing Yu's face in the moonlight.
Upon seeing him, Xing Yu quickened his pace and walked towards him.
Chu Beiling wanted to ask him why he was standing there alone when the lights were about to go out: "You..."
Xing Yu looked straight at him: "Did I do something that made you uncomfortable?"
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