59/Just Him
Yu Yu circled most of the bar before finally finding Chen Mian at the back entrance.
She didn't know how to describe that scene. The alcohol made her mind a little hazy. During high school, most of the people around her were caught up in budding romances, hiding each other's names in every seemingly unintentional mention. But Yu Yu never felt anything. She even watched those moments that were called "heart-fluttering" with indifference.
Even in college, when two of her three roommates fell in love, and they talked about the little things that made their hearts flutter during their evening chats, she would just think: Ah, that's all.
People around her said she was clueless, but Yu Yu thought that if she was clueless, so be it. Love was troublesome and took up her normal study time. Fortunately, Chen Mian was in the dormitory just like her. She was used to Chen Mian's indifference to advances, and the words "love at first sight" didn't apply to her at all.
However, he never expected that he would witness this scene.
I saw Chen Mian, who had always told everyone she didn't want to be in a relationship, looking up and kissing a boy in a white hoodie outside the open back door.
She was taken aback, and her first thought was that Chen Mian was drunk and had been taken advantage of.
However, as soon as he took a step closer, he heard Chen Mian's not-so-loud voice, mixed in with the music, saying sorry to the person in front of him.
The band "Ears" changed its lead singer, from a male to a female with an ethereal voice. She held the microphone and sang Jay Chou's "Maple". She had never been to a bar before and didn't know why the bars that people online said were so hyped that they would forget their own names and lose three pounds would be like this. The love songs she sang made the air feel bittersweet.
Perhaps it was the alcohol that caused my brain, which is devoid of any romantic sense and only contains professional knowledge, to suddenly issue commands to my body, producing emotions similar to being moved.
This touching moment stemmed from the fact that Chen Mian, dressed in all white, was tightly clutching the boy's hoodie, while the boy, upon hearing her apology, merely smiled and then reached out to ruffle her hair as if venting his anger.
—What a load of rubbish about an apology.
That's what he said.
Not gentle at all. If it were Lin Yuqing, the senior who had been pursuing Chen Mian at school, he would probably say it's okay and you did nothing wrong. But people are visual creatures, and the very superficial factor of appearance made this person in front of them have the upper hand.
She stood there, watching them intently with the same gaze one would use to examine a classroom case. Only when he looked up at her did Yu Yu panic and not know how to explain. She waved her hand like a lucky cat, just as she heard him say to her, "Chen Mian is drunk. Could you please take care of her?"
Yu Yu remained in a daze.
After helping Chen Mian back to her seat, Deng Momo and Su Wangqiu took turns asking her where she had gone and why it had taken so long. She just shook her head blankly, rubbing her face, thinking that she had probably seen wrong just now.
Then he looked at Chen Mian, who was sleeping on the table next to him.
He thought to himself, "How could this be? How could Chen Mian be kissing someone else at the back door?"
What I saw that day seemed like a secret.
Later, Deng Momo's boyfriend called a car and took them to their dormitory. The next day, Deng Momo's phone rang, waking up everyone who was sleeping in the dormitory.
The consequence of waking up from a hangover is a splitting headache.
Chen Mian buried her face in the pillow, and the smell of alcohol on her body was unbearable. She sat up in bed and saw a large bag of snacks next to her pillow.
Chen Mian: ?
Where did it come from?
She asked the other people in the dormitory, and Su Wangqiu and Deng Momo both looked blank.
"Didn't you buy it when you went to the restroom yesterday?"
Chen Mian was silent for a moment before cautiously asking, "Can you sell snacks in the restrooms of bars now?"
The result was silence from the crowd.
Su Wangqiu: "Let's all drink less in the future."
Deng Momo: "This is the first time I've heard Chen Mian say something ridiculous."
Finally, Yu Yu, who came out of the restroom, answered Chen Mian's question, saying, "A boy bought it for you."
She gave a vague description of the boy, only saying that he was quite handsome.
These three vague words didn't satisfy Deng Momo, who insisted on getting more details, asking for a long time how handsome he was and what he looked like.
Yu Yu couldn't say anything, and finally scratched her head. After a long while, she remembered that she could shift the blame back to Chen Mian. But she saw Chen Mian pursing her lips and looking at the bag of snacks with a complicated expression.
Su Wangqiu keenly noticed Chen Mian's unusual behavior and asked her, "Is she someone you know, Mianmian?"
The bag contained potato chips, Want Want Little Buns, and even jelly and plums—clearly, the person had just picked them out randomly. Chen Mian knew Shen Yu all too well; he was always the type of person who would rather spend money than put in any effort. When shopping at the supermarket, he never compared prices; he only chose things based on his mood, stuffing everything into his shopping cart. Back then, she found Shen Yu annoying and even asked him if he could at least choose a little something. He replied very naturally, "Weren't you looking over there?"
Chen Mian was taken aback.
She then realized what he meant; she had looked in the direction of the snacks, so he had taken them all.
Chen Mian is the type who forgets everything when she's drunk. She doesn't remember clearly what happened at the teacher appreciation banquet. When she saw the video sent in the class group, she even felt that it wasn't her. What happened last night was even more vague. She only remembered seeing Shen Yu's face before she got drunk.
A few round tables away, I sat with a group of boys, and they all looked at me with indifference.
So, what happened next? And where did these snacks come from?
These questions didn't have time to occupy her mind for the time being. She went to get clean clothes, took a shower, and came out when her phone rang. It was a senior from the school's debate club asking her to come over.
The debate club is currently preparing for the university debate competition. Chen Mian initially chose this club to improve her eloquence. There is no shortage of eloquent people in the class, most of whom are cheerful and outgoing. Occasionally, there are some introverted people, but they can all talk endlessly when it comes to professional issues. In a university campus where grades are the main factor, there are basically no lazy people. In prestigious universities, there are only those who study hard and those who study even harder. There are basically no people who just lie down and do nothing. Even people like Su Wangqiu and Deng Momo, who always talk about balancing work and rest, go to the study room with Chen Mian and Yu Yu every day.
When I arrived at the debate club, there were already quite a few people inside.
Despite it being the weekend, almost everyone in the club was there.
Chen Mian pushed open the door, pulled out a chair, and sat at the end of the crowd.
Then she saw Lin Yuqing sitting opposite her, with paper and pen in her hand. She was as direct as she had been when she was tutoring Yaoyao that day, but the other party still acted as if nothing had happened and smiled at her as usual.
Chen Mian lowered her head.
The people around her were discussing the group assignments enthusiastically. Most of them were people they knew well. The club would hold a competition first to select outstanding members. Chen Mian wasn't very familiar with any of them. She rarely came here except for regular activities and hadn't participated in any of the organized dinners. So, it was only natural that she ended up alone.
Lin Yuqing wrote Chen Mian's name on the notebook and said to the senior student who was temporarily serving as a judge, "Let her be on my team."
People around looked over.
They laughed and teased, "Senior has ulterior motives."
Lin Yuqing laughed and said, "It's a normal selection of team members, and Chen Mian is a very good debater."
Having said that, it would seem somewhat deliberate for Chen Mian to refuse again.
There were two senior students in my group, and the debate topic was whether love is innate or learned.
The result of the draw for Chen Mian's group was the opposite, that is, learning it later in life.
Lin Yuqing, who took on the role of team leader, gave the first debater position to Chen Mian.
Seeing Chen Mian's indifferent expression, the senior student recognized that it was a sign that she was not in a good mood after spending a long time with her. So, while the people around were talking, she leaned over and whispered to her, "Just take it as an opportunity to improve yourself. Lin Yuqing is quite good at debating. You can learn from him."
Chen Mian put down her pen. For a moment, she thought about not participating in the competition, but she quickly suppressed this impulse, which was similar to a fit of pique, and nodded slightly.
When I finally got back to the dorm, I felt depressed for no apparent reason.
As she put down her book, turned on her computer, and typed the word "love" into a webpage, she heard Yu Yu, who had been sitting at her desk reading, call her name hesitantly.
Chen Mian turned to look at her, "Hmm?"
"Well, I think I remembered something about last night." Yu Yu's voice was very soft, and her eyebrows were furrowed.
"Mianmian, do you remember when you grabbed a boy in a white hoodie and kissed him on the back door steps?"
Chen Mian's hand stopped on the mouse, and his index finger moved subconsciously, causing the webpage to automatically redirect to the search completion page.
The first entry is the definition provided by Baidu Baike.
Love is the expression of mutual affection between two people. Its definition varies across different eras, but in modern terms, it is defined as the most sincere admiration and the strongest, most stable, and most devoted desire for each other to become lifelong partners, formed between two people based on certain conditions and shared life ideals.
But she couldn't speak.
After a long while, she whispered, seemingly to herself or Yu Yu, "I'm drunk."
Yu Yu pursed her lips and softly hummed in agreement.
Then Chen Mian didn't know what to say.
I was drunk, so none of that matters. It was an action I took when my reason was out of control, and it could even be explained as drunken promiscuity. My encounter with Shen Yu was just a chance meeting with a high school classmate; neither of us was sober.
But Chen Mian couldn't say any of these words.
Suddenly, she inexplicably remembered Lin Yuqing, who had invited her to join the debate club.
Everyone thought it was just normal affection, and there was nothing inappropriate about it.
But she just felt uncomfortable, a discomfort that could even be expressed as annoyance. Whenever anyone showed her any behavior that resembled affection, her first reaction was annoyance and a desire to escape.
At the same time, a "what if" suddenly popped into my head.
If Lin Yuqing had been there last night, would you have kissed him at the back door?
Chen Mian could give an answer he didn't know without even having to think.
It was an instinctive refusal.
When it comes to the question of liking or disliking someone, the only name that can be attached to her is Shen Yu.
No one else will appear in the subject of this question.
Only the Sinking Domain.
It can only be a sinking realm.
/
Sorry for the long wait, there wasn't much room for the second male and female leads to shine. Their relationship was simply a matter of choice and tug-of-war between the two of them.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
