She had just thought about how Huang Xu had slandered Xiao Yu, and when Xu Yan texted that Xiao Yu had gone home to be with people he didn't like, Ye Qingli had impulsively bought a ticket.
The high-speed train took three hours. She only realized when she stepped out of the Gu Cheng station that she hadn't contacted him and might not run into him.
But fate let them meet, and as Ye Qingli had thought, Xiao Yu was in a bad mood. When she ran into him, he was walking alone on the street, with an indescribable loneliness in his eyes. He kicked stones at the roadside, radiating an aura that kept others away.
It was last night that Ye Qingli discovered that beneath Xiao Yu's glamorous exterior lay a falling heart. That heart was accelerating, falling faster and faster into the ocean of his bad mood. The surface rippled, and sorrow dissolved into his blood, filling his entire body.
Faced with Xu Yan's question, she couldn't figure out if she really liked him. But Ye Qingli knew she wasn't someone who could easily fall for someone. She thought the possibility was slim, or maybe she just felt he was pitiful.
Just like she had thought earlier, what she did was too impulsive.
Ye Qingli was silent for a long time. Xu Yan, seeing her flushed face, thought she was shy. She cupped her face dreamily. "Oh~ Our Qingqing is about to fall in love." Then she sincerely offered advice, "Honestly, I think it would be nice if you two got together. Having a rich handsome guy as your boyfriend—your life won't be a loss!"
Xu Yan had always been conservative, so it was surprising that she could say something like that. Ye Qingli smiled and looked her over. "I never expected Xu Qingsong to make you so open-minded."
Ever since the last mountain trip, when Xu Yan and Xu Qingsong added each other on WeChat, Ye Qingli noticed that Xu Yan spent more time chatting on her phone. They were both outgoing, probably talking about something fun, because she often saw Xu Yan grinning at her phone.
Back in high school, whenever Ye Qingli went to the bathroom, she would hear groups of girls gossiping, saying that in this day and age, P.E. majors were the most popular, especially those with good looks. Even though they knew they were probably playboys, girls still yearned for that mud pit and jumped in without looking back.
Later, that rumor became reality. Ye Qingli thought Xiao Yu and Xu Qingsong were the most typical examples. They were representatives of that rumor, changing girlfriends endlessly. The girls knew they couldn't be the ones to tame a playboy, but they still obsessed over them.
Ye Qingli didn't know much about Xu Qingsong. She didn't know if he had made Xu Yan one of his fish in his pond.
For example, her conservative mindset had been persuaded by Xu Qingsong in just a few days. Ye Qingli believed Xu Yan had her own judgment. Since she listened to him, it showed she trusted him quite a bit.
Whether she liked him or not wasn't certain, but there was definitely some fondness.
Moreover, after she spoke, Xu Yan was obviously stunned, and then her face turned red. Ye Qingli hadn't even said it directly, but Xu Yan still showed signs of being caught in a girl's crush.
Ye Qingli suddenly felt that women's intuition was really accurate.
Xu Yan had intended to tease Ye Qingli, but she ended up being turned from active to passive. She glanced at the time and turned away. "Class is about to start."
"Oh." Ye Qingli raised her eyebrows and nodded, finally withdrawing her meaningful gaze.
The math teacher came in. He didn't have the habit of calling roll; he started teaching as soon as he entered. He believed that since the students were in college, they should manage themselves. He had no obligation to plan their lives, only to be complained about behind his back by those who skipped class. He thought it wasn't worth it.
Ye Qingli, though not well-rested, quickly immersed herself in the class. In contrast, Xu Yan, the good student, was distracted for the first time. She gripped her pen tightly, her thoughts drifting far, far away.
She didn't want to admit it, but she was indeed fascinated by Xu Qingsong.
Whether it was some aspect of him or something else, he attracted her deeply.
But Xu Yan didn't have especially good looks or a prominent family background.
She had been living her life normally for so long, and this seemed to be the first time a boy made her feel inferior.
Xu Yan suddenly felt very troubled.