He had lied to Xu Nuo; he was hungry, but now he was full of anger—never been so full in his life.
Ye Qingli was replying to a message from Zhang Luan, asking if she and her classmate had returned to school. That's just how mothers were—more worried than anyone else in the world, especially with her anxiety disorder. So Ye Qingli always replied in great detail, from time to place to person, never lying to her.
The only exception, maybe, was when she went alone to Gu Cheng to find Xiao Yu.
Xu Yan, arm in arm with her, was telling gossip she'd seen on a forum. Her eyes darted to a figure that had walked past them a while ago—tall and lean, looked familiar.
"Qingqing," Xu Yan nudged her. "Was that Xiao Yu?"
She hadn't seen him in this jacket, but guessed by his hair and height, and the way he walked—all swagger.
Ye Qingli looked up, her heart pounding with each swing of his arms. Xiao Yu walked with a defiant air, and even from his back, it was obvious he was angry. He must have seen them strolling around here.
"Probably," she said, her gaze dropping as the figure entered the school.
No matter how much Ye Qingli pretended not to care, her forlorn tone betrayed her. Xu Yan glanced at her sideways. "Ha, so he's dating and still asking you to dinner? What a total player. We need to keep our heads. Be glad we haven't fallen too deep. Whoever dates him ends up suffering. Don't you think so, Qingqing?"
"Yes," Ye Qingli forced a smile after a long pause. The road wasn't dark, but it wasn't bright either. Xu Yan couldn't see the redness in her eyes.
Yesterday at lunch, they happened to run into Xu Qingsong and Liu Xu. The cafeteria had no seats, so they joined them. Xu Yan noticed their cheerful chatter and cleared her throat awkwardly. "Um... why didn't Xiao Yu come with you guys?"
She didn't mention running into Xiao Yu in the city center on Friday; this was for Ye Qingli's sake. Ye Qingli poked at a meatball in her plate with her chopsticks, pretending not to care, but her ears were perked up.
"Oh, he recently found a part-time job. Looks like he won't have time on weekends from now on," Liu Xu said after swallowing his food.
"Part-time? He's so rich, why would he work part-time?" Xu Yan hadn't expected that. She thought Xiao Yu had signed up for training classes. If he was going to be a coach, wouldn't that mean more contact with that woman? Xu Yan rubbed her nose and asked, "Where's he working? You guys aren't going, so who's he with?"
She was so obviously probing that even a fool would catch on. Xu Qingsong glanced at Ye Qingli, who was practically burying her head under the table.
He chuckled. "He's a coach at a taekwondo gym. The boss is a pretty woman. Every time I video call Xiao Yu, she's hanging around. Oh, I think she's taken a liking to him."
Ye Qingli's hand with the chopsticks paused. She missed the meatball, and it rolled off the edge of the plate onto the table.
Liu Xu's eyes widened, and he kicked Xu Qingsong hard under the table. Xu Qingsong kicked back without flinching, resting his chin on his hand as he continued to muse. "Ah, A Yu's been single for a while. It's normal if he starts dating. After all, there's no suitable candidate at school, and the ones he's chasing won't fall for him."
"Don't you think?" Xu Qingsong stared straight at Ye Qingli. If he didn't provoke her, it just wouldn't work.
Ye Qingli smiled bitterly and nodded, feeling as though her mouth was as bitter as a cup of coffee without sugar.
She had wanted not to believe it, but today she saw Xiao Yu's Moments post. She had never seen him post anything since they added each other. Now, breaking his habit, on the surface it was a video of that kid, but who knew if he was just using it to film the girl behind him?
So, forget it.
After all, their relationship had never been pure from the start. He approached her with ulterior motives. Now that she had no ties with Huang Xu, he could resolutely withdraw from her life.
Whatever happens next, it's none of her business.
Just treat it like a dream.