[Central Plaza Restaurant — September 15, 12:11 PM]
Lin Feng's chair had not moved.
He had been looking at the far wall for the last few minutes — when Xiao Yue spoke, when Su Qingxue's hand went to the hood, when Xiao Yue lifted that hand off her own head.
Then a sound — fabric on fabric, very soft — and the room went quieter than it had been a few seconds ago.
Lin Feng turned his head.
A small motion. A few degrees. Enough to bring his eyes off the far wall and onto the table.
Across from him, Xiao Yue's hand was at her shoulder where the hood had been. Her hair was past her shoulder. Her face was visible.
Then he looked at Su Qingxue, or rather at her hands.
The handbag had slipped in her grip. Her nails had gone into the leather, and the bag was hanging from her nails now.
Her free hand was half-raised in the gesture she had been making toward Xiao Yue's head. The hood was not there anymore.
Lin Feng turned slightly, as if trying to peek. For a moment, his eyes landed on Xiao Yue — a content smile appeared on his face, followed by a nod, and then he turned his gaze away.
Back to the far wall.
Then the whispers started.
"—oh my —"
"—is that the —"
"—how did nobody —"
The sounds reached their table the way sound reaches a swimmer's ear — muffled, at a distance, not quite shaped into words.
Su Qingxue had not moved.
She was at the side of Xiao Yue's chair where she had been when the hood came down. The flush that had been at her cheeks drained. Then it came back. Then it drained again.
Then she looked at Xiao Yue. Properly this time.
Xiao Yue looked back at her with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
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Su Qingxue made one more half-step back, her legs retreating without any prior thought.
Then, with all her will, she caught the retreat. She stopped mid-step, put her foot back to the floor. Her left hand came across her body and closed on her right wrist. Then she locked her knees against the next one her body wanted to take.
Heat climbed the back of her throat.
Her abdomen — low, behind the navel — went warm in a way she had no name for. The warmth pulsed once and then steadied. Her knees were not steady. She locked them harder.
Then, overwhelming her will, she retreated further, this time a full step back.
There, Su Qingxue caught a glimpse of Lin Feng's face when he peeked at Xiao Yue — the smile, the nod — and the image stayed.
She caught herself again, and this time, composure began returning to her, her breathing getting deeper and more even.
"Ms. Su." Xiao Yue paused, looking up at Su Qingxue from her seat with a look of contempt. "Is there a problem?"
Su Qingxue's mouth opened. Her throat did not give her anything. After that, she closed her mouth.
Xiao Yue tilted her head an inch from where she was seated. The afternoon light from the east window caught one side of her face.
"You were saying something earlier. About dignity. About showing face."
Lin Feng continued looking at the far wall of the restaurant. Then for a moment, he turned his head again, only to see Xiao Yue once more…
And Su Qingxue.
Su Qingxue was standing with her left foot a step behind her right, her right arm angled slightly forward, her left hand holding her right wrist.
Not long after, he turned away. His jaw shifted, his eyelid twitching.
Fuck, I remember now!
Goddamnit… How could I have forgotten something so important about Su Qingxue?
While right now she is somewhat normal…
In the future she will become…
Lin Feng's thoughts paused as he remembered what Su Qingxue was.
Zhang Tingting watched as Lin Feng repeatedly turned his head — far wall, then Xiao Yue, then Su Qingxue, then the far wall again.
She also watched as her best friend acted in a way she had never seen before.
Su Qingxue's face was blushing red, as if all the blood in her body had gone to her face. She stood there, trembling slightly, her thighs slowly grinding against each other.
"What's wrong, Ms. Campus Belle? Cat got your tongue?" Xiao Yue tilted her head slightly to keep Su Qingxue in her sightline, her voice remaining casual.
Su Qingxue remained silent. Composure was returning to her face. But her head tipped forward, her chin lowering toward her chest.
She's done. Xiao Yue thought as she witnessed Su Qingxue's reaction, the one she had been waiting for.
"Well then, if you don't want to talk, let's do this then…" She reached down beside her chair and lifted the black notebook onto the table. She turned to the back, to a page of tally marks.
"Two thousand, eight hundred and forty-seven."
"That is the number of messages Lin Feng sent you over the four years you have known him."
Xiao Yue paused. She looked at Lin Feng, who had just stolen a peek. Then back at Su Qingxue.
"And you only replied to three hundred and twenty-three."
Zhang Tingting, who had not moved from beside Lin Feng's chair where she had been standing since he had said her name a few minutes ago, made a small sound through her hand.
"Average response time," Xiao Yue said, "six point four hours."
Another pause.
"Unless you needed something. Then under three minutes."
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Su Qingxue's breathing stayed deep as Xiao Yue continued with her ledger. Breathe in. Breathe out. Yet her head remained bowed, looking down at the floor.
Then her brain did what her brain had been trained to do.
So what if Lin Feng had sent me that many text messages. So what if I didn't respond to him quickly.
Did I ask him to send me those messages? What am I supposed to say about all of those 'Good Mornings' and 'I hope you have a good day today'?
That's not what I want!
But…
What exactly do I want?
Then she clenched her fist and straightened her spine with the small amount it could still straighten.
"He remembered your birthday every year," Xiao Yue continued. "He spent forty thousand yuan on average per gift."
Zhang Tingting turned her gaze toward Xiao Yue. Her face looked a little more flustered.
Sensing her gaze, Xiao Yue's eyes turned from Su Qingxue to Zhang Tingting, her eyelids narrowed.
For a moment, Zhang Tingting kept eye contact with her, her eyes showing no fear at all. Xiao Yue held it. The two of them stayed like that for some time.
Then the two of them broke contact. Zhang Tingting looked back at Lin Feng. Xiao Yue returned her gaze to Su Qingxue.
Lin Feng was still looking at the far wall. Noticing the silence, he turned his head slightly. Zhang Tingting was already or still looking at him, as if she had never looked anywhere else. Xiao Yue was looking at Su Qingxue.
Su Qingxue meanwhile kept her head lowered, her chin pointing at her chest.
Then Xiao Yue continued.
"You also forgot his birthday two years in a row. The third and fourth years, you remembered. You sent him a text."
She paused.
"Six words."
Xiao Yue recited them.
"Happy birthday. Hope you have fun."
Zhang Tingting was still looking at Lin Feng as Xiao Yue paused. Seeing his gaze, she fidgeted slightly and lowered her head, as if remembering something from that day.
Xiao Yue paused for a moment, looking again at Su Qingxue, whose head was now slightly up. Then she continued.
"He bought you coffee one thousand, one hundred and fifty-four times. You bought him coffee zero times."
A guy at the four-top mouthed the number to himself, looking at his own phone.
"He walked you to class one thousand and ninety-four times. You walked him to class zero times."
Silence.
Xiao Yue let it stretch.
Su Qingxue meanwhile blinked. And then she blinked a few more times. A look of confusion and bewilderment appeared on her face — one only the floor could clearly see.
Lin Feng did all that?
What the hell?
That's…
That's so pathetic…
Then why is...
Su Qingxue did not finish the thought. Then slowly, she raised her head, not to look at Xiao Yue, but at her best friend, Zhang Tingting, who was also looking at the floor, as if the tiles had become very interesting all of a sudden.
Wait a minute… why is this weirdo only attacking me?
Shouldn't she attack Tingting instead?
After all, the two of them walk together every afternoon. They have since high school. He even picks her up every morning.
And what kind of girl walks a guy to school…
She paused when she realized she was still looking at Zhang Tingting.
Then she slowly turned to Xiao Yue.
"You are not better than me." Su Qingxue's mouth opened, speaking to Xiao Yue with a muffled voice, almost a mumble.
Then she looked back again at Lin Feng, then to her sworn sister/best friend. Still no response.
Then back at Xiao Yue.
"You are no better than me… you creepy weirdo." Su Qingxue continued, this time, her voice clearer than before.
Silence held.
The room seemed to inhale.
Su Qingxue stood there, looking defiant against Xiao Yue, though her legs continued to tremble. Xiao Yue, meanwhile, stared at Su Qingxue. Her smile — the one that didn't quite reach her eyes — remained.
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All of a sudden, Lin Feng stood up from his chair.
As soon as he stood up, both Xiao Yue and Su Qingxue looked at him. Su Qingxue's gaze followed Lin Feng as he crossed the small distance to where Xiao Yue was seated. He stopped beside her chair.
He did not look at Su Qingxue the entire time.
He held his hand out to Xiao Yue, palm up, at the height of her shoulder.
Xiao Yue's hand came into his without ceremony.
She rose, his hand under hers, taking her weight, the way it had been since the corridor that morning. Xiao Yue looked at Zhang Tingting, who was standing beside Lin Feng.
Catching Lin Feng standing up from the edge of her vision, Zhang Tingting looked up to see him, only to see him holding Xiao Yue's hand.
Lin Feng followed her gaze, seeing Zhang Tingting looking back at him. Seeing this, Xiao Yue tightened her grip over his hand.
As if by impulse, Zhang Tingting's hand moved, as if reaching out for him. Her face was an expression of disbelief and dismay. Then she stopped, slowly retracting her hands to her back, tucking them behind her.
Then, her expression changed. Zhang Tingting leaned her head slightly, closed her eyes and let out a smile.
He froze. Knowing what the original Lin Feng and Zhang Tingting had been doing to each other under the guise of practice, his expression changed.
Zhang Tingting smiled at him peacefully. Her hands were clasped behind her back. Her face was calm.
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[★☆☆☆☆☆☆ Zhang Tingting — Culinary Student]
[Affection: -90]
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"I'm happy for you, Lin Feng," she said, her smile reaching even her still-closed eyes, her hands trembling behind her, both of her hands gripping hard against each other. "Looks like my job as the matchmaker had ended."
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[Affection: -50 (+40)]
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Zhang Tingting's affection points moved fast, like a bubble finally freed from the depths of the sea.
Yet Lin Feng could not see the numbers.
For a moment, he was thinking. What exactly was Tingting's affection numbers at the beginning?
Lin Feng thought, as he tried to review what he remembered about her.
The problem was… she doesn't appear that much. In the novel, despite Long Tian's annoyance at the #18 one-star heroine stuck on his list — surrounded by higher-star heroines, numbered in the thousands — he let her be.
He did not make any moves on her.
There was a time when Long Tian and Zhang Tingting met. Sometime around chapter three thousand. He did not remember which one. He did not remember what they talked about.
But after that, she disappeared for the next few thousand chapters.
She was not conquered. Her name was still on the list. But Long Tian simply ignored her. When he did look at her, it only became a reminder for him to punish Lin Feng.
While Lin Feng was still frozen and in deep thought, Xiao Yue looked at her. A smile appeared on her face. Zhang Tingting also looked at her, her smile still as genuine as ever.
"Looks like you are worthy of my respect after all." Xiao Yue's hand loosened in Lin Feng's, then her eyes wandered to the back of the restaurant. Seeing that person was still there, she sighed and looked back at Zhang Tingting.
"Now, you're the second person I consider as that."
"No, Miss Xiao. I am the matchmaker for Lin Feng and Qingxue," Zhang Tingting shook her head. "That is all I ever am."
Xiao Yue shook her head and turned away from Zhang Tingting. Then she walked forward and nudged Lin Feng's hand, who was still thinking at that moment.
"We're leaving," Xiao Yue said. Lin Feng came back to himself. He could still see Zhang Tingting smiling at him, her face not even wavering or showing a single sign of anything.
They were already turning toward the door when Su Qingxue's hand came forward. The motion was fast — faster than any motion her body had let her make in the last three minutes — and her fingers closed around his sleeve.
"Lin Feng—"
The grip was hard.
"I didn't say you can leave! And you haven't given me a reply yet."
Everyone looked at Su Qingxue, while Lin Feng looked down at the hand on his sleeve.
"What reply?"
"You said that you had given me fifteen million, right? Now you want it back. So, how do you want me to give it back to you? Also…"
Su Qingxue rummaged through her bag with one hand, took out her phone, and pulled up an image. She then held it up to Lin Feng.
"You said, in this paper, that you have to follow what I want you to do!"
"What are you—"
Lin Feng stopped. He hadn't turned to look at what she was trying to show him. He already knew what it was.
The original had signed a paper saying he was Su Qingxue's person. The paper was legally binding.
Then a hand came to rest on Su Qingxue's arm. She then turned her head.
Her best friend was standing there. Her self-proclaimed matchmaker. The one who had sworn she would help her get together with him.
She could still remember how it had hurt, how heavy Lin Feng had been on top of her on that road and how his knee had accidentally struck between her thighs, and she thought back then how handsome he was.
Zhang Tingting agreed with her. That he looked like some hero in a movie.
Su Qingxue looked at Zhang Tingting's hand on her arm. Seeing it there, she slowly looked to her best friend.
When they were seeing each other's eyes, Zhang Tingting shook her head.
And just like that, Su Qingxue's hand lost grip of his sleeve. The phone slipped from her other hand to the floor. Her face lost all color. Her lips went from rosy red to a dull pink.
She just stood there as if the world had abandoned her.
"There is nothing for the two of us to talk about. If you want to talk with someone, ask Long Tian."
Lin Feng's words landed on a quiet room.
"He seemed very helpful to you at the library this morning."
"Huh—"
Su Qingxue weakly replied, as if she were a robot answering on cue.
"What about him?" she continued, her voice cold and devoid of life. "If I get closer to him, would you become less of a bootlicker and more into someone with a little bit more of a backbone?"
"Wait — Long Tian? Who's Long Tian?"
It was from Zhang Tingting.
Su Qingxue turned to her, her eyes looking like they could freeze hell many times over. "Just some guy who helped me do my project, because some bootlicker thought it was a good idea to skip the morning class instead of making the project with me."
"I don't remember that." Lin Feng was already starting to walk away and leave them there.
"Tingting, didn't you tell me that bootlicker wanted to make a project with me? And that I should pretend to ask him. That if we kept doing this, we could solve his disease of being a bootlicker. That he could become a man for once."
Zhang Tingting nodded, though she didn't say a word about it, as it had been a thing only she and Su Qingxue knew.
Su Qingxue then slipped her bag off her arm and threw it at Lin Feng's feet, her tone now full of disappointment. "There. Take it. It's a gift you gave me last year around May. Inside that bag are a few more gifts of yours to me. And also a few cards."
Then she began to unbutton her blouse in front of everyone. Then Zhang Tingting stopped her.
"Not here, Qingxue. Not here!"
Seeing that her best friend had stopped her once more, Su Qingxue wilted like a flower that had lost the sun and been moved into a dark room. She then turned towards Zhang Tingting, her eyes this time becoming red.
Lin Feng stopped walking and turned around. And for the first time, he saw her, looking back at him as if she had lost everything. And beside her was her best friend, whose perfect smile was already faltering.
Fuck… I messed up…
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[End of Chapter]