"Oh."
Yan Cici uttered the single syllable indifferently, not taking Wang Jie's confession to heart at all.
In truth, Yan Cici knew that Wang Jie liked her, but she didn't like Wang Jie back.
Huihui: "Cici, are you really not interested? Wang Jie's family is very wealthy. Their Tenghui Supermarket has over a dozen chain stores right here in Linhai City. Plus, his grades are good, and he doesn't look any worse than Ye Ge. Ye Ge's only advantage is that he's two centimeters longer than him."
Yan Cici: "Huihui, where did you say Ye Ge is two centimeters longer? How on earth do you know?!"
Wang Hui, sitting in front of her phone, froze for a moment: "I meant height, of course! I saw it when the physical examination reports were handed out."
"Fine..." Yan Cici let out a slight sigh of relief. "Anyway, Huihui, I really don't like Wang Jie. All his money doesn't make a difference. Putting that aside for a moment, Huihui, Ye Ge seems to be ignoring me."
Wang Hui: "Ignoring you? How is that possible? Stop joking around. He used to hang on your every word. Just last time you wanted ice cream, he ran all the way across the street to buy it for you. Even if it were the end of the world in 2012, he wouldn't ignore you."
Yan Cici: "It's true. I sent him a message, and it's already been twenty minutes without a reply."
"Ugh..." Wang Hui thought it over. "Actually, that's pretty normal. After all, you rejected him, so he's probably heartbroken."
Yan Cici bit her lower lip, her fingers moving swiftly and deftly across the screen:
"But I told him that even if we can't be a couple, we can still be like before. I think of him like an older brother, but he didn't agree. He said being friends is fine. And the look in his eyes back then... I felt like something was off, like he really doesn't care about me anymore..."
Wang Hui sighed: "Cici, you're overthinking it. It's impossible for Ye Ge not to care about you. Maybe he just hasn't seen the message. How about this, I'll ask him for you. What do you think?"
"Okay! (Cat nodding)"
"Then wait for my news."
Wang Hui closed her chat window with Yan Cici, paused for a moment, and decided to just call Ye Ge directly.
...
"The boundless horizon is my love~
Flowers are blooming at the foot of the rolling green mountains~"
Her ringtone suddenly blared, startling Ye Ge as he sat immersed in typing at his computer.
"It's so late, who's calling me?" Ye Ge picked up his phone and looked at the caller ID. "Wang Hui?"
"Hello, Sister Hui, is something the matter?" Ye Ge answered. Wang Hui was the oldest in their class, and she was always enthusiastic and cheerful, so all the boys in the class called her Sister Hui.
"Ye Ge, um..." Wang Hui weighed her words carefully. "It's no big deal if you got rejected tonight. A man chasing a woman is like scaling a mountain, after all—let alone our Cici, who is the campus belle of Linhai First High. If you chase her a few more times, you might just succeed."
"So Sister Hui is talking about that." Ye Ge smiled. "Don't worry, Sister Hui. I've thought it through, I'm not heartbroken, and from now on, I don't plan on chasing her anymore."
Chase Yan Cici? Forget it.
He couldn't take it anymore, and he was tired.
"Eh? Just like that? Ye Ge, I heard you and Cici were in the same class back in kindergarten! You have a massive advantage! Don't give up." Wang Hui felt a pang of regret.
"Sister Hui, have you ever heard an old non-mainstream saying?"
"What old saying?"
"The sand you can't hold onto, just scatter it to the wind." Ye Ge said calmly on the other end of the line. "Sister Hui, you don't need to worry about me. I'm really fine, and I really don't plan on chasing her anymore."
Listening to Ye Ge's calm tone, for some reason, Wang Hui felt like he had suddenly matured a lot.
Was this what people online called heartbreak being a catalyst for a man's maturity?
"Alright then."
After all, it was someone else's personal business. Even though she and Ye Ge got along well, she couldn't say too much.
"Well, Ye Ge, even if you two can't be a couple, you're still friends. Go reply to Cici's QQ message, she thinks you're never going to talk to her again."
Ye Ge sighed: "I was a bit busy just now and my phone was on silent. I'll take a look in a bit."
"Good, then that's that. Go to sleep early, and don't skip the class gathering next week just because of Cici's business—or I'll chop you up!"
"Don't worry, don't worry. Bye."
"Bye."
The call ended. Ye Ge checked QQ and sure enough, he had a message from Yan Cici—"Forgot to tell you earlier, I got home safe."
Ye Ge had no intention of pursuing Yan Cici, but he also had no desire to play brother-and-sister with her either.
Everyone had their own lives to live, and Ye Ge didn't want the exhaustion of an extra younger sister.
As for ignoring Yan Cici completely, that didn't seem quite right either...
Mainly because his mom and Yan Cici's mom were on good terms, and making things too awkward would look bad and wasn't necessary.
Their relationship would gradually fade over time, turning them into ordinary acquaintances, then distant acquaintances, and eventually they would just forget each other.
That should be about right.
So, Ye Ge typed a single "Oh" into the chat box and sent it out.
...
"Ding-dong..."
On the other end of the phone, the QQ notification chime sounded.
Yan Cici immediately opened her phone. It was Ye Ge's bouncing avatar!
Joyfully, Yan Cici opened the message, her expression instantly freezing.
"Oh?"
Staring at that single character, Yan Cici gripped her phone tightly.
Her chest heaved violently.
You just replied to me with one character?!
A single "Oh"!
A wave of resentment welled up in Yan Cici's chest. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got; the angrier she got, the more she thought about it.
You weren't like this before.
"Are you mad at me?" Yan Cici's slender fingers rapidly tapped across the screen.
However, Ye Ge's phone was on silent, and by this time he had already written up to Chapter 4 of Daoist Priest, completely in the zone and copying away furiously.
"The boundless horizon is my love~"
Three minutes later, the ringing of his phone startled Ye Ge once again.
"Hello." Ye Ge answered with a trace of resignation.
"Ye Ge..." Yan Cici's spoiled, whining voice came through the line. "Why, why aren't you replying to my messages... Are you really mad at me..."
Ye Ge sighed, feeling a flicker of annoyance: "No, you're overthinking it. I was sleeping."
Hearing that Ye Ge had been sleeping made Yan Cici feel even worse.
You went to sleep without even saying goodnight to me!
"Ye Ge, we're still the same as before, right?" Yan Cici asked cautiously.
"Uh... We're normal friends." Ye Ge's tone was calm.
Yan Cici tightly clenched her small hands, her chest rising and falling heavily a few times: "Ye Ge, Wang Jie is going to confess to me at the graduation dinner... Do you think I should accept?"
"That's your business."
"I..." Yan Cici was momentarily at a loss for words, her small hand gripping the blanket tightly. "Ye Ge, I'm planning to accept Wang Jie's confession!"
"Oh." Ye Ge nodded calmly. "Is there anything else?"