"It's over, Yang Zhendong." Su Qing looked at the slip of paper in her hand, paused for a moment, and then folded it neatly.
Seeing that class was almost over, she handed the note to Wang Shuai behind her. "Handsome, could you please pass this to Yang Zhendong?"
"Sure, I'll give it to him back at the dorm." Wang Shuai took the note, feeling a strong urge to open it and see what was inside.
Just an urge, though.
After the last class of the morning, everyone headed off to the cafeteria.
Su Qing had no appetite whatsoever, so she went straight back to the dorm, washed up briefly, and lay down on her bed.
Instead of feeling the expected sense of relief, a faint bitterness and lingering disappointment filled her heart.
Right then, Zhou Jingmin's voice broke the silence. "Bro Qing, how come you didn't go eat?" Su Qing sat up and saw Zhou Jingmin carrying three plastic takeout boxes—one with dishes and two with rice.
"Come down and eat with us, Bro Qing," Zhou Jingmin invited.
Su Qing initially intended to decline, but not wanting to reject Zhou Jingmin's kindness, she got up to join the meal. "Thank you, Xiaomin."
Noticing Su Qing's condition, Zhou Jingmin asked with concern, "Bro Qing, are you still not feeling well? You don't look so good."
Su Qing was slightly taken aback, then admitted honestly, "Yang Zhendong and I have broken up."
Hearing this, Zhou Jingmin looked clearly surprised. "Ah? When did this happen? How come I didn't know?"
"Well, right now it's basically a unilateral breakup on my part. I was planning to tell you this afternoon anyway," Su Qing replied in a calm tone.
Zhou Jingmin stared at Su Qing and let out a soft sigh. "Bro Qing, I want to ask you something."
"Go ahead."
"Do you like Yang Zhendong?"
Su Qing hesitated slightly, asking herself, "I suppose I must have liked him..."
She had never been completely certain about this relationship; she simply used to have a genuine fondness for him.
After all, out of so many suitors, only Yang Zhendong had agreed to date him.
Moreover, to satisfy his vanity, she would go buy drinks at the store for him after his gym class basketball games, and bring back snacks whenever she returned from going out.
At least there was one thing Su Qing was certain of: when she was first with Yang Zhendong, she had genuinely wanted to cherish and protect that relationship.
Yet, when had things suddenly changed?
Watching Su Qing's conflicted expression, Zhou Jingmin finally mustered the courage to ask the question she had been wanting to ask all along: "Compared to Lin Zimo?"
"Huh?" A look of startled surprise flashed across Su Qing's normally serene face. "Xiaomin... how... how could you ask that?" She seemed caught off guard; she had never revealed such a secret to anyone.
"Bro Qing, haven't you noticed? Every time class ends, you unconsciously glance over at Class 5.
Don't tell me you're just resting your eyes. Every time Lin Zimo walks by, you secretly watch him, and the corners of your mouth turn up just a bit.
And besides, you probably don't know this, but I often mention Lin Zimo's name right by your ear.""Guess how you react every time he is mentioned?" Zhou Jingmin cleverly tossed out a series of questions, leaving Su Qing momentarily at a loss for words.
"What kind of reaction?" Su Qing asked back instinctively.
Zhou Jingmin mimicked Su Qing's current posture, gently biting her lower lip. "See? That exact reaction right there."
Su Qing's cheeks instantly flushed crimson, her usual calm completely vanishing. *No way! Is it really that obvious?*
"Big Sister Qing, you must have started liking Lin Zimo a long time ago, didn't you!" Seeing this, Zhou Jingmin decided to press her advantage. Today, she was determined to pry her good friend's secrets wide open and put an end to her constant awkwardness.
"I... I..."
"What are you 'I-ing' about? Big Sister Qing, don't tell me you liked him back in the first year of high school. With how awkward Lin Zimo looked back then, could you really have fallen for him? If so, you've got some pretty peculiar taste."
Defeated, Su Qing chose to be completely honest with her good friend. "To be honest, even I can't figure out when I started liking him..."
She drifted back into her memories. Love at first sight? Definitely not. Back then, Lin Zimo was still a short little squirt a head shorter than her.
Was it the first or second year of middle school? At first, she only thought of him occasionally, imagining what it would be like to ruffle his hair.
Yet when did her heart start racing the moment she laid eyes on him?
Perhaps it was during the second year of middle school, when she happened to catch a glimpse of him taking off his glasses in the office?
So, was her affection still just driven by a pretty face?
It didn't seem to be entirely that. It was also because he was outstanding.
At least for a teenage girl, a boy who was both good-looking and excelled academically was practically a god.
Listening to Su Qing's recollections, Zhou Jingmin couldn't help feeling a trace of surprise.
She had never imagined that this goddess, seemingly high and out of reach in everyone else's eyes, had quietly set her heart on a boy for a full three years.
"Xiaomin, am I a bad girl? Am I being irresponsible with my feelings?" Who would have thought that Su Qing would suddenly embrace Zhou Jingmin and burst into tears.
This sudden turn of events caught Zhou Jingmin off guard, but she quickly comforted her, saying, "How could that be? Big Sister Qing, don't think like that."
However, Su Qing's emotions seemed to grow more intense, her tears flowing endlessly as if she wanted to release all the pain bottled up inside her.
Looking at her with a heart full of sympathy, Zhou Jingmin said softly, "There, there, Big Sister Qing, you aren't a bad girl. Actually, I've wanted to tell you this for a long time, I just never knew how to bring it up..."
Taking a deep breath, Zhou Jingmin continued:
"I don't think you and Yang Zhendong are suited for each other at all.
There's no real love between you two; it feels much more like an upgraded version of friendship.
You lack the sweetness and romance that belong in a relationship.
As for Yang Zhendong, he probably just wanted to satisfy his male vanity by going out with you."Hearing this, Su Qing's crying gradually subsided. She raised her head, looking at Zhou Jingmin through tear-blurred eyes, and asked, "Really? But we were happy sometimes when we were together!"
Zhou Jingmin nodded in understanding and explained, "Of course, after all, you did have feelings for each other. But that kind of happiness wasn't because you truly liked one another; how should I put it, it was more like being good friends who kept each other company and shared some fun."
Finally, Zhou Jingmin gently patted Su Qing's shoulder and encouraged her, "So, don't doubt yourself, and don't put too much pressure on yourself."
Listening to Zhou Jingmin's words, Su Qing gradually stopped sobbing.
"So, Brother Qing, can you tell me why you haven't told Lin Zimo?" Zhou Jingmin asked with wide eyes, brimming with gossip—she was genuinely curious.
Su Qing had been deeply touched, but that emotion vanished into thin air the moment she heard this. She helplessly rolled her eyes, though through her teary eyes, it lacked any real sting and was simply adorable.
"I'm a girl, how can a girl confess first?" Su Qing said with a hint of dissatisfaction.
She felt that such things should be initiated by the guy, rather than her speaking up first.
Hearing this, Zhou Jingmin widened her eyes slightly and stared at Su Qing in astonishment.
*Big sister,* she thought to herself, *what era is this? The Qing dynasty fell ages ago! How can you still hold such outdated notions?*
So she countered, "Brother Qing, have you ever heard a saying?"
"What?" Su Qing asked curiously.
"Tsundere always loses," Zhou Jingmin said with a straight face.
"......" Su Qing was left speechless.
After a moment of silence, Su Qing finally spoke her true thoughts: "Actually, the main reason is because I'm a little scared." Her voice carried a hint of hesitation and unease.
"What? Brother Qing, what on earth are you afraid of? You're so pretty and your grades are so good, whoever you confessed to would be over the moon!" Zhou Jingmin was utterly speechless.
She couldn't understand why an outstanding girl like Su Qing would have such concerns.
"Oh, you don't know, he doesn't like people confessing to him. You know that guy from Class 4, Huang..."
However, just as Su Qing was about to explain, Yang Siqi suddenly returned.
Seeing the two of them, she asked in confusion, "Huh, Brother Qing, Xiaomin, why are you two back so early? Didn't you eat?"
Su Qing's intended words were abruptly cut off, forcing her to temporarily shelve the topic.
"We ate. Brother Qing wasn't feeling well, so I brought the food back," Zhou Jingmin explained, thinking to herself: *Oh, little Siqi, why couldn't you have come back a few minutes later? I was just about to get to the good part!*
Besides, what did it mean that he didn't like people confessing to him?
"Is Brother Qing's cold still serious?" Yang Siqi asked with concern.
"It's fine, much better now. I'm just a bit sleepy, so I'm going to bed to rest."
Su Qing lay flat on the bed, took a deep breath, and slowly closed her eyes.
Perhaps it was the hypnotic effect of the cold medicine, perhaps the fatigue after letting out her emotions, or perhaps the worries that had piled up recently had left her exhausted. Intertwined by all these factors, she quickly drifted off to sleep.
……
"Su Qing, what do you mean by this?" Yang Zhendong looked somewhat out of control. During lunch, he had taken Su Qing's sticky note from Wang Shuai, expecting sweet romantic words, only to find it was a notice of a breakup—hardly even a formal letter.
"What do I mean? Exactly what it says. Classmate Yang, don't tell me you don't even know how to read?" Su Qing lifted her gaze, looking straight at him with calm eyes.
This gaze made Yang Zhendong feel a bit guilty.
"Why?" There was reluctance in his tone.
"Why? Classmate Yang, don't you know what you've done and said?" A hint of mockery showed at the corners of Su Qing's mouth.
Yang Zhendong took a deep breath, his voice trembling slightly:
"Is it because of Lin Zimo?"
Hearing this, annoyance was written all over Su Qing's face: "Yang Zhendong, I'm talking about your actions and words, why are you dragging Lin Zimo into this?"
Feeling the increasingly noticeable gazes around them, Yang Zhendong suppressed his inner irritation, returned to his seat, and a trace of resentment took root in his heart.
Meanwhile, Lin Zimo had finished his IV drip, picked up some medication, and even had a big meal outside before strolling back to school in a leisurely manner.
"Achoo! Achoo!" Lin Zimo gently pinched the bridge of his nose, marveling at how fierce this cold was; he had been sneezing on and off all morning.
……
"Is Brother Qing okay?" Zhou Jingmin asked with concern, looking at the somewhat dazed Su Qing.
"I'm fine, just feeling like a heavy weight has suddenly been lifted from my heart. Don't you think that's strange?" Su Qing furrowed her brow slightly, a self-deprecating smile on her face.
As she spoke, she slowly raised her head and looked out the window.
Ever since she delivered breakfast to Lin Zimo this morning, she hadn't seen him at all.
It was almost time for class, yet there was still no sign of him.
Could it be that he had already gone into the classroom? Su Qing pondered to herself.
Right at that moment, footsteps came from outside the classroom, followed closely by a familiar figure appearing outside the window.
It was none than Lin Zimo.
He had a fever-reducing patch stuck to his forehead, and the back of his hand still bore the adhesive tape from the IV drip he had just finished.
"Huh? Did he go get an IV?" Su Qing noticed his condition, and a trace of worry welled up in her heart.
How could he be this sick? She felt a pang of guilt.
At that exact moment, an angry shout suddenly came from the neighboring Class 5: "Damn it, you two bastards stole my cola again..." The voice, somewhat hoarse and sharp, echoed down the corridor...