Despite feeling hurt, Zheng Yanyan couldn’t bring herself to show it. After saying that, she stole glances at Zhou Yuwen to gauge his reaction, but his face remained neutral. Zhou Yuwen was all too familiar with these little bursts of childish jealousy, so he pretended not to hear, looking down at his phone instead.
Tao Tian, on the other hand, was slightly taken aback, glancing skeptically at Zhou Yuwen. He had never ntioned any issues between him and Zheng Yanyan; in fact, he’d used having a girlfriend as an excuse to dodge Tao Tian’s flirtations just monts earlier. But now, Zheng Yanyan seed to be implying they were in a rough patch?
Observing Zheng Yanyan’s emotions so plainly displayed on her face, Tao Tian couldn’t resist an opportunistic thought. She smiled warmly, playing the considerate senior as she asked, “Oh? Are you two fighting?”
“Who’s fighting?” Yanyan, who wasn’t particularly guarded, almost began pouring out her frustrations. Zhou Yuwen, noticing Tao Tian’s curiosity, imdiately cut in, asking Lu Lin, “Why are you out so late?”
Lu Lin rolled her eyes. “Ask your little darling here.”
“Linlin! Don’t say that!” Yanyan flushed and clung to Lu Lin’s arm shyly.
Lu Lin was at her wit's end with both of them. Despite being face-to-face, neither Yanyan nor Zhou Yuwen was willing to talk things out directly. So Lu Lin spoke up for her, questioning why he was out so late with Tao Tian.
Zhou Yuwen responded smoothly, explaining they’d just finished so part-ti work.
“How was it, Tao Tian?” Lu Lin asked.
“It was alright,” Tao Tian replied, showing a more mature deanor in front of the younger girls. She thanked Zhou Yuwen for the experience, saying she’d learned a lot, and then shared a story about his fluency in English and his thoughtfulness, like buying her milk tea and even offering a band-aid for her foot.
Her tale was subtly frad to imply Zhou Yuwen’s special attention, but she skillfully distanced herself from him just enough, leaving Yanyan feeling envious. She pouted, “He’s never been that nice to his own girlfriend!”
Tao Tian feigned surprise, “What? Really, Yanyan? Isn’t Zhou Yuwen good to you?”
Zhou Yuwen felt exasperated by Yanyan’s theatrics and teased, “What nonsense are you saying? Haven’t I brought you loads of makeup from Macau?”
“I don’t need your makeup! You ignored
for three whole days!” Yanyan burst out, her voice breaking with emotion.
Seeing her on the verge of tears, Zhou Yuwen said, “Couldn’t you have just reached out to
first?”
“Why should I have to? You never reach out!” Yanyan said pitifully.
With his jacket slung over one shoulder, Zhou Yuwen looked down at her, both amused and helpless. “When you didn’t contact , I thought you didn’t want to be with
anymore. I was even about to change my profile picture.”
“Who said I didn’t want to be with you!? Ask Linlin! I’ve been staring at your profile picture like an idiot, waiting for you to reach out, and you did nothing!” Yanyan blurted out, flustered.
“Oh?” Zhou Yuwen raised an eyebrow. “So, do you still want to be with ?”
Yanyan lowered her head, unwilling to answer directly.
Just then, the stall owner handed over the clams. Zhou Yuwen turned to Yanyan. “If you don’t answer, I’m leaving.”
Without a second thought, Yanyan threw her arms around him, looking up at him with big, tearful eyes.
“Are we still together?” Zhou Yuwen asked.
“Don’t ask!” Yanyan replied, her voice a mixture of embarrassnt and defiance.
Zhou Yuwen chuckled, glancing over at Tao Tian. However, the sight of the two together clearly wasn’t what Tao Tian had hoped for. She forced a polite smile but couldn’t help feeling disappointed.
If Zhou Yuwen had chosen to stay silent and let Tao Tian carry on, he could’ve easily created a rift between himself and Yanyan. But he couldn’t bring himself to let Yanyan be manipulated.
With the situation resolved, Tao Tian lost her enthusiasm and was about to pay for her clams when Zhou Yuwen stepped in, handing the vendor a hundred-yuan bill for all four servings. He smiled at Tao Tian. “I’ve got this, but I’m afraid I can’t walk you back.”
Tao Tian forced a friendly smile, “It’s fine; your girlfriend’s more important.”
Dejected, Tao Tian left. She couldn’t understand why, despite her beauty and maturity, she couldn’t captivate Zhou Yuwen. Walking back to her dorm, she ignored the boys who tried to flirt with her.
Upon arriving, she found her two dorm mates relaxing. The dorm was cluttered with heels and long boots strewn about, and stockings and lingerie hanging from bed rails. The narrow-skirt senior from earlier was still wearing her outfit, her legs crossed as she called out, “Hey, Tao Tian! We saved so KFC for you!”
“Already ate. Brought you guys so clams,” Tao Tian said flatly, setting down the bag.
“Wow, so generous! Hey, are you okay, Tao Tian?” asked the narrow-skirt senior, noticing her gloomy mood.
Tao Tian didn’t respond, but her dorm mates had a good guess.
The long-boots senior, already settled in bed, took an interest in Tao Tian’s sour mood and asked, “What happened? Didn’t that freshman appreciate your charms?”
Tao Tian sighed. “Not my day. Ran into his girlfriend when we were getting clams.”
“Really?” Her two dorm mates perked up, intrigued.
Tao Tian regretted treating Zhou Yuwen like just any freshman. It was clear that he probably saw through her every move. Her friends pointed out the obvious: “Co on, you were with him right in front of his girlfriend! Of course he’d side with her.”
“Yeah, what were you thinking?” The other roommate chid in, her words only deepening Tao Tian’s frustration.
“I haven’t lost yet. What are you guys even saying?” Tao Tian grumbled. With her looks and social skills, she knew she was leagues ahead of most guys in the school; it was the hard-to-get ones who caught her interest.
That night, lying in bed, her mind was filled with thoughts of Zhou Yuwen—the image of him in his suit, guiding guests at the event, offering band-aids and fluently translating to English. It was the first ti she’d encountered a guy like him.
Though rumors flew around the school about her, the truth was that Tao Tian had never actually dated anyone. Her looks attracted all sorts of gossip, especially since she was a junior and had naturally interacted with guys before. But none of them had managed to et her standards.
Zhou Yuwen was different. Handso, capable, and with an aura that suggested a bright future. She thought of the little gestures he’d shown her today, and her heart raced.
Unlike most guys, Zhou Yuwen had a strong sense of boundaries. Others, no matter how successful, would jump at the chance if she showed any interest, but Zhou Yuwen hadn’t even given her a second glance.
It felt like, to him, she was nothing more than a pretty stranger, while Zheng Yanyan, for all her flaws, was his girlfriend, soone he’d dote on and indulge.
“Yanyan’s so lucky,” Tao Tian thought. “Why didn’t I et soone like that in my freshman year?”
Tao Tian tossed and turned, replaying the day’s events in her mind. anwhile, her roommates chatted below, casually discussing how Zhou Yuwen spoiled Yanyan with expensive clothes and makeup.
“Sigh, I’d love to date a guy like Zhou Yuwen!” the narrow-skirt senior sighed wistfully.
“I say go for it! Seduce him!” encouraged the long-boots senior.
“Oh, I would! If I were as bold as Tao Tian, I’d have him wrapped around my finger!”
The girls laughed, but Tao Tian lay quietly, listening to their chatter. She was genuinely interested in Zhou Yuwen. She pulled out her phone, staring at his profile picture—still a couple’s photo with Yanyan.
But so what if he had a girlfriend? Why give up on soone rare just because of that?
Third party? There’s no such thing in love. Only those who lack love end up as “third parties.”
In Tao Tian’s eyes, Yanyan was too childish for a guy like Zhou Yuwen. He was destined to face more high-society situations like today, and Yanyan simply wasn’t the type to stand at his side in that world. Tao Tian was sure she’d do a better job.
Finally, she summoned the courage to send Zhou Yuwen a ssage: “You there?”
Reviews
All reviews (0)