ORCBRB – Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Sang Shi'an dreamt of her youth all night. When she woke up, she thought of Jian Cenyu's words from last night and couldn't help but feel a little dazed.
Who would have thought that a misunderstanding she had held a grudge over for four years would be cleared up last night?
Jian Cenyu hadn't intentionally left her behind back then and had tried to explain to her many times afterward. It was she who hadn't given Jian Cenyu the chance. Sang Shi'an sighed deeply, thinking, what a mess.
When she got up, Jian Cenyu had already left. After making sure no one was around, Sang Shi'an picked a bottle of perfume from her room and walked towards Jian Cenyu's bedroom.
The door opened to a room that was as tidy as ever.
Sang Shi'an placed the unopened perfume bottle in her hand on the bedside table, then turned and left, feeling much lighter.
When Sang Shi'an arrived at the school gate, Su Ningyue was waiting for her.
"Don't push yourself if you're sick. I can ask for a leave of absence for you." Su Ningyue looked at Sang Shi'an's still somewhat pale face, worried.
"I'm just hungry from not eating breakfast." Sang Shi'an took the rice ball and took a bite, leaning her head on Su Ningyue's shoulder. "Only you know what I like to eat. Susu, I love you to death."
The sunlight shone on Sang Shi'an's tall and slender figure. Her cream-yellow jacket made her skin look even fairer, so beautiful she seemed to glow. She really did look like she had recovered her spirits.
Su Ningyue playfully pushed her away, unable to hold back her laughter. "When I went to find you last night, Senior Jian's icy aura was about to freeze me to death. I thought today's headline would be about some woman being sent to the hospital for domestic abuse."
Hearing Su Ningyue mention Jian Cenyu, Sang Shi'an subconsciously felt a pang of guilt. She remembered telling Su Ningyue before that her relationship with Jian Cenyu was terrible and said in a small voice, "She's not that fierce."
Su Ningyue adopted a teasing tone. "Oh? So it's not domestic abuse, but the 'fun' they're talking about on the forum?"
"What domestic abuse? What fun?" Sang Shi'an quickly swallowed the rice ball in her mouth and went to cover Su Ningyue's mouth. "What nonsense are you talking about!"
Su Ningyue spread her hands. "That's what the posts on the forum are saying. They say you and Jian Cenyu are openly at odds, but you're actually living together and dating."
Sang Shi'an: "Are you crazy?"
Su Ningyue stammered, "...That's what they're saying."
Besides—
Sang Shi'an's way of interacting with Jian Cenyu was strange. They were like enemies, yet they also seemed quite close. After Jian Cenyu came to Yanjing University, Sang Shi'an mentioned her almost every day, yet she never had a single good thing to say about her.
According to Sang Shi'an's personality, if she disliked someone, she wouldn't give them the time of day, just like that group of pitiful men she had ruthlessly rejected, leaving no room for negotiation.
Sang Shi'an's attitude was something Su Ningyue couldn't figure out. At least, in all the time Su Ningyue had known her, this was the first time Sang Shi'an had acted this way.
Perhaps Sang Shi'an herself hadn't even noticed.
Su Ningyue casually made up an excuse to brush it off. "Anyway, there's no other gossip on the school forum lately. We have to thank you two, the former and current campus belles, for providing a topic. Maybe some of your admirers will even come and ask for the truth in person later."
The sophomore year schedule was packed. Yesterday was Wednesday, a half-day off for the whole university, but today, Thursday, was a full day of classes. The thought of all the breaks between classes made Sang Shi'an feel a bit suffocated. "It can't be that bad, can it?"
When the two arrived at the classroom, there was still about half an hour before the bell. The room was empty. Sang Shi'an chose a seat in the middle of the lecture hall, where she could hear the lecture clearly without being called on to participate.
While waiting for class to start, Sang Shi'an opened WeChat. The latest message in the Youth League Committee's freshman group chat mentioned her name.
Sang Shi'an frowned and tapped on it.
【So are Senior Sang and Senior Jian secretly involved, or are they really living together?】
【You guys actually believe the gossip that they're dating?】
【It's not about believing it or not. My roommate fell in love with Senior Sang at first sight during military training. Yesterday, he heard that Senior Sang and Senior Jian were a couple and started crying when he got back to the dorm. Can you imagine a 1.9-meter-tall tough guy crying like a baby in front of me?】
【To be honest... my roommate went out for a run last night to vent, also because he felt he had no hope.】
【Hahahaha, are you kids who believe they're dating trying to kill me with laughter? @Sang Shi'an, hey, hurry up and debunk the rumor.】
Sang Shi'an: 【Single, don't @ me.】
After that, the messages in the freshman group chat started flooding in even faster. Sang Shi'an couldn't be bothered to look anymore and helplessly rubbed her throbbing temples. "Why are they so gossipy?"
Su Ningyue grinned. "They're freshmen. They haven't suffered the harsh realities of university yet. Isn't it normal for them to be a little enthusiastic and lively?"
Sang Shi'an shot her a sideways glance. "So, are there really that many people who believe that Jian Cenyu and I are living together and dating?"
Su Ningyue explained, "Well, you were both chosen as campus belles. So many guys have their eyes on you. A lot of them don't actually want to pursue you; they just have a 'if I can't have you, no one can' mentality. When they suddenly hear you're no longer single, of course it piques their curiosity, doesn't it?"
Sang Shi'an only half-understood. Su Ningyue leaned over and showed her the comments on the forum. "Isn't this fine? It has no negative impact on you. Just let everyone 'ship' you as a couple for fun. It'll die down in a couple of days."
Sang Shi'an didn't even look up. "They're spreading rumors that I'm a lesbian. That's slander."
Su Ningyue silently shut her mouth.
Don't be fooled by Sang Shi'an's femme fatale face, which made her the center of attention wherever she went. In some respects, she was so old-fashioned it was astonishing.
Su Ningyue still remembered during freshman military training, when she came across two female celebrities in the entertainment industry being shipped as a couple. Because the drill instructor showing off his muscles at the time was so cringeworthy, she shared a photo of her newly shipped couple with Sang Shi'an to cleanse her eyes.
At the time, Sang Shi'an was silent for a long while. Perhaps not wanting to spoil her mood, she managed to say, "It's fake anyway. There are no homosexuals in real life."
Su Ningyue wished she could list out all the same-sex couples at Yanjing University for her and shout into a megaphone right next to her ear, "You old fossil!"
It wasn't just about homosexuality; Sang Shi'an was practically immune to heterosexuality as well. When Su Ningyue was watching an idol drama and crying her eyes out over the main characters' love story, Sang Shi'an would be by her side, handing her tissues and comforting her, "It's fake anyway. There's no such thing as love in real life."
In short, Sang Shi'an treated everyone equally.
Heterosexuality was fake, and homosexuality was also fake.
This world didn't deserve to have love. A perfect closed loop.
If her parents were brought up, Sang Shi'an would also say, "Theirs is familial love."
And before it became familial love?
"It was a very good friendship, and because they could share mutual benefits by getting together, they just did."
Now, Su Ningyue asked Sang Shi'an again, "Didn't you always think there were no homosexuals in this world? Then how is it slander?"
Sang Shi'an put down her phone, thought for a moment, and turned to Su Ningyue. "But we can't let people misunderstand, right? What if Jian Cenyu thinks I'm the one spreading rumors about her behind her back?"
Su Ningyue said helplessly, "Miss Sang, do I need to remind you how many couples you've been randomly shipped with on this forum since freshman year? Why haven't I seen you so determined to clarify things before? These people are just having fun with their words. It'll pass in a few days."
Sang Shi'an frowned. She could be indifferent to the previous random shipping posts, but the thought of Jian Cenyu possibly lecturing her after seeing the posts made her head buzz.
Sang Shi'an let out a long sigh. "The admission standards for Yanjing University aren't low. Everyone here is a top student from their province. Don't they have enough books to read? How do they have the spare time to get obsessed with these gossip threads?"
Su Ningyue sent a message to a friend in charge of the school forum, typing as she replied to Sang Shi'an, "I already told you, the freshmen are more boisterous. See? There's no one from our class joining in the fuss."
Sang Shi'an thought that made sense, nodded, and said no more.
The number of students in class today was unusually high. It wasn't just students from their class; there seemed to be many from other majors who knew her schedule and had come to watch the excitement.
Especially, just as Su Ningyue had said, there were freshman boys who were clearly there for the spectacle—their shaved heads from military training hadn't even grown back yet.
Sang Shi'an's heart skipped a beat. She poked Su Ningyue. "Did you bring a mask? Give me one."
Su Ningyue looked at the gazes surrounding them and held back a laugh. "They look like they're going to eat you alive."
Sang Shi'an snatched the mask Su Ningyue took out of her bag, tore open the wrapper, and turned to glare at her. "You just enjoy watching me make a fool of myself, don't you?"
Xu Taotao, who was next to them, also leaned over. "How long has it been since we've seen such a grand spectacle?"
Jiang Xinqi nodded in agreement. "The last time was during freshman military training, right?"
Su Ningyue made a final summary: "Demoness, how does it feel to be back in the Spider Cave?"
Sang Shi'an's face was numb.
Xu Taotao and Jiang Xinqi were Sang Shi'an's other two roommates. She and Su Ningyue often lived off-campus but hadn't moved their things out of the dorm. If they had afternoon classes, they would all go back to the dorm for a nap.
These two didn't ask about Jian Cenyu, presumably because Su Ningyue had already explained things for her. Now, they were also joining Su Ningyue in watching the show.
Caught between laughter and tears, Sang Shi'an begged for mercy. "My dear sisters, please, have mercy and let me off the hook today."
The other three exchanged a look as if they had planned it, and shook their heads. "Everyone came all the way here for an 8 AM class just to see you. Can't you satisfy their curiosity a little?"
Satisfy their curiosity?
Asking if she was dating was one thing, but if they asked if she was living with Jian Cenyu, how was she supposed to answer?
If she said yes, it would probably be interpreted in a completely different way.
Just kill me now.
Xu Taotao was laughing uncontrollably and continued to fan the flames, even pretending to stand up and offer her seat. "Yeah, just satisfy them."
If she really let those people come over, it would be a disaster.
Sang Shi'an quickly pulled her back. "I'll treat you guys to a meal. At that new Japanese restaurant."
Su Ningyue was still not satisfied. "Just a meal?"
Sang Shi'an: "Don't those two avoid nightlife? I can't exactly take them to a bar and hire someone to pole dance, can I?"
"Who said we wanted that?" Xu Taotao leaned in and lowered her voice. "I'm just saying, isn't it a bit lonely with just the few of us eating?"
Sang Shi'an thought for a moment. "You want a geisha in a kimono to dance for you like in the movies?"
Although she couldn't appreciate geisha makeup, she could still make it happen.
Xu Taotao poked her on the head. "I'm talking about the people we're eating with. Why not bring a plus-one or something?"
Sang Shi'an's eyes crinkled into a smile, her gaze particularly proud as she looked up. "Alright, mooching a meal off me isn't enough, you have to bring your girlfriend too, right? Bring her. I'll treat however many you bring."
Xu Taotao was still not content. "Our plus-ones aren't important. What's important is you—"
Su Ningyue winked mischievously. "Why don't you bring Senior Jian and let us broaden our horizons?"
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