ORCBRB – Chapter 8
Chapter 8
The air seemed to freeze at that moment.
Sang Shi'an looked up at Jian Cenyu. Jian Cenyu's expression and gaze were calm and composed, without a hint of evasion or panic.
Sang Shi'an let out a long "Ah..." Just before the sound faded, she thoughtfully found a reason for Jian Cenyu's words: it must be because she had just suspected Jian Cenyu disapproved of Jiang Xinqi kissing her girlfriend, so Jian Cenyu had deliberately added a clarification.
The waiter stopped at that moment and said with a smile, "Ladies, we've arrived at your private room."
Sang Shi'an led Jian Cenyu inside and, as expected, saw Jiang Xinqi and her new girlfriend. She first introduced Jian Cenyu, then turned the topic to Jiang Xinqi: "Jiang Jiang, I haven't seen this friend of yours before?"
As soon as she spoke, a chorus of teasing "Ais" erupted. "Yeah, a close friend of yours, how come I've never seen her before?"
"Oh, maybe this friend is very, very close?"
"So just how close are we talking?"
Jiang Xinqi's face turned bright red from the teasing.
Apparently, she had already been teased once before Sang Shi'an entered, and the others already knew about their relationship. Jiang Xinqi pulled the girl beside her closer and said shyly, "This is my new girlfriend. Um, girlfriend."
"What's her name?" Su Ningyue chimed in, joining the fun.
"Fang Han."
Xu Taotao also interjected, "What's her major? Is she from our university too?"
"...The art academy."
Sang Shi'an concluded, "So she studies art. Then that self-portrait by an unknown artist you had posted in your dorm room must have been painted by her."
Hearing this, Fang Han was surprised. "Didn't you tear that painting up?"
Sang Shi'an shook her head playfully. "Ahem, perhaps we're not talking about the one that was specially framed and hung above your desk."
Jiang Xinqi's face grew even redder. It was clear her friends had accepted her new girlfriend well and hadn't asked any questions that would make her uncomfortable.
But no matter how accepting they were, she couldn't fend off the teasing from each of them. Fortunately, the waiter came in with several bottles of alcohol to ask their preference, diverting the topic. In the end, they settled on sake and juice.
The sake was, of course, the unanimous choice of Sang Shi'an's dorm mates. The four girls couldn't hold their liquor well but had a strong craving for it; freshly squeezed juice held no appeal for them.
After the drinks were chosen, the meal officially began. The chef stood before them, preparing the food. With each dish, he would first give an introduction, as if he wished he could recount the deep-sea fish's entire life story from the moment it hatched, just to justify its exorbitant price.
She had thought her boisterous dorm mates would be more restrained today because of the good food, but halfway through, Jian Cenyu stepped out to take a call.
The other three ignored the sea urchin hot dog the chef had just prepared and turned their heads toward her one by one.
"I can't believe you actually brought Senior Jian over! Oh my god, the living ice mountain senior! She even smiled at me just now, am I dreaming?" Xu Taotao's reaction was even more excited than when she received an autographed magazine from her idol. She immediately latched onto Sang Shi'an.
"Are you two really just living together? Look, even Jiang Jiang has a girlfriend now. The rumors at school have been sounding more and more true these past two days. Our dorm doesn't have any prejudice against this stuff, you know. Just give me the straight story."
Sang Shi'an choked. "Did you get seafood poisoning?"
Xu Taotao retorted, "You're the one with poisoning! I'm just looking out for you. Weren't you afraid of people misunderstanding your sexual orientation before?"
It wasn't that Sang Shi'an was afraid of being called a lesbian; it was that she wasn't interested in men or women, so being suddenly labeled felt quite unfair.
The door to the private room was pushed open again. Sang Shi'an turned her head to see Jian Cenyu walking toward her and taking a seat by her side.
Seemingly sensing the gazes of everyone in the room, Jian Cenyu turned to look at them, her eyes carrying a direct scrutiny. "What are you talking about?"
"It's actually about Senior Jian." As soon as she faced Jian Cenyu, Xu Taotao became well-behaved, subconsciously straightening her posture. "It's about the recent rumors at our university. I wonder if you've heard them, Senior?"
Jian Cenyu nodded. "About me and An'an living together?"
"Cough, cough, cough..." Xu Taotao, just like Su Ningyue the first time she heard Jian Cenyu use that name, was quite startled.
Although she knew Jian Cenyu and Sang Shi'an knew each other from before, so a slightly more intimate form of address wasn't a big deal, Jian Cenyu's image since enrolling had been so pure and aloof. Was it reasonable for such an emotional term to come from the mouth of a goddess?
Of course not.
Su Ningyue clung to one of Sang Shi'an's arms, desperately trying to stifle her laughter.
Sang Shi'an shifted her shoulder, trying to shrug the person off. "It's not about living together. It's that they all think we're dating now."
Sang Shi'an looked at her other friends. "Just tell me how to solve this."
Su Ningyue: "The best way is for one of you to get a boyfriend immediately."
Sang Shi'an immediately refused. "Impossible."
Su Ningyue had an 'I knew you'd say that' expression. "Then there's only the second option."
She cleared her throat. "You know my sister owns a lot of businesses in the entertainment industry."
Sang Shi'an wasn't surprised. "Yeah."
"For them in the entertainment industry, the best way to avoid suspicion is to not avoid it."
Xu Taotao chimed in, "My friend who studies journalism says the same thing."
Sang Shi'an's pupils quaked: ?
She stared at them for a long time, not expecting them to actually come up with such an idea.
Had she gone crazy, or had the world gone crazy?
"Seriously, do you guys really think the university is the entertainment industry? The graduate and undergraduate buildings aren't even in the same place. Isn't it normal for Jian Cenyu and me to have few interactions? What, do you think we're having some secret underground romance?"
Her response was a laugh from Jian Cenyu.
Su Ningyue continued to fan the flames. "You avoid each other like the plague at school, but you live together in private. Doesn't that just prove it's true love? Especially since you're both girls. To prevent others from finding out you're gay, it's very possible you'd do something like this. You can't blame people at school for thinking you're dating."
Sang Shi'an: "There are so many girls who live together as roommates. Are they all dating their roommates too?"
Su Ningyue hit the nail on the head. "But you two are both good-looking."
Xu Taotao added, "Exactly! Weren't people really into it when they shipped you and Su Ningyue as a couple? It was only because they saw you two acting more and more like friends that they gave up. All you have to do is eat together and chat, just maintain the frequency of a normal friendship."
The logic made sense, but—
Sang Shi'an gave a half-smile. "Are you guys really trying to help me clear up the gay rumors, or do you just want to watch the drama unfold?"
Ever since the meal started, this group's eyes had been practically glued to her and Jian Cenyu.
The group lowered their heads to sip the seafood soup the chef had just served, silently holding back their laughter.
Sang Shi'an was out of options and brought up Jian Cenyu. "Even if I could, she can't. She's busy looking at her family company's financial reports every day."
Jian Cenyu rarely participated in any school activities, so her pursuers could only catch her when she was in class. This was no secret at Yanjing University. They had thought Jian Cenyu was naturally unsociable, but it turned out she was already starting to take over the family business at such a young age. The group, who had been excited just moments ago, were now filled with respect.
"Then, then we won't for..."
Before the word 'force' could be spoken, Jian Cenyu put down her spoon, turned her head, and said calmly, "I'm not so busy that I don't have time for a meal. It's not a big deal. I can cooperate."
Sang Shi'an: ...?
Su Ningyue tugged on Sang Shi'an and whispered, "Have you forgotten how those stinking guys at school have been gossiping about you? If this continues, all your future pursuers will be girls. Are you going to explain it to them one by one? It's not easy to get Senior Jian to cooperate. If people don't see anything suspicious, the rumor will be cleared up, right?"
At this, Sang Shi'an began to waver.
Having made their point, Su Ningyue and the others quickly changed the subject as the chef brought out a new dish. Sang Shi'an aimlessly poked at the tuna on her plate, her thoughts in a jumble.
In truth, Sang Shi'an also knew why the rumors at school were spreading so widely. First, it was because of the competitive relationship between her and Jian Cenyu as successive campus belles. Second, since the start of the semester, she had indeed been deliberately giving Jian Cenyu the cold shoulder and avoiding her, giving others the false impression that they had a bad relationship. Now that people knew they were living together, they would naturally let their imaginations run wild.
The more Sang Shi'an thought about it, the more frustrated she became. She downed one cup of sake after another until a hand stopped her.
Sang Shi'an glanced at the hand, then turned to look directly at Jian Cenyu.
Jian Cenyu didn't speak, patiently waiting for Sang Shi'an to let go. The longer she waited, the tighter her thin lips pressed together.
Sang Shi'an had already drunk more than half the bottle. She was a lightweight, and the flush from the alcohol made her features look even more bewitching, a faint blush creeping up to her eyes.
"Let. Go."
Jian Cenyu's hand, which was stopping her from pouring, paused. Her tone was subtle. "Any more and you'll be drunk."
Sang Shi'an: "That's none of your business."
"Are you unhappy because of what your friends suggested? Drowning your sorrows in alcohol?"
"Who's drowning—"
"If not, then what are you worried about?" Jian Cenyu asked again.
Sang Shi'an scoffed. A trace of sake she hadn't licked away clung to her philtrum as she smiled. She took the cup that Jian Cenyu had poured sake into but hadn't drunk because she had to drive, brought it to her lips, and downed it in one go, looking at Jian Cenyu provocatively.
"I'm worried I'm too good-looking, and you have improper designs on me."
Putting the cup back down, Sang Shi'an turned and started joking with Su Ningyue again.
Jian Cenyu's gaze froze, fixed on the cup Sang Shi'an had drunk from. Her lowered eyes didn't move until the chef handed her a new piece of sushi.
She picked up the juice bottle and elegantly poured it into the empty cup. The juice, mixed with the traces of sake, gave off a faint, mellow aroma that lingered on her lips for a long time.
After dinner, Su Ningyue suggested, "Want to go to a bar later? A new one just opened nearby. I heard the atmosphere is great."
As she spoke, she reached out to put an arm around Sang Shi'an's shoulder.
Sang Shi'an was already dizzy from the sake. Hearing the word "bar," she got excited. "Okay, okay—Oof!"
Before she could finish her sentence, someone grabbed her wrist from the other side and pulled hard.
Sang Shi'an stumbled to the left. Just as she thought she was going to fall, her back hit a warm embrace. Immediately after, Jian Cenyu's voice sounded from behind her ear: "She's already drunk."
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