ORCBRB – Chapter 50
Chapter 50
It wasn't that Jian Cenyu was so love-struck that she'd lost her reason; she just didn't want her research to pave the way for someone else's success. Otherwise, with Jian Zhenyang's greedy and brazen personality, the project would likely be sold off to save the company before it even began.
Deliberately mentioning to Jian Zhiyan that she was the one pursuing Sang Shi'an was also a selfish move on Jian Cenyu's part. In the future, if anyone were to question it, she would be the one who had seduced Sang Shi'an first.
Returning to the lab, she saw that the takeout boxes had been neatly placed in the trash can, and the crumbs on the desk had been wiped clean.
Sang Shi'an had never been this considerate before. She used to leave a mess wherever she went, and it was almost always Jian Cenyu who cleaned up after her. If she didn't, they would just wait for the weekly cleaning lady.
Today, she seemed to have turned over a new leaf.
Jian Cenyu lowered her head, her mind wandering as her fingers lightly brushed across the clean desktop. After a long moment, a silent smile appeared on her lips.
As the sun was about to set, Jian Cenyu closed her professional textbook for the exam, switched to WeChat, and sent a very subtle opening line: [Still studying at the library?]
Sang Shi'an had been on edge all afternoon. If she hadn't already finished reviewing, she might have been anxious enough to bang her head against a wall. Ever since leaving the lab, she had checked her phone at the slightest notification. When Jian Cenyu's message finally arrived, she suddenly didn't feel like replying.
Just as the clock struck five, Xu Taotao, who was sitting opposite her, put down her pen on time and silently mouthed, ‘Want to get dinner?’
Su Ningyue knew that bringing Xu Taotao along would work. Otherwise, Sang Shi'an could study until seven or eight without even feeling hungry.
She immediately and enthusiastically pulled Sang Shi'an up. “Let’s go, let’s go!”
As they walked out of the library, Jian Cenyu's call came in right on time. “May I invite you to dinner?”
Sang Shi'an was helping Su Ningyue brush off some chalk dust from her jacket and gave a perfunctory “Mhm,” saying, “I’m going with my friends anyway.”
Jian Cenyu emerged from the top of the stairs. “I knew you’d say that.”
Sang Shi'an looked up and saw Jian Cenyu waving at her, phone in hand, a faint smile in her eyes reflecting the afterglow of the sunset.
The call was disconnected. Jian Cenyu walked up to Sang Shi'an and asked, “Is it on the way now?”
Before Sang Shi'an could answer, Su Ningyue and Xu Taotao, who hadn't quite grasped the situation, pushed Sang Shi'an forward from both sides. “Yes, yes, yes, of course it’s on the way.”
Jian Cenyu chuckled but still waited for Sang Shi'an's nod. “Are you coming?”
Sang Shi'an remembered the ‘Balala the Fairies’ incident and shook her head with great dignity. “I already made plans with them.”
Jian Cenyu then extended an invitation to Su Ningyue and Xu Taotao. “May I treat you both to dinner as well?”
“Well…” Su Ningyue and Xu Taotao exchanged a glance and quietly tugged on Sang Shi'an's sleeve. “There’s a new, rather expensive seafood buffet on Changxing Street.”
Sang Shi'an shook off these two who had already defected for seafood. “You might as well just call her your sister. You can eat seafood every day until you get food poisoning.”
The air fell silent for a moment, then Su Ningyue and Xu Taotao said in unison, “Jiejie.”
Sang Shi'an was shocked. “How can you two be so shameless?”
Su Ningyue spread her hands. “Christmas just passed, and New Year’s is right around the corner. My bank account can’t take it anymore. Please understand.”
As if Sang Shi'an would believe that nonsense.
Since they had already called her ‘Jiejie,’ Sang Shi'an reluctantly decided to help her friends protect their interests and urged Jian Cenyu, “So, are we still going?”
Jian Cenyu played along. “We’re going.”
Jian Cenyu's car couldn't fit so many people. When they took the subway, there were no empty seats, so Jian Cenyu took the opportunity to hold Sang Shi'an's hand.
Sang Shi'an glanced down and shook it off. “Who said you could hold my hand?”
Then she grabbed Jian Cenyu's arm and held onto it like a pole, claiming it was to keep her balance.
Jian Cenyu let her hold on, pretending to be hurt. “Looks like I’m going to lose all my impression points today.”
“It’s good that you know. You should learn your lesson,” Sang Shi'an retorted lazily, though she was inching closer and closer.
The slight swaying of the train tangled their long hair together, gradually becoming inseparable.
When the train stopped midway, more people crowded in. Jian Cenyu pulled her hand free and wrapped her arm around Sang Shi'an. The embrace gradually warmed. Neither of them spoke. When Su Ningyue was pushed over, Jian Cenyu steadied her but didn't release her hold on Sang Shi'an.
Su Ningyue held onto the handrail, her gaze sweeping meaningfully over Sang Shi'an's shoulder.
Sang Shi'an said calmly, “Do you want me to hold you?”
Of course, Su Ningyue didn't. “I’m fine holding the pole.”
Sang Shi'an scoffed and turned away, ignoring her.
After they got off, Sang Shi'an let go of the ‘pole’ she was done using and walked ahead, leaving Jian Cenyu behind. Su Ningyue finally realized something was off between the two.
As Sang Shi'an led the way to the exit for Changxing Street, she asked coldly, “Why are you asking me? Do I look like the type to throw a tantrum for no reason? Of course, it’s her fault.”
Xu Taotao and Su Ningyue, who had caught up, glanced at Jian Cenyu with a hint of sympathy and continued to listen to Sang Shi'an's rant with complicated expressions. When Sang Shi'an had said her piece, they spoke in unison:
“That’s true. We have so many exams these days, you’d have to be crazy to pick a fight right now.”
“I can’t believe Senior Jian is that kind of person. You really can’t judge a book by its cover.”
“You should let Senior Jian learn her lesson. After this dinner, give her the cold shoulder for a week or two.”
Sang Shi'an stopped in her tracks. “A week or two?”
Su Ningyue immediately corrected herself. “…Three days?”
Sang Shi'an's brow furrowed even more. Xu Taotao offered, “One day?”
Only five hours had passed since she left the lab building, and Sang Shi'an looked even more displeased.
Finally, Su Ningyue made the decision. “Then let’s make it one hour. Don’t talk to her for one hour, starting from when we left campus. That’ll drive her crazy.”
Sang Shi'an was barely satisfied. “Mhm. I remember there’s a new private milk tea shop next to that restaurant, right? She’s picky about the drinks at buffets. I’ll go buy her something to drink while we wait for a table.”
Su Ningyue: “Huh?”
They exited the subway station, and the buffet restaurant was right across the street. While crossing, Sang Shi'an turned her head several times to look at Jian Cenyu, afraid of losing her, but she maintained her aloof silence.
To ensure service quality, the restaurant didn't have many tables, and there were three parties ahead of them. While waiting, Su Ningyue saw that Sang Shi'an was really going to buy a drink for Jian Cenyu. As she accompanied her, she asked hesitantly, “What are you and Senior Jian really upset about? Is it because of that art department heartthrob from noon?”
Sang Shi'an: …
Oh, she had almost forgotten about that.
Another reason, served up on a silver platter.
Sang Shi'an frowned. “It’s not about that. It’s something else, something really important.”
Su Ningyue couldn't guess and humbly asked for clarification. “For the sake of the seafood I’m about to freeload, can you tell me what important thing it is?”
Sang Shi'an: “It’s a matter of life and death.”
Half an hour later, Sang Shi'an, having given Jian Cenyu the cold shoulder for a solid hour, was still fuming over the art department heartthrob. When she sat down at the table, she pushed the milk tea in her hand in front of Jian Cenyu, then got up to go to the sauce station, continuing to ignore her.
Jian Cenyu opened the package and saw it was a freshly made mango pomelo sago. The printed label even noted to omit the pomelo zest.
Not only did Sang Shi'an dislike it, but she didn't either. However, she wasn't as picky as Sang Shi'an and could drink it with or without the zest.
She followed her to the sauce station, standing behind Sang Shi'an. Whatever sauce Sang Shi'an added a spoonful of, she would follow suit. “Still angry?”
Sang Shi'an didn't speak, deliberately choosing spicy sauces to make her dipping sauce. She scooped up a large spoonful of bright red chopped chili peppers, waiting for Jian Cenyu to imitate her.
“I was wrong,” Jian Cenyu said softly. “I shouldn’t have brought up how you used to like dressing up as Balala the Fairies and chanting spells. But back then, you were my favorite, you—”
Sang Shi'an hurriedly covered Jian Cenyu's mouth. “I know, I know. There are so many people here.”
She saw a girl at the next table secretly laughing at her after hearing what Jian Cenyu said.
Sang Shi'an brought the dipping sauce back and went to pick out seafood, her expression still tense. “That handsome guy from the art department was looking for you at noon. You still have time to have dinner with us?”
Jian Cenyu: ?
Jian Cenyu was slightly taken aback by Sang Shi'an's scattered thoughts. She reached out to take the plate of small Australian lobsters Sang Shi'an had picked out and handed her a clean, empty plate.
“His girlfriend is one of my aunt’s students. She couldn’t come to the lab today because of her period, so he came to ask for a leave of absence for her. Don’t misunderstand.”
Sang Shi'an stared at her suspiciously, her eyes screaming, ‘I don’t believe you.’
Jian Cenyu gently hooked Sang Shi'an's pinky finger, leaned in, and whispered, “Besides, I don’t like boys. You know that.”
Speaking of which, Sang Shi'an became curious. “Then how did you know you like girls? Don’t you dare lie and say it was because of me. I saw something on your computer.”
Jian Cenyu was helpless. “Do you really want to talk about this here?”
The halved Australian lobsters on the plate looked menacing, surrounded by various fresh sashimi and bustling guests.
Alright then.
It wasn't very appropriate.
Sang Shi'an suppressed her curiosity and held it in until after dinner. Su Ningyue and Xu Taotao, not wanting to be third wheels, ran off as soon as they left the restaurant, using the excuse of returning to the library.
Sang Shi'an called out to them, “I’ll go back with you. My books are still there.”
Xu Taotao patted her chest and said reliably, “I’ll bring them back for you.”
Sang Shi'an still insisted, “No, the exam is tomorrow. I want to review some more tonight.”
Hearing this, Su Ningyue cast a suspicious glance at Jian Cenyu. She still hadn't managed to coax her back into a good mood?
After entering the library, Sang Shi'an didn't delay. She packed her things and left, afraid that Jian Cenyu would leave to avoid answering her question.
Jian Cenyu had been waiting at the library entrance. Seeing Sang Shi'an running and out of breath, she reached out and patted her on the back. “What’s the rush?”
“I was afraid you’d run off.” Sang Shi'an grabbed Jian Cenyu's wrist and descended the library steps. “You can tell me now, right?”
The campus was quiet at 8:30 PM, especially during finals week. Not even the sound of basketballs could be heard from the courts along the road. Instead, the athletic field was filled with people reciting from their professional textbooks.
Sang Shi'an gave up the idea of strolling around the field and walked along a small campus path. “In high school, I heard that the neighboring No. 2 Middle School had to run during their morning exercises while holding English books. I never thought I’d see such a spectacle in university.”
Jian Cenyu followed her, walking at a leisurely pace. “You could take out the book you need to memorize for tomorrow right now. You might even get a perfect score.”
Sang Shi'an shivered at the thought. “No way. If someone takes a picture and posts it on the forum, it’ll shatter the illusions the junior students have of me.”
“What illusions?”
“A beautiful senior. What other illusions could there be?”
They looked at each other under the bare trees, and one of them couldn't help but laugh first.
“You should stop corrupting the junior students.”
Sang Shi'an retorted, “What do you mean, corrupting? They’d probably be so happy they couldn’t sleep for nights.”
Jian Cenyu laughed again. “Then maybe I should reconsider this whole pursuing you thing. If I can’t sleep for days and nights, I’m getting old. My body might not be able to handle it.”
Sang Shi'an: …
Sang Shi'an gritted her teeth. “Have you even been pursuing me? Other people give roses when they’re chasing someone.”
Jian Cenyu understood. “Should I go buy you a bouquet right now? Do you have a specific color in mind?”
That would be too formalistic.
Sang Shi'an pushed Jian Cenyu away and took a step to the side to maintain some distance. “You haven’t won me over yet, so don’t stand so close. Otherwise, the forum will start spreading rumors about us again.”
Speaking of the forum, the posts about them had become fewer and fewer lately. Perhaps everyone had gotten used to seeing them together and realized it was just a friendship, so they had moved on to other gossip.
Sang Shi'an actually minded that those people were so fickle. She thought that since Jian Cenyu liked her, she would have something to say about it. But she waited for a while and Jian Cenyu remained silent.
Sang Shi'an moved closer again. “Hey, why aren’t you talking?”
She was a little nervous. “Weren’t you pretty bold the other day, kissing me whenever you felt like it? I just said ‘don’t stand so close’ and you actually listened?”
Jian Cenyu fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then smiled without a sound. “No, I was just thinking. You’ve never liked girls before. When the rumors about us started, were you really unhappy?”
Sang Shi'an let out a dry “Ah,” and said, “Not really, I guess.”
Jian Cenyu turned her head, her gaze softening as she looked at Sang Shi'an's hazy features under the streetlight.
Sang Shi'an's fingers, tucked inside her pockets, curled up one by one. She added, trying to cover up her feelings, “Anyway, everyone was just joking, right? Didn’t I tell you before? I’ve been shipped with many people. After a while, everyone’s interest will fade.”
“Besides… I’ve never liked boys either. Unlike you, who knew your sexual orientation from the start. I wonder who you liked to have had that realization.”
Sang Shi'an noticed the sour tone in her own words. Just as she was about to say something to smooth it over, Jian Cenyu suddenly pulled her into a hug.
The sudden closeness of their clothes brought a hint of coolness. There were no streetlights by the tree where they stood, but it still made her incredibly nervous.
“What… what are you doing…”
Sang Shi'an didn't dare to push her away too forcefully, afraid that others might notice their unusual behavior.
“I got you to switch sides before you even figured out your own orientation. I’m just too excited, I wanted to hug you,” Jian Cenyu said bluntly, her arms gradually tightening.
Sang Shi'an clutched the corner of her clothes, her heart beating faster.
She hesitated for a moment, then didn't push her away.
Jian Cenyu said, “Didn’t you want to know how I found out I like girls? It was that senior you met, Wen Yansheng. In the UK, she saw that I was always alone and also from China, so she would occasionally ask me out.”
“One time, those relatives of mine were causing trouble back home again. I was in a terrible mood and wanted to drink, so she took me to a bar. It was only when we got there that I realized it was a lesbian bar.”
“She comforted me for a long time that night and opened up to me about her family. That night, as I looked at the pairs of people at every table, I just thought, it seems like having a girlfriend for company would be pretty nice.”
“I thought it, and I said it to her. She didn’t even look up, just kept drinking and talking about the past. On the way back, she sent me a few films and told me to watch them when I had time.”
Sang Shi'an couldn't help but laugh—laughing at how even a lofty goddess like Jian Cenyu had times when she drank to drown her sorrows, laughing at how Jian Cenyu was completely ignored the first time she mentioned her sexuality to someone, and laughing even harder at the films Jian Cenyu received.
But after she finished laughing and came to her senses, she felt a little sour. “Jian Cenyu, you remember it so clearly.”
“Very clearly. I watched all those queer films that night, and then I went to find her again the next day.”
Sang Shi'an’s shoulders shook with laughter. “Were there any R-rated films among them?”
Jian Cenyu was very honest. “Yes.”
Sang Shi'an asked again, “So you went to confess to her the next day?”
Jian Cenyu shook her head, her chin resting on Sang Shi'an's shoulder, her embrace tightening. “No.”
“Why? Wasn’t it because of Senior Wen that you discovered your orientation?” Sang Shi'an didn't understand. After a couple of seconds, it dawned on her. “Could it be you were afraid you wouldn’t be friends anymore if you confessed?”
Jian Cenyu said, “At the bar, I just felt that if I had to find someone to keep me company in the UK, a girl would be more suitable than a boy.”
Sang Shi'an stopped letting her hug her. “Are you trying to fool a child, Jian Cenyu? Can’t you make up a more believable story?”
Jian Cenyu held onto Sang Shi'an. “I’m not lying to you. I really don’t have those kinds of feelings for my senior.”
Seeing that Sang Shi'an still didn't believe her, Jian Cenyu had no choice but to tell the truth. “I told you, it was only after watching those films that I confirmed my sexual orientation. When I watched the acts in those R-rated films, I would have a physiological reaction.”
Sang Shi'an hadn't expected Jian Cenyu to be so bold. She stepped on a branch and nearly tripped.
A hand promptly caught her by the waist, and then a voice whispered in her ear, growing lower, “And you are the only one who can make me have a physiological impulse even when you're clothed.”
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