Drifting on a String - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A sense of awkwardness is one of the most tangible emotions. The rims of her ears burned, her scalp tingled, and a cold sweat broke out on her back, as if she were being targeted by a thousand arrows.

Chen Piaopiao read the message over and over, not knowing what to reply.

But the ever-popular Tao Jin would never let a situation become awkward. In the next second, several messages came through in succession.

"Gaogao just told me you saw us say hi and asked about me."

Gaogao was the group owner.

"Don't be nervous, I didn't mean anything by it."

"It's pretty cute."

The last one was a sticker, meant to ease the awkwardness.

Chen Piaopiao rarely experienced conflicting emotions, but this was one of those times. Her brain had been crackling and burning ever since she saw the words "It's pretty cute." She clutched her phone, rolled over, and kicked off the thin blanket that was trapping the heat.

At the same time, however, a chill spread through her heart. If the previous message could, in a sense, be interpreted as a bit of a flirtation, these three were far too straightforward. Lesbians were usually more roundabout, while a straight upperclassman wouldn't hesitate to praise an underclassman for being cute.

Tossing and turning, she stayed awake well into the night, all because of a few words from Tao Jin.

The fast-paced life of a freshman flushed away her impure thoughts like a toilet. She listened to An Ran and Luo Yue argue about eating luosifen in the dorm, then listened to Luo Yue and Qi Mian argue about space to hang laundry. Then Qi Mian pulled the other two into the hot water room to gossip about how An Ran always forgot her key after returning from evening self-study, and how they should all agree not to open the door for her next time.

Chen Piaopiao quietly enjoyed the drama, chiming in with a "That's not very nice" on one side, and a "That does seem a bit much" on the other. Soon, the day of the club meeting arrived.

She went to the barbershop next to the school's public bathhouse ahead of time to get her hair washed. Her straight bangs were blown into a slight inward curl, and the perm she'd gotten after the college entrance exams gave her a look that was both cute and a little mature. She carefully selected a casual denim-accented dress—not too flashy, but with a nice sense of design.

At 7:15, about half the lights in the academic building were off. The ones that remained lit in the quiet campus looked like little banana boats carrying dreams.

The aroma of food wafted from someone walking by with a meal box, mingling with the night fragrance of some unknown green plant.

Chen Piaopiao took the elevator up and entered the classroom. A few students were already sitting inside, scattered about. The air smelled faintly of shower gel; it seemed a few of them had just come from bathing. The chubby upperclassman with glasses was the Vice President. She was sitting in the front row and gestured for Chen Piaopiao to come over and sign in.

The club president was supposedly a male upperclassman from the computer science department, but he had long since stopped managing things and wasn't here today.

After signing in, Chen Piaopiao sat down next to a girl with half-dry hair. She smiled and said hello, and after a brief self-introduction, she rested her chin on the cap of her water bottle and zoned out.

It was 7:25, and Tao Jin still hadn't arrived. Chen Piaopiao whispered to the student next to her, "When did you get the notification?"

"Last Wednesday," the student replied after a moment.

"Me too," Chen Piaopiao smiled. "Did you add her on WeChat? I asked the upperclassman who sent the notice and added her, but I don't know her, so I don't dare to bother her. It feels a little awkward."

"No, I didn't," the student shook her head. "But wasn't it the Vice President who sent the message? She's really easy to talk to, don't be scared."

Ah, is that so…

Chen Piaopiao blinked, propping her forehead on her hand without saying anything more.

So, had Tao Jin and the Vice President divided the work, or…

Before she could finish the thought, the person in question appeared. She still had the same shoulder-length hair, one side tucked behind her ear, looking crisp and gentle. She was dressed casually today in slightly baggy denim overalls, the right strap hanging down half an inch, over a black tank-top-style T-shirt.

Chen Piaopiao thought she would have looked even cooler with a choker, but Tao Jin's neck was bare, its lines captivating.

She wasn't carrying anything, walking in with her hands in her pockets. She smiled, tilted her head to greet the Vice President, then leaned against the edge of a desk to speak with her in a low voice.

"You do the talking," the Vice President said.

"What would I talk about?" Tao Jin refused, shaking her head as she looked at the sign-in sheet.

The Vice President stood up, placed a hand on Tao Jin's shoulder, slid it down her arm, and gave her a little push. Tao Jin moistened her lips, reached for the sign-in sheet, scanned it, and then looked up, greeting the new members in the classroom with easy grace. "Hello."

"Is anyone not here yet? If you're not here, raise your hand."

It was a stale joke, but it was different coming from Tao Jin.

A small laugh rippled through the small classroom. Tao Jin smiled too.

She was so beautiful when she smiled—bright, charming, and beyond compare. Even the fluorescent lights seemed to gather around her like fireflies.

Chen Piaopiao was right. Tao Jin was always the kind of person she aspired to be, born with a face that looked like it could never be abandoned.

The kind of person who would never be asked, "Do you want to live with your dad or your mom?"

Chen Piaopiao listened absently as Tao Jin introduced the club—its founding, organizational structure, and the various large and small activities it participated in. She spoke effortlessly, rarely using filler words like "um," "uh," or "and then."

But unfortunately, Tao Jin didn't spare Chen Piaopiao a single glance, making her earlier racing speculations seem like a superfluous joke.

She was a little dejected, but not much. Just as Chen Piaopiao was about to look at her phone, Tao Jin's gaze suddenly swept over, landing on her. She let out a light "pfft" of a laugh.

Hm? The whole classroom fell silent. Students in the front rows to her left and right all turned to look at Chen Piaopiao.

Chen Piaopiao's heart skipped a beat.

She heard Tao Jin touch her own chin with a smile. "Right here, doesn't that hurt?"

Chen Piaopiao raised a hand to her own chin and felt a deep indentation. She had a habit of resting her chin on the mouth of her water bottle, which had pressed a red mark into her skin.

It was quite embarrassing. She covered it with her hand and said softly, "It's fine."

Tao Jin didn't say anything else, just gave a small smile and continued her introduction.

But Chen Piaopiao was dazed by this little interlude. She was a very vain person, and this "special impression" of being singled out in public thoroughly satisfied her vanity.

Her face was flushed red until the meeting ended.

The wind that day felt full of stories. On the way back to her dorm, Chen Piaopiao couldn't help but trace the indentation on her chin, wishing it would fade a little slower, just a little slower.

After satisfying the curiosity of "being an adult," college life quickly lost its novelty. Her interactions with Tao Jin became the rhythmic beats in an otherwise monotonous melody.

Chen Piaopiao eagerly signed up to help with rehearsals for the Theater Festival performance. As a new member, she was just there to learn and do odd jobs. Tao Jin was the overall planner for the show, so she could watch Tao Jin from offstage.

However, Chen Piaopiao soon discovered that Tao Jin was this "special" with everyone—or rather, she was "not special" with anyone.

She would stand with her hands on her hips, seriously and earnestly directing the actors on stage, and then smile during a break to ask if they were hot and wanted to rest for a bit.

When a member was short one boxed lunch, she would say she didn't want to eat, and then, before the other person could apologize, she would say gently and casually, "Can I have your soda? I'm really thirsty."

When talking to people she knew well, she would casually rest a hand on their arm. Then, hearing the sound of a desk being moved, she would turn her head, frown slightly, and whisper to the department head, "Don't make the new members move things all the time."

After hearing that, the next time, Chen Piaopiao moved a table longer than half her body, setting it aside with very little noise.

She thought, If only Tao Jin would notice me too. But in the next second, she heard Tao Jin call her name: "Piaopiao."

"Huh? Senior?" Chen Piaopiao looked up.

Tao Jin beckoned her over.

Chen Piaopiao smoothed her clothes and tiptoed to the edge of the stage. "What is it?"

Tao Jin asked, "Do you have a hair tie?"

"No," Chen Piaopiao shook her head.

Tao Jin smiled and gestured for her to turn around. She reached out, gathered Chen Piaopiao's long, sweat-dampened hair, then slipped the hair tie from her own wrist and loosely tied it into a ponytail for her.

Her movements were very casual. She even glanced sideways at the script and said to the actors on stage, "You came in late on that last chorus."

After that, she patted Chen Piaopiao's shoulder and said, "There, that should be less hot."

Without looking at Chen Piaopiao again, she tilted her head up to speak to the actors on stage.

Her beautiful jawline and long neck were also covered in fine beads of sweat, like a layer of expensive pearlescent shimmer.

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