Drifting on a String - Chapter 32
Chapter 32
The noisy cafeteria buzzed around her—the familiar smell of food, the plastic tables and chairs, the vibrant faces of college students. And amidst it all, Chen Piaopiao, who appeared quiet and introverted, let the desire in her heart simmer as she waited for Tao Jin's answer.
Tao Jin blinked, put down her chopsticks, and looked down at her phone, a faint smile on her lips.
She quickly pressed her lips together. With one hand, she hooked a finger in Chen Piaopiao's palm; with the other, she typed, "I have an early class tomorrow. Let's go back on Friday."
Chen Piaopiao wasn't quite satisfied with the first half of the sentence, but the use of "go back" in the second half soothed her restless heart.
This was Tao Jin. The Tao Jin who always knew how to handle relationships, who could make everyone like her. And Chen Piaopiao, the one closest to her, was naturally head over heels for her.
"Oh," Chen Piaopiao replied.
Seeing the two of them stop eating in unison and focus on their phones, Xiao Ma pursed her lips at Lao Hai.
Chen Piaopiao was about to put her phone down when another message came from Tao Jin—a sticker that said: "Rein it in!"
"Pfft." Chen Piaopiao couldn't help but laugh. In her peripheral vision, she could see Tao Jin's earnest, gentle face, yet she had used a playful sticker to tell Chen Piaopiao to rein in her desires.
So cute. Tao Jin was truly so cute. The more you got to know her, the cuter she became.
After eating, they sat and chatted for a while longer. Tao Jin crossed her legs, and Chen Piaopiao rested a hand on her thigh, kneading it idly. Finally, Tao Jin patted the back of Chen Piaopiao's hand and glanced at her phone. "Should we go? Class is about to start."
"Let's go." Xiao Ma and the others were clearing their trays when she suddenly had an idea. "Hey, Jin Bao, you should add Piaopiao to our mahjong group. We can all play together in the future."
Tao Jin glanced at Chen Piaopiao. Seeing her nod, she agreed and added her to the group.
The group parted ways cheerfully. Chen Piaopiao had no classes that afternoon, so after saying goodbye at the cafeteria entrance, she went to the small supermarket to buy some snacks: soda crackers, Oreos, a chilled bayberry juice perfect for summer, and a small slice of watermelon. She headed back to the dorm, sipping her water.
It was an afternoon of utter boredom. She browsed a forum for a while, scrolling from top to bottom before closing it, feeling that gossip was a complete waste of life.
So she checked her group chats.
The group was talking about a recent American TV show that was great for shipping characters. Chen Piaopiao watched the conversation for a bit but wasn't interested.
It turned out being in a relationship could also be quite boring. The kind of boring where, apart from that one person, everything else turned into a black-and-white movie.
Chen Piaopiao climbed into bed and lay there staring at the ceiling. She suddenly realized she had only been with Tao Jin for a few days. This wouldn't do. Maybe she really should, as Tao Jin had suggested, rein in her unbridled passion.
She didn't have much practical experience, but she was well-versed in theory. She knew that a slow, steady stream was the best state for a relationship.
Besides studying, she needed to find something else to do.
She went to wash her hair.
As she bent over, she almost laughed at herself. She had just washed it last night.
She returned with her dripping hair wrapped in a towel. An Ran was back, having just come from a club activity. She was flushed from the sun, radiating a heat that could cook a person. Chen Piaopiao fanned her while An Ran took a sip of water, panting. "Where are the others?"
"Qi Mian went on a date, and Luo Yue is at the library."
"It's boiling," An Ran said, fanning herself with her collar. "You didn't have anything on?"
"Nope."
"I would have asked you to come with me if I'd known. The flea market our club organized is actually pretty interesting."
"Oh," Chen Piaopiao said, still lacking enthusiasm, but she added, "Sounds lively."
"Our section is just okay. The third-years are selling things fast," An Ran chuckled. "They pulled Tao Jin over to help."
Tao Jin?
A stone dropped in Chen Piaopiao's heart. "Now?"
"She should still be there, I think?" An Ran started to change her clothes. "Anyway, they were still there when I left."
Chen Piaopiao lowered her gaze and returned to her desk, staring blankly at her silent phone for a while.
Two minutes later, she tilted her head, took off the hair-drying towel, ran a comb through her hair a couple of times, closed her laptop, changed her clothes, and went out.
An Ran had sent out a flyer for the flea market before. It was being held in the small square next to the tree-lined avenue, where a row of sunshades had been set up.
Chen Piaopiao walked quickly, without an umbrella. The sunlight was so bright it hurt her eyes, and her damp scalp felt like it was about to steam. She walked along the stalls amidst the calls of the upperclassmen, occasionally glancing at the items on display—there were textbooks, small fans, desk lamps, and even someone selling autographed photos of celebrities.
She scanned the area distractedly, gradually moving toward the more crowded section. Unsurprisingly, she spotted Tao Jin under the shade of a tree. She was sitting under a light blue sun umbrella, holding a small fan to cool herself. When a classmate next to her asked for help, she bent down, picked up a notebook, flipped through a few pages, and handed it to a younger student who wanted to buy it.
The younger student must have said thank you, because Tao Jin smiled. "You're welcome."
"Are you hot?" She looked at the girl's sweaty forehead and handed her the fan.
"That's not for sale," her classmate reminded her jokingly.
"Oh, then just give it back to me later." Tao Jin laughed as she sat on her chair.
The younger student was delighted. She took the fan and crouched down to continue browsing.
Meanwhile, Tao Jin brushed back her sweat-dampened hair and gazed at the stall, fanning her neck lightly with her hand.
For the first time, Chen Piaopiao disliked Tao Jin's kindness and gentleness. It was also the first time she had to sharply confront her own jealousy and possessiveness.
It was like looking at an ultrasound image; the lesion in her heart was so clearly visible.
Tao Jin was done with class. She was free. She hadn't looked for her. And now here she was, smiling at someone else.
There was a towering tree right behind her. She wanted to press Tao Jin against the trunk and bite her neck, hard.
Chen Piaopiao walked over. Tao Jin saw her at once, the corners of her lips lifting as she started to stand up. But Chen Piaopiao only looked at the stall, walked straight to it, and crouched down. A moment later, she looked up at Tao Jin's classmate and pointed to a thick hair tie in the corner. "Senior, how much is this?"
Tao Jin opened her mouth but said nothing, watching her from the chair.
Her skin was very fair, and her hair was still damp, making her glistening eyes look like lakes. Her lips were small and vibrantly colored. Dressed in a gauze dress with a small floral print, she looked up at the senior, appearing crystal clear and flawless, like a plump, juicy lychee.
The senior crouched down too and handed it to her. "This? It's a bit old from use, not worth much. I was planning to give it away with the lamp. Just pay what you think is fair. Or you can just take it."
Chen Piaopiao took it, lowered her eyes to examine it carefully, and smiled. "It has been used. It smells nice. I'll take this one. Is five yuan okay?"
"No, no, no, that's way too much," the senior said, waving her hand. "Fifty cents is fine."
She smiled after saying it, looking a little embarrassed.
Chen Piaopiao smiled too and took out her phone to pay. The senior turned and called out to Tao Jin. Tao Jin pressed her lips together, lowered her head, and silently held out the printed QR code. Chen Piaopiao scanned it, put the hair tie away, quietly thanked the senior, and stood up to leave.
She didn't look at Tao Jin, but she knew Tao Jin was looking at her.
Her heart tugged with anxiety, a sour, tingling sensation, like she was trying to untangle a knotted thread. But she just didn't want to look at Tao Jin.
She had only taken a few steps when her phone vibrated. A message from Little Whale: "?"
A tightness spread through her chest. Chen Piaopiao walked back toward the dorm, slowly typing her reply: "What's wrong?"
There was no reply, but familiar footsteps sounded behind her. A hand gently pulled her wrist. Tao Jin led her to the side of the tree-lined avenue, holding the sun umbrella over them, and stared at her intently. "Are you unhappy?"
Chen Piaopiao glanced at her but didn't speak. Her expression wasn't angry; she just kept walking.
Tao Jin kept pace with her. After a moment of thought, she said softly, "I came from the library. I ran into your roommate there. I asked her where you were, and she said you were sleeping in the dorm."
So she hadn't disturbed her, planning to wait for her to wake up and find her.
Oh. Chen Piaopiao tucked the corner of her mouth, still not saying anything, flicking the hair tie she had just bought. But as they walked, she took Tao Jin's arm, linking it loosely with her own.
A small smile formed parentheses around Tao Jin's lips. She reached out and stroked her head.
"Did you just wash your hair?"
"Mhm."
"And you came out without drying it."
"I heard you were here, so I came."
Tao Jin tilted her neck, looking at her earnestly. "Who braided your hair this morning? It looked very nice."
They reached the elevators. There weren't many people around at this time. The elevator opened with a ding.
"Qi Mian." Chen Piaopiao stepped inside, standing side-by-side with Tao Jin again. They were the only two in the elevator.
Tao Jin thought for a moment. "You said before that you didn't like me rolling the roast duck for her, right?"
"Mhm."
The elevator ascended slowly. Tao Jin watched the numbers climb, leaned her head slightly toward Chen Piaopiao, and with a flutter of her eyelashes, let out a breathy whisper, "I don't like you riding on other people's motorcycles, either."
After saying it, she straightened up, her gaze resting lazily on the elevator screen.
Motorcycle? Chen Piaopiao thought back and then remembered. Le Chu?
She pressed her lips together to hide a smile, her foxy eyes curving in a rare display of happiness.
They reached the 9th floor. Just as Chen Piaopiao was about to step out, Tao Jin suddenly said, "I have a hairdryer in my dorm."
So neither of them moved, waiting as the elevator doors slowly closed.
Room 1105 was empty. The moment the door closed, they started kissing. From the corners of their mouths to their chins, then to the sides of their necks. They had missed each other, even though the distance between them hadn't been great.
Chen Piaopiao felt like she had become one half of a clamshell, and Tao Jin was the other. If they were separated, she would suffocate, her mind running wild with discomfort. They needed to be together to turn the grains of sand that inadvertently slipped inside into pearls.
After the kiss, they were both temporarily satisfied. Chen Piaopiao sat in Tao Jin's chair, looking at the various bottles and jars on her desk, while Tao Jin stood behind her, drying her hair.
The buzzing sound stopped. Chen Piaopiao picked up their previous topic. "You said you don't like me riding on other people's motorcycles, but... do you know how to ride one?"
"No."
"Then what if I want to ride a motorcycle?"
She thought Tao Jin would say she'd learn, but instead, Tao Jin leaned against the edge of the desk and poked her on the forehead. "You don't want to."
It was like she was casting a seal.
Chen Piaopiao looked at her and smiled. Tao Jin smiled back, then thought for a moment before saying seriously, "I can play bass. I used to be in a band."
"Hm?" Chen Piaopiao blinked, then quickly understood. Tao Jin meant that if she liked the cool type, she could be that, too.
But Tao Jin didn't say it outright. She turned her head to look at the desk, fiddling with a few pens.
Because she wasn't used to bragging about herself.
Chen Piaopiao reached out and, as if playing with the pens, ran her fingers along Tao Jin's, each one like white jade. As she did, she murmured to herself, "I don't like bass, I don't like bands, and I don't like motorcycles."
"I like Tao Jin."
—I hope Tao Jin likes me as much as I like her.
She said this sentence in her heart like a secret wish.
Afraid it wouldn't come true.
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