Drifting on a String - Chapter 45

Chapter 45

A few hundred kilometers, a short trip that didn't even cross provincial lines, yet returning to Beicheng felt like entering another world.

The campus always had a scent of water vapor, perhaps because no one had used a desiccant on their dreams yet. Youth in one's twenties was always damp, like a juicy peach, like iced soy milk, like a freshly cut watermelon in summer.

But summer was already over, and the yellowing ginkgo leaves were the best proof.

Downstairs, the janitor was sweeping leaves, but there were always boys who, before they could be cleared away, would gather the fallen leaves into the shape of a heart and call their girlfriends in the dorm, telling them to look down from their windows.

The girl leaning out the hallway window happened to be from the 9th floor. Chen Piaopiao walked past the sound of her sweet phone call, pulling her suitcase back to her dorm. The students coming and going had already switched to long-sleeved pajamas. Some wore a light cardigan, chatting with their hands in their pockets, leaning against the walls in twos and threes.

In the summer, they complained about the heat. As autumn and winter arrived, they complained that the hot water room didn't have enough boiling water to warm up the dorms before the heating was turned on.

Qi Mian was lying in bed, not eating or drinking, her face a circle thinner. An Ran and Luo Yue were holding the ladder and comforting her. This seemed to be the 15th time she'd had a fight and threatened to break up with Wang Xing.

Seeing Chen Piaopiao push the door open, they looked relieved, having finally found a topic to change the subject. They turned and asked, "You're back?"

"Yeah." It was Monday, so Chen Piaopiao first asked, "Did they take attendance today?"

"No," An Ran said. "And I handed in a leave request for you, so you're fine."

"Thanks." Chen Piaopiao gave a sly smile, shrugged her shoulders, and brought her luggage inside.

Chen Piaopiao was much more lively compared to when she first started at the university. Maybe it's because we didn't know each other well back then, so she was more reserved, An Ran thought.

She returned to her seat and asked Chen Piaopiao about her trip. Chen Piaopiao answered patiently, then took the gifts out of her suitcase for them. "This is really good. Xiao Ma and the others all said it was delicious."

She had gone out with Tao Jin, yet she didn't mention Tao Jin. An Ran found it a little strange.

After handing out the gifts, Chen Piaopiao sat down wearily, let out a breath, and after a short rest, opened her computer to check the messages in the class group chat. She organized her homework, then allocated time for her part-time job and leisure. She had already quit the forums and was now focused on managing her social media platforms.

She observed and summarized the trending topics of some KOLs, discovering that being a blogger was a science in itself.

From positioning and topic selection to personal style, you also had to incorporate viral elements to become that "pig standing in the path of a whirlwind."

After tackling university entrance exams, entertainment industry gossip, and her first love, the little fox once again applied her academic spirit to studying online bloggers.

She didn't really have an advantage in fashion, as fashion bloggers needed a large collection of OOTD outfits and an accumulation of knowledge on popular trends to support their content. The content turnover was also very fast. She had no money, and even less time to hunt for these things, and she also lacked a personal style. Her advantage was her skin. A skincare review only required a single product. She could position herself as a university student testing affordable and effective items. Plus, she expressed herself clearly and wrote well. Once her traffic increased, she could take on advertisements and even save money on the products themselves.

And all she had to do was show her face.

She took out a pen and jotted down some recently popular influencer products.

On the weekend, Tao Jin had to go home again, so Chen Piaopiao packed her things to go work at the bar. Le Chu had said she was in trouble, and Chen Piaopiao had been thinking about it. But business at the Whale Bar seemed normal. Blues music was playing, and the whale logo at the entrance swam and swam across the floor.

Chen Piaopiao went inside, said hello, changed into her work uniform, and asked Le Chu, "What happened?"

She had arrived early, so there weren't many people in the bar. Le Chu put down the Tequila she was holding, led her to the floor-to-ceiling window, and pointed outside through the stenciled letters on the glass. "See her? That woman."

Couldn't see her. Looked again.

Saw her. She was wearing a gray cardigan, had long, straight black hair, a rather unremarkable face, and an equally unremarkable presence. She was sitting on a small, low stool by the street, almost blending in with the shadow of the eaves.

"That stool… is it ours?" Chen Piaopiao craned her neck and squinted.

Le Chu was exasperated. "I tell you to look at the person, and you look at the stool."

"Sorry," Chen Piaopiao apologized readily, blinking. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's in love with me," Le Chu said.

...

Chen Piaopiao bit her lip but couldn't hold it in, letting out a "pfft" of laughter.

Then she pushed her cheek with her tongue and swallowed it back. "This is the 'trouble' you were talking about?"

"She's been pestering me for half a month. Comes every day. I kick her out, and she brings a stool to sit at my door. Some of my regulars are getting creeped out by her staring and asking me what's going on." Le Chu took a sip of her drink. "Isn't that trouble?"

Chen Piaopiao frowned. So, what did this have to do with her?

"Oh," Le Chu raised an eyebrow, her glass and tone of voice rising in unison. "Mu Xing said the two of us don't look like reasonable people, so we can't persuade her."

"You look like you're reasonable. I want you to give it a try."

Look like… I'm reasonable?

But. "You said she's in love with you," Chen Piaopiao confirmed.

"Yeah."

Chen Piaopiao shook her head. "Love doesn't listen to reason."

Hiss… That makes sense.

"Why does she like you?" Chen Piaopiao asked, curious.

Le Chu gave a rather flirtatious raise of her eyebrows.

"You invited her to get a room," Chen Piaopiao said with understanding.

Le Chu walked back and leaned against the bar. "Her ex-girlfriend ran off to get married. She was heartbroken, came here for a drink, and I just… comforted her a little."

A cliché plot. The next part must be that she wants to be with Le Chu. Chen Piaopiao cleaned the bar with a deadpan expression. "She told me that since we had relations, both parties had to be responsible. I said, 'Sister, who are you trying to fool? Your ex-girlfriend slept with you so many times, why didn't you ask her to be responsible? If she had been responsible, would you even be heartbroken?'"

"And then?" Chen Piaopiao wiped a glass.

"She said her ex-girlfriend did take responsibility."

Hm? Chen Piaopiao lifted her eyelids, surprised.

That expression was quite satisfying for Le Chu. Finally, a reaction.

She smugly pushed her empty glass toward Chen Piaopiao, signaling for her to wash it. "I was surprised too, right? I asked her, if she took responsibility, why did she still run off to get married?"

"She said, the ex sent her half an apartment."

"Badass."

Le Chu shook her head and sighed in amazement.

The two of them had bought the apartment together when they were a couple. Li Yu paid the down payment, and they agreed the ex-girlfriend would pay the mortgage. When they broke up, the ex transferred the entire mortgage amount to her in one lump sum. The deed was only in Li Yu's name, so it was equivalent to being gifted half an apartment.

Oh, right. Her name is Li Yu.

"Unreasonable," Le Chu said, her breath smelling faintly of alcohol as she slumped onto the bar.

Chen Piaopiao had no mind for other people's business. In between washing and sterilizing glasses, she just asked Le Chu if there was a special way to give someone a gift.

She had already bought the perfume; she was just asking casually. Although Le Chu seemed very experienced, her experience wasn't necessarily suitable for her.

Le Chu's interest was piqued. She lifted her head lazily, resting her chin on the back of her hand, and smiled. "For your girlfriend? That older student?"

"Mhm." Every time Chen Piaopiao mentioned Tao Jin, the end of her syllable would become very gentle.

"Look at you, so smitten. When are you going to bring her by to hang out?" Le Chu found this very interesting. "Hey, what's her name?"

"Tao Jin. The 'Jin' from 'to immerse.'"

Chen Piaopiao immersed a glass in the water. Just this simple action made her thoughts drift, and a faint smile appeared on her face.

Tao Jin?

Le Chu blinked, looking at Chen Piaopiao, then at the whale logo on the shelf.

"Tao Jin again? Isn't she the one Gaogao used to chase?" Le Chu sat up straight in disbelief. "What kind of goddess is she?"

I really want to meet her.

"Speaking of which, this bar was named because of her, you know?"

Le Chu chuckled. "Look at you. It's like you were born to work here."

Chen Piaopiao lowered her head to retrieve a glass from the water and smiled along with her. She suddenly missed Tao Jin so much. I wonder what she's doing right now?

Get instant access to all chapters now.

Previous Table of Contents Next