GV – Chapter 70

Song Zhiqing was sculpting a rabbit, fitting her image as an avid rabbit enthusiast.

During the pottery session, the two of them didn’t talk much, nor did they recreate the iconic back-hugging scene from Ghost to work on a piece together. It was a quiet two hours.

But they were also two fulfilling hours.

So much so that when they left the pottery studio, Ye Yuhuan felt a sense of contentment in her heart.

Freed from her creative focus, Song Zhiqing was also freed from her silence. She pointed at the clay piece in the photo they had just taken and thought for a long time, but still couldn’t figure it out.

“Why did you make a little tomato person?”

The key point, of course, was that the tomato person’s head was heart-shaped, and the overall design was just unbearably cute. This couldn’t help but put Song Zhiqing on alert. This kind of suggestive, unspoken expression… it felt like… she was in love.

Damn it.

Song Zhiqing rapidly searched her mind for anyone who had been getting close to Ye Yuhuan recently. After eliminating the incorrect answer of Shen Wei, the rest were all at a neutral distance. Plenty of people, both men and women, had expressed their admiration for her, but she hadn’t seen Ye Yuhuan give any of them the time of day.

But Ye Yuhuan was good at hiding her feelings. What if she didn’t give them a look, but her heart was racing? It wasn’t like Song Zhiqing could check her pulse every second of the day.

She decided to pry some information out of Ye Yuhuan to eliminate a few candidates.

The terrifying part was, Ye Yuhuan hesitated.

Her face even turned red.

Her gaze darted away.

Song Zhiqing was so angry she wanted to tie her up and take her back to her room, hiding her from all the bees and butterflies outside.

“It’s you.”

Ye Yuhuan said the two words hesitantly.

Song Zhiqing felt appeased, but that was followed by an even greater surge of emotion.

This is so frustrating! Is this a testament to our sisterly friendship or a secret declaration of love?!

“Oh,” Song Zhiqing replied dryly.

It’s me. Ye Yuhuan sculpted me. Hehehehehe.

The two got into the car. They would need to come back to the studio later to glaze their pieces, but before Song Zhiqing could glaze her pottery, she had already turned herself red.

With a complete lack of self-awareness, she complained, “Hmph, I’m nothing like a tomato.”

For example, how could a tiny tomato possibly capture her beauty, her talent, her noble qualities?

But seeing Song Zhiqing’s inexplicably flushed face, Ye Yuhuan mentally recited ‘emotional intelligence’ ten times to restrain herself from suggesting Song Zhiqing look in a mirror.

She still didn’t understand what was making her shy, but she still found it adorable.

“There are similar qualities in appearance. And they’re both delicious and beautiful.”

She wasn’t sure what was so beautiful about a tomato, but what was this about being delicious?!

Even though they had kissed before, what could you taste from a kiss on the forehead? At the very least, you’d have to kiss… on the lips!

Maybe even kiss like Shen Wei and the others did just now.

Mmm, that’s too intense.

Song Zhiqing’s face grew even redder. Ye Yuhuan clicked her tongue. How could she be so thin-skinned? A simple compliment made her this shy.

Tsk, cute.

In Ye Yuhuan’s brain, which was short on romantic logic but long on romantic impulse, a tomato being delicious made it excellent, and Song Zhiqing having a pure soul made her beautiful. When Song Zhiqing was compared to a tomato, her pure soul was therefore also compared to being delicious.

It was Ye Yuhuan’s very roundabout yet surprisingly pure line of thought.

After her bout of shyness passed, Song Zhiqing’s mind cleared up a little, though it was still a long way from being completely clear.

So, for reasons unknown even to herself, she reciprocated with a confession of her own: “The rabbit I made is you, too.”

Huh?

Eh?

What did Song Zhiqing mean by that?

Was it a testament to their sisterly friendship or a secret declaration of love?

Emotionally, Ye Yuhuan was strongly inclined toward the latter, but rationally, considering Song Zhiqing’s recent, unswerving obsession with Shangguan Xianxian, she could only regretfully conclude it was the former.

After all, some of the pottery pieces hanging on the wall were odes to friendship.

Ye Yuhuan lowered her lashes, the elegant shape of her eyes revealing a hint of confusion.

Was it because her feelings had solidified? Before, she had been content just being good friends, so why did she now feel a little disappointed?

Love really does make people lose their reason. She hadn’t even taken any effective action to win this love, yet she had already started treating its attainment as a foregone conclusion.

What a terrifying desire.

Just as Master Ye Yuhuan was lost in contemplation and critique of human nature, her ear—which had not joined in the contemplation and critique—was gently tugged.

“Don’t you have anything to say?”

You’re too calm! Not even a single comment!

Eh? The last time this happened was when she sang for Ye Yuhuan at the New Year’s gala. At that thought, it was as if Song Zhiqing had been doused with cold water, and the blush instantly drained from her face.

She immediately swore to the heavens, “I just think you’re cute like a little rabbit, I don’t have any other ideas! And it’s totally normal for best friends to make custom gifts for each other.”

Ye Yuhuan slowly raised her head and looked at the nervous expression on Song Zhiqing’s face.

Oh, best friends. That settles it, then.

Ye Yuhuan pulled a neutral smile, her clear voice sounding as if it had been soaked in water. “It is very normal. I like it a lot.”

Song Zhiqing let out a long breath and collapsed onto the soft leather seat, looking just like an overexerted kitten. The kitten extended a paw and wiggled the ear of the person beside her, a gesture that was both soothing and punishing. In that instant, Ye Yuhuan wondered if the nerves in her ear were connected to her heart. How could such a light touch bring her heart both pain and pleasure, two contradictory feelings?

But she knew it was simply because of love.

“As long as you like it. I’ll make you a whole shelf of little rabbit figurines in the future.”

After saying this, the kitten once again couldn’t bear the loneliness. This time, without the ear as an intermediary, she snuggled directly into Ye Yuhuan’s arms.

Looking down at the sweet, docile face before her, Ye Yuhuan began to doubt her theoretical knowledge for the first time.

When it comes to Song Zhiqing, am I a bit too helpless?

That night, after returning home, Ye Yuhuan took out the sources of her theoretical knowledge on love.

Classic literature from all times and places—since they were classics, they were bound to be dated and didn’t align with contemporary views on love.

Top-tier online romance and yuri novels—too exaggerated. They were all romantic myths pieced together from unbelievable coincidences. Although her own world was a myth made manifest, she was an unknown person with the character setting of a creepy stalker, and Song Zhiqing was the villainess destined to be cannon fodder. The mythical treatment reserved for the female lead would certainly never fall to them. They’d be lucky just to avoid becoming collateral damage.

Highly-rated romance films from home and abroad—too dramatic and overly archetypal, not suitable as a universal model of love for her to reference.

Her parents’ love—too twisted, not in line with the human nature of most people.

Ye Yuhuan thought it over several times. Considering her age and her relationship with Song Zhiqing, going to a licensed relationship counselor seemed like making a mountain out of a molehill. Besides, the counselor might just be full of theoretical knowledge, lacking practical skills just like her.

So, she made a decision that went against her character.

She opened Weibo and submitted a post to a famous relationship blogger. To ensure her submission wouldn’t get buried, Ye Yuhuan specifically noted that she would pay a sufficient consultation fee.

Looking at the blogger’s five million followers and the extraordinary activity on the account, Ye Yuhuan hoped that the framework of her theoretical knowledge on love would find salvation here.

However, to Ye Yuhuan’s surprise, the post went viral.

【Hello, for privacy reasons, I won’t reveal my name. I mainly have one question for you: how do you distinguish between friendship and love? Lately, I can’t tell if my perception that my friend has feelings for me stems from her sexual orientation, which makes me subconsciously place myself in the position of a potential romantic partner and misinterpret her normal, intimate actions—the kind girls show other girls—as signals of affection. Furthermore, my friend has had a crush on someone for a long time, and even though that person now has a girlfriend, she still hasn’t let go. All things considered, I’m leaning more and more toward the idea that this is just a biased interpretation on my part because I like her. But she writes songs for me, cooked for the first time for me, always likes to be with me, and blushes for no reason when we’re together. I’m very confused. Are other same-sex friends like this?】

Up to this point, it was just an ordinary submission.

But at the end, Ye Yuhuan added a sentence: If your reply can help me, I will give you 500,000 yuan as a thank you.

For a moment, no one knew if it was a prank or a practical joke.

The blogger assumed it was just some outrageous comment from a fan trying to get attention and posted it on Weibo the next day for everyone’s amusement.

The caption read: First time seeing such a polite scam.

Ye Yuhuan frowned as she scrolled through the comments, which were full of jokes. People offered half-serious advice, always ending with a line like, “Excuse me, rich lady, can I have the 500,000 yuan?”

After scrolling for nearly fifteen minutes, Ye Yuhuan finally saw a relatively reliable reply: 【Just give her a taste of her own medicine. Do to her what she does to you. If she’s interested in you, then it’s mutual. If it’s just friendly affection, then why can she do it but you can’t?】

It was a revelation for Ye Yuhuan. But she had one last question. She opened a private message to this kind person and wrote: 【How can I tell if she still has deep-rooted feelings for her crush?】

The person was online and replied quickly: 【That person has a girlfriend, right? Just take your friend to see them being all lovey-dovey more often. Possessiveness is something you can’t hide.】

【But she seems pretty open-minded about it. She insists that love is love, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re together or not.】

【That’s nonsense. Who’s really like that? This isn’t some feudal era. For a person to let go of love, it’s either because they’ve tried and failed, or because they can’t try at all.】

Eh, so that’s how it is? Possessiveness between lovers is indelible. Ye Yuhuan had previously reached a similar conclusion from observing her mother, but after Song Zhiqing refuted it, she began to wonder if that burgeoning possessiveness was a side effect of her mother’s illness—that it was actually just a pathological symptom.

So, normal people are like that too.

Ye Yuhuan stared at the screen and slowly typed out a line of text.

【So, she might be lying to me?】

【It’s possible. I’m not sure, but there’s a high chance. That statement just sounds way too much like something made up.】

【Thank you. Please tell me your bank account number. I’ll transfer the money to you.】

【??????】

【!!!!!!】

【Are you for real?!】

After a screenshot of the private message was posted, the submission blew up.

People affectionately dubbed Ye Yuhuan the ‘Innocent Rich Girl.’

But this was a complete misunderstanding. The 500,000 yuan reward was all the liquid capital Ye Yuhuan currently had at her disposal. After giving it away, if Sheng Jing were to go bankrupt tomorrow, she might have to return to her old days of relying on scholarships as her main source of income.

Why was she so extravagant? Ye Yuhuan couldn’t quite explain it herself. It was just that in that moment, she felt she ought to be generous.

It was like how ancient people, when praying for rain or a bountiful harvest, would lay out numerous expensive offerings to show their sincerity to the heavens. It was a similar mindset: Oh, gods, I am sincere in my plea to you. Please grant me a benevolent response.

And Ye Yuhuan’s prayer was: Oh, love, I am sincere in my plea to you. Please grant me a benevolent response.

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