novelraw Chapter 92
Chapter 92
Chapter 92: Extra Story Qin Qing collapsed suddenly without warning.
—In the short time it took to drink half of her drink, the dorm leader and the third girl hadn’t even had a chance to chat, and Qin Qing suddenly collapsed.
The dorm leader, who was sitting closest to Qin Qing, was startled and almost jumped up to kneel beside her.
“Qingqing? Qingqing?!”
She shook her urgently several times, almost ready to call emergency services.
The third girl, also alarmed, glanced at the half-empty cup beside Qin Qing and had a disbelief but plausible thought cross her mind.
The third girl pulled at the dorm leader’s sleeve.
The dorm leader, not turning around, held up Qin Qing’s face, anxiously saying, “Third girl, you should check what’s wrong with Qingqing. Her face is red—”
“She might just be tipsy.”
The third girl answered helplessly.
“…Huh?”
The dorm leader froze, turning to look at the cup on the table.
“This isn’t a fruit-flavored drink?”
The third girl took a sip and frowned slightly. “It seems more like a very low-alcohol sweet wine.”
Dorm leader: “…”
—“Just half a glass? And she collapses just like that?”
The third girl nodded, feeling a bit speechless.
The dorm leader laughed in frustration. “You scared me to death—If I didn’t know better, I’d think she had alcohol poisoning.”
Before the dorm leader’s words had even finished, the girl she was helping sat up, rubbing her eyes.
“My phone… it’s vibrating…”
The third girl, quick on her feet, spotted Qin Qing’s phone on the table and handed it to her.
She found it odd midway. “The screen isn’t lit, and there’s no vibration?”
The dorm leader sighed. “With her in this state, do you still believe what she’s saying?”
Then both of them watched as Qin Qing pushed away the third girl’s hand. “Not this…” she said, then frowned as she rummaged through her small bag.
After seven or eight seconds, the dorm leader and the third girl, bewildered, saw Qin Qing pull out a phone they had never seen before.
The phone screen was indeed lit up, and it was buzzing in Qin Qing’s hand.
“…Oh, it’s not him. …I don’t recognize this number…”
Qin Qing mumbled as she answered the call.
“Hello…”
Her voice was soft and husky with drunkenness.
After a few seconds of silence, she suddenly turned to the dorm leader. “Where am I…”
The dorm leader, laughing and crying, replied, “We’re at a bar, Qingqing. We came here tonight to chase away bad luck, don’t you remember?”
“Oh, right…” Qin Qing lowered her head and leaned on the table, as if talking to herself, but still holding the phone to her ear. “We came to ‘Water of the Year’… I heard it’s a classy bar with lots of handsome guys… and the drinks are really good…”
Her voice grew softer toward the end, and finally, it was almost inaudible.
Her body also slumped to the side.
“Oh my little Qingqing… If you keep this up, you won’t be going home tonight…”
The dorm leader caught her as she fell.
Once she managed to stabilize her, she glanced at the phone Qin Qing was holding, noticing that the call had ended, but not knowing who hung up.
Not thinking too much, the dorm leader took the phone from Qin Qing and put it back in her bag.
The second girl returned to the table at that moment.
She seemed to have had a great time chatting with the handsome guy earlier, her face flushed.
“Wow, you guys have no idea, that handsome guy—oh? What happened to Qingqing?”
“How can you still ask?” The third girl said irritably. “You told us to get a fruit-flavored drink, but what did you actually order for Qingqing? She collapsed after half a glass!”
“Damn, that shouldn’t be the case??”
The second girl, shocked, leaned over to look at Qin Qing.
“Qingqing? …Qingqing??”
“Stop calling her soul back, it won’t help.”
The dorm leader, exasperated, adjusted her glasses and checked the time on her phone. “Let her lie down for a while. You move her away in case she vomits again… Let’s see if she wakes up after a bit. If not, we three will have to carry her back.”
The second girl looked pitifully distressed.
“To come here and flirt with the handsome guy, I wore my highest heels today—do you want me and Qingqing to go to the underworld together?”
“…With Qingqing collapsed here today, you’re fifty percent responsible—if she doesn’t wake up, you’ll have to carry her on your back, even if you have to take off your shoes and walk barefoot.”
“Then let’s wait,” the second girl said, looking on the verge of tears. She sat down beside Qin Qing, leaning over the table and turning to face her. “Qingqing, if you don’t wake up, we might have to sleep on the street outside the bar tonight.”
The three of them then began a long wait.
The dorm leader and the third girl kept a worried eye on Qin Qing, who kept shifting and turning on the table. The second girl, unable to do anything, leaned against the sofa and observed the passersby in the bar.
After about five minutes, the second girl, nearly falling asleep, sighed and turned back, looking dejected.
“Tonight’s handsome guys are not up to par. Except for the one I know who already left, the rest and the new arrivals are all unremarkable…”
The dorm leader, upon hearing this, looked up from Qin Qing and glanced towards the door.
“Maybe it’s because tonight…”
Her words faltered as she stared in the direction. “Second girl… has your taste become so extreme that it’s almost perverse? You don’t even find this acceptable? Are you aiming for the heavens?”
“Huh?”
Upon hearing this, the second girl turned her face back.
She froze for a few seconds, then turned back with barely contained excitement.
“Oh my god—how did I stumble upon such a masterpiece? Ah, third girl, hold me back or I’ll embarrass myself by rushing over!”
“This level of attractiveness is indeed impressive. They could be a school heartthrob in our school.”
The third girl examined the scene with a critical attitude, then disdainfully said to the second girl, “Just go ahead and rush over. After getting rejected, don’t come back to our table.”
Being a fangirl requires shared enthusiasm to be enjoyable. Seeing the third girl’s cold water, the second girl had to retreat dejectedly.
“This isn’t just ‘also’—it’s a definite crush. Forget it, such a gem probably isn’t for me to covet. I’ll just enjoy the view.”
“It’s rare for you to be so self-aware,” the third girl teased.
At this moment, the dorm leader, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.
“I think you… might still have a chance?”
“Huh? Why?” The second girl quickly lifted her head.
“…” The dorm leader looked away, slightly raising her chin and indicating towards the direction near the bar entrance. “That handsome guy you were talking about just circled around the bar and is now coming over.”
As if fearing the second girl wouldn’t be excited, she added, “And judging by his gaze, he’s heading towards our table.”
“??!!”
“…He’s coming.” The dorm leader lowered her voice, suddenly holding down the excited second girl.
Almost as soon as the dorm leader finished speaking, a tall figure appeared in the dim, romantic lighting of the bar, approaching their round table.
The young man, who attracted many gazes in the bar, stopped beside the table with a cool and distant expression on his well-defined face.
However, as soon as his eyes met the figure slumped on the table, all the negative emotions in his dark eyes softened instantly.
The breath he had been holding finally eased.
He turned his gaze to the three girls still at the table.
“You’re… Qin Qing’s classmates?”
Upon hearing Qin Qing’s name, the three girls exchanged surprised glances.
“Yes,” they nodded in unison. “You are…?”
Before they could finish asking, Qin Qing, who had been slumped on the table, seemed to sense something.
She groggily lifted her head from the table.
“Where am I…?”
Before her three roommates could respond, Qin Qing frowned and looked up.
“…Who’s blocking the light?”
Wen Yufeng looked down, his emotions mixed and helpless as he gazed at the girl in front of him.
“Ah…”
Qin Qing squinted, seemingly unable to see the figure under the light.
She slowly supported herself on the table and the sofa, tiptoeing towards the young man. “You look… a bit familiar…”
The young man sighed.
The three girls thought they detected a slight tremor in his sigh, though they weren’t sure.
Soon, he lifted his lips into a faint smile, the almost melancholic expression completely fading away. He looked at the girl with a gentle smile.
“Have you already forgotten about me?”
Qin Qing furrowed her brow even more tightly. “I… don’t spin around…”
“Dizzy?”
Wen Yufeng quickly reached out to support the girl, frowning with concern.
“You’re making me dizzy…”
Qin Qing swayed her head groggily.
As a result, she almost fell and hit the table.
Wen Yufeng reacted quickly, catching her in mid-air.
He looked at Qin Qing’s three roommates. “How much has she drunk?”
“…Half a glass,” the third girl held up the evidence. “I swear—just half a glass. She didn’t drink a drop more than that.”
“…”
Wen Yufeng looked at the girl in his arms with great helplessness.
Qin Qing seemed to be getting more dizzy, her small face tightly scrunched.
“I feel dizzy… uncomfortable…”
“Let me take you home, okay, Tian Tian?”
“No… I don’t want to move…”
“I’ll carry you, all right?”
“…” The girl remained silent, her eyes tightly closed, and then hesitantly opened them to look at him. “Don’t… carry me…”
Wen Yufeng was momentarily stunned.
After a moment, he chuckled and gently ruffled the girl’s long hair.
“All right, I won’t carry you. I’ll carry Tian Tian back.”
When the group exited the bar, the sky had already darkened.
It was nearly eleven o’clock, with few cars passing by and even fewer pedestrians.
The dorm leader, the second girl, and the third girl walked together, murmuring as they watched the two figures ahead of them.
The girl on the guy’s back looked obedient and docile, unlike her earlier restless state in the bar.
“Do you think… what kind of relationship they have?” the second girl asked, glancing at the dorm leader and then at the third girl.
“Probably a secret crush,” the dorm leader said, rubbing her chin.
“From the way he treats Qingqing, it seems he likes her for sure.”
“But Qingqing didn’t even recognize him. That’s one hidden crush if I ever saw one…” the second girl marveled.
The third girl curled her lip. “With Qingqing in her current state, she might not even recognize herself, let alone someone else. If this handsome guy ends up heartbroken, it’s all thanks to you for getting Qingqing drunk, second girl.”
The second girl looked genuinely innocent.
“Don’t blame me for everything. I didn’t know it was fruit wine—I didn’t expect Qingqing’s tolerance to be just half a glass…”
As she spoke, the second girl grew more uneasy and instinctively glanced away.
She noticed the dorm leader deep in thought.
To change the subject, the second girl quickly leaned in. “Dorm leader, what are you thinking?”
The dorm leader turned her face back. “Aren’t you curious why he calls Qingqing ‘Tian Tian’? Hmph… such a cheesy nickname—can it really just be a secret crush?”
“I know about that,” the third girl interjected, smiling proudly at the surprised looks from the other two. “Qingqing’s nickname is ‘Tian Tian’. I heard it when she was on the phone with her grandmother once. The grandmother is a bit hard of hearing, and that time she didn’t have her hearing aid. The way she called Qingqing was so loud that even the entire floor could hear it.”
The second girl’s eyes lit up. “So, does this mean they were childhood sweethearts?”
The dorm leader sighed. “It seems most likely.”
“Ah…” The second girl hugged the dorm leader and shook her. “I want a sweet and considerate childhood sweetheart too—why does everyone have one but me?”
The third girl looked at her disdainfully. “The key point isn’t just being sweet and considerate, but top-notch looks and long legs, right?”
“…”
The second girl awkwardly shifted and then seamlessly switched to a shy demeanor.
“Oh, third girl, don’t say it out loud. I’ll be embarrassed…”
“Stop, stop—don’t gross me out. I’m not feeling well from drinking tonight. Be careful or I might throw up on you…”
“…”
The sound of the three girls joking and laughing faded into the quiet and serene night around them.
Wen Yufeng carried the girl under the shadows of the streetlights, their figures intertwined closely.
Her soft, gentle breathing brushed against his neck.
He turned his face to look at her peaceful sleeping face so close to him.
This was his long-cherished dream—his Tian Tian…
At this moment, he realized—
That his heart, which he thought was unbreakable, could become as soft as mud just from sensing her ordinary breath and closeness on such a quiet night.
He realized how much he missed her…
The moment he saw her, he realized he had been missing her so much.
…But it seemed.
She had already decided to forget him.
“Tian Tian…”
He heard his own voice, rough and sorrowful.
Wen Yufeng closed his eyes briefly, bitterly smiling. “Will I have another chance… Tian Tian?”
Distance and time can separate loved ones, but mountains and seas can still be crossed.
However, even if the mountains are flattened and the seas filled, a single indifferent glance can make the long journey feel like a chasm.
What can’t be crossed are not the mountains or seas, but whether you still wish to see me.
“So, do you still want to see me, Tian Tian?”
Wen Yufeng asked in a hoarse voice.
He wasn’t sure if he had the courage to hear Qin Qing’s response when she was awake.
The person on his back stirred slightly.
Wen Yufeng was startled and turned his gaze with a hint of panic.
“…Tian Tian?”
The girl, still not fully sober, seemed uncomfortable, with her brows furrowed.
“I feel unwell… I’m sick, Wen Yufeng… I feel so bad…”
Wen Yufeng stood in shock, his long legs coming to an involuntary stop.
He furrowed his brows and gently spoke, trying to comfort her in a soft voice, “Tian Tian, where do you feel unwell? Tell me… okay?”
But Qin Qing seemed to be mumbling in her sleep and didn’t respond to Wen Yufeng’s questions. She let her head droop back down.
Her breathing steadied once more.
Without getting an answer, Wen Yufeng had no choice but to continue walking, carrying her towards the dormitory building.
Outside the north gate of T University was a street lined with food stalls. Though it was early autumn and the night wind was cool, it didn’t stop students from lingering in this brightly lit and somewhat smoky street.
As they walked from the quiet, distant main street to this lively area, Wen Yufeng felt like he had brought the girl back to the world of the living.
—It was so different from where he had been.
Here, there was no sand and wind, no training, no tears and sweat to endure, no cold nights with nothing but stars…
Here, boys and girls of their age laughed and played in the wind, frolicked in the night, and chased each other amidst the fireworks…
This was the world.
This was the time his girl should be enjoying.
Not dragged into that long, hopeless wait with him.
“…I’m sorry.”
He resumed walking.
But behind his long legs, it felt like a thousand-pound stone was weighing him down.
He spoke in a hushed, bitter tone.
“I’m sorry… Tian Tian.”
—
It turned out that when I had to let you go from the countless imagined outcomes, even the future seemed as distant as eternal night.
……
Under the streetlights on the main road of T University, the tall and upright boy still carefully shielded the sleeping girl on his back.
Yet, in his starry eyes, there was still a lingering shadow.
…………
When Wen Yufeng brought Qin Qing to the base of the dormitory building, the three girls who had followed them came forward.
They had intended to help, but seeing how the boy had carefully taken care of the girl, they found no opportunity to assist.
The three of them exchanged awkward glances and eventually just stood by, watching.
“I can’t go into the girls’ dormitory. Could you please take Tian Tian inside?” Wen Yufeng said, removing his coat from Qin Qing.
“I’ll do it,” the dorm leader said, stepping forward to help the dazed Qin Qing.
But as she helped, she felt resistance coming from the other side of Qin Qing’s body.
The dorm leader looked up in surprise at the boy.
The boy seemed to be pulled back to reality by her gaze. After a moment, he lowered his eyes and, with slightly stiff fingers, withdrew his hand from the girl.
“…Sorry.”
“……”
The dorm leader clearly saw that the boy’s lowered hand slowly clenched into a fist.
Veins stood out on the back of his pale hand.
The dorm leader hesitated for a moment before carefully guiding Qin Qing inside.
The second girl, still holding onto the third girl, addressed the boy.
“Do you like our Qingqing? Just tell us straight. If you do, we can help you out.”
The third girl subtly pulled the second girl back.
Seeing the boy looking a bit lost, the second girl quickly leaned in to the third girl’s ear.
“Such a perfect catch must be kept for Qingqing. Did you forget Qingqing’s ungrateful ex-boyfriend? The best remedy for old wounds in a relationship is a new one!”
The third girl, recalling Qin Qing’s state before she got sick, became somewhat dubious after the second girl’s words.
Seeing she didn’t stop her, the second girl continued, “There are plenty of boys pursuing Qingqing at school. Plus, last month, Qingqing got seriously ill and dumped her scumbag ex who hadn’t shown up for a year and didn’t even visit her when she was sick. You should seize the opportunity—ah!”
The second girl let out a surprised cry.
Wen Yufeng snapped back to reality and quickly withdrew his hand, which had instinctively grabbed the boy’s wrist.
But his anxious expression remained. “What illness did she have?”
“…Unexplained low white blood cell count and a high fever lasting over a week,” the second girl said, rubbing her wrist. “She almost got diagnosed with leukemia. Qingqing’s ex really had no conscience. Even if he was in some elite special forces training, he shouldn’t be absent for a whole year… Qingqing’s illness wasn’t even because of him; I was almost scared to death, let alone Qingqing herself… And yet, that bastard never showed up—”
The second girl was complaining when she felt the third girl pull her again.
Following the third girl’s gaze, the second girl saw the boy’s face, pale and lost.
The second girl felt a jolt and turned to the third girl. “Could it be that I scared this handsome guy away by saying Qingqing’s ex was a special forces soldier?”
“…I can’t read his mind,” the third girl said. “But it’s quite possible. If it were me, I’d have to think it over.”
The second girl looked distressed. “Oh no, did I say something I shouldn’t have?”
“You’re just realizing that now? You’re always so talkative…” The third girl raised her voice slightly. “Let’s go; we need to go back and take care of Qingqing.”
She then pulled the second girl away.
The second girl was dragged a few steps but still turned back to address the boy standing there.
“Our Qingqing is really great. You should cherish her!”
“……”
Early the next morning, before six o’clock, the third girl got up.
After washing up, she changed into sportswear and went downstairs for her morning run.
As soon as she stepped out of the dormitory building, she glanced over and was startled to see the boy from last night still there.
“…You—you didn’t leave all night?”
She stared at the boy leaning against the steps outside.
Hearing her voice, the boy looked up.
The third girl was taken aback.
From his appearance, he didn’t seem to be the exhausted type who had spent the night outside. He looked much the same as he had the previous night.
…So, he had been waiting here all along?
Before the third girl could fully process this, the boy spoke in a hoarse voice.
“…How is she?”
His voice was extremely rough.
But it had a deeper, magnetic quality—if the second girl had heard it, she would probably be swooning.
The third girl shook her head to dismiss such thoughts.
“After you left last night, Qingqing went to sleep. She woke up quite early this morning and should still be in the dorm. But…”
The boy frowned. “What’s wrong? Is she still feeling unwell?”
“Not really,” the third girl said, waving her hand with a strange expression. “But it seems Qingqing has no memory of last night. She hasn’t mentioned anything about it.”
The boy suddenly fell silent.
After a while, when the third girl was beginning to feel uneasy, she heard his rough voice speak again.
—
“That’s fine.”
“…Huh?”
The boy looked up, his pale lips slightly curling.
Yet, his dark eyes showed no sign of a smile.
Just a dim, unfocused gloom.
“Please consider… that I was never here.”
“……”
“Because I made a very despicable and selfish decision… she would never want to see me.”
With that, without waiting for the third girl’s reaction, he turned and left.
Standing there, the third girl hesitated, then decided to inform the other two who knew about the situation.
Later that day, the second girl included them both in a chat group to discuss the matter.
After much speculation about the “despicable and selfish decision,” the three agreed to keep silent about it.
The incident was buried in the depths of time until many years later, when a group message and a return call brought it back to light.
At a reunion after graduation, they had the chance to see the “handsome guy” from the bar again.
—Now he was introduced as a close relative of Qin Qing, with the name “ex-boyfriend.”
Understanding the twists and turns of the story, the three women in the private room couldn’t help but laugh and cry.
“So, we were the ones who delayed the two of you for so many years? We’re practically guilty of a great crime… It’s amazing that the special forces guy didn’t come and deal with us.”
At that moment, Qin Qing smiled gently, her eyes warm and soft.
“All time that has settled has its meaning, and so do feelings.”
“If it weren’t for this brief separation, we might not have arrived at the best ending we have today.”
“Now, I don’t regret any of my choices.”
“Because of them, I am who I am today—and we are who we are today.”