I had class that afternoon, so all three of them accompanied me back to campus and we parted ways as all three of them went to the Business Department Building.
"I'll call you once I get over with this, let's go for midnight snacks together," Lanyard said before following Senior and Ling Bingchen. Until the end I couldn't say thank you. Nevermind, if I have an opportunity later.
Chief was waiting for me in class.
"What did she want?"
"Using me as bribe to get a favour." I said as I took out a copy of 'A Tale of Two Cities' from my bag.
"Oh that little devil! Who was it this time? Senior Xiao? Or Do Duoxie? Or that Su something-something guy? Or was it...." The more Chief spoke the more excited she became as she enumerated various ways in which she'd kill Lanyard. Wen Lili, chief's real name, was someone who took care of people. If she took you as someone she cared about then you were her person. She was dominating and intimidating in nature so people naturally just followed her but friendship with her never came at the cost of your self-respect. There was no inferiority or superiority in this relationship, Lili just especially loved getting involved. And shouldn't everyone love this kind of a friend? But the more she spoke, the more I realized how much I didn't care. I just heard her as if the one who had suffered a grievance wasn't me but someone else.
"You obviously hate it whenever she does this but, Yuyu, why don't you tell her?" Chief asked, a rarely seen uneasiness on her face. "How come you never say anything to us, Yuyu?"
I felt a suffocation of sorts build up in my chest that I tried my best to suppress or I would have started heaving in front of her. My thought pulled me away from the present to a faraway memory. I was in a kitchen and I could hear two women and a man screaming at each other outside, as I stood with another girl in front of the stove watching the soup boil. The girl's hand came in front of her face as she stared at her palm for sometime as a bitter, ironical smile tugged at her lips.
"Say, if I burn my hand right now, would they care enough to stop fighting?"
A ringing sounded in my brain as I tried to stop panicking and trying to breathe normally. My fingers twitched as I tried to feel my lighter in my pocket but it wasn't there. I was trying to quit, I don't even know why, I had already quit life, what show was I trying to put up now? I really wanted to smoke right now.
"I really have nothing to say," I replied to Chief but I really, really could not look at her face anymore. I could envision as her face got even smaller with disappointment. She remained quiet throughout the whole class but there was an unspeakable tension between us. I knew she was upset. Chief started packing up before and when class ended she was all ready to go.
"Qiu Yu, sometimes I'd rather be called your enemy than be called your friend, because when I'm your friend, it seems like I'm already your enemy."
~
That night Ling Bingchen went back to live in the dorm. The boys' hostel had triple sharing rooms though he barely ever lived on campus as he had an apartment in this area. Barely as in basically never. However the school had still set aside a place for him as many things in college required their students to work late till night and even if they didn't, everyone procrastinated till the night before the due date anyway. Ling Bingchen shared the same dorm with Xiao Jie and another guy from the Chemistry Department called Chen Sulan. Though he didn't live with them, they could still be called close. Xiao Jie was the first person who took the initiative to talk to Ling Bingchen when he came back from Japan.
Xiao Jie was gorging on instant noodles and watching a movie, while Chen Sulan was lying on his bed with his headphones on as he looked at a few textbooks. The whole roomed smelled of instant noodles, sweat and male cologne. Both pair of eyes turned to look at the new entry, caught absolutely off guard.
"Leader, what are you doing here?" Chen Sulan asked while he got up to remove the clothes that he had dumped on top of Ling Bingchen's unoccupied bed.
"Yeah, why are you here? Aren't you going home?" Xiao Jie paused the movie playing on his laptop and turned to him. Ling Bingchen took his coat and shoes off and sat down on the bed that Chen Sulan hurriedly made.
"My parents went out and I forgot my keys at home. I'm locked out for the night so I'll stay here tonight." Ling Bingchen said as he walked to the bathroom to wash his face. "Sulan, let me borrow a pair of shorts."
Later, all three of them sat in the small balcony in the room and opened a couple of beers.
"This feels good, all three of us in the room. Our family is finally complete!" Xiao Jie fake cried on Ling Bingchen's shoulder. "Husband, I really missed you. Raising this white-eyed wolf was so exhausting! He got a girlfriend and forgot this old mother of his."
"Ah?! Why am I a white eyed wolf just for having a girlfriend?"
"White eyed wolf! White eyed wolf! White eyed wolf!" Xiao Jie girlishly stomped his legs while acting cute.
"God, how good would it be if murder was not a crime!" Chen Sulan gritted his teeth and pulled his sleeves up to show Xiao Jie his ready fists, warning him to stop. "Maybe I should video tape you and put it on the school forum. Then our Junior Sister Qiu will see your true face!"
"Are you even a man?! Bringing my goddess into this, humph! Your grandfather just spent whole of lunch with Yuyu, you're not allowed to call our love hopeless anymore!" Ling Bingchen and Chen Sulan looked at the shameless person wildly showing off in front of them, wondering if they should burst the poor person's bubble or not.
'You say it' Chen Sulan gestured with his eyes but Ling Bingchen looked away crushing the empty can in his hand forcefully and then going forward to open another one. No matter how much Sulan cleared his throat and pointedly stared at Bingchen, he didn't look up. Xiao Jie kept fantasizing loudly about his future romance that he was sure was going to take place very soon. He was currently talking about how their first date was going to be when Sulan finally interrupted.
"Big Brother, how many words did she even say to you today for you to be this confident?"
Xiao Jie was stunned into silence because he knew she didn't say anything to him. The whole time that Xiao Jie had chased her she had only ever said four words to him, except saying hello or bye, and that was when she rejected him that day outside the cafeteria. She had worn a mid length blue dress that day, her hair in a neat ponytail as she walked quietly with her group of loud, rowdy friends. He had stopped her and pushed a bouquet of roses out to her as he said," Junior Classmate, I'm Xiao Jie from second year, Business School. I don't know if you remember or not but I was incharge of giving your group the campus tour on your first day. I have liked you since then. Will you please give me a chance and go out with me?"
He'd been especially nervous, especially excited, had especially anticipated succeeding. He'd thought of all the good things they would do together, thought all the ways he would take care of her, would pamper her, cherish her, love her with all his might but fate seemed to go against him.
"I'm sorry. Not interested."
Actually Xiao Jie wasn't bad. In Ling Bingchen's absence, Xiao Jie became the most glorious one in their department. Though he wasn't arrogant or care much about fame, he knew that he could have easily moved on. He had many offers, that to by girls who didn't really lose out to Qiu Yu in anyway, but he wasn't willing. Her eyes were just so, so beautiful.
Xiao Jie forced a smile on his face and pounced on Ling Bingchen to avoid the seriously rude awakening that his roommate wanted to give him. "Husband, your wife is getting bullied," he drew circles on Bingchen's chest as he hung off his shoulder.
Bingchen, however, did not react as he continued to take sips of his beer and looking up at the stars, his soul seemed to somewhere else. But both Sulan and Xiao Jie seemed to feel that he wanted to say something, so they waited. After what seemed like ages he finally opened his mouth.
"Xiao Jie, she doesn't like you."
"I'm telling you it's only a matter of time, wait for this brother to get your sister in law. Really it will-"
"Xiao Jie." Ling Bingchen's voice was cold and rude, with a hint of a never before alienation which made Xiao Jie stop.
"She doesn't like you."