It's already been three days since they went back home. The disappointment in students' faces was evident, considering they couldn't enjoy the field trip.
The school decided on a last-minute sportsfest, causing all the teachers and students to be busy preparing for the event.
All the students from different fields trained during class hours, while those that were not decorated the whole school.
Today is the last day to decorate and train; tomorrow will be the sportsfest that will happen for 3 days, taking up the students' weekends.
Roulan wiped the sweat coming off her forehead. She felt a cold sensation beside her arms, causing her to look at her right side.
Huiqing greeted her with a smile.
"Here, take some water."
Huiqing said, sitting down beside Roulan as she looked at the scattered, painted letters on the ground.
Her eyes glance towards Roulan's hands, seeing the small spots with colorful paint in her hands.
She smiles before taking Roulan's left hand towards her as soon as the taller woman finishes drinking the water she bought.
"Let me help you remove the paint."
Huiqing spoke, her hand grabbing back the water bottle. She glided the sweat from the water bottle onto Roulan's hands.
As she rubbed the paint off the taller woman, Roulan couldn't help the smile coming off her face.
"You know, we should just stay off as friends."
She spoke, stopping Huiqing from what she's doing when those words left Roulan's mouth.
Her head remains lowered on her lap, continuing to rub softly on Roulan's rough hands.
"Yeah, totally."
Roulan smiles at Huiqing. The smaller woman could only smile in pain, not understanding her feelings well towards the taller woman.
Their interactions were caught by Yanmei. The older woman could only grip the glue bottle so tightly that it could explode any minute now.
Lanfen and Yu, taking their 5-minute break, saw the on-going love triangle towards the three.
"Let's make a bet."
Yu spoke, her mouth laying a playful smirk as she moved her eyebrows up and down. Lanfen frowns at her idea, shaking her head in the process.
"Why do you always think someone will win?"
"Because it looks like there is."
Yu spoke, her hand pointing towards Huiqing and Roulan, who're laughing at each other as Huiqing helps Roulan paint the letters.
"A brand new car would be nice."
"Then bet it yourself."
Lanfen could only shake her head, putting the water bottle in the trash bin before walking towards the storage room to get other supplies.
"Hey! Come on, you're no fun!"
Yu said, following Lanfen closely to talk more about their bet.
-
Roulan is busy washing her hands, as anytime soon the bell will ring, indicating that it'll be lunch time when she hears the door open.
Her head looked up, and she saw Yanmei with a glare. She furrows her eyebrows as she closes the tap, going towards where the tissue lies.
Yanmei scoffs before walking towards Roulan, her hands grabbing the taller woman's collar and pulling her down.
"I'm jealous."
Yanmei spoke, her voice full of venom, while Roulan couldn't help but be confused about what the smaller woman was talking about.
"Ok...?"
Yanmei sneered at the taller woman before crashing their lips together. She quickly pulled her away before pushing her a little and going out of the bathroom.
Roulan is left alone, confused, and surprised by the sudden action of Yanmei. Her heart races before she snaps back when the bell rings.
"Roulan, what do you want to eat?"
The mentioned woman snaps out of her thoughts, looking at her friends, who all look at her in confusion as she's left standing in the middle of the cafeteria.
"And why are you standing? Sit down."
Lanfen spoke, causing the woman to sit down in the middle of Huiqing and Yanmei. Yu and Lanfen look at the three, seeing how Roulan and Yanmei seem to be ignoring each other.
"We'll grab some food."
Yu spoke; her eyes looked towards Huiqing as the woman smiled and nodded.
"Let me help you."
"I'll come."
Lanfen stands up with Yu and Huiqing, leaving the couple alone in the middle of the cafeteria. Roulan couldn't bear the silence between them.
Even though the cafeteria is full of chaos, with students throwing small portions of their food at each other, glaring at each other, and bullying some others, the deafening silence between the couple is louder.
Yanmei sighs before she gets up, causing Roulan's eyes to look at her. The older woman grabbed something in her bag before throwing it towards Roulan, causing the younger woman to flinch.
"Dad wanted to give you that."
She spoke before she left the cafeteria. The younger woman was confused and didn't know what to do.
She glances at what her hand holds and widens her eyes upon seeing a luxurious car key brand.
She stands up and follows Yanmei, which she quickly sees because the woman doesn't walk that far.
"Yanmei!"
Roulan shouted, catching the attention of the older woman. Yanmei stops in her tracks, yet she doesn't look back at the taller woman.
Roulan reached her area, grabbed the woman's shoulders, and turned her around to face her.
"Tell him I can't accept this."
She spoke, grabbing Yanmei's hand and placing the car key on Yanmei's palm.
The older woman's eyebrows raise at her action before she scoffs and pushes back the car key towards the taller woman.
"Are you dumb or something? That's just a gift from my father because he's grateful."
"If he's grateful, then tell him he can just call me to have dinner."
Roulan rebutted, her eyebrows furrowing at how the father and daughter treated her. Yanmei's blank stares pierced through her soul, yet she didn't give up.
The older woman sighed and nodded, grabbing back the car key from the taller before going away from the empty hallway they were in.
-
It's now nighttime; school dismissed the students three hours ago, and Roulan never saw Yanmei after their rough interaction in the empty hallway. She felt guilty that she treated the woman that way and worried because she wasn't answering any of her calls.
Her eyes lay on her phone, waiting for any calls from the older woman. But to her luck, there are not any notifications about Yanmei.
She sighs and stands up, grabbing her phone and finally having the courage to call Yanmei yet again.
Her feet tap on the ground, anxiously waiting for Yanmei to answer before flinching as the call connected to the older woman.
"Hello? Yanmei, look, I'm-"
"Save your apology and help me here."
Roulan's eyebrows furrowed upon hearing a woman's voice that didn't belong to Yanmei. She huffed a breath before asking the woman.
"Sorry, but who is this?"
The woman on the other line felt offended as Roulan seemed to forget who she was. But then again, thinking back, they've only met once or twice.
"Guang, Yanmei's best friend."
"Oh right, sorry, why are you holding Yanmei's phone?"
"She's drunk; fetch her here."
Roulan quickly hangs up the phone, grabbing her jacket that lays on the chair while her phone beeps. A message from Yanmei's number says the address of the bar they are in.
She left her small apartment, taking the elevator down, before looking at the bar address given by Guang.
"How did they manage to get there?"