Chapter 155: Ocean Waves (41/55)

Ye Qingchang didn’t head back to the dorm immediately.

She wandered the campus twice, listening to birdsong and the sound of running water, the bustling of the crowds.

She’d let go of a lot all at once.

It was a good opportunity; she had witnessed with her own eyes how Xiao Yi’an’s condition improved with this basketball game.

It was more accurate to say that this guy’s precarious, puppet-like life could never be filled with just the things she let slip.

Even if he tried to cater to her, copying every interest, hobby, habit, and favorite thing she’d revealed—still, it wasn’t enough.

A hollow life naturally calls for something new to fill it, only lacking a catalyst.

This time, that catalyst was clear. She saw Xiao Yi’an truly smile—a smile that wasn’t just for her main account’s chat window.

She realized this wasn’t just the departure of Ye Qingchang, President of the Literature Club; it could also be the departure of the White Moonlight.

It was just as well. She’d long been tired—tired of being the Literature Club President, tired of being the White Moonlight.

In the end, all the advice she gave, whether in real life or online, came from the heart. She was genuinely happy that Xiao Yi’an could finally break free from his empty shell and begin to find some colors of his own.

She was glad to witness it, so she stepped back in time.

What came next should be for Xiao Yi’an to explore himself.

If the White Moonlight kept existing, Xiao Yi’an would probably fall even deeper, unable to extricate himself.

At that point, the identity of White Moonlight would only hold Xiao Yi’an back.

For example, after the basketball game just now, if White Moonlight had replied not with those words, but instead with concern for Xiao Yi’an and praise for him—

That would just be Xiao Yi’an moving one step closer to what White Moonlight liked; he would remain a hollow person.

As for Ye Qingchang, President of the Literature Club—

That was simply a mistaken choice.

She’d initially thought that emotional matters must be countered with emotions, all to be solved emotionally.

But then she realized she’d been wrong.

The more emotion was involved, the more extreme Xiao Yi’an would become, the less likely she’d get the result she wanted, and it might even make Xiao Yi’an’s feelings toward White Moonlight more intense.

In the end, she’d only made things awkward for herself.

If she’d handled things like this from the start, letting Xiao Yi’an experience the joys of life directly, it would have ended long ago.

Instead of forcing it through emotions—only to have Ye Qingchang, self-proclaimed master of feelings, kicked to death by her own naïve, younger self like a stray dog.

In any case, it was finally over.

From now on, she would walk her own broad road, and Xiao Yi’an would cross his own narrow bridge.

There would be no more entanglement, no further intersection.

She would simply lose an electronic pet who used to come find her whenever he had nothing to do, who needed her immensely.

Xiao Yi’an would lose a White Moonlight he could confide in at any time.

And that was all.

Ye Qingchang looked at the sky, which was growing darker and made it hard to see her surroundings.

Time to return to the dorm.

She changed direction and walked toward the dormitory building.

Come to think of it, could this count as officially ending her time raising the electronic pet?

Could it be considered that she’d helped the electronic pet evolve from an initial form to a mature form?

If so, she was rather impressive.

Ye Qingchang mused, as if trying to draw out a smile, but unfortunately couldn’t.

She looked at that lingering contact, and the first message after clicking in was—Unable to send messages to a deleted friend.

She hadn’t removed this contact from her homepage, even though he had been completely deleted.

That way, she could still scroll up through the chat logs.

She could see ones from a few days ago, from months ago, and from years ago, when she hadn’t even met Xiao Yi’an.

She saw their casual chat from New Year’s.

Back then, she might have been carrying something in her hands, but she still braved the cold wind, tucked the items under her arm, and freed a hand to chat with her electronic pet.

It felt like every message brought back the scene of that moment.

She couldn’t feel the emotions from back then anymore; it was as if a full heart had had a piece dug out.

Oh, that piece had been taken away as the first splash of color and support for hollow puppet Xiao Yi’an.

But now her own life was missing a piece.

She calmed her mood a little.

She didn’t feel sadness; relief, perhaps, only at the very start. As for happiness—feeling happy for Xiao Yi’an, she wasn’t sure that counted.

She took a deep breath and pushed open the dorm room door.

There seemed to be more people inside, and it was livelier.

Liu Xie and Yang Shuli were there, which was normal, but she hadn’t expected Zhu Niao to be there too.

“Uh, I heard from them that you hadn’t come back to the dorm for ages, so I thought I’d come check what’s up.”

Ye Qingchang suddenly understood. No wonder she’d seen a familiar figure being chased by the dorm manager downstairs earlier—it must have been Gou Yu.

She saw the three gathered around, discussing something, but she just clutched her slightly aching stomach and headed for the bathroom.

Maybe she had drunk too much cold water.

“Just arrived and you’re running for the toilet? Bon appétit.” Little Bird saluted Ye Qingchang.

As the bathroom door closed, whispers rose up again among the three.

“Second, what you said just now—is it true? Old Three broke off the electronic pet relationship because the pet was too rude?” Zhu Niao asked Liu Xie.

“Absolutely true, I swear on Ma.”

“How bad did it have to be to push Old Three that far?” Zhu Niao stroked his chin.

“Maybe it just built up. Over time, anyone would reach their limit,” Yang Shuli offered. “Like me with food—one ice cream doesn’t make my stomach hurt, but after ten, it can’t hurt anymore.”

“That’s not right. Are we just going to let Old Three get bullied like this? Is that acceptable? Old Three was his White Moonlight, after all,” Zhu Niao sounded dissatisfied.

“But the electronic pet doesn’t know Old Three is the White Moonlight, right?” Liu Xie added.

“Which side are you on?” Zhu Niao nudged Liu Xie. “Why don’t we just go talk to him? Since Old Three’s cut all ties, a brother can’t just swallow this grievance.”

After making her declaration, Zhu Niao turned to Yang Shuli, who was playing with her phone: “Hey, we’re having a meeting here. Can you be serious? What are you doing on your phone?”

Their voices were all low—Ye Qingchang, with the bathroom door closed, couldn’t hear a thing.

“Xu Nian says Xiao Yi’an messaged him, asked him to pass it on—Xiao Yi’an wants to see Old Three, apparently to talk about something.”

“What the—?” Zhu Niao rolled up imaginary sleeves. “Just made Old Three sick and now wants to twist the knife?”

“Damn it, I was just worrying about not having the chance. He wants to meet at the milk tea shop by the school gate? I’ll go with Little Bird and teach that guy a lesson,” Liu Xie slapped her thigh.