“Seriously, Senior, you didn’t even tell us you weren’t coming. Teacher Shen and I waited for you here for so long.”
A resentful voice of Mei Xue came through the phone.
Yu Qing stood outside the rehearsal room, looking through the window at the room where only Teacher Shen was alone, and silently put down the camera in his hand.
“Tonight, I went to a gathering with my roommates. They drank a little too much, and I was worried they wouldn’t make it back, so I stayed to keep them company.”
Yu Qing didn’t even know what kind of feeling he was speaking with.
She lied to him.
He lied to her.
Together, their little tricks added up to more than eight hundred.
“Alright, alright, then I’ll go back with Teacher Shen first. Senior, take care too! If you need any help, call anytime!”
After saying this, Mei Xue hung up the phone on her own.
With the busy tone coming from the phone, Yu Qing sighed.
The clattering of keyboard keys, and always busy even during calls…
He didn’t even know what she was busy with. It seemed his understanding of Mei Xue was still too little.
When he saw Teacher Shen in the room receive a call and start packing up to leave, Yu Qing finally made up his mind.
Carrying the backpack full of clothes, he walked toward the school gates.
The cold wind blew on his face, making Yu Qing shiver involuntarily.
He wrapped his clothes tighter around himself.
Luckily, the school wasn’t far from the Mall—it only took seven or eight minutes to run there.
After entering the Mall, Yu Qing, panting, turned into a men’s restroom, and after confirming there was no one else inside, he locked himself in the innermost stall.
With quick movements, he stripped off his clothes, folded them neatly, placed them in another compartment of the backpack, then took out the carefully stored Iron Box, took a deep breath, pulled out the Black Pearl from inside, and held it in his palm.
As a faint sense of contraction washed over him, strands of dark hair fell before his eyes, his chest rose into two jade peaks, and his fair body was exposed to the air.
The familiar scent of a young girl made Yu Qing feel intoxicated.
Even if it meant that the side effects of undoing the transformation would make things more dangerous for him.
But at this moment, Yu Qing wasn’t so concerned about that.
When she saw Lin Wei today, she couldn’t help but recall that night in the apartment—a time full of ambiguous feelings that brought her great inspiration.
If she was afraid of her Roommates discovering the truth, why not just move out?
The issue here was simply that it was hard to bring up to her Roommates, and sensitive people might overthink it.
But if she really intended to completely become Mei Xue, these problems would have to be faced sooner or later.
Rather than hesitating in fear, it was better to act decisively now.
After all, no one said that moving out meant cutting off ties with her Roommates.
As long as she left the dormitory and avoided people during the day, she could continue to go to class and school as Mei Xue, avoiding the changes to her body that repeated transformations would bring.
To achieve this, continued use of the Black Pearl was necessary.
At first, Yu Qing intended to use the second Film, but since Mei Xue stood her up and there was no chance to take photos, he was forced to choose a lesser option and use the First Ink Pearl again.
And the purpose of this transformation, on the surface, was to comfort Lin Wei, but in reality, it was a breakthrough for himself—to trample all his hesitations from beginning to end underfoot.
Lin Wei’s matter was only the trigger, igniting the doubts and confusion that had accumulated in Yu Qing’s heart these days.
Yu Qing’s character made it hard for him to accept that kind people would be saddened by his actions, even if he was only indirectly responsible.
As for Mei Xue, Yu Qing wished her a happy life.
After sorting out all these thoughts, Yu Qing realized that if he kept shrinking back, the only things waiting for him would be giving up or ending up with nothing.
From now on, he had to invade Mei Xue’s life without reservation.
***
In the restaurant, the atmosphere became stagnant after Yu Qing’s sudden departure.
Lin Wei remained half-standing, her fingers curled, staring at the door where Yu Qing had disappeared, her face twisted with loss, grievance, and deep confusion.
She looked like a puppy drenched in rain, drooping her head as she sat back down and poked at a now-unappetizing piece of cream cake with her fork.
“Yiyi… She never mentioned it to me…”
She continued muttering in a low voice, a faint nasal tone hidden in her words.
To her, Fu Yi was almost the center of her entire college life.
Anything about Fu Yi—especially something like participating in the school anniversary performance—should have been told to her first.
Even if she wasn’t the first to know, at least she shouldn’t have been the last. Worse still, she heard about it from Yu Qing, someone who seemed to have nothing to do with Fu Yi’s circle.
This feeling of being excluded was even more painful than Yu Qing’s rejection.
Li Ming looked at Lin Wei and felt a little guilty.
He had meant to create an opportunity for Yu Qing, but hadn’t expected things to turn out like this.
Li Ming cleared his throat, trying to ease the atmosphere.
“Um… Maybe Yu Qing just went to help, and Mei Xue didn’t tell you because she wanted to surprise you?”
But even he felt this explanation was weak.
Cheng Qinghuan moved to sit beside Lin Wei, gently patting her hand.
Her voice was soft, carrying a soothing power.
“Weiwei, everyone has their own space and plans. Maybe Mei Xue wanted to wait until everything was ready before telling you, so you wouldn’t worry too soon.”
She paused, her gaze falling on the messy cake in front of Lin Wei—her favorite dessert, now completely unappealing.
“Don’t overthink it. Eat your cake first. After that, let’s go sing. As for Yu Qing, it’s not really polite to interrupt him right now.”
Cheng Qinghuan’s words were like a gentle breeze, easing the knots in Lin Wei’s heart.
She looked up, meeting Qing Huan’s warm yet firm eyes, then glanced at the awkward Li Ming and the silent Sun Ya beside her.
She realized her own loss of composure might be affecting everyone’s mood.
She forced a smile, though it was strained.
“Mm… Qinghuan-jie, you’re right. Maybe… Maybe I really am just overthinking it.”
Lin Wei picked up her fork again, but her mind clearly wasn’t on the food.
“Alright, don’t be so down.”
Li Ming quickly followed up as the mood improved.
“Let’s relax at the KTV later! That brat Yu Qing is missing out on our ‘Song King Championship.'”
He tried to lighten things with an exaggerated tone.
Sun Ya also chimed in with a smile.
“Yeah, Weiwei, let’s go sing! Shout away all your worries!”
Lin Wei nodded, forcing a smile, trying not to let her thoughts drift away and ruin everyone’s kindness, but it was only slightly effective.
Surprise?
Lin Wei thought of Li Ming’s words of comfort.
Of course, she hoped it was a surprise.
But what she feared more was that Fu Yi might be facing some trouble.
Or…
Did Fu Yi find her too noisy, too annoying, and that’s why she didn’t want to tell her?
This thought sent a sharp pain through her chest, and her eyes grew moist.
She struggled to hold herself together, to keep from crying in front of everyone.
But how could it be so easy?
As more thoughts swirled in her mind, Lin Wei suddenly remembered Yiyi from that day—how she doted on her, holding and kissing her, giving in to her every whim, and yet became cold and distant afterward.
Lin Wei knew she was foolish, but maybe because of that, she could sense other people’s feelings more clearly.
Before, Lin Wei might not have noticed, but after experiencing Yiyi’s warmth and acceptance, the subtle distance and aloofness hidden beneath Fu Yi’s gentle surface became impossible to ignore.
She had wondered if Yiyi was unhappy, or embarrassed, but had never thought—until today—that Yiyi might hate or be tired of her.
Tears began to stream down Lin Wei’s face, one after another.
She lowered her head, trying to suppress her emotions so as not to worry everyone.
But…
It was just the school festival, just a dance—why couldn’t she be told?
If she was really that annoying, couldn’t they just say so?
If only she had been told, she would have behaved…
Unknowingly, nearly thirty minutes had passed.
Everyone watched Lin Wei in silence.
Li Ming didn’t understand the situation, but at Cheng Qinghuan’s signal, he chose not to speak.
Cheng Qinghuan sat next to Lin Wei, gently stroking her head, silently offering comfort.
She knew how much Lin Wei liked Fu Yi, and she understood how she felt.
That’s why she didn’t force Lin Wei to cheer up, only staying quietly by her side.
Looking at the pitiful figure next to her, her own dissatisfaction toward Fu Yi grew.
“Buzz—buzz——”
The phone vibrated with an incoming call.
It was Lin Wei’s phone.
Through blurred vision, Lin Wei quickly wiped away her tears, took out her phone from her pocket, and glanced anxiously at the caller ID.
It was Yu Qing-senpai…
Not Yiyi.
Her eyes fell again, but she forced herself to smile at the others, trying to show she was okay.
“I’m fine.”
Then she answered the call, holding the phone to her ear.
“Hello, Yu Qing-sen…”
Lin Wei had just started to speak when the familiar voice from the other end interrupted her.
“Weiwei, look outside the door—it’s me, okay~”
Lin Wei jerked her head up.
She saw, through the door, the figure waving at her with a bright smile.
All the grievance and sadness burst out at once.
“Yiyi!”
She shouted, running out the door and throwing herself into the arms she had missed day and night.
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