Chapter 12: Hearts Reconnected

“Hehe, nice, right? Satisfied?”

Mocking, Yaqi looked back with a triumphant grin. But Liu Ya was covering her mouth tightly, eyes squeezed shut, tears as big as beans rolling down from the corners of her eyes. Sobs leaked through her fingers.

“Liu… Liu Ya…”

Yaqi froze, her hand loosening. The smile on her face faded, replaced by panic.

Liu Ya slowly opened her eyes, shot her a fierce glare, kicked her away, then turned around. She clenched her fists on her knees.

“Um… I…”

“Shut up!”

Yaqi panicked. She timidly tried to touch Liu Ya’s arm, but the moment her hand made contact, Liu Ya slapped it away.

Yaqi bit her lip, slowly bent down, and cautiously observed Liu Ya’s expression from the side. Those wide eyes and tightly pressed lips screamed seriousness.

‘Oh no, I messed up again… Got too carried away… Ugh, I’m doomed…’

“Liu Ya…”

Yaqi tugged weakly at Liu Ya’s pajamas. Liu Ya yanked the fabric back, turned her head away. Seeing she was really mad, Yaqi quickly knelt in front of her, grabbed her feet, and started massaging them while apologizing.

“Sorry, sorry! I got a bit carried away…”

“Hmph!” Liu Ya turned her head away with a huff.

“Ah… I was wrong, I was wrong! Don’t be mad… Let me rub it for you…”

Yaqi lowered her head and seriously massaged Liu Ya’s feet. Liu Ya sniffled, slowly turned back, and stared at her with a pitiful expression, but didn’t refuse.

“Um… does it hurt?”

“Hmph… I… I didn’t really feel anything…”

“Oh, I’m really sorry! I… huh?”

Yaqi was stunned. She looked up, bewildered.

“But…”

“Don’t… don’t misunderstand! I just… my eyes were a bit itchy, that’s all… I wasn’t crying…”

“Uh… really? Then… Liu Ya, let me press it again?”

Hearing this, Liu Ya’s calm face flared up again. She stared at her, eyes filled with hatred.

Yaqi slowly lowered her head.

“So… sorry.”

They stayed quiet for a while. Yaqi’s legs were getting sore from kneeling, so she sat on the floor, still rubbing. Liu Ya’s tense body gradually relaxed, and the pain in her feet faded.

Unlike the earlier sensation, this massage was more comfortable. No shyness, no other thoughts, just pure comfort.

Liu Ya rubbed her eyes and quietly watched Yaqi.

“Yaqi-jie, how have you been all these years?”

“Me? Hmm, just so-so.”

“What does ‘so-so’ mean? Can’t you tell me?”

“No, no. Liu Ya… you’re not mad anymore?” Yaqi looked up cautiously.

“I… I said I’m fine… Can we drop it?”

“Oh, okay. Sorry, haha… I was too rough just now. Does it still hurt?”

“Hmm… a bit. Keep rubbing it for me…”

“Mm. Okay.”

Yaqi leaned back, closed her eyes, swayed a little, then spoke.

“Since you asked, there’s really not much. Just studying and life… I don’t know where to start.”

“Then start with studying. Yaqi-jie, you’re… 18 this year, right?”

“No. 18 by the lunar calendar, not quite 18 yet.”

“Oh. Then normally you should be in senior year, right? Why are you with me?”

“This… I’m not sure either. The principal told me a lot, and I half-understood…”

“But the gist is: probably because of different education systems, this is how transfers work.”

“Oh.”

“But… I think it’s fine like this! If I had gone straight to senior year, I’d probably be doomed…”

Yaqi murmured and lowered her head, looking hopeless. Liu Ya secretly smiled.

“Hey! I heard from Uncle Liu that you skipped a grade?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

“Wow… that’s just like you!”

“I remember you learned things so fast when we were kids. Whatever we learned together, you always got it one step ahead of me.”

“Hmm! It’s… it’s just okay…”

Liu Ya shyly twirled her hair.

“I remember you used to be good at studies too, Yaqi-jie. You even taught me. So what’s up with you now?”

“Uh… well… the gap between studying abroad and at home is really big…”

“Not to brag, but when I was abroad, I was first in my school!”

“Ha, really?”

“Really, really! Believe me!”

With that, Yaqi took out her phone and searched through her photos. Liu Ya grew curious, peeked, then pulled her chair closer and craned her neck to see.

“You changed your phone?”

“Yeah, bought it last year or the year before…”

Yaqi paused, her thumb slowly rubbing the screen. Her expression turned a bit sad.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah… I was just thinking. We used to hang out every day, but I don’t even have you as a contact, or know your number…”

“Later, when I missed you abroad, I found I had no way to reach you…”

“Couldn’t you ask Old Liu? Your dad has his contact info, right?”

“I did ask… Uncle said you were doing well. I wanted to talk to you and get your contact info, but he said you were busy and didn’t give it to me.”

“I called a few more times after that. He always said you were fine. I figured you were happy and had a new life, so I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“After all, I really hoped you could move on from what happened with your mom.”

“I…”

Liu Ya choked up and fell silent.

‘Right… I remember something. Old Liu did mention that Qiqijie called me before. But why didn’t I answer?’

‘…Oh! It was probably my fault again… I was still mad at her… I think I even smashed Old Liu’s phone…’

Realizing this, Liu Ya silently lowered her head.

“Sorry, um…”

Seeing this, Yaqi smiled and shook her head.

“Don’t worry, Liu Ya. I know the reason now. I was just talking; don’t overthink it.”

Liu Ya stared at the phone screen. The photo was of them as kids. Yaqi’s thumb kept rubbing the screen.

Liu Ya leaned back in her chair, paused, then got up and ran upstairs.

“Liu Ya?”

“I’ll grab something. Be right back.”

“Oh.”

Yaqi was still looking for photos when a phone appeared in front of her.

“Here, scan me.”

“Oh… okay.”

Without understanding, Yaqi complied. After scanning, Liu Ya picked up her phone, looked at the new contact with a cute cat avatar, and couldn’t help but smile.

“Heh, where did you get such a cute avatar?”

“Hehe, you think it’s cute too, Liu Ya? It’s a stray cat from our school. Super cute, so I made it my avatar.”

“Aren’t you afraid the cat will sue you for using its image without permission?”

“Blame it on being too cute. I don’t care!”

Liu Ya chuckled softly. When she met Yaqi’s eyes, she blushed and looked away shyly.

“Um… this is my account.”

“Huh? Oh!”

Yaqi immediately opened Liu Ya’s profile, curiously scrolling through. Liu Ya continued.

“I never realized I didn’t have you as a friend. Maybe because we saw each other every day before, so I didn’t think about it…”

“But! Let’s add each other now. Just in case we need something, right?”

“Mmhm! Definitely! Hehe.”

Yaqi said this without looking up, still scrolling as if she found treasure.

“Ah… stop looking. I haven’t updated much. Weren’t you going to show me photos?”

“Oh, right. Almost forgot. I found them just now.”

With that, Yaqi pulled Liu Ya to sit next to her and handed her the phone. Liu Ya, caught off guard, stumbled into the chair. It took her a moment to focus on the screen.

“See, this is an award I got, and a scholarship. And this… what competition was this?”

“Oh~ so you weren’t lying.”

“Of course. When have I ever lied to you, Liu Ya?”

Liu Ya silently turned her head and stared coldly at her. She didn’t say a word, but it spoke volumes. Yaqi, knowing she was in the wrong, awkwardly held the phone between them and swiped.

“Ah… we’re looking at photos, right? Don’t look at me, haha… Look, there’s more…”

“Hmph!”

Yaqi swiped faster. The academic evidence was done. Next were everyday photos: campus, classmates, cats, flowers. Static images full of life.

‘Quite a lot. So this is Qiqijie’s school. It’s big, not worse than my current school!’

‘There are quite a few female classmates, and no photos with guys. Good. If there were, I’d delete them for sure!’

‘But… could it be!’

“Alright, I’ve seen enough.”

“Mm, that’s about it. Just some random flowers and scenery. Nothing interesting.”

“True.”

Yaqi scrolled a bit more, glanced at Liu Ya, and when she didn’t respond, she laughed awkwardly and rocked her chair.

Liu Ya crossed her legs, her eyes busy. She looked around, picked up a pen, twirled it, opened a novel, flipped a few pages, then put it down. She kept sneaking glances at Yaqi, and her face slowly reddened.

“Um… is there something on my face?”

“Ah! No… nothing.”

Liu Ya stood up in a fluster, turned around, and pretended to stretch her arms and twist her waist. Leaning against the table, she mumbled.

“I heard things are pretty open abroad…”

“Hmm… not really. Most of the people at school were from our own country. Didn’t interact much with locals.”

“Oh… where did you go?”

“England.”

“Ah, no wonder you finished that English paper so fast. It’s your specialty.”

“Haha… I guess it’s my only specialty.”

Liu Ya was silent for a moment, hands on the table, swaying back and forth, her butt lightly bumping against the edge.

“I saw in your photos that your school has guys, right?”

“Yeah, a normal school. Hey, Liu Ya. I’ve heard of all-girls schools, but I was still shocked when I arrived today. All girls!”

“Don’t make a big deal… Aren’t there plenty of girls’ high schools abroad?”

“There are, but I’ve never been to one. This is my first experience.”

“Oh. So, Yaqi-jie, did you… did you have a boyfriend abroad? I heard people date pretty fast there…”

“Huh?”

“And… they say people lose their virginity at 16… is that true?”

“Ah! This…”

Liu Ya was vague, but her red face told Yaqi what she meant.

Yaqi paused, a blush creeping onto her face. The squeak of the chair stopped. The room fell silent.

That silence was terrible for Liu Ya. She couldn’t see Yaqi’s expression. She had no idea how she reacted. The quiet pressed down on her racing heart like a boulder.

‘Oh no… what does this mean? Why isn’t she talking? Does Qiqijie actually have a boyfriend?’

‘No… no way… Qiqijie isn’t that kind of person, right? Didn’t she fight guys in middle school?’

‘And what’s so great about those stinky guys? How could Qiqijie fall for them?’

‘So say something, Qiqijie! What’s going on? Ah, I’m dying…’

Liu Ya gripped the table, suffering through the wait. Finally, Yaqi spoke shyly and slowly.

“S… someone did confess to me… but I didn’t accept!”

“Someone? More than one?”

“Uh… yeah, more than one… quite a few, I think?”

“But I don’t really understand these things, so I rejected them all. Kind of feel bad for them, haha…”

Liu Ya let out a long sigh, deflating like a balloon. But then she immediately straightened up, turned around, and perched on the table. In a good mood, she looked at the bowed Yaqi.

“Really, Yaqi-jie, you’re too kind! What’s there to feel bad about? Feelings are mutual. If you don’t like them, you don’t like them. That’s it!”

“But…”

“Do you like someone!”

“No, no! How could I? I just think they summoned up a lot of courage… The most extreme one was on the sports field, in front of a crowd, confessing to me.”

“Ha… you’re quite charming.”

‘They did have guts… Normally I’d admire that. But you dared to go after Qiqijie? Then rejection is what you deserve!’

‘Ha, I was so scared… Hehe, great! Qiqijie doesn’t have a boyfriend! Great! Great!’

As Liu Ya secretly rejoiced, Yaqi suddenly got interested.

“Hey, Liu Ya, what about you… Oh right, you go to an all-girls school.”

Liu Ya felt a bit annoyed and shot her a glance.

“What about an all-girls school? Plenty of people confessed to me too!”

“Huh? From outside school?”

“From inside.”

“Huh? But they’re all girls…”

“So what? Haven’t you heard of yuri, studying abroad?”

“Yu… ri?”

Yaqi’s face turned visibly red. Eyes wide, mouth slightly open, she stared blankly at the table, then slowly looked up at Liu Ya, embarrassed.

“Then… Liu Ya, do you like girls?”

“I…”

Liu Ya suddenly realized something. She swallowed the words she was about to say. Her mind raced.

‘Wait. This isn’t right… If I say I do, wouldn’t that imply I could like her too?’

‘But Qiqijie is normal. What if she thinks I’m a pervert and distances herself even more?’

‘But if I say I don’t… then she’ll fixate on that, and I’ll never have a chance to steer her that way.’

‘What’s happening? This is…’

“I… I don’t care about that…”

After long thought, Liu Ya still couldn’t figure it out. She tried to brush it off.

“Wh… what do you mean?”

Liu Ya slid off the table and stood blankly, mumbling.

“I mean… I can understand them! Love can’t be controlled. It just happens that the person you like happens to be a girl!”

“But that doesn’t mean I like them or not! So… Yaqi-jie, your question has no value at all…”

“Huh? Is that so?”

“That’s the way it is!”

“Hmm… I guess.”

Yaqi fell into thought. Liu Ya plopped down in her chair and let out a long breath.

“Alright, stop thinking. It’s late. Let’s sleep.”

“Mm.”

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