The morning hit our windows. I woke up and got ready for the classes today, as today was my last day to attend classes because from tomorrow onwards I need to get back to my shooting schedule. I got ready for class and waited for Wang Ruoxi to get ready too, but she was taking too much time in the restroom. So I called her and said, "Wang Ruoxi, did you eat the whole ice cream yesterday only?"
"Yes," she replied in a low voice.
"I didn't bring that ice cream to finish it all at one go. I brought that ice cream for you so that you could store it in the fridge and eat it slowly. See now, because of that your stomach got upset," I said to her.
"It's not because of the ice cream. It's because of you. Because you behaved strangely last night, and because of that I did stress eating and ate that whole tub of ice cream in one go. So technically, you are responsible for my upset stomach," she said.
"Okay fine, take your time. I am waiting for you," I said.
Then I sat on the chair at my study table while waiting for her. I took out my phone and opened Weibo and started scrolling it as my usual routine. Then I opened his account, because it's also my usual thing—whenever I open Weibo, I open his account and scroll it. Suddenly I saw something that my eyes couldn't believe. I checked it again, and it was true—he deleted his photos with his ex-girlfriend from his account. I got a little shocked, but then a satisfying smile appeared on my face.
Then his call came. I picked it up and said, "Morning."
He also said, "Morning."
Then there was a huge silence between us for about 0.7 seconds. Then he asked me, "Done with scrolling my account?"
My eyes went wide at what my ears heard just now and I said, "What? How… I mean, how do you know?"
He chuckled and said, "I know, you silly girl. At least now I can say that."
"Listen, Yuan, don't get me wrong on this and don't think I am a jealous or insecure person, but you don't know what I felt whenever I saw you with other girls, happily smiling and everything. For a fangirl like me, it's so hurting that no one can understand, because the fangirl knows her idol is never able to know about her, and that's the main painful part," I said while getting a little serious.
"Zhao Shiza," he said in his deep voice, "see, the photos were in my hands, so I deleted them. But the older videos and photoshoot pictures are not in my hands. They'll keep coming on Weibo whenever you open it. But it won't define what I am or what you mean to me. It's beyond that."
"I understand, Yuan," I said.
"I can't imagine your pain because it itself is such a big thing that only the person who survived that pain knows it. And my girl is really very strong because she survived that so gracefully," he said.
"Thanks," I said.
"Thanks for what?" he asked.
"For what you just said to me. You didn't know that pain, but you know it's difficult to survive, and still you motivated me. So thank you, Mr. Yuan," I said while smiling a little.
"Mission successful," he said.
"What? What mission successful?" I asked.
"To make you smile after last night, when you became mad at me," he said while laughing.
"No, no, surely not. I was not mad at you," I said.
"No, no, I know. Tell me—did my girlfriend's teeth manage to fight that battle yesterday or not?" he asked.
"I am hanging up. I am not going to answer these silly questions anymore. Bye-bye," I said and cut the call.
Meanwhile, Wang Ruoxi came out of the restroom holding her stomach. I stood up immediately and asked her, "Are you okay?"
She nodded and said, "Yes, a little bit. Let's go to class, otherwise Professor Wang will get mad at us."
"If you want, you can stay here. I'll tell him that you're not well," I said.
"No, no, it's not needed. These three days' classes are very important. Let's go, I can manage," she said.
"And if you can't?" I asked.
"Then I have my bestie standing beside me like a pillar," she said while holding my hand.
I smiled and said, "Okay, let's go."
Then we reached the class and sat on our seats. After five minutes, Professor Wang entered the class with a quite disappointing expression on his face. He placed a few papers on his table, took a deep sigh, removed his specs, and said, "I didn't expect that so many students wouldn't be able to perform even at an average level to pass. I won't say a word. All of you see for yourselves."
Then he handed over the papers to everyone. It was the class test marking result that we gave yesterday.
"How did he check it so quickly?" I murmured to myself.
Then he handed me my class test paper. I scored only 7 out of 50 marks. How was that possible? I checked the whole paper again and again, and it was true. I literally failed this class test.
Then Professor Wang said, "I don't want anyone to get discouraged. You all need to study hard for the final exams, as they will come within a few months. This was just a practice class test, so don't get upset or demotivated. You still have time to study hard and achieve your goals. I distributed these papers so you can see your mistakes, learn from them, and not repeat them in the future. Okay, class is dismissed."
The class ended, but I was still in shock. Except for maths, I had never failed in any subject since childhood. This was quite a shock for me.
"Wang Ruoxi, did you pass?" I asked.
She nodded and said, "Yes, 33 out of 50."
"Let's go back to the dorm, Zhao Shiza. I'm not feeling well," Wang Ruoxi said.
I nodded, and we headed back to our dorm. The moment we entered the room, she went to the washroom, and I sat on my bed in shock. Somehow, memories from my school days came rushing back—when I lied to Mama about my maths class test, and she got so upset that she never talked to me again. Till now, she doesn't even take my calls. She transferred me to Shanghai University as a punishment, to live away from family, alone.
My tears started forming, but before they could fall, I took my blanket and covered myself completely.
Wang Ruoxi came out of the washroom and saw me. "Zhao Shiza, what happened?" she asked. She tried to open the blanket, but couldn't because I held it tightly.
"Zhao Shiza, what happened? You're making me worried. It's not good to make your bestie worried when she's not well," she said while trying again, but failed.
She sighed and called him.
He picked up immediately. "Xu Yuan, come and see your girlfriend."
"What happened?" he asked in worry.
"She tucked herself inside the blanket completely. She does this when she's crying and doesn't want anyone to see her," Wang Ruoxi said.
"I'm coming," he said without a second thought.
"Yes, please come. After meeting you, she has become more sensitive. Her emotional quotient is much higher now. She feels everything deeply," Wang Ruoxi said.
He cut the call and immediately got into his car, thinking, What happened to her? She was so happy in the morning… If anyone dared to hurt her, I won't spare them.
He increased the speed.
Within 30 minutes, he reached the dorm and called Wang Ruoxi.
"I'm here, but how do I get inside? There are so many people. If anyone sees me, there will be chaos."
"Wait there. I have a plan," she said.
"Plan? What plan?" he asked.
"I'm coming to the dorm gate. Wait for me," she said.
"Hmm, come soon," he replied and cut the call...