Heart-Warming Youth - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Thou Really Shalt Not Lie

Translator: Noodletown Translations Editor: Noodletown Translations

Xu Ai’s brain buzzed, then she blacked out for a second. 

Lin Shen and Cheng Yanyan started dating?

They started dating?

“Hey, is that true or not? If they started dating, then what about you and Lin Shen?” Violet grabbed Xu Ai’s shoulders and started shaking her back and forth.

Xu Ai was barely able to compose herself. She pushed Violet away then shook her head wearily. “It’s probably true! I don’t really know.”

“But what about you? Aren’t you and Lin Shen a couple? Who the hell does Cheng Yanyan think she is?!” Violet was mad. “Jiang Meng seemed serious when she talked about it. She said their pictures were posted on our school’s website. They looked really intimate, and the caption said they are together. When did it even happen? How could you not know?”

Xu Ai also wanted to know when it happened. She shook her head. “I didn’t know until now.”

“You…” Violet glowered at Xu Ai and finally understood why she acted like that today. She got even angrier. “We saw how you treated Lin Shen for the past three years. We ain’t blind. How could he bite the hand that feeds him?”

“Ai-Ai, Lin Shen really started dating Cheng Yanyan?” Lil’ Wen got up and looked at Xu Ai.

Xu Ai couldn’t bear all the concern and attention that was bestowed by this issue. She held her hand against her forehead. “You can’t force love. He’s just not into me. It doesn’t count as biting the hand that feeds him if he falls for someone else. I simply work for him, and he pays me.” 

“Your meager salary is so out of proportion with the hard work you put in!” The enraged Violet grabbed Xu Ai. “Let’s go, we’re going to ask Lin Shen. He’s not a man. Now that he’s graduating, he decided to climb up the social ladder and ditch you? Yes, Cheng Yanyan’s family is rich and powerful, but you’ve got talents and brains!”

Xu Ai avoided her grab and said, “Violet, aren’t you going hiking tomorrow? Go shower and get some rest!”

“How am I supposed to go hiking after this?” Violet was about to cry. “Ever since we entered the university, and you fell for Lin Shen, you two were the couple-goal to me. How can I go hiking and find a boyfriend if I don’t have a couple-goal anymore?”

Her words were enough to brighten Xu Ai’s awful mood. She looked at Violet helplessly.

“How was our relationship ‘love,’ Violet? It was just me carrying a torch for him, and he didn’t reciprocate those feelings.” 

“How is that even possible? Lin Shen totally had a thing for you!” Violet screamed, “You two were literally one step away from a real relationship. You two were inseparable; how were you not a couple? Besides, your obsession with Lin Shen was why I always put quality before quantity and never screwed around. I just haven’t met the right guy yet, and I will keep looking for him.” 

“It doesn’t matter how much we looked like a couple; we still weren’t a couple.” Xu Ai was feeling helpless once again. She felt like she was the culprit of why Violet couldn’t find a boyfriend. 

“No, we can’t just leave him be. Come on, let’s go and find Lin Shen.” Violet hauled Xu Ai and ordered Lil’ Wen, “You should come, too, Lil’ Wen! Let’s all go together!”

Lil’ Wen nodded her head. She didn’t have time to worry about her own sticky situation and rolled off the bed.

Violet was even more adamant of her decision now that Lil’ Wen decided to tag along. She pulled Xu Ai off her bed and started hauling her towards the door. 

Xu Ai’s head was hurting. “Can’t you guys leave me with some pride? We can’t just go to find him like this.” 

“Did you even have any pride to begin with? You knew everything about Lin Shen, and you’ve done so much for Lin Shen over the past three years. Of all people who knew you, who dared to say you two weren’t perfect for each other? Now that he ditched you like this, I can’t stand by and just watch!” Violet was extremely furious. “Of all the girls he could date, he chose Cheng Yanyan. That woman is so fake with her squeaky voice; she makes me want to puke every time I see her.”

Xu Ai was left speechless. “I remember you saying that women like her are real women, and women like me are not.”

“Have I ever said that?” Violet stopped. 

“Yes!” Xu Ai assured her. 

Violet pondered and then rolled her eyes. “She’s definitely more womanly than you, but she’s not as lovable as you. She’s so f*cking fake.” 

“But men prefer women like that!” Xu Ai felt a sense of deprivation. 

“Pooh!” Violet said, “Lin Shen must be blind. He chose a pile of dirt over a pot of gold.”

Xu Ai’s lips twitched a little after hearing this. 

“Enough with the chitter-chatter! Go!” Violet hauled Xu Ai to the door, not giving her any chance to protest.

Xu Ai thought that maybe she should just hold on to the door frame with all her might and never let go. She had made a fool of herself so many times in her life. Now that she finally showed some pride, she didn’t want to make a fool of herself again in front of Lin Shen. Not today.

The door was pushed open before she could react. Autumn rushed in and saw Violet struggling with Xu Ai. She quickly closed the door, pointed at Xu Ai, and interrogated while shouting, “Xu Ai, why is Lin Shen not your boyfriend? Tell us, what’s up with that?” 

Xu Ai howled, Not another one!

“Huh?” Violet was dumbfounded, “Autumn, what are you talking about?”

“You ran away before you heard them gossip about Xu Ai’s boyfriend.” There was a strange glow in Autumn’s eyes as they stared at Xu Ai like she was a treasure chest. “When did that happen? You dawg, can’t believe you would hide that from us.”

Xu Ai thought, Why isn’t there a hole in the ground for me to bury myself in? If only there is a sudden earthquake or something, something to bury me underground.

“What boyfriend? Aren’t Lin Shen and Cheng Yanyan a couple now?” Violet was confused. 

“Screw Lin Shen and Cheng Yanyan! They ain’t sh*t.” Autumn shook her head. “Don’t you know? They gossiped and said that Xu Ai’s boyfriend is Su Xuan! Su Xuan! Do you have any idea who Su Xuan is?”

Xu Ai was about to faint. 

“Who?” Violet played along with Autumn and asked dully. 

“Dumbass, how many other Su Xuans do you know? Su Xuan of the Empyrean Financial Group of course!” Autumn flicked Violet’s forehead.

Violet’s eyes opened wide as she screeched, “What? Are you saying Su Xuan of Empyrean is… Ai-Ai’s boyfriend? How’s that even possible?”

“Exactly, how’s that even possible? That’s exactly what I thought! But they seemed serious when they talked about it; it’s even featured on our school’s online forum.” Autumn grabbed Xu Ai. “Why did you hide that from us? Were you afraid we’d make you treat us to a fancy dinner or something?”

Xu Ai’s head was about to explode. Thou really shalt not lie for thy pride. Karma had found her. 

“Didn’t Su Xuan of Empyrean just come back to China, like, two months ago? How did he become Ai-Ai’s boyfriend?” Lil’ Wen looked at Xu Ai with confused eyes. 

Three pairs of eyes were staring at Xu Ai, demanding an explanation from her.

Xu Ai covered her head with her hands. How was she supposed to explain everything? Tell them it was a lie? Violet was born without a zip on her mouth, so if she blabbed to everyone, then Xu Ai would be a dead woman. But for her to admit Su Xuan was really her boyfriend for a second time? Kill me already!

“Hey, what’s with the silent treatment? Is Su Xuan really your boyfriend?” Violet spared Xu Ai’s hands from her head. 

“Tell us! Don’t play dead!” Autumn followed up. 

Xu Ai was weighing everything in her mind and listing the pros and cons. She didn’t think she should tell them the truth. Lin Shen and Cheng Yanyan started dating! If she told them the truth, then she would become a joke, which meant she couldn’t possibly show her face at this school again. Even though she was one year away from graduation, it would be a long, long year.

She nodded weakly. 

“Really?” Three pairs of eyes opened even wider when she nodded.

“Whose b*tch-ass posted it on the school forum?” Xu Ai tried to change the topic. 

“Yeah! Let’s check the school website. Hurry, hurry!” The perked up Violet rushed to her computer and turned it on.

Autumn and Lil’ Wen huddle around her. 

Xu Ai sighed in relief. When those three girls were focusing on the computer screen, she moved to her bed, grabbed her handbag, and slipped out of the dorm room quietly. 

There was no way for her to stay on campus tonight!

Thankfully, it wasn’t that late yet. 

She dashed outside the dormitory building with her handbag, and she thought to herself before walking to the bus station. 

A cool breeze made the night a bit chilly. 

It was a Saturday. Students were either leaving the campus or returning. Many people were coming and going at the bus stop. This bus stop happened to be the terminal station, thus there was definitely an empty seat on the bus. She paid for her bus fare and chose a seat next to a window. 

Thoughts were wandering in her brain. She wondered what exactly was posted on the school website. Unfortunately, she didn’t want to check, nor did she have the guts to check. 

Her cell phone started ringing after the bus had departed for a while. She looked down and then picked it up reluctantly. “Violet?”

“Ai-Ai, where did you go?” The caller popped a question. 

“I’m on the bus heading home.” Xu Ai looked outside the window at the fleeting scenery. 

“Why are you heading home all of a sudden? Isn’t your home pretty far from campus? You’re going to travel halfway across Beijing? Why are you going home at this ungodly hour? Are you afraid of our interrogation?” Violet screamed in shock. 

I am afraid of your interrogation, Xu Ai thought but didn’t say it. “No. I just suddenly got homesick. And it’s not too late, so I decided to head back.”

“You with Su Xuan, Lin Shen with Cheng Yanyan, what the heck is going on?” Violet was stomping her feet because she couldn’t interrogate Xu Ai in person. “When are you coming back?”

“Monday!” Xu Ai did not wish to go back to school. But, the day after tomorrow just so happened to be a Monday. She couldn’t skip class. 

“Fine! I’ll let this one slip tonight. Wait for it on Monday! You can hide now, but you can’t hide forever.” Violet hung up the phone angrily.

Xu Ai’s head hurt once again. After a while, she remembered that she agreed to go to the hospital the next morning with Lil’ Wen. She thought for a bit and texted Lil’ Wen, “Which hospital are we going tomorrow? I’ll wait for you at the front door.”

Lil’ Wen replied almost instantly, giving her the name of the hospital, which was rather far from their school, and the time of their meet-up. 

Lil’ Wen must have made up her mind this time, she thought. Then, she replied, “Okay,” before putting her phone away and continuing to stare outside the window. 

After the bus arrived at her destination, she hopped on the subway and traveled around half of Beijing. Three and a half hours later, she finally arrived home. 

She looked at the time; it was ten o’clock at night. The old courtyard house still had lights on. She put on a happy face and entered the room happily. “Grandma, it’s so late now; why aren’t you sleeping? Could it be that you knew I was coming home, so you stayed up to wait for my arrival?”

“Ai-Ai?” The old lady in the room put down the telephone. She turned her head around and stared at Xu Ai in shock. “Why did you come home at this ungodly hour?”

“I missed you, so I came back!” Xu Ai threw her bag on the floor and ran to give the old lady a hug. She cooed, “Was that my father’s phone call?”

“No, it was your mother.” Her grandma pinched her cheek. “Why did you lose so much weight? Did you not eat properly?”

Xu Ai blinked at her. “What did my mother say to you?”

The old granny sensed the guilt in her voice and tapped her finger on Xu Ai’s forehead. “What do you think she said? She said you drove her extremely mad. She reminded you so many times about your blind date, yet you still blew him off.”

Xu Ai coughed. “Gee, Granny, you know what ‘blowing someone off’ means!”

“You little devil!” The old lady chided her while laughing. “Your mother said she will leave you be, and she won’t care for you anymore.”

Xu Ai was relieved. She didn’t care whether or not she could find a boyfriend; there was no way she would ever go on a blind date again. But she couldn’t help but act a little aggrieved. “Granny, are you afraid that I’ll never find a man as well? Are you going to kick me out?”

“Our Ai-Ai is a radiant beauty; how could you not find a suitor?” The old lady was a little upset and grunted, “Your mom worries too much. I can’t believe she’s in a hurry to get her daughter out of the house. You’re still in school; I don’t understand why she’s in a rush.”

“All hail Grandma! A wise and reasonable lady!” Xu Ai laughed, then she hugged the old lady and gave her a kiss. “I knew you’re not as tacky as my mother.” 

“You little sycophant!” The old lady’s joyful smile was all teeth. 

That night, perhaps it was the familiarity of being at home, a place where she had lived since she was little, Xu Ai had a once-in-a-blue-moon peaceful sleep. 

After she had breakfast the next morning, Xu Ai took a bag of yummy treats that her grandma had made and headed to the hospital to meet up with Lil’ Wen.