Little Thing Called Love

Chapter 4

Lu Haoyang has been busy lately, and I can feel it too. He hasn’t contacted me proactively for several days.

Sitting at my desk, staring at the blue and white layout of Renren (a Chinese social networking site), I snapped out of my daze after several minutes when I heard the message tone on my phone. I immediately picked it up and felt a burst of excitement when I saw the three words “Lu Haoyang” in the message.

“I developed the photo from last time, do you want it? If you do, I’ll give you a copy.”

It took me a few seconds to realize that he was referring to the photo he secretly took without my consent last time.

Give me a copy? It’s clearly my photo! How did it turn into him giving it to me! Just as I was about to reply, I saw a new notification on Renren: “Your friend Lu Haoyang is online.” I put down my phone and directly replied to him on Renren: “No need! It’s so ugly, better destroy it.”

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I waited for his response, but he didn’t react for a long time. Feeling a sense of urgency, I took out a book and started reading while waiting. However, I ended up waiting so long that I nearly dozed off with my head on the desk. I didn’t know how much time had passed when I looked up at the computer screen again, and he finally replied. But it was just a few words: “Oh, alright then.”

I felt inexplicably disappointed and prepared to shut down the computer and go to bed. Then, his message came again: “Why aren’t you sleeping yet?”

I stopped my hand’s movement and answered him: “I just took a nap with my head on the desk.”

The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.

“Ebu eked’v usw ts vs cle?”

“Eykvkdt qsa y alrzu.” R vbswtbv qsa y xsxldv yde yeele, “Eykvkdt qsa uswa alrzu.”

Gqvla y obkzl, vos zkdlp sq vlmv rsrrle wr: “Gal usw pvwrke? R srldle Sldald yde oldv vs psxlsdl lzpl’p esax vs ekpnwpp psxlvbkdt. Nwnjkzu, R nblnjle obld R nyxl cynj, svblaokpl, bso zsdt olal usw rzyddkdt vs oykv???”

Tkp vsdl oyp y ckv ytkvyvle.

R oyp vyjld ycynj qsa y xsxldv yde alrzkle, “Xb, R pll.”

“Rq R eked’v alrzu, oswze usw byhl nsdvkdwle pzllrkdt okvb uswa blye sd vbl elpj?”

“Ls.” R vsze vbl vawvb, “Yu assxxyvl oswze byhl nyzzle xl.”

“……..” Nw Tysuydt pldv xl y plaklp sq lzzkrplp.

I didn’t want to wait anymore, so I said goodnight to him, but his words popped up again: “Han Xiaoya, you really are a fool. Go to sleep quickly.”

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Lu Haoyang called me a fool, but I felt like he was even more so. In the following days, he messaged me every day. At 9 PM, just as I was getting frustrated with a calculus problem, my phone rang.

“What are you doing?” Lu Haoyang’s question was as unhelpful as ever.

My fingers jumped on the keyboard, “I’m helping a classmate solve a calculus problem. It’s so difficult.”

“Show it to me.” He willingly offered his assistance.

I gladly agreed and sent him the problem through QQ (a Chinese messaging platform), arranging to meet him to get it back in half an hour.

Having gotten rid of this big problem, I suddenly felt relaxed and happily went to take a shower. However, when I returned from the shower, I realized that the agreed time had already passed, and there were two missed calls on my phone, both from Lu Haoyang. I inwardly exclaimed in alarm and immediately called him back.

Lu Haoyang didn’t say much on the phone, only ordering me to come downstairs immediately. His tone scared me, so I could only obediently do as he said.

At this time, there were couples walking hand in hand everywhere downstairs in the dormitory building, making Lu Haoyang, who was alone, particularly eye-catching.

“Lu Haoyang!” I called out as I ran towards him.

He turned around in the direction of the voice, and the moment he saw me, his expression instantly changed from anxious to undisguised anger. He took a few steps towards me, pointing his finger at my forehead. “Where did you go!”

I snorted lightly, touching my head with one hand as I replied, “I went to take a shower, that’s all.” But my attention was drawn to something in his hand.

He also noticed it and shook what he had in his hand towards me. “Don’t you like eating dried pineapple? Here you goā€””

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I took the big bag of dried pineapple from him, extremely curious. “How did you have this? I thought you didn’t like eating strange-tasting things?” Pineapples can be quite stinky…

He noticed me staring at him intently, cleared his throat, and then shifted his gaze. “Don’t just focus on eating. I solved the problem, take a good look.” With that, he handed me an A4 paper with his other hand.

The lighting downstairs in the dormitory building wasn’t very bright, but I could still see that the paper was covered in writing, occupying most of the page.

It’s just a calculus problem, why is there so much written? I was puzzled when I heard Lu Haoyang’s voice again in my ear. “I’ll go back now, you should go inside too.”

Upon hearing him say that, I became anxious and jumped in front of him, blocking his way. “Don’t leave!”

Lu Haoyang was taken aback, stunned for a few seconds before he uttered a few words, “What do you want?”

I didn’t see what I looked like at that moment, probably resembling a female bandit. I smiled at him and calmly replied, “I’m sorry for making you wait here for so long. How about this, I’ll walk back with you as compensation.”

Lu Haoyang pursed his lips, sounding dissatisfied. “You know I’ve been waiting for a long time too! Can you be any slower?”

I smirked, almost flattering, “Okay, don’t be angry! Great god, let me escort you back! Otherwise, I’ll feel guilty.”

Lu Haoyang listened to me and glanced at me before assuming a condescending posture. “No need, if you escort me back, people might think I’m bullying you. If you really want to apologize,” he paused, “then invite me to watch a movie. How about ‘The King’s Speech’ on Friday night?”

“No problem!” I readily agreed. I already liked watching movies, so this condition didn’t put me at a disadvantage at all.

Upon hearing my response, Lu Haoyang remained expressionless. “Okay, then go back quickly. It’s getting late.”

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“Oh.” I acknowledged and stood still in place.

Lu Haoyang frowned. “Didn’t you agree? Why aren’t you moving?”

I chuckled and stood my ground. “You have a long way to go, so I want to watch you leave before I go back.”

Now, Lu Haoyang looked at me without saying a word, and I continued to stare at him, but I still couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. After a moment, he turned around and walked away without even looking back, leaving me alone in the same spot.

Although he did exactly as I said, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed as I watched his departing figure. I didn’t know what I was expecting in the first place.

Back in the dormitory, it was still early before lights out, so I quickly took the time to go through the problem-solving process that Lu Haoyang had given me.

His reasoning was clear, and there wasn’t much to the solution process. Most of the space on the paper was occupied by his annotations. I found it amusing. This guy really thinks I’m a fool. After all, I’m also a “top student,” so I’m not that dumb.

The week went by quickly, and before I knew it, it was Friday night, the time I had arranged to meet Lu Haoyang. He hadn’t contacted me all day, but because we were going to meet in the evening, I didn’t pay much attention to this small deviation from the norm.

The scheduled movie was at 6:30 in the evening, and I arrived ten minutes early. I bought the tickets and waited for him at the cinema entrance. By 6:28, Lu Haoyang still hadn’t shown up. I glanced at my watch and then looked at the couples entering the theater, feeling extremely anxious.

At 6:30, unable to bear it any longer, I was filled with anger and called him with the intention of scolding him. However, instead of hearing Lu Haoyang’s voice, all I heard was the automated voice saying, “Sorry, the number you have dialed is switched off. Please try again later. Sorry…”

I hung up the phone, and my anger gradually turned into worry.

Lu Haoyang was never someone who would stand me up. How could he not only bail on me but also have his phone turned off? Could he have encountered some danger…? Just thinking about it made my heart race.

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I wanted to ask someone about his situation, but then I realized that I didn’t even know any of his friends. The only one I knew of was that Pan Zicong. But that knowledge was limited to just knowing his name.

Unable to think of a solution and feeling helpless, I simply sat down on the steps outside the cinema.

It was winter, and the darkness fell early. It was almost 7 o’clock now, and the streetlights illuminated the road. People were coming and going on the plaza in front of the cinema. I sat there alone like a fool, watching one stranger after another pass by in front of me, looking around, but unable to spot Lu Haoyang’s figure.

Unable to resist, I called him again. I no longer expected him to come to watch the movie, but I just wanted to hear his voice and make sure he was okay.

Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed. I called three times in a row, and each time it went to voicemail. Tears were welling up in my eyes, and I had never felt so miserable before.

We had planned to watch the movie together, but in the end, I was left waiting from the start to the end of the movie.

When I returned to the dormitory, it was already 10 o’clock in the evening. My roommate eagerly asked me about him, but all I could do was force a smile and didn’t know how to respond.

Exhausted, I took a shower and went straight to bed. It wasn’t until the next morning that I saw the text message he had sent at 12:30 a.m. the night before.

“Are you asleep? I’m sorry, I had an urgent matter and couldn’t make it today. My phone just finished charging and turning on. Let’s go together next time.”

I didn’t want to say anything. I put my phone away and went to the library alone.

I stayed in the library for the whole morning, absentmindedly reaching for my phone several times to check if I had received any messages from him. It wasn’t until I felt the empty pockets that I remembered I had locked my phone in a locker earlier in the morning, just to avoid him.

At noon, I made plans to have lunch with the president of the club, a senior two years ahead of me. We decided to meet at the cafĆ© in the school’s first cafeteria.

As soon as I sat down, the senior went to the restroom. I absentmindedly played with the tablecloth, looking at the world through the cylindrical glass cup. As I was lost in thought, a familiar figure appeared in front of me…

I put down the glass cup in my hand and looked up at him.

He was accompanied by a girl, and I recognized her at first glance. She was the one who was acting cute with him after the scholarship ceremony. I didn’t pay much attention last time, but upon closer observation, I noticed that she was quite attractive. Although her face and figure weren’t top-notch, she was taller than me by a considerable margin and looked extremely compatible standing next to the 1.83-meter-tall Lu Haoyang.

When Lu Haoyang saw me looking at him, he didn’t introduce the person next to him to me and started accusing, “Han Xiaoya, why didn’t you reply to my messages all morning!”

I clenched my teeth and tightly gripped the edge of my clothes under the table.

Seeing that I didn’t answer, Lu Haoyang’s tone became more aggressive, “Han Xiaoya! Speak!”

With a thump, I stood up from my seat and looked at the two of them. Anger surged within me as they stood together. “What’s it to you! I’ll do as I please, and you have no right to interfere!”

This time, Lu Haoyang couldn’t utter a word, and the girl beside him was also stunned, staring at me.

Just then, the club president returned, confused by the situation.

“Xiaoya?”

I heard him call my name and bypassed the two of them, walking toward him and replying, “Let’s go eat somewhere else!”

The club president had apparently caught onto some clues but didn’t inquire further. He simply nodded and led me away.

As I left the cafƩ, I glanced back at Lu Haoyang one last time. He was still standing there, looking at me. I turned my head and walked away.

The club president asked me if he was my boyfriend. I didn’t know how to answer.

I had never been so rude in front of others. What exactly was Lu Haoyang to me in my heart? I didn’t even know.

I checked my horoscope analysis, which said, “Aquarius, the zodiac sign that values friendship the most.” I thought for a moment, was Lu Haoyang considered a good friend to me? The answer was clearly no. We had only known each other for three months. How could he compare to my friends whom I had known for many years? But I had to admit that he was gradually becoming more important to me.

I continued reading the horoscope analysis, and it mentioned the perfect matches for Aquarius: Gemini and Libra. I immediately searched for Lu Haoyang’s zodiac sign and was delighted to discover that he was a Gemini.

Aquarius and Gemini, perfect zodiac matches… I smiled happily to myself.

I retrieved my phone from the locker and read through the messages from the morning. There were a total of five, with the first three spaced half an hour apart, and the last two within a ten-minute interval. The messages were basically asking what I was doing and why I wasn’t replying, gradually becoming unfriendly in tone.

After giving it some thought, I sent him a message: “Can you come to the library tonight and give me a ride back to the dorm? I don’t have a bike.”

Consider it a gesture for Aquarius and Gemini being perfect matches.

This time, Lu Haoyang was quite punctual. I went downstairs at 9 p.m. and saw him at the entrance of the library.

“Why don’t you have to work overtime at the company today?”

Less than ten hours had passed since the unpleasant encounter the previous time, and I was already able to greet him naturally.

Lu Haoyang seemed to have put the incident at noon behind him. “My mentor wasn’t here today, so I took the opportunity to slack off.”

“Oh,” I nodded, unsure of what to say next.

But it was Lu Haoyang who broke the silence. “Han Xiaoya!”

Huh? I looked up at him. He straddled his bike and motioned to me, “Come on, I’ll give you a ride back.”


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Mily [Translator]

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