Strawberry Almond Cookie - Chapter 5

I moved back into the dorm.

Yu Jing had an apartment near campus, but when she heard I’d returned, she moved back too.

Suddenly, she had a great deal to say.

“My fiancé’s been in a bad mood lately. I don’t know what that girl’s playing at, breaking up with him out of nowhere. He was only having fun, but she dumped him right when he was getting hooked. Of course he couldn’t take it. Still, he’s my man. When he comes to me to pour his heart out, what can I do except put up with it?”

Just then, her phone rang.

A weary male voice came through, rising slightly at the end.

“I’m going to Europe for a holiday. Anything you want?”

Instead of answering, Yu Jing laughed.

“Why Europe all of a sudden? Aren’t you going to make up with that girlfriend of yours?”

“If she wants to throw a tantrum, let her. I’ll go and soothe her once she’s had time to calm down.”

Yu Jing toyed with the watch on her wrist and cast a fleeting glance at me.

“Aren’t you afraid she won’t want you anymore by the time you get back?”

“No. She loves me.”

He sounded utterly certain.

“She takes relationships seriously. She’s committed, unlike you. If you won’t tell me what you want, I’ll just pick something.”

After hanging up, Yu Jing came to my desk, folded her arms, and smiled.

“Sang Yu, my fiancé’s going to Europe. Is there anything you’d like? I could ask him to bring you something.”

Before I could answer, she sighed.

“Never mind. He’s pretty lazy. He never bothers with other people’s things. He only brings things back for me.”

Even someone as slow on the uptake as I was could hear the boasting and provocation.

Our bad blood went back a long way.

In freshman year, we’d both entered an innovation and entrepreneurship competition. She said she’d hired experts to guide her and was certain to win first prize.

But when the results were published, first prize had my name beside it. She came second.

After that, there was a new hostility in the way she looked at me.

When I won “Most Beautiful Model” in the October fashion competition, she disliked me even more.

But she hadn’t been living on campus, and we rarely crossed paths. I’d let it go.

Now, listening to her barbs, I looked up.

“Your fiancé really does treat you well. Shame that even while he’s being so good to you, he’s on his knees in front of someone else, begging for a kiss.”

Her expression changed. “What are you talking about?”

“Didn’t you say he had a girlfriend? Couples kiss and hold each other. That’s normal, isn’t it? You can’t even stand that, and you want to play first wife?”

Behind me came the dull thud of a watch hitting the floor.

Rich people really did indulge themselves. One flash of temper, and a watch worth several hundred thousand yuan went flying.

But her anger passed quickly.

That evening, she came back in high spirits and told the others, “Guess who I saw outside the library? Jiang Shichuan! He was waiting for the campus shuttle under a streetlight. Broad shoulders, narrow waist, ridiculously long legs. I stared for ages. I couldn’t look away. I have to get him.”

Jiang Shichuan was the boy she’d liked since freshman year. She still couldn’t get him out of her head and wouldn’t give up the chase.

The other girls gathered around to look at the photos she’d secretly taken.

I stayed at my desk and swiped open my phone.

Two messages had appeared.

From Jiang Shichuan.

“Sang Yu, I heard you’ve moved back into the dorm. Do you have time to get a meal together?”