Su Qianyi clung to Xie Shu's arm and wouldn't let go.
Xie Shu tried to pull away, but she held on tight.
With no other choice, he temporarily pocketed his phone with his right hand and used his free hand to pry Su Qianyi's grip off.
Su Qianyi didn't want to let go, but Xie Shu's strength was slightly greater.
After freeing himself from Su Qianyi's clutches, Xie Shu immediately stepped back to maintain some distance.
He switched the phone to his other hand and flexed his arm that Su Qianyi had been holding before speaking indifferently, "Am I cold to you? Isn't it just like how normal friends interact?"
"You obviously are!"
"Really? Are you sure? I don't avoid you when I see you, I don't give you dirty looks, I don't mock or ridicule you, how am I cold? Don't I treat you just like any other friend?"
"When I call or message you, you never reply, and you even…" blocked her number.
"Su Qianyi, today's a weekend, there's nothing going on at school, and I have my own things to do. I can't be expected to wait by the phone for you all the time, can I?"
"But you could at least reply to my messages!"
"I'm too busy for that."
Did she think he was still the same as before?
Did she think he was still the person who would always pay attention to her messages and reply immediately?
Sorry, but that Xie Shu died in his past life.
Now, his mind was no longer on her.
"You're lying! At noon you clearly…" Su Qianyi suddenly paused, her angry voice softening, "You had time at noon, right?"
Even if he was busy, he should have time for lunch, right?
But Xie Shu still appeared indifferent.
"Not really."
"You must have time now, right?"
"No."
"What are you busy with now?"
"Shopping."
Su Qianyi could have believed him when he said he was busy earlier, but his last statement sounded like he was just loafing around.
What was he busy with?
Tears welled up in her eyes, increasingly difficult to control.
Her voice choked up, "You're clearly just trying to distance yourself from me!"
A beautiful person crying always evokes pity and sympathy from those around, but Xie Shu remained unmoved.
His voice was still calm, "Is it bad for me to distance myself from you?"
"It's terrible!"
"But you're the one who asked me to leave, I'm just following your words."
Su Qianyi was stunned, then shook her head in confusion, "No! I didn't! I never said that!"
How could she possibly want Xie Shu to leave her?
Xie Shu's mouth twitched slightly, his expression unreadable as he looked at the tearful Su Qianyi.
She was so strange.
She asked him to leave, and then she cried when he did?
Wasn't this what she wanted?
Wasn't this her wish?
Why did it seem like he was the one who had callously abandoned her?
Xie Shu didn't want to continue this topic. He stopped looking at Su Qianyi, glanced around, but still didn't see Ruan Nianxi.
In the brief moment Xie Shu looked around, Su Qianyi also reflected on the past.
When had she ever told Xie Shu to leave her?
She truly had no recollection.
But if she had to pinpoint when Xie Shu's attitude towards her changed, it seemed to start after the social event a few days ago.
That day, Xie Shu had confessed to her again, and she had rejected him.
Hmm… It seemed that she did say something about him leaving during the event, but she meant leaving the venue, not leaving her for good.
Realizing that Xie Shu might have misunderstood her words from that night, she hurriedly tried to explain, "Xie Shu, I never said that. If you're referring to what I said that night at the social event, you must have misunderstood. I didn't know you were going to confess to me that night. There were too many people, and I was just embarrassed, so I asked you to leave first. But I only meant for you to leave the venue, not to ignore me from then on."
Xie Shu's impassive gaze returned to the tearful Su Qianyi, his heart ached slightly, and then he forced a bitter smile.
Just when Su Qianyi thought he had taken in her explanation, she was met with a barrage of questions from Xie Shu:
"Really? You felt embarrassed? What about me? Do you think I'm not human? Don't I care about my dignity? Do you know how much courage it takes to confess in front of so many people? You don't know because it's not you confessing, it's not you being rejected, it's not you being called an arse-kisser.
I used to be willing to do anything for you, but that doesn't mean I wasn't embarrassed when rejected in public. Do you really think I wouldn't be upset after all these years?
I won't mention the countless times I've confessed to you in private. I did it because I heard from your friends that you envied girls who were confessed to publicly, you thought it was romantic, and you wanted to experience it, so I mustered the courage to confess to you in public multiple times.
Every Valentine's Day, Qixi Festival, and various other holidays, I did it to show you my sincerity, to let you feel the 'romance', but every time I failed.
If you envied other girls being confessed to in public and wanted to experience it, why did you feel embarrassed when I gathered the courage to confess to you?
I'm sorry then, I didn't realize I've been troubling you all this time. What a bother I've been, it won't happen again."
Xie Shu's words left Su Qianyi dumbfounded.
She stood there, speechless for a moment.
Xie Shu didn't want to say anything more to her. He just felt extremely bored and even a bit ridiculous.
He really didn't want to stay there any longer, so he turned to leave.
At that moment, Su Qianyi snapped back to reality, realizing she had misspoken, and quickly followed, grabbing Xie Shu's arm again, frantically apologizing:
"I'm sorry, Xie Shu, I didn't mean it that way, I just didn't phrase it right, I didn't, I really didn't mean it, believe me, actually I was very happy…"
"Let go."
Xie Shu looked down slightly, his voice cold as he cut her off.
His tone was so icy, it was like a chill wind in winter, making Su Qianyi shiver.
"Xie Shu, listen to my explanation!"
"Miss Su Qianyi, please stop bothering me. There are many people around, and this is embarrassing for me too."
Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan