CH 46.1

Maybe because she had drank too much the last night, Qin Juran ended up waking up later than usual the next morning. After she painstakingly changed into a white turtleneck, Huang Ying brought her a cup of honey water, seeing that she seemed upset.

Qin Juran replied with a quick thanks, then found some bread to eat. She used her free hand to send Ruan Nan a message, but just as she expected, the reply was polite and distant.

She sent one more message to follow up, then didn’t press any further. Right before class, she was notified of a package delivery. When Qin Juran picked it up, she opened it to see that it was the handmade soaps from the other day.

The cunning fox in the purple dress was staring back at her with its glinting eyes, the deep-blue night sky above it glittering with stars.

Qin Juran carefully placed the two bars into her bag, planning on slipping one into Ruan Nan’s bag during the break between classes.

The third-year students’ classes mainly consisted of electives, and after December, most of their time was spent on their theses. After the hardest elective class ended on Wednesday morning, Huang Ying asked Qin Juran if she wanted to go eat hotpot, extending the invite to Ruan Nan as well.

Qin Juran thought for a moment, then replied that she’d be busy in the afternoon, so she planned on going to the cafeteria to get a quick bite instead. Huang Ying sighed, “Juju, don’t tell me you and Sister Nan are fighting? You guys are so close, there’s nothing that you both can’t get through.”

Qin Juran replied quietly, “It’s not that, just a little misunderstanding. It’ll be resolved in a bit.”

Huang Ying nodded: “That’s good to hear. Then instead of the cafeteria, you might as well just go buy some bread on the way and quickly find her to resolve the misunderstanding.”

“……”

Qin Juran ignored her. The two girls arrived at the school cafeteria and bought a bowl of noodles each. As she ate, Qin Juran was thinking about what she was going to do in the afternoon, when there was a sudden message notification from the class group chat. Although Qin Juran ignored it, Huang Ying couldn’t help reacting: “Wow, Juju, there’s going to be a class party this weekend. 100 yuan per person so we can book the party venue.”

“Class party?”

“That’s right, every year after midterms, there’s a class party. Since most people might not be here by the time of our graduation, the counselor encouraged everyone to attend the party if they can.”

While Qin Juran studied abroad, she had never experienced such types of class parties, so she was surprised that these third-years hosted so many. Although Huang Ying felt that Qin Juran was quite busy recently, she was about to ask her whether she was available to attend when Qin Juran’s head suddenly shot up: “Does Fan Chuan usually go?”

“Yea, he goes.”

Qin Juran nodded, picking up her phone to send Lin Wei a message: 【Are you and Ruan Nan going to the class party this weekend?】

Lin Wei: 【I’m not that interested in them. As for Sister Nan, you should ask her yourself. If you go, she’ll definitely go too.】

Qin Juran: 【I need to do something then. Could you go with Ruan Nan?】

【?? A confession?? Of course, of course! I promise I’ll trick Sister Nan into going.】

Qin Juran didn’t say any more. After she finished eating, she returned to her dorm to change and set off out the door again.

She didn’t return to her room until late evening. Huang Ying noticed the grave expression on her face and didn’t dare ask any questions. For the next few days, Qin Juran once again left right after class, dressed in formal clothes each time. Once Friday came around, Huang Ying couldn’t resist asking, “Juju, these past few days, have you already been going to work for that company that you interviewed for the other day? I thought the internship didn’t start until winter break?”

Qin Juran laughed coldly: “You’ll find out tomorrow.”

“By the way, Huang Ying, if you have time today, come clothes shopping with me.”

Huang Ying froze, taking a few steps backward: “What, Juju, that seems a little inappropriate, isn’t it? You already have Sister Nan, yet you’re asking me to go shopping with you; you’re kind of putting me in an awkward situation here…”

Qin Juran feigned a smile: “You’re coming to help me choose an outfit to wear for Ah-Ruan, what’s awkward about that?”

“Oh, so I’m just the support, got it.”

“……”

The two arrived at the city center, where there were two large shops adjacent to each other, one of which was a high-end store while the other was a more affordable one. Qin Juran only hesitated for a few moments before turning to walk into the high-end store.

Although she was dressed plainly, due to her natural politeness and elegance, the sales assistants flocked over to help her. Qin Juran’s eyes swept over the rows of sweaters and dresses, finally landing upon a mannequin adorned with a wine-red dress.

The dress had long sleeves and a cinched waist, with a hem that barely reached the knees and a deep v-neck cut that would perfectly compliment Qin Juran’s figure. The small white button details on the chest also added a nice touch. When Qin Juran came out of the fitting room wearing the dress, Huang Ying’s eyes widened in amazement.

Before she could say anything, the sales assistants all crowded around and chimed in praises: “Miss, are you studying performing arts or acting?”

“That dress looks as if it was made for you!”

“Come be a model for our company!”

As Qin Juran checked her reflection in the mirror, she had to agree that the dress was very flattering, laughing as she thanked the assistants. Actually, ever since Ruan Nan painted that picture for her, Qin Juran realized that her favorite color might be purple. But a purple dress perhaps wouldn’t be as flattering on her as this wine-red color.

Qin Juran noticed that Huang Ying was still standing frozen in her original spot. She walked over to her and lightly snapped her fingers: “What do you think?”

Huang Ying broke out of her daze, fervently nodding her head: “It looks so good, too stunning.” As Huang Ying spoke, she pulled Qin Juran towards the side, an animated look in her eyes: “Juju, are you planning on confessing tonight?”

“What makes you think that?”

Huang Ying pointed at the dress: “Do I even have to explain? Just look at this dress, this color, and your own beauty – if you were to ask, I’m sure anyone would want to marry you on the spot!”

So it seems the dress had that kind of effect.

Qin Juran laughed, deciding to buy the dress with no further hesitation.

Saturday came around in the blink of an eye. The celebration was to begin in the morning, starting with a joint gathering with the counselors and professors. The class representative had reserved a large party venue, and perhaps because this might’ve been the last opportunity to meet with everyone, nearly all the students in the department came.

Despite being college classmates, there were varying degrees of familiarity amongst them all, so they generally sat with others in the same dormitories. Qin Juran and Huang Ying arrived a bit later, but just as they were looking for Ruan Nan in the crowd, they were beckoned over by the counselor to go sit at his table.

Also sitting at the same table was Fan Chuan.

He raised his head when he noticed Qin Juran walking over, but Qin Juran ignored him as she greeted the counselor and teachers.

Since she still hadn’t caught a glimpse of Ruan Nan by the time the banquet was starting, Qin Juran decided to send a message to Lin Wei asking for updates. He replied that Wang Yuanyuan had a family emergency and had to return home immediately, so Ruan Nan was driving her to the airport and wouldn’t be able to make it by lunch.

【What about the evening?】Qin Juran typed back.

【We’ll definitely be there tonight, I’ll use any means to make sure Sister Nan goes. Don’t worry and get yourself prepared.】

【Good.】

After Qin Juran replied, she proceeded to eat with her professors. After the lunch banquet, the counselors and professors left first, while the class representative reserved another party venue for them to go to. Many of the male students left to go play for the rest of the afternoon, and a large portion of students also expressed that they wouldn’t be able to stay for the entire thing.

Since Ruan Nan wasn’t there, there was no reason for Qin Juran to stay either. She asked for the address of the next venue, planning on going there during dinnertime.

Once 7 p.m. came around, Huang Ying received a notification that the party venue suddenly lost power and couldn’t be fixed in time, so the location of the party was changed last-minute to Fan Chuan’s apartment.

Huang Ying of course knew about the ongoing tension between Qin Juran and Fan Chuan, so she prodded carefully: “Juju, should we still go? I heard from Liu Chao that there are only a few people left, around 10 or so of the guys that they usually hang out with.”

Qin Juran considered for a moment, then pulled out her phone to send Ruan Nan a text: 【The location for the party tonight has been changed to Fan Chuan’s apartment, are you still going?】

【Don’t know.】

【I hope you can go, there’s something I need to tell you.】

Afterward, Qin Juran proceeded to freshen up and do her makeup. After changing back into her red dress, Huang Ying once again stared in astonishment. Although Qin Juran rarely wore heels, tonight, she chose a pair of sparkling silver stilettos to pair with the dress, making her figure appear especially tall and slender. Since it was approaching the end of the month, and the dress was rather thin, Qin Juran decided to throw a light wool coat on top.

Fan Chuan lived in a duplex loft, and he had turned the entire apartment into a buffet-style “party,” with catering delivered from nearby five-star restaurants. By the time Qin Juran arrived, the entire apartment was decked out into a small drinking party venue.

The male student who opened the door for them seemed surprised at their arrival, hollering upon seeing them: “The campus flower is here?!”

The students who were close to Fan Chuan immediately looked in his direction. He seemed a little taken aback himself as he approached Qin Juran: “You came.”

For the first time, Qin Juran smiled back at him rather than glaring, even raising her purse in greeting: “Mhm.”

Huang Ying and Qin Juran walked up to the second floor, but after a quick look around, it seemed that Ruan Nan wasn’t there yet. As they grabbed some drinks and food to eat, Qin Juran checked her phone every few minutes for potential messages.

Soon it was nearly 9 p.m. and everyone had finished eating and begun playing games. Seeing that Ruan Nan still wasn’t here, Huang Ying couldn’t help asking, “Juju, why don’t I send Lin Wei a message, maybe something suddenly came up?”

Qin Juran propped her phone against her chin thoughtfully, an uneasy look in her eyes that made her look like a crestfallen young child.

Huang Ying’s heart panged looking at her, but right when she was about to say something, the doorbell suddenly rang. Qin Juran watched as Fan Chuan walked over to open the door – it was Lin Wei and Ruan Nan.

Qin Juran sighed in relief, quickly turning her head away. Fan Chuan seemed rather stunned for a brief moment, but he proceeded to invite them in.

The other male students were already tipsy with alcohol, so seeing Fan Chuan, Qin Juran, and Ruan Nan, the three most renowned students in their department, standing there, their excitement heightened. They quickly waved everyone over to the game room to play.

This room seemed to be especially for entertainment. With a flick of the light switch, neon lights began dancing around the room, turning it into what felt like a KTV room.

The boys brought over their bottles of liquor, pouring them into a line of shot glasses laid out on the table in the common area. A student named Liu Chao waved them over: “Come on, let’s continue. Since the male goddess, campus flower, and young missus are all here, today we will have the drink of the gods.”

“Why don’t you sing for us first?” Another male student interjected.

Lin Chao raised his chin: “Sure, come on, let’s find a nice love song to sing. Lin Wei, sing with me!”

Lin Wei’s head snapped around at the sound of his name, wondering why this student was addressing him so familiarly. But he eventually agreed, thinking about the big gesture that Qin Juran was planning on performing later and wanting to ensure that the atmosphere of the party was in high spirits. As the two belted out a love song, Lin Wei even purposely sang in a higher voice, eliciting laughter from the group. Once they finished, everyone raised their glasses and cheered.

After they were tired of singing, everyone decided to play games. Some of them shouted out a few ideas, but they settled on a drinking party classic: truth or dare.

When the group moved upstairs to take seats, Ruan Nan chose a spot in the corner of the couch and Lin Wei plopped down next to her. Only after he sat down did he think of asking Qin Juran whether she wanted to sit there instead, but when he looked at her, she only shook her head subtly.

Soon after, the student who was sitting across from Fan Chuan jokingly asked Qin Juran whether she wanted to switch seats with him so that she could get a better view. Everyone in the room froze, tentatively waiting for Qin Juran’s reaction. Huang Ying was about to refuse in her stead when Qin Juran raised her head and smiled: “Sure.”

？？？