"You still love me," Qu Yun suddenly said, her gaze sharp as an eagle's, piercing directly through You Ran's brow: "You still love me."
“No, I don’t love you anymore.” You Ran said calmly, “Do you remember what I said: If you do something to hurt me, I will do nothing, I will stop liking you, stop caring about you, stop thinking about you, stop looking at you… From now on, I will do that.”
"I don't believe it." Qu Yunqing's eyes were distant and unfathomable: "You Ran, you still love me."
After saying that, Qu Yun used the same trick again, suddenly stepping forward to kiss You Ran.
But he stopped halfway through, because when she slowly bent down and stood up, she was holding something in her hand.
It was found in the flower bed; it was bright red, square, and incredibly hard... a brick.
"I'll say it one last time, my lips, Li Youran's lips, will be kissed by other men worthy of kissing. You, Qu Yun, have no right to do such a thing to me again." Youran held the brick above her head, ready to smash it down without mercy if Qu Yun dared to do anything inappropriate again.
Qu Yun's face was blurred in the hazy winter light, but his voice came through clearly: "You Ran, I know you still love me."
Suddenly, You Ran slammed the brick in her hand to the ground with a dull thud, like a roar from within. She looked at Qu Yun, her voice a mixture of crying and laughing: "Qu Yun, I'm not a promiscuous woman. I gave myself to you because of what you said back then, but those words contained a meaning I couldn't bear. You slept with me to get revenge on someone—no, to get to the bottom of it, you slept with me for another woman. I will remember that night for the rest of my life. It should have been the sweetest, happiest night, but for me, it was a nightmare and torture. Qu Yun, I love you, but I'm sorry, I don't love you enough to endure this. I love myself more. I want to get rid of all this unhappiness. All I can do is leave… Qu Yun, let me go."
Qu Yun's eyes, filled with the winter mist, were hazy and gray.
“Qu Yun, I dare not say that I can forget you right now, but I can guarantee that every day from now on, I will forget a little bit. Day by day, before long, you will become a faint shadow... Yes, you are just a shadow in my life.” You Ran took a deep breath of the cold air, making her voice sound icy and resilient. She raised her head, looked at Qu Yun, and made a request: “Qu Yun, swear to me that if you let me go, you will never bother me again.”
Qu Yun's eyes still reflected the sky of the foggy city; everything was reduced to mere outlines.
"Qu Yun, promise me." You Ran emphasized, "Promise to let me go."
"I can't do it." Qu Yun slowly shook his head.
You Ran reached out and slapped Qu Yun across the face: "If you don't agree, I'll transfer schools."
Qu Yun remained silent.
"Slap!" Another slap, not hard, just to show some determination: "If you don't agree, I will join forces with Gu Chengyuan to deal with you."
There has still been no response.
"Slap!" Another slap: "If you don't agree, I'll find any man, be with him, do everything you ever did with me, and have him help erase the marks you left on me."
At this time, there were already many pedestrians in the community, and everyone was staring at the couple who were behaving strangely.
You Ran could no longer hold back and turned to run upstairs.
Just when everyone thought she wouldn't appear again, You Ran came downstairs.
In her hands, she held a small rice cooker.
She went straight to Qu Yun and splashed him with force.
The warm hot pot broth was poured onto Qu Yun's clothes, red and black, glistening and shiny, falling down in chunks.
She turned her head leisurely, her back to him, and said softly, "I smashed your head, slapped you three times, and poured hot pot oil all over you. Qu Yun, don't you understand my determination to leave you?"
Then she didn't say anything more, just waited quietly.
A long, long time passed before she turned around... Qu Yun was gone.
That evening, You Ran received a text message from Qu Yun containing only one sentence: "I'm letting you go."
In the darkness, You Ran closed her eyes, and her hand pressed the delete button.
She deleted Qu Yun's number.
This relationship is truly over.
This was the sixteenth lesson Qu Yun taught her—that love can fail again and again.
[Lesson Seventeen] Men have excellent resilience.
During the rest of the winter break, You Ran spent all her time lying in bed, eating and playing on the computer, sometimes even going several days without brushing her teeth or washing her face.
Before long, a thick layer of fat grew under the skin.
Looking at her unrecognizable reflection in the mirror, she calmly comforted herself: It's okay, it's okay, it's just a normal stage after a breakup.
Even the longest holiday is short for students, and soon school starts again. You Ran once again carried her large and small bags of luggage back to school.
Before returning, You Ran mentally prepared herself, figuring out how to take a deep breath, stay calm, and act as if she had nothing to do with Qu Yun when she faced him again.
What she didn't expect was that Qu Yun had helped her accomplish all of this—he acted as if he no longer recognized her.
On the evening of my return to school, as usual, the college held a meeting. I learned from my mistakes and went to the classroom with my classmates to gather.
After the breakup, when I saw Qu Yun again, he hadn't changed much—meaning he was still as perfect as ever.
He lowered his head leisurely and began to read the extracurricular book he had brought, but he was very slow and could not finish a page in more than 10 minutes.
Just then, Qu Yun began to award prizes to the top students in the previous semester's exams, and You Ran was fortunate enough to receive this honor.
When their names are called, they are to go on stage to receive the certificate from Qu Yun.
You Ran tried her best to calm herself down and walked step by step onto the podium. Each step felt like walking through a quagmire, very difficult.
Finally, You Ran arrived. Her eyes were lowered, and she did not look up at Qu Yun.
"Keep up the good work," Qu Yun said, handing her the certificate. After You Ran took it, he immediately let go without pausing for a second.
Then, he began calling out the names of the next student.
She turned around leisurely and walked back. Behind her, Qu Yun's voice came again: "Keep trying."
This time, he was speaking to another classmate.
The tone was exactly the same as what You Ran had just heard—nothing was missing, nothing was added.
Treat everyone equally.
This was their first meeting since their breakup.
The second time they met was in a supermarket outside the school.
As usual, You Ran went to buy a week's worth of groceries. At the supermarket entrance, she looked up and saw Qu Yun.
It seemed that at the same time, Qu Yun also saw her.
Before You Ran could react, Qu Yun turned and left.
You Ran knew that he had originally intended to go shopping, but he left after seeing her.
Just as he had promised himself: he would never pester her again, he let go, he let go completely.
His turning around was swift and decisive, like a sharp sword severing any lingering affection.
Leisurely, she entered the supermarket with the crowd, and before she knew it, she had arrived at the instant noodle shelf.
There were still many tomato and beef brisket flavored instant noodles on the table. However, You Ran thought that she and Qu Yun would never eat them again.
Despite trying to avoid running into Qu Yun, since they were in the same school, You Ran and Qu Yun still bumped into each other two or three times in the first month of school.
Each time, You Ran was accompanied by classmates.
Qu Yun was quite popular; classmates would excitedly call out from afar, "Hello, Counselor Qu!!!"
Then, Qu Yun looked at them, her gaze sweeping over them without lingering: "Hello."
Then, he smiled politely and left.
All the past events have faded away from him like clear water, leaving no trace.
Not long after, the results of the CET-6 (College English Test Band 6) came out, and just as You Ran had predicted, she passed safely.
The roommates were shocked – You Ran, this lazy and unstudious kid, actually became the first in their dorm to pass the CET-6!
You Ran thought to herself, "Every event in life happens for a reason."
Perhaps, Qu Yun's appearance was solely for the purpose of helping her pass the CET-6 (College English Test Band 6).
Thinking about it this way makes me feel much better.
Many times, we are willing to deceive ourselves.
Since you've broken up, you need to recover. The first step in recovery is to eat and drink to your heart's content, a phase that You Ran has already experienced at home.
The second step is to find lots of things to do to keep yourself busy and forget about the breakup.
You Ran started spending her days running between the library and study rooms to prepare for the postgraduate entrance exam. At the same time, she also started managing the drama club, making herself spin like a top every day.
When she was so busy that she didn't even have time to breathe, she felt relieved, she thought leisurely.
Whether fate was helping her or harming her, it was as if the long-absent little brother, Shin-chan, had been sent out again.
After all, there was a deep-seated hatred between them, and Xiao Xin would not let You Ran off the hook just because he was afraid of Qu Yun. After school started, he seized the opportunity to make trouble for You Ran.
The number of flagship stores is like this: every time you see You Ran, you beat her up.
For example, when getting food in the cafeteria, Shin-chan's younger brother would suddenly rush up and knock over the food she had painstakingly prepared.
The glistening braised pork, the tofu fish, and the fresh, vibrant green green beans were all gone just like that.
For example, when they were in the library, Shin-chan would secretly smear paint on her seat while she was in the restroom.
My brand new Levi's jeans are ruined now.
For example, when You Ran was painstakingly carrying two bottles of hot water into the dormitory, her younger brother Xiao Xin would appear like a legendary bandit, suddenly leaping out of the grove of trees, snatching the hot water bottles from her hands without a word, and uncorking them...
Connect the two.
The thermos was empty in no time.
Shin-chan patted his bottom, put down the thermos, and left.
You Ran had no choice but to resign herself to returning the way she came, carrying the hot water back with tears and sweat.
You Ran could have taken revenge, but she didn't.
Recently, You Ran began to reflect on herself, wondering why every relationship ended so tragically. There was only one reason—karma.
This is retribution for her inhumane bullying of Shin-chan.
You Ran decided to atone for her sins, so she adopted a submissive attitude towards Xiao Xin's attacks.
Perhaps because her sins were too grave, fate added another kick to You Ran's backside.
That day, You Ran was notified to go to the college to collect her scholarship, and she ran there excitedly.
After receiving the money, while counting it with drool dripping down her face, You Ran bumped into an acquaintance at the door of the homeroom teacher's office.
Wearing a red horn-buttoned sweater, a mini skirt, and high boots, she has a slender, curvy figure with long, loose curls.
Only one person is worthy of this vibrant red color.