EAY Chapter 46

Estranged to Reconciliation

Estranged to Reconciliation

46

Qi Ye noticed that Shi Ran was avoiding him.

At first, he realized that Shi Ran suddenly didn’t need him to wake him up anymore. Every time Qi Ye just woke up, Shi Ran had already come down from the top bunk. When Qi Ye talked to him, he would answer normally, but he wouldn’t take the initiative to say anything to him.

Then, they would usually go to the cafeteria together for lunch after their 8 a.m. class, but now, Shi Ran would either send a message saying he was going with classmates, or he wouldn’t eat at all.

What Qi Ye couldn’t stand the most was that Shi Ran actually wanted to give him money for the gloves and scarf he had given him. It was like going back to the estrangement they had when they first became friends.

Shi Ran didn’t discuss his part-time job with him anymore. Qi Ye didn’t know when he had taken on a tutoring job; Qi Ye only heard about it from Meng Nan.

Qi Ye had a sense of loss, as if he had been downgraded from best friend to ordinary friend.

Qi Ye felt that this wouldn’t do. He needed to talk to Shi Ran. He had a feeling that if he didn’t speak up, their relationship would continue to fade. Although they lived in the same dormitory, their relationship might not improve until graduation.

Qi Ye asked Meng Nan about Shi Ran’s ending time for his part-time job and waited on a road that he would definitely pass to return to the dormitory.

Almost an hour later, Shi Ran finally arrived late. Seeing the figure under the street lamp, he was secretly surprised. “Qi Ye?”

Qi Ye lowered his head and Rowing small stones on the ground with his toes. After hearing the sound, he looked up and smiled slightly: “So late today.”

“Oh, the student recently had an exam, so I spent an extra hour explaining the paper to him.” Shi Ran shrank his neck. “Are you waiting for me?”

“Yeah.” Qi Ye nodded.

Shi Ran wanted to avoid him again. Those inexplicable emotions started to disturb him again after seeing Qi Ye. He walked forward on his own, “Oh dear, it’s so cold. You don’t need to wait for me outside. Just say what you need to say in the dormitory.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a warmth around his neck and stopped. Qi Ye wrapped the scarf around him little by little, gently blaming him: “Why do you always forget to wear it?”

After putting it on, Shi Ran muttered, “Thank you.”

As he was about to walk away again, Qi Ye grabbed his hand: “I have something to ask you. Let’s stay outside for a while.”

Shi Ran lowered his head: “Can’t we talk in the dormitory? It’s almost closing time.”

“It won’t take too long, ten minutes will be enough.” Qi Ye paused, “This matter, I want to ask you privately.”

–

A few steps forward was a blue plastic bench. Shi Ran’s feet were sore from walking back from the subway station, so he immediately sat down to rest.

Qi Ye followed him and sat down. Without wasting time, he got straight to the point: “Are you angry with me recently? I feel like you’ve been avoiding me.”

“Me?” Shi Ran laughed a few times, very dryly, waving his hand to deny it: “How could I? I’m just too busy, having to go to class and earn money. It’s easy to become lazy if you don’t move around in this cold winter. And winter vacation is coming soon, I still want to buy some gifts for my Grandpa Shi and buy New Year goods. Ah, now that I think about it, should I find more part-time jobs? The one at the advertising company is already on holiday.”

“You’re still like this.” Qi Ye said softly, “When you’re feeling guilty, you talk a lot.”

Shi Ran: “……”

“You said we were best friends. I don’t want us to slowly become estranged.” Qi Ye looked at him earnestly, “If I did something wrong, tell me directly, don’t avoid me, okay?”

Shi Ran’s voice lowered: “You didn’t do anything wrong, you did too well.”

Qi Ye moved closer: “What did you say?”

They were too close. Shi Ran pushed him on the shoulder, took a deep breath, and said: “I feel that we spent too much time together before. I should leave you time to date. Li Tianyi is right, someone as good as you, it’s a pity not to date.”

Qi Ye frowned: “Why do you listen to him? When did I say I wanted to date?”

Shi Ran bit his lip: “I think, you might not have even realized it yourself, you seem happy when you go out with girls. You might have always underestimated yourself, so you never believed that you were really popular, so you just need to——”

“Shi Ran, I’m not an idiot. Do I not know what I like to do?” Qi Ye’s expression was rarely serious, “You said last time that you wouldn’t consider dating in college, so I won’t consider it either. I’m serious.”

Shi Ran was speechless, staring blankly at Qi Ye. After a while, he said: “What you said sounds like you have your own ideas, but it also sounds like you don’t. Why do you, you, not date just because I said I wouldn’t?”

Qi Ye was startled, almost blurting out the truth. Anyone who heard that would misunderstand, right?

Qi Ye slowly sat up straight, clasping his hands together, feeling extremely nervous in his heart. “What I mean is, is… you are very important to me… it’s the first time I’ve made such a good friend like you, so, I want to, want to follow in your footsteps, no, it’s I want to spend more time with you.”

What am I even saying? Qi Ye sighed in his heart, he didn’t even know himself.

Shi Ran laughed out loud, “Qi Ye, you’re just too cute!”

The gloom in Shi Ran’s heart lessened by more than half. He reached out and touched Qi Ye’s hair: “That’s not how friends do it. You don’t have to follow in my footsteps in everything. If you become estranged from me because of dating, that means we’re not really good friends. Good friends are those who will support you and cheer you on no matter what you do, you know?”

Qi Ye knew, but he had a guilty conscience, because what he really wanted to do would probably scare Shi Ran away, and he wouldn’t support him or cheer him on.

Qi Ye gently retorted: “But recently you’ve been trying to leave me dating time and have been estranging me.”

Shi Ran put down his hand and weakly retorted: “I didn’t.”

Qi Ye: “I felt it, I felt it very clearly.”

“I’m sorry.” Shi Ran immediately apologized, cautiously glancing at him, “Actually, it’s not just for your sake, mainly, I need to think about some things myself.”

“What things require you to distance yourself from me to think about?” Qi Ye asked seriously.

Shi Ran looked at him. Under the pale moonlight of winter, Qi Ye was as handsome as an ancient scholar. Had he always been so handsome or had he suddenly become handsome? How could such a handsome face have been the class’s invisible person before? Were the whole class blind?

Or was it a hairstyle issue? Qi Ye’s hair used to be too long, with bangs almost covering his eyes. His current hairstyle is very neat.

Maybe it’s not a hairstyle issue, it’s his figure. He used to be tall but slightly hunched, giving off a heavy feeling. Now he’s slender, upright, and has lean muscles, making him feel very youthful.

Moreover, Qi Ye smiles a lot more than before, he also…

“Hey, Shi Ran, Shi Ran, Shi Ran, what’s wrong with you?”

If Qi Ye hadn’t shaken him awake, Shi Ran would have written a paper on “Where Did Qi Ye Become So Handsome?”.

He quickly shook his head, “Ah, it’s nothing, it’s just that I might be too tired.”

Qi Ye apologized: “I’m sorry, I’m still pestering you even though you’re so tired. Let’s go back.”

“Yeah.” Shi Ran stood up, feeling that his head was a bit muddled after thinking so much just now.

Qi Ye said: “But you haven’t answered the question just now, what are you thinking about?”

“I’m thinking about whether to try something new, and the feasibility of achieving it.” Shi Ran said seriously, “I don’t know if I’m just being confused on my own.”

“It sounds very complicated.” Qi Ye said.

“Yeah, it’s something that subverts my previous understanding, of course it’s very complicated.” Shi Ran said, “And if I’m not careful, I might lose a valuable friend.”

Qi Ye was still puzzled: “Is this a question from your teacher?”

Shi Ran smiled dumbly: “It’s a difficult question that life has given me.”

“You sound like a little philosopher.”

“Hehe, I’m still very interested in philosophy.”

Near the entrance of the dormitory, Qi Ye didn’t forget the most important thing today. He pulled Shi Ran’s arm: “We’ve made up, right? And we agreed that no matter what you’re thinking about next time, you have to tell me, you can’t distance yourself from me like this again.”

“Yeah, okay.” Although this was a bit difficult for Shi Ran, he would try his best to overcome it. Because Qi Ye didn’t do anything wrong, it was all his own emotions that had run out on their own. He would find a way to sort them out properly.