"Wu Xiaoya, are you suggesting Ying Ying did something wrong? She doesn't like Xue Yang, so what's wrong with rejecting him? Would you accept someone you don't like? As it happens, Zhong Hong from the finance department likes you. Why don't you accept him?"
"I didn't mean that. I just feel that while there's nothing wrong with our junior, Xue Yang, liking Ying Ying, he must have felt awful after what was said in front of so many people yesterday. Ying Ying should apologize to him. It's fine not to like someone; you can't force matters of the heart, can you?"
Even if you don't like someone, you don't have to be so cruel in public!
She, herself, didn't like Zhong Hong and had made that clear to him, refusing to accept any of his gifts. That was why she couldn't understand why Chen Ying, who clearly disliked Xue Yang, would always proudly share the texts and letters he sent her. Chen Ying even kept every single gift.
If you don't like someone, shouldn't you refuse their advances and their gifts? Xue Yang pursued her for a full six years, dedicating his entire youth only to be hurt so badly in the end. Wu Xiaoya felt a surge of indignation on his behalf.
"Xiao Ya, you're so naive. Let me tell you, that's just how men are; the easier they get something, the less they cherish it. Besides, our Ying Ying is so beautiful, she's bound to marry into a wealthy family someday. What does Xue Yang amount to? If he wants to pursue her, let him. It just shows how popular our Ying Ying is."
Hearing this, Chen Ying's gloomy mood instantly vanished.
That's right. I'm so beautiful, I can have any man I want. Why should I settle for someone from an ordinary background like Xue Yang, just to struggle with him for the rest of my life?
Wu Xiaoya opened her mouth but ultimately decided not to argue with them. Subconsciously, she still felt their actions were wrong.
"But, isn't that incredibly unfair to Xue Yang?"
"There's no such thing as fairness in love."
"All I saw was that Xue Yang was truly hurt this time. The light in his eyes is gone."
Chen Ying heard her friends' words, but they didn't truly sink in.
In the past, whenever Xue Yang saw me, his eyes were always filled with light. But today, not only was that light gone, I couldn't even see my own reflection in them. It was as if he had completely cast me out of his world, unwilling to spare me even a single glance.
Come to think of it, this was the first time Xue Yang had ever been so cold to me. He didn't greet me, he didn't apologize after I rejected him, and for the first time ever, he ignored me in front of so many people. He once told me that no matter when or where, he would always find me in a crowd at first glance. He said he would overcome any obstacle to stand by my side and grow into someone I could truly rely on. But this time, he was the one who pulled away.
Did I really go too far this time?
Back when Xue Yang first started writing me love letters, I always dismissed him as a little kid I could easily brush off. Who would have thought he'd persist for six years and even get into Yanbei University just for me? But having seen the glamour of Yanjing and experienced the world, how could I be content with being tied down by Xue Yang? That's why I said such harsh things to him. But expecting me to apologize? That was impossible.
Over the past six years, I've grown accustomed to a certain reality: Xue Yang would never be truly cold to me. He might have his little moods, but they never lasted more than a day before he came running back, eager as ever. If he thinks this act will make me accept his confession, he's being far too naive. Hmph! When he finally comes to his senses and apologizes, I won't forgive him so easily. I'll make him wait for at least a week.
In Chen Ying's mind, it was fine for her to be cold to him, but he could not be cold to her. If he dared to be, then it was over between them for good. This was part of a set of similar, unfair principles: *I can get angry at you, but if you dare get angry at me, I'll never speak to you again. I can accept your gifts, but I won't accept your confession. You can choose not to send them, but then you can't talk to me anymore, either.*
However, this time, Xue Yang seemed to have made up his mind to stop pursuing Chen Ying. For the entire day, he didn't send her a single message. There was no apology letter, either, let alone any milk tea. Consequently, Chen Ying was out of sorts all day, a fact that Wu Xiaoya noticed.
"Ying Ying, if you care about Xue Yang, you should go find him. I'm sure if you take the first step, he'll be overjoyed."
Chen Ying's expression stiffened for a moment before she forced a relaxed tone. "Impossible. I've said I don't like him, so this is exactly what I wanted. Finally, no one's bothering me every day. You have no idea how happy I am."
She even forced a smile to go with her words.
But Wu Xiaoya could see that smile wasn't from the heart at all.
"Ying Ying, look into your heart. Are you really happy? I don't think so. I've known you since we started college. You complain every day about Xue Yang's constant attention being a hassle, but I can see you secretly enjoy it. You actually want to be with him, so why do you keep acting this way? Besides, if you truly didn't want him, you shouldn't have given him hope. You should have crushed it completely. But you let him get into the same university as you, and you never refused his gifts. What else could that be but giving him hope? Ying Ying, be honest. You like Xue Yang, don't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone all these years without dating anyone."
Chen Ying's smile slowly crumbled, replaced by a look of conflict she hadn't shown in years. "Just because he's always pursued me, does that mean I have to be with him?"
"Ying Ying, for the sake of our four years as college roommates, I don't want to see you have regrets later. Do you really, truly not want to consider being with Xue Yang?"
"I didn't before."
"And now?"
"I've thought about it. But if I agreed to be with him the moment he got into university, what if he's just playing around? What would I do then? So I won't agree so easily. Plus, he's just a freshman. How can I know if he'll be able to take care of me in the future? I can't just hang my future on a single, crooked tree, can I? If it were you, would you be content with that?"
Content? How many women would be content with a mediocre life after marriage? Especially students from Yanbei University, whose futures were supposed to be limitless.
But still, Wu Xiaoya felt that Chen Ying's approach was wrong.
"Chen Ying, a person doesn't get many six-year periods in their life. If you don't like him, don't waste his time any longer."
...