GL My Goddess Best Friend’s Seduction (H) - Chapter 31

After finishing my call with Jiang Yiyi, I felt even more like a terrible person.

For the entire day that followed, Si Jingnian did not contact me.

And I did not dare to contact her either.

I was too afraid to walk right into the line of fire.

At 2:25 p.m. the next day, Si Jingnian sent me a message on WeChat.

With anxiety eating at me, I opened her message.

Si Jingnian: I’ll be home at 7 tonight. We need to talk.

As soon as I saw it, my heart dropped straight into the abyss. I gripped my phone tightly, so hard that my knuckles turned pale.

It was over.

I was completely doomed.

My heart pounded chaotically in my chest, as if someone had struck a massive bell inside me. Tonight, I was going to be sentenced to death.

I felt hopeless.

Everything had fallen apart. I had planned to move out and slowly forget about her, forget about my feelings. I would wait until I no longer felt anything, and then smile at her again as a friend, wishing her a happy marriage and a blissful life.

But now, all of that had collapsed because of one drunken confession.

Si Jingnian and I, we might truly be saying goodbye for good this time, in a way that meant never seeing each other again.

I lay on the soft bed, but it felt like I was resting on hard, icy stone. The chill seeped into my very bones.

Tears streamed down my face and soaked the pillow.

I never knew I could cry so much. I could not stop.

I should have gotten up to pack and prepare to leave this place.

But my whole body was weak. I felt dizzy, like I had a fever. I just wanted to lie there forever and not face Si Jingnian’s cold rejection.

At first, I cried silently. Then I buried my head and sobbed aloud. I cried so hard I could not breathe properly, the air slipping from my control.

Keep this up and you will suffocate, An Xiaoyu.

But suffocating didn’t sound so bad. That was what I told myself.

Still, I managed to get up. When I looked at the clock, it was already 6:30 p.m.

In a daze, I washed my face, put on makeup, and changed clothes. When I saw the pale, ghostly reflection in the mirror, I could not bring myself to smile.

I looked like a terrifying spirit from a horror movie.

No. I could not look like this. I would scare Si Jingnian.

I pressed ice against my swollen eyes, applied a rosy makeup, and slapped my cheeks to add some color.

Then I sat lifelessly on the couch, waiting for my doomsday judgment.

Time crawled by slowly. Si Jingnian came home. I checked the lights in the living room. it was exactly 7 o’clock. She really was punctual.

My eyes followed her every move. I watched her change shoes, wash her hands, and slowly walk toward me.

It all felt surreal. Like I was watching her on a movie screen.

She sat on the sofa across from me. Her red lips parted and she spoke.

Her voice snapped me back into reality.

“Have you eaten?” she asked.

“Not hungry.” My reply came out hoarse and scratchy, like the sound of a bellows.

“What’s wrong with your voice?” She frowned at me, looking closely at my face.

If it were any other time, I would have turned my head away. But right now, I felt like I couldn’t even move an inch.

She reached out and gently touched my eyelids. “Why are your eyes so swollen?”

Heaven knows I wanted to pull away, but I was frozen as if under a spell.

All I could feel was her fingers gliding across my eyelids. The warmth of her touch lingered.

I put on my usual mask. “I watched a movie. It was really touching.”

“You said you wanted to talk. Let’s talk.”

“Mm. Xiaoyu, don’t drink again in the future,” Si Jingnian said seriously, looking straight at me.

My soul was still floating. I understood her meaning beneath the words. She was referring to the phone call I made while drunk. “I won’t. I’m really sorry about calling you in the middle of the night.”

“It’s okay. But calling me that late and saying nothing was still your fault. I thought my phone was broken,” she said with a smile. “But then I heard your snoring and realized you had fallen asleep.”

What?

What did she mean?

As she spoke, my heart slowly came back to life. A faint light sparked in my eyes.

That was wonderful. That was really wonderful.

So I had not confessed after all.

That was such a relief. I did not have to leave.

I could still be her friend.

That was so wonderful.

Tears burst from my eyes. I covered my face with my hands and quietly sobbed.

Si Jingnian asked gently what was wrong. I smiled through my tears. “Just remembered a touching scene from the movie.”

She held me in her arms and comforted me, softly patting my back. I leaned on her shoulder and wiped away my tears.

They were tears of joy.

I was grateful for this feeling of survival after disaster.

Later, I told Jiang Yiyi that I did not confess that night. She sighed in relief, a little disappointed, but also glad.

I also put the moving plans on hold and threw myself back into work.

The relationship between Si Jingnian and me returned to how it used to be. She made breakfast and I made dinner.

She would bring back snacks and little things for me, and I bought random knickknacks for her too.

But I no longer threw myself into her arms, no longer clung to her arm and snuggled her.

This was good. Just being ordinary friends again.

Staying close to her, but not crossing any lines.

Although I still thought of her in the dead of night.

But I was content with things the way they were now.

Until a week later, when Li Xian invited me out again. He picked the same barbecue place as last time.

This time, Li Xian actually dressed quite formally. He wore a black suit and looked like a charming scoundrel.

I looked at him appreciatively.

But then he said something that made me choke on my water. “You like Jingnian, don’t you?”

I sprayed water everywhere and hurried to wipe the table with napkins.

Li Xian watched me clean up. His eyes were fixed on me with a determination that said if I didn’t answer him, he wouldn’t let it go.

“Why are you asking that?” I pretended to stay calm and tried to change the subject.

“Don’t change the subject. Just answer me. Do you like Jingnian?” Li Xian tapped the marble tabletop twice with his knuckle.

He looked like an interrogator holding a torture device. His expression was so serious, it was frightening.

My lower lip trembled. I looked away, my expression evasive.

“If you don’t answer, I’ll assume you don’t like her,” Li Xian said, suddenly sitting up straight and returning to his usual relaxed manner. “In that case, I won’t tell you Yu’an’s secret.”

“What secret?” I perked up and swallowed hard.

“If you don’t like her, then you don’t need to know.” Li Xian played with his phone, spinning it like a book. “You don’t need to know that Yu’an is a girl.”

I must have widened my eyes, because Li Xian grinned wickedly at my expression.

Like a devil tempting Eve, he said words that made my mind spin. “Do you really not like Jingnian?”

As if possessed, I admitted that I liked her.

Li Xian handed me a flash drive and said it contained the chat history between Si Jingnian and Yu’an.

I said it felt wrong to read a couple’s private messages.

Li Xian rolled his eyes. “Now your moral compass kicks in?”

“Relax. There’s nothing inappropriate in there.”

I didn’t even wait to finish eating with him. I told him to let me know how much the meal cost and I would send him the money.

Then I ran home with the flash drive.

Si Jingnian was not home. I snuck into my room and locked the door.

My heart raced as I opened the computer.

The flash drive contained two files. One was named ‘Yu’an WeChat.’ The other was ‘Chat Log and Timeline.’

The Yu’an WeChat file was only 9 kilobytes. I opened it first.

There were just a few lines:

WeChat Name: Yu’an

WeChat ID: yuanxiao0905

Registered Phone Number: 172XXXXXXXX

WeChat Registration Date: September 16, 2018

Phone Number Registered to: Si Jingnian

A thunderbolt hit me.

This WeChat account belonged to Si Jingnian.

Why did she do this?

Why would she create a second account?

Then who exactly was Yu’an?

Did this person even exist?

Why did Li Xian say Yu’an was a girl?

A flood of questions rushed into my head.

With trembling hands, I opened the second file.

Most of the conversation was one sided. Si Jingnian was talking to herself.

September 16, 2018, 13:34

Si Jingnian: You seem really happy today?

Si Jingnian: What happened?

Yu’an: I got my first tax refund today. I’m so happy. Let’s have dinner tonight.

Si Jingnian: Okay.

September 21, 2018, 20:05

Si Jingnian: Did you enjoy your date today?

Si Jingnian: Your makeup looked great. The little star at the corner of your eye really suited you.

Si Jingnian: You looked so beautiful.

Yu’an: Really? Next time I’ll stick one on you too.

Si Jingnian: Okay.

December 24, 2018, 22:04

Si Jingnian: Why did you get engaged to him?

Si Jingnian: He’s not good enough for you. What’s so great about him?

Si Jingnian: Can you give me a chance?

Yu’an: Let’s announce we’re together.

Si Jingnian: Okay.

[Moments post: Together now @Si Jingnian]

January 1, 2019, 00:00

Si Jingnian: I wish we could spend New Year’s Eve together.

Si Jingnian: I hope we can always celebrate the new year together.

Si Jingnian: Did you have fun at the plaza countdown?

Yu’an: No, I wanted to be with you.

Si Jingnian: Come home. I’m waiting.

Si Jingnian: You finally broke up with him.

Si Jingnian: Do I have a chance now?

Si Jingnian: If I confessed, would you accept me?

Yu’an: Of course I would.

April 29, 2019, 02:05

Si Jingnian: Tonight I said you’re my girlfriend.

Si Jingnian: Are you unhappy?

Si Jingnian: Can you be my girlfriend?

Yu’an: I would love to.

…

I read through the messages with tears streaming down my face.

So foolish. Si Jingnian was so foolish.

It turned out she had been playing both parts. She was Yu’an.

The timeline matched everything. Like the day I got my tax refund. Like December 24, when I got engaged to Qi Zhengyu. Like the New Year’s Eve I spent with him at the plaza. Like the time in the bar when she said I was her girlfriend.

So she liked me too. Knowing this filled me with bittersweet emotion.

The feelings revealed in those lines made it hard to breathe.

She liked me too.

My chest trembled with emotion I could not bear.

Someone knocked on my door. I wiped my tears and walked over to open it.

Si Jingnian stood there, holding a bouquet of purple baby’s breath. Her eyes were tender and soft, slightly red around the edges.

She looked straight at me. Her eyes were warmer and softer than sunlight in winter. Her lips parted, her voice uncertain but full of hope.

“Xiaoyu… would you…”

Tears streamed down my face again. I threw myself into her arms, wrapped my arms around her slim waist, and buried my face in her chest.

“I would! I would! I do!” I could feel her body trembling in my arms. Suddenly, she dropped the flowers and hugged me back tightly.

We used all our strength to hold each other, as if we wanted to merge into one.

I felt warm drops fall on my shoulder. They were tears.

I looked up at her face, but all I saw was her tense jawline.

She turned away shyly, not letting me see her cry.

I loosened my arms, but she did not let go.

I gently and reverently cupped her face, as if holding a sacred relic.

Tenderly and firmly, I turned her face toward me. The face that had always seemed cold and distant now shimmered with red rimmed eyes, damp lashes, and pink cheeks.

Tears flowed from the corners of her eyes.

I wiped away one.

Another gathered at the edge of her eye. I whispered, asking her to lower her head.

She obediently lowered it.

I rose on tiptoe and kissed the tear away.

It was sweet.