GL My Goddess Best Friend’s Seduction (H) - Chapter 42

On February 14, 2007, that year’s Valentine’s Day happened to fall during winter break. At the time, Si Jingnian and An Xiaoyu were still using Nokia phones. An Xiaoyu sent text messages to Si Jingnian every day, constantly tapping away on her keypad. She even subscribed to a M-Zone messaging plan just so she could send unlimited texts.

That night at 8:30 p.m., An Xiaoyu had just finished eating water chestnut dumplings made by her mother. She lay back on her bed and pulled out her color-screen Nokia.

An Xiaoyu: Jingnian, did you get a lot of confession messages today?

Si Jingnian: Not really.

An Xiaoyu: No way. How many confession messages did you get?

Si Jingnian: Over twenty, I think.

An Xiaoyu: ??? I think you might misunderstand the meaning of ‘not really.’

What she thought at the time was, Ugh, I missed out on making a few dozen yuan.

This was what happened. Not long after the semester began, the two of them became good friends. Si Jingnian rarely approached people and had no other close friends, so her bond with An Xiaoyu seemed even more special. She was beautiful, cool, had excellent grades, and came from a good family. Boys crowned her the school beauty of Liushi High.

So An Xiaoyu became the go-to person for boys trying to learn more about Si Jingnian.

Boys often gave An Xiaoyu snacks just to ask about Si Jingnian’s hobbies, the type of boys she liked, or what kind of hairstyle she preferred.

2007 was also the year the “non-mainstream” aesthetic exploded in popularity.

But under Si Jingnian’s supervision, An Xiaoyu did not fall into that trend.

She enjoyed the small perks she got from being close to Si Jingnian. Before long, her weight quickly surpassed 100 pounds.

Once she noticed, she began turning down snacks from boys.

But these boys were cunning.

They started topping up her phone credit instead. Some bought her QQ memberships, and others sent her various colored diamonds. These included pink, red, green, and several other colors.

An Xiaoyu became the most dazzling and stylish presence on her QQ friend list.

The boys lined up to give her money. That Valentine’s Day alone, her QQ membership was extended through September 2008.

Did she feel a little guilty about accepting all this in exchange for tipping off their love interest?

Yes, maybe just a tiny bit.

But receiving gifts felt too good. and continuing to receive them felt even better.

This time, all she did was give them Si Jingnian’s phone number.

An Xiaoyu tried to soothe her conscience with that thought.

Then she received another text from Si Jingnian.

Si Jingnian: Stop giving my number to people. They keep sending messages and calling. It’s too noisy.

A pang of guilt rose in An Xiaoyu’s heart. She pictured Si Jingnian frowning while hanging up and deleting texts, and felt even more ashamed.

An Xiaoyu: Okay. How about I get you a new number? Consider it my apology.

Si Jingnian: That’s not necessary.

An Xiaoyu: No, it is. Come to the square at Central Park. I’ll get you a new SIM card.

Back then, Si Jingnian hadn’t moved to the villa in the suburbs yet. Her family had bought a duplex apartment near Liushi High so she could attend school there. It was only a little over a kilometer from An Xiaoyu’s home.

Central Park was only about 300 meters from Si Jingnian’s place.

She wrapped herself in a snow-white puffer jacket and headed downstairs, but was startled by the crowd of couples on the street.

She hadn’t expected the streets to be so packed. Flower vendors, plush toy sellers, candied hawthorn stalls lined both sides of the road.

She had to squeeze her way through the crowd, shoulder to shoulder, to reach Central Park.

When she arrived at the square, An Xiaoyu was nowhere in sight.

Five minutes later, a small figure bounded over like an anxious bunny. An Xiaoyu was wearing a red cotton jacket, with two little buns on her head, each tied with red ribbons and white pom-poms. She looked like one of those animated Chinese dolls that played in supermarket background music.

Only she was even cuter.

Whenever she walked, the pom-poms bounced along with her.

Like a little spark of life in the deep winter night.

Later, Si Jingnian would think, Maybe that was the moment I started falling for An Xiaoyu.

An Xiaoyu’s cheeks were flushed. It was hard to tell whether it was from the cold or from warmth. The color mirrored her red coat exactly. She rushed over and stood in front of Si Jingnian.

Her hands, warm like a heater, grabbed Si Jingnian’s and held them tightly.

“Jingnian, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

For the first time in her life, Si Jingnian felt her heart skip like a startled fawn. Her chest felt warm, her head dizzy, and her reply stumbled out.

“I… for…give you.”

After hearing that, An Xiaoyu hooked her arm through Si Jingnian’s and led her to a newly opened milk tea shop in Central Park.

Back then, there were few milk tea places. It was the kind with no seating, just a small storefront.

The only flavors were basic ones like strawberry, vanilla, and taro, with toppings like pearls or coconut jelly.

An Xiaoyu bought a strawberry milk tea for herself and got a vanilla one for Si Jingnian.

As they walked, she said, “My mom insisted on dressing me like this today to visit my grandparents. It looks so silly.”

“Not silly.”

“Huh?” An Xiaoyu slurped a pearl.

“Not silly. Very cute.”

An Xiaoyu’s eyes crinkled with a smile. She looked like a vibrant, living New Year doll.

Si Jingnian gazed at her with a softness in her eyes. Her expression was tender, filled with gentle affection.

An Xiaoyu brought her to a phone store to pick a new number. They chose one ending in 1103.

That was An Xiaoyu’s birthday. Naturally, she was the one who chose it.

Si Jingnian looked like she wanted to refuse, but An Xiaoyu waved her off grandly and said that since she was paying, she had the final say.

After inserting the new SIM card, An Xiaoyu used Si Jingnian’s phone to send herself a message.

139XXXXXXX: An Xiaoyu, hello. This is Si Jingnian.

139XXXXXXX: You are very cute. I like you very much.

Then An Xiaoyu replied with her own phone.

156XXXXXXX: Hello, Si Jingnian. You are very good-looking. I like you too.

That phone is still with Si Jingnian to this day. She never gave up that number. Sometimes she even turns it on just to reread those two messages.

Especially after going abroad.

After leaving the store, the two wandered the streets together.

Lots of girls were carrying flowers and plush teddy bears. An Xiaoyu looked longingly and said, “I really want to get flowers too. I want to fall in love but my mom says I can’t date until college.”

“I’ll buy you some.” Si Jingnian led her to a street vendor. “Do you want red, champagne, or blue?”

“Any of them is fine.”

Si Jingnian bought three of each color. The vendor wrapped them into a bouquet and handed them to An Xiaoyu.

She held the flowers with a joyful smile all the way.

Her right hand clutched the bouquet, and her left hand reached out to take Si Jingnian’s.

An Xiaoyu felt a wave of excitement rise in her chest. Si Jingnian, on the other hand, felt her hand heat up where An Xiaoyu held it tightly. She didn’t dare pull away, and though she wanted to hold An Xiaoyu’s hand in return, she was too shy to make a move.

That night, sleep refused to come to Si Jingnian. She lay wide awake, staring at the ceiling as the darkness slowly gave way to the first light of dawn.

Their fifth Valentine’s Day together happened to fall on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. That day, the two of them set off for an island to chase summer.

They landed at 3 p.m., dropped their luggage off at the hotel, and slathered themselves in sunscreen. Then they put on breezy beach dresses and headed for the sea.

On the beach, some men and women were sunbathing, fully comfortable in their own skin.

Si Jingnian pulled down An Xiaoyu’s hat brim to keep her from staring.

“Hey, hey, can’t I even look?” An Xiaoyu pouted and pushed her hat up. Her big eyes darted around curiously.

“No,” Si Jingnian said, this time covering her eyes with a hand.

“Ahh! I can’t see anything!”

Still holding her hand over An Xiaoyu’s eyes, Si Jingnian led her through the crowd to a quieter part of the beach.

“Can I look now? I’m about to fall asleep!”

Si Jingnian removed her hand. An Xiaoyu blinked a few times before taking in the view.

The sea looked as clear as jelly. The sky was gem-blue. The sand was soft, and the sensation beneath their toes felt wonderful. A gentle breeze brushed against their skin, slowing down the pace of life. Suddenly, everything else seemed unimportant.

There were only a few scattered tourists nearby, all at a distance.

An Xiaoyu spread out a round beach towel and lay down.

It had a diameter of 1.8 meters, more than enough room for two girls.

Si Jingnian lay down beside her.

An Xiaoyu looked up at the sky. The sun felt a bit harsh, so she raised her arm to block it from her eyes.

Si Jingnian propped her chin up with her right hand and lifted her upper body slightly. She looked at An Xiaoyu lying beside her. When An Xiaoyu lifted her arm, the already short T-shirt rode up, revealing the gentle curve of her waist, a faint outline of her ribs, and the lower edge of her undergarment.

Si Jingnian’s gaze darkened. She leaned in and whispered in a husky voice, “You look like you just lost your mind under me in bed.”

An Xiaoyu raised her arm and glared at her, blushing.

With a mischievous grin, Si Jingnian straddled her, hands and knees pinning her down.

Without warning, she kissed her.

They were already so used to each other’s rhythm that they fell into it instantly, kissing with abandon.

They licked, nipped, and moaned, panting with heavy breaths. Silver strands clung to their lips.

Si Jingnian’s hands instinctively cupped An Xiaoyu’s chest. After much effort and a little weight gain, An Xiaoyu was nearly ready for a D cup.

An Xiaoyu whimpered, then pushed away Si Jingnian’s roaming hands. “No, we can’t. There are people around.”

That only made Si Jingnian want her more.

She wrapped them both under the beach towel, sealing them in tightly.

In the dim slivers of light between the fabric, she looked into An Xiaoyu’s eyes. The sparks in the air pulled them back into another kiss.

Her left hand returned to its place. Her right hand traced fire across An Xiaoyu’s body.

…

In the end, they did not go all the way. An Xiaoyu was far too nervous, and Si Jingnian was unable to proceed.

Still, that did not stop An Xiaoyu from reaching a psychological high.

She walked awkwardly back to the hotel with Si Jingnian.

That Valentine’s Day, they left traces of their love on the floor, in the bathroom, on the windowsill, and everywhere else.