Limited First Love Chapter 33
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 33 A Bit Of Dark History
Guo Wei hadn't had a chance to reply yet when Chen Zui, sitting across from him, asked, "Is it Little Sister Ruan?"
"Hmm," Guo Wei nodded, keeping the smile on his face as he looked at him, "How did you know?"
With one hand propping up his chin, Chen Zui sighed with emotion. "It really makes me envious."
"What?" Guo Wei asked.
"Nothing," Chen Zui said, "I just suddenly realized strongly that I am a lonely soul."
Guo Wei lowered his head again, editing his reply while saying, "There must be many people who like you. If you want to date, you can do it anytime."
"There are also many people who like Little Sister Ruan, but he has been single for so many years," Chen Zui said, "And got me misunderstood."
"Misunderstood about what?" Guo Wei asked curiously.
"He finds those pursuing him too bothersome and intentionally uses me as a smokescreen. When I try to clarify, I'm still seen as a scumbag," Chen Zui said, "indirectly driving away my peach blossom."
Guo Wei looked at him earnestly. "Thank you for your hard work! I appreciate it!"
"This meal wasn't too much trouble, was it?"
"This one doesn't count," Guo Wei declared boldly, "I'll treat you to a proper one next time!"
As he spoke, he sent the text he had just composed into the chat box with Ruan Yiyun.
——I'm having dinner with Chen Zui, and we happened to be talking about you!
Ruan Yiyun immediately responded with a period, then swiftly retracted it and sent another message.
——Talking about me? What about?
Guo Wei was honest.
——We're discussing your childhood.
Chen Zui stretched his neck. "Hey, you didn't already tell him what I just said, did you?"
"Hmm," Guo Wei puzzled, "Can't I?"
Chen Zui looked exasperated.
Guo Wei appeared puzzled. "Is it not allowed?"
At that moment, his phone on the table emitted a notification sound indicating a received message. He glanced at it, smiled, and picked it up.
Guo Wei didn't have a hobby of prying into others' privacy. He continued to message Ruan Yiyun with his head lowered.
——It's very cute! I find it quite interesting!
Ruan Yiyun didn't respond.
Chen Zui, sitting opposite him, leisurely tapped away on his phone, wearing a smile as if he had stumbled upon something extremely amusing.
With Ruan Yiyun occupied elsewhere and Chen Zui silent, Guo Wei idled away, focusing solely on his meal.
After a while, Chen Zui set down his phone and said to Guo Wei, "I just remembered something else."
Guo Wei observed his expression. "...You're smiling in a strange way."
It seemed malicious.
"Because this thing is really funny," Chen Zui said, "Did you know, when Little Sister Ruan was young, he used to cry a lot."
Guo Wei immediately became interested, leaning forward and signaling for him to continue eagerly.
"Back then, we had a neighbor downstairs who wasn't very hygienic. Their house was infested with cockroaches, contaminating the entire building," Chen Zui recounted, gesturing with his hand, "Some of them could grow so big."
Guo Wei shuddered immediately.
While they conversed, Chen Zui's phone would occasionally ring. Chen Zui merely glanced at it casually from time to time, paying it no mind.
"It was around fourth grade, I think. He was home alone during the holidays when a flying cockroach crawled onto his face. He screamed so loudly that I could hear it clearly from next door," Chen Zui recounted. "After he screamed, I heard him swearing and the sound of something like a fight. I thought he was in danger, so I ran over and saw him barefoot, crying, swearing, and slamming the floor with a slipper." Chen Zui gestured with both hands as he spoke. "When I pulled him up, that cockroach was completely disfigured, smashed into a big mess."
Guo Wei imagined it and felt an itch on his back.
"He cried with tears streaming down his face, asking me incoherently to wipe the floor for him," Chen Zui continued. "I found it disgusting and refused. He went to fetch a newspaper and covered the mess of cockroach, intending to set it on fire. If I hadn't reacted quickly, the entire building might have been in flames."
Guo Wei wrinkled his face and shrank his neck. "...I can understand him, though."
"But if you were to ask him about this incident now, he would never admit it," Chen Zui said.
"Then I won't bring it up to him," Guo Wei said before reminding Chen Zui, "Your phone has been ringing constantly. Aren't you going to check it?"
With a smile, Chen Zui picked up his phone, glanced at it, and typed a few words with one hand. "By the way, I just remembered another interesting thing."
Guo Wei, of course, remained interested. "Hmm, go on!"
Before Chen Zui could speak, Ruan Yiyun, who had been silent for a while, replied.
——I miss you so much, I want to video call you right now
——Is it okay?
——😘😘
Guo Wei immediately fell into hesitation. Now was not a good time for a video call. It would be extremely impolite to be engrossed in conversation with his beloved on the phone while dining with someone else.
"What's wrong? Did he message you again?" Chen Zui asked with interest. "What did he say?"
Guo Wei quickly made a decision and temporarily set aside his phone. "He's urging me. Let's finish eating quickly, and then I'll head back first."
"Don't want to hear it?"
"Next time!" Guo Wei replied. "Next time, I'll treat you to a proper meal, and we can talk about it then. But it's probably better to wait until next month when I have a bit more money on hand."
As he spoke, another message arrived.
——Husband, are you there?
Guo Wei quickly lowered his head to reply.
——Wait for me for five minutes, I'll be ready soon!
Seeing this, Chen Zui no longer insisted. "Well then, let me thank you in advance."
After parting ways with Chen Zui, Guo Wei had just left the cafeteria when he immediately sent a video call request to Ruan Yiyun.
When the call connected, Ruan Yiyun on the screen seemed to be in higher spirits than yesterday.
"You're so slow," Ruan Yiyun complained. "You were too busy chatting with him and ignored me."
"It's only been a few minutes," Guo Wei checked the time. "I just tidied up a bit and said goodbye to him."
"I miss you too much, so it feels like a long time," Ruan Yiyun said.
After all, he was still walking on the street in broad daylight. Although he wouldn't attract undue attention when alone, Guo Wei couldn't help but feel more shy than usual.
He chuckled foolishly at Ruan Yiyun, "Hehe."
"What did you guys talk about? It seemed like you got along well," Ruan Yiyun said.
"He told me some stories about your childhood," Guo Wei said. "They were fascinating and interesting."
Ruan Yiyun scoffed, "...He's not a good person, he just likes to tarnish others' images."
"No, no, they're all quite cute!" Guo Wei sighed. "If only I had met you earlier, I really wish I could play with you guys."
"Just playing with me is enough. Why bother bringing him along?" Ruan Yiyun said. "Even dogs used to avoid him when he was a kid. You don't know, before he was born, his parents originally planned to have several more children, but after having him, they developed a fear of human infants and never dared to have more."
Guo Wei was amazed. "That's intense..."
"Keep your distance from him, so you won't be infected," Ruan Yiyun continued. "And... if you get too close to him at school, if some bored person sees, you might end up being mocked."
"Whatever," Guo Wei sighed. "Can't control it anyway. Can't let these things affect my life just because I'm worried about them."
"You can't say that," Ruan Yiyun changed the subject. "It doesn't affect us, but if everyone misunderstands that he's bothering you, it could affect his chances of finding a partner."
"That's right!" Guo Wei nodded.
Earlier, Chen Zui had also complained that in the past, Ruan Yiyun indirectly drove away many potential romantic interests, leaving him still single. Now, the instigator, Ruan Yiyun, had found his own sweet love. Guo Wei, being a part of this sweet love, felt guilty towards Chen Zui and wanted to make amends in behalf of Ruan Yiyun.
"How about I post something on our school's BBS?" Guo Wei suggested. "At least it's semi-anonymous there, and explaining things would be easier than on the Confession Wall. Even if I don't explain, just emphasizing that there's nothing going on between me and him should be enough, right?"
"Don't you know," Ruan Yiyun said, "that forum shut down a while ago."
"Huh?" Guo Wei was surprised. "It shut down?"
"Yeah," Ruan Yiyun said. "Technically, it didn't shut down completely. Posts and replies need to be reviewed before they're displayed now, but the review process is very slow, taking several days. So, nobody likes to go there anymore. The page stays static, you can only see old posts, it's no different from being shut down."
"Why?" Guo Wei was even more puzzled.
"Seems like... there was just too much chaotic content," Ruan Yiyun said. "I have a classmate who used to be in charge of section moderation, but she got demoted a while ago. I even asked her to block those posts that leaked your information before."
Guo Wei remembered that day when Wang Tong asked him to apply for post deletion, but he hadn't gotten around to it before the posts disappeared.
"Let's not dwell on this," Ruan Yiyun reminded him. "Don't just look at your phone, pay attention to the road too, be careful not to fall."
Guo Wei nodded quickly. "I'm paying attention, I'm paying attention!"
He was just paying a little more attention to Ruan Yiyun. After all, he was good-looking.
Ruan Yiyun smiled at him and asked, "Are you free this weekend?"
"Yes!" Guo Wei answered loudly and enthusiastically. "I'll come see you!"
Ruan Yiyun smiled and kissed the screen. "You're really good to me."
When he returned to the dorm, Wang Tong was sitting at the desk, eating instant noodles while rushing through his assignments.
Guo Wei eagerly shared the gossip he had just heard with him, "Did you hear? That school forum you used to curse seems to have gone down."
"I know." Wang Tong's information was always more up-to-date than his, and more specific too. "Because someone complained on there about a teacher forcing the sale of study materials."
"What?" Guo Wei was bewildered.
"A professor was recommending their own compiled reference books in class, claiming they contained exam points," Wang Tong explained. "Strictly speaking, it's against the rules. Some students posted complaints on the forum, and the school said they would investigate it seriously. They're still dealing with it when someone went and exposed that the professor had a backer, or something like that, but I'm not sure if it's true or not. It caused a big commotion. Before long, it became difficult to post on there."
Guo Wei was surprised. "That forum actually has such serious content?"
"It has everything. You think it was all just gossip?" Wang Tong retorted. "Anyway, it's good news for you. Those gossipmongers won't be able to talk about you guys anymore."
"It's not much different," Guo Wei chuckled. "There's still that Confession Wall, isn't there? It's not easy to shut people up."
"True," Wang Tong agreed, then suddenly remembered something, a malicious smile forming on his face. "Before long, the whole school will know that your significant other has become an Alpha."