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Shao Cixin conscientiously pretended to be Wen Zhihan’s girlfriend.
Within a few days, most of the people in their department knew that the freshman Shao Cixin and the sophomore Wen Zhihan were together, and countless young boys’ hearts were extinguished in an instant.
—The person I liked turned out to be gay. My love was destined to be unrequited!
Shao Cixin developed some acting skills.
She played a very good girlfriend.
Her true feelings were the basis for her acting skills, and her acting skills were the basis for her true feelings.
After all, she really saw herself as Wen Zhihan’s lover. If they couldn’t be real, then at least she could pretend they were real!
What she didn’t know was that Wen Zhihan also regarded herself as her real girlfriend.
Both parties quietly played each other, and day after day, they began looking forward to leaving their apartment the most. After all, they could only pretend to be each other’s girlfriends when they were in public.
When Xu Zhouzhou found out about the inside story, she couldn’t help but express her admiration for Wen Zhihan. She never expected Wen Zhihan to use so many tricks to chase down Shao Cixin, one after another.
Meanwhile, Shao Cixin promised Wen Zhihan that she wouldn’t tell anyone the truth, so she kept it a secret from even her roommates. As a result, her roommates really believed they had become a legitimate couple and were shocked for a whole day.
In a cozy milk tea café, four people sat around one table.
Three of those people were staring at Shao Cixin.
Xiong Xiong said, “I’m just making sure, the two of you are actually together?!”
Xiao Bei murmured, “No one else could capture the senior sister, but you actually did it…”
Meng Meng gave her a thumbs-up. “You’re so cool, sis!”
Shao Cixin raised her eyebrows. She mustered a careless smile. “What’s wrong? Now that you know I like girls, could it be that you don’t want to hang out with me anymore?”
When the other girls heard this, they laughed.
“How could this be?” Xiong Xiong said. “In this era, who still looks at people with colored glasses[1]!”
“That’s right, that’s right,” Meng Meng echoed. “All likes are created equal!”
Xiao Bei nodded in agreement.
Shao Cixin was relieved when she heard this.
But even if they minded, she wouldn’t have been dissuaded.
Since she decided to like Wen Zhihan, she would not give up just because of a few disdainful words from outsiders.
If you liked someone, then you liked someone. What did gender have to do with it?
Xiong Xiong and the others began pestering Shao Cixin, asking her how she and Wen Zhihan became friends and who confessed first.
Shao Cixin: “…”
Good question.
Unexpectedly, her talent in the art of talking nonsense made a comeback.
“It was me.”
She decisively took it upon herself to make up stories filled with half-truths and half-lies—
“Actually, I began liking her a long time ago, when we were still in high school. Because I wanted to be with her all the time, I worked hard to get into Fengcheng University.
“I think you guys can tell that I like her because I’m always talking about her.
“Then one day, I saw someone confessing his love to her, and I began to feel jealous and unhappy because I didn’t want her to like anyone else, so I impulsively confessed to her.
“I never expected that she would like me back. My dreams came true, and we finally became a couple!”
Xiong Xiong and the other two people looked at each other, not expecting this development.
Meng Meng was amazed. She concluded, “Sometimes, impulsiveness may not be the devil. It could be your girlfriend instead.”
Shao Cixin couldn’t help but laugh after hearing this.
She instinctually looked in the direction of the academic building.
There, Wen Zhihan was taking a class, her headspace filled with unknowable thoughts and feelings, a realm foreign to Shao Cixin.
To this day, she still thought about what Wen Zhihan said after she kissed her.
What did it mean?
Was Wen Zhihan also bent?
If she was, was she bent for her??
Shao Cixin wanted to ask.
She really wanted to know.
She really, really wanted it.
In the ensuing silence, her brows furrowed, and her eyes slowly filled with an unyielding resolve.
No. What was the use of just thinking? She must personally ask Wen Zhihan and discover what she meant by this sentence!
Her roommate was right.
Impulsiveness may not be the devil. It could be her girlfriend instead!
For the sake of her happiness, she must bravely persevere and escape singlehood!
After checking the time, she packed her things and stood up. “I’m going to pick up my girlfriend. She’s almost done. Today’s my treat. Bye-bye!”
The three roommates huddled together and watched as Shao Cixin eagerly ran toward the academic building.
Xiao Bei couldn’t help but sigh, “Ah, this sour smell of love…”
Wen Zhihan scheduled her classes for the third and fourth blocks of the academic day. Whenever she got out, it was the perfect time for dinner.
The white and blue sky gradually dimmed, and a dark curtain swept over the sky, slowly rendering it in darkness.
Under the setting sun, groups of students walked in and out of the academic building.
Shao Cixin was sitting on a stone bench.
When she raised her eyes, she spotted Wen Zhihan in the crowd.
Wen Zhihan had a book tucked under her arm as she finished a friendly conversation with her classmates around her.
Even in the crowd, she was always eye-catching, like the moon hanging in the sky.
Shao Cixin happily stood up.
She was about to step forward when she saw the scene unfolding in front of her.
A young girl sprinted up to Wen Zhihan and stuffed a small note in her hand.
Then she ran away with a bashful face, not forgetting to look back and add, “Don’t show it to others!”
Shao Cixin: “…?”
Why did she blush at my girlfriend?
Damn, does she think I don’t exist?!
Shao Cixin’s jealousy surged. Her whole body began aching, as if she had been doused in a jar of vinegar[2],
She pretended to be calm, slowly walking towards Wen Zhihan as if nothing had happened. “What did she give you?”
Wen Zhihan saw that Shao Cixin was very curious, so without changing her expression, she pretended to let Shao Cixin see for herself, handing the note to Shao Cixin,
Shao Cixin instinctively looked away, avoiding the slip of paper.
“Don’t show it to me, didn’t she tell you not to show it to others?” Shao Cixin said with some integrity.
After hearing this, Wen Zhihan lowered her eyes and chuckled.
Shao Cixin was curious, but she still complied with other people’s wishes. Where did this little cutie come from?
Wen Zhihan unfolded the note and read it to herself.
Shao Cixin tried to glance at the note, but she couldn’t see it.
She looked at Wen Zhihan again. Wen Zhihan’s expression didn’t change.
The next second, she was caught off-guard by Wen Zhihan’s gaze.
“Cixin, are you curious about what’s written on this piece of paper?”
“…”
“A little.”
Shao Cixin said with great difficulty.
Seeing this, Wen Zhihan reasonably countered, “The girl said I couldn’t show it to others, but she didn’t say I couldn’t tell my girlfriend.”
Shao Cixin: “?”
—Well said!
Her curiosity instantly swelled, and she looked at Wen Zhihan with bright eyes.
In Wen Zhihan’s opinion, Shao Cixin’s current appearance was beyond cute.
Wen Zhihan smiled calmly.
She revealed slowly, “She said she likes me.”
Shao Cixin: “?”
Wen Zhihan continued, “She said that if we break up one day, she hoped I could consider her.”
Shao Cixin: “???”
Wen Zhihan finished, “She wrote her contact information on her note.”
Shao Cixin: !!!”
Shao Cixin was completely stunned.
In all her life, she had never seen someone so direct and unethical!!
At this moment, a surge of anger pierced through her jealousy.
She couldn’t control her emotions, as if Wen Zhihan was really her girlfriend who was about to be snatched away.
But when she met Wen Zhihan’s calm and gentle eyes, the fire burning in her chest suddenly withered away, finally becoming a flickering flame with a pitiful light.
What was she angry about?
What right did she have to be angry?
At the end of the day, she and Wen Zhihan were fake. They hadn’t established a real relationship. Even if Wen Zhihan wanted to consider someone else or reciprocate another person’s feelings, that had nothing to do with her, Shao Cixin.
They were fake. She had no right to be angry…
The more Shao Cixin thought about it, the more frustrated she became. At this moment, she saw Wen Zhihan crumpling the note into a ball of paper and throwing it into a nearby trash can.
Then she asked without changing her expression, “What do you want to have for dinner?”
—Like business as usual.
Shao Cixin blinked. She glanced at the trash can, then slowly returned her gaze to Wen Zhihan. “Why did you throw it away? Isn’t there someone’s contact information on it?”
Wen Zhihan took Shao Cixin’s hand and said with a calm expression, “I don’t need it.”
Shao Cixin exclaimed, “You’ve already memorized it?!”
Wen Zhihan: “…?”
Shao Cixin was stone-faced. “Your brain is as excellent as always.”
Wen Zhihan: “…”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Cixin, my brain is not good enough to the point where I can memorize other people’s numbers in an instant.
“If I said I don’t need it, then I don’t need it. Do you understand?”
“En, I understand.”
Shao Cixin’s irritable mood was instantly soothed. No matter how angry or jealous she was, she couldn’t resist Wen Zhihan’s hidden meaning by throwing away the note.
Wen Zhihan rejected the other party. Like everyone else, that girl had no chance.
But Wen Zhihan won’t always reject everyone…
Shao Cixin’s thoughts turned in this direction.
As long as Wen Zhihan was single, she was free to feel how she felt. She could invest in anyone at any time, and she could start a real relationship at any time.
The other party could be a boy or a girl. Nothing was certain.
The only certain thing was that, when this moment came around, Shao Cixin would never again have the same opportunity to hold Wen Zhihan’s hand, have dinner with her, or even live under the same roof as her as she did now.
Shao Cixin didn’t want to think about this distant future.
Such a future was too torturous for her to imagine!
Filled with scenes of Wen Zhihan with others, Shao Cixin absent from the picture…
If Wen Zhihan must fall in love with someone, why couldn’t that person be her?
Yes, why couldn’t it be her?
Shao Cixin’s heart was suddenly filled with courage—the courage to keep Wen Zhihan.
The people around them began to disperse in twos and threes.
Light snow started falling from the sky.
The streetlights that always lined the sides quietly turned on, bringing a warm orange glow to the white-dusted roads.
A calm winter night slowly rose.
At this moment, Wen Zhihan felt Shao Cixin tighten her hand.
The person beside her suddenly stopped and stood still, like she was rooted to the ground.
Wen Zhihan turned and saw a pair of eyes brimming with barely contained thoughts.
—Shao Cixin had something to say to her.
Wen Zhihan silently came to a stop and looked at Shao Cixin, waiting for her to speak.
Shao Cixin raised her hand and pulled away the scarf covering her lips.
“Wen Zhihan, I have something to tell you.”
Her brief opening remark was followed by silence.
Nerves struck her again. She tried to rebuild her mental confidence.
Dear Shao Cixin,
Someone who has never spoken to Wen Zhihan had the courage to confess to her, so why don’t you? Why can’t you? If you confess, the worst thing that can happen is a rejection, but then at least you’ll finally know if she likes you or not.
If you don’t confess, do you plan on hiding your feelings for all your life, waiting to see when Wen Zhihan will be taken away by others? Come on, Shao Cixin, don’t be such a coward!
She took a deep breath and prepared to speak her mind.
But she, who had always been sharp-tongued, suddenly didn’t know what sentence she should start with.
After thinking about it, she couldn’t help but sigh and say unhappily, “Wen Zhihan, I can’t stand it anymore…”
Wen Zhihan was stunned for a moment. Then her heart constricted, and she began to feel nervous.
Her intuition told her that Shao Cixin was about to say something related to their relationship, and that, most likely, it had made Shao Cixin extremely upset.
Shao Cixin stared at the ground, not daring to look into Wen Zhihan’s eyes. She spoke cautiously, like she was marching to her death.
—After this point, she couldn’t run anymore.
“Wen Zhihan, most people who meet you like you, and they can even openly ask for your contact information and confess to you.
“I know that this is a good thing. This alone proves how excellent you are, how great you are.
“But I’m not happy…”
The more she spoke, the lower she dipped her head, and the less she was willing to look at Wen Zhihan’s expression.
The palms of her hands seemed to have lost all feelings, and she couldn’t tell if the fingers intertwined with hers really existed.
It felt like a dream that could vanish at any time.
For a moment, she was truly humbled.
But the owner of the hand she was holding did not pull away.
Instead, she asked softly, “Why are you unhappy?”
“…”
Shao Cixin had nowhere to run.
She could only accept her fate and come to terms with her feelings.
“You might think I’m stingy and unreasonable, but when I think about you liking someone else, I become unhappy…”
What did she…just say?
Wen Zhihan looked at Shao Cixin with astonishment, her eyes full of disbelief.
Shao Cixin couldn’t see Wen Zhihan’s expression.
Her head was still lowered.
She began fiddling with the hem of her clothes.
“I’m very greedy. I don’t want to be your fake girlfriend. I want to be your real girlfriend.
“Sometimes, I even think unreasonably that I might as well just use the condition you still owe me to make you agree to be my real girlfriend. You owe it to me anyway, so you have to pay it back.
“But when I consider that you’ll be unhappy and angry with me, I don’t want to use it anymore…”
She liked Wen Zhihan so much.
She liked her so much she didn’t want to make her angry,
She liked her so much she didn’t want to force her.
She liked her so much didn’t want to see her unhappy.
She liked her so much she was hopeless.
Looking down at the hand in her palm, Shao Cixin suddenly drew on an act of unprecedented courage from her selfishness.
She raised her eyes and finally looked at the person who stole her heart.
“So, Wen Zhihan, I want to ask you something.
“If it’s possible for you to like a girl in this life, can that person be me?”
She had finally expressed her feelings.
She had boldly confessed!
The words were spoken.
Whether she lived or not, her fate would be determined today.
In short, she no longer needed to hide from Wen Zhihan!
However, she gave up in no more than two seconds.
Wait, Wen Zhihan wasn’t going to drive her away, was she?
Oh no…
Just when she was about to panic, Shao Cixin saw Wen Zhihan’s smile.
The hand in her palm still didn’t pull away. Instead, it squeezed down harder. Then—
She was pulled into Wen Zhihan’s embrace.
As she limply lay in Wen Zhihan’s arms, Shao Cixin heard the person she liked murmur in her ear, “You don’t need to present a hypothesis. It’s already an objective fact.
“I do like girls, and the person I like happens to be you. It will always be you, my Cixin.”
Wen Zhihan didn’t know how to express her joy at this moment.
It turned out that the person she liked had always liked her and had even been waiting for her…
Shao Cixin’s peach blossom eyes widened, filled with surprise and happiness.
It was all too sudden, and she couldn’t believe it right away.
She was excited and hesitant at the same time.
“Wen Zhihan, are you speaking the truth…”
“I am,” Wen Zhihan firmly said into her ear. “I like you, I like Shao Cixin.
“So my Cixin doesn’t need to be unhappy. I won’t like anyone else. I will only like you. I will always like you. This is a fact that no one in the world can change.
“Cixin, I am also very happy. It turns out that you like me back…”
Suppressing her excitement, she tightly embraced the person in her arms.
Shao Cixin liked her too. It was great, it was really great…
Shao Cixin stared blankly at the snow falling in the air around them. Then, a burst of warmth suddenly surged into her eyes.
The tip of her nose was sore, and even her voice contained a hint of crying, “It’s too good. Wen Zhihan, you like me…
“I won’t see you fall in love with anyone else, wah…
“I’m so happy, wah wah…”
Her cries were filled with joy.
The more she spoke, the more she couldn’t hold back the tears in her eyes. Fat droplets of water fell down her face.
Shao Cixin’s crying made Wen Zhihan laugh.
Wen Zhihan coaxed Shao Cixin with a smile as she helped her wipe away her tears.
“Be good. Don’t cry, don’t cry.”
“Wah…I can’t help it…”
“Okay, okay. Then let’s cry for a little while longer?”
“En…You have to stay with me.”
Shao Cixin pitifully grasped the ends of Wen Zhihan’s clothes.
Wen Zhihan smiled and hugged her.
She promised her solemnly, “I will always stay with you, forever.”
Shao Cixin’s tears finally turned into laughter. She returned Wen Zhihan’s hug, her arms filled with joy and happiness.
Fortunately, Wen Zhihan liked me back!
Sure enough, impulsiveness was not necessarily the devil. It could also be a girlfriend!
“Let’s have dinner and go home. I want to kiss my girlfriend as much as I can!”
Wen Zhihan suddenly took Shao Cixin’s waist. She patiently wiped Shao Cixin’s tears and said warmly, “Or we can go home first and order takeout.”
Shao Cixin couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows at her girlfriend who was more eager than herself. “Ah, Senior Sister, you’re even more impatient than me.”
“Mhm.” Wen Zhihan said with a calm smile, “Because I’ve liked you for so long, I can’t bear it any longer.”
From high school until college, they finally had the same feelings and didn’t miss each other.
This was the best thing that had happened to Wen Zhihan all year.
Shao Cixin smiled and pointed her hand, intertwined with Wen Zhihan’s, in the direction of the school gate. “Girlfriend, let’s go home!”
After that night, they became completely crazy about kissing each other. No matter what they did, they were kissing each other. They never grew tired of kissing.
Their relationship had been steadily developing over all these years, and their love for each other was not shallow.
Eventually, during Shao Cixin’s sophomore year of college, the country passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage. Since then, everyone has had another choice when it comes to who to marry.
The two of them also successfully came out to their parents, and they occasionally visited each other during the holidays. Over time, they became one happy family.
During one summer vacation, the couple went on a trip.
Shao Cixin packed her luggage early in the morning and left to pick up her girlfriend.
The longer their relationship lasted, the more she fell in love with Wen Zhihan. Every day when she opened her eyes, she couldn’t wait to see her.
As soon as she arrived at the Wen residence and greeted Wen Xingyun and his wife, she skillfully leaped up the stairs to find Wen Zhihan.
Wen Zhihan was about to change her clothes when she heard Shao Cixin coming. She opened the door for her, then returned to what she was doing.
Seeing that Wen Zhihan was about to change, Shao Cixin thoughtfully helped Wen Zhihan close the curtains, then sat down and admired the beautiful scene of her girlfriend changing clothes.
After Wen Zhihan finished changing, Shao Cixin covered her face and pretended to be shy, “Ai-ya, I can’t bear it. Senior Sister actually changes clothes like this in front of others. I’m so embarrassed.”
Seeing Shao Cixin acting again, Wen Zhihan smiled and walked over to kiss her.
After kissing her once, she felt that it was not enough, so she kissed her again for much longer.
“I seem to remember that my girlfriend often takes the initiative to help me take off my clothes.”
Shao Cixin immediately responded seriously, “What a coincidence, I also seem to remember that my girlfriend often takes the initiative to help me take off my clothes.”
Then she held her own face and said sheepishly, “I also remember that she loves me so much she can’t breathe. She feels uncomfortable when she can’t see me for even a day.”
Wen Zhihan’s smile grew even bigger. She dotingly pulled Shao Cixin into her arms and whispered softly, “En, she loves you so much that she can’t breathe. She feels uncomfortable if she can’t see you for a day.”
Shao Cixin was happy to see that Wen Zhihan was spoiling her, so she kissed her on the lips, over and over again.
“Go and comb your hair. We’ll leave when you’re ready. Uncle Ming is still waiting for us downstairs.”
Wen Zihan nodded. Then she pointed to her belongings placed by the window. “Help me put those in my bag. I’m going to fix my hair.”
“Go, go.” Shao Cixin turned around and began skillfully packing Wen Zhihan’s things.
After she finished, she opened the curtains, and the whole room was filled with light.
As she stood by the window and looked out, she could see the Wen family’s backyard.
At this time, there was only one person sitting there. Her future sister-in-law—Wen Yu.
In the entire Wen family, the only person she was unfamiliar with was Wen Yu.
When she met Wen Yu for the first time, Wen Yu showed no feelings of affection. She only nodded her head slightly.
She had a calm and pretty appearance.
For the sake of Wen Zhihan, Shao Cixin thought of having a good relationship with Wen Yu.
Later on, she learned that Wen Yu and Wen Zhihan didn’t like being involved with each other, so she never thought of contacting Wen Yu again.
“What are you looking at?” Wen Zhihan suddenly hugged Shao Cixin from behind.
Shao Cixin pointed to Wen Yu in the backyard. “Your little sister.”
Wen Zhihan’s expression remained unchanged. “Why are you looking at her? Does Cixin want to get to know her?”
Shao Cixin waved her hand and said indifferently, “No. I won’t like people you don’t like either. I will always present a united front with my Han Han.”
She knew that Wen Zhihan would not provoke others for no reason, nor would she hate someone for no reason.
Her Zhihan had always been gentle and kind, and anyone who could bother her was definitely not a good person, like this Wen Yu.
In any case, why would she waste time on Wen Yu? She already had too little time to spend with Wen Zhihan!
The topic of Wen Yu ended without a splash in their world.
Wen Zhihan kissed Shao Cixin on the cheek. She said with a gentle look on her face, “Let’s go and have our vacation.”
Shao Cixin smiled broadly. She picked up Wen Zhihan’s bag and exclaimed, “We’re leaving, we’re leaving. We’re going on our honeymoon!”
Every month she spent with Wen Zhihan was just as sweet as the next, so this was their honeymoon too and no one could refute it!
After getting in the car, the two chatted in the back seat.
“You’re going to enter Guanglan after your senior year?”
“En, Cixin hasn’t figured out what she wanted to do yet?”
“No…”
Shao Cixin was still conflicted about what she wanted to do after graduation.
If she couldn’t think of anything, she could only follow the path Shao Heng arranged for her, graduating and studying with the Shao Group, then inheriting the family business like Wen Zhihan.
Seeing Shao Cixin’s shoulders hunch, Wen Zhihan stretched out her hand to embrace her girlfriend.
She had Shao Cixin lean on her shoulder, then softly comforted, “It’s okay, let’s go slowly, and maybe you’ll find your answer when it’s time. For now, let’s focus on having fun for a month.”
Shao Cixin sat upright again.
That’s right, the ship would naturally go straight once it reached the bridge. If she couldn’t decide the future now, then let it be decided later. Right now, her main task was to be carefree and play with her girlfriend for a month. Nothing else was more important!
Just as Shao Cixin predicted, the future eventually came to her, and she was lucky enough to discover what she wanted to do during her senior year of college.
Before her graduation, she received an acting invitation, and with Wen Zhihan’s encouragement, she happily surged forward and boldly dipped her toes into a new field. This opened the door to another world, and her love for performing was ignited.
When Shao Heng saw that she liked acting so much, he didn’t force her to return to the Shao Group to inherit the family business. Instead, he respected her wishes and wholeheartedly supported her new career.
Since then, Shao Cixin and Wen Zhihan have stayed together through wind and rain, never separating, and living a safe and smooth life, growing old together until their hairs turned white from the passage of time.
The author (热到昏厥) has something to say:
Okay, scatter the flowers!
The campus love IF storyline ends here! Their subsequent development is almost indistinguishable from the development of the main story.
Starting tomorrow, the IF storyline of [If Cixin Lived in Their Past Life] begins. Remember to read it, because next week I will finish the whole story. This is the last IF story~
I will be very sad if no one[3] reads it QAQ.
[1] “带有色眼镜看人” (dài yǒusè yǎnjìng kàn rén) or “looking at people with colored glasses” is an idiom that refers to someone who looks down on others.
[2]“醋坛子” (cù tán zi) or “jar of vinegar,” an idiom for jealousy.
[3] 热到昏厥 actually says “如果miu人看，我会很难过” (“if MIU people read it, I will be very sad”). I think the “miu” is an abbreviation of “没有” (méiyǒu) or “no/none.”
