Chapter 130: An Alluring Night (Part I)

Dong Yanyan straightened a foam mat on the table, stuck thumbtacks into it, then picked up a red cord and began patiently winding it around them. Xinran watched with fascination and asked curiously, “Yanyan, what are you making?”

“I’m making a lovers’ knot to tie that boy’s heart to mine,” Dong Yanyan said sweetly as she busied herself pulling the cord through.

Tiantian, who was folding roses at the table opposite, glanced over and smiled. “Sister, is that for Brother Ren? Teach me how to make one later, will you?”

“No problem,” Dong Yanyan replied casually with a laugh. “Though I’m not nearly as fast as Fourth Sister. How many sock cuffs have you knitted, Fourth Sister? Is there one for me?” She turned to Leng Yue.

Leng Yue sat at the edge of the bed with her legs crossed, the steel needles in her hands moving swiftly. “You’re not up yet. This one is for Li Jian from the audiovisual class.”

“Fourth Sister, then you’re in trouble. If Third Sister finds out you didn’t knit hers first, won’t she come after you?” Yu Xia poked her head down from the upper bunk and laughed. “Are all of you trying to become weaver girls? Why not just buy something ready-made?”

“Second Sister, you just don’t understand,” Dong Yanyan said with a smile. “Men and women express affection differently. Men are more straightforward; at their most romantic, they offer roses, champagne, and violins. A woman’s romance, on the other hand, is expressed through these little things and thoughtful gestures. They may be small, but they carry great meaning. Men often don’t understand them, but that kind of difference is what makes a relationship normal. If a woman treats a man the way a man would treat him, before long they’ll become buddies. If a man treats a woman the way a woman would treat her, before long they’ll become best girlfriends. A woman should know how to enjoy being cherished by a man, but she should also know how to love him in her own way. That’s what being in love is all about.”

“Fifth Sister always has a whole speech ready,” Leng Yue said with a laugh. “I only know how to knit sock cuffs.”

“I think she makes perfect sense!” Yu Xia said eagerly. “Fifth Sister, teach me later too, will you?”

“Sure! I’ll teach all of you once I finish this.” Dong Yanyan pulled the thumbtacks out of the foam mat and patiently tightened the red cord bit by bit. The most troublesome part of making a Chinese knot was the final step. If the cord was pulled unevenly, the finished knot would come out crooked and ugly.

The telephone rang. Xinran picked it up and handed the receiver to Dong Yanyan, who took it. It was Ren Jiaxuan.

“Yanyan, I’ll be waiting for you at the school gate in ten minutes,” he said brightly.

“I’m busy right now. Make it half an hour,” Dong Yanyan replied with a smile, pinning the phone between her shoulder and ear as she pulled the cord.

“All right! Don’t be late,” Ren Jiaxuan said with a laugh.

Dong Yanyan set down the phone, only to discover that she had pulled the cord crooked. What a fussy little thing!

“Fifth Sister, what did he do now?” Yu Xia asked curiously.

Dong Yanyan pouted and held up the lovers’ knot. “See? I pulled the cord crooked. I have to fix it.”

“It’s beautiful! Let me see! Let me see!” Tiantian and the others crowded around, all clamoring to take a look.

Dong Yanyan watched them with an amused smile. They were so easily impressed. While the girls were still making a fuss, the telephone rang again. Tiantian dashed over to answer it, her eyes curving as she said sweetly, “No, make it an hour. I’m busy right now!” Then she hung up and hurried to finish folding the roses.

Dong Yanyan teased her, then suddenly remembered that Tiantian had once quarreled with He Jingxuan over exactly this sort of thing. She had been late folding roses for him, and He Jingxuan had lost his temper after waiting and waiting for her. What should have been a lovely occasion had ended with the two of them parting in anger.

“Tiantian, there’s no way you’ll finish those roses in an hour. Don’t let him get impatient and angry,” she advised. “I think you should explain it to him first.”

Tiantian pouted at the rose in her hand. “But I have to finish them. I still need to give them to him tonight.”

“We’ll help you fold them!” Leng Yue offered readily.

“You’re all so wonderful!” Tiantian said, affectionately wrapping her arms around Leng Yue’s neck.

Suddenly, there was a tremendous crash. The door was kicked open, and Gu Xiaohan stormed in, pointing at Dong Yanyan as she shouted, “Fifth Sister, if you ever get friendly with Liu Siying again, I’m cutting you off! I’m furious!”

Dong Yanyan immediately realized that something was terribly wrong. The girl was about to explode.

“What did she do to upset you? I’ll go settle the score with her!” Dong Yanyan said, soothing her while desperately trying to remember what had made her angry. Unfortunately, she could not recall it at all.

“A few days ago, I bought a shirt, didn’t I? The one I’m wearing now! And today she showed up in one exactly like it. I ran into her upstairs with those people from the student union, and she said to me, ‘Xiaohan, why did you buy the same shirt as me?’ Then Zhou Zheng even laughed at me and said I wasn’t as pretty as she was. She clearly saw me wearing it days ago, and now she’s accusing me of copying her!” Xiaohan fumed.

Dong Yanyan looked at the shirt she was wearing. It was true: it was difficult for a slightly plump girl to look good in that style. Running into a petite beauty like Liu Siying wearing the same shirt was practically a tragedy. Still, Dong Yanyan knew that Xiaohan had bought hers first, so Liu Siying really had been rather shameless. Then again, shameless behavior was hardly unusual for her. This was only one more instance.

“She lives by flattering men, and you don’t need to,” Xinran drawled. “There’s no point getting angry at someone like that.”

The others fell silent for a moment, then chimed in one after another.

“Exactly, exactly. As long as we think we look good, that’s all that matters. We’re not dressing for them.”

Clouds began to clear from Gu Xiaohan’s face, and before long she was smiling again. That was what was so good about her: her temper came quickly and vanished just as quickly.

Dong Yanyan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then she noticed that the time she had arranged to meet Jiaxuan was approaching. She quickly put on her coat, grabbed her backpack, and ran out.

She hurried to the school gate with her backpack on her shoulders and looked around twice, but there was no sign of Ren Jiaxuan. Just as she was beginning to wonder, a car horn sounded nearby. She turned and saw Ren Jiaxuan’s car parked along the road beside the school, its two headlights flashing on and off.

She ran toward it. The moment she reached the sedan, the rear door suddenly opened. A hand swiftly dragged her inside and slammed the door shut. Her heart gave a startled lurch, and she fell against Ren Jiaxuan. His familiar, warm scent enveloped her.

“You scared me!” she said with a laughing reproach. “Why did you call me out so late?”

“I missed you,” Ren Jiaxuan replied. He turned and slipped an arm around her, then casually lifted the necklace from her neck and gave a low laugh. “You’re wearing this? It looks really nice.”

“I’ve been wearing it for ages, and you’re only noticing now? What’s wrong with your eyes?” Dong Yanyan teased with a smile.

A sudden chill touched her wrist. Ren Jiaxuan slipped a bracelet onto it, then raised her hand for her to see.

“Keep this on too. It suits you.”

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