WHBU Chapter 3

The Past

Posted by April Fox, ? Views, Released on August 31, 2024

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Chapter 3 – The Past

Novel Title: 我们已经分手了 (We Have Broken Up)

Author：御小凡 (Yu Xiaofan)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists: 刘帆 (Liu Fan -MC), 陈谦 (Chen Qian -ML)

*Please read at Novels Space.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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In this private room, there were two round tables, and everyone had naturally divided themselves into two groups based on gender. The girlfriends sat together, and the brothers sat together. Liu Fan didn’t pay attention to who he was sitting with, because the cold dishes had already been served. There was a cold buckwheat noodle salad with chopped fresh chilli and vinegar, which smelled very appetising. Beside it, was sweet and sour pork ribs, cut to almost the same size. The sweet and sour sauce glistened under the light, sprinkled with white sesame seeds.

When no one started eating, it was awkward to be the first to dig in. Liu Fan had to look at each dish one by one, getting a rough estimate of the quality of the food here. Someone said, “Everyone, eat up,” and he slowly picked a small pan-fried bun the size of a thumb and put it in his bowl. Although the bun was small, the skin was very thin, and the bottom was slightly crispy. When he bit into it, it was full of meat. It was not dry at all. It was very juicy and delicious.

Yu Huilin asked, “Are you guys drinking white or red wine?”

The girls only had red wine and soft drinks, while the boys naturally had alcoholic drinks. Liu Fan didn’t particularly like drinking. But since it was a social occasion, he picked a low-alcohol red wine.

“I’m driving,” Chen Qian covered his cup with his hand, “I can’t drink, sorry.”

“I drove too. No worries, we have a designated driver!” Feng Xu, holding a bottle of white wine, was about to pour it into Chen Qian’s cup again. This time, Chen Qian grabbed his wrist and gently pushed it away, “I really can’t drink. I don’t like others driving my car.”

Listening on the side, Liu Fan sighed inwardly, thinking, ‘Look at this guy acting all cool. How natural.’

Although Chen Qian’s tone was still somewhat polite, the force in his hand was strong. Feng Xu couldn’t move at all despite struggling for a while. He had already drunk a glass of white wine. So his face was flushed with alcohol. Seeing Chen Qian being so stubborn, he started to get serious, “Hey, listen to me…-”

“-No need to drink if they don’t want to. We rarely get together. It doesn’t matter what we drink.” Liu Fan, still chewing on a piece of crispy fried eel, quickly intervened, “Uh, Yan Yi, could you please pass the Sprite over?”

Back in high school, Liu Fan was very popular among female classmates. The girls treated him much better than other boys. Many male classmates asked him to deliver love letters. Unfortunately, any love letter he delivered would inevitably end in failure. The mystery of this curse, where whoever he helped would get rejected, remains unsolved to this day.

When he called out, a girl stood up from the group of laughing girls, “If you want to drink, can’t you get it yourself? Asking a lady to bring it to you, where’s your gentlemanly manner?”

Despite her words, Yan Yi still brought over a bottle of Sprite. Liu Fan was just using her to change the topic and didn’t really intend to be served. He intercepted her halfway, “Thank you. I’ll save some of your favourite dishes for you later.”

Yan Yi playfully rolled her eyes at him and sashayed back to her seat.

With the situation having reached this point, Feng Xu’s frustration was diffused. He somewhat disgruntledly went to toast someone else. Liu Fan opened the Sprite and, intentionally or not, exchanged a glance with Chen Qian. An unspoken understanding passed between them, acknowledging the unspoken tension.

In truth, Liu Fan regretted his reflexive action immediately. Back in the day, Chen Qian lived a life where trouble sought him out even if he didn’t seek it. His way of dealing with it was simple and straightforward—someone looking for trouble? Just fight. Liu Fan found it exasperating that Chen Qian treated school life like a gangland. He had no choice but to get used to helping him out of tight spots.

He didn’t expect that after so many years apart, this habit of being Chen Qian’s designated firefighter would activate automatically upon their reunion. It was strange and embarrassing.

Chen Qian’s eyes seemed to hold a hint of mockery. But Liu Fan didn’t look closely. He poured half a cup of soda into his red wine, then handed the Sprite to Chen Qian, deciding to let it go.

“Today is our school’s 60th anniversary. After our meal, do you guys want to go back and take a walk around?” Yu Huilin asked during a break in the meal, “We chose to eat here because it’s close to the school.”

His suggestion was met with enthusiastic approval. Having graduated many years ago, they had never had such an opportunity to return to campus together. Everyone was excited.

Since there would be evening activities for more fun, the lunchtime gathering remained relatively calm. The last dish served was a dessert made with bananas as the main ingredient. The banana flesh was coated with condensed milk, slightly melted under high heat, mixed together, and wrapped in a thin layer of dough twisted into a candy shape. After being deep-fried, it was fragrant and crispy. When Liu Fan tasted it, it was so delicious that he almost cried.

Unfortunately, there was only one per person at the table, no extras. The novel appearance and excellent taste meant there were no leftovers among the boys.

Chen Qian never liked sweets. Liu Fan sneaked a glance at him. He secretly hoped he would spare one, so he could naturally take it… Under Liu Fan’s hopeful gaze, Chen Qian slowly picked up one. He slowly took a bite, frowned, swallowed, and then put the other half back on the plate.

Liu Fan: “…”

He felt tormented.

Being young, they finished all the dishes on the table cleanly. After devouring the meal, they energetically left the restaurant and headed towards their former high school.

At this point, the gender boundaries weren’t as clear. Yan Yi unknowingly walked up beside Liu Fan, “How have you been these past few years?”

Liu Fan had been her deskmate for a semester and had a good impression of this straightforward and unpretentious girl. He slowed his pace to match Yan Yi’s, “Not bad, not bad. At least, I haven’t gained weight.”

“Looks like you’ve been doing well.” Yan Yi, wearing a white T-shirt and overalls, and canvas shoes, walked briskly. She pretended to scrutinise him, “Still as handsome as ever, enough to make people want to punch you. So many people love and hate your face.”

“Huh?” Liu Fan took out a pack of Yida gum from his bag. He took a piece for himself and handed one to Yan Yi, flashing a cheeky smile, “This is the first time I’m hearing you compliment my looks in all these years. It feels a bit strange.”

Yan Yi sighed exaggeratedly and casually said, “To be honest, I had a crush on you for a while back then.”

Liu Fan almost swallowed his gum in surprise. Yan Yi and he had been like buddies, always getting along well but often butting heads, “What? Are you kidding?”

“Oh, back when I was your deskmate, many girls were jealous of me. So many girls liked you at our school. Those idiots even asked me to deliver love letters to you, not realising that standing next to you made their efforts look pitiful by comparison. You really didn’t know?” Yan Yi widened her eyes at him. But Liu Fan’s eyes were even wider, “Now I really want to punch you.”

Liu Fan touched his own face. He really didn’t know.

“Okay. But there were quite a few who didn’t dare to confess.” Yan Yi pointed at herself. Talking about liking someone in front of her former crush didn’t make her feel embarrassed at all. They were both adults now. These matters from the past only seemed funny and cute. Liu Fan felt the same way. They exchanged smiles, feeling nostalgic.

Yan Yi curiously asked, “But I remember there were quite a few who wrote love letters for you. Didn’t you receive any?”

Liu Fan was puzzled. At that time, his relationship with Chen Qian was already quite ambiguous. He spent all day thinking about that guy, so it was normal he didn’t notice others’ feelings towards him. But love letters? He hadn’t even received a single note!

“And your good buddy Chen Qian got them too.” Yan Yi raised her eyebrows in confusion, “Honestly, he looks good, though his personality isn’t my type. But many girls liked his wild style. He never mentioned it to you?”

Liu Fan thought about it. Chen Qian never talked about any girl, let alone any other people, “Never…”

Seeing his blank expression, Yan Yi looked at him with a sense of hopelessness, “Sometimes I feel like you and Chen Qian didn’t attend the same high school as the rest of us. You guys are so self-absorbed!”

Saying this, she glanced back, probably looking for Chen Qian. A few seconds later, she turned back as if stung, “Speaking of which, does he dislike me? I don’t remember doing anything to upset him. But every time he looks at me, his gaze is so fierce. Did you see that? He just glared at me again.”

Liu Fan: “…Maybe you saw it wrong?”

He could guess a bit why Chen Qian would act that way in the past. Feeling a bit guilty, he avoided her gaze. Actually, Chen Qian often complained about how close he and Yan Yi were, “He looks fierce at everyone, don’t mind it…”

“That’s true.” Yan Yi nodded in agreement. Then, with a disdainful look, she said, “He always acts all high and mighty, like a debt collector. He’s violent and a bit unhinged. How did you become such good friends with him? I’ve never understood.”

Liu Fan inhaled a deep breath, “We’ve known each other since we were children.”

If you spent all your time with someone from the moment you could run, it would be hard not to be close.

“Childhood friend, huh.” Yan Yi nodded, suddenly understanding. A girl behind them called out to her. So she said goodbye to Liu Fan and rejoined her group of friends.

Liu Fan walked alone for a bit, hands in his pockets. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chen Qian on the phone. His usually tense face is now slightly relaxed.

Yan Yi’s words stirred something in Liu Fan. Whether happy or sad, it was all part of their youth. Regardless of the nature of the memories, looking back, one only feels a sense of cherishing.

Cherishing those memories and cherishing who he was at that time.

He took a deep breath, smiled, and slowly made his way over to Chen Qian. Just as he arrived, Chen Qian ended his call and looked at him with a slightly wary expression.

Liu Fan smiled and, feeling nostalgic, greeted him, “It’s been a while.”

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*Translator’s Note: Meow…. I can pretty much guess what happened to those love letters sent back in school… CQ must have discarded them! Hahahaha! -K

*GLOSSARY: