Chapter 87: Friends
Woken in the middle of the night, Qiao Rubai had expected something urgent, but Ji Junxin’s message only made her laugh. She leaned back against her pillows, feeling sleepy, and her thoughts drifted to the past.
How had she and Ji Junxin become friends?
It was back in elementary school. Their teacher loved rearranging the seating, not just shifting rows weekly, but also randomly swapping seats. People naturally adapted to their environment, the changes subtle but real. Thanks to their teacher, the class’s social network was incredibly complex. Just as you got used to the people around you, you were thrown into a new environment. Qiao Rubai, due to her complicated family background, had always kept people at arm’s length. So, whenever she finally, after careful observation, decided to approach someone, the teacher would rearrange the seats. Time and again, she watched as other children, so easily making friends, played together happily, while she… remained on the outside. Even though young Qiao Rubai thought she didn’t need friends… she was still a child, her mind and worldview still developing, she didn’t have the emotional maturity to match her thoughts.
Even a lonely child needed friends!
After most of the semester, although the teacher continued rearranging the seats, in a class that size, with the same group of students, they eventually found their own circles of friends. And Qiao Rubai… gave up on making friends.
She still clearly remembered that cold winter morning, near the end of the semester, when the teacher rearranged the seats again, right before the bell rang. Qiao Rubai’s seat hadn’t changed, but half the people around her were new. The classroom was a chaotic mess of children moving their belongings. She sighed and left the classroom. Outside, the other children were playing, kicking shuttlecocks, jumping rope, playing tag… Qiao Rubai watched from the doorway, finding the games childish, yet feeling a pang of loneliness. She was just in elementary school, but she felt like a weary old soul. Just before the bell rang, she returned to her seat and realized… her new deskmate was the class’s ice queen…
The ice queen was Ji Junxin. Beautiful, with strict parents, focused solely on her studies, no time for fun or games, a seemingly unapproachable figure. Even well-behaved children were still playful at that age, running around and playing during breaks. Ji Junxin, beautiful, always neat and tidy, speaking softly, a diligent student with good grades, seemed difficult to approach.
Seeing that her deskmate was Ji Junxin, Qiao Rubai thought that if she couldn’t even befriend an ordinary child before the teacher moved her, how could she befriend this unapproachable ice queen? … She gave up. She took out her textbook and suddenly smelled the sweet aroma of roasted sweet potato, a smell that shouldn’t be in the classroom. Looking around, she finally noticed the slight movement of her new deskmate’s cheeks, a suspicious orange crumb by her mouth.
“The teacher said no food in the classroom,” young Qiao Rubai, still righteous, said to her new deskmate.
What happened next? … Qiao Rubai, drowsy, nuzzled her pillow. The little Ji Junxin, her face on the verge of tears, had startled her, so much so that she quickly promised not to tell the teacher. And then, little Ji Junxin, either out of gratitude or to ensure her silence, had offered her a small piece of the roasted sweet potato. Although her own family was full of drama, they were well-off, and she always had a full breakfast. Why hadn’t she refused? … Perhaps, she had been truly lonely then, unable to refuse a hand offered in friendship.
Once that first step towards friendship was taken, the following steps weren’t difficult. As they became closer, Qiao Rubai learned about Ji Junxin’s unusual family, her academic parents’ neglect, and that the small piece of sweet potato she had shared was bought with Ji Junxin’s precious allowance, a sacrifice that Ji Junxin had regretted until they became friends, because good things were meant to be shared. Qiao Rubai hadn’t understood then why Ji Junxin’s allowance was so precious. After all, they attended a good school, and Ji Junxin’s clothes and belongings didn’t suggest poverty. Later, she learned that Ji Junxin’s parents were incredibly strict, she had no allowance at all. A relative had once given her a piggy bank as a gift, putting two yuan in it as a demonstration. Ji Junxin had tried to return the money, but he wouldn’t take it, and her parents forgot about it, so she finally had two yuan of her own… which she used to buy the roasted sweet potato she had craved for so long, the one she shared with Qiao Rubai.
At that time, Qiao Rubai hadn’t understood why Ji Junxin had never had any street food, why she didn’t ask her parents for it, or for an allowance. Although her own family was complicated, she always had some money, and she could get anything she wanted, as long as it was reasonable. She had thought Ji Junxin’s family was strange, no wonder Ji Junxin was so… unexpectedly endearing.
Yes, endearing. From afar, an unapproachable ice queen, up close, a secret foodie, it was amusing. Qiao Rubai, intrigued, put more effort into their friendship, and the two lonely children became friends, practically growing up together.
Years later, their elementary school class organized a visit to their former teacher. Qiao Rubai hadn’t been interested, but she went anyway. She had the opportunity to ask their former teacher the question she had always wanted to ask: “Why did you rearrange our seats so often?” And the teacher, beaming with pride, had replied, “So the children could make more friends!” Qiao Rubai had been speechless. You almost made one child completely friendless! She hadn’t said it out loud, of course, such an embarrassing thing was best kept to herself.
Now that she thought about it, she should be grateful to that clueless teacher, and to all the oblivious children she had encountered, otherwise, with her slow-to-warm-up personality, she wouldn’t have become friends with Ji Junxin. And besides each other, they didn’t really have any other friends. Perhaps she should reflect on this. If their friendship hadn’t been so exclusive, would Ji Junxin have been so easily swayed by Jiang Duo in her previous life? During the filming of “Imperial Secrets” in her previous life, she had been busy establishing herself at Qiong Yu and barely had time to see Ji Junxin. Although it hadn’t affected their years of friendship, they weren’t as close as they had been during their school days, sharing similar experiences. Ji Junxin, seeking a mother figure, and without any friends her own age, Jiang Duo, well-versed in Ji Junxin’s preferences thanks to Lu Gaoshi’s guidance, had appeared, and it was understandable that Ji Junxin developed feelings for her.
In her previous life, Ji Junxin had only told Qiao Rubai about her relationship with Jiang Duo after they got together. Thinking that same-sex relationships were often kept secret, Qiao Rubai, worried that Ji Junxin would think she disapproved, hadn’t asked how they got together. Well, she did disapprove, not of Ji Junxin liking women, but of her liking someone like Jiang Duo, who seemed unreliable. But… Qiao Rubai, more experienced then, knew that a cardinal rule of friendship was not to criticize a friend’s current partner. So, she chose not to ask, not to comment. And after Ji Junxin and Jiang Duo broke up, it was even more inappropriate to ask. So, in her previous life, Qiao Rubai never knew whether it was Jiang Duo’s scheming or Ji Junxin’s genuine feelings that led to their relationship. But it didn’t matter, in this life, Lu Gaoshi was gone, and Jiang Duo’s true colors had been revealed at Nan Tian. There was no chance for them in this life.
Qiao Rubai was sleepy, and Ji Junxin’s message wasn’t urgent. Friendship… that wasn’t a topic that could be discussed in a few text messages. She decided to call Ji Junxin in the morning. But as she was drifting off, she felt a nagging unease, as if she had missed something. She tossed and turned, her sleepiness gone.
Now awake, her mind clearer, Qiao Rubai felt that the unease stemmed from Ji Junxin’s message. She opened it again.
At first glance, it was a question about friendship. A problem caused by different interpretations of a joke. But looking closer, something felt off.
Ji Junxin was always kind, gentle, and easygoing, how could she be so easily angered by a harmless, even caring joke? Take the first example, “You overate and had to take medicine last time, are you going to need it again?” It was clearly a caring reminder, trying to prevent her from overeating. Even she, an outsider, could see the concern, Qiao Rubai didn’t believe Ji Junxin couldn’t. And during her visits to Shudian, she had seen Ji Junxin and Mi Hongdou’s growing closeness. Judging by Ji Junxin’s attitude, her tolerance towards her friends was almost limitless. Qiao Rubai remembered a time when she forgot about a dinner appointment with Ji Junxin. Her phone was on silent during a meeting, and by the time she saw the missed calls, Ji Junxin had already been waiting at the restaurant for two hours. For Ji Junxin, food was a serious matter, but because it was Qiao Rubai who was late, she hadn’t been angry. And during her visits to Shudian, she had noticed that Ji Junxin and Mi Hongdou were even closer than she and Ji Junxin. The message also explicitly stated that they were good friends, even giving specific examples. If they were so close, why this sudden… pettiness?
Qiao Rubai sat up, turned on the light, and reread the message carefully, scrutinizing every word.
This kind of pettiness wasn’t like Ji Junxin… Qiao Rubai looked at the sender, yes, it was definitely from Ji Junxin. Fully awake now, she reread the message, and her gaze snagged on two words: “cried from anger.” … Qiao Rubai suddenly remembered something. In her previous life, after Ji Junxin and Jiang Duo got together, one night, she had received a call from Ji Junxin. Ji Junxin had been chatting about ordinary things, but Qiao Rubai noticed the unusual tone in her voice and, after asking, found out that she was angry at Jiang Duo and had run away, calling from the side of the road. Thinking it was something serious, Qiao Rubai had rushed out in the middle of the night to pick her up, only to find out, after much questioning, that it was because Jiang Duo had said, “I poured a glass of water earlier, where did it go? Did you drink it?” Ji Junxin had been so angry that she cried and ran away. Qiao Rubai had been shocked. Although Ji Junxin’s EQ and IQ were sometimes questionable, she hadn’t expected it to be that low.
It had been a cold night, and Qiao Rubai, having gotten out of her warm bed to comfort her friend, only to be met with such childishness, couldn’t forget it even after being reborn.
Remembering this, Qiao Rubai felt a sense of foreboding. Why would the gentle and easygoing Ji Junxin be driven to tears by a harmless remark? It must be because she cared deeply about this person, perhaps even more than a friend…
This sudden realization stunned Qiao Rubai. Could it be… that Ji Junxin had feelings for Mi Hongdou? She felt a sense of unease, wanting to sort out her thoughts, but her mind was a chaotic mess.
But thinking about it carefully, it wasn’t impossible. In her previous life, she had been busy, and Ji Junxin, without any friends her age, might have been lonely? And then Jiang Duo, with her ulterior motives and her food, had appeared, and they had become close. In this life, she was still busy, and Ji Junxin… had Mi Hongdou, the excellent chef who was willing to cook anything for her. So, their growing closeness… it made sense.
Was Ji Junxin destined to be swayed by food in both lifetimes? Qiao Rubai was speechless. If Ji Junxin’s fans knew that the key to capturing her heart was delicious food at the right time, they would be stunned.
It was unbelievable! Come to think of it… Qiao Rubai had given Ji Junxin so many snacks over the years, enough to fill a room, after learning about the precious sweet potato incident! Why hadn’t she captured Ji Junxin’s heart! How had they done it! Thinking about all the snacks she had given away, Qiao Rubai felt a twinge of jealousy. But then she realized… she wasn’t trying to win over Ji Junxin, she was pursuing Yang Lianyi. She had become momentarily stupid.
Being involved with Ji Junxin always seemed to lower her IQ. Qiao Rubai mentally berated herself.
If Ji Junxin’s feelings for Mi Hongdou were just those of a good friend, then replying to the message would be easy. But this assumption, to the now clear-headed Qiao Rubai, had a very low probability of being true. So, the question now was, if Ji Junxin truly had feelings for Mi Hongdou, what should she do? She thought about it carefully. Just as she had thought before, if Ji Junxin was destined to be with a woman, Mi Hongdou was a good choice. Her excellent cooking skills that could capture a foodie’s heart was one thing, but more importantly, Mi Hongdou was Ji Junxin’s true fan, her kindness genuine. In her previous life, after retiring, Ji Junxin had become emotionally distant, but Mi Hongdou had been her food buddy for four years, which showed her sincerity. But… in her previous life, Mi Hongdou seemed to have only been a devoted fan.
Since the dinner where someone mentioned the lack of scallions, ginger, and garlic in the dishes, Qiao Rubai had suspected that Mi Hongdou might also be reborn. But Mi Hongdou hadn’t made any unusual moves, while she herself had been changing the script, bringing Mi Hongdou into the production early, leaving so many clues. And yet, Mi Hongdou hadn’t approached her. It could only mean that even if Mi Hongdou was reborn, she didn’t want anyone to know. Qiao Rubai didn’t mind acknowledging her, but Mi Hongdou’s death in her previous life was somewhat related to her, and she was currently investigating it. Although Mi Hongdou’s death couldn’t be entirely blamed on her, Qiao Rubai still felt awkward about acknowledging her without knowing the truth, so she had been waiting, planning to approach Mi Hongdou after the investigation.
Although she hadn’t confirmed it, Qiao Rubai was almost certain that Mi Hongdou was also reborn. Then, in her previous life, after four years of friendship, they hadn’t become romantically involved, would Mi Hongdou reciprocate Ji Junxin’s feelings now?
Would Ji Junxin be stuck in unrequited love in this life? Qiao Rubai was worried. It was she who had pushed Mi Hongdou towards Ji Junxin earlier.
Having sorted out her thoughts, Qiao Rubai looked at the message. Ji Junxin’s confusion suggested that she hadn’t realized the nature of her feelings for Mi Hongdou yet.
Should she point it out, or not? Should she reveal her own secret, or not? Should she interfere, or not? Qiao Rubai felt like she was facing a difficult choice…
Ji Junxin was easily swayed, especially by those close to her. That was how Lu Gaoshi had managed to push Jiang Duo towards her in her previous life…
Qiao Rubai knew that she was a very important friend to Ji Junxin. Every word she said now could greatly influence Ji Junxin’s thoughts. She didn’t want to blindly encourage her friend to act recklessly, nor did she want to extinguish a potential spark. Qiao Rubai sat up straight in bed, her fingers typing and deleting, finally composing a reply and sending it.
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