Facing Qu Jiaran's question, Nan Yu remained calm. "You're right," she said.
Of course she hadn't forgiven Qu Jiaran.
Who said that an apology must be followed by forgiveness?
Seeing Nan Yu with a straight face, Qu Jiaran didn't dare to pester her anymore, fearing that the next words out of Nan Yu's mouth would be an order to get out.
"Yu Yu... don't drive me away. I won't sleep with you. I'll sleep in the guest room by myself," she said, lowering her head and pressing on her rabbit ears. "I'll sleep with Yu Yu's rabbit dolls."
"I'm going to wash up. Do as you please," Nan Yu said, not caring whether Qu Jiaran would sleep with the rabbits or not. Then she walked into the bathroom.
When Nan Yu came out of the bathroom, Qu Jiaran had already finished washing up in another bathroom and was sitting on the sofa waiting for her.
Nan Yu glanced at her. "Go to bed early," she said.
"Wait!" Qu Jiaran suddenly shouted. "Yu Yu, since we're not sleeping together tonight, can you chat with me for a while first?"
She explained awkwardly, "I get scared in a strange environment and I'm prone to having an episode."
An episode.
Nan Yu's temples throbbed. Seeing that Qu Jiaran had already changed into her pajamas, she held back the urge to tell her to get out immediately.
She wanted to ask why Qu Jiaran had to stay at her place when she knew she'd get anxious in a new environment.
Nan Yu took a deep breath and still walked over patiently and sat on the sofa. "Have you taken your medicine?" she asked.
The question sounded like an insult.
But Qu Jiaran's eyes lit up. She tilted her head and said, "Yes, I have. Don't worry, Yu Yu. I won't go crazy."
Nan Yu: "..."
She found it hard to communicate with Qu Jiaran.
So she decided to change the way of communication. "What do you want to talk about?" she asked.
Qu Jiaran grinned. "Anything is fine, as long as I'm with Yu Yu," she said.
She leaned back on the sofa and looked up at the ceiling lamp in the living room. "This feeling is so magical," she said.
"Yu Yu, this is my first time staying overnight at a good friend's place," she murmured to herself. "I've seen in many TV dramas that the female lead and her good friend often stay up all night together. They lie in the same bed, chatting about gossip, shopping, and all kinds of topics... It seems so happy."
After saying that, she turned her head and smiled. "It's just like what we're doing now, isn't it? I've been looking forward to this for a long time."
Whether the "first time" she mentioned was true or not, her daydreaming was meaningless.
Nan Yu mercilessly interrupted Qu Jiaran's fantasy. "Qu Jiaran, you're wrong," she said.
"Is there something that doesn't match?" Qu Jiaran asked humbly.
Nan Yu said, "Because we're not good sisters."
So there was no way for those illusory scenes she described to happen.
Qu Jiaran's face fell. She covered her chest. "Yu Yu, what you said really hurts," she said.
Nan Yu didn't mince words. "I've always been like this. If you don't like it, you don't have to listen."
"Yu Yu... Do you hate me so much?" Qu Jiaran's hand slowly slid down from her chest. Her voice was hoarse. "But in my heart, you're already my best friend."
She swallowed hard and added, "No one else can compare."
Qu Jiaran's words were so sincere that it was hard to doubt her sincerity.
In fact, she didn't lie very often, so these words seemed even more genuine.
But Nan Yu remained unmoved.
She even felt a little impatient. "I don't understand why you're so persistent in being friends with me," she said.
"With your family background, you can make friends with so many young ladies. They can all be good friends with you."
Qu Jiaran shook her head. "No, they don't count," she said.
Nan Yu: "Why don't they count? Don't they play with you?"
According to Nan Yu's previous observation, Qu Jiaran was very popular in the upper - class circle. In fact, people even flattered her.
No one dared to offend her, let alone say they didn't like her.
As long as Qu Jiaran wanted, she could have a lot of good friends.
"It's different," Qu Jiaran insisted. "You're different from them."
She began to list Nan Yu's advantages like a treasure. "Because you're kind, gentle, and you always know how to take others' feelings into consideration," she said.
"Most importantly, you care about me and you really treat me as a friend."
This was what Qu Jiaran had truly felt. "Although I had other motives when I first approached you, there's no doubt about your kindness to me," she said.
Nan Yu spoke up to break her fantasy. "You're mistaken. I was just pretending. I didn't really treat you as a friend from the bottom of my heart," she said.
She thought her words were harsh enough.
But Qu Jiaran didn't seem to care. There was no change in her expression.
One's true feelings could be felt.
Even if Nan Yu didn't really regard Qu Jiaran as a friend, her reactions in critical moments couldn't have been the result of careful consideration.
In the face of an accident, one's instinctive attitude was the most real answer.
Qu Jiaran blinked and smiled. "It's okay if it's just pretending, as long as you have some feelings for me," she said.
"Unlike them, they don't even want to pretend," she whistled and said cheerfully. "They flatter me on the surface, saying they like me and treating me like a young lady, but there's disgust and disdain in their eyes."
"They just want to take advantage of the Qu family's influence, hoping to find a big tree to shelter their family businesses. You know, my dad won the new round of the election. He's going to work in Jingbei next year," she said.
From a local position to a core one.
Nan Yu didn't even need to think to know what this meant.
It meant that if the Qu family could become someone's backer, that person would never have to worry about anything and would be able to thrive.
"But my dad won't help anyone useless. He'll only help those who can help him," Qu Jiaran said.
Nan Yu knew this too.
After all, if Qu Gaolin really used his position as a shield, it would be against the law.
He didn't need to risk his career for that.
"Let's not talk about them. It's boring," Qu Jiaran pouted. "I find life so boring when I talk about my family."
Nan Yu didn't say a word. She just listened to Qu Jiaran talk.
"It's better to talk about us," Qu Jiaran grinned and started to talk about their relationship again. "Yu Yu, do you know? You're the only one who gets angry with me, scolds me for my mistakes, and quarrels with me."
"After the last fight with you, I cried for a long time by myself, but I also felt happy. After all, you're the first person who scolded me to my face," she said.
Nan Yu was a little speechless. "Is this the reason?" she asked.
"Yeah. Don't you think you're special?" Qu Jiaran said confidently.
Nan Yu covered her forehead speechlessly. "Do you have Stockholm syndrome? Do you like being abused?" she asked.
"Yeah," Qu Jiaran didn't shy away. "I'm mentally ill, after all."
Nan Yu: "..."
She felt like she was just wasting her breath.
Qu Jiaran continued, "Yu Yu, whether you believe it or not, and no matter what you think, I really want to be friends with you, real friends."