Really or Not

Sitting on the toilet, Lin Yu wore a pair of slippers that cost ten yuan and cosplayed a famous Western sculpture. (The Thinker)

Just one wall away from this bathroom was the balcony.

He thought back to the clothes hanging on the balcony clothesline, covered in warm sunlight.

Lin Yu frowned, his eyes narrowing slightly.

What does Gu Yue mean by this?

Lin Yu was a bit confused.

This was his first time visiting someone else's house as a guest.

It was barely acceptable that she couldn't stand the messy desk and helped tidy up a bit.

But what did she mean by washing someone else's dirty laundry?

Was that something she should be doing?

Lin Yu smacked his lips.

This situation had become complicated to a degree that was hard for Lin Yu to understand. He shifted his posture, rested his right hand on his chin, and started thinking again.

First of all.

This definitely wasn't something a buddy would do.

Lin Yu settled on a small conclusion in his mind.

Even if you got down on your knees and begged your buddy to wash your underwear for you, you probably wouldn't get his kindness. More likely, you'd get a flying kick and a perfectly pronounced "get lost!"

...

Speaking of which.

Guy friends wouldn't do something like that.

What about girl friends?

A question mark appeared over Lin Yu's head.

As everyone knows.

The differences between men and women aren't just about physical structure.

Their thinking and views on the same issue can also be strikingly different.

Maybe a girl friend type of creature, she just...

...

She's just a ghost!

Lin Yu couldn't help but cover his face with his hands.

What kind of friend would just wash your underwear for you for no reason?

That behavior clearly crossed a line!

If a girl friend did that, you'd need to protect your front.

If a guy friend did that, you'd need to guard your rear.

No matter how you look at it, this wasn't something someone who wasn't after your body would do!

Thinking about this.

Lin Yu stood up from the toilet.

He walked a few steps from the bathroom to the balcony.

Lin Yu reached out and touched the thermal underwear hanging on the balcony clothesline.

"Ugh..."

"Why does this underwear have a weird smell?"

Lin Yu wrinkled his face in disgust.

Back in the bathroom, he hadn't noticed the smell.

Now that he was closer, he realized the underwear had a faint, peculiar odor.

Damn!

Was Gu Yue really that desperate?

A chill ran down Lin Yu's spine.

But soon, Lin Yu figured it out.

The smell was vaguely familiar.

It seemed like...

The smell of clothes going sour...

This piece of information was like a loose thread.

Lin Yu gave it a gentle tug, and a flood of memories came pouring out.

After a moment.

Lin Yu understood what had happened.

Four or five days ago, on New Year's Eve.

He had a sudden impulse to clean the whole house thoroughly for the new year.

This big cleanup also included doing laundry.

So these clothes were actually washed by him!

But after washing them, Lin Yu rushed out to hang out with Gu Yue, and later got coaxed and tricked by Qing Mo into going somewhere else. Then a series of events unfolded.

He completely forgot the clothes were still in the spin dryer and hadn't been taken out.

So Gu Yue hadn't washed his clothes for him.

Gu Yue had just found the clothes in the spin dryer, which had already gone sour, and to stop them from getting worse, she simply pulled them out.

And hung them on the balcony to air out.

Having figured all this out.

Lin Yu let out a long sigh of relief.

Yeah, he should have known.

How could it be possible?

Gu Yue was such a big lazy bum. According to her mom, she even made her mom wash her own clothes for her.

How could she be diligent enough to wash someone else's clothes?

Was she crazy?

He patted his stomach, and Lin Yu completely relaxed.

The urge to pee, which had been scared away by thoughts of Gu Yue, returned. Lin Yu didn't think any more and went back to the bathroom to relieve himself.

Maybe because he had just woken up.

His senses and thinking were a bit sluggish, and he overlooked a lot of suspicious details.

For example, if the clothes had really been left wet in the spin dryer for four or five days.

The sour smell definitely wouldn't have been that faint.

Also.

Given the dry air of northern winters and the round-the-clock heating indoors.

Even if he forgot the clothes in the spin dryer, they should have been dry after four or five days.

But the clothes hanging on the balcony weren't dripping, but they were still obviously a bit damp.

But Lin Yu, convinced he had solved the case, couldn't be bothered to think about it any more.

The consecutive losses and late hours from last night had made his head feel heavy and slightly achy.

After peeing.

Lin Yu contentedly went back to bed, snugly curling up in the warm blankets.

Scrolling through short videos of pretty girls on his phone, Lin Yu prepared to occasionally glance at them. Falling asleep would be great, but if he couldn't, that was fine too...

...

On the other side.

Gu Yue lay on her soft big bed but tossed and turned restlessly, as if no position felt comfortable.

The constantly beating heart in her chest was like a steak under a teppanyaki chef's spatula.

Pressing hard against the sizzling hot iron plate.

Making a hissing sound.

Utterly agonizing.

That morning at Lin Yu's place.

Gu Yue had no idea what she was thinking.

Somehow, out of the blue, she pulled out the clothes that had gone sour in Lin Yu's washing machine and rewash them by hand.

Gu Yue still remembered how she felt so pleased with herself at the time.

She thought doing something like that for Lin Yu would make him, even if he were made of wood, finally get the hint.

But after getting home, Gu Yue started to realize something was off.

People say.

A confession isn't the bugle charge of an assault.

It's the triumphant song of victory.

The general meaning is this.

Confession is the final push when both people already like each other or have strong feelings.

Or it's just a ceremonial icing on the cake.

It's not something someone with a one-sided crush does, like charging at the walls with a battering ram.

Gu Yue asked herself.

Did Lin Yu really have feelings for her?

Gu Yue thought so.

If they'd become such good friends, how couldn't he have feelings for her?

But that kind of "feelings" was different from this kind!

The more Gu Yue thought about it, the more she regretted it.

She shouldn't have revealed her feelings so soon.

If Lin Yu also felt that way about her, then fine.

But what if Lin Yu only saw her as a good buddy?

Wasn't she just pushing him away?

Gu Yue curled up under the covers.

Flailing about in frustration.

The poor, soft bedding suffered this unwarranted disaster, truly pitiable.

After venting briefly, Gu Yue picked up her phone again.

Should she send Lin Yu a message?

See if he was awake?

See what his attitude was?

Gu Yue was itching to do it.

Waiting like this was torture.

Whether he cut off her head at the front or the back, it was still the same.

Better to just end it quickly.

And spare herself the suffering.

But just as she touched her finger to the phone screen, she hesitated again.

Deep down, everyone occasionally thinks about being brave and heroic.

But when the moment finally arrives.

Who actually wants the blade to fall early?

She lingered like this for a while.

Gu Yue threw her phone onto the bed in a huff, burying her entire face in the blanket, so anxious that tears were about to fall.

The recipient of the unsent message, on the other hand, was quite at ease right now.

He was curled up under the covers, constantly zooming in on the phone screen, his eyes nearly glued to it.

"Holy shit."

"This lightning is huge."

"No way, really?"