Chapter One Hundred and Fifteen: If I Can't Have the Grapes, Can't I at Least Long for Them?

"It's not that..." Luo Yixia's voice grew softer and softer.

"You... you didn't lie to me about this, did you?" Lin Ya asked, realization slowly dawning on her.

Luo Yixia gave a slight nod, then immediately shook her head.

Lin Ya instantly bristled. "Luo Yixia, do you want to end our friendship?"

"I'm sorry..." Luo Yixia lowered her head.

"Well, out with it. Let me hear what you lied to me about, and then I'll decide whether to beat you to death." Lin Ya rolled up her non-existent sleeves.

"It's nothing major... It's just that Song Chengyi and I have always known each other. And it's not that he didn't want me to say anything, it was just... me. I didn't want to say it." She pouted guiltily.

"What else?" Xu Jiayu asked.

"And also... I'm married..." Luo Yixia's voice was as quiet as a mosquito's buzz.

"Huh? What did you say?" With her loud, carefree personality, Lin Ya didn't catch it at first.

"Well... you know, during the summer break, *cough*... we registered our marriage."

"Oh, registered. What does that have to do with Song Chengyi?" Lin Ya clearly still hadn't connected the dots.

For Gan Yanyan, it was as expected and no surprise since she already knew. Xu Jiayu, however, was so shocked she couldn't speak for a long moment.

"Wait... what did you say? You got your marriage certificate? You mean you're married?" Lin Ya's eyes widened.

"Uh..." Luo Yixia looked around, trying to avoid the burning gazes fixed on her, and scratched her chin.

"Don't look away. Luo Yixia, are you really married?" Lin Ya grabbed Luo Yixia, forcing her to look her in the eye.

"Yes."

"Why did you keep your marriage a secret from us?" Xu Jiayu asked in her gentle, soft voice.

"Wait, you said earlier that you like Song Chengyi, right?" Lin Ya cut in before Xu Jiayu could continue, asking her own question first.

"I'm sorry!" With lightning speed, Luo Yixia turned to run, but Lin Ya grabbed her and dragged her back.

She was left clinging pitifully to the bedpost next to her.

"So, you married Song Chengyi? Or rather, the two of you registered your marriage?" Lin Ya and Xu Jiayu crossed their arms, slowly walking toward her.

"I'm sorry... I had my reasons..." Luo Yixia blinked her eyes, trying to look cute.

Lin Ya reached out and pinched her waist. "Luo Yixia, have you lost your mind? Keeping such a huge thing from us—did you even consider us friends? And to think I actually believed your nonsense before, when you said Song Chengyi mistreated you and was a scumbag! It looks to me like you're the heartbreaker who played with his feelings!"

"Xiaxia, you should have told us about this. It's not like we would have gossiped. How could you keep even us in the dark?" Xu Jiayu couldn't help but chide her too.

Luo Yixia clung to the post, pouting.

"Yanyan, come over here. I can't take this anymore. I'm going to bring this heartbreaker to justice." Lin Ya raised her fist.

Gan Yanyan didn't react.

The others looked over, only to see Gan Yanyan quietly clutching a bag of snacks, sitting cross-legged on the floor and eating.

"Why do I feel like she isn't surprised at all? She has zero reaction," Lin Ya said, frowning.

Gan Yanyan stuffed another potato chip into her mouth.

Realization struck Lin Ya. "Holy crap, Luo Yixia, don't tell me you played favorites? You told Yanyan, so she isn't surprised at all? She knew all along?"

Luo Yixia shook her head like a rattle. She absolutely could not take the blame for this; she hadn't told a soul. "No, no, no! Absolutely not! I treated everyone equally and didn't tell anyone."

Then she looked at Gan Yanyan. "Yeah, why aren't you surprised?"

Gan Yanyan stuffed another chip in, crunching it loudly, and said flatly, "Xiaxia didn't tell me."

Luo Yixia immediately looked as if she had found her savior, throwing herself at Gan Yanyan's side. "See? I didn't tell anyone."

Gan Yanyan calmly pushed Luo Yixia away and added, "Song Chengyi told me."

Everyone in the room stared at her. Luo Yixia was in disbelief.

Gan Yanyan kept eating her chips. When they had gone out to eat earlier, they had been interrupted because of Wen Li, so she had barely eaten a few bites. She was starving now.

"Stop eating! What did you just say?" Luo Yixia snatched the chips from her hands.

Gan Yanyan clapped her hands clean and stood up. "Yeah, Song Chengyi told me."

"Why would he tell you? Wait, when did he tell you?"

Gan Yanyan walked over to the desk and opened a bag of beef jerky.

"During military training."

"No wonder! You're usually such a gossip, yet you showed absolutely no interest in my situation," Luo Yixia realized.

"So, in the end, only Jiayu and I were kept in the dark." Lin Ya narrowed her eyes at Luo Yixia.

"I'm innocent! I didn't know Yanyan knew either. Song Chengyi never told me!" Luo Yixia was equally baffled; she had been completely in the dark.

"When we went to the wilderness training, on the first night, Xiaxia was on night watch but fell asleep. Song Chengyi carried her back, which woke me up, and then he told me," Gan Yanyan explained sleepily, letting out a yawn.

"Ah, that explains it. I have absolutely no memory of it. So it really was Song Chengyi who carried me back in," Luo Yixia blurted out, oblivious to the trouble she was digging for herself.

"Luo Yixia, you have the nerve to say that? You didn't tell us anything, and I had to hear it from an outsider like Song Chengyi. Doesn't your conscience hurt?" Gan Yanyan slapped the bag of beef jerky onto the desk.

"Haha..." Luo Yixia laughed sheepishly.

"Now, you'd better explain everything to us." In an instant, the three of them surrounded Luo Yixia, their gazes intense and demanding.

Luo Yixia wanted to run away... Help...

"I really had my reasons. Besides, even though I like Song Chengyi, he didn't like me back then. Actually... he doesn't seem to like me now, either..." Luo Yixia said, looking a bit downcast.

"This summer, back in August, I went to a high school reunion and got drunk. Later, my classmates told me that Song Chengyi happened to call, so they handed me over to him. I don't really know what happened after that, or what I did, since I was completely wasted. But after he picked me up that night, since it was too far from home and very late, he called my mom to let her know I was staying at his place. The next morning, my mom and his mom came over together... and... *cough*..." Luo Yixia was too embarrassed to continue.

In the end, she braced herself and mumbled, "The result... was that they saw me and him... sleeping in the same bed..."

"Luo Yixia, I never expected you to be that kind of person... Tsk, tsk..." Lin Ya stared at her with a highly expressive face.

"And then? Go on," Xu Jiayu urged.

"Then, what else could happen? Both our moms saw us, and since we've known each other since childhood, Song Chengyi just told my parents right then and there that he was willing to take responsibility. And so, we registered the marriage," Luo Yixia said, still looking quite aggrieved.

"So, you didn't want to tell anyone because you felt Song Chengyi didn't love you, and only married you out of a sense of responsibility?" Gan Yanyan crossed her arms and stroked her chin, piecing the logic together.

"Yes, exactly!" Luo Yixia nodded vigorously.

"Xiaxia, you that night with Song Chengyi... what actually happened?" Lin Ya asked with a mischievous grin.

"Can you focus on the important part?" Luo Yixia rolled her eyes.

"Is this not the important part?" Lin Ya countered. She looked at the other two, who immediately nodded in agreement.

"How should I know what happened? I want to know too! But when I woke up, he just said he would take responsibility..." Luo Yixia wished she knew as well.

"Well, when you woke up, did your body ache?" Lin Ya prompted suggestively.

"My waist did hurt a bit, and I had bruises on my body..." Luo Yixia recalled, nodding.

"Tsk tsk, who would have thought? Song Chengyi is that wild, huh? Hahaha." Lin Ya laughed wickedly.

"They say a girl's first time hurts, so Xiaxia..." Xu Jiayu said hesitantly.

"What kind of hurt is it? I don't really know. I was so drunk I don't remember a thing..." Luo Yixia looked at the three of them with wide, inquisitive eyes.

"Don't look at me. I've never experienced it, so how would I know?" Gan Yanyan immediately took a step back.

Lin Ya and Xu Jiayu also took a step back, shaking their heads.

"You guys are all women in your twenties! Why hasn't any of you gotten a boyfriend?" Luo Yixia yelled in exasperation.

"You think we're all like you?" Lin Ya looked at her with utter disdain.

Luo Yixia instantly deflated, looking as aggrieved as a child whose candy had been stolen.

"Actually, what I'm curious about is... Xiaxia, didn't you say Song Chengyi doesn't like you? If so, why did he sleep with you? Could it be that you..." Xu Jiayu usually seemed like a quiet, gentle girl, but when she did speak, her words were always shocking.

Instantly, the other two changed the way they looked at Luo Yixia, their expressions practically screaming: *Luo Yixia, I never thought you'd be that kind of person.*

"Don't look at me like that! I'm completely baffled too. You have no idea—during those few days, whenever I looked at Song Chengyi, I felt so guilty. I felt like I had defiled him, like I had taken advantage of him, and that I had wronged him." Luo Yixia covered her face.

"Surely not. He's a grown man. Could he really be pinned down by you?" Gan Yanyan was probably the only clear-headed one among them.

Hearing this, the others agreed.

Luo Yixia had actually thought about that too, but at the time, she was probably so blinded by his good looks that she hadn't questioned anything. Yet, recalling everything from that day, she hadn't doubted it.

"How should I know? Maybe after I drank, Song Chengyi really couldn't fend me off," Luo Yixia sighed.

"I've decided. From now on, I'm a die-hard fan of Song Chengyi. I'm going to stan him," Lin Ya said suddenly, completely out of nowhere.

"What are you doing?" The others looked at her, utterly confused.

"I just realized that Song Chengyi is not only handsome and smart, but he's also such a great guy. And he's so responsible! He's practically a rare gem in this world," Lin Ya said, clasping her hands together in admiration.

"Give up. He belongs to Xiaxia," Gan Yanyan ruthlessly pointed out the reality.

"Just because I can't have him doesn't mean I can't call the grapes sour! Can't I at least admire him in my head?" Lin Ya retorted crossly.