Chapter 55

A gentle kiss, awkward and easily recognizable as her first, made her lips tremble slightly upon contact. But as their bodies gradually warmed up, the tension and unease were washed away by a sensation akin to floating on clouds. Jin Xiaoli shed tears; this kiss was beautiful, even more so than the countless times she had imagined her first kiss, because she was giving it to the person she liked.

Wang Bo did not try to pry open her lips; he only passively accepted, watching her gentle face flush like a peach, then tears of joy fall, feeling a sudden inexplicable sadness in his heart.

She was so pure, so innocent, that he couldn't bear to hurt her. He tried hard to control himself, wanting to make this kiss even more beautiful.

After a dozen seconds, they naturally parted, looked at each other, and suddenly smiled in unison, both clearly satisfied with this kiss that was meant to be compensation.

Then they returned as if they had resumed their usual friendship, but when Wang Bo turned around, he saw Liu Yan standing at the corridor entrance, staring at him in a daze. Jin Xiaoli, coming out from behind him, also saw her friend.

Immediately, she sensed something from Liu Yan's expression and called out, "Yanzi, listen to me!" Liu Yan pursed her lips and shook her head violently, then seemed to force back tears, "Don't say anything, I saw everything. I'll leave, I won't disturb your two."

With that, she turned and quickly walked away, wiping her tears. Wang Bo stood there, confused, not understanding why Liu Yan was so upset about seeing them kiss, instead of encouraging them to be together like she would with others.

Jin Xiaoli, frustrated, stomped her foot, "What are you standing there for! Go after her!" Only then did Wang Bo snap out of it and chase after her with Jin Xiaoli. By the time they ran to the lobby following Liu Yan's figure, she had already gotten into the elevator and gone down, and they couldn't stop her even by shouting.

There was only one elevator, and they were like ants on a hot pan. Suddenly, Wang Bo pointed to the safety door beside them, "Let's take the stairs, quick!" So the two rushed into the stairwell and quickly ran down. When they burst out of the ground floor lobby, they saw Liu Yan crying and trying to hail a taxi on the street.

Taxis were always waiting outside the KTV, and she waved one over. Wang Bo dashed forward and grabbed her hand, "Liu Yan, what are you doing? Let's talk this out, why are you running away!"

"Let go of me!" She struggled fiercely, and the taxi driver, seeing the commotion, poked his head out and asked, "Are you getting in or not?"

"No, no," Wang Bo said hurriedly, "Sorry, sorry!"

The taxi driver, used to such scenes, waved it off and slowly drove away.

Liu Yan, feeling wronged, cried and said, "Why won't you let me get in the car, why, why!" Wang Bo tried to console her, "Don't cry, why are you so upset? You were fine just now, and now you're crying. It's late, and I can't let you go alone as a girl."

At this point, Jin Xiaoli, who knew the truth, stepped forward and patted her friend's back, "Yanzi, it's not what you think... I, I..." She thought for a long time but didn't know how to explain.

"Not what I think, then what is it!" Liu Yan, now crying uncontrollably, decided to speak her mind, "I've known for a long time, the 'someone' you wrote about is him, you thought I didn't know!"

"You, you even kept trying to set us up... but you knew he didn't like me, yet you still did it. It turns out you and he are the ones who like each other..." She cried even harder, "Have you been laughing at me behind my back!"

"I haven't!" Jin Xiaoli, hearing this, burst into tears. The misunderstanding was too deep, and she felt like she was about to faint, "I've never laughed at you! Yanzi, believe me, I really hope you two can be together! I admit I was jealous just now, but I didn't mean to, I really didn't... I didn't expect you to see... sniff... I don't know what came over me, please forgive me... I won't do it again, don't be mad at me... sniff... it's all my fault... if I hadn't suggested writing those notes, this wouldn't have happened... sniff... you're my only friend... don't leave me, I don't want anyone else, I don't, I'll give you anything... just don't leave me..."

The two girls cried their hearts out, and Jin Xiaoli's words made Liu Yan feel a mix of love and hate. Wang Bo, who now understood everything, didn't know what to say. Two best friends both liked him, and this sudden confession was too bizarre, with tears and sobs, and it wasn't even directed at a man but at each other.

Liu Yan, tired from crying, calmed down first, while Jin Xiaoli was still upset by her words, thinking Yanzi really wanted to end their friendship, which made her very sad.

"You, you," Liu Yan, now relaxed and less restrained in front of Wang Bo, said, "It's all your fault, kissing one after another, it's all your fault!"

Neither of them kissed me first! Wang Bo felt wronged but didn't dare to argue, knowing that saying this would only make Liu Yan even angrier.

"Right, right, it's all my fault, don't cry anymore," he consoled them, "Crying like this on the street at night, the neighbors will complain. Let's go somewhere and sort this out."

Liu Yan wiped her tears and sniffed, then pulled the sobbing Jin Xiaoli, "It's okay, Lili, I was just angry, don't take it to heart, I know you're not like that."

"Sniff..." Jin Xiaoli hugged her, "You're so mean... if you say that again, I'll die for you... sniff..."

"Okay, okay," Liu Yan patted her back, "Listen to Wang Bo, stop, stop, let's find a place to sit down and talk this out." Jin Xiaili finally managed to hold back her tears and nodded.

They couldn't go back to the KTV, as the three of them had already made a scene in front of everyone. It was late, and where else could they go to talk without being disturbed?

Liu Yan looked around and saw a neon sign with pink lights that read "Hourly Room." She pointed and said, "Let's go there."

Jin Xiaoli looked at the direction she pointed and stopped sniffing, stunned, "You're not joking, right?"

"What are you thinking?" Liu Yan scolded, "I said let's go there to talk, not to do anything else."

"Are you trying to make the staff listen to our drama?" Liu Yan rolled her eyes and decided, "Let's go there, what are you hesitating for, it's like you're really going to do something."

She pushed the other two, and they reluctantly followed her into the roadside hotel. The hotel's interior was the same pink as the neon lights outside. When they entered, the receptionist, who was playing on a computer, looked up in surprise but quickly regained composure, perhaps used to seeing such scenes.

Liu Yan registered with her ID, and the receptionist, seeing she was underage, subtly raised the room price by fifty yuan. None of the three said anything, and Liu Yan paid, took the room key, and led the others into the elevator.

As soon as they got out of the elevator, they heard strange noises in the corridor, like people calling out. The closer they got, the clearer the sounds became, and they were continuous. At first, Liu Yan and Jin Xiaoli frowned, thinking something terrible had happened, but soon their faces turned red, and they hurriedly quickened their steps.

Liu Yan, covering one ear with her hand and holding the room key with the other, found her room and rushed in, slamming the door shut as soon as the others entered.

The two girls looked at each other awkwardly, and Jin Xiaoli, with a sad face, said, "I told you not to come to a place like this, but you insisted..."

Liu Yan, once inside, was less embarrassed and listened for a moment, muttering, "Do they have to be so loud, I can hear through the walls..."

Jin Xiaoli quickly covered her mouth, "Stop, you're killing me!"

Wang Bo, the most composed of the three, though a bit uncomfortable, said, "Sit down, since we're here, let's talk this out."

The receptionist had overcharged them by fifty yuan but hadn't made any special arrangements. The room was tiny, with a small bed, a table, a chair, and a twenty-inch LCD TV. After looking around, Jin Xiaoli commented, "This place is really shabby."

Liu Yan said, "This isn't a luxury hotel, a bed is enough."

She was always so blunt, and Jin Xiaoli glared at her, then sat on the bed. Liu Yan followed, and Wang Bo sat on the chair.

Liu Yan spoke first, "Wang Bo, you understand what's going on, right? Do we need to explain more?"

"No, I understand," Wang Bo said, "If you're not just playing with me, then you two... both like me." He was careful to be tactful.

"Not just like you," Liu Yan corrected, "We both like you, right, Lili?"

She turned to her friend, and Jin Xiaoli, biting her lip, nodded slightly. She had to admit it now. Liu Yan looked at her complexly and sighed, "Wang Bo, you've seen what's going on. We don't know what to do, so you decide!"