Ep. 9

The hallway was already bustling with students as Jialin made her way towards the exit of the building. Her IT class had ended, and she was happy to back to her dorm to catch up on some series.

She took out her phone, intending to call Changying when she appeared in her view.

"Hey! Are you busy right now?" she asked her. Before Jialin could even reply, her hand was grabbed, and Changying started pulling her towards the exit of the building.

"Watch the nails! Watch the nails!" Chunhua repeated, referring to her friend's nail extensions that had been digging into her skin.

"Sorry," Changying apologized. Chunhua looked at her hand, and she was glad there was no blood drawn.  "I just wanted to talk to you. There's another party tomorrow--"

"No," Chunhua cut her off. Changying chose to scrunch her eyebrows, trying to make a cute face.

"You look like you're having difficulties taking a shit," Chunhua replied, and that had her friend eyeing her in boredom.

"Come on! It's going to be huge."

"No."

"Chunhua--"

"You know what happened the last time I went to a party on a school night."

"Please?" Changying begged.

"No," Chunhua replied. "I can't afford to be late again for class. Besides, I have plans with Zhang."

Changying went to beg again, but at the mention of Chunhua's new friend, she stopped. Her lips pulled into a smirk.

"What is that look for?" Chunhua asked. "Are you coming up with something? You're acting really weird today."

"Oh, now I understand," Changying continued to smirk. "Zhang, huh?"

Jialin furrowed her eyebrows at her friend. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you know what I mean," she started nodding at that point with her eyebrows jumping.

It took Chunhua some time to get what her friend was saying, but once she did, her eyes widened.

"Oh, no. No! It's not like that."

Jialin could deny it all she wanted, but Changying suspected something was happening between her and Zhang. 

"Mm-hmm," Changying hummed. "Look, you don't have to tell me anything. I hear he's good in bed, so I'm glad you're tapping his fine ass."

Without waiting for Jialin to reply, she turned to head back to the university.

"What? Changying, it's not like that! I haven't tapped anything. I'm still a freaking virgin!"

Shocked gasps were heard around the area, and that made Jialin actually acknowledge the people around her. Almost everyone was looking at her at that point.

'Oh crap,' she thought. 'Where the hell did they come from?'

"You heard nothing!" she yelled, running towards the doors.

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Jialin had made it back to her dorm room. Fortunately for her, Changying was not around to tease her further about Zhang.

'Huh, Zhang. That would be strange.'

Sure, she used to have a small crush on him when she was in high school. But that was just what it was: a crush. They were adults now, and there was nothing between them to explore.

However, Jialin's thoughts betrayed her as they decided to take a different direction. She remembered Zhang' transformation from his nerdy self to his brawny form. It had been a surprise to her and everyone else in the school.

Not that Chunhua didn't find him attractive before the change.

His body features had changed, and the growth displayed on his face made him look intense.

'Oh, no,' Jialin chastised herself. No way was she planning to think about Zhang that way. She found the thoughts she was having about him to be strange. They had just become friends, and thinking about him like that felt wrong.

She turned to focus on the blank page in her drawing book. She had a pencil in her hand, but then she was not sure of what to draw.

She was stuck.

Weeks earlier, she and Zhang had agreed on her African theme. They had even sought help from some people they knew in the Literature, Drama and Art departments. The story was polished into something that did not sound like a cliche, and Chunhua couldn't wait to put it in picture. However, one of the hard parts of making the short film was figuring out the appearance of the characters. 

Chunhua had been drawing lines on the paper when her phone rang. Jialin thanked the universe for the distraction from her lack of creativity.

"Hello?" she answered without checking the caller ID.

"Hi," Zhang' voice sounded through the phone, and Chunhua found herself smiling. "Where are you?"

"At my dorm," she replied, still smiling. "I'm thinking of starting on that essay we were given today."

"Oh. Okay," he said. "Look. I know we had plans, but something came up."

"Oh?" Chunhua tried to hide the disappointment in her voice.

"Bohai came to me and complained that I don't spend a lot of time with him anymore. He even pulled out the I'm-a-senior card. Can you believe the guy?"

Chunhua chuckled.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said, still smiling. "Have fun together. Make sure to also greet him for me."

"'Sure will. So, anyway, you're a virgin?"

Jialin's smile disappeared before she groaned.

"Who told you that?"

"A couple of guys heard you yell it out as if it was an important announcement before you ran away like a maniac."

Chunhua groaned again, rubbing her forehead with her head bowed.

"Why does this happen to me?"

"You? What about me? I'm the one shocked here. Why the hell did you even yell it in the first place? And again, you're still a virgin?"

"I didn't mean to yell it out. I was talking to my roommate, and she forced it out of me."

"Your roommate forced you to yell that you have never had sex?" Chunhua could hear the smile as Zhang spoke, and it caused her to sigh.

"She thought I was having sex with you when I told her that. And did you actually call to discuss matters involving my reproductive system?"

"Chunhua, it's okay to call it your vagina. "

"Zhang!"

"What? It's not like I said  something crude like 'pussy'."

"Oh my goodness," Chunhua said, shaking her bowed head in disbelief. 

"You're blushing, aren't you?"

"... No," Chunhua had paused a second too long to reply. "But let's talk about the project. I'm stuck, Zhang. I have no idea of what to draw--"

"That can wait. Now, back to what you so boldly exposed today."

"Zhang!" Chunhua exclaimed, feeling a blush overcome her cheeks.

"Honestly, I'm surprised. I mean, how are you still a virgin? I saw you making out with the popular guys when we were in high school!"

"So what do you suggest we do about the characters?"

"You can't change the topic," Zhang was onto her. "And if you think about ending the call right now, I will come with Bohai, and we will tell you a lot of dirty stuff that will leave you blushing for a month."

"I can handle it," Chunhua said.

"We could even bring sex toys for in-depth explanations."

"Dammit!" Chunhua cursed. "Are you really going to force me to talk about this? I already feel bad that everyone knows."

"Yes, I am. Now spill, woman!"

Chunhua chuckled before she said: "Okay. For some weird reason, this seems like a big deal to you. It should be private."

"It became public information the moment you yelled it out, remember?"

"Fine. Yes, I'm still a virgin. Yes, I made out with guys. But Zhang, that was just what it was. Making out. I didn't let anyone get further than that."

"... Seriously?"

"Well, there was this one time I went down on--"

"Okay," Zhang cut her off. "I get the picture."

"What? Are you suddenly feeling shy?"

"Nope. It's a turn-off to hear about a guy getting a blow--"

"It ended badly for me," Chunhua cut him off. "And I'm glad it was like that. If I were to have sex, I'd rather it be with someone I trust and love."

"Oh," Zhang commented in disappointment. "That was surprisingly cheesy."

"Please don't tell anyone," Chunhua pleaded.

"Oh, you have nothing to worry about. Your secrets are safe with me. Besides, this thing will blow over in a few days."

"Really? How?"

"I have my ways."

"Oh, thank you, Zhang."

"You're welcome,"

"Sure."

"Okay. Bye."

The call ended at that point. 

"Now, what to do with you..." Jialin trailed off as she turned to her drawing book.

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"Chunhua? Are you in here?" Changying called out as she entered the room. She turned to the side, and that was when she spotted her sprawled on her bed in slumber.

"You're still asleep?" she called out, making her friend groan. "What did you do?"

"Changying, will you please shut up and let me sleep?" Jialin grumbled.

"No," she replied, sitting on the unoccupied bed space. "I want to know why you are still in bed. I went to a party last night. I should be the one too tired to even talk, but here we are."

Changying looked at Chunhua, seeing she had dozed off. She rolled her eyes, going to wake her friend again, but a text message notification stopped her. She turned to her friend's phone, and what she saw made her smile.

'Hey! Just wondering if you are free today. We could meet up to discuss the project.'

Changying saw the message was from Zhang. She shook her head with a smirk, realizing she had no need to bother Chunhua. Seeing the message was enough for her.

Without a word, she walked to her bedroom and closed the door.