What to Do if I Am Noticed by the Straight Guy Next Door?

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Su Bin admitted that when he was in China, he did tend to cling to Chen Xiaotian, and this was widely known among his circle of friends. However, since going abroad, or rather, since Chen Xiaotian said those words to him last month, Su Bin had exercised a lot of restraint. Unfortunately, his image as a “clingy person” had already made a deep impression on many people. Moreover, his desperate search for Chen Xiaotian at the moment didn’t have much convincing power for a “change of heart.” So when faced with Guo Li’s advice, Su Bin felt powerless.

He didn’t defend himself and simply hung up the phone. He waited until the moment before Chen Xiaotian’s usual bedtime to call again — thankfully, this time the call finally went through!

“Xiaotian!” Su Bin’s voice trembled with excitement. “You finally answered the phone!”

“What’s wrong?” However, Chen Xiaotian’s voice on the other end of the line was very calm, in stark contrast to Su Bin’s excitement. “What happened again?” She used the word “again,” making Su Bin feel uncomfortable. Did Chen Xiaotian think that every time he urgently sought her out, it meant he had a problem to bother her with?

“I’m just worried about you. I called several times, but you didn’t answer…” Su Bin felt embarrassed about his overly excited behavior. Indeed, many things were products of his own “overthinking.” But as long as Chen Xiaotian was okay, he would be relieved.

However, this time, Chen Xiaotian didn’t explain why she didn’t answer his calls. She simply sounded exhausted and said, “Su Bin, I’m tired. I’ve been busy since 6 a.m., without even a moment to drink water. If you don’t have anything specific, can we talk another time?”

Su Bin was stunned, feeling a sense of unease in his heart. Chen Xiaotian’s excuse of not having time to drink water couldn’t be a reason to refuse his concern. He had been worried for half a day, and Chen Xiaotian didn’t even consider his feelings. Su Bin felt very aggrieved.

In truth, he wanted to hear more of Chen Xiaotian’s voice. It would help dispel the shadows of doubt and insecurity in his heart. He also wanted to ask Chen Xiaotian if he had done something wrong or if he had made her angry. Moreover, they hadn’t talked on the phone for a long time, and he missed her… He wanted to say, “Don’t work so hard. I’ll earn money to support our family, and you just need to be beautiful…” But Chen Xiaotian rejected everything he wanted to say with a straightforward “Let’s talk next time.”

But thinking about all of this was useless. Su Bin was a complete “pushover” in front of the person he liked, incredibly weak and easily taken advantage of. He wouldn’t get angry or raise his voice; he would only try his best to accommodate the other person. So after Chen Xiaotian spoke that sentence, Su Bin went along and said, “Rest well.” Before hanging up, he couldn’t help but say, “Don’t exhaust yourself. I worry about you.”

There was suddenly silence on the other end of the phone. In the past, Su Bin would always wait for Chen Xiaotian to hang up first, so he thought Chen Xiaotian had something to say. But he waited for five seconds and only heard a busy tone.

Su Bin felt a sense of loss as if all the strength had been drained from his body…

When he returned home that evening, Su Bin logged into his neglected social media account and sent a private message to Huang Zhengming: “Da Huang, I called you today, but you didn’t answer. I feel like Xiaotian has been distant with me lately, maybe because we can’t see each other… She told me on the phone that she’s been very busy. I’m worried. Can you talk to her and take care of her?”

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Huang Zhengming, like Chen Xiaotian, wasn’t fond of social media, but he would occasionally come online to check Su Bin’s updates and leave a comment. So Su Bin believed that Da Huang would reply after seeing his message.

However, he didn’t expect that one day he would have to rely on his friend to talk to his girlfriend. Su Bin felt quite bitter.

Su Bin returned to the homepage and scrolled through the new statuses of his friends and classmates. Some blamed themselves for spending the day in the study hall, glued to their phones instead of studying. Others vowed to study vocabulary relentlessly for the CET-6 exam, and some lamented their love life, feeling melancholic and self-pitying…

Su Bin looked at them for a while, feeling like he was back in the days of his sophomore year at the university. It was the same back then, lively every day… In contrast, his current self seemed to have detached from that environment and was living in a different world. With this thought, he also felt a sense of loneliness.

Most of his classmates’ statuses were posted before midnight in China. The only one online at this hour was Su Bin’s senior, the one who stayed up late playing games. His statuses often included screenshots of his gaming achievements, and he would ask, “Am I awesome?” The replies below would be a row of “Awesome!”

Su Bin saw a gaming screenshot that his senior had posted half an hour ago, and no one had replied yet. So he left a comment: “Sodiao!” After leaving the comment, Su Bin was about to close the webpage when something made him freeze…

He noticed that before the gaming screenshot, his senior had posted another status: “Had hot and sour fish with my little mosquito on Donglu Road at the university tonight. So good!” The “little mosquito” his senior mentioned was none other than Yu Wen… Yes, Yu Wen was Su Bin’s senior’s girlfriend, and they got together with Su Bin’s help!

Su Bin was interested in that status because of its posting time — exactly when he was calling Guo Li! At that moment, a new message notification appeared in the bottom right corner of the screen…

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After Su Bin’s senior saw his comment, he came over and chatted with him: “Long time no see. How’s it going abroad?”

Su Bin calmed down his chaotic emotions and replied, “It’s okay… Senior, let me ask you something. What time did you start having hot and sour fish with Yu Wen tonight?”

“Early evening, I went out with her after she finished class. Why?” his senior replied.

Su Bin asked, “What time did she go back?”

“Around 11 p.m.,” his senior answered.

Alarm bells rang in Su Bin’s mind. He only thought, “Guo Li lied to me,” without having the chance to think about why Guo Li would deceive him. But his senior sent another message:

His senior said, “What’s wrong, kid? Did you notice something off about Chen Xiaotian?”

Su Bin: “…”

When he saw that message, Su Bin felt completely frozen.

His senior continued, “During dinner, the mosquito received a call. It seemed like someone warned her not to reveal something. She seemed troubled, but she didn’t warn me not to say anything, hehe… Su Bin, to be honest, you should breakup with Chen Xiaotian as soon as possible. She’s not right for you.”

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Su Bin was shocked. What did his senior mean by that?

His senior added, “Since your freshman year when you won Chen Xiaotian over, I’ve always felt that she wasn’t fully invested in you. But meddling in someone else’s relationship is not appropriate, so I never said anything. However, Su Bin, I now believe that continuing to hold on doesn’t have much meaning.”

His senior asked, “Are you still there? Say something…”

Su Bin: “…”

He read those words and felt completely stunned.

Senior: “During dinner, the Mosquito received a phone call. It seemed like someone warned her not to reveal something. She seemed troubled, but she didn’t warn me not to say anything, hehe… Su Bin, to be honest, you should break up with Chen Xiaotian as soon as possible. She’s not right for you.”

Su Bin was shocked. What did his senior mean by all of this?

Senior: “I’ve thought about it. It would have been good for you to study abroad for a year. Maybe after you and your girlfriend separated, you would gradually realize… And with your qualities, you will definitely find someone better than her.”

Su Bin, sitting in front of his computer, was completely numb by now…

Subconsciously, he typed, “Mm, I’ll think about it.” Su Bin went to bed, feeling restless.
But he couldn’t sleep at all. He tossed and turned in bed, with thoughts of Chen Xiaotian occupying his mind…

At first, Su Bin was angry about Guo Li deceiving him, but now he realized how foolish he had been.

Indeed, Lily had mentioned it before, and even his so-called good friend Guo Li knew about it. He, who had always believed that he and Chen Xiaotian were inseparable, was just a fool.
Su Bin woke up to his own foolishness, but after awakening, he fell into a panic of being abandoned by Chen Xiaotian…

Instead of blaming Chen Xiaotian for not liking him, he started searching for reasons within himself—what did I do wrong? What about me doesn’t she like? If she doesn’t like me being clingy, I can change, and I’m already working on it, trying to become more mature…

But he wasn’t good enough to make Chen Xiaotian like him. That’s why she’s tired of him.
Su Bin’s eyes became sore. He buried his head in the pillow for a while, feeling miserable. He turned over, continuing to think…

Many details that he hadn’t paid attention to before slowly surfaced in Su Bin’s mind…

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He remembered when he confessed to Chen Xiaotian, standing outside her dormitory, with candles and singing. But she didn’t come out on her own; several girls pushed her out…

It was a dark day, and everyone’s faces were illuminated by the red candles on the ground. Chen Xiaotian walked up to him amidst the cheering of the crowd. He couldn’t even see her expression clearly; he only remembered her lowering her head. Because of the candlelight, her face seemed to glow, and Su Bin thought she was just shy…

So, maybe Chen Xiaotian only accepted the flowers to save his face. Perhaps she planned to break up with him in private afterward. Why did she continue to maintain the appearance of being in a relationship? Su Bin couldn’t understand this, but ultimately, maybe he just didn’t want to admit that Chen Xiaotian didn’t love him…

Su Bin spent a sleepless night, and the next morning, he didn’t dare to call Chen Xiaotian. He wanted to sort things out first and then have a good talk with her about their relationship. He wouldn’t be like three years ago, crying outside her house all night after finding out she wanted to break up, then pursuing her relentlessly for three months, determined to win her back… It’s not because he had matured compared to before, but because he no longer had that courage…

What Su Bin didn’t expect was that the opportunity for an open and honest conversation with Chen Xiaotian would come so soon! The next evening, while Su Bin was having dinner with his roommates at home, his phone rang. When he saw that it was an unknown caller, Su Bin was a bit stunned, but he answered it absentmindedly. Then he heard Chen Xiaotian’s voice,

“Su Bin, it’s me…”

Su Bin: “…”

He immediately stood up and walked to a corner of the living room, lowering his voice, “Why are you calling?”

Making international calls from a mobile phone required activating international long-distance, which was quite troublesome. So far, Su Bin had always been the one calling Chen Xiaotian, and this was the first time Chen Xiaotian called him. Moreover, it was already the early morning in China, so he wasSu Bin: “Um.”

Su Bin was at a loss for words. Why would his senior say such things?

Senior: “I thought that it would be good for you to study abroad for a year. Maybe after you and your girlfriend separated, you would gradually realize… And with your qualities, you will definitely find someone better than her.”

Su Bin, sitting in front of his computer, felt completely numb by now…

Subconsciously, he typed, “Mm, I’ll think about it.” Su Bin went to bed, feeling restless.

However, he couldn’t sleep at all. He tossed and turned in bed, with thoughts of Chen Xiaotian occupying his mind…

At first, Su Bin was angry about Guo Li deceiving him, but now he realized how foolish he had been.

Indeed, Lily had mentioned it before, and even his so-called good friend Guo Li knew about it. He, who had always believed that he and Chen Xiaotian were inseparable, was just a fool.

Su Bin woke up to his own foolishness, but after awakening, he fell into a panic of being abandoned by Chen Xiaotian…

Instead of blaming Chen Xiaotian for not liking him, he started searching for reasons within himself—what did I do wrong? What about me doesn’t she like? If she doesn’t like me being clingy, I can change, and I’m already working on it, trying to become more mature…

But he wasn’t good enough to make Chen Xiaotian like him. That’s why she’s tired of him.

Su Bin’s eyes became sore. He buried his head in the pillow for a while, feeling miserable. He turned over, continuing to think…

Many details that he hadn’t paid attention to before slowly surfaced in Su Bin’s mind…

He remembered when he confessed to Chen Xiaotian, standing outside her dormitory, with candles and singing. But she didn’t come out on her own; several girls pushed her out…

It was a dark day, and everyone’s faces were illuminated by the red candles on the ground. Chen Xiaotian walked up to him amidst the cheering of the crowd. He couldn’t even see her expression clearly; he only remembered her lowering her head. Because of the candlelight, her face seemed to glow, and Su Bin thought she was just shy…

So, maybe Chen Xiaotian only accepted the flowers to save his face. Perhaps she planned to break up with him in private afterward. Why did she continue to maintain the appearance of being in a relationship? Su Bin couldn’t understand this, but ultimately, maybe he just didn’t want to admit that Chen Xiaotian didn’t love him…

Su Bin spent a sleepless night, and the next morning, he didn’t dare to call Chen Xiaotian. He wanted to sort things out first and then have a good talk with her about their relationship. He wouldn’t be like three years ago, crying outside her house all night after finding out she wanted to break up, then pursuing her relentlessly for three months, determined to win her back… It’s not because he had matured compared to before, but because he no longer had that courage…

What Su Bin didn’t expect was that the opportunity for an open and honest conversation with Chen Xiaotian would come so soon! The next evening, while Su Bin was having dinner with his roommates at home, his phone rang. When he saw that it was an unknown caller, Su Bin was a bit stunned, but he answered it absentmindedly. Then he heard Chen Xiaotian’s voice, “Su Bin, it’s me…”

Su Bin: “…”

He immediately stood up and walked to a corner of the living room, lowering his voice, “Why are you calling?”

Making international calls from a mobile phone required activating international long-distance, which was quite troublesome. So far, Su Bin had always been the one calling Chen Xiaotian, and this was the first time Chen Xiaotian called him. Moreover, it was already the early morning in China, so he was shocked.

However, Chen Xiaotian didn’t give him time to react. She directly said, “Let’s break up.”

Her voice was still as gentle, but firm and simple with just five words, which caught Su Bin off guard, even though he had mentally prepared himself. He couldn’t control his tears, and they flowed uncontrollably.

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