I like you like activated charcoal

　　1

　　Thanks to Yan Yichen, I, Zhou Xiaoxiong, the most beautiful girl in the Chemical Engineering Department, have been thrust into the spotlight for the third time because of him.

　　The first time was when we were together. The second time was when we broke up. And this time, he actually found someone new just a week after breaking up with me!

　　Everyone says that although Zhou Xiaoxiong initiated the breakup, she's the one who ended up getting dumped.

　　That day, Yan Yichen blatantly brought a girl from another class in the same department to class, and after class, they went to the cafeteria together, specifically the small cafeteria on the second floor!

　　He always eats at the common cafeteria on the first floor because it's cheaper. Even though I've invited him countless times to the small cafeteria with air conditioning and drinks, he's always ruthlessly refused.

　　"I'll treat you!" I said.

　　"No need, if you want to eat, just go by yourself," he always refused me like that.

　　I thought Yan Yichen wouldn't go to the second floor in the past four years, but right after the breakup, he brought another girl there!

　　They had just finished buying their food and sat down when I rushed over and sat down next to Yan Yichen.

　　He just glanced at me and then ignored me, casually handing his drink to the girl sitting opposite him.

　　I glared at the drink with my big, double-eyelid eyes, seething with rage—when we were together, he hadn't even bought me a bottle of water!

　　Even for my birthday, he only gave me a test tube filled with some dark powder.

　　That was his experimental result—activated charcoal!

　　Seriously? Are you saying I'm as black as charcoal?

　　The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I grabbed the drink before the girl could, gulped it down, let out a loud burp at Yan Yichen, slammed the bottle on the table, and stormed off.

　　But that very night, I chickened out. Even though I'd only just blocked him, I couldn't resist typing his number into the WeChat friend search bar and sending a friend request.

　　By 9 PM, he still hadn't accepted.

　　I sent a text instead, "Have you got a new girlfriend?"

　　Yan Yichen didn't reply again.

　　I sent another, "Do you like her?"

　　He...he didn't reply again.

　　Undeterred, I sent another, "I'm downstairs."

　　Yes, I couldn't control my impatience anymore and ran all the way to his dorm.

　　Although Yan Yichen...he...he didn't reply again. But a little while later, he came down.

　　"Here, the same drink." I handed it to him, "Sorry about dinner..."

　　"It's okay." He said calmly, but didn't take it.

　　I held it out for a moment, and seeing he wouldn't take it, I just shoved it into his arms and asked, "Is that person your new love?"

　　"No."

　　I breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but grin.

　　"Is there anything else?" he asked.

　　"No." I shook my head vigorously.

　　"Then I'm going up." He turned to leave.

　　Just before entering the dormitory, I called out to him, "At least, you can't fall for someone else so quickly."

　　Yan Yichen paused, turned to look at me, and his eyes suddenly trembled.

　　"Okay," he replied.

　　I guess that night, on some path in school, many people saw me skipping around like an idiot.

　　2

　　Although I wasn't a good student, I was still quite famous in the department.

　　The reason, well… it's because…

　　I once burned out the entire dormitory building's electrical circuit by using prohibited electrical appliances to cook, and I also won a school-wide eating contest, etc.

　　I'm actually a little embarrassed to say these things about my fame.

　　No one could have imagined that I, a complete idiot, would be with Yan Yichen, the laid-back academic genius in my class, especially since I was the one who overestimated myself and confessed.

　　But what I didn't expect was that Yan Yichen didn't refuse and agreed.

　　The news broke countless hearts. Of course, all the heartbreak was for Yan Yichen.

　　I was always causing trouble, while Yan Yichen was always the same.

　　I claimed to be a down-to-earth rich kid, while Yan Yichen had to work part-time to survive.

　　I was always boisterous and talkative, while Yan Yichen was perpetually indifferent.

　　The two of us seemed completely mismatched, so someone bet—"See? We'll definitely break up in three months.

　　" And it came true. On the last day of the third month, we really did break up, and I was the one who initiated it.

　　The reason for the breakup wasn't because I suddenly had a change of heart and felt like I was holding him back, nor was it because Yan Yichen thought I had a mental deficiency. It was because in Yan Yichen's heart, there were studies, experiments, activities, and part-time jobs, but no room for me, Zhou Xiaoxiong!

　　I broke up with him in a fit of anger, but he just replied indifferently, "Oh, okay." "

　　Oh, okay?" I was furious! He didn't even try to stop me! I just said it in a fit of anger, but now it's too late to take it back…

　　The

　　next day, that girl didn't appear by Yan Yichen's side again, which made me breathe a sigh of relief.

　　I picked up my bag and sat down next to him. Yan Yichen just hesitated for a moment, but didn't object.

　　We received even more stares this class than yesterday. Even before we were assigned to different classes, we always sat in different parts of the classroom.

　　Why? Because he always sat in the front row, while I had an innate fear of teachers, so I always sat in the back.

　　After class, I followed closely behind Yan Yichen to the cafeteria on the first floor.

　　While eating, I finally couldn't help but ask him, "Yesterday… why did you go to the second floor with her?"

　　Yan Yichen, picking up a bite of food, said, "To repay a favor."

　　"What favor?"

　　"You don't need to know."

　　"Then why did she come to our class to listen to our lecture?" I persisted.

　　"She was sick and missed a class, and since our class hadn't started yet, she came to listen."

　　"Then why didn't she come today?"

　　Yan Yichen seemed a little impatient, slamming his chopsticks down.

　　And then, seeing his helpless expression, I suddenly realized, "Oh, she doesn't need tutoring anymore, she's already caught up..."

　　I grinned and offered him the chopsticks with both hands, saying, "Please...please..."

　　Although Yan Yichen remained silent as always, I couldn't suppress my happiness and excitement throughout the entire meal.

　　4

　　Later, when I was riding my bike out for some fun, I was scratched by a roadside bush while trying to avoid an electric scooter that suddenly appeared.

　　After getting my wound bandaged at the school hospital, I didn't tell my roommates, who were supposed to share the pain, but only Yan Yichen.

　　I said, "I'm injured, it hurts so much, help!"

　　Yan Yichen, who was in the lab at the time, arrived shortly after receiving my call.

　　When he opened the door, he saw me with only a small bandage, holding my phone and yelling, "Bottom lane, bottom lane, protect our crystal!"

　　Usually so mild-mannered, he rushed to me, snatched the hot phone from my hand, and pressed and held the power button.

　　I covered my head with my hands, "Oh no, I'm doomed, I'll definitely get reported for AFK..."

　　But when I saw the fiery look in Yan Yichen's eyes, I immediately shut my mouth.

　　"Is this a joke? Weren't you about to die?"

　　"I... my leg hurts, I can't walk, I can't go buy food, I'm starving, help..."

　　Ha, even I thought that was a really lame excuse.

　　"The doctor said my leg can't ride a bicycle anymore." My tone gradually softened.

　　Yan Yichen's brows suddenly furrowed. He was about to lean closer to check the wound when he heard the nurse next to him laugh, "Beautiful lady, your leg is so bad, you could ride a rocket, let alone a bicycle!"

　　He wanted to get angry again, but looking at my pitiful, beautiful face, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to be angry. Although

　　Yan

　　Yichen said, "It's not like you broke a leg, can't you walk by yourself?"

　　because I kept complaining of pain, he eventually carried me on his back and took me to a wonton shop on the street. I devoured the food

　　like a whirlwind, eating with divine inspiration. After I was full, I climbed back onto his back.

　　"I should have let you go hungry. You ate so much, I can't even carry you!" Yan Yichen started to breathe slightly.

　　"Doesn't your conscience hurt?" I asked him pitifully.

　　"My body hurts more than my conscience right now." He said, then pinched my calf!

　　"Ouch! If you break it, will you take care of me for the rest of your life?" I yelled.

　　He didn't pinch me again, nor did he say anything more.

　　Although the school had rules allowing boys to enter the girls' dormitory, this was Yan Yichen's first time.

　　Everyone's intense gazes felt like Venus's alchemy furnace, making me feel like I was about to turn to ash.

　　But I still had a bright smile, not at all like an injured patient. As if asserting my dominance, I tightly wrapped my arms around Yan Yichen's neck.

　　"Ouch!" When he put me down on the edge of the bed, I deliberately pulled him.

　　Yan Yichen, completely unprepared, pounced on me.

　　Before I could even feel shy, he reflexively stood up, his face flushed red to his ears, glaring at me fiercely.

　　Although we had been together, it was purely in name only! We hadn't even held hands!

　　Everyone probably assumed we'd break up soon because they'd never seen us do anything intimate, right?

　　"What are you doing?" he asked, a little annoyed.

　　"Being a pervert," I replied.

　　After hearing my words, Yan Yichen stormed off without looking back.

　　The next day, news of Yan Yichen and Zhou Xiaoxiong getting back together had spread throughout the department.

　　Yan Yichen asked me out for the first time.

　　As soon as we met, he got straight to the point, "Tell me clearly, what exactly do you mean?"

　　"Clearly what?" I asked.

　　"Didn't you want to break up? What are you doing now?" He frowned slightly, "Playing games? You can find other guys. I don't have that much free time for you."

　　"I'm not playing games." I, who am usually so carefree, suddenly looked serious.

　　"Then why do you always…" He was interrupted before he could finish.

　　I tiptoed closer to his ear and said, "I'm trying to win you back."

　　I could see that Yan Yichen wanted to refuse for a moment, but something blocked his throat, and he ultimately chose silence.

　　And that silence, in my eyes, was a promise.

　　Three

　　months ago.

　　"If you don't have a girlfriend yet, can I be one?"

　　At midnight, I sent Yan Yichen a text message.

　　I hadn't expected anything, but to my surprise, the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes the next morning was his message.

　　On my phone screen, the words "Okay" appeared.

　　News of our relationship spread like wildfire. Suddenly, Yan Yichen, besides being the "top student in the grade," also had a "boyfriend who's the bottom student in the grade."

　　On our first day together, I asked him to eat at the cafeteria. But after climbing many steps to the second floor, I found him stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

　　So I went back down and asked, "Why aren't you going?"

　　"I'm going to the first floor," he said.

　　"But there's no air conditioning on the first floor, let's go to the second floor." I didn't want to give in because the first floor wasn't nice.

　　Yan Yichen didn't budge an inch, saying, "The second floor is too expensive."

　　"I'll treat you," I blurted out without thinking, unaware that it would leave a thorn in his heart.

　　"No need, if you want to eat, you can go by yourself," he refused.

　　I hadn't expected him to say that, and I was stunned, but in the end, I compromised and went to the first floor with Yan Yichen.

　　It was my first time eating there, but the food was much better than I expected.

　　Many times afterward, whenever I asked Yan Yichen to have dinner with me, he would make up various excuses to decline. Sometimes he said he wasn't feeling well, sometimes he was meeting with his roommate, sometimes he had a part-time job, and most often he was doing experiments.

　　This made my classmates laugh at me, "See, I told you Yan Yichen was so laid-back, he wouldn't care about you at all."

　　I snorted and said, "How do you know he doesn't care? I only sent one text message, and he agreed!" A

　　week

　　into our relationship, we were still stuck in the same place.

　　"Want to go to the movies?"

　　"Busy."

　　"Want to go get ice cream?"

　　"Busy."

　　"Want to go for a walk with me?"

　　"Busy."

　　It seemed that in our text message history, Yan Yichen's most frequent word was "busy."

　　"Tomorrow is my birthday."

　　"Then happy birthday tomorrow."

　　His tone remained indifferent, without the slightest fluctuation.

　　On my birthday, I took a small test tube containing activated charcoal from Yan Yichen.

　　Then, without saying a word, he just left!

　　I've been ignored for another week, and I'm about to explode!

　　Is he sexually apathetic? Is he giving me the silent treatment?

　　So, just like when I first proposed, I angrily texted him,

　　"Let's break up."

　　And he replied calmly, just like when he agreed.

　　"Oh, okay."

　　That

　　was our past when we were together.

　　My leg healed quickly, and from then on, I became Yan Yichen's little shadow. Whenever Yan Yichen was about to go out, I would bombard him with a series of questions—

　　"Are you going out?"

　　"Where are you going?" "

　　With whom?" "

　　What are you going to do?"

　　"When are you coming back?"

　　"Are you coming back?"

　　Yan Yichen seemed a little helpless, but after answering each question, the corners of his mouth would unconsciously turn up.

　　Once, I arranged to meet Yan Yichen at the cafeteria entrance. After waiting for ages, he still hadn't arrived, so I sent him a text, "Where are you?"

　　He replied, "Are you a dog?"

　　I was stunned for a moment, thinking he was saying I was clingy, so I replied, "Woof."

　　Later, I found out that Yan Yichen was carrying books and walking briskly, and he was almost there when he received the text. Afraid I was getting impatient, he replied with one hand, "Right behind you."

　　But he didn't notice and typed "Are you a dog?" instead of "Right behind you ."

　　When Yan Yichen saw these two messages, he suddenly laughed. When I turned around, I saw him, usually so calm, clutching his stomach and bending over, books scattered at his feet.

　　The subtle atmosphere was enough to melt my heart.

　　Even at dinner, when we talked about this blunder, Yan Yichen couldn't stop laughing.

　　I sat opposite him, staring intently at him, and after a while said, "You'll regret laughing like that."

　　But he kept laughing.

　　A mischievous smile crept across my lips, and I suddenly stood up, kissing him across the table.

　　Yan Yichen's lips were soft and warm. Time seemed to stand still at that moment. Despite the bustling crowds and noise around us, nothing could outweigh the pounding of my heart.

　　The kiss, because of Yan Yichen's response, was tender and lingering.

　　Zhou

　　Xiaoxiong and Yan Yichen kissed in public in the cafeteria, causing quite a stir in the department.

　　Under everyone's gaze, Yan Yichen took my hand and strode into the classroom. Despite the looming exams and assignments, everyone's burning curiosity remained undiminished.

　　For the first time ever, he sat with me in the last row.

　　As soon as class started, the teacher spotted Yan Yichen and asked, "Yan Yichen, are you feeling unwell? Why are you sitting in the back?"

　　Yan Yichen had always been a top student since university, and he always sat at the very front of the classroom. Today was different from usual, naturally piquing the professor's curiosity.

　　"Teacher, he's sitting with his girlfriend!" someone teased.

　　"Oh..." the teacher chuckled, drawing out the words, then asked, "Who's so lucky?"

　　I suddenly stood up, tilting my head back arrogantly, "Me!"

　　"This student, doesn't she look familiar..."

　　How embarrassing...

　　After all, I'm such a loser, I've barely attended class, how could the teacher remember me?

　　"My name is Zhou Xiaoxiong, teacher," I announced my name.

　　The teacher suddenly realized, "So you're the one who burned down the entire dormitory's electrical circuit?"

　　"It's her, it's her!" Before I could speak, a classmate answered for me.

　　"Then your personalities are really... quite complementary!" the teacher teased.

　　"Absolutely! Yan Yichen knows things that Zhou Xiaoxiong doesn't, they complement each other perfectly!" someone suddenly shouted.

　　I glared fiercely at them, but when my gaze landed on Yan Yichen, I couldn't help but panic.

　　10

　　Not long after, Yan Yichen finally learned everything.

　　There are so few people in the department, and what I said to my classmates on a whim back then got back to him—

　　"I knew it! Why would Zhou Xiaoxiong suddenly confess?"

　　"So it was for experiments and papers!"

　　"Yeah, if they weren't a couple, Yan Yichen wouldn't easily help others."

　　"If I could win over Yan Yichen, he could help me graduate smoothly. Zhou Xiaoxiong is really cunning!"

　　"To think of something like this, that's so Zhou Xiaoxiong."

　　"..."

　　For the next three days, Yan Yichen ignored me. He was silent for three days, disappeared for three days, and on the morning of the fourth day, he sent me an email. Attached were all the lab reports and course papers from this semester.

　　In the body of the email, he wrote in bold, size 5 Song font, "Let's break up. Everything you want is here."

　　I replied instantly, crying, "Where are you? Let me explain!"

　　"The dorm."

　　Five minutes later, I slammed open Yan Yichen's dorm door.

　　Before he could speak, I threw myself into his arms, hugging him tightly.

　　His heart was pounding so hard it was almost deafening, making my heart ache.

　　"Don't speak, listen to me," I said preemptively.

　　"I admit, I confessed to you at first because I wanted you to help me with my experiments and writing my paper. But later, I don't know why, I just kept thinking about you.

　　"I paid more and more attention to you, wanted to contact you, but you kept distancing yourself, rejecting me, ignoring me, which made me feel so lost. Seeing your endless 'busy' messages made me sad and angry, so I broke up with you in a fit of pique.

　　"But when I saw you in class with other girls, going to the second-floor cafeteria together, and even buying her a drink, I got furious. You've never eaten with me on the second floor, and you've never bought me a drink!

　　"That night you promised you wouldn't fall for someone else so quickly, and I was so happy I jumped for joy. That's when I decided I would pursue you properly and be with you properly.

　　"Yan Yichen, I'm sorry, please don't be angry anymore, okay?"

　　Time seemed to stand still; he remained silent for a long time.

　　"Do you know why I invited that girl to dinner?" His voice suddenly rang out above me.

　　I shook my head frantically. "I don't care anymore, I haven't wanted to know for a long time. I just want you to forgive me now, okay?"

　　Yan Yichen suddenly buried his head in my neck, wrapped his arms around me, and said, "Because when we were extracting activated charcoal for you, our class lab was packed, so I borrowed her lab for a bit."

　　He paused, then continued, "I was just returning a favor."

　　My tears suddenly started falling uncontrollably, and I hugged him even tighter.

　　He gently rubbed my head with his palm and said, "Zhou Xiaoxiong, I really can't do anything with you."

　　11

　　Later I found out that Yan Yichen's feelings had preceded mine.

　　At the start of freshman year, he and I were both selected for the honor guard.

　　During a break, I brought my guitar, and he was randomly called up by the instructor to accompany me.

　　The so-called accompaniment ended up being nothing more than standing next to me like a pillar, awkwardly and nervously listening to me play and sing.

　　He said, "Where have I had the time and resources to pursue art since I was little? I can only stand there like an idiot."

　　After I finished playing and singing, I gave him a mischievous smile. He said that at that moment, he suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of inferiority, because he seemed boring and clumsy next to me.

　　Later, I did countless stupid things, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud when he heard my blunders, mocking me while also paying more attention to me.

　　"So, am I your little nemesis or your little darling?" I hooked his chin with my index finger and asked him mischievously.

　　"You are osmium trioxide," he said.

　　"Osmium... osmium trioxide... what the hell?" I was speechless.

　　He reached out and ruffled my hair, saying, "You are the volatile poison that bewitches me, solid osmium trioxide."

　　His words were light and airy, like a feather landing on my heart, but the moment they touched the ground, they brought me a heavy warmth.

　　"Sigh, you should read more books."

　　Yan Yichen's tone was just like a parent who was disappointed in their child, with a look of doting yet helpless.

　　I gave him a light peck on the lips and immediately pulled away, but I didn't get far before he pulled me back.

　　"Trying to run away after doing something bad?" he said. "You should have known there would be a price to pay when you messed with me."

　　Our eyes met, so close, and he covered my lips with his, holding me tightly.

　　My engineering student had changed.

　　"I learned it from you," he said.

　　Even

　　after we officially got together, he was still incredibly busy. I, too, started studying under the influence of love.

　　During self-study, I went to the restroom and ran into the girl who had come to audit the class while washing my hands.

　　The atmosphere was a little awkward.

　　Before I could decide whether to greet her, she spoke up, "I really envy you having such a romantic and thoughtful boyfriend."

　　"Romantic? Thoughtful?" The Yan Yichen she spoke of didn't match the Yan Yichen I remembered.

　　She smiled, "You know that the extraction of activated charcoal takes a long time. For more than half a month, he checked the reaction progress many times a day, afraid that he wouldn't have time to give you a gift for your birthday."

　　I was a little stunned, and she continued, "Do you know why he gave you activated charcoal?" "

　　Why?"

　　"You should ask him." She smiled and left.

　　I rushed back to the study room, pulled him into the hallway, and asked, "Yan Yichen, can you tell me what you meant by giving me that tube of activated charcoal?"

　　He was silent for a moment, then said, "Long reaction time, high purity, market value like gold, and it won't deteriorate for ten thousand years."

　　I suddenly couldn't hold back, and my eyes welled up with tears. The

　　difference between the thought processes of a slacker and a genius is probably more than just a matter of twists and turns. It turned out he was saying that his feelings for me were like activated charcoal. A long-lasting, pure unrequited love that would never expire.

　　He held up 5.2184 grams of 92.8% pure activated charcoal and told me, "5.2184—I love you forever."

　　Later

　　, I learned some more things.

　　When I confessed my feelings without warning, Yan Yichen couldn't sleep all night.

　　His roommate told me this.

　　Three boys surrounded me, chattering away: "We thought something happened to Yan Yichen's family that day, but then we found out you two were together. We bet you two would break up sooner or later. Because you two had absolutely no connection! But, the day you broke up with him, Yan Yichen, for the first time ever, didn't come home that night."

　　"Guess where he went?" one of my roommates asked me.

　　"Where?" I didn't know.

　　"He sat downstairs at your dorm all night." He continued, "I went for a run the next morning, and when I passed your dorm, I glimpsed him sitting on the curb, looking so forlorn..."

　　I felt like I owed him so much, so I ran to the lab to find him.

　　He was wearing a white lab coat, recording the temperature of the constant-temperature water bath in a notebook. When he saw me, he suddenly smiled.

　　But when I saw him smile, I suddenly cried.

　　Yan Yichen quickly stepped forward to wipe away my tears and asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

　　I shook my head vigorously, threw myself into his arms, and kept repeating, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

　　Yan Yichen had never opened up to me like that day, and I had never known that this laid-back engineering student had so many emotions running through his mind.

　　It wasn't that he didn't want to walk around, go shopping, or watch movies with me; it was just that his time was too tight—studying, working part-time, conducting experiments...

　　The raw materials for extracting activated charcoal were actually bought with the money he saved from working overtime every day.

　　"Do you think the school is so nice that you can just take medicine as you please?"

　　I chuckled, accidentally blowing a big snot bubble in front of him.

　　He reached out to wipe it for me, shaking his head with a smile, "You..."

　　Suddenly, I understood Yan Yichen's restraint and caution. It turned out that engineering students weren't incapable of feeling; it was just that even if their hearts were surging with emotion, they wouldn't express it well.

　　Some say, "When your partner invests as much in a relationship as you do, your life is worthwhile."

　　Well, I think I might have won.

　　The year I met Yan Yichen, that test tube of activated charcoal captivated my entire heart.

　　...

　　Wenwan Qingtian has something to say.