The next day, the ladies met at the dorm and went together for their girls day out. However, Amanpio Kileksky invited himself and joined them, so it wasn't really a girls day out anymore.
"Oh, look at me. It's like I have my own harem! Dreams do come true," he said.
"Harem, my a**!" AJ Zheneres snorted. "It seems that inventors really are delusional!"
"Hey!" the other inventor Florence O'Sevan protested. Then she glared at Amanpio. "This is a GIRLS day out. You're not a girl, so shoo shoo!"
"Aaaw. Come on. I was just joking." Amanpio batted his charming eyes and flashed his best smile. "Just treat me like a girl today, okay? We Cross Academy students shouldn't discriminate based on gender."
Theresa Blipsburg grabbed Iris and Ashandra Knightson's hands and dragged them away, ignoring Amanpio. "Let's go. We don't want to be late for the movie."
They began walking to the nearest bus shuttle stop. The weather was quite nice. The sun shined brightly. Some of the wispy clouds floated below them because of the elevation. It was cold but not biting. Their winter attires protected them from the wind chill.
Amanpio caught Iris' eyes and winked at her. She just blinked, not feeling anything. She thought that her Liwei was still more handsome than Amanpio or any of the other men she met in the academy. Thinking about Jin Liwei, she felt a little depressed. The longing in her heart intensified. She was tempted to drop everything and fly back to him.
'Not yet,' she reminded herself.
Staying at the academy was doing wonders for her psyche. She would be so mentally exhausted from all the studying that the nightmares were becoming less frequent. She also had less time to think about the memories of the torture because she was too busy.
Even though she longed to see and talk to Jin Liwei so badly, she needed to ascertain her feelings for him first. She already told him that she was falling in love with him, but what if she only got influenced because he kept telling her that he loved her?
At first, she thought that distance would somehow lessen her feelings for Jin Liwei. But now she was discovering that it was the exact opposite. Her feelings for him were becoming deeper and heavier each day they were apart that it hurt.
There was a good-looking man like Amanpio who was showing interest in her, but all she could think about was Jin Liwei.
"How do you know if you're in love?" Iris suddenly asked aloud.
Amanpio's eyes lit up. "Aaaw. We just met each other and you already think that you're in love with me? I know that I'm gorgeous and a genius, but this is still a bit too fast. Is this what they call love at first sight? Don't worry. You're my type so even if I have no idea what it's like to be in love, I'll give us a chance."
Iris frowned. "You're weird."
"Ahaha! Proudly! Weird is my middle name," he declared, winking at her.
Theresa glared at him. "Oh, shut it!"
The ladies began scolding Amanpio. He stood there in a relaxed manner, looking like he was having the time of his life surrounded by women.
"Yes. I want to know if I'm in love with my boyfriend or not," Iris answered honestly.
Her words caught everyone's attention. They stopped bullying Amanpio, throwing him aside to concentrate on Iris instead.
"Dear, why don't you describe to us how you're feeling about your boyfriend? Maybe we'll be able to help you determine whether you're in love or not," Florence suggested.
The others nodded, encouraging Iris.
"Okay."
Iris began a detailed description of how she felt about Jin Liwei. Her expression was serious. The way she was describing her feelings, it sounded like she was presenting a complicated scientific report.
As for the others, they also looked serious. They even interrupted her and asked questions for clarification. If an average person listened to their conversation, they would assume that the group was discussing a scientific theory rather than talking about love.
Amanpio tried interjecting but he was repeatedly shot down by the ladies. His words were pure nonsense anyway.
The shuttle bus finally arrived. They climbed inside and sat together at the very back, continuing their love discussion.
"Oh?" Iris tilted her head to the side. "Really? I am? How do you know? Is there some sort of guide that I can read to determine exactly if I'm in love or not? I tried searching online, but I can't find any reliable sources no matter how hard I try."
"Pft!"
AJ and Theresa burst into laughter. Florence chuckled while Ashandra giggled.
Amanpio looked as confused as Iris.
"Sorry, we're not making fun of you," Theresa said, the first one to control her laughter. "You're just so cute. Listen, Xiulan. There's no such thing as an ultimate guide to know if you're in love or not."
"What? No guide? What is humanity doing? No one has developed an algorithm yet to determine whether a person is in love or not? There should already be an instrument to measure the level of one's love!" Then Amanpio's eyes lit up. "Wait. Maybe I should build one! Ahahaha! I now have an idea for my next experiment!"
Everyone looked at him like he was of a different species from them. Well, except for Iris. Her eyes also lit up when she heard him.
"Oh. That's a great idea," she said. "Life would be much easier if we have a device like that."
The other ladies looked at her in disbelief.
"I know, right?" Amanpio was delighted to hear her interest in his idea. "Don't worry. I'll surely build a lovememometer! Ahaha!" Then he suddenly stood up and yelled, "Madame Driver, please turn the bus back to the academy! I must return to my lab!"
In the end, the driver kicked out Amanpio from the shuttle bus. There were also other passengers riding the bus, and the driver couldn't just turn around for the sake of a single person even if he was a student of the academy.
The ladies rejoiced that the annoying guy finally left. They once again focused on Iris' matter.
AJ: "To answer your earlier question on how we know that you're in love, it's because all of us have been in love before. Right, ladies?"
The others all nodded their heads in agreement.
"I was even married once when I was only nineteen," Ashandra revealed. "But that son of a b*tch is a womanizer so I divorced him. I still love him a little even now, but I respect myself more."
"My fiancé moved here just for me," Theresa said, showing her engagement ring. "He's working as a nurse at the hospital. I often stay at the dorm because of my research but I go home to our apartment in the districts during the weekends."
Iris turned to Florence, an expectant look on her face.
Florence sighed. "Several boyfriends, all led to heartache. They can't handle my lifestyle of always travelling around in the world. I'm still optimistic about love, though."
"Oh." Iris' eyes sparkled as she looked at everyone like they were living textbooks.
She began asking them all sorts of questions about their love life. They answered her with gusto, reminiscing about their best romantic moments.
In the end, Iris clutched her chest with her hands. Her eyes were filled with wonder.
"I…I'm in love with Liwei…"
A smile bloomed on her face with the realization.