Though these reasons were all plausible, with both parties present and aware of the situation, such consolations only amplified her embarrassment, making her feel increasingly uncomfortable.
In this moment, Yun Li felt as if not just their table, but the entire hot pot restaurant, the whole Haitian Commercial Building, and even all of Nanwu had fallen into silence.
She closed her eyes, tormented by the situation.
Not daring to throw this dilemma to Fu Shize, Yun Li mustered her courage and interrupted them: “Thank you, but I’m fine.” Striving for authenticity, she added a lie: “Besides, it’s not my first time asking someone for their WeChat.”
Sensing her discomfort, Deng Chuqi chimed in with a grin: “That’s right, you’ve asked me for mine before.”
“Why don’t you ask for mine now?” Xia Congsheng joked, “I promise I won’t refuse.”
With that, the topic shifted.
Yun Li secretly sighed in relief and smiled, “Sure.”
Everyone at the table took out their phones to exchange WeChat contacts, except for Fu Shize. Seeing this, Fu Zhengchu frowned disapprovingly: “Uncle, why aren’t you joining in?”
Xia Congsheng joined in: “Yeah, I almost forgot you were here and thought you were just sharing our table.”
Fu Zhengchu: “Hey, big brother, why don’t you move to another table? We don’t accept shared seating.”
“…”
Not expecting him to agree, Yun Li quietly put away her phone.
Unexpectedly, Fu Shize appeared to go along with their antics and handed his phone to Fu Zhengchu.
“That’s more like it,” he said, smoothly unlocking the phone without a passcode. “You shouldn’t always be so aloof. Wouldn’t it be nice to make more friends?”
Fu Shize couldn’t be bothered to respond.
Fu Zhengchu held out the WeChat QR code to the girls, politely saying: “My uncle works at EAW. If you ever go there to play, you can let him know in advance.”
Yun Li could hardly believe the situation. Recalling Fu Shize’s earlier refusal, she held her phone, feeling that she wasn’t included in this “you,” and hesitated to take the next step.
However, Deng Chuqi thought she couldn’t reach them and directly took her phone to scan the code for her.
“…”
A few seconds later, a red dot appeared in the contact list.
No one seemed to find it inappropriate, and Fu Shize didn’t even raise an eyebrow or show any sign of objection. Not wanting to appear too concerned, Yun Li turned off her screen and dazedly lowered her head to eat, trying to calm herself.
Incredibly.
She had actually… added him…
Originally, Yun Li was going to go straight home, but Deng Chuqi said they’d see each other less often after school started and couldn’t bear to part with her, so she invited Yun Li to stay the night at her place.
Yun Li thought that since school didn’t start for two more days, she’d have plenty of time to pack tomorrow, so she readily agreed.
After dinner, the group took the elevator to the parking lot.
Fu Shize drove, with Fu Zhengchu in the passenger seat, and the three girls in the back.
On the way back, they passed a supermarket. Xia Congsheng remembered she was almost out of household supplies and suddenly wanted to do some shopping.
The others all agreed.
Fu Shize, like a machine, neither objected nor approved, but complied with everything. Sitting in the back, Yun Li watched his profile occasionally reflected in the rearview mirror, thinking that he strangely suited the description of “obedient.”
Entering the supermarket, the youngest, Fu Zhengchu, pushed the shopping cart. Impatient by nature, he quickly headed towards the areas that interested him and soon disappeared.
Fu Shize was the opposite, following behind them with a weary expression.
Yun Li didn’t feel very involved, since it was Deng Chuqi and the others who were shopping. However, since she’d be staying for a few days, she picked up some of her daily necessities, like chocolate milk. Not seeing her usual brand, she compared a few different ones.
She ended up choosing three brands of chocolate milk, buying three cartons of each.
Seeing her arms full of items, Xia Congsheng frowned: “Where did Fu Zhengchu run off to? Uncle, this is quite heavy. Could you help put it in the shopping cart?”
“…”
Looking down at her phone while holding an armful of milk, Yun Li felt somewhat embarrassed.
For the first time, she considered giving up milk.
Fu Shize, however, showed no reaction. He reached out to her, saying softly, “Give them to me.”
“Ah… okay,” Yun Li handed them over, “Thank you for the trouble.”
After he left, Deng Chuqi couldn’t help but comment: “Wow, your uncle looks like a cold, unapproachable person, but he’s… how to describe it… quite obedient? And how dare you keep ordering around your elder?”
“I just call him that,” Xia Congsheng said, “He’s a few years younger than me, so I can’t treat him as an elder.”
“Oh? I thought he just looked young for his age.”
Deng Chuqi didn’t seem to have made the connection that Fu Shize was that genius from Xi Fu University.
Yun Li casually added: “He’s the same age as us—”
Noticing their looks, seemingly wondering how she knew this, Yun Li quickly caught herself and added another word: “Right?”
“…”
Xia Congsheng nodded, thinking carefully: “He should be.”
…
This shopping trip was quick, taking just over half an hour.
Back in the car, Fu Zhengchu complained while fastening his seatbelt: “Uncle, why didn’t you respond to people earlier? Luckily, I explained to you.”
Xia Congsheng leaned on the seat back: “What happened? Who did you run into?”
“It was Sang Zhi! She lives nearby,” Fu Zhengchu said. “Turns out the one who helped her meet her parents before wasn’t her real brother. But Sang Zhi’s real brother knows our uncle.”
Xia Congsheng became curious too: “Uncle, are you classmates?”
Fu Shize answered indifferently: “I think so.”
“Then isn’t he your senior? Why didn’t you even greet him?” Fu Zhengchu scolded, “You can’t maintain this aloof persona regardless of the situation, understand, uncle?”
Then, Fu Zhengchu directly started an interrogation in the car: “Sister Li, when my uncle picked you up last time, did he give you any attitude? Tell us, and we’ll stand up for you.”
Yun Li hurriedly waved her hands: “Not at all.”
Fu Zhengchu wanted to find some fault: “Then did he smile at you?”
“… No, he didn’t.”
“See, uncle, this won’t do,” Fu Zhengchu shook his head, instructing him, “If you go out like this, you’re bound to get beaten up. You need to learn to be friendly, gentle, and kind to others.”
Fu Shize just responded with a “Mm.”
Yun Li watched from the back, thinking he seemed to be taking it in.
After driving for a while, Fu Shize suddenly found a place to pull over. He unbuckled Fu Zhengchu’s seatbelt, rested his arm on the steering wheel, and turned to look at him: “Get out.”
“… Huh?” Looking at the deserted area, Fu Zhengchu’s bravado instantly vanished, “What’s wrong? Uncle, don’t you remember? I… I was supposed to stay at great-grandfather’s place with you tonight?”
“Can’t learn,” Fu Shize said calmly, “Afraid of getting beaten up and dragging you down.”
“…”
For the rest of the journey, Fu Zhengchu finally quieted down, not daring to say another word.
Upon reaching their destination, they said goodbye to the others.
The three girls returned to their place, took turns showering, and sat in the living room to watch a movie. Most of the time was spent chatting.
After a while, Xia Congsheng checked her phone and asked, “Hey, Li Li. That bag you brought today, it’s still in my uncle’s car. My grandfather’s place is quite close. Should I ask my brother to bring it over?”
“Ah? No need,” Yun Li said, “That bag has towel rolls in it. I brought them for you to eat. If they don’t mind, they can try them.”
Xia Congsheng: “Alright, thanks. I’ll let them know.”
“By the way,” Deng Chuqi opened a bag of chips, “Do your uncle and brother have girlfriends?”
“My uncle doesn’t.”
Hearing this, Yun Li instinctively looked at her.
Then, pretending not to care, she continued watching the TV screen, hiding her emotions.
How strange…
Although it had nothing to do with her.
Hearing this answer still made her feel a bit happy, despite herself.
Xia Congsheng honestly shared the information: “I’m not sure about my brother, I don’t think he does either. He broke up with someone a while ago. Why do you ask? Interested in one of them?”
Deng Chuqi sighed: “Forget it, one’s too cold, the other’s too silly.”
Xia Congsheng laughed uncontrollably, then said: “What about you, Li Li? If either of you likes someone, you must tell me. I’ll help set you up.”
“…”
Yun Li, harboring her thoughts, felt like she was walking a tightrope, teetering on the edge. Not daring to admit, yet not wanting to lie to them, she simply remained silent, just laughing along with them.
The other two were just joking around.
Deng Chuqi munched on chips and changed the subject: “Li Li, didn’t you say you wanted a job? Have you started sending out resumes?”
“Not yet. Every time I’m about to send a resume, I hesitate,” Yun Li became a bit depressed at the mention of this topic. “I’m not sure if I want to be a full-time content creator or find a job.”
Yun Li was quite lost.
In her senior year, she focused all her energy on preparing for the graduate school entrance exam, never considering the consequences of not getting in. She missed the campus job fairs and applied to a few positions through social recruitment, but nothing came of it.
Later, she thought about taking the exam again, but it was just a goal she set for herself because she didn’t know what to do next.
She wanted to try finding a job but kept procrastinating.
She just wanted to stay in her comfort zone.
She indulged, hid, and couldn’t break free.
Many aspects of herself could only be exposed online or to familiar people. She also lacked common topics with many people, couldn’t connect, and gradually drifted apart.
She didn’t know if there were others like her.
Longing for excitement, yet fearing social interaction.
“It depends on what you want to do,” Deng Chuqi said. “Finding a relaxed job shouldn’t interfere with you making videos.”
“That’s right, you can try whatever you want to do. If you’re not happy with it, you can always change,” Xia Congsheng said gently. “By the way, what was your major?”
Yun Li: “Automation.”
“I think I saw a friend recruiting recently. I’ll send it to you later to take a look?” Xia Congsheng said. “If you’re interested, you can try submitting a resume.”
…
By the time the movie ended, it was almost one in the morning. The other two, being working adults, usually slept by this time at the latest and were now so tired they could barely keep their eyes open.
Back in the room, Deng Chuqi said goodnight to Yun Li and quickly fell asleep.
Hearing her breathing become regular, Yun Li reached for her phone on the bedside table and sneakily ducked under the covers. She opened WeChat and found Fu Shize’s contact card that she had added earlier that day.
With others around, she hadn’t dared to click into it to look.
She had been waiting until the dead of night, when no eyes were watching her, to finally indulge her curiosity.
Fu Shize’s nickname was simply a capital F.
His profile picture had a pure black background with a white arc-shaped object near the bottom. It looked like a moon, or perhaps a small heart. Overall, it resembled a smiling face without the upper half.
It had a kind of quirky, sarcastic cuteness to it.
Thinking of Fu Shize’s expressionless face, it seemed both incongruous and oddly fitting.
Staring at it for a long while, Yun Li gradually began to feel a sense of reality.
She really couldn’t believe it.
That such “pie in the sky” things happened in this world.
Having taken the first step, Yun Li’s subsequent actions became bolder and more natural.
She clicked into his Moments, where the background was still the default image. He rarely posted about his daily life; the few posts were mostly shared academic papers and materials.
She quickly scrolled to the bottom.
It was empty, but pretty much what she had expected.
She returned to the chat window.
Yun Li accidentally tapped the dialogue box and was about to exit again when Deng Chuqi, sleeping beside her, suddenly stirred. Her heart skipped a beat, and she reflexively covered the phone, locking the screen.
After a few seconds, there was no more movement.
Yun Li cautiously peeked out, and in the moonlight, she saw that Deng Chuqi was still fast asleep.
It seemed she had just turned over.
She sighed in relief and began to feel drowsy herself. Putting the phone back on the nightstand, she adjusted her sleeping position and was preparing to drift off when suddenly, in the silent room, a vibration sounded.
It was nearly deafening to her ears.
Startled, Yun Li glanced at Deng Chuqi again, fearing she might have woken her. Assuming it was probably a software notification, she carefully picked up the phone, intending to turn off the mobile data.
Opening it, she saw.
The screen was still on the chat window with Fu Shize.
Five minutes ago, her side had sent Fu Shize a simple stick figure emoji. It was one she had “borrowed” from Deng Chuqi earlier—a hand with a clenched fist and extended index finger pointing towards the screen, with the words “Be my wife” written below.
Yun Li’s expression instantly froze.
And just now, the other party had also replied with a message.
Fu Shize: [?]
“…”