For a few seconds, Lu Xingyan was at a loss for words. Shen Xingruo’s breath had been warm and moist near his ear, and even after she moved away, the tickling sensation lingered.
Slowly, Lu Xingyan straightened up and met Shen Xingruo’s gaze, incredulous. “How did you know I was there?”
Shen Xingruo looked at him for a moment, then lifted her phone and waved it. She stepped forward and swapped it with the phone in his hand. They had the same phone model without protective cases, and they must have swapped them while cleaning.
“When I left the school gate, I looked back and thought I saw you. I thought I was seeing things.”
“Later, when I realized I had the wrong phone, I figured I wasn’t mistaken. Considering how often you use your phone, you would have noticed the swap right after I left.”
When she first noticed the phone was different, she immediately thought that Lu Xingyan must not be far behind her. She even considered hiding by the wall to scare him when he arrived, but the group of delinquents got to her first.
Lu Xingyan fell silent for a moment. “Why don’t you change your name to Sherlock Xingruo?”
The words slipped out before he could think them through. It wasn’t until he said them that he realized how familiar “Xingruo” sounded without her surname. The next moment, he awkwardly averted his gaze.
Shen Xingruo didn’t seem to mind since she wasn’t looking at him. Her attention was already on her phone. Remembering how Lu Xingyan had pretended to call for backup, she couldn’t help but smile slightly.
When she turned to speak to Lu Xingyan again, her expression was neutral. “Your acting skills aren’t bad.”
Lu Xingyan paused, realizing what she meant. He explained, “Actually, I could’ve handled them easily on my own. But with you there, girls just complicate things. When things get physical, you end up with wobbly legs and start crying.”
Shen Xingruo looked up at him, unusually refraining from retorting. After a moment, she suddenly said, “Thank you.”
“…” Lu Xingyan couldn’t help but look her over several times. Shen Xingruo rarely showed him a friendly face, so her sudden politeness was disconcerting. Scratching the back of his neck, he tried to play it off. “It’s nothing. Besides, if you got hurt, where would my reputation go?”
Shen Xingruo was a bit surprised. “You haven’t paid much attention in other classes, but you seem to have aced ‘The Art of Being a Deskmate’.”
“…”
“Must be thanks to your excellent guidance, Teacher Shen.”
Feeling whimsical, he ruffled Shen Xingruo’s hair.
She dodged to the side. “Did you just put dirt on my head again? Don’t you know to respect your teacher?”
“I haven’t complained about your oily hair, and you’re calling my hands dirty?”
“I wash my hair every day. Don’t spread rumors.”
“I’ll write an article for the school paper tomorrow: ‘Violin Goddess Shen Xingruo from Class 2-1 Doesn’t Wash Her Hair for Three Days or Take a Bath for Five’.”
“Class 2-1 Bully Lu Xingyan Covets Shen Xingruo’s Unparalleled Beauty, Stalks Her After School on Fridays.”
“Who’s stalking?”
“Who’s stalking who knows very well.”
“Hey, I was just keeping my distance, stop spreading rumors.”
…
They chatted as they walked towards the end of the alley, their shadows stretched long by the setting sun, sometimes diverging, overlapping.
When Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo got into the car and left, many students were still at the school. Since they didn’t go home the previous weekend due to extra classes, everyone had more luggage to pack this week.
Zhai Jiajing and Shi Qin decided to have dinner before heading back to the dorm to pack their things. Once they finished, they headed downstairs to catch the subway.
Zhai Jiajing suddenly remembered something. “Oh, Qin, I need to go to the antique street to buy a calligraphy brush. My brother’s elementary school started a second class for calligraphy, and I promised to bring him a new brush this weekend.”
She paused slightly and added, “If you’re in a hurry to go home, you can go ahead. I can manage by myself.”
Shi Qin quickly shook her head. “I’m not in a hurry. Let’s go to the antique street together.”
As soon as they entered the antique street, they saw Yang Fang walking out of an alley, looking distraught.
Shi Qin tugged on Zhai Jiajing’s sleeve. “Isn’t that Yang Fang from Class 2? She spread rumors about you before. Last time she was gossiping about Xingruo in the restroom too. She’s such a busybody.”
“But what happened to her? She looks like she’s been crying…”
Zhai Jiajing glanced at Yang Fang, then firmly took Shi Qin’s hand and led her forward. “Forget it, it’s none of our business. Let’s go.”
Shi Qin agreed but couldn’t help glancing back as they walked away.
Soon it was Saturday evening.
Lu Xingyan spent the afternoon playing video games in his room. He only got up to shower when Shen Xingruo knocked on his door to urge him. After blowing his hair semi-dry, he opened his wardrobe to pick out clothes.
Initially, he reached for a baseball jacket but then remembered Shen Xingruo had been wearing an off-shoulder sweatshirt in a soft pink shade, looking all set to go out. He hesitated, then chose a black jacket and a thin, light pink sweatshirt.
The restaurant was a bit far from Luoxing Lake, and the “fairy of the slums” opted to take the subway. With traffic outside being terrible, taking the subway seemed like a good choice, and Lu Xingyan agreed.
They rarely took the subway more than once or twice a year, so they didn’t consider that it might be crowded during rush hour.
From the moment they boarded, Lu Xingyan was visibly uncomfortable. Shen Xingruo, who seemed even less accustomed to such conditions, was quickly squished, looking resigned and numb. Lu Xingyan, though irritated, positioned himself protectively to shield her from the crowd.
This sense of achievement lasted less than two minutes before a boy stood up and tapped Shen Xingruo on the shoulder. “Um… hey, you can sit here.”
The boy’s ears were red, and he stammered, not daring to meet Shen Xingruo’s eyes.
Shen Xingruo declined politely, “Thank you, but it’s okay.”
” I’m getting off soon… You should sit, you’re a girl…”
The nearby girls who had been playing on their phones couldn’t help but look up when they heard that.
Lu Xingyan was thinking, “You’re so afraid to even look at people’s eyes, yet you’re still trying to act so generously?”
The girls were also thinking, “Her boyfriend is right there, and you’re still trying to act all generous? If you think someone looks good, just say it straight out. There’s no need to use us girls as an excuse. What did we do wrong? This is just outrageous.”
The boy realized his words were a bit inappropriate, and then noticed Lu Xingyan giving him an unfriendly glance.
Seeing that he and Shen Xingruo were wearing the same color of clothes, the boy suddenly understood something, feeling even more embarrassed. He decided to give up his seat and just blend into the crowd.
Shen Xingruo said, “…”
There weren’t any special groups around needing a seat, so she sat down.
Lu Xingyan also stood in front of her without hesitation.
With one hand in his pocket and the other holding onto the handrail, Lu Xingyan teased Shen Xingruo while looking down, “Are you elderly, weak, sick, disabled, or pregnant? Which one are you? Do you need someone to give up their seat for you?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the train suddenly stopped, but Lu Xingyan didn’t notice and stumbled forward a half step.
Shen Xingruo reached out to steady him, her expression calm. “You don’t need to worry about which one I am. I can see that you’re not standing steadily.”
“…”
“You’re spreading rumors again.”
“You were spreading rumors about my back last time. Don’t keep spreading rumors about my health problems. You don’t even know if my back is okay.”
Lu Xingyan was also quite concerned about his reputation, especially when it came to his health.
Shen Xingruo didn’t respond, pondering for a while without figuring out why she should know.
And she didn’t know.
As she was silently contemplating, several middle-aged women nearby began to look at the two of them with strange eyes.
Their gaze was too naked, as if saying, “These young people nowadays, talking about such topics on the subway. It’s a sign of the times, shameless and disgraceful.”
Lu Xingyan paused for half a second before saying to Shen Xingruo, “I didn’t mean it that way. I meant to say my back is fine, you know… No, forget it. You’ll find out later anyway.”
Shen Xingruo raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“What did I do wrong again?” she thought.
“I don’t want to know,” she said aloud.
The two of them sat in silence for the rest of the subway ride.
When they reached the restaurant, Shen Xingruo entered first while Lu Xingyan lingered outside for a smoke before joining her.
This restaurant was chosen by Xu Chengzhou and his friends.
These guys usually had high standards, but eating was one thing that could occasionally make them lower their guard.
Shen Xingruo noticed upon entering that the restaurant looked plain from the outside, but it was packed inside, with a small area outside holding plastic stools where many people were waiting for a table.
As for the environment, it was slightly better than the last place they went, which turned out to be a fly-infested dive where they spent four hundred and fifty.
Luckily, Xu Chengzhou and the others arrived early. Zhai Jiajing, Shi Qin, Li Ting, and Li Chengyue had also arrived. Shen Xingruo asked about He Siyue, and Shi Qin said the class monitor went to buy drinks.
Shen Xingruo nodded and took a seat.
Just then, Lu Xingyan finished his cigarette and came in.
The group of boys greeted him.
Li Chengyue teased, “Ruojie, you only care about whether the class monitor is here or not, but you don’t care about your tablemate.”
Shen Xingruo and Lu Xingyan exchanged glances and casually changed the subject as if nothing had happened. “Since everyone’s here, let’s order. Have any of you tried the dishes here before?”
Chen Zhuyang raised the menu with a look of seeking praise. “I have! I’ve been here before. Let me order a few signature dishes for you all. These are all must-try dishes, you won’t go wrong with them!”
No one objected.
After Chen Zhuyang ordered, the menu was passed around. The girls were relatively reserved, but the boys were quite particular.
Li Chengyue and Zhao Langming looked at the menu together, and Zhao Langming pointed at a few items. “This one and this one are good too. I like crab sticks, so let’s get those too.”
Li Chengyue said, “You seem to like everything. Do you have a bottomless pit in your stomach? Why order so much?”
Everyone was chatting, but when they heard this, they fell silent for a moment, and then Shi Qin couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Lu Xingyan was playing with his phone, smiling slightly. He kicked Li Chengyue’s chair lightly. “Don’t ever claim to know me again. You’re too uncultured. ‘Bottomless pit’? It’s a ‘golden stomach’. Say it with me, zhouzhou, fourth tone, bro.”
“What ‘golden stomach’? Isn’t it a ‘bottomless pit’? Describing a stomach as precious?” Li Chengyue was puzzled.
Everyone couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Lu Xingyan felt a sense of superiority and continued to educate him. “Shut up. If you don’t know how to use idioms, don’t bother. Don’t poison us good young men with your ignorance.”
The air was quiet for a moment before laughter erupted even more wildly this time.
Shen Xingruo had a strong ability to accept things. Whatever these people said, she wasn’t surprised.
As she heated the utensils with hot water, she corrected him, “It’s ‘poison’, pronounced as ‘tutu’, second tone, bro.”