On a summer night breeze, there were heavy gasps of breath from running, flowing long hair, and amidst the aroma of barbecue seasoning, there was the faint fragrance of a young girl that they inadvertently caught as they drew closer.
It was nearing midnight, the moon shining brightly in the sky.
Shen Xingruo, accompanied by Lu Xingyan, sprinted towards the subway exit where Shi Qin had just seen them off. They quickly descended the elevator, bypassed security, and emerged from another subway exit across a crossroads, diagonally across from where they stood. In the distance, the red and blue police lights flickered at the barbecue stall, but the police officers were nowhere to be seen, leaving them unsure if they were being chased.
After running for a while, Shen Xingruo’s breath grew heavy and painful, but she didn’t stop. Instead, she grabbed Lu Xingyan and turned into a nearby one-way street, half running, half walking, constantly glancing back.
Lu Xingyan said, “They surely won’t catch up now, we’ve run so far…”
“Shut up.”
Initially, Shen Xingruo felt they were safe, but Lu Xingyan’s words made her uneasy. She pulled him along, accelerating out of the one-way street onto another main road. Just in case, Shen Xingruo made Lu Xingyan cross the pedestrian crossing with her, and they waited on the other side of the road for a taxi.
In reality, Lu Xingyan was unfairly implicated; the police weren’t after them. The Public Security Bureau had received a report from a vigilant resident about illegal activities in the residential building near the barbecue stall, involving the solicitation of university students. Hence, they swiftly responded to the scene.
These two teenagers just happened to get into a fight at the wrong time.
Of course, Shen Xingruo and Lu Xingyan would never know this. It wasn’t until they got into the car that Shen Xingruo finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“That guy…”
As Lu Xingyan got into the car, intending to explain the sudden brawl, Shen Xingruo gave him a cold glare. “Shut up.”
Lu Xingyan remained silent.
Shen Xingruo wasn’t entirely ignorant of the situation, especially since she vaguely sensed from Lu Xingyan’s conversation with the other boy that it might be related to her. But she feared that if the taxi driver overheard, he might mistakenly take them to the police station. There had been precedents; some taxi drivers in Star City were keen on being righteous, as shown in the noon news on Star City TV, where a driver had taken a suspected drug user to the police station. Surprisingly, the investigation revealed that not only was the passenger a drug user, but also involved in drug trafficking.
It remained quiet until they reached Falling Star Lake, where Shen Xingruo finally allowed Lu Xingyan to speak.
Tonight’s incident was just a coincidence. Star City, though not large, encompassed six districts with a total area of over ten thousand square kilometers. Even eating barbecue near the university could lead to unexpected encounters.
Once Lu Xingyan and his friends sat down at the barbecue stall, they overheard the table behind them boasting and drinking beer and baijiu.
Initially, nobody paid attention until someone at the table whispered, “Isn’t that Chen Tao from Class Six?”
Xu Chengzhou and Zhao Langming turned to look.
While Xu Chengzhou didn’t catch on immediately, Zhao Langming’s expression changed as he cursed, “Damn it!”
It turned out that Chen Tao and his friends were discussing girls in a vulgar manner, including bragging about groping a girl’s buttocks when he went to the toilet, describing how satisfying it felt.
Unfortunately, the girl mentioned happened to be Zhao Langming’s ex-girlfriend.
Following this, two or three guys laughed obscenely, mentioning that the girl was Zhao Langming’s ex, and then moved on to discuss the girls in their class.
When Lu Xingyan became engrossed in his phone screen, Chen Tao happened to mention the incident involving Shen Xingruo during their first monthly exam.
After cursing Shen Xingruo for being pretentious and cold-hearted, he boasted about how he would one day make her regret her arrogance.
Without hesitation, Lu Xingyan grabbed a beer bottle and stood up, brimming with anger, and smashed it on their table. Zhao Langming and the others also stood up to fight, and even though the others didn’t quite understand the situation, they were swept up in the heat of the moment and joined the brawl.
Chen Tao didn’t intend to provoke Lu Xingyan, but unfortunately, trouble always seemed to find him. Moreover, Lu Xingyan didn’t hesitate to confront him directly. With so many of his friends present, he couldn’t afford to lose face. Despite Lu Xingyan’s attempts to stop the fight, the two groups clashed.
When Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo recounted the incident, they omitted the vulgar language. However, as they retold the entire event, Lu Xingyan’s anger, which had finally subsided on the way, flared up again.
“I’m telling you, if someone hadn’t arrived, I would’ve broken his arms and knocked out his teeth, so he’d never shut his mouth up again.”
Shen Xingruo remained silent.
Truly a group of immature teenagers.
Lu Xingyan’s cousin, who had accompanied them, probably never imagined that a simple barbecue outing would turn into such a mess. Regardless, since they had fought for her, it wasn’t appropriate for Shen Xingruo to take advantage of the situation and lecture them about following the rules and laws.
So she listened quietly, letting him ramble on until they reached the villa area, where she suddenly stopped him.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Xingyan asked.
“Lower your head a bit.”
Lu Xingyan looked puzzled but complied slightly.
Standing on the cobblestone path, with English-style garden lamps beside them casting delicate shadows, Shen Xingruo tiptoed, tidying up his messy hair and collar.
Suddenly, she paused, leaned in to sniff, and asked, “How much baijiu did you drink? Why do I smell alcohol?”
“I didn’t,” Lu Xingyan said, sniffing his shirt in disgust. “I only had a few bottles of beer. It was those idiots who drank baijiu, not me. I swear.”
So that’s from the fight.
Shen Xingruo added, “If you see Aunt Pei in the living room later, don’t speak or approach her. Just wait until I finish greeting her, and then we’ll go upstairs together.”
“Okay,” Lu Xingyan replied with a nod, albeit in a somewhat absent-minded manner.
Shen Xingruo’s plan didn’t come into play at all.
Aunt Pei wasn’t in the living room; she was upstairs in the multifunctional theater room watching a foreign film with a heavy theme about human trafficking. She was deeply moved by the movie, shedding tears and silently vowing to treat children better.
When Shen Xingruo went to greet her, Aunt Pei was still wiping tears with a tissue. Upon seeing Shen Xingruo, she hurriedly took out two tickets from her bag and stuffed them into Shen Xingruo’s hand, tearfully saying, “Ruo Ruo, Aunt Pei is going shopping today, and the mall gave me two tickets for the amusement park from a fairytale. You and Lu Xingyan should go and have fun.”
Her voice trembled with emotion, and tears welled up in her eyes, giving Shen Xingruo the feeling that the amusement park was a dangerous place where one might never return.
After leaving the theater, Lu Xingyan casually draped his arm around Shen Xingruo’s shoulder and glanced at the tickets in her hand, asking, “What’s this?”
“Tickets to the amusement park from the mall,” Shen Xingruo said as she patted his arm. “Let go.”
Lu Xingyan caught off guard, made a soft “tsk” sound as Shen Xingruo’s hand made contact with his arm.
Seeing his pained expression, Shen Xingruo pressed the spot she had just patted again. Lu Xingyan let out another “tsk” and even sucked in a breath this time.
“Are you hurt?” Shen Xingruo asked.
“What nonsense,” he replied defensively.
Stubborn.
Shen Xingruo couldn’t be bothered to listen to his explanations. “You go take a shower first. I’ll come find you later.”
Lu Xingyan eyed her suspiciously. “What are you looking for me for? It’s summer break; you’re not going to make me study again, are you?”
Or maybe… it’s for something else?
Ignoring his question, Shen Xingruo went upstairs first.
Twenty minutes later, Lu Xingyan finished his shower, and Shen Xingruo knocked on his door as promised.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
Lu Xingyan walked over, draped a towel around his neck, and used one hand to unlock the door.
Shen Xingruo had also taken a shower and changed into a light yellow nightgown. She was carrying a medical kit in her hand.
It wasn’t the first time Shen Xingruo had entered Lu Xingyan’s room, so she walked to the bedside as if she knew the way, then motioned for him to sit down.
Before Lu Xingyan could ask anything, Shen Xingruo gently pressed on the spot where he had been hit.
Lu Xingyan instinctively furrowed his brows.
“Besides this, are there any other injuries?” Shen Xingruo asked.
“No, I told you I’m fine, it’s just a bump—” Lu Xingyan’s sentence was interrupted by another pressing on the bruised area on his back, causing him to involuntarily gasp.
Shen Xingruo didn’t bother pressing further. Instead, she rolled up his sleeves, applied ointment to the bruised area on his arm, and then asked him to lift his shirt so she could apply the ointment to his back.
Chen Tao was much larger and more intimidating than Lu Xingyan, estimated to be fifteen times his size. Seeing Lu Xingyan in such a state made Shen Xingruo feel like justice hadn’t been served. Despite the beating, Lu Xingyan had managed to maintain his composure throughout the ordeal.
As she applied the ointment, Lu Xingyan kept explaining, afraid that his tall and imposing image in her eyes might be tarnished—”Today was a constrained environment; otherwise, I could have taken on five or six of them without any problem.”
“What’s a few bruises? I really couldn’t be bothered to dodge; they’re not serious injuries, those weaklings.”
After he’d explained for a while without Shen Xingruo responding, Lu Xingyan changed the subject.
“Oh, by the way, do you know the secret to winning a fight? Do you want to hear it?”
Is the secret whoever strikes the most impressive pose wins?
Shen Xingruo rolled her eyes internally, but out of consideration for his gallant act, she nonchalantly said, “Sure.”
Lu Xingyan became quite animated as he began, “Have you ever read ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’?”
Shen Xingruo paused for a moment before responding with a simple “Hmm.”
“Remember the part about Guan Yu slaying Hua Xiong?” Lu Xingyan asked.
Of course, that iconic scene was unforgettable. During the coalition against Dong Zhuo, Hua Xiong was sent out to battle by Dong Zhuo, and he defeated several generals sent by the coalition. Finally, when Guan Yu, then just a lowly groom, volunteered to fight, none of the coalition leaders had much faith in him except for Cao Cao. They offered him warm wine to fortify him for the battle, but Guan Yu declined, saying he would only drink it after defeating Hua Xiong. When he returned with Hua Xiong’s head, the wine was still warm, hence the term “Warming Wine to Slay Hua Xiong.”
“…Those guys they sent out earlier, like Pan Feng, they all drank wine. What’s the point of fighting after having a drink? Only Guan Yu went out without drinking,” Lu Xingyan explained.
“Today those idiots had about four or five more people than us, but they all drank liquor, and we didn’t. So, the secret to winning a fight is not drinking,” he concluded.
“…,” Shen Xingruo was at a loss for words.
“I just never expected that one day you’d discuss the secret to winning a fight with me from a literary perspective,” she finally responded.
“…,” Lu Xingyan fell silent.
With the medication applied, Shen Xingruo was about to get up to dispose of the cotton swabs when Lu Xingyan suddenly exclaimed, “Wait, there’s more here.”
He pointed to his left side, near his waist.
Shen Xingruo had only focused on his back and hadn’t noticed before, but now she looked over and saw a small bruise on his waist. She grabbed a fresh cotton swab, applied some ointment, and then paused.
They were sitting on the corner of the bed, with Shen Xingruo on his right. To apply the ointment to his left side, she needed to switch positions.
After a moment’s thought, Shen Xingruo moved to sit on Lu Xingyan’s left side.
With the sudden proximity, Shen Xingruo tried to maintain her focus, but she couldn’t help but let her gaze linger on his toned abdomen.
Distracted, Shen Xingruo continued applying the ointment, while Lu Xingyan picked up his phone to check the group chat with his friends.
Li Chengfan and the others were sending voice messages.
Lu Xingyan also sent a voice message, repeating the same tough talk he had shared with Shen Xingruo earlier, “If it weren’t for others showing up, I would’ve broken his arms and knocked out his teeth, so his mouth would never shut up, always owing me a lesson…”
The conversation was interrupted as Lu Xingyan suddenly gasped for breath.
Turning to him, Shen Xingruo coldly stared, her eyes seemingly saying, “Don’t be too quick to boast, you disabled person.”
His friends in the group chat sensed something amiss and quickly asked, “What’s wrong, bro?”
Lu Xingyan turned back, calmly replying, “Oh, nothing. Just got pecked by the peacock I keep at home.”
Shen Xingruo was momentarily distracted by his response and the cotton swab she was holding snapped, dropping between… Lu Xingyan’s legs.
After sending the voice message, Lu Xingyan intended to say something to Shen Xingruo, but when he noticed the cotton swab between his legs, he froze.
In that instant, the atmosphere became somewhat ambiguous.
While the WeChat group remained lively, Lu Xingyan refrained from opening any messages. Subconsciously, he turned to glance at Shen Xingruo and noticed that she… seemed a bit flushed.
He quickly recalled the previous fortunate incident and, acting faster than his thoughts, followed the same procedure, saying, “Shen Xingruo, you seem to be blushing.”
He leaned in for a closer look.
However, this time Shen Xingruo didn’t say, “Keep staring and I’ll kiss you,” but instead earnestly responded, “Hmm,” before explaining, “I had some beer at the KTV earlier, and now I feel a bit dizzy.”
Yeah right.
Beer wouldn’t have such a strong effect.
Not even with Viagra would someone blush this much.
Although Lu Xingyan didn’t entirely believe her, seeing Shen Xingruo’s slightly flushed face and her nonchalant act of applying the ointment with her eyes lowered, he inexplicably found her rather cute.
He felt like the effect of the beer was a bit too much, maybe it was spiked with something because now he also felt a bit foggy-headed.
So, taking advantage of his fuzzy mind, he asked, “Shen Xingruo, can I ask you a question? Have you ever been in a relationship?”
Shen Xingruo paused. “Why are you asking this?”
“Just curious?” he replied.
Shen Xingruo still had her eyes lowered as she finished applying the ointment, pulled down his T-shirt, and then said expressionlessly, “No.”
“That’s what I thought.” Although he said this, Lu Xingyan still felt an inexplicable sense of relief. After a brief silence, he impulsively asked, “Do you want to date?”