7 Chapter 7

The adults sat together and chatted about the past, and the topic occasionally turned to Wu Qianqiu, wanting to hear him talk about his fresh university life.

Chen Ying silently moved a small stool to the balcony, looking at the flowers and plants raised by her aunt, which were still thriving in the dark, and the occasional stars shining in the sky.

"Yingying, come in quickly."

Her uncle called her.

At some point, the topic turned to her high school. Her uncle, with great interest, said, "Yingying, your Uncle Zhou just mentioned that Baixi is also a sophomore at Fanchong High School. Come and meet him."

Chen Ying looked at Zhou Baixi, smiled politely, and said, "Hello, I'm Chen Ying."

"Zhou Baixi."

Zhou Baixi was surprised at her indifference. They had just met in the afternoon, yet she had forgotten so quickly. He was also puzzled that she was clearly smiling, but the smile did not reach her eyes.

He soon understood that she was just too lazy to speak and was just doing it perfunctorily.

The adults were all excited. "Which class is your child in?"

"Class One. Baixi's grades are good, and that's what makes me happy."

"My Yingying is also in the same class! What a coincidence?!"

Zhou Baixi said, "We are classmates, but we are not familiar with each other yet."

"We'll get to know each other slowly! Baixi is new here, Yingying, so if he doesn't understand something, he'll ask you."

Chen Ying thought to herself, "He's like the moon surrounded by stars in the class. He doesn't even need to ask for help. Someone will naturally help him. He doesn't need me at all."

But she smiled faintly and said, "Okay."

Wu Qianqiu finally raised his head and stared at Zhou Baixi for a long time before saying, "If anyone bullies my Chen Ying, Brother Zhou must stand by her."

The adults changed the subject. Chen Ying didn't hear what Zhou Baixi said. She was only shocked by Wu Qianqiu's words.

When did he change?

University was a truly magical place. It was like Wu Qianqiu had completely changed. Not only did he behave strangely, but he even spoke strangely. The only thing that remained unchanged was his sarcastic attitude towards Chen Ying.

He might be thinking of having more people come to bully Chen Ying, so that she would shrink into a corner and dare not see anyone, dare not make a sound, and even dare not see the light.

Chen Ying lowered her head. She could no longer hear what the others were saying. She just wanted to finish her meal quickly and return to her little nest. No place could make her feel safer than her little nest.

The food was finally served. Chen Ying's favorite vegetables were all in front of her cousin. She didn't dare to move the vegetables to herself, so she just kept drinking the soup.

My aunt saw this and said, "Chen Ying, don't just drink the soup, eat the crab!"

Chen Ying suddenly felt something was wrong. Sure enough, everyone at the table had their attention focused on her. She could only smile awkwardly and say, "Thank you, auntie. I love soup."

Before she finished speaking, the dish had been turned, and the plate of crabs was immediately placed in front of her. It was Wu Qianqiu who turned it.

It's not right for her to take it, and it's not right for her not to take it.

Taking one... shouldn't be a problem, right? There are so many on the plate, so just take one. My cousin shouldn't mind.

In fact, she didn't really like these shelled creatures. She hated those hard shells. In order to avoid peeling the shells, she would not eat them, no matter how delicious others said they were.

Chen Ying didn't want to eat anymore after she ate a crab leg. After entering high school, her appetite has been poor. She usually cooks for herself and eats whatever is cheap. Most of the time, she has no choice at all. She rarely eats meat. She doesn't like meat anyway, so she rarely buys it.

The four adults hadn't seen each other for a long time. They were very excited when they met and talked a lot. Only the three young people were silent. Occasionally, when they were mentioned, they would agree with them.

It was a round table that was neither too big nor too small, and Wu Qianqiu happened to sit next to Chen Ying.

My cousin said, "Why are you so skinny? You look like a monkey."

He took the initiative to pick crab roe for Chen Ying, but she was nervous and didn't want to eat it.

"Why don't you eat?" My cousin's face darkened.

Chen Ying stubbornly argued, "I haven't finished chewing the legs yet."

"What kind of meat can that have? Stop chewing it."

Chen Ying felt very embarrassed, but she didn't know what to say. She just drank the soup silently without picking up her chopsticks.

"I'm full." My cousin suddenly announced loudly, "I suddenly remembered that the group has a meeting that needs to be held online. I'll go get busy first."

Wu Qianqiu's university starts exactly one week later than the local high school. He has to go to school tomorrow and has a lot to prepare tonight. The adults understand that he is busy at university, so they tell him to come back and eat as soon as he finishes his work.

After he left, Chen Ying finally relaxed and felt that the soup in the bowl tasted much better.

At night, Chen Ying insisted on going back to her own nest to sleep. No matter how her uncle tried to persuade her, it was useless. He had no choice but to ask Wu Qianqiu to take her back. Unexpectedly, Wu Qianqiu locked himself in the room and refused to come out, saying that he had something to do and asked his uncle to take her back himself.

Chen Ying breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want Wu Qianqiu to send her off, but seeing that her uncle was about to get angry, she quickly said that she had money and could take a taxi back. She even ran out without waiting for her uncle's consent.

Wu Qianqiu was talking to a friend on the phone in her room, looking worried. "She's very scared of me. She can't even eat well. I don't dare get too close to her."

Chen Ying looked at the time while running, praying to catch the last bus, but her luck was always bad. As soon as she reached the stop, the bus started and was ready to leave.

Chen Ying was panting, not knowing what to do. She did have some money on her, but it was for living expenses. One taxi ride would cost her a week's worth of food.

Chen Ying pursed her lips and thought that the worst that could happen was that she would just walk back.

"Little girl! Are you coming up or not?"

Chen Ying looked up and saw that the bus had stopped at some point.

It was already very late and there were not many people on the bus. Chen Ying sat in the last row, calculated the time, and sent a message to her uncle almost half an hour later to let him know that she was safe.

In the new week, gossip about Zhou Baixi begins to update again.

"Ahhhhhhhh I'm going crazy! Do you know why Zhou Baixi learned Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?!"

"Why? Isn't it to keep fit?"

"No!! He used to learn Taekwondo! He only switched to it later!"

"Really?! Why?"

"He hates Taekwondo because of a guy named Xingxing. Zhou Baixi kicked him and sent him to the hospital. Zhou Baixi said Xingxing was his childhood friend and he felt guilty towards Xingxing, so he stopped learning."

"Xingxing...why does it sound so much like a girl's name?"

"No, Xingxing is a boy! He met him here when he was a child."

“…I suspect it’s a girl!”

…

Star……

Chen Ying felt that the name sounded very familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had heard it.

"Hello." It was Zhou Baixi's voice.

The students around her suddenly burst into "Wow" sounds. Chen Ying didn't understand why and was not interested in the noise. She just continued to memorize her words.

“…”

The sounds around seemed to fade a little, with an eerie atmosphere.

A bag suddenly appeared in front of her. Chen Ying finally looked up and saw Zhou Baixi turning around.

"You left something behind." Chen Ying kindly reminded him.

"For you."

The noise around her grew louder, and Chen Ying realized that everyone's eyes had been focused on her. It was her first time in such a situation, and she was so embarrassed that she didn't know what to do.

She returned the bag to Zhou Baixi.

Zhou Baixi said without even looking up: "My mom asked me to bring this to you. I didn't know you were there when we went to dinner a few days ago, so I didn't prepare any for you."

Chen Ying then remembered what happened at dinner that day. She had never intended to receive any gifts. If she had known this would happen, she would not have gone at all.

"Thank you, Auntie. I appreciate it."

The bag was returned to Zhou Baixi's desk. Zhou Baixi guessed that she didn't even take a look at what was inside the bag.

"Wait a minute."

Chen Ying looked back in confusion, frowning slightly.

"Uncle Wu is your uncle, but did you know that you have a relative named Xingxing?"

Chen Ying thought about it and shook her head.

"He's very well behaved and should be older than you. Think about it carefully."

A man named Xingxing. Chen Ying racked her brains but couldn't think of such a person. She couldn't even think of a relative with the word "Xing" in his name.

There was a boy nearby who was close to Zhou Baixi. He asked, "What's Xingxing's full name? I'll ask my brothers to help you find out."

Zhou Baixi shook his head and returned to his seat. "I don't know, I just remember she was cute and looked like a girl."

Chen Ying returned to her seat and felt more and more that something was wrong. Stars, stars, she felt like she was possessed. The name "Xingxing" felt extremely familiar, as if she knew it too.

Zhou Baixi never asked Xingxing again.

One day in class, the math teacher wrote the derivative formula on the blackboard. For the first time, Chen Ying had other thoughts in class and did not listen carefully.

A memory suddenly revived in her mind, and Chen Ying finally understood why the name "Xingxing" was so familiar.

When she was a child, her uncle always called her Xingxing.