Burnt burnt burnt

The outside temperature has stabilized for the time being.

But the inside is another story; whether it will fluctuate in temperature depends on...

In the dessert shop, five people sat facing each other, in a two-against-three arrangement, having rearranged the seating arrangement for those meeting for the first time.

"What a big surprise! Why did you keep it from me all this time?" Wen Zhuyao looked at the three people opposite her with great energy.

The one next to me was already interrogated yesterday, so we'll ignore him for now.

Chi Nuo was the first to speak out: "No, Zhu Zhu, I didn't do anything."

“Mo Wen told me everything.” Wen Zhuyao said with a swift motion.

Chi Nuo immediately turned to Mo Wen, staring at him: "Is this how you betray your friends? I'm so angry!"

He kept rolling up and putting down his sleeves as he spoke, waiting for an explanation.

"No, she guessed everything, that's why I said it." Mo Wen shrugged innocently, indicating that he really hadn't gone that far.

Next, turn around and face the remaining two people.

Ji Shu tapped the table lightly, staring intently at her, before finally speaking after a long pause: "What a drama queen."

Upon realizing that her prediction had come true, Wen Zhuyao reverted to her previous state.

"No, I'm just a little sad to see you hiding this from me." She lowered her head, pointed with her fingertips, carefully raised her eyes and then quickly looked down again.

He looked utterly aggrieved.

Bai Yuzhou remained out of the mood: "It's just part of the plan."

"Hmph, plans, plans, but they don't care about my life or death." Chi Nuo straightened her sleeves, which had been a little cold.

Ji Shu stood up, propping herself up on the table, and stretched her wrists: "Honestly, it would have been better if we had done this earlier. A bunch of drama queens. Let's go."

"Yes, I've completed the plan. I won't leave early like last time." Bai Yuzhou pushed up his glasses and opened his phone to look at his cloud documents.

The time, place, and event were all arranged perfectly.

Even in winter, when people have less interest in traveling than at other times, the schedule is still packed full.

Chi Nuo jumped up and followed behind Ji Shu, happily calling out to them, "Let's go, let's go! I thought you were going to settle scores with me. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have been scared."

"Seriously, I need to eat a lot to soothe my heart."

Wen Zhuyao and Mo Wen exchanged a glance, then turned back and said, "Your stomach might protest."

"Pah! Pah! Pah! Don't jinx it!!!"

So far, the ice-breaking process has been completed, and every tiny fragment has been salvaged.

At the store entrance, Wen Zhuyao took his hand. Mo Wen didn't say anything, but silently held it tight, the warmth passing between their palms.

That evening, Mo Wen's reply was only a simple sentence.

"The moment I met you, I knew that you were an indispensable part of my future."

...

After finishing everything, Wen's mother took some time to go to the supermarket with Wen's father and bought some more things to make up for not being home yesterday.

She walked to the corner with her bag and stopped.

"Okay, see you later." Wen Zhuyao stopped with him at the entrance of the building and gave him a hug before leaving.

Mo Wen was a few seconds slow to react to the sudden hug. His hands instinctively wanted to wrap around her body, but he controlled them as his reaction returned.

Finally, it gently fell down again.

Today's plan is just an experimental phase. We'll consider the follow-up measures once we can accept the outside temperature, so I had some free time to come back in the afternoon.

"Hey, hey, don't go..."

Wen's mother quietly pulled Wen's father back from rushing forward, and they hid around the corner together. Wen's father was unsure of the situation, but he obeyed her and hid around the corner.

"What's wrong?" Mr. Wen cautiously peeked forward, but found nothing. "Isn't everything fine?"

Wen's mother waved her hand in front of his eyes to check if it was a vision problem: "The one in front is Xiaozhu, and there's a boy too."

"I see..."

Mr. Wen suddenly realized something. Seeing his expression, Mrs. Wen felt that he understood her meaning. However, Mr. Wen's next sentence made her not want to talk to him anymore.

"Isn't it normal to date? If you don't like blind dates, you just don't like them. What's so surprising about that?"

Mr. Wen adjusted the bag in his hand and continued to hide: "It's not like we said we'd never talk about it again. Suddenly someone pops up."

"I...Is that what I meant?" Wen's mother was speechless and asked back.

Mr. Wen didn't take it seriously and shook the bag: "Isn't that what you meant? Oh well, never mind, they've separated, let's go over there too, we still have things with us."

"Let's go, let's go, stop dawdling."

Wen Zhuyao had just closed the bedroom door when the main door behind her opened a second later.

She heard the noise and went out to check.

Seeing them with all those big and small bags, it looked like they had gone out to fight and were returning with their spoils of war.

"How come you guys have free time again?" Wen Zhuyao really couldn't figure out where they had all spent their time.

When Wen's father saw her come out, he boasted, "Look at the fish your dad snatched! Five pounds of fresh fish! I'll make you stewed fish later, just wait."

After he finished speaking, he carried the plastic bag into the kitchen and fiddled with the refrigerator switch, plastic opening and closing mechanisms, and various bottles and jars.

I don't know how it made the sound keep ringing.

"That's just how your dad is, he has eight hands and you can't do anything about him. Go back inside and close the door."

Wen's mother took off her coat, rolled up her sleeves, and prepared to go in and help.

"good."

Wen Zhuyao returned to his room, and as soon as he sat down, the group chat started buzzing with voices, except for Mo Wen, who had brought him back.

The other three people returned around the same time as Wen Zhuyao.

"How was your trip this morning?" Bai Yuzhou suddenly appeared to conduct a survey.

In order to make timely changes, I had my laptop, my phone, and a paper notebook open on the table.

Chi Nuo was the first to speak up, saying, "I think it's okay, not too cold, but very exciting."

"I can get up, I can move around, and I have the energy." Wen Zhuyao felt that her spirits were still pretty good.

Mo Wen chimed in: "No problem, but you can't stay up late, otherwise you won't be able to get up in the morning and the whole day will be swallowed up by the blankets."

"Aren't you outside? You're going to get swallowed by the cold wind, it's going to be windy tonight." Chi Nuo brand weather warning, reminding you to take precautions against the wind at night.

Mo asked, "When will the wind come?"

"It should be in two minutes." Chi Nuo glanced at the time, then checked the weather display.

Strong winds are expected at 7 PM.

Mo Wen: "..."

"See you tomorrow then." After making the note, Bai Yuzhou was about to leave.

He had already closed the group chat, but then he saw Mo Wen's new message and clicked back in.

Mo Wen sensed the wind picking up and said in the group chat, "Aren't we going to help?"

"Life and death are predestined." Bai Yuzhou left these words behind and disappeared without a trace.

Chi Nuo appeared and laughed: "Hahaha, keep it up!"

"Let's keep going tomorrow!"

For several days in a row, Wen's mother watched her go out in the morning and come back in the evening, and became increasingly curious about it.

But I never had a chance to ask.

While Mrs. Wen was trying to think of a solution, she looked around and then saw Mr. Wen drinking tea and became furious: "Don't you even know how to think? You're just sitting there drinking tea."

"No, just take things as they come, what's the rush?" Mr. Wen put down his teacup and poured her another.

Wen's mother took the tea that was being offered to her lips and put it aside: "You don't want to, but I do."

...

Day four.

Hearing the door across the hall open, Wen's mother opened her own door at the same time and caught Chi Nuo, who was a step behind. She asked kindly, "We've been free these past few days, so why haven't we seen Xiao Zhu at home? Did she go out to play with other friends?"

Caught off guard by the question, Chi Nuo instinctively replied, "Yes, we've been out and about these past few days. We made plans beforehand."

"It's a promise, so have fun. If you want anything to eat, come to my house for a meal later." Wen's mother continued to steer the conversation towards the topic she wanted to discuss.

Chi Nuo honestly refused: "This doesn't seem like a good idea."

If I agree, what's the difference between this and meeting the parents directly...?

"I see. It's your sense of boundaries, isn't it? It's okay, you can come anytime." Wen's mother was slightly downcast, but then her mood brightened again.

Chi Nuo tried to explain, but then stopped, saying, "No, no, Auntie's cooking is delicious, they'll like it. It's just that the situation is a bit awkward, after all, there's someone..."

"What is it?" Mother Wen asked expectantly, waiting for her to continue.

Chi Nuo realized what was happening and covered her mouth, saying dryly, "Auntie, I'm leaving now. They're all waiting for me."

"Alright, alright, take it easy." Wen's mother got the answer she wanted and watched Chi Nuo leave.

Upon arriving at the scene, Chi Nuo was seen walking over with her head down, dawdling and hesitating.

"I have some bad news to share with you all."

Ji Shu asked, "What's wrong? Just tell me, don't worry."

"Really?"

Chi Nuo twirled her hands and looked at the four people in front of her: "I've told you, are you going to punish me?"

"You wouldn't be secretly eating something delicious by yourself, would you?" Wen Zhuyao thought of something that could get her scolded, which was eating a messy and uncomfortable meal.

Chi Nuo shook her head: "I do hope that's the case."

“Fine, I’ll tell you the truth,” she said without hesitation, “Aunt Wen found out about us, especially since she wants us to have dinner together.”

Mo Wen was struck by lightning from the void and asked stiffly, "When you say you've been discovered, do you mean...?"

It wasn't the kind of discovery he expected; it was just between friends...

“Yes, that’s right, you don’t need to think about a good ending.” Chi Nuo nodded frantically, triggering the second lightning bolt in the void.

Mo Wen began to feel anxious: "Did they really say that? Did they explicitly say they were inviting us?"

"I don't think so. Although my parents like having a lot of people, they probably won't let something like this happen." Wen Zhuyao's words were like a bucket of water conducting electricity.

The words "cold and indifferent" and "would not happen rashly" lingered around Mo Wen.

Ji Shu was the one who pressed the switch: "That means you were seen. After all, the scenes of going home together are almost always meant to create atmosphere, but they're also meant to be discovered."

The electric current silently swept through Mo Wen's entire body, turning him inside out into a scorched mess.

"I'm afraid I'm too embarrassed to ask, but it's only right that I visit after the New Year." Bai Yuzhou was the one who sprinkled the barbecue seasoning, evenly sprinkling the fragrant meat with delicious seasoning.

In the very end.

Chi Nuo came to serve the food. She said, "Aunt Wen was a little sad when I refused her a few times. It's best to be mature from the very beginning when you meet someone."

"So how do we decide?" Ji Shu crossed her arms and looked at Mo Wen, waiting for his reaction.

Wen Zhuyao called a pause first: "Let me go ask first. It's probably just a joke, no need to take it so seriously."

“Yu Zhou is right. It’s perfectly reasonable for us to pay a visit, regardless of whether it’s true or not.”

Now, all that's missing is his answer.