Chapter Eighteen

Shen Yue finally understood the injustice He Qizheng was wronged by being falsely accused of being a couple with him.

In his rage, he strangely calmed down, his mind replaying He Qizheng's various abnormal behaviors since he got on the bus that day.

Seeing that everyone had fallen silent, He Qizheng felt like he was more anxious than the emperor, especially when he caught a glimpse of Yin Zixuan and You Congxi's strange expressions. He felt his backside burning with urgency and was really worried for his brother.

He turned to his brother and gave him a wink, still smiling as he asked, "Right, brother?"

Yin Zixuan could sense the confusion in the girl beside her and the subtle emotions she herself might not even be aware of. Although she didn't approve of Shen Yue's feelings for You Congxi, she was even more unwilling to see You Congxi sad.

Yin Zixuan opened her mouth as if to say something.

“Zheng’er.” Shen Yue’s expression was inscrutable.

"Huh?" He Qi was a little confused. What kind of expression was that?

“You…” Shen Yue seemed a little reluctant, “There are no outsiders here, so I’ll just ask.”

He Qizheng had a bad feeling.

Shen Yue paused, his voice hoarse and filled with disbelief and doubt.

"...Do you have a crush on me?"

He Qizheng: "?"

"Pfft—" Qu Qi, who had been detached from the atmosphere and focused on eating cake, spat out all of her juice after taking a sip.

Customers at several nearby tables looked over upon hearing the noise, and all showed expressions of disgust.

The waiter dutifully came over with a rag to wipe the table.

Qu Qi quickly grabbed the rag and wiped it herself, repeatedly apologizing.

He Qizheng remained motionless, only his mouth was wide open.

Yin Zixuan swallowed back the words she was about to say, while You Congxi's eyes widened like copper bells.

The more Shen Yue thought about it, the more convinced he became that his guess was correct.

Otherwise, why would He Qizheng inexplicably praise his looks in the car? And why would he test whether he was gay? Especially since he always stopped He Qizheng from making any advances towards You Congxi!

Shen Yue couldn't think of any other reason besides having a crush on him.

He felt a little ashamed.

Alas, being too perfect is a sin!

Shen Yue was really conflicted. He began to think about how to politely refuse He Qizheng's heartfelt offer without hurting his pride.

"Zheng'er..."

He Qi felt as if his cerebral cortex had been fully opened, as if his soul had been cleansed, except for the water in his head.

He smiled serenely and said, "...Say it again, what am I supposed to do to you?"

Shen Yue was completely baffled by his expression and subconsciously repeated, "Dark..."

"I'll fucking assassinate you right now! Fuck your grandpa Shen Yue!" He Qi suddenly sprang up, grabbing Shen Yue's neck and choking him hard.

"......"

The group stood at the mall entrance, looking at each other in bewilderment.

Because they were too noisy and received multiple complaints, the shop owner politely but ruthlessly kicked them out.

"Cough cough cough." Shen Yue covered his neck and took a breath. That bastard was too ruthless, it was as if he had the intention to kill.

He Qizheng was more than just murderous; he wanted nothing more than to tear open Shen Yue's skull and see if it was filled with excrement.

Damn it, all my sincerity was wasted on this good-for-nothing!

He Qi was gritting his teeth: "You fucking...you narcissist, I'll say one more word to you."

Shen Yue finally realized that He Qizheng wasn't secretly in love with him. Who the hell would be so ruthless to the object of their affection?

He frowned, pondering what to give as an apology while also trying to understand the reason for He Qizheng's unusual behavior.

Why is that?

Before he could figure out what was going on, he heard Qu Qi say that since they were already there, they might as well go upstairs to the arcade for a stroll.

......

He Qi was walking ahead, sulking, while Qu Qi was chatting gossiping with Yin Zixuan. Shen Yue and You Congxi naturally fell to the back of the line.

You Congxi glanced at Shen Yue, who was looking down at his phone, and moved away from him.

The morning was chaotic; everyone except Qu Qi was doing things that Qu Qi couldn't understand. Fortunately, her homework wasn't delayed.

She tugged at the shoulder strap of her backpack, remembering that a blank sheet of composition paper lay quietly inside.

She glanced again at the person coughing.

Ultimately, I still have to rely on myself.

The coughing sounds around me came and went, sometimes soft, sometimes loud, but I could tell that the owner was trying his best to hold it in.

Serves you right for being so rude.

You Congxi continued walking forward expressionlessly, without showing any emotion.

"......"

After Shen Yue sent out his apology message, he waited a few minutes and received a punctuation mark from He Qizheng, knowing that it meant forgiveness.

He turned on the front-facing camera and looked at the red marks on his neck. They were faintly painful, and he felt like there was something stuck in his throat, making him want to cough.

I should have known better than to be so rude; he deserved it.

I couldn't help but cough twice more.

Shifting the gaze to the right, You Congxi's face flashes briefly in the frame, his brows furrowed, looking utterly annoyed.

Shen Yue swallowed hard, tightened his grip on his phone, and planned to turn off the camera and distance himself from the girl.

He truly brought this upon himself...

Shen Yue froze.

He stared blankly at the bottle of water being handed to him through the camera, not even realizing he should turn off the camera and reach out to take it.

You Congxi's face was expressionless. He was walking forward normally, only his right side was visible. He didn't even turn his head.

She moved her raised left hand, shoved the bottled water onto the arm of the person next to her, and said impatiently, "Want some? If not, I'm taking it away."

Feeling the water being sucked away from her hands, You Congxi stepped onto the escalator with her head down, and as if afraid of being misunderstood, added, "I was just afraid you'd cough to death, and then people would blame me for not helping you."

The person diagonally behind him remained silent. You Congxi suppressed the urge to turn around, put his hands in his pockets, and casually glanced at something in front of him, but in reality, he was listening intently to what was happening behind him.

"......"

After a while, the escalator was almost at the top, but it was still as quiet as a chicken's nest, with only a faint scent of soap wafting from the central air conditioning vents.

That's rude; they didn't even say thank you.

You Congxi mentally complained, wrinkling her nose inwardly, and decided that she would not lend a helping hand next time, but would let him die of thirst instead.

As the escalator reached the top, You Congxi was about to take a step when she heard the person behind her call out to her in a hoarse voice.

"Travel along the Congxi River".

She stumbled, about to fall, when a strong hand caught her firmly. At the same time, the faint scent of soap suddenly intensified, and as if a gentle breeze were caressing her ear, she heard a husky, laughing voice softly whispering in her ear—

"You care about me?"

"......"

Qu Qi looked at You Congxi, who was separated from Shen Yue by an entire galaxy, and raised an eyebrow in confusion: "What, did Shen Yue have another rabies attack and bite you too?"

You Congxi gave a curt "hmm".

He Qi, a rabies victim, patted her on the shoulder sympathetically.

Yin Zixuan looked at her with a serious expression. After a moment, she touched her forehead with the back of her hand: "Is there anything that hurts? Why are your ears so red?"

As she spoke, she glanced discreetly at Shen Yue, who had been abandoned by the main group five meters away, her eyes devoid of warmth.

I should have kept You Congxi by my side; letting the girl stay with Shen Yue was a terrible mistake.

In just a few minutes, she almost fell in the elevator and is probably still so frightened that she has a fever.

Shen Yue looked back innocently, and as he gazed at You Congxi's slender back, a surge of sweetness welled up inside him.

You Congxi offered him water; what else could this be but showing concern?

Caring is just feeling sorry for someone; feeling sorry for someone is just loving someone; loving someone is just...

Shen Yue's spirits lifted!

Isn't love just being in love?!

You Congxi not only doesn't dislike him, she even wants to date him!

A pair of young women walking towards them were initially thinking they'd met a handsome guy and their trip wouldn't have been in vain, but then they saw him suddenly staring at a water bottle and grinning foolishly, which startled them so much that they quickened their pace.

What a handsome guy, I never expected him to be an idiot, what a pity!

-

He Qi and Shen Yue were playing a basketball shooting machine in front of them. Whether it was intentional or because he was just bad at it, Shen Yue lost by just a few points in every round.

Before long, He Qi was chatting away with Shen Yue, the two of them like brothers.

You Congxi withdrew his gaze and breathed a sigh of relief.

She didn't want this philosophy group, with its unpleasant name, to fall apart because of a single group assignment; that would be too unfair.

Yin Zixuan went to fight with a bunch of little boys for the go-kart machine, while You Congxi carried a heavy basket of coins and wandered aimlessly with Qu Qi.

She wasn't interested in arcades; she preferred mobile games like Sokoban.

"Hey, Little Fish," Qu Qi tugged at her sleeve, gesturing for her to look over there, "There's a teddy bear prize in that claw machine!"

Clang.

Qu Qi inserted two coins, rubbed his hands together, and then cleared his throat.

"Why clear your throat when you're playing a claw machine?" You Congxi asked, puzzled.

"Oh, you don't understand, this is my secret."

"......oh."

Following the movement of the robotic arm, You Congxi watched helplessly as the claw tip poked the round ear of the mangled creature amidst the cannon-like slapping sounds from Qu Qi. Qu Qi beside her let out a suppressed scream.

She waited expectantly as the [unclear] flew out of the machine.

The next second—

Little Bear remained seated, smiling at them.

"......"

Qu Qi threw down the joystick and pushed You Congxi over: "You try it, let's each take a turn."

Clang.

Two more coins were thrown in.

You Congxi stared intently at the robotic arm's trajectory, even giving it a proper shake midway through. Although she didn't know the purpose of this action, she'd seen bloggers do it, so there must be a reason—

Twist.

The robotic arm slowly rose, and You Congxi seemed to see mockery in the tiny, bean-sized eyes of the robot.

She exhaled, released the joystick, and turned her neck.

Qu Qi: "Why are you turning your neck when you're playing with a plush toy?"

Never mind, it's the secret.

......

Clang.

Clang.

Clang.

......

After countless attempts to insert coins, the basket full of game tokens was almost empty. The two people in front of the claw machine stared blankly at the smiling little bear.

You Congxi had gone from being combative to angry to impatient. She clicked her tongue and nudged the person next to her with her elbow: "Forget it, let's go. I suddenly don't want it anymore."

It's definitely not because we can't catch them.

She tugged at Qu Qi's arm, but couldn't budge it.

He turned his head in confusion: "What—"

The words were cut short by a sudden surge of heat from behind.

You Congxi stood there blankly, feeling the unfamiliar body temperature and familiar scent embracing her, then pulling away, her mind a complete blank. It wasn't until the clanging sound of the coin falling into the machine that she realized what had just happened.

"......"

Grass.

Swimming in the Congxi River made me a little short of breath.

and.

"......thief."

Did she allow him to use her game currency?

The thuds of the claw machine gradually faded away, and You Congxi looked at his sharp profile, which seemed somewhat unfamiliar under the dazzling lights of the claw machine.

"......"

Between friends, a shoulder bump against the back is normal, right?

You Congxi thought this made some sense.

Yin Zixuan walked over at some point, and upon seeing this, she commented indifferently: "Pretending."

He Qi glanced at Shen Yue, who was engrossed in playing the claw machine, and then at Yin Zixuan, who was clearly unhappy. He felt a pang of regret in his heart.

Shen Yue, that big idiot!

Not long after, there was a loud thud, this time the sound of the doll falling to the ground.

Shen Yue bent down to pick up the doll and patted off the dust. Meeting Shang Congxi's dark eyes, one corner of his mouth slightly turned up, his amber eyes filled with laughter, illuminating his originally indifferent features.

Suddenly, a silly-looking yellow bear was stuffed into You Congxi's arms.

The surroundings were filled with children's screams and machine music, scraping against her eardrums layer by layer, but Chen Yue's voice seemed to be ringing directly in her ear, so clear it was unbelievable.

"Travel along the Congxi River".

She was holding the doll when she heard the boy lazily boasting to her in a hoarse voice—

Am I amazing?