Small gathering

Yang Zheng thought that after gaining Shen Anxia's consent, he would be able to visit her in Xinfeng every week. However, he didn't expect that just one week after confirming their relationship, Shen Anxia would stand him up.

On Thursday night, Shen Anxia told Yang Zheng over the phone that two other people from her dorm would be coming over this week, and they would all hang out together for two days.

“Shanshan has made it ashore, and everyone is very happy for her. Besides, the four of us haven’t seen each other for a long time.” Anxia was almost trying to coax the man who seemed to be in a bad mood.

The person in the video rested their chin on their hand and remained silent.

Shen Anxia wanted to laugh at his expression, but she suppressed her laughter and said, "I'll accompany you next week."

Yang Zheng had been looking forward to Friday ever since he got back, but he received this news before Friday even arrived, which made him feel a bit dispirited. However, he also knew that it was indeed inconvenient for him to go to Shen Anxia and the others' gathering. In the end, he said helplessly, "Then no matter what happens next week, I have to come to Xinfeng to see you."

"good."

On Friday night, He Yan and Zhuang Jing arrived at Shen Anxia and Liu Shanshan's rented apartment. Just like in college, the group casually sat on the carpet, eating hot pot and drinking beer around the coffee table, partly to celebrate Liu Shanshan's successful marriage and partly to celebrate Shen Anxia's finding a boyfriend.

"I really didn't expect you to be in a long-distance relationship." Zhuang Jing held a bottle of wine in one hand and casually rested it on her raised knee, marveling at Shen Anxia's unusual behavior.

He Yan agreed: "Same here. From what I know of you, the life you yearn for is a straight line between home and work, with a walking distance of no more than ten minutes. But you end up having to cross cities to date?"

“She was trying to follow her planned path, and she even broke up with him before,” Liu Shanshan, who had been watching the whole thing, said drunkenly. “But you can’t predict fate. Whether you like someone or not depends on the person, not on the distance.”

“Saying goodbye,” Shen Anxia emphasized, “we weren’t together at the time; it was just the getting-to-know-each-other phase with the blind date.”

"Mmm, goodbye." Liu Shanshan was so drunk she could barely keep her eyes open.

"Drink less, you're having a hangover." Shen Anxia saw that Liu Shanshan was about to collapse.

Zhuang Jing chimed in, "Drink less. You clearly have the worst alcohol tolerance; you get drunk after just one bottle. How much more do you want to drink?"

"I'm fine," Liu Shanshan said, lying down to sober up. "If we don't drink today, how much longer will we have to get together?"

He Yan patted Liu Shanshan's back and said, "Let her drink it. We're all here and can take care of her."

“That’s true, drink up! Even if you don’t have a boyfriend, you still have your girlfriends!” Zhuang Jing analyzed for Shen Anxia, ​​“Indeed, you can’t just consider whether it’s suitable or not without considering whether you like it or not. Anyway! Our Xiaxia finally has her first love. Youth is all about this passionate process that makes it incredibly intoxicating. Come on! Cheers to youth!”

She raised the bottle, and several girls bumped into it.

“And our Shanshan also got a degree,” He Yan said proudly. “You two are the most highly educated in our department! One of you got a master’s degree and the other got a double degree.”

“Actually, a double degree is equivalent to a postgraduate degree,” Liu Shanshan, who was lying down nearby, said, looking up.

“That’s true,” Shen Anxia said, “but that’s not actually the case in corporate recruitment. After all, companies tend to choose candidates with more specialized degrees rather than those with broader fields of expertise.”

Zhuang Jing didn't care: "That's fine too, we already have a position, so we don't need to worry about these issues."

Shen Anxia asked her, "What about you? Your middle school kid is going through a rebellious phase, right? Are they easy to manage?"

After graduating, Zhuang Jing passed the exam and became a public junior high school teacher.

"Actually, it's not too bad. The real headache is for the core subject teachers. Someone like me was admitted as a music teacher, so I teach music in various grade groups. However, at the end of last year, my colleagues and I choreographed a few dance programs, so I also had some opportunities to get involved in dancing."

"And what about you? What are your plans?" Shen Anxia asked He Yan.

"I'll date for two years first, and maybe I'll take over the company in two years." He Yan didn't have any grand ambitions; she was going to go home anyway.

“That’s true. Anyway, your family has more money than you could ever spend in several lifetimes. If you and your boyfriend join forces, you might just become the richest man in Xinfeng in the future,” Liu Shanshan laughed.

"Oh, right," Liu Shanshan suddenly remembered a question, "Xiaxia, our lease expires next month. I'm going home to visit my parents for the next few months, so I won't be renewing the lease. Are you going to renew it or go back to live with the troupe?"

The troupe provided dormitories for the dancers, but they were four people to a room, and Shen Anxia didn't stay there.

Shen Anxia shook her head: "No, I thought you were almost able to make it ashore this time, so I started looking for a house. Besides, I don't want to live with people I don't know well. I've looked at two one-bedroom apartments so far, and the price is right. I'll just choose one when the time comes."

"So, even if your 'white moonlight' comes, you'll still be staying in the living room?" Liu Shanshan teased her. "Or will you two live together?"

"I'm fine with staying in the living room."

"Forget it, you're kidding me." Liu Shanshan pushed her.

That night, Zhuang Jing and Shen Anxia shared a room, while He Yan and Liu Shanshan shared another. On Saturday and Sunday, the group went out to play together for two days. After returning, Liu Shanshan and Shen Anxia started packing their luggage and discussing the termination of the lease with the landlord. The landlord was a very easy-going auntie who promised to return their deposit if the house was clean when they left.

After all, it was five years of accumulation. It took the two girls a whole week to pack their luggage. When Yang Zheng came to their small apartment again on Friday night, everything was almost packed.

Liu Shanshan was completely surprised that Yang Zheng looked so ascetic. After all, Shen Anxia had mentioned that he was a free-fighting coach, and in her mind, he should be a muscular man.

She stared blankly, then mechanically waved to Yang Zheng: "Hello, Xiaxia's white moonlight."

Yang Zheng seemed surprised that Liu Shanshan addressed him that way, and couldn't help but smile and say, "Hello."

"Your smile is so gentle!" Liu Shanshan whispered to Shen Anxia.

As if she had been praised, Shen Anxia smiled happily and greeted Yang Zheng, "Come in and sit down."

Yang Zheng noticed that their living room was already piled high with large moving boxes, but the sofa was still covered with a white sofa cover. He asked Shen Anxia, ​​"Weren't you almost done packing?"

"Hmm, only the bedding and sofa need to be tidied up."

"Are we still tidying up today?" Yang Zheng looked around.

"Let's stop tidying up and grab something to eat first!" Shen Anxia got up and tidied up the coffee table briefly. "Shanshan and I ordered hot pot ingredients. Shall we have hot pot tonight?"

Yang Zheng knew that An Xia was moving this weekend, so he didn't buy any groceries this time. He helped with the packing: "Okay, then I'll take you out to eat tomorrow."

Liu Shanshan took out the induction cooker from the kitchen and said apologetically, "I didn't want to be a third wheel for you two, but I'm leaving tomorrow, so I can only bother you tonight."

Shen Anxia arranged the ingredients one by one and comforted Liu Shanshan: "Okay, he and I still have a lot of time to spend together, but we may only see each other once in a long while in the future, so we must have a good time tonight."

There were still two cases of cocktails left from the day He Yan and Zhuang Jing came. Liu Shanshan took them all out: "We have to finish these today, otherwise we won't be able to take them with us."

"good."

The three of them ate and drank. The two dance students didn't eat much, and Liu Shanshan, in particular, drank quite a lot because she was worried about leaving a box of cocktails uneaten.

But this guy couldn't hold his liquor, and as he drank, he started talking more: "Hey, Bai Yueguang, remember to treat our Xiaxia well. Our Xiaxia cried all night for you. I've known her for four years! She's never cried for anything! Then she got sick and had a high fever for more than a week. Don't let her down in the future."

All night? High fever? Yang Zheng paused for a moment, then asked, "When?"

"It was the day she said goodbye to you!" Liu Shanshan said, clutching the wine bottle. Her tongue was a little stiff, and her words were not very clear. "But seeing you in person today makes it all clear. No wonder Xiaxia cried so much because of you. You are quite handsome, aren't you? You have some good looks and are a good match for our Xiaxia."

Shen Anxia was a little embarrassed when Liu Shanshan suddenly brought up this topic. She nudged her, signaling her to stop talking: "Drink less and don't say anything more! Give me some face."

"Oh," Liu Shanshan seemed to have sobered up a bit, as if she had realized something, "I didn't mean Xiaxia cried. Our Xiaxia is proud. I meant, no wonder Xiaxia doesn't like the most handsome guy in the department."

"The grass is green?" Yang Zheng repeated, grasping the key point.

“Yeah! There are so many guys chasing after Xiaxia, I can’t even count them on two hands,” Liu Shanshan raised her head and held up her hands to show the front and back of her face, then quickly lowered them again. “What’s the name of that campus heartthrob in the Foreign Languages ​​Department? Sun Meng something? Oh, Sun Mengran, I think. He’s been chasing her for two years! Two years! And she still hasn’t agreed to date him.”

Shen Anxia was afraid that this big mouth would reveal something else, so she quickly covered her mouth: "Stop talking, you've already revealed all my secrets."

Yang Zheng rarely heard anything about Shen Anxia, ​​and he couldn't wait for Liu Shanshan to tell him more.

Liu Shanshan didn't disappoint him. She persistently dodged Shen Anxia's hand and continued to drunkenly say, "But I still have to ask for our Xiaxia. Anxia's white moonlight, do you really have some kind of hidden illness? With your looks, you must have a lot of people pursuing you. Why are you still single? If you have any... health problems, you must tell Xiaxia in advance."

Shen Anxia's mind went blank when she heard Liu Shanshan's words. She pushed Liu Shanshan to the ground while looking at Yang Zheng's increasingly cracked expression, and forced an explanation: "Shanshan is drunk. She's like this every time she's drunk. Don't listen to her nonsense. Um, I'll take her back to the bedroom to sleep."

Liu Shanshan was really drunk. After Shen Anxia pushed her to the ground, she tried to lie down and sleep. Shen Anxia quickly helped her up and led her to Liu Shanshan's bedroom.

After settling Liu Shanshan in, I wiped her hands and face with wet wipes. It was half an hour later when I finished doing all this.

Shen Anxia sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Liu Shanshan's rosy sleeping face, and muttered to herself with a headache: "What should I do? You're sleeping so carefree, how am I supposed to face him?"

The sound lingered in the quiet bedroom, but received no response.

My phone is still outside, and after cleaning the house all day, I feel all dirty and really want to take a shower.

After a long pause, Shen Anxia sighed, "I won't let you drink that much then."