Chapter 12
The mastermind behind the scenes was obvious. Her almond-shaped eyes were bright and curious as she watched Shen Chumo struggling in the river. The last trace of bubbles completely disappeared in the white foam splashed by the waves. Then she clapped her hands and left as if nothing had happened.
[System: Please respect the plot development and preserve the character arcs.]
【Chen Huaixin: ……】
On Saturday, Shen Huaixin took a taxi to the autumn outing site for a field trip. When she saw the river in the original work, she fell into deep thought.
Filling the river? This is a natural scenic area, so it seems unlikely.
Strengthen security? Possible.
Without further ado, Shen Huaixin contacted the staff, shared her idea, and expressed her willingness to contribute funds to provide tourists with a safe sightseeing experience. She quickly received a response. She felt her empty wallet and felt the joy of doing charity work.
On Friday of the second week, under the guidance of the class teacher, Shen Huaixin followed the group to the autumn outing site. After taking a sightseeing bus for more than ten minutes, he was free to move around.
As usual, Shen Huaixin took a sneak shot of Su Zihan. Unexpectedly, his movements were a little obvious, and Qi Yi, who was standing next to Su Zihan, noticed it. He tilted his head slightly and gave her a warning look. Shen Huaixin knew that infringing on her portrait rights was not a good idea, so he took another photo - enemies can be made, but the character's image cannot be destroyed.
Qi Yi's eyes narrowed, his brows furrowed, and after a while, he sent Su Zihan away and walked straight towards Shen Huaixin.
“Chen Huaixin, even if you want to take a picture of me, please restrain yourself.”
"Hmm...?" Shen Huaixin blinked, quickly pulled out the photo and showed it to him - there was only a young and beautiful girl standing in the picture.
Qi Yi leaned in closer, magnified the screen with his fingers, and finally saw the edge of his coat. He tapped the screen, indicating that the evidence was here.
"You don't take photos of me from the front, but you always capture my unintentional movements, profile, or distant views," the boy said coolly and confidently. "You said you like life-like scenes. I understand."
Shen Huaixin gasped, realizing for the first time that Qi Yi was just being funny. "I'm just saying, is there a possibility that the person I secretly photographed was someone else?"
"Who could that be?"
"For example, Su Zihan?"
Qi Yi shook his head: "Chen Huaixin, you have to choose your target when lying. I'm not that easy to fool."
He clearly remembered that after he accepted the love letter from another girl, he heard that the girl was forced to drop out of school. If Su Zihan hadn't been protected by him, she would have suffered the same fate.
She couldn't help but smile, then quickly restrained her smile: "Well, you have the final say."
"..." Qi Yi glanced at Shen Huaixin sideways, "Your harmony group is here, so I won't disturb you."
"Qi Yi, wait." Shen Huaixin called him.
Qi Yi paused: "What?"
"Can you please not tell Su Zihan about the secret photography?" She thought for a moment and made up an excuse, "I won't bother you. I'm just a photography enthusiast."
“…”
Qi Yi was speechless for a moment. She was so proud, yet she was so humble. She lied about her photography hobby and secretly filmed him chatting and laughing with other girls. She was afraid it would affect their relationship, so she asked him to keep it a secret. Loving someone more than loving yourself, this feeling was something that even this favored child of heaven had never experienced before.
But in the end, he could only say nothing and nodded slightly heavily.
The boy's heart became softer than usual. He thought for a moment and took out a small pendant from his bag. He originally planned to give it to Su Zihan, but when he saw that Shen Huaixin's bag was missing a decoration, he asked for it to be given to her.
"Wow, it's so beautiful, thank you," Shen Huaixin took it, his eyes lit up, and he said politely, "It's really a waste of money. I'll treat you to dinner next time."
Qi Yi quickly refused, fearing that she would push him too far, and also fearing that he would be soft-hearted again and give her an opportunity to take advantage of him.
Upon hearing this, Shen Huaixin quickly stopped insisting, preventing him from politely shirking his duties. The male lead was reserved for the female lead, and maintaining boundaries was something the female supporting actress was quite self-aware of. Despite her past misdeeds, Qi Yi's willingness to let bygones be bygones proved she was worthy of a close friendship.
She hung the small pendant on her bag. The circular jade pendant exuded a faint aroma of fragrance, showing a low-key luxury. After hanging it up, this inconspicuous little pendant seemed to represent the maintenance of friendship. She vaguely felt that her tacit understanding with Qi Yi had improved.
Since he was being lenient with others, Shen Huaixin naturally gave them enough emotional value, took out the consciousness of a worker, and tried his best to flatter Qi Yi.
As he listened, he felt a strong sense of craftsmanship. Although Qi Yi was intelligent, he lacked social experience. Unsure how to respond, he quietly looked towards Fang Xiaozheng, praying that they would come quickly to save him.
I saw that the three of them were farther away than before, pretending to chat, putting their hands behind their backs and pretending to admire the scenery, nodding in agreement from time to time, completely unaware that they were facing a public toilet.
...As always, I will read the leader's eyes.
Qi Yi touched his nose helplessly, and finally waited until Shen Huaixin was at a loss for words before he politely said, “I’ll leave first.”
Shen Huaixin nodded and waved at him.
After Qi Yi left, Fang Xiaozheng came over and observed Shen Huaixin's expression with a hint of ridicule in his eyes.
Chen Huaixin knew what the three of them were thinking when he saw their meaningful expressions. He spread his hands towards Fang Xiaozheng and said, "Hand in your homework first."
Fang Xiaozheng placed the lunch box in Shen Huaixin's palm and asked persistently, "What were you talking about just now? Sister Xin, I noticed that he seems to have become gentler towards you..."
"I told you that Sister Xin is naturally beautiful and she can't charm him." The girl with twin ponytails hummed proudly.
"I think so too." The baby-faced man quickly agreed.
Shen Huaixin smiled: "Nothing much, just a few casual chats, but you guys walked so slowly that it made my conversation awkward."
"It's not an awkward chat, is it?" Fang Xiaozheng twitched his eyebrows.
The girl with twin ponytails covered her mouth and laughed secretly: "I saw Qi Yi handed something to Sister Xin, is it a gift? Sure, Sister Xin, keep up the good work and get him."
"I think so too." The baby-faced man nodded.
Shen Huaixin shook his head and opened the bento box. He saw vegetables, eggs and shrimps, pearl balls and rice balls, and fried pork chops, which were cooked quite well.
“Of course,” Shen Huaixin praised, “Xiao Zheng, you can already open a restaurant.”
Fang Xiaozheng showed a bitter but relieved smile. After all, if he did it every day, even if he had no talent, he would at least have some experience.
Shen Huaixin seemed to have just remembered and slapped his head: "Come to think of it, I asked you to cook dinner a few times, but you didn't eat it. What did you do later?"
Fang Xiaozheng thought to himself that it wasn't just "a few times" but "every time". In the end, he got used to being delayed and just assumed that he would cook according to his mother's taste.
"I gave it to my mother. She gets off work late, so I can have it as a midnight snack so it won't be wasted. I can also take it with me to eat the next day," she replied.
But this wasn't bad, Fang Xiaozheng thought. Although she had some complaints at first, every time she saw her mother happily enjoying her cooking and praising her improved cooking skills, she felt a sense of satisfaction. Even when her mother said she wasn't hungry and asked her not to work so hard on cooking, she still persisted and enjoyed that time together every night.
That gave them a rare opportunity to chat and become closer. Although she still felt that her mother's job was shameful, with little pay and a lot of work, but... the person in the world who treated her the best was her mother.
Shen Huaixin nodded calmly, secretly happy in his heart.
"I'm so envious. When will Xiao Zheng make one for us?" The girl with the twin ponytails drooled profusely.
"Who said you don't have any?" Fang Xiaozheng put his hands on his hips and held his head high. "One for each person, first come, first served."
Suddenly, a joyful atmosphere filled the members of the Troublemaker Squad. Although it wasn't mealtime yet, the sight of the delicious bento boxes already made their mouths water. They simply sat down to enjoy it first, taking out their prepared snacks and exchanging them with each other.
Shen Huaixin noticed that even when eating snacks, the three of them had their own ways. Fang Xiaozheng was more stingy because she had cooked and didn't bring any snacks; the girl with twin tails brought more snacks, and showed off whether it was her own or other people's; the baby-faced girl mainly ate the snacks she brought, and tasted a few of the others out of courtesy.
Shen Huaixin brought the most snacks, which were unusual and quite expensive, but as long as her friends enjoyed their meals, that was all that mattered. After eating some chocolate, she propped up her head and watched them enjoy their food.
Every flower is a world, every leaf is a bodhi tree. This world is far more real than Shen Huaixin imagined.
In addition to being happy, Baby Face suggested team building and shouting slogans to deepen revolutionary friendship.
...It's time for the social death part again. Shen Huaixin was numb, and consciously stood in the center position, becoming a conspicuous bag with them.
"Xinxin Girls Team, we will never be separated."
In the sunshine, the four girls performed their combined skills in a cheerful and funny manner, forming a unique landscape under the embrace of green mountains and clear waters.
"I can't unscrew the bottle cap," the baby-faced man tried for a long time, but had to give up and handed the soda bottle to the girl with the twintails, "You're strong, you try it."
The girl with twin ponytails took it and raised her chin: "I can't even unscrew it. Look at me——"
Five minutes later.
Shen Huaixin raised his hand: "Why don't you give it to me? Your palms are all red."
"Haha, who said that?" The girl with twin ponytails stared at the bottle fiercely, as if the bottle had smashed her head before, muttering, "Little guy, I'm not going to..."
"Wait, I have a solution." Fang Xiaozheng slapped his head.
The three of them looked at her at the same time, and saw her put the bottle cap downwards into the hot water. After 20 seconds, she twisted it hard, and the bottle cap opened with a "hiss" sound of gas.
"Xiao Zheng, how did you do it?" The girl with twin ponytails looked at him with admiration.
Fang Xiaozheng handed the soda bottle to the baby-faced boy and replied, "Heat expands and cools, it's a simple principle."
"Physics class is really useful. It seems I still need to study hard." The baby-faced girl took a sip of soda, her mouth filled with bubbles, and her face was full of satisfaction.
"Actually, these are little life tips I learned from 'Going on an Adventure with Lord Long'."
Shen Huaixin smiled with relief, opened the bag, and took out three amulets: "Xiao Zheng did a good job. Picnics are dangerous. You should all bring them."
She looked serious as she distributed the amulets to the three of them. Fang Xiaozheng took it, shook it nonchalantly, and put it in his pocket.
"No, how dangerous can a picnic be? Learning wilderness survival and using amulets are just like an autumn outing, right? Sister Xin, you're making a big deal out of nothing. We're all veterans of the battlefield. We'd pluck the hairs of a passing wild boar."
Shen Huaixin rolled her eyes at her. She had the nerve to say this, and even seemed quite proud of it.
"This is a talisman blessed by the abbot. I heard it's very effective. Each person can carry one with them," she asked. "Have you prepared the food reserves?"
The three of them responded with perfunctory "hmm hmm", as if they were just trying to please their leader.
"Sister Xin——"
Not far away, Shen Chumo waved at her and trotted off. The young man, backpack on his back, trotted briskly on the stone path, like a newborn, energetic foal. His first two steps were a little awkward, but he grew more and more agile as he ran, reminding Shen Huaixin of the famous movie scene where the male protagonist loses his leg brace and runs off into the distance.
"Why is he here?" The baby-faced man was stunned. He looked at Shen Chumo who was running over, and then looked at Shen Huaixin carefully, fearing that she would suddenly be unhappy.
Shen Huaixin restrained his smile and sighed.
The story had to go on. Shen Huaixin turned his head, his eyes passing over the red and yellow trees and the green lawn, and fell on the river. His good mood gradually dissipated, replaced by an indescribable sense of guilt.
"You guys go play first, I want to treat you well... my dear brother." Shen Huaixin had a blank expression on his face, and his tone was gentle with a hint of kindness.
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