Indeed, there is a disease.
Xiang Zhixing received a call from his mother, asking him to pick up a distant cousin to attend school.
To trace this kinship back, this woman is the youngest daughter of my mother's cousin's younger sister.
I only met him when I was a child and went back to my hometown with my mother, so I don't know what he looks like now.
He went to the high-speed rail station to pick up Liang Jiayu. The girl, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, had a round face and bright eyes. As soon as they met, she smiled politely and called him "brother".
Xiang Zhixing nodded to her and took her luggage back to school.
Liang Jiayu, who loved lively conversation, kept asking him about school along the way. She asked where to pick up packages, where to pay the electricity bill, which campus classes were held on, and how long the military training was…
Xiang Zhixing patiently answered, not finding the man troublesome at all. Mainly, his mind wasn't on the matter; Shen Muwei hadn't spoken to him for several days.
It was his own fault. Shen Muwei had apologized politely for a long time, but he insisted on keeping his distance and ignoring her. Eventually, Shen Muwei simply stopped paying attention to him.
You can't blame him. He was genuinely a little angry at the time, but strictly speaking, he wasn't really angry. He just felt a tightness in his chest when he saw her and that boy standing so close together.
However, when Shen Muwei stopped contacting him, he felt very lost and somewhat at a loss.
He was initially reluctant to get involved in these matters concerning helping relatives, but he figured that wandering around campus more often would probably lead him to run into her.
They did meet; she sped past him on her bicycle, splashing mud all over his legs.
Instead of getting angry, he paused for a second, then laughed.
They still have the energy to shake the mud off him, so it's not too bad.
Liang Jiayu asked him what he was laughing at. Afraid that Liang Jiayu would talk nonsense on the phone with her elders, he suppressed his smile and said, "I laughed because I was angered by the biker gang. Don't be a biker gang member in the future."
Liang Jiayu felt that it didn't seem to be the case, but she still nodded seriously. After all, she was in an unfamiliar place, and listening to the advice of those who had come before her was always the right thing to do, so she could avoid some detours.
During the start of the semester, parents were allowed to enter the dormitory to drop off their children. Because of Liang Jiayu, Xiang Zhixing entered the girls' dormitory for the first time. After helping to put away the luggage, he tidied up a bit and then took Liang Jiayu to a large supermarket outside the school to shop.
He was still thinking about Shen Muwei riding her bike past him. Why did she have to squeeze through his path when there was such a wide road? It was obvious she was jealous. Maybe he should give her a way out so he could start a conversation with her naturally.
His intention wasn't to ignore her. He simply couldn't shake off the tightness in his chest and wanted to deepen Shen Muwei's sense of guilt.
This would make it easier for him to continue playing the victim in front of her.
However, his smugness didn't last long. While accompanying Liang Jiayu to shop in the residential area, he idly peeked through the heavy shelves and saw Shen Muwei and... a boy who had just entered.
The boy was very tall. While talking to Shen Muwei, he casually pushed the shopping cart over from the side, placed his hands on the cart handle, and smiled nonchalantly.
The key point is that Shen Muwei is also smiling, and her smile is different from the polite smile she gives him. He can clearly feel that she is very relaxed in front of that boy.
What does it mean when two people go to the supermarket together? They even specifically went to the fresh produce and condiment sections, making it seem like they live together.
Alarm bells rang in Xiang Zhixing's mind. As the two approached, he vaguely felt that the boy looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he was.
At this moment, Shen Muwei, who had already walked ahead, called out, "Xiao Bai."
Song Yuanbai?
-
Shen Muwei waited for a long time but Song Yuanbai didn't come. She stood in front of the vinegar shelf, holding a bottle of soy sauce in one hand and a bottle of light soy sauce in the other.
Unable to wait any longer, she took two steps back and saw Song Yuanbai standing there with his arms crossed, seemingly having a conflict with someone.
Don't get into fights.
Shen Muwei put down the bottles and jars in her hand and hurriedly ran over.
Before she even got close, she noticed that Song Yuanbai's expression was abnormal. Usually, when he had this kind of expression, it meant he was about to get into a fight with someone.
“You two should talk this out…” She walked between the two, first pressing down on Song Yuanbai’s arm, then turning her head to look to the other side…
Oh, it's Xiang Zhixing. Then it's alright.
Time seemed to stand still for a second. Shen Muwei first asked Song Yuanbai in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
“He’s sick. He hit me and wouldn’t let me leave,” Song Yuanbai said in a low voice, getting closer to her.
"ah?"
Shen Muwei turned around and glanced at Xiang Zhixing, noticing that he looked very grumpy.
He is indeed ill, obsessed with nothing but longing.
The group's presence quickly attracted onlookers, especially since most of the shoppers nearby were freshmen. It wasn't a good look either way. Shen Muwei said softly to Song Yuanbai, "Let's take a detour; he might be acting strangely."
Song Yuanbai: "No, we can't let him leave because he's sick. Otherwise, he'll go and cause trouble for others."
"Don't go crazy. You're going back to school on Sunday. If you leave me here, my mom will scold me for bringing shame to the school."
Song Yuanbai frowned, a hint of grievance appearing on his face, his eyes slightly reddening, and he stammered, "You insulted me..."
"Hold back your tears."
She used an imperative sentence.
Song Yuanbai immediately regained his normal expression: "Then let's go."
Shen Muwei breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't told Song Yuanbai about Xiang Zhixing yet, and she couldn't very well say it here. What if it really upset Xiang Zhixing?
Song Yuanbai was actually unwilling, but he couldn't really show it, so he could only lower his head and silently pull the cart backward, preparing to take another route.
When Xiang Zhixing saw the two people opposite him about to leave, he suddenly felt a pang of anxiety.
What made him even more desperate was that Shen Muwei only glanced at him when she came over, and then she didn't look at him properly at all, completely pretending not to know him. She might as well scold herself.
Liang Jiayu stood aside and watched. Her keen intuition told her that this matter was not so simple. Her cousin and this girl definitely knew each other.
Her gaze swept over the group of people as she stood aside, ready to watch the show.
Just as the two were about to leave, Xiang Zhixing suddenly said, "We can't go."
His calm and restrained voice carried a slight tremor and a hint of grievance.
Song Yuanbai was in a state of anger with nowhere to vent it. When he heard the other party say this, he thought he was going to cause trouble, and his fists were already clenched silently. If Shen Muwei hadn't been holding his wrist tightly, he might have really thrown a punch.
All eyes were on him, and Shen Muwei couldn't understand what he wanted to do. At this moment, she just wanted to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible.
"sorry."
Everyone present was stunned, especially Liang Jiayu. Although she had only met her cousin twice when she was a child, she had heard from the adults that he was a stubborn person who had never been able to do anything to her.
He actually apologized on his own initiative?
Shen Muwei looked over and realized that he wasn't saying those words to Song Yuanbai, but rather to himself.
After a two-second pause, she tried to smooth things over, still holding onto Song Yuanbai's sleeve with one hand, afraid that he might suddenly go up and beat someone up.
"Alright, alright, we're all classmates, it's nothing, we'll be going now."
After saying that, she grabbed Song Yuanbai and hurried away; she still needed to buy things. If she had turned back, she would have seen someone's deep, dark, and resentful gaze.
Even after everyone had gone far away, Xiang Zhixing still hadn't looked away, his gaze fixed on the direction they had left in.
Liang Jiayu didn't dare to speak and could only wait quietly, but a whirlpool of gossip was already churning in her heart.
After a while, Xiang Zhixing looked away and asked Liang Jiayu, "Do you want to buy some vinegar?"
Liang Jiayu: "Huh?"
Xiang Zhixing: "You usually need vinegar when you order takeout, so let's go buy some."
Before Liang Jiayu could answer, she pushed the shopping cart toward the condiment section where Shen Muwei was.
However, Shen Muwei had already put the items she wanted into the shopping cart and quickly left with Song Yuanbai.
Xiang Zhixing only saw a back view again.
The weather hadn't cleared up; it was a very overcast day outside the supermarket, with glaring ultraviolet rays. Shen Muwei had to raise her hand to shield her eyes from the UV rays just to barely open them.
Song Yuanbai went to the side to ride his bike, picked up a plastic bag from the ground, and took Shen Muwei home with him.
Shen Muwei, who was in the back seat of the car, suddenly turned her head and made eye contact with Xiang Zhixing inside the supermarket's glass door.
Perhaps the wind was too strong while riding a bike, because goosebumps suddenly appeared on the back of her hands. She shrank her neck on the back seat and zipped her jacket up to the maximum.
Song Yuanbai happened to see this and, thinking she was a little cold, slowed down the car.
As soon as she stepped inside, Mu Qing launched into a tirade: "I asked you two to go buy something, why did you take so long? You must have been wandering around the snack section again..."
Mu Qing's commotion quickly overshadowed his earlier frustration.
-
Shen Muwei was going to attend her roommate Guan Panfu's birthday party that evening, so she wouldn't be having dinner at home. She packed her things around four o'clock to prepare to leave.
Mu Qing asked her if she would be coming back that night. Shen Muwei thought about it and figured she would probably be playing until quite late, so it would be better to go straight back to the dorm.
Mu Qing didn't care about her in this regard, and casually told her to be careful.
Guan Panfu has been cultivating her beauty-related career on video websites since college. Now she is a well-known internet celebrity and has even acted in several short dramas. She is the first in her dormitory to achieve financial freedom.
After gaining some fame, she stopped living in the dormitory and her sleep schedule became upside down, which inevitably affected the rest and study of others.
But she always remembered the kindness of her roommates who created alternate accounts to act as trolls under her account when she first started out, so she had a good relationship with everyone in the dorm.
That evening, she booked a cruise ship on the riverbank, which was supposedly specially arranged for her by a wealthy patron, and everything was top-notch.
Many of her friends from the entertainment industry were also invited to the event.
Shen Muwei and the other two in the dormitory took a taxi together. The venue was decorated luxuriously and filled with tulips that Guan Panfu liked. Everyone around, regardless of gender, was either wearing a beautiful dress or the latest seasonal items from a luxury brand.
Guan Panfu stood in the hall greeting her friends, wearing a white gauze dress, looking like an elegant princess. She was very talkative and could chat with anyone.
The three of them felt like cartoon characters from a 2D animated film who had accidentally wandered into a beautiful 3D movie.
Out of place.
Guan Panfu saw them first, and approached while holding onto her skirt. As soon as she spoke, she was still the same Guan Panfu.
"Ugh, I'm so tired. These high heels and this dress are so tight and uncomfortable. Your clothes are much more comfortable."
The three men handed over their gifts, and Guan Panfu was overjoyed—a genuine joy. Many of the people present might only be work acquaintances, but these three were people who had stood up for her; they were true friends.
She accepted the gifts from the group and whispered, "Don't be shy tonight, eat and play as you please, it's someone else's money after all."
Although the three of them didn't stand on ceremony, they weren't very full that night. There were just too many desserts, making them cloyingly sweet. The seafood was quite fresh, but most of it was served raw, which tasted fishy and unpleasant.
Shen Muwei whispered, "We wild boars can't eat fine chaff."
Zhao Ranzhu and Qian Eryun nodded silently.
Because I didn't share any common interests with others and wasn't part of their social circle, it was really boring. After a while, I felt that the night view on the cruise ship was the same as what I usually see when I take a walk along the river, and it wasn't anything new.
They found Guan Panfu, said hello, and prepared to leave early.
Guan Panfu held their hands and chatted for a while before letting them go.
The cruise ship wouldn't dock for them, so they arranged for people to take them away in small motorboats.
Looking back after disembarking, the cruise ship sailing in the night seemed unrealistically bright. The swaying on the cruise ship continued even after disembarking, and it took a while for my senses to adjust.
It was nine o'clock at night, and the night view along the river was just right.
Zhao Ranzhu: "How about we go to the school's food street and get some more?"
Shen Muwei and Qian Eryun nodded frantically, saying in unison, "We absolutely have to get some!"
They hailed a taxi and headed towards the school in a large group.
The food street was packed with people on Saturday. Streetlights illuminated the entire street. Vendors set up dim tungsten bulbs, and a small fan with a ribbon swirls above the braised food stalls, spinning steadily to keep flies away. Wisps of smoke from the barbecue rose into the night sky, the aroma wafting into everyone's nostrils. The teppanyaki vendor shouted, "Hey kid, how many skewers do you want?"
Shen Muwei exclaimed, "Finally home!"
Heading to our usual barbecue stall!
As soon as Shen Muwei and Qian Eryun sat down, Zhao Ranzhu was attracted by the grilled squid on the teppanyaki grill. She swallowed hard and said, "I'll go buy ten or twenty skewers. Do you want to eat together?"
"eat!"
"You have to eat it!"
Okay, Zhao Ranzhu got up and went to the teppanyaki place to buy some food.
Shen Muwei and Qian Eryun also picked out their favorite foods and paid for them. They then picked out two bottles of iced cola from the small freezer next to them and were so refreshed that they shivered.
What a beautiful night...
Qian Eryun wiped the water droplets from the Coke can off her hands: "Actually, I was quite uncomfortable just now. A male beauty blogger I follow looked me up and down several times on the boat, and then rolled his eyes. I've even bought things from him a few times."
Shen Muwei said, "I felt uncomfortable too, that man was looking me up and down like that too."
Zhao Ranzhu hadn't paid much attention to that, but now, listening to the two of them talk, she suddenly felt a surge of anger: "Why didn't you say anything! I'll avenge you!"
Shen Muwei: "But this is Fufu's birthday party, we can't cause trouble."
Zhao Ranzhu fell silent for a few seconds, then sighed heavily and took a swig of iced cola: "There's nothing we can do. Let's not think about it anymore. Anyway, we'll be spending time with Xiaofu from now on. After graduation, we'll all go our separate ways and we don't even know if we'll keep in touch."
Qian Eryun's eyes welled up with tears: "Don't say that, she hasn't graduated yet. I almost cried on the cruise ship. I saw her wearing a five-figure dress, moving through the crowd like a fairy, interacting with guests so freely. She's doing so well, and I'm so happy for her. But, you know what... I'm so sad, it's like a good friend has left me. I can only stand here and silently wish her well..."
By the end, Qian Eryun was choked up, and Shen Muwei hugged her tightly, as she felt the same way.
Zhao Ranzhu was no different. Guan Panfu's birthday celebrations got better and better every year, which proved that her career was also getting better and better. Everyone was happy for her.
But that's the reality. People's social circles have changed, they've been in touch less, and it seems like good friends are drifting further and further away.
Two people were already crying, and she couldn't cry anymore. She held up her Coke and said, "Take it easy, don't be like this. This is a good thing. It proves that Xiao Fu is growing up, and we are growing up too. It's just that Xiao Fu is running a little faster than us. We'll all meet at our respective peaks."
Shen Muwei and Qian Eryun wiped away their tears with tissues, raised their cans of cola, and said, "See you at the top!"
To our bright future.
As everyone lamented the fleeting nature of youth, Qian Eryun nudged Shen Muwei with his elbow: "Hey, isn't that your 'male god'?"
Shen Muwei looked up and met Xiang Zhixing's gaze. She lowered her head and continued eating, saying softly, "Tch, ignore him."
Then, Zhou Chengming came over like a sycophant and asked, "Hey guys, can we share a table with you?"
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