Chapter 104 Arson
On stage, contestants, school leaders, judges, and sponsors posed for a group photo.
The lively atmosphere on the playground gradually subsided.
Yi Jia generously booked an entire hot pot restaurant to treat everyone to a celebratory banquet.
The private room was bustling with noise, and the heat and laughter almost lifted the roof off.
Zhu Wan sat quietly next to her sister and ate her food.
In the corner of his eye, Fang Qibai was chatting with the boy next to him, a few seats away.
Fang Qibai's gaze swept casually over Zhu Wan, then turned to Qiu Chen beside her, who was frequently serving her food with serving chopsticks.
Qiu Chen felt that picking up food one chopstick at a time was too slow, so he simply picked up a slotted spoon and scooped a full spoonful of meat and vegetables into Zhu Wan's bowl.
Zhu Wan had just finished eating when new food was served.
After a few rounds, her belly was already quite round.
Seeing that Qiu Chen was about to make another move, she quickly covered her bowl and shook her head repeatedly.
Zhu Fan poured A-Yuan a glass of orange juice and said to Qiu Chen, "A-Yuan is full, don't put any more on her plate."
We ate hot pot for almost two hours.
Zhu Fan greeted Yi Jia and said he was going back first.
Yi Jia smiled and nodded, reminding her not to get the wound on her arm wet.
She plans to have a good drink tonight and has already arranged to meet a group of people at "Hong Fu" to continue the celebration after dinner.
As Zhu Wan was about to leave with her sister, Qiu Chen grabbed her arm. He lowered his voice and teased her, "Brother Chen saw it all, your eyes were glued to 'Dog White' all night." He feigned sadness, "Is Brother Chen's handsomeness not enough for our A-Wan to see?"
The little girl's face was flushed red from the warmth of the hot pot restaurant's heating system.
It's so adorable.
"Do you have any candy?" Qiu Chen asked her.
Zhu Wan took out a mint candy ring that the hot pot restaurant had given her from her pocket.
Qiu Chen didn't seem to mind at all, and took it, asking, "Is there any more?"
Yi Jia saw this from afar and clicked his tongue: "Fanfan, you need to do something about it. Chen'er is bullying your sister again."
Zhu Fan, holding Fang Qizhou's arm, called out to Qiu Chen with a smile, telling him to let go of A Yuan.
Zhu Wan turned all the pockets of her clothes inside out to show Qiu Chen; they were empty.
She remembered the box of strawberries that Zhenzhen had given her before school ended, which was in her schoolbag.
She unzipped the jacket, took out the strawberries, and handed them to Qiu Chen.
Qiu Chen immediately beamed with joy, clutching the box of "Red Beauty" strawberries like a precious treasure.
"Chen'er, you're really heartless! You even steal snacks from kids!"
"Have some decency!"
"That's so mean!"
Amidst laughter and playful banter, Qiu Chen promised Zhu Wan, "Next time we meet, Brother Chen will bring you something delicious!"
Zhu Wan smiled and nodded, saying goodbye to him.
Yi Jia watched Zhu Fan leave with her boyfriend and sister, then, with his hands in his pockets, announced, "Let's go, time to 'Red Float'!"
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Upon arriving at the "Red Floating" private room, Qiu Chen had someone carefully wash and bring out the box of strawberries.
Someone reached out to take it, but he slapped it away without hesitation. He deliberately sat down next to Fang Qibai, and said in a boastful tone, "Do you still have those gummy candies that A-Yuan gave you? I'll trade you a strawberry for a bag."
Fang Qibai was lighting a cigarette when he recalled the earnest and pure look on the little girl's face as she handed over the strawberries to Qiu Chen. He slowly exhaled a smoke ring.
He picked up the dice cup on the table. "Let's play a round, using this bowl of strawberries as the stake."
Qiu Chen rarely loses at dice games. He stopped eating strawberries and asked, "A whole bowl? What's your bet?"
Fang Qibai, with a cigarette between his fingers, glanced at him and said, "Can't you handle this?"
Qiu Chen was provoked into giving him a piece of his mind: "Fine! If you lose, you have to give me all the gummy candies that A-Yuan gave you. This bowl of strawberries is worth at least five packs of candy!"
Yi Jia also became interested, "Count me in."
Qiu Chen asked her to reveal her bet.
Yi Jia brought over a fruit platter.
Since they're betting on food, she'll use food too.
Qiu Chen glanced at the fruit plate with disdain; it was from his shop.
But one more person is one more person.
Fang Qibai rolled up his sleeves: "The candy is in the car."
Qiu Chen readily agreed, "If we win, give me the car keys and I'll go get them myself."
After two rounds, Yi Jia lost the fruit platter, and Qiu Chen lost the whole bowl of strawberries.
The two looked at each other in bewilderment.
Fang Qibai slowly picked up a strawberry still wet with water droplets. Just as Qiu Chen was expecting him to share one with her, he popped it into his own mouth.
Yi Jia patted Qiu Chen on the shoulder: "Want some? Call me 'sister,' and I'll go buy it for you."
Qiu Chen, still slightly drunk, mumbled, "That's different... This wasn't bought, it was given to me by A-Yuan..."
Because of this box of strawberries, Qiu Chen drank heavily all night and couldn't stop thinking about it, swaying as he tried to find Fang Qibai to "spit out A-Yuan's strawberries."
Fang Qibai calmly avoided him; he was the only one who hadn't drunk any alcohol that night.
After settling the group of drunkards in the private room, he lazily got into his car.
The streets were quiet; it was already three in the morning.
Fang Qibai opened the chat window with Zhu Wan and typed: 【Strawberries are delicious.】
He glanced at the time on the screen and then retracted the message.
Just then, the screen lit up, and my mother's caller ID popped up.
His fingertips paused slightly on the hanger.
On the other end of the phone, Leng Qiyi's voice was hoarse from just waking up, and carried a strange, almost gleeful tone: "Qi Bai, Luo Shuixin... she set herself on fire and burned herself to death."
The phone slipped from his frozen fingers with a "thud" and fell into the seat cushion. The carriage was deathly silent, save for the occasional, distant, blurry streaks of headlights flashing past the window.
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