Chapter 3
"It's rare for you to join us today, Lu Bai?" Xu Yan spat out the toothpaste foam in his mouth and turned to Lu Bai. "Except for classes and going back to the dormitory to sleep at night, I usually follow Xiaotian like a bodyguard."
"You can't always bother my Tian'er. It will make him annoyed." Lu Bai said.
"Yes, yes, Tian'er, you call me that affectionately." Xu Yan smiled at him.
"What's the matter? Are you jealous of our friendship? Jealousy is useless!" Lu Bai showed off, stretched out his arm and hooked it around Xu Yan's neck, and the two of them started playing around.
Zhou Bin, who was folding the quilt, became interested. "How did you and Xiaotian meet? Have you been so close since freshman year of high school?"
"Me and Tian'er?" Lu Bai still held Xu Yan's fist. "We only met in our second year of high school. He transferred in."
"In the second year of high school, we've been classmates for two years," Zhou Bin said.
"It's not two years. Tian'er transferred to another school in his senior year." Lu Bai said
"Transferring to another school? Then you two will be classmates for a year?" Xu Yan broke free from his arm and asked.
"Um."
"You two have been classmates for only one year and still have such a good relationship. You two are quite destined to be together." Zhou Bin said with a sigh.
Lu Bai didn't say anything.
"Lu Bai?" Xu Yan saw that Lu Bai seemed to be in a daze and patted him.
"Hmm?" Lu Bai seemed to have just come back to his senses. "Hmm, it's quite fate."
"I'm done packing, let's go!" Zhou Bin said. The three of them left the dormitory together.
"Tian'er!" Lu Bai rushed to Zhang Xiaotian as soon as he entered the store.
"I'm here." Zhang Xiaotian held Lu Bai and led him to the inner box. "This is the seat I reserved for you."
"Are these all your roommates?" A strong-looking man walked in from the kitchen and stood next to Lu Bai and Zhang Xiaotian. He was slightly taller than them by half a head.
"Brother Liu." Zhang Xiaotian greeted him.
"Okay, I have to take good care of Xiaotian's friends. Just call me for anything you want to eat or drink, and I'll give you a discount!" Brother Liu laughed heartily. He said a few simple words to a few people and then went back to the kitchen to busy himself.
After ordering their food, Zhang Xiaotian looked around the restaurant and said, "I have to go back too. I'll come back later if it's not busy."
"Why don't you eat first and then get busy?" Lu Bai held him back and stopped him from leaving.
"Lu Bai, let Xiaotian do his thing first. We'll eat slowly and save the good food for him." Zhou Bin said.
"Then go ahead." Lu Bai let go of his hand and watched Zhang Xiaotian go into the kitchen.
"Are we just going to eat here? Don't we need to help Xiaotian with some work?" Zhou Bin turned and said to the other two people.
"I don't think so. We'll just cause more trouble if we go over there." Xu Yan wanted to use some hot water to boil the bowl. He patted Lu Bai, who was still looking towards the kitchen: "Lu Bai, stop looking. Pass me your bowl and chopsticks."
Only then did Lu Bai turn around and hand over the bowl and chopsticks.
"He'll be back soon. You better not watch him for a while. Xiaotian won't fall into the pot." Zhou Bin teased him and handed his bowl and chopsticks to Xu Yan, "Please, heat mine too."
Xu Yan accepted it all.
"Look at me, Tian'er looks so handsome even when he's busy." Lu Bai said with a sigh.
"Hurry up and eat, my fanboy." Xu Yan placed the hot bowl in front of him.
"I think his eyes are almost glued to Xiaotian," Zhou Bin said. Lu Bai hit him on the head with chopsticks, and he finally calmed down for a moment. Then he asked, "Aren't you and Xiaotian really neighbors or relatives?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Nothing, I just thought you two looked like you've known each other for a long time."
"Maybe we just get along well." Xu Yan took the teapot and filled Zhou Bin and Lu Bai's cups.
"We two," Lu Bai smiled and lowered his head, "we get along very well. When we were at the same table, we always chatted, ate together, and went out for walks. Now that I think about it, I do a lot of things with him."
"What happened after Xiaotian transferred to another school? You weren't alone, thinking about him day and night and crying, were you?" Zhou Bin took a bite of food and put it in his mouth, inhaling the heat. "Then you two agreed to apply to the same university and continue your relationship? Just like in the novels?"
"Well, after he moved on..." Lu Bai cleared his throat and took a sip of water from his cup. "We haven't been in touch since he moved on."
"Ah!" Zhou Bin was shocked. "Why?"
"He changed his phone number." Lu Bai lowered his head and scribbled randomly with his chopsticks, "He... didn't tell me."
"Why?" Zhou Bin couldn't help but ask him.
"Eat your food, Zhou Bin." Xu Yan threw a piece of vegetable stem onto Zhou Bin's plate. "Why are you curious about everything?"
"I was wrong, I was wrong." Zhou Bin wisely put the vegetable stem into his mouth, swallowed it, glanced at Lu Bai, and added, "Maybe I left in a hurry and didn't have time to give it to you."
"Anyway, we are classmates again now and live in the same dormitory." Xu Yan also said.
Lu Bai just lowered his head and drank the water. The atmosphere was a little awkward for a moment.
"Brother Liu brought us a fruit plate." When Zhang Xiaotian came in through the curtain carrying the fruit plate, he met Zhou Bin's eyes looking for help and realized that the atmosphere in the box was a bit strange.
"What are you three doing..."
"Nothing." Xu Yan reached out and took the fruit plate. "We just talked about some things from the past."
"Something from the past?" Zhang Xiaotian asked. "When did it happen?"
"Nothing." Lu Bai asked him, "When will you finish your work?"
"Maybe." Zhang Xiaotian wiped his hands on his apron twice. "You guys eat first. No need to wait for me."
"I've saved it for you." Zhou Bin also said, "Come over when you're done."
"Yeah." Zhang Xiaotian nodded, turned and left the box.
Zhang Xiaotian was busy until very late before he had any free time. When he went to look for the three people again, only Lu Bai was left sitting there.
"Where are the two of them?" Zhang Xiaotian asked.
"Xu Yan took Zhou Bin to the bathroom. Don't ask any more questions, just eat." Lu Bai quickly handed over a pair of fresh chopsticks. "Hurry and eat this, I saved it for you."
Zhang Xiaotian was indeed very hungry. He picked up the chopsticks and started eating without even raising his head.
"You're working too hard. Why don't you stop doing this and find something else to do." Lu Bai looked at him, hesitated for a long time, and finally said it.
"I haven't found a suitable one yet. Our school is too far from the city," said Zhang Xiaotian.
"That's right." Lu Bai nodded. "Then I'll ask around for you. If we have too many classes later, it might be inconvenient to work here."
"Xiaotian, are you done?" Xu Yan brought Zhou Bin back. "What did you two say just now? I saw Lu Bai shaking his head."
"I'm wondering if I should find a part-time job."
"Then let me ask for you." Xu Yan said.
Xu Yan's family was local, so they must have better information. Zhang Xiaotian thought it was a good idea, so he didn't refuse.
"We will have group reports in the next class, and those who perform well will get extra points for their average performance." As the teacher packed up and walked out the door, Lu Bai was about to drag Zhang Xiaotian to the cafeteria again, but was pushed back to the stool by the class monitor sitting behind him.
"Don't leave yet, let's have a class meeting. Lu Bai, you can take some photos for everyone."
"My photos don't look good, monitor." Lu Bai tried to deny it but failed. He had to stand at the back of the class with his phone, waiting for the monitor's instructions.
"Xiaotian, Xiaotian?" Xu Yan, who was sitting on the other side of Zhang Xiaotian, leaned over and whispered to him, "Do you want to be a tutor?"
"Tutor?"
Tutoring has more flexible hours, which is a perfect part-time job for Zhang Xiaotian. Zhang Xiaotian was a little tempted and asked Xu Yan: "Why did you suddenly think of finding a tutoring job for me?"
"Hey, I live here. My neighbor's kid is in junior high and he's worried about the cram school crowd, so his family is thinking of hiring a tutor," Xu Yan explained. "Besides, our medical school will have evening self-study classes after National Day. Can you still go to the hotel?"
I was originally worried about this, but now I have a solution. Zhang Xiaotian felt a lot more relieved: "Thanks, I'll treat you to dinner another day!"
"Hey, what's there to eat? Just a casual thing." Xu Yan waved his hand.
"Everyone, please stop talking. Let's take some pictures and then we can go eat!" The monitor put up a PPT on the multimedia platform and asked Lu Bai to take a picture. Lu Bai took two pictures, and when the monitor nodded, he immediately pulled Zhang Xiaotian, who was chatting with Xu Yan, up from his stool.
"Wait a minute, I'll pack my things." Zhang Xiaotian broke away from him and said as he packed his bag, "Eat, eat, eat! Why are you so anxious when it comes to eating?"
"If you're late, there won't be any good seats. Besides..." Lu Bai stood there muttering like a little wife.
"Let's go." Zhang Xiaotian stood up. "What did you say in the second half of your sentence? I didn't hear it clearly."
"Nothing, I just said I'm starving. Let's go." Lu Bai put his arm around Zhang Xiaotian's shoulders and walked towards the back door.
September's weather always seems sunny, with a gentle breeze blowing through the crowd, and everywhere is full of vigor and vitality. Lu Bai walked in a shaky manner, looking very dishonest.
"Can you act like a college student?" Zhang Xiaotian reached out and tugged at the corner of his clothes.
Lu Bai smiled so hard that his teeth were visible. "What should a college student be like? And aren't you happy? We're going on a trip this weekend and going out to have fun!"
This weekend? Zhang Xiaotian was so busy every day that he realized that this month was almost over.
I have to tell Brother Liu in advance that I quit, and I also have to go to the tutoring company that Xu Yan mentioned.
"Are you really unhappy? Why? Aren't you happy going out to play with me?" Seeing that Zhang Xiaotian didn't speak immediately, Lu Bai asked him.
"No, no." Zhang Xiaotian said.
Once he got a part-time job, Lu Bai wouldn't have to accompany him to the restaurant every day. He felt both happy and disappointed. But Lu Bai had to have his own life. They had just met again, and over time, Lu Bai would make new friends. He had to get used to it quickly.
After he has reached an agreement with the tutor, he will tell Lu Bai. Lu Bai will definitely be happy for him.
"Okay." Brother Liu agreed readily. "You're so quick and capable, I really don't want you to leave. Just work until the end of this month, and I'll pay you at the end of the month."
"Thank you, Brother Liu." Zhang Xiaotian bowed to him.
"Hey, hey, hey, please don't. My wife went home to recuperate after giving birth, and the shop was short of staff. It was just right that you came to fill my slack. Otherwise, this month would have been a good time for school to start, and I don't know how busy we would have been. I have to thank you." Brother Liu patted Zhang Xiaotian on the shoulder, "And bring your friends to my shop for dinner later!"
"Um."
After leaving the store, Zhang Xiaotian looked at the message from Xu Yan on his mobile phone.
They are quite satisfied with you, Xiaotian, and said that the salary will be according to your agreement, and you can just go there directly at the appointed time after the holiday.
Xu Yan is such a warm-hearted person. Zhang Xiaotian pondered this and sent a thank you message.
Xu Yan must have been holding his phone at the time, and replied quickly: What are you saying, thank you? You're too polite, aren't you?
Zhang Xiaotian put his phone back in his pocket and breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was going smoothly. It seemed as if God had opened his eyes and started to take some care of his life. Whenever he had some free time, he started to worry about his mother. He wondered how she was doing over there.
She must be completely disappointed in him, having heard nothing for so long. Zhang Xiaotian pulled out his phone again, clicked on his mother's profile picture, and didn't send a single message for a long time. Just as he was about to put it away, the phone suddenly vibrated twice. He clicked on it and saw it was Lu Bai.
Are you in the store? I'll come to you now.
Zhang Xiaotian felt much better after seeing his message. He typed back: I'm out of the store, don't come.
Before he could send it out, he heard someone calling his name. When he looked up, he saw Lu Bai running towards him and hugged him tightly.
"Why are you here?" Zhang Xiaotian was startled. How could he suddenly appear like a magic trick?
"We agreed that I would accompany you to work every day. I couldn't make it with you today, but I still had to come to pick you up." Zhang Xiaotian's head was pressed against his chest, and his laughter trembled into Zhang Xiaotian's ears.
"Alright, alright, stop hugging me." Being hugged like this, right in front of the store where I work, was truly embarrassing. Zhang Xiaotian pushed Lu Bai, and Lu Bai let go of him. The two walked side by side towards the dormitory.
"You said you were having dinner with a high school classmate today. Which classmate was it?" Zhang Xiaotian asked him.
"Li An. He was the monitor of our class in high school. Do you still remember him?" Lu Bai asked.
"I have some impression." Zhang Xiaotian thought about it, and a figure seemed to appear in his mind.
"He still remembers you. The last time I helped him, he asked how you were doing. He wanted to invite you to dinner today, but I told him you were going to work. He even said, 'I didn't expect our relationship is still so good!'" Lu Bai seemed very happy. "Look, everyone in the class knows that we have the best relationship!"
"That's because you've been pestering me." Zhang Xiaotian also laughed.
"That's because you're willing to let me pester you!" Lu Bai leaned over and bumped into Zhang Xiaotian, "Isn't that right? Isn't that right?"
"Yes, yes, I do." Zhang Xiaotian couldn't refute it. He looked at the lively Lu Bai in front of him, and the figure in front of him gradually overlapped with the Lu Bai in his second year of high school. The same chatterbox, the same clingy, as if nothing had changed.
It's a good thing he can forget it. Zhang Xiaotian sighed again sincerely.
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