Chapter 10: When the rain was about to stop but hadn't quite stopped, the rest...
As the rain was about to stop but hadn't quite stopped, the others gradually arrived, and it turned out they were all stuck under the overpass.
Zheng Yanhang was surprised to see Wang Kan's appearance: "How did you get so soaked?"
"I didn't bring an umbrella."
When did you arrive?
"I arrived a long time ago. I've been waiting for you until my clothes are dry." He tugged at his clothes.
"Oh? You've been waiting a long time?" Ouyang Qian said to Fang Minzhou, feeling embarrassed.
"No, I just arrived."
Wang Kan glanced at her but didn't expose her.
The group chatted as they walked into the market. Fang Minzhou shared egg waffles with Ouyang Qian and Yin Mengran, "but they're a bit cold."
"It tastes good even when it's cold." Ouyang Qian tore off a large piece. "Did you buy it from the shop near the entrance?"
“…I think so,” Fang Minzhou said, unaware of which store Ouyang Qian was referring to. “Wang Kan bought it.”
"Huh? He's treating?"
"……Um."
Yin Mengran glanced at Fang Minzhou, then turned to look behind her. Wang Kan's portion had been finished by the three boys, and he was crumpling the paper bag into a ball, raising his hand, standing on tiptoe, and making a shooting motion as he threw it into the trash can by the roadside.
Fang Minzhou and Ouyang Qian also turned around and saw Wang Kan miss his shot. He looked embarrassed and immediately ran to pick up the trash and obediently threw it into the trash can.
This time, Fang Minzhou couldn't help but chuckle softly, quickly turning her head away. Then she heard Yin Mengran say, "You... be careful not to catch a cold."
"No," Wang Kan replied.
Fang Minzhou ate the last bite of the egg waffle.
The shopping went very smoothly. One reason was that Ouyang Qian was very familiar with the market. She led them around the area without wasting any time or energy and they were able to find suitable shops. She said it was because she had a relative who had run a shop here.
There was a shop selling handmade knitted dolls. The owner, a pretty woman in her early twenties, warmly greeted them and told them to take their pick. She and Ouyang Qian were chatting nearby, and Fang Minzhou overheard them mentioning Ouyang Qian's aunt.
"She's been busy with her little pub. I haven't seen her since she helped me with a delivery," the owner said. "But we're getting together tonight, do you want to come?"
"Me?" Ouyang Qian smiled. "Can I go?"
"Of course, why not?"
So, it turns out that Ouyang Qian's aunt used to run a shop here? Fang Minzhou wondered.
Finally, Lin Ssu-nien suggested that everyone choose three styles and order five of each style first. "That will be nearly a hundred. We can test the waters on the first day. If it sells well, we can order some more. If it doesn't sell well, we should at least sell half of them. We can then distribute the rest among the class, one for each person, so as not to waste the class funds."
Everyone agrees.
The boss gave them a big discount.
The second reason why the entire procurement went smoothly was that Wang Kan was very good at bargaining.
Although Ouyang Qian was a walking map and had connections, she didn't know every shop owner. That's when Wang Kan showed her amazing side.
When faced with a kind and easy-going boss, Wang Kan, despite being a student, spoke with the air of someone who wanted to do big business. As for those with a tough attitude, he didn't say much. If he couldn't reach an agreement, he would signal the others to go with him to the next boss. Often, after walking only a few steps, the boss would call out to them from behind: "Okay, okay, 30% off it is!"
They went back, and the boss half-jokingly said that these students of theirs these days are really something else.
Fang Minzhou followed along in a daze, while the others, especially Ouyang Qian and Zheng Yanhang, quickly and skillfully cooperated with Wang Kan. When they arrived at the jewelry store, Ouyang Qian pulled Yin Mengran along to advertise: "Boss, these are from our school's dance club. There are so many girls in the dance club. Sell them to me for a discount, and we'll help you promote them at school."
Lin Sinian was in charge of making payments, and he had to occasionally pull back the group as they got a little excited. Fang Minzhou found it amusing, but gradually became somewhat bewildered, unsure of what she was there for. She wasn't as eloquent as Ouyang Qian, nor did she have Yin Mengran's eye for choosing things. To her, all the dolls and accessories looked the same. What she probably found even harder to accept was that in this makeshift team, Wang Kan was more useful than she was.
She felt that she was not as good as her classmates in these social skills, and at the same time, she thought that if she had known this would happen, she would have stayed home and studied for exams.
"Fang Minzhou, could you help me write down what we've already bought?" Lin Sinian suddenly asked her.
Fang Minzhou, who had been absent-minded, snapped out of her reverie and said, "Oh, okay."
Lin Sinian sent her the contents of his memo. Fang Minzhou felt a little embarrassed. She guessed that the class monitor might have noticed her incompatibility, so he kindly assigned her some tasks.
They browsed through all the jewelry stores on the second floor, and the last store the owner generously gave each of the three girls a trendy bracelet. Ouyang Qian and Yin Mengran immediately put them on, while Fang Minzhou put hers in her canvas bag.
Before six o'clock, they finished shopping. At this time, they could either go out to eat or go home. Ouyang Qian was the first to betray the group, saying, "I have plans for tonight."
"What kind of appointment? You're making appointments with two groups of people in one day, you must be a big shot," Zheng Yanhang said.
Ouyang Qian smiled, offered no explanation, waved to everyone, and hopped away like a sparrow.
"Who is she meeting with?" Zheng Yanhang still found it strange. Everyone shook their heads, but Fang Minzhou guessed that she was probably meeting her aunt.
With one person missing, dinner was naturally canceled. Some took taxis, others took the bus, and in the end, only Fang Minzhou and Wang Kan remained at the bus stop at the market entrance.
Fang Minzhou glanced at Wang Kan, who was standing next to her with her hands in her pockets and looking bored. She took a few steps to the side, took out her phone, and made a call to her mother.
After the call ended, Wang Kan suddenly moved closer to her again and even gestured with his chin. Fang Minzhou took another step to the side, puzzled.
“My pen,” Wang Kan said.
“…Oh.” Fang Minzhou opened the canvas bag and searched.
Wang Kan peeked around curiously, wondering what was in Fang Minzhou's canvas bag. Was it really necessary to carry a bag when going out?
Fang Minzhou handed the pen to Wang Kan, who suddenly asked her, "Why aren't you wearing a bracelet?"
Fang Minzhou was taken aback: "Why should I bring it?"
"I think Ouyang Qian and the others all brought them along."
Fang Minzhou remained silent.
“You’re too…” Wang Kan looked at Fang Minzhou, not knowing what to say to her. “If you don’t like yellow, just tell the shopkeeper to change it.”
Just now in the store, the owner randomly picked up three bracelets, one pink, one purple, and one yellow. Ouyang Qian and Yin Mengran took the first two, and he saw Fang Minzhou, who had been silent all along, take the remaining yellow one.
"Who said I don't like yellow?"
"Do you like yellow? Don't you like blue?" Wang Kan said, pointing at Fang Minzhou with her right index finger. "Your hair ties and canvas bags are all blue. I saw you at the hotel last National Day, and you were wearing a blue dress too."
Fang Minzhou was stunned, as if he had been shot.
But even if she prefers blue, it was a free gift from the boss, so how could she be picky?
Did he say something wrong again? What did he say? He just wanted her to be less reserved. Why not say what she wanted to say? Why wear a bracelet she doesn't like? No one will thank her. But before he could finish speaking, Fang Minzhou flicked her ponytail, got into the car, and didn't even say a polite goodbye.
Wang Kan held the pen, completely bewildered.
The next day when he arrived at school, Fang Minzhou didn't speak to him either.
They bumped into each other at the convenience store before evening self-study. He was behind her in line and placed the sports drink he wanted on the counter. Fang Minzhou suddenly took it and said to the auntie, "There's also this."
After paying the bill, she handed him the drink, saying it was her treat. Her attitude was anything but polite; it was more like she was trying to distance herself from him.
Why? Wang Kan thought for a moment, "To pay back the debt for yesterday's egg waffles?"
Wang Kan gave up.
Most of his family members were in business, and business people often believe in fate. They say that while human effort can achieve anything, one should also let nature take its course. People in this world rely on fate in everything they do. These words, which he had heard so often, now echoed in his ears. He thought that he and Fang Minzhou probably just weren't meant to be, and there was no need to force it. Perhaps they were just destined to clash.
Zheng Yanhang and Wu Cheng were already used to it. "You and Fang, the academic star, had another fight, huh?"
Wang Kan said, "This is called keeping to oneself."
Wang Kan spread her hands, "I've already taken off all my clothes except for a short-sleeved shirt, how much more do I need to take off?"
Those around them stifled their laughter. Fang Minzhou blushed, annoyed, and glared at him sharply: "It's too cold. If you're hot, go cool off in the corridor."
"Hey deskmate, you can't be this domineering, can you?" Wang Kan teased.
Fang Minzhou had never been described with this word before, and he was about to stand up and confront Wang Kan when the others, seeing the situation was turning bad, began to break up the fight. Ouyang Qian nudged Jin Baihao, who was uninvolved, and gestured for him to open his window, "Open ours, open it a little, let some air in."
Wang Kan deliberately pulled the chair away forcefully, the chair scraping against the ground with a screeching sound that, mixed with the urgent school bell, sounded like a tangible declaration of war.
A note from the author:
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