Chapter 33
"How long do you plan to stay here? Until she goes to school?" He Ru picked up some peeled walnuts from the small tray and started eating them. As she was about to take a second one, someone slapped the back of her hand. He Ru winced and pulled her hand back. "So stingy?"
"You don't even eat them yourself, yet you've peeled so many. Are you planning to make walnut cookies?"
Yu Xi ignored He Ru.
"Ah Xi, your temper is getting worse and worse. Do you still consider me your older brother?"
"I admit it." Despite being unhappy, He Ru's question still needed to be answered, though selectively, of course.
He pulled up a chair and sat down, his demeanor bold and aggressive, almost provocative. "Since you still acknowledge me as your older brother, tell me what you're really thinking."
"I haven't thought about it much."
"You're lying, aren't you?" He Ru gave Yu Xi a headbutt without hesitation.
Yu Xi then stopped peeling walnuts. His fingernails were neatly trimmed, but because he had been peeling walnuts, his pale fingertips showed faint signs of turning black, and blood seeped from between his fingers. However, he seemed completely oblivious to the fact that nothing had happened.
He wasn't actually without a place to go. Ming'an City was so big, and Zhou Mo knew very few places. He could have easily hidden somewhere else and ignored everything else, instead of listening to He Ru's nonsense.
Seeing that Yu Xi had entered a meditative state again, He Ru sighed.
His relationship with Yu Xi was much better than others imagined. He Ru was the last of the three to meet Yu Xi, but she also spent the most time communicating with him. So even after Yu Xi broke off her friendship with Shawn and Qi Kai, she was still willing to call He Ru "brother".
If something happens, we'll know where we can hide.
“Ah Xi.”
"Don't speak Korean."
"You fucking trying to talk back to me?!" He Ru gave him another headbutt without hesitation. Yu Xi didn't dodge. After being hit, he seemed to have all his strength drained away, and he slumped into the chair.
He Ru kicked Yu Xi's heel and said, "Seriously, what are you and Zhou Mo going to do? The girl is going to go to school."
"Brother, you like Zhou Mo, right?"
"What Qi Xiao told you? It's all nonsense..." He Ru suddenly met Yu Xi's emotionless eyes. He put away his teasing expression and became more reserved. "Love at first sight."
Yu Xi pondered these four words in his heart: love at first sight. This kind of plot, which is not even guaranteed to be well-filmed in movies and TV dramas, actually happened to him.
"So you really weren't joking with me that day."
"Didn't you stop your brother? I didn't do anything to your sister." The word "sister" placed Yu Xi in the position of Zhou Mo's family, but only as family.
Yu Xi sensed the warning in He Ru's words, and he rarely showed a look of confusion. "Brother, what does it feel like to like someone?"
"I don't know," He Ru said honestly, her chair swaying as she moved. "Don't stare at me like that. I really don't know. How would people like us know what liking someone is?"
Yu Xi: "Then why did you say it was love at first sight?"
"Have you read the novel? In it, when the heroes see someone they like, their hearts race and they think, 'I want to marry her.'"
Yu Xi suddenly stood up, her voice rising considerably, "You're going to marry her?!"
"Novel, novel? Am I a great hero? I'd be more like a blind man."
He Ru rolled his eyes inelegantly, grabbed Yu Xi's sleeve, and pulled him back to his chair. This time, when he touched the walnut kernels again, Yu Xi acted as if he didn't see him, looking lost and unfocused, not knowing what he was thinking. He was definitely not in a meditative state.
While eating walnuts, He Ru thought to herself, "Thank goodness I didn't tell Yu Xi that I had this idea after seeing a photo."
Yes, I had this thought, but it was just a thought.
Being able to be the leader of three regions means having your own set of insights. Wanting something doesn't mean you'll get it; contentment is the key to long-term success.
"Ah Xi, what about you? How do you feel about Zhou Mo?"
"I don't know." Yu Xi's voice was light and ethereal, dissipating as soon as it left her lips, without needing any wind.
He grabbed a handful of walnuts and stuffed them into Yu Xi's mouth without saying a word. "If you don't know anything, eat more to nourish your brain. I've got your school plans sorted out for you. Go ahead, we'll talk about college applications later."
Yu Xi's gaze gradually settled on He Ru, who stood upright beside him. Once upon a time, when he was little, he had looked at He Ru in the same way. Back then, He Ru was far from being as gentle as she was now. Everyone said that He Ru was a smiling tiger, but he had seen He Ru at her fiercest, like a dog struggling in a cage. But He Ru was different from that dog. She broke free, survived, and became a very capable person.
He Ru rubbed Yu Xi's head and said, "Don't think about it anymore, let's go back."
"Brother, I was wrong."
"Huh?" He Ru was completely bewildered by the sudden apology. "What were you doing behind my back?"
“I don’t want Zhou Mo to go to university. I want her to stay here, just like me.”
He Ru stood there stunned, not because of Yu Xi's selfish words, but because she was shocked that Yu Xi had admitted to having selfish motives for the first time.
His younger brother... is the most good at saying one thing and meaning another.
"Okay, I understand."
"Let's go back."
Qi Xiao blinked. "Going back?" Zhou Mo's sudden suggestion to go back caught Qi Xiao off guard. She still had a lot of sarcastic remarks about Yu Xi to say, but she hadn't said them yet. "Sure, let's go back. See you tomorrow then?"
"Would you like to come over and sleep at my place tonight?"
"Yes!" Qi Xiao nodded immediately without hesitation after hearing Zhou Mo's words, and Zhou Mo patted Qi Xiao's head.
Qi Xiao sat in her wheelchair, a happy smile on her face. Zhou Mo pushed her from behind, and from her angle, you could see the curve of Qi Xiao's lips.
A faint smile flashed across Zhou Mo's face. Her friends were all very kind to her. In their lives, where they bore the responsibilities alone, it was already a sign of their kindness to spare even a little bit of goodwill for others. She couldn't ask for anything more.
Moreover, having something yourself gives you a greater sense of control than having to ask for it.
Zhou Mo's wicked thoughts began to surface uncontrollably. This time, she didn't suppress them anymore. She didn't have much time left and had to resolve the problem before the start of the semester.
Otherwise, how could she leave in peace?
During the evening girls' tea party, Qi Xiao leaned against the headboard and chatted with Zhou Mo about the gossip in class. Although Qi Xiao didn't have any friends before, she had been observing everyone in the class and was just as well-informed as Zhou Mo's deskmate.
"Let me tell you, the boy who sits right in front of you, he looks honest, but last time the class funds were short, he was the one who took them."
"Huh?" Zhou Mo really didn't know. Although she knew that you can't judge a book by its cover, she really couldn't tell at all. "How could that be? He even helped me out of money before."
Qi Xiao looked at her with a disappointed expression, "Momo, you're so naive. What if you get scammed when you go to college? But it's okay, I'll keep an eye on you."
"He stole money because he bullied the neighbor's kid. As a result, that kid watched some TV series and recognized a godbrother in the North District. That time, when I was passing by with that guy, we happened to see him being beaten up and forced to pay protection money."
The person Qi Xiao mentioned in a single sentence was naturally Shawn Ke.
The relationship between Shawn and Qi Kai is complicated and confusing, and the relationship between Qi Xiao and Shawn is also hard to fathom. Although Zhou Mo is curious, respecting other people's privacy is a basic moral principle. Even good friends should have boundaries of privacy.
"Then this person deserves to be beaten."
Qi Xiao chuckled, "They're all a bunch of vermin, and oh, and..."
Qi Xiao and Zhou Mo chatted until sunrise. Qi Xiao was reluctant to go to sleep. She had never had such a long chat with a friend before. Moreover, this was something that could only be done once in a while, but she didn't know when she could do it, so she cherished it very much.
Zhou Mo was drawn to Qi Xiao because he was such a good storyteller. The stories between the students weren't actually that complicated or bizarre, but Qi Xiao's intonation and delivery were so captivating. He would even lower his voice when telling suspenseful parts, making the audience feel as if they were right there in the story and unable to tear themselves away.
"No? Why? How could anyone enjoy stealing their friend's boyfriend?"
Qi Xiao waved her hand, "Hey, there are plenty of mentally unstable people these days. Maybe she's trying to prove her charm? But that guy isn't any better. What? You think he can just walk away with a snap of his fingers? He's a freeloader, he doesn't turn anyone away. The main problem is his character. It's just a pity for that girl, getting attacked by both her friend and boyfriend." Qi Xiao revealed a cynical expression, her clenched fists looking like she could smash the heads of that scumbag and his girlfriend any second.
Zhou Mo thought for a moment, "Good fortune and misfortune are intertwined. Staying away from treacherous friends and scumbags will help her understand that people's hearts are unpredictable, which can be considered a kind of growth."
Qi Xiao bent down and rested her head on Zhou Mo's knees. "If growing up has to be this painful, then I'd rather stay at this point for the rest of my life."
Am I really that useless?
Zhou Mo stroked Qi Xiao's long hair, "How could that be? A peaceful life is what everyone yearns for. Everyone works hard to earn money, buy houses, buy things they like, and do things they like, all for this."
"Then, Momo, let's stay like this forever. We'll be best friends for life. As long as we're together, we'll be at peace."
"good."
When Yu Xi returned, he found that Zhou Mo's bedroom door was not closed, but was slightly ajar, and the light was on inside. He thought Zhou Mo was still awake. He hesitated for a while before walking over. Before he could even knock on the door, he could already see the whole room through the crack.
Zhou Mo and Qi Xiao were asleep, nestled together. Qi Xiao buried her head in Zhou Mo's shoulder, her arm reaching out from under the blanket to hug Zhou Mo's arm. Zhou Mo wasn't sleeping very properly either, but adhering to the Chinese custom of covering one's stomach while sleeping, the blanket was still properly on her body.
Yu Xi noticed that Zhou Mo wasn't sleeping soundly, perhaps because the bedside lamp was disturbing her. Yu Xi tiptoed in, turned off the lamp, and quietly closed the door before returning to her own room.
Have a good dream.
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