It was the end of March, some time after Li Tangyan arrived in S City.
Saturday night, the weather was still a little chilly, and the large shopping malls on the street were changing their seasonal posters.
Li Tangyan held her phone in her hand, and as she spoke, the wind blowing through the microphone created a slight rustling sound.
—I've already seen the sign, right away!
Yesterday, a project that our department had been working on for quite some time was finally completed. To celebrate, I made plans with some close friends tonight to have a proper celebration.
As she spoke, Li Tangyan glanced at the conspicuous hot pot restaurant sign not far away, and after hanging up the phone, she quickened her pace and walked over.
Following the directions given by Liang Yangyang, Li Tangyan quickly saw several people inside after entering.
Li Tangyan looked closely and found that in addition to Liang Yangyang, there were two unfamiliar men at the table.
"Isn't it just you and me?" After sitting down, Li Tangyan gave a polite greeting, then tugged at Liang Yangyang's clothes and whispered.
After hearing this, Liang Yangyang just gave a dry laugh.
Unable to withstand Li Tangyan's scrutinizing gaze any longer, he finally confessed honestly: "If I were to tell you honestly, would you be willing to come with me to this social event?"
Li Tangyan: "..."
After listening, Li Tangyan prepared to grab her bag.
However, Liang Yangyang figured out what she was trying to do first. She pressed her hand down, blinked her eyes, lowered her voice, and started to act pitiful.
"Just this once, please spend time with me."
"I get shy easily when I'm alone."
shy?
I never knew you had this side to you.
Li Tangyan's lips twitched involuntarily, but she couldn't resist Liang Yangyang's intense gaze, and in the end, she could only sigh inwardly.
As he spoke, he glanced at her sideways and said, "Just this once!"
Upon hearing this, Liang Yangyang nodded vigorously, afraid that if she returned too late, she would change her mind.
The atmosphere remained relatively lively for the rest of the time, mainly consisting of Liang Yangyang talking to the boy opposite her.
Li Tangyan would only occasionally chime in when asked, and then continue to be her ruthless, unresponsive robot.
By the time the four of them finished their hotpot and came out, it was already dark, and their watches showed it was already ten o'clock.
Liang Yangyang was going to go shopping with her "heartthrob male guest" again, but Li Tangyan wasn't very interested, so she said goodbye and prepared to go home.
However, before she could leave, she saw another man who hadn't said much in the hot pot restaurant slowly walk over.
As she spoke, she scratched the back of her head a little embarrassedly: "If you don't mind, I'll take you home."
The man's name was Shi Du. He had been sitting opposite me during the meal. He had a handsome face and a more reserved personality than his companion.
The moment Ishitari spoke, Li Tangyan's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
A certain intuition struck her, and the next second, she was about to politely decline when Liang Yangyang, who was standing next to her, leaned over.
Liang Yangyang nudged her arm, taking it as Li Tangyan being shy.
He chuckled mischievously as he spoke, "Just let him take you home this once. It's getting late anyway, and it's not safe for a girl like you to go home alone."
“Yes.” Ishiwata’s companion, who seemed to have read his mind, added.
The unanimous agreement from those around her, coupled with Ishitari's direct gaze, made Li Tangyan hesitate for a moment.
Thinking it wouldn't be right to offend someone directly, I figured I could just find another excuse to leave later.
After a while, he nodded and met Ishiwata's gaze: "Then I'll have to trouble you."
*
Although it was already past 10 p.m., the night in S City was still quite lively.
There are many stalls around, and the aroma of various delicacies wafts in the air, constantly whetting the appetites of passersby.
Li Tangyan lives not far from here, so there's no need to take a taxi.
The two walked side by side on the main road, the light from the streetlights stretching their shadows back and forth.
"Um...can I call you Chestnut?"
As they spoke, Li Tangyan kept her head down, her gaze fixed on the pebbles below, kicking them absentmindedly.
He only responded with an "uh-huh" when he heard Ishiwata's words, as if he wasn't paying much attention to it.
However, Ishiwata did not notice that she seemed somewhat uninterested at the moment.
As I stopped, I prepared to press my advantage: "Can I add you on WeChat? I know a lot of fun places, and if you'd like, we can go together sometime."
"I'm sorry, I..."
The pebble she was kicking eventually veered off course because she didn't have time to stop the force.
After rolling forward a few meters, it tumbled into the nearby sewer.
The night breeze ruffled the hair on the side of her face. Li Tangyan raised her hand and tucked the strand of hair behind her ear with a flick of her fingertips.
A slight smile played on her lips on her fair face.
Her eyes were bright, but when she looked at him, her gaze unconsciously focused on what was behind him.
In an instant, the smile on Li Tangyan's face froze.
Before he could finish speaking, he caught sight of a figure and abruptly changed his tone: "Excuse me, something suddenly came up. Thank you for bringing me here."
Li Tangyan had just finished speaking.
Before Ishiwatari could react, she had already run towards a certain place behind him, her steps were very fast, and she disappeared from his sight in no time.
Shi Du stared at the direction where no one had left, and then awkwardly withdrew his hand that had been frozen in mid-air.
He touched his nose, a hint of disappointment in his voice quickly dissipating into the hazy night: "But...you haven't given me your contact information yet."
*
Li Tangyan chased after that figure to another night market street across the street.
She was half-bent over, her hands resting on her knees, panting.
Her hair, which had grown a bit longer, bounced up in a few strands as she had just made that movement.
However, Li Tangyan had no time to pay attention to this.
Her gaze kept moving through the bustling crowd, but she found nothing.
The light in his eyes darkened as his eyelashes drooped.
It's like eating an unripe fruit; my heart keeps feeling sour.
The night breeze was a bit chilly, and Li Tangyan sniffed, feeling a sense of emptiness.
She thinks she just saw Wen Zhaonian.
As she thought about it, complex emotions, like ever-growing vines, spread unchecked with an overwhelming longing.
The next second, Li Tangyan had already taken out her phone, her fingertips lightly swiping across the screen, quickly stopping at that familiar name.
However, even the thought of wanting to hear his voice began to surface in my mind.
But in the end, the raised fingertips never fell.
The screen that had been lit up had gone dark at some point. After finally accepting that it was just her imagination, Li Tangyan sighed softly.
I barely managed to suppress my disappointment and was about to turn back, but before I could even take a step, the screen, which had been dark, lit up again with an incoming call...
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