Chapter 32 032 The Straw She Used
Shenyi is the dessert shop that she left alone.
Perhaps Wen Que caught up with her, but she didn't turn her head. Seeing a bus stop not far away where a bus was arriving, she boarded it directly.
Shen Yi wanted to be alone.
Silently wiping away tears in the last row of the bus won't attract the attention of other passengers in the already empty carriage.
She has a habit of carrying a whole pack of tissues in her small bag when she goes out. When she's almost run out, she hears the bus announce that it's a fairly familiar stop.
"We've arrived at Beijing No. 9 High School—"
After hesitating for a while, Shen Yi decided to get off the bus first, find a convenience store, buy a pack of tissues, and then wander around to ease her mood.
Shen Yi never expected that when she passed by the entrance of No. 9 Middle School, unlike the deserted scene last time, there were quite a few students wearing the uniforms of No. 9 Middle School in the capital.
After all, No. 9 Middle School is an all-boys school, so it's rare to see girls who look to be the same age as them here, let alone a girl as beautiful as Shen Yi who would stand out anywhere.
Because of the unpleasant incident at the gate last time, Shen Yi wanted to leave quickly, but a boy immediately took the initiative to talk to her and blocked her way: "Excuse me, are you here to see someone at our No. 9 Middle School? We have our sports meet today! People from other schools can come in freely. Shall I take you in?"
Shen Yi immediately waved his hand: "No need, I'm just passing by."
The boy looked regretful, but he wasn't about to give up: "Well, if you have nothing else to do, you can come and take a look!"
A boy passing by nearby chimed in, "Yeah, we're not going to eat you, come in and have some fun!"
This wasn't the first time Shen Yi had experienced being "hit up." Under Meng Zihan's tutelage, she had long since learned countless ways to slip away. The simplest way she did was to smile and say, "Alright then, could you please call Le Yun for me? I have something I want to say to him."
The first thing Le Yun said to Shen Yi after they added each other on WeChat was that if she had any trouble at No. 9 Middle School, she could mention his name, as it would be very useful.
really.
As soon as Shen Yi said this, the boys who were blocking her way silently moved a step to the side, seemingly regretting their rash actions.
The other boys who had been looking in Chen Yi's direction, eager to go forward, all turned their gazes away and pretended nothing had happened.
"Why is it that no one even bothered to call my friend when they came? You people are so cold-hearted!"
A cute voice rang out with a hint of complaint, but no one dared to respond. Instead, as if they had heard some devil's whisper, they exchanged glances and scattered instantly.
A silver-haired boy in a school uniform walked out of the nearby convenience store. As always, Le Yun smiled and took the initiative to greet Shen Yi: "Long time no see! Did you come to see me? I'm so happy."
Shen Yi immediately apologized: "I'm sorry, I just wanted to borrow your..."
"Shhh."
The boy lightly touched Shen Yi's lips with his index finger, stopping her from finishing her sentence. He bent down slightly and brought his face closer, seemingly observing something. His cute face became somewhat serious, and then he said, "A date? Of course! Let's go!"
As he spoke.
Amidst countless peeping eyes, he whispered "Excuse me," then took Shen Yi's hand and led her across the street.
soon.
After turning a corner, they arrived at a place where they could neither see the Ninth Middle School nor be seen by the people from the Ninth Middle School.
Le Yun had already let go of his hand and explained in a relaxed tone, half-complaining, "The boys in our school are practically thugs; even the school rules can't control them. I occasionally try to regulate their behavior at school when I'm free, so they see me like a monster. They're exaggerating, but don't be afraid of me."
"I know, I won't misunderstand."
After thinking for a moment, Shen Yi added, "In my opinion, anyone who is willing to raise money for a kitten's vaccination must not be a bad person."
"Huh?"
Le Yun tilted her head slightly to look at Shen Yi, and the next second she showed an extremely cute smile: "Are you praising me? I'm so happy."
Shen Yi nodded obediently, indicating that she agreed.
Le Yun smiled even more broadly and offered, "You're probably just passing through, right? Where are you going next? Do you need me to give you a ride?"
"No."
Shen Yi naturally refused, but perhaps because the other party's tone was too friendly and gentle, she unconsciously added an explanation: "...Actually, I haven't decided where to go, I just want to wander around."
"Oh, I see."
Le Yun's reaction was quite exaggerated. He immediately rested his chin on his hand and said with a troubled expression, "It's the sports meet today. My event is over and I can leave now. Actually, I don't know where to go. I heard there's a dog cafe nearby, but I'm a little embarrassed to go in alone as a guy. Could you come with me?"
Shen Yi looked up in surprise and met Le Yun's eyes, but because she was not familiar with him, she could not tell whether he was telling the truth.
But reason told Shen Yi that Le Yun was Xu Qingzhe's friend and had helped her before, so she wasn't a bad person.
Moreover, she is not really suited to being alone right now.
So Shenyi agreed: "Okay, let's go together then."
＊
Dog café.
The snacks and drinks in the set meal were surprisingly delicious. Perhaps it was because Shen Yi hadn't eaten much since yesterday, but seeing the little dogs wagging their tails everywhere made her feel much better and finally gave her an appetite.
Seeing that Shen Yi quickly finished a croissant, Le Yun generously pushed her own plate over and said, "I don't like sweets, so please take care of this cake too."
"Oh... I'm so sorry."
Shen Yi really wanted to eat it, but instinctively remained polite.
"Don't be shy, after all, I asked you to keep me company." Le Yun said, getting up first and holding the dog food in her hand, "Then I'll go play first, come find me after you're done eating."
"……good."
Shen Yi agreed, and seeing Le Yun walk away, he couldn't wait to fork a big bite of cake and stuff it into his mouth.
The taste wasn't as good as the desserts she had at the previous shop, but she felt more at ease here.
soon.
After finishing the cake, Shen Yi gently patted her satisfied belly, got up to greet Le Yun, and then couldn't wait to grab her dog food and go find her favorite puppy.
Human beings—
Destined to be saved by puppies! To be ruled by puppies! To be dominated by puppies!
Shen Yi thought she was destined to find a secluded place to cry her heart out today, but unexpectedly, she was healed by these furry creatures.
She actually felt like crying.
But her body won out over her brain; before EMO could shed tears, her hand had already touched the puppy's head.
Until Shen Yi was "pounced" on the sofa by a golden retriever puppy that was clearly not yet an adult, and the staff of the dog cafe were trying to stop this rebellious behavior of "dog sucking people", Shen Yi was not afraid. Instead, under their guidance, she hugged the golden retriever puppy.
In Shen Yi's arms, the little golden retriever stopped fussing and obediently adjusted its position to sit in her lap, closing its eyes like a sleeping baby.
The staff were surprised and quickly apologized, saying, "We're so sorry, this little golden retriever is only serving customers for the first time, and we didn't expect it to be so attached to people. But don't worry, this breed is gentle, and we have trained it, so it will absolutely not hurt you. If you feel tired, you can leave it with me."
"Need not."
Shen Yi shook her head and refused, saying, "I'm happy that it wants to stick to me."
Since they were already at the dog café, the customers naturally all liked the puppies. The staff were just being polite, leaving behind a "please call me anytime if you need anything" before turning and leaving.
Chen Yi sat quietly here, occasionally stroking the little golden retriever. Looking at all the dogs in the room, she felt much more relaxed.
soon.
Le Yun walked over carrying a Shiba Inu, followed by some staff members.
Le Yun sat down next to Shen Yi and said, "Since we're here, let's take a picture."
Some staff members directed other puppies to come over and act as background figures, while others held up Polaroid cameras and adjusted their positions.
Shen Yi hugged the golden retriever puppy in her arms tighter and looked up at the camera with a smile.
The instant the shutter clicked, Shen Yi felt a sudden surge of strength on his shoulder.
Le Yun's head was resting on her shoulder at some point, and she gave the camera an even brighter, more radiant smile, not forgetting to make a peace sign.
Because he leaned in at such a perfect moment, before Shen Yi could even turn her head away, the final photo that appeared in the Polaroid camera showed her smiling at the camera, with Le Yun leaning on her shoulder. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought it was a photo of a couple.
The Polaroid camera had already been handed to Le Yun by the staff, but Shen Yi still didn't move, just looking at him with a puzzled expression, waiting for his explanation.
Le Yun first glanced at a boy sitting alone to her right and behind her, then lowered her voice and said, "That boy has been looking at you. I'm sorry, this is the only way I can make him misunderstand our relationship."
Shen Yi followed Le Yun's gaze and, sure enough, the boy looked away guiltily the moment their eyes met.
Feeling guilty for misunderstanding Le Yun, Shen Yi immediately said, "Thank you."
"It's nothing." Le Yun still smiled brightly and apologized to Shen Yi, "It was clearly my fault for coming up to you before I had a chance to explain, which bothered you. By the way, are you feeling any better?"
Shen Yi wanted to say something, but then realized a beat too late: "Did you bring me here because you saw I was in a bad mood?"
Wasn't it supposed to be her accompanying Le Yun?
Seeing through Shen Yi's words, Le Yun frankly admitted, "I was chatting with Xu Qingzhe, and he mentioned that you like dogs, so I took the liberty of doing it myself. Oh, by the way, he's here too."
Le Yun raised her head and looked behind Shen Yi.
Shen Yi followed his gaze and saw Xu Qingzhe standing at the doorway, bending down to put on shoe covers before walking inside.
Le Yun wore a "finally got him" expression, stood up as if she had accomplished her mission, and said, "Judging from your expression, you two had a fight with your boyfriend. You two should talk it out. I'm leaving now! See you next time!"
The kind-hearted Le Yun passed by Xu Qingzhe, patted him on the shoulder, considered himself to have done a good deed for the day, and left happily.
Shen Yi: "..."
Although it's unclear how Le Yun figured it out, he was right in a way, but... he guessed the wrong person!
Xu Qingzhe isn't her boyfriend! She didn't even have a fight with him! Why did she call him over at a time like this?!
Seeing Xu Qingzhe sit down beside him, Shen Yi turned to look at him with a complicated expression: "Why are you here?"
Even if Le Yun misunderstood, doesn't Xu Qingzhe himself know whether he is her boyfriend or whether they have argued?
Xu Qingzhe also looked at her with a similarly ambiguous expression, stiffly repeating what had just happened: "Le Yun called me and said he met you, and that you had cried."
Shen Yi: "..."
It turns out that Le Yun didn't explain things clearly to either side, leading to this unexpected situation.
certainly.
Xu Qingzhe did not finish his sentence.
Le Yun added, "He looks like he's just heartbroken, so pitiful."
Shen Yi patted her forehead helplessly, unsure whether to comfort herself or Xu Qingzhe. She opened her arms to let Xu Qingzhe pet the little golden retriever in her arms: "Never mind, he meant well. We're already here, might as well pet it."
Xu Qingzhe, however, was not distracted by her words. Instead, he carefully examined her face and finally determined, "So, why are you crying?"
"Eh..."
Seemingly not expecting Xu Qingzhe to ask this question, Shen Yi looked up in confusion. The noise between them woke up the little golden retriever who was still sleeping. The puppy opened its eyes groggily and looked up at Xu Qingzhe, this "uninvited guest," in almost the same posture, and let out a "woof" at him.
The clear gazes of both the person and the dog made Xu Qingzhe unconsciously want to look away, but his hand honestly patted the little golden retriever's head gently.
Then.
Seeing that Shen Yi was unwilling to speak, he didn't press further, but simply said, "Let me treat you to lunch."
Shen Yi immediately agreed: "Okay! Let's go to the same place as last time! Ah... no, this time it's my treat."
＊
Shen Yi still had bubble tea in her left hand and a sausage in her right, and kept stuffing it into her mouth without saying a word.
Actually, she wasn't that hungry, but a sentence inexplicably came to mind—
The best way to relieve pain is to have a big meal!
I don't know who said it, or maybe no one ever said it at all. Anyway, I kept chewing food, which kept me occupied and allowed me to clear my mind and stop thinking about those unhappy things.
Just this once.
After eating only a few pieces, Shen Yi found it increasingly difficult to swallow.
All right.
After her hunger was satisfied by those two desserts, she lost her appetite for food.
Seeing the fleeting look of disappointment on Shen Yi's face, her eyes, which were clear when she was with the puppies, were now covered with a layer of sadness.
Xu Qingzhe finally couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Did Wen Que make you angry?"
No wonder Le Yun was able to so easily determine that her tears were because of "heartbreak". In fact, this was not the first time Xu Qingzhe had seen her cry. The last time was also at No. 9 Middle School, when she cried so hard that she couldn't catch her breath because she was worried about him.
But this time is different.
She didn't shed any tears; her eyes were only slightly red. Rather than being sad, she seemed more like a listless and haggard person.
She was right in front of him, eating lunch at the same table, showing no obvious emotional fluctuations, yet she seemed lost in thought, appearing so fragile, so fragile that one... wanted to stand in front of her without asking why, to shield her from all the unknown storms.
A hint of surprise appeared on Shen Yi's face, making Xu Qingzhe realize that he and Le Yun had indeed guessed correctly.
Shen Yi had no intention of deceiving Xu Qingzhe. Under these circumstances, she slowly said, "No, we just weren't a good match, so we broke up."
After saying that.
Seeing Xu Qingzhe's conflicted expression, Shen Yi felt regretful. He knew that Xu Qingzhe wasn't the kind of person who was good at comforting people. Suddenly throwing such a big problem as "I broke up" at him, he probably didn't know how to respond.
So, Chen Yi changed the subject, saying, "I want to go back..."
"Don't cry for him, he doesn't deserve you."
At the same time, Xu Qingzhe's voice rang out dryly, not like words of comfort to Shen Yi, but rather a judgment after careful consideration.
These words filled Shen Yi's eyes with confusion. His long eyelashes trembled slightly as he smiled, then he said with a smile, "Thank you."
This was the first time someone had told her this.
It turns out she was even more "outstanding" than Wen Que.
Before Xu Qingzhe could say anything more, she stood up first and said, "I can only tell you that I am sad because of him, but not entirely because of him. At least today, at least now, with you and Le Yun by my side, I feel much better. Although there are still some things I don't understand, I've decided not to think about them anymore. I won't be as childish as before, always getting stuck in a rut and making things difficult for myself."
If you can't get an answer, just let it go.
This time, she wasn't held back by so-called setbacks; instead, she was truly moving forward.
＊
Compared to the endless entanglement and pain, Shen Yi was more decisive than she had imagined after making the decision to separate.
She even thought with a touch of self-mockery that perhaps she didn't like Wen Que as much as she thought, or perhaps it was because so much had happened recently. The thought that if she stopped liking Wen Que, she could stay away from all that mess made her feel a little relieved.
So when Song Yang called Shen Yi to say he was at the Shen family's door, she was surprised: "Why are you here at this hour?"
Song Yang's lazy voice came from the other end of the phone: "Meng Zihan sent me a message saying you're in a bad mood and asked me to come over and comfort you."
In the evening, Jiang Yue couldn't help but ask her about her relationship with Wen Que. Naturally, they couldn't hide it from Meng Zihan, so they chatted about it directly in the group chat.
Unexpectedly, after seeing this, Meng Zihan actually went to ask Song Yang for help.
That makes sense, since the Meng family has never liked Meng Zihan getting too close to her, and the Meng family has an early curfew, so it's even less likely that they would come looking for her so late at night.
So Shen Yi got up in her slippers and tiptoed to open the door for Song Yang.
Her head peeked out from behind the iron gate: "I'm really fine, you can go back now."
Song Yang grabbed Shen Yi's wrist and pulled her out of the courtyard, his attitude firm: "You're lying to me."
Although he wasn't particularly clever, he knew that Meng Zihan wouldn't have come to ask him for help so late unless something really serious had happened.
Shen Yi frowned slightly, looking at her wrist, which was aching from being gripped too tightly by Song Yang.
Song Yang realized this as well, and immediately let go of her hand. Seeing the red marks on Shen Yi's wrist, he quickly apologized, "I'm sorry."
"fine."
Shen Yi rubbed her wrist and explained helplessly, "I'm not in a good mood, but I'll be fine after I take care of myself."
"Treatment?"
Song Yang sneered, making no attempt to hide his mockery: "How are you going to treat him? Like when you were ten years old, burying your face in his pillow because you were angry with Shen Yu, trying to suffocate yourself and make him a murderer?"
"Song Yang!"
Shen Yi was genuinely angry. Who comforts someone and then suddenly brings up their embarrassing past? That's going too far!
"Just kidding."
Looking at Shen Yi's thin pajamas, Song Yang took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders, then put his hands on her shoulders and said, "If you're feeling down, come out for a walk with me. Staying alone will make you sick. Come on, come on, the car's at the intersection, I've got everything arranged!"
Just as Shen Yi was hesitating about whether to go out so late, Song Yang grabbed her wrist and led her outside: "Don't hesitate! You'll know once you come with me!"
The vehicle drove towards the suburbs, and there were fewer and fewer cars on the road. Fortunately, the entire capital was brightly lit, so it didn't feel deserted.
Shen Yi held a cup of milk tea, which Song Yang had bought for her on the way here. She took a sip, but then put it back into Song Yang's hand.
Song Yang looked at her, puzzled: "Isn't this your favorite bubble tea shop?"
Therefore, he deliberately took a long detour to buy it.
Shen Yi refused, saying, "Don't buy bubble tea at night, the tapioca pearls will get soggy from soaking."
Is that so?
Song Yang also took a sip, chewing the pearls as he commented, "I don't think there's any difference."
Or perhaps, in his eyes, milk tea is no different from anything else.
Shen Yi glanced at him with a complicated expression and said, "...I've already used this straw."
"……ah!"
Song Yang had clearly not noticed this either. When Shen Yi brought it up, he was so embarrassed that he almost dropped his milk tea. His face instantly turned red to the roots of his ears. After a moment of hesitation, he looked at Shen Yi and asked, "What should we do?"
what to do?
He has already drunk it.
Shen Yi said expressionlessly, "Get out of the car, go buy a bar of soap, eat and drink some water, that should help you vomit."
Song Yang hesitated: "Does it really have to be this way?"
He doesn't want to induce vomiting; that would be too uncomfortable!
Shen Yi simply rolled her eyes at him: "What else can we do?"
Soon, the car stopped on the side of the road.
With a look of utter despair, Song Yang told the driver to pull the car over to the side of the road and said, "I'll be right back."
Shen Yi looked at him warily: "What do you want to do?"
Song Yang replied, "Buy soap."
Shen Yi: "..."
Speechless, she stopped Song Yang, who was really trying to get out of the car, and said, "What can we do? We've already drunk it. Just be careful next time. Who told you to actually induce vomiting?"
Upon hearing that vomiting didn't need to be induced, Song Yang seemed to be granted a pardon and immediately revived. He moved closer to Chen Yi and said, "That's great! But speaking of which... we'll be there soon!"
The vehicle continued along the winding mountain road until it finally stopped near a viewpoint.
Song Yang jumped out of the car first, greeted the people in the tent not far away, and then turned back to wave to Shen Yi: "Come here, the best spot is reserved for us."
There were a few tents scattered around, and some students who looked a little older than them were gathered together, eating barbecue and chatting. Looking back at the road that had come up the mountain, they could see that some people were climbing the mountain at night.
Shen Yi followed Song Yang to a tent in the widest part of the field of vision. She watched as Song Yang quickly set up two folding chairs and put them together, then asked her to lie down.
Sinking in, one naturally follows suit.
Lying in the chair, I looked up and saw a beautiful starry sky.
Unlike the sky I see at home, the starry sky here looks like a deep purple curtain to the naked eye, dotted with countless stars, like the legendary Milky Way.
Song Yang lay down beside her, his voice languid: "These days are perfect for stargazing, and there are better viewpoints, but they're all too far away, so I could only bring you here for now."
"very beautiful."
As Shen Yi said this, she turned to look at Song Yang and finally showed her first smile since they met today: "I think it's very beautiful, I like it very much."
I don't know why.
Song Yang felt that her eyes were brighter than starlight at that moment, and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly: "If you like, you can invite Meng Zihan and the others in a while. It's more suitable to go camping in a more distant place with more people."
"OK."
Shen Yi readily agreed, thinking that if Jiang Yue could also see such a comfortable environment and beautiful starry sky, perhaps it would ease her mood.
A gentle breeze blew by, making one feel comfortable, yet with a hint of chill.
Shen Yi squinted at the starry sky, feeling much more relaxed. Unconsciously, she wrapped the coat that originally belonged to Song Yang tighter around herself. It was because of this that she suddenly remembered something, turned her head, and successfully saw Song Yang, who was shivering from the cold.
The temperature difference between day and night was quite large, especially since they were still in the mountains, and he was still wearing her coat.
Shen Yi immediately realized his oversight and stood up, saying, "It's getting late, let's go back."
She wasn't worried about continuing to watch, but she was afraid that Song Yang wouldn't be able to come to school tomorrow.
"...No, it's okay! I'm not cold!"
Even though he was so cold he was stuttering, Song Yang remained as stubborn as ever.
Shen Yi reached out and took his hand.
Song Yang froze, looking up at her in disbelief.
They've been childhood sweethearts for so many years and have had plenty of physical contact, but this is the first time she's taken the initiative like this...
Shen Yi touched Song Yang's hand again, suppressing the urge to scream and run away because it was too cold, and made a judgment: "You look like you're frozen stiff, don't try to be brave."
Song Yang shakily took out his phone and called the driver: "You can come pick us up now."
After hanging up the phone, Song Yang looked helplessly at Shen Yi: "He went halfway up the mountain to buy us hot drinks and told us to wait for ten minutes."
Shen Yi glanced at the tent not far away and said, "Then let's go inside and wait."
Song Yang nodded, immediately got up, opened the tent, and crawled inside.
The tent not only kept out the mountain winds, but was also much warmer than the outside temperature.
Once inside the warm place, Song Yang couldn't help but sneeze several times and shiver even more violently.
Shen Yi looked at the bedding on the bed in the tent, took it all and wrapped it around Song Yang, complaining, "Didn't you say you were cold?"
If she hadn't noticed, was he planning to freeze to death tonight so he could pin the blame on her?
Song Yang's mouth was as hard as stone: "It's alright, I guess."
"oh?"
Shen Yi unzipped the tent and said, "Then let's go outside."
Since he had already lost face, it was more important to stay in a warmer place. Song Yang shook his head vigorously to show his refusal, wrapped himself up even tighter, and then said somewhat uncertainly, "...I feel like I can't feel my hands anymore."
"It's better if it freezes off completely."
Despite saying this, Shen Yi still looked at him with concern: "Hold out your hand so I can see it."
Song Yang obediently extended one hand.
Shen Yi reached out and touched it. Actually, she couldn't make a clearer judgment. She just felt that Song Yang's hand was indeed very cold. To the naked eye, his whole hand was red and looked a little swollen from the cold.
After hesitating for a moment, Shen Yi wrapped Song Yang's hands in her own, bent down, and gently breathed on them.
Song Yang withdrew his hand as if he had been electrocuted, feeling as if his tongue was about to fall off, and stammered again, "W-what are you doing?"
Shen Yi looked at him irritably: "Don't you know that the damage from frostbite to your hands is irreversible? Your fingers will become thicker over time?"
Song Yang, of course, knew nothing about this.
But under Shen Yi's worried gaze, he still reached out his hand once again.
The girl's hands were different from his; they were slender, soft, and warm.
She wrapped one of his hands in her own, breathing on it and rubbing it to try and warm it up.
Shen Yi repeated these movements very carefully until her hands also became a little cold, then asked Song Yang, "Are you feeling better?"
Song Yang was lost in thought for some reason. When she asked him, he seemed startled and said, "Ah... much better."
Shen Yi was still worried, so she watched him move his fingers again to make sure there was nothing wrong before asking, "What about your other hand?"
Song Yang extended his other hand.
When he saw Shen Yi cover his palms with her hands, she involuntarily gasped because of the cold, but she didn't let go. She just repeated the previous action, trying her best to warm him with her body heat and her breath.
Song Yang was somewhat annoyed.
He began to regret that he shouldn't have lied about not feeling his hand to tease her on a whim, which had actually made her so worried.
If he told the truth now, he would inevitably be beaten up, so after hesitating, Song Yang chose to keep quiet.
after all……
It feels really nice to be cared for by her so much.
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