6 p.m.
The afterglow of the setting sun poured down across the sky.
Fang Yan and Jiang Wanrou had been walking around all afternoon with the others.
In truth, Fang Yan had wanted to suggest leaving, but seeing how interested Jiang Wanrou seemed, he kept his mouth shut.
They sat down on a public bench.
Chen Ruru, being petite, could not even touch the ground with her feet. She swung her legs happily, full of excitement. “So happy. We’ve been shopping all day!”
“Wanwan, are you happy?”
“I am.”
Jiang Wanrou answered, but her tone carried no emotion. Her face remained cool and expressionless.
If someone did not know her well, they might think she was not happy at all.
As the only friend Jiang Wanrou had made in three years of high school, Chen Ruru understood her personality very well.
She continued chatting with Jiang Wanrou enthusiastically.
Seeing this, Fang Yan smiled. Chen Ruru was quite interesting. If it were someone else, having such an icy friend, they would probably have long since grown tired of the cold treatment and left.
“Hey, Yan, why are you staring at Jiang Wanrou like that? Still not giving up? Planning to chase her again?” Wang Ziyu suddenly rested his head on Fang Yan’s shoulder.
“…” Fang Yan pushed him away and twisted his cheek with a laugh. “If you didn’t have that Barrett, I definitely wouldn’t have been scared by you.”
“Is that scary?” Wang Ziyu rolled his eyes charmingly and said, “You were just too focused on looking at her.”
“Go play somewhere else.”
Fang Yan pointed at him seriously. “I’m telling you, Xiao Yu, if it weren’t for you and that loser Gao Shijie, would I have been laughed at for so long?”
“Oh come on, Yan, why are you still holding a grudge?”
“You confessed and got rejected. How is that our fault?” Wang Ziyu pouted, biting his finger.
“Still talking?”
“If I felt like scolding people today, you wouldn’t escape either.”
When Fang Yan said that, Wang Ziyu froze and thought about it carefully.
Wait, how would he even scold him?
The two suddenly started fooling around.
Jiang Wanrou and Chen Ruru, who had been chatting, had no idea what was going on.
Chen Ruru, ever the warm-hearted girl, stepped forward to mediate. “Hey, hey, you two, can you pay attention to your image? There are so many people around!”
“Standing with you two makes me want to find a hole to spin into.”
“Stop fighting. Both of you, stop it!”
Fang Yan was clearly covering Wang Ziyu’s mouth, but Wang Ziyu pried his hand off and said pitifully, “Chen Ruru, be reasonable. I was just telling Yan not to dwell on failing to confess to the campus belle. Think positively. We’re all classmates.”
“And he just snapped and started hitting me.”
Chen Ruru shot Fang Yan a disdainful look and pulled his hand away. “Childish.”
“You, who have to tilt your head just to look at me, with that premium elementary school spicy snack voice, what right do you have to call me childish?” Fang Yan clapped his hands and laughed.
According to the law of conservation of energy, being offended does not disappear, it only transfers.
Clearly, Chen Ruru was now the one offended.
Seeing that they were about to start arguing again, Jiang Wanrou stepped in as the mediator and calmed them down.
She realized that Fang Yan and her friends seemed naturally at odds. They would argue again after only a short while.
It made her feel a little awkward. Chen Ruru was her friend. Fang Yan counted as half one.
Time passed quickly.
The sky, dyed red by the setting sun, was soon replaced by the night.
Jiang Wanrou glanced at the watch on her wrist.
It was already close to 7 p.m.
Her phone had received several messages from her mother, all urging her to go home.
The last one read: [Be home by 8 at the latest. If I don’t see you before 8, I will drive over and bring you back myself.]
Jiang Wanrou read the message expressionlessly. Today had been enjoyable, perhaps the happiest day she had had since starting middle school.
Going back. Back to that house.
That house.
She could not smile, and she could not cry.
All she could manage was a blank expression.
…
“My stomach’s so hungry. Why don’t we grab something to eat?” Fang Yan rubbed his abdomen and said, “How about we head back after dinner?”
“Sure.” Chen Ruru nodded, then asked Jiang Wanrou, “Wanwan, what about you?”
“I’m fine.”
She looked at her watch. There was still one hour left. As long as she left about fifteen minutes for the trip home, it would be enough.
Fang Yan glanced at her watch. If he was not mistaken, it was a women’s Rolex.
Even if it was not one of the top-tier models, it would still cost at least 500,000 to 600,000.
Impressive.
Under Fang Yan’s lead, they went to the snack street across from MixC Mall.
The food there was affordable and extremely effective at sending you running to the restroom.
A paradise for those with constipation.
After buying several skewers and some local snacks, Fang Yan had spent all the money his mom had given him.
He only had a 100 yuan budget, and he had used it all.
He had promised to treat the campus belle.
At noon, Jiang Wanrou had paid for the meal. He had not dared to say anything, because that meal had already gone over his budget.
They found a four-seat table and sat down. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Jiang Wanrou took a seat first. Fang Yan and Wang Ziyu were still at the counter waiting to pick up the skewers.
When Fang Yan returned with the skewers, he noticed Chen Ruru was not there.
Jiang Wanrou explained that she had gone to the restroom.
“Lazy people always need the bathroom more. I asked her to grab a soda and she refused,” Fang Yan muttered.
Wang Ziyu immediately sat diagonally opposite Jiang Wanrou, leaving Fang Yan with only two choices.
He could either sit directly across from her or beside her.
Fang Yan asked gently, “Jiang Wanrou, can I sit here?”
He pointed to the seat next to her.
Jiang Wanrou did not speak. She simply gave a slight nod, her breathtaking face calm and distant.
Fang Yan smiled and sat down beside her.
When Chen Ruru returned, she pointed angrily at Fang Yan. “Hey, you took my seat!”
“Does it have your name written on it?”
“I don’t care. I always sit there!”
“Well, I don’t care either. I’m sitting here.”
“Move!”
“No.”
Fang Yan acted shameless again, and Chen Ruru could do nothing about it.
So she pretended to be aggrieved and said to Jiang Wanrou, “Wanwan, look at him. He won’t let me sit with you!”
“Then sit across from me,” Jiang Wanrou said softly. “I agreed to let him sit here.”
The moment those words came out, Chen Ruru’s eyes widened.
She obediently sat directly opposite Jiang Wanrou.
The more she thought about it, the more something felt wrong.
No, that’s not right.
Wanwan was supposed to dislike boys.
How could she, within a single day, not reject sitting with Fang Yan?
She even let him sit beside her.
The more she thought about it, the more upset she became, to the point that she lost her appetite.
At the thought that one day Jiang Wanrou might actually end up with Fang Yan, she felt uncomfortable.
Why him?!
She looked at Fang Yan, who was eating as if he had never had food before, wolfing everything down without the slightest regard for his image.
A boy like that was not even to her taste. How could Wanwan possibly like him?
With that thought, she felt better.
Her appetite returned as well.
Without hesitation, she snatched two skewers from Fang Yan’s bowl.