Pu Yu and Xu Suiran spun around abruptly.
It was Yuan Su.
He had somehow appeared beside the stall, one hand in his pocket, the other holding the so-called “Sony original player.” His expression was cold and distant.
“This thing isn’t even worth twenty.”
The plump shopkeeper’s smile froze, his eyes widening. “Hey, where did this brat come from? Do you even know what you’re talking about? Don’t cause trouble here!”
Ignoring the shopkeeper’s anger, Yuan Su casually ran his slender fingers along the seam of the player’s body, then pointed to a very hidden spot below.
“The shell is from an old Sony, repainted. The headphone jack is crooked, and the internal wiring has clearly been cut and reconnected.”
He lifted his eyelids, his dark eyes devoid of warmth as they fixed on the shopkeeper. “You dare sell this piece of junk for eighty-eight?”
The shopkeeper was thoroughly flustered but still stubbornly insisted, “You—what nonsense are you spouting! This is genuine!”
Yuan Su let out a scoff, the smile not reaching his eyes.
He leisurely pulled a small screwdriver from his pocket.
His fingers twirled it casually, the metal reflecting a cold glint in the sunlight.
“Whether it’s genuine or not.”
The boy tilted his head slightly, a mocking curve lifting the corner of his mouth, his voice carrying a lazy yet oppressive tone.
“Let’s just take it apart and see, shall we?”
The shopkeeper panicked completely, hurriedly snatching the Walkman back, then began cursing loudly. “Are you trying to ruin my business, damn it? Get lost! I’m not selling anymore! Two broke students pretending to be something they’re not!”
This gave her the perfect excuse.
Pu Yu, who had been listening quietly all along, suddenly brightened.
She pretended to frown, her voice clear and crisp as she spoke up. “Ah! No wonder it’s so expensive—it’s a refurbished machine trying to scam us! We wouldn’t dare buy from such a shady shop. Sui Sui, let’s go!”
With that, she didn’t wait for the shopkeeper to react, grabbing Xu Suiran’s hand and turning to run.
“Huh? Wait—”
Xu Suiran, dragged along, looked back reluctantly. “If that one’s fake, let’s go check another shop…”
“No more looking, no more looking!”
After running a distance and confirming the shopkeeper wasn’t chasing them, Pu Yu finally stopped and turned to look at the boy who had been following them at a leisurely pace.
She pressed a hand to her chest, breathing rapidly.
Then, her eyes curved into a sincere smile. “Yuan Su, thank you. I almost got scammed just now.”
Under the sunlight, the girl’s smile was clean and bright, dazzling to the eyes.
Yuan Su’s gaze lingered on her face for half a second before shifting away, his voice flat and unemotional. “…Oh.”
Concise and to the point, not even willing to say an extra word.
Xu Suiran finally snapped out of it.
She looked at Yuan Su, then at Pu Yu, feeling a wave of frustration. “We didn’t get the Walkman, so let’s go back and buy that physics study guide instead? Since we’re already here, we shouldn’t let you come all this way for nothing.”
“It’s too late,” Pu Yu glanced at the sky and said softly. “We need to hurry and catch the bus back to town. Grandma will worry if we’re late, and she might not let me come out with you next time.”
Seeing Xu Suiran’s unhappiness, Pu Yu softened her tone to coax her. “Next time, okay? I promise we’ll get it next time.”
“You always say that!” Xu Suiran huffed. “But then you don’t buy the soda, you don’t buy the physics book, and you don’t want the Walkman either.”
Listening to her friend’s concerned words, Pu Yu felt both warmth and a pang of bitterness in her heart.
“I really don’t need the physics book.” Pu Yu was afraid she would keep insisting, quickly thinking of reasons. In a moment of impulsiveness, she blurted out, “Have you forgotten who my deskmate is? I can just ask him for help with physics problems.”
Xu Suiran was taken aback for a moment before retorting, “But we’ll be reassigned seats at the beginning of the month. What if you two aren’t sitting together anymore?”
This was a tradition at Tingnan High School.
At the start of each month, seats were rearranged based on academic performance.
Pu Yu was stumped.
Seeing Xu Suiran’s determined “I’m going to spend money on you” attitude, she just wanted to move past this quickly, and her words came out without much thought.
“Then I’ll tell the teacher I don’t want to change seats anymore!”
“I want to keep being Yuan Su’s deskmate, forever and ever!”
As her words fell.
The once bustling electronics market seemed to have been muted.
Xu Suiran widened her eyes, her mouth slightly agape.
Yuan Su had clearly heard it too.
She wanted to be with him.
Forever and ever.
As. His. Deskmate.
The boy turned his head slightly, the sunlight casting a clear outline on his face.
In his usually indifferent eyes, a flicker of surprise briefly appeared, and his tightly pressed lips relaxed almost imperceptibly for a moment.
But soon, he concealed all emotion and said calmly:
“What?”
“Trying to take advantage of me now?”
Only then did Pu Yu realize what she had just said.
She suddenly couldn’t bring herself to look into his eyes, nervously averting her gaze.
The noise around her rushed back into her ears.
“The bus… the bus is coming soon!”
“We need to hurry to the station!”
Pu Yu stammered nervously, pulling Xu Suiran’s hand as she spoke.
Xu Suiran didn’t push the bookstore idea any further. She cleared her throat and mustered the courage to ask, “Um, Yuan Su, what are you doing in town?”
“Delivering goods.”
His reply was still brief, carrying a coldness that kept others at a distance.
Xu Suiran glanced between the two of them and tentatively asked:
“Then… do you want to go back to the town together?”
Pu Yu almost instinctively looked up, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her shirt.
Given Yuan Su’s solitary and somewhat aloof personality.
He would definitely refuse this request, right?
After all, she had never seen him walk with anyone at school.
Yuan Su lifted his eyelids, his gaze sweeping over the girl’s nervously fidgeting fingers before landing on her eyes, which looked damp with anxiety.
The words of refusal were on the tip of his tongue.
But suddenly, they took a turn in his mouth.
“What time is the bus?” he asked.
“What time is the bus?” Xu Suiran echoed.
Pu Yu was momentarily stunned before hurriedly replying, “Three-thirty.”
Yuan Su glanced at his slightly worn digital watch.
“Fifteen minutes left.”
He slipped his hands back into his pockets, tilted his chin slightly toward the direction of the station, and said, “Let’s go.”
“Huh?” Pu Yu was a bit slow to catch on.
Yuan Su didn’t look back, his voice carried by the wind, tinged with a hint of casual laziness: “Didn’t you say we were going together? If we don’t leave now, we’ll miss it.”
…