“Let’s play Truth or Dare!”
The girls nearby cheered loudly, their eyes bright with excitement as they looked at Ye Ruoxi.
“Yes, let’s play!”
With so many friends around and her best friend right by her side, how could she not be happy?
Ye Ruoxi readily agreed without hesitation.
“Come on, come on! Let’s see who draws it, who will be the lucky one?”
Everyone immersed themselves in the game, picking up the cards on the table and chanting silently in their hearts.
“Oh yeah!”
Cries of relief rang out; it seemed none of them were the unlucky one.
“Uh.”
Xu Xintong felt a bit speechless. Her luck really was terrible this time.
“Show your card, hahaha.”
Seeing Xu Xintong’s expression shift slightly, the girls nearby knew she must have drawn the king card.
“I am…”
Xu Xintong sighed in resignation. What must come will come.
Hahahahahahaha.
Everyone burst into laughter; it was just too funny that Xu Xintong had drawn it.
“Then I’ll ask!”
Xu Xintong had drawn the big king, and Ye Ruoxi had drawn the small king.
She got to ask!
Actually, Ye Ruoxi had always been very curious about Xu Xintong, wanting to understand what kind of person she really was.
Xu Xintong always gave her a feeling of being both transparent and completely unfathomable.
“Truth or dare?”
With a teasing and playful tone, Ye Ruoxi couldn’t hide her thoughts.
“Truth, I guess.”
As for a dare, that was still way too risky.
Right into Ye Ruoxi’s hands.
Youthful minds at this age were always prone to gossip, loving to probe into matters of the heart.
“So, do you currently have someone you like?”
A single question startled Xu Xintong.
Caught off guard by hitting her closely guarded secret, her fingers nervously twisted the hem of her clothes.
Unwilling to let her awkwardness be seen through, Xu Xintong put on a calm front.
“Right now, no.”
Catching the subtext in those words, Ye Ruoxi quickly followed up.
“You mean you used to have someone?”
Everyone turned their heads, fixing their gazes directly on Xu Xintong.
Oh, right.
“Who is it? Who?”
They would never miss a chance for gossip, eager to unearth everything in one go.
Only…
Nong Wanshi nearby saw her gaze darken imperceptibly.
She used to have someone she liked.
For this person who had suddenly barged into her life, Nong Wanshi had never truly understood her completely, because her mind had always been focused solely on achieving her goals.
So what if she had someone she liked? It had nothing to do with her anyway.
“Oh come on, no one, one question is already finished.”
Xu Xintong just wanted to muddle through. Why didn’t she think before speaking!
“Alright, alright, next round.”
Chen Linming stepped out to smooth things over, though she had no idea Xu Xintong actually had someone she liked in the past.
Normally, she would have already threatened Xu Xintong into spilling the beans right away.
But today was Ye Ruoxi’s birthday; she couldn’t ruin the atmosphere.
“Phew.”
“Thank goodness for Ah Ming!”
“I can’t imagine what time they would keep asking without her.”
Nong Wanshi watched Xu Xintong, whose lips remained still.
She had overheard things that she couldn’t figure out where the other person had learned them from.
Yet she was already used to it; strange occurrences hadn’t been rare lately.
It seemed that ever since meeting Xu Xintong, the trajectory of Nong Wanshi’s life had changed.
She always managed to hear things others couldn’t, see things she had never witnessed before, yet felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
She didn’t understand why these things happened, but that warm sense of familiarity was something no one else had ever brought her.
She had a lingering feeling that she and Xu Xintong had known each other for a very, very long time.
“Go on! Go for it!”
For some reason, the guys nearby suddenly started jeering and making a commotion.
They shoved a tall, thin boy who looked rather shy.
Pushed forward, he walked over with his head down and stopped right beside Ye Ruoxi.
He handed over a box, neither too big nor too small, decorated very cutely as if a lot of heart had gone into it.
Bending down, his voice trembled.
“Ye Ruoxi, this is a gift for you. Please accept it.”
The boy’s face looked flushed to the roots, his hands shaking uncontrollably.
“Huh? Oh, alright, thank you.”
Ye Ruoxi was quite surprised. They had just been playing a game when this boy suddenly appeared.
“Don’t chicken out! Go! Hurry up!”
The guys nearby couldn’t stand watching anymore and started egging him on.
The others weren’t quite sure what was happening either, but they could tell something was up.
“Um.”
“Ye Ruoxi! I like you!”
The boy fled in a panic, leaving the onlookers completely stunned.
“Well well well! Hahaha!”
“This kid is still too cowardly!”
The boy scuttled back into the group of guys, keeping his head down wishing he could disappear.
What kind of mess was this?
Recovering her senses, Xu Xintong could feel the aura around a certain someone nearby becoming unstable.
“Ahahaha, just joking, everyone keep playing, keep going, keep going.”
The boys over there also realized they had carried the joke too far and the mood was getting a bit awkward.
They quickly tried to smooth it over, otherwise they might get kicked out.
The boy who had been pushed out didn’t dare play anymore after that.
“Ruoxi, I’m heading back first.”
Nong Wanshi spoke up at this point; she felt like going out for some fresh air.
“Xu Xintong, why don’t you head back with Nong Wanshi? I’m a bit worried about her going alone.”
As soon as Ye Ruoxi finished speaking, Chen Linming chimed in, and Xu Xintong saw right through her little scheme.
“This girl wants to spend more time alone with Ye Ruoxi. Is she really that jealous?”
Her unusual behavior was so obvious that Xu Xintong couldn’t even be bothered to point it out.
Nong Wanshi turned her head, looking with utter shock first at Xu Xintong, then at Chen Linming.
Xu Xintong found herself looked at inexplicably, while Chen Linming kept her eyes fixed on Ye Ruoxi, occasionally glaring fiercely at the boy who had just confessed, completely oblivious to Nong Wanshi’s deeply meaningful look.
She had almost been ready to leave, but Nong Wanshi was practically talked back into staying by what Xu Xintong had thought to herself.
What?
Chen Linming and Ye Ruoxi?
The two of them?
Nong Wanshi felt like she had just stumbled upon a secret.
Xu Xintong didn’t understand the strange look Nong Wanshi had just given her.
Seeing that Nong Wanshi was about to leave again, she quickly hurried to follow.
Walking one behind the other, neither of them spoke.
The silent stalemate was exasperatingly agonizing.
The streetlights cast down, stretching their shadows indefinitely.
No matter the distance, as their shadows gradually converged, it felt as though they were leaning against each other, silently keeping company.
Watching the shadows of the two of them walking closer and closer on the ground, Xu Xintong wished she could stay by Nong Wanshi’s side like a shadow forever.
The person she had loved for so long, how could she let go so easily?
Yet what could she do even if she didn’t let go?
She just wanted to hold the other person’s hand one more time.
Xu Xintong reached out her hand, not daring to grab the hand hanging right within reach.
She only dared to secretly hold Nong Wanshi’s shadow under the moonlight and streetlights.
“Xu Xintong, your father has already recovered. There are only some final routine checkups left.”
“Our agreement is over.”
Her voice was very soft, like a feather landing on the water’s surface, hardly stirring the slightest ripple.
“Really?”
As expected.
Her breathing was slow and light, as if any slight exertion might cause some emotion to overflow from her chest.
Xu Xintong paused for a moment, her throat rolling slightly as if swallowing something, before she spoke again, her voice still steady, yet a few shades lower than usual.
“Thank you.”
She raised her gaze, looking toward Nong Wanshi, yet her focus fell on some empty point in the distance.
The corners of her lips still wore that trace of a smile, so faint it was almost invisible, as if this could prove that she really wasn’t sad at all.
Her father’s illness was cured, so she ought to feel very happy about that.
Yet why was it?
Why did she feel so sad?
Nong Wanshi probably had no expression on her face right now; she hadn’t even turned her head back.
Xu Xintong found it ridiculous. She really was…
Nong Wanshi had never taken their agreement seriously, and she had always foolishly thought she was special.
“Can you tell me why?”
“Hm?”
Nong Wanshi looked perplexed. Hadn’t it already been said?
“Why haven’t you come to school for nine days straight?”
Nong Wanshi turned her head, surprise flashing across her face for a split second.
Xu Xintong didn’t miss it; it seemed she really hadn’t been coming to school at all.
“That has nothing to do with you.”
A completely devoid-of-emotion sentence, sounding like a cold rejection.
Nong Wanshi never accepted anyone’s concern, so what qualification did she have to care about her affairs anyway?
“Mm.”
With a muffled sound, Xu Xintong composed her emotions.
“From now on, we won’t have any more intersections. Let’s pretend we don’t know each other at school.”
Hearing these words, Xu Xintong snapped entirely back to reality.
It turned out she wasn’t the only one who needed to keep her distance.
She really detested her that much.
“Mm, I know.”
“I’m heading back first. We’re not going the same way.”
Leaving those two sentences behind.
Xu Xintong suppressed her emotions, walking briskly in the opposite direction. She refused to look back.
She convinced herself she was putting on a good act.
However, her pheromones betrayed her.
Her pheromones turned bitter, smelling so harsh it made Nong Wanshi want to cough.
It was an unmistakable reflection of Xu Xintong’s mood at that moment.
“Sorry.”
As night descended, only a single word remained, so soft it was blown away by the wind.
“It seems the young miss’s symptoms won’t recur anymore, barring special circumstances.”
“Only…”
“Uncle Bai, thank you. My condition has improved a lot.”
Nong Wanshi roughly knew her own physical state, but hearing Uncle Bai’s words finally made the stone in her chest settle.
“Miss, it’s just that anyone capable of soothing your symptoms this quickly must have a pheromone match rate exceeding ninety percent. Your condition is unpredictable, so for your future safety, you ought to keep her…”
“Uncle Bai, I won’t see you out.”
Interrupting the middle-aged man’s words, how could Nong Wanshi not understand what he was implying?
“What about your father’s side then?”
“Please report the truth.”
“She is merely a temporary suppressant. I will complete my father’s mission.”
With that, Nong Wanshi had no intention of lingering further, turning around and heading up to the second floor.
Sigh, this child has always been like this, always prioritizing her father and the family above all else, never once caring about herself.
Uncle Bai had followed the Nong family for so many years; back when she was little, Nong Wanshi had been innocent and carefree, and her parents had adored her.
But as she grew up, everything changed. Poisoned by the corrosion of power and seduced by money, Nong Yufeng was no longer benevolent, turning ruthless and utterly cold.
Because what he possessed was the Nong Group, and at the summit of power, perfection belongs to no one.
The might and desires of power, if you cannot control them, you are consumed by your own destruction.
Uncle Bai accordingly reported the day’s examination results to Mr. Nong.
“Mm, Bai Ni, you’ve worked hard.”
A heavy voice dropped, carrying a trace of subtle exhaustion beneath its composure.
“This is my duty.”
Bai Ni looked at the stern-faced man before him, finding it hard to connect him with the high-spirited youth of years past.
“Yufeng, rest more. Your health is important.”
Bai Ni knew words were futile, but he couldn’t help worrying.
With a soft click, the door closed, and the visitor departed.
Nong Yufeng seemed to shed all his armor, propping his heavy head up with both hands. It felt as though it had truly been a very long time since he last allowed himself to rest and relax.