Momo really was the lively, outgoing type, chattering away, her laughter especially uninhibited whenever she spoke. She was the kind of beautiful that made it impossible to look away.
After casually ordering a few dishes, they quietly waited, with lively yet not quite irritating noise filling their ears.
College students were always like this. They seemed to have an endless supply of energy and never ran out of things to say.
Momo, on the other hand, quieted down. She placed her hands one over the other on the table, rested her chin on her arm, and stared unblinkingly at Shi Nianhuan.
Her mouth was blocked by her arm and could not be seen, but from the arc of her crescent-shaped eyes, it was faintly apparent that she was smiling.
Shi Nianhuan felt somewhat embarrassed under her gaze. She curved her lips into a smile and slowly said, “You called me out today because you have something to discuss, right?”
Momo sat up straight with a swish, her expression becoming animated again. “Yes, yes, yes! I mainly wanted to hear you tell me a story?”
“Tell you a story?”
Momo smiled faintly as she picked up the water jug on the table and poured a glass of water for Shi Nianhuan. The corners of her lips lifted slightly, and the way she lowered her eyes was unbelievably beautiful.
“I want to hear you talk about Lin Xiangyang, and about you and your brother.”
Shi Nianhuan blinked, the rosy color on her little face making her look like an apple.
“I... do not know what to say.” Only after a long while did Shi Nianhuan speak awkwardly.
She truly did not know what to say. They had grown up together, and there were so many matters between them, all jumbled together, that she really had no idea where to begin.
Actually, Shi Nianhuan selfishly did not want to tell Momo. Those memories were things she and Lin Xiangyang had experienced together. No matter how innocent they had once been, they were still a secret belonging to the two of them.
She certainly did not want to selflessly share those beautiful memories with her love rival.
Momo pouted, seeming somewhat disappointed, yet she possessed a natural magic that made the expression on her face change in an instant. In the next moment, she raised an eyebrow and returned to her usual excited appearance.
“How about this? Whatever I ask you, you answer.”
Shi Nianhuan stared blankly at Momo, feeling dazed. Why did she suddenly feel as if she had fallen into a trap?
“Please?” Momo’s lips curved upward as she took Shi Nianhuan’s hand, seemingly acting spoiled.
Shi Nianhuan nodded involuntarily. “All right.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she wished she could bite off her own tongue.
“Is Jiang Chenyu your biological brother? Why is your surname Shi while his is Jiang?”
After asking this question, Momo looked at her with a face full of anticipation.
Shi Nianhuan froze for a moment. Was she not supposed to ask questions related to Lin Xiangyang?
Though she was puzzled, Shi Nianhuan was not so slow as to react impolitely.
She organized her thoughts, then parted her lips and slowly said, “no. We are not related by blood.”
It was too private a question, and she was not in a position to answer it in detail. She stopped there; a clever person would not continue asking.
Clearly, Momo was much cleverer than she was.
The corners of her lips curved, and she immediately moved on to another question.
By the time the meal was over, Shi Nianhuan had drunk a great deal of water. The amount she had said in the past three days combined did not equal what she had said during that one hour.
Momo asked about everything and was curious about everything. Since Shi Nianhuan had promised her, she told her everything she could.
After the meal, Momo linked arms with her like a friend of more than a decade.
The moment they walked out, Shi Nianhuan suddenly realized that Momo had completely dug up all her secrets. Meanwhile, apart from knowing the name of the girl in front of her, she knew nothing else about her.
As the saying went, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.
It seemed that in this war, she had already fallen behind from the very beginning.
The consequence of spending more than a decade with the Jiang family was that her originally sharp temperament had been worn down, leaving her gentle and quiet. However, she was sometimes too slow to catch on.
For example, when Momo had asked her questions, why had she never considered why so few of them concerned Lin Xiangyang, while so many concerned Jiang Chenyu?
She parted ways with Momo at the dormitory entrance and asked Momo where she lived.
Momo merely gave her a mysterious smile and casually said, “I’ll tell you next time,” before leaving.
She truly waved goodbye without leaving even a single cloud behind.
Shi Nianhuan returned to the dormitory with a defeated look and wanted to sleep on the bed, but Bi Tiantian grabbed her and refused to let her go up.
“Nianhuan, Nianhuan, my Xiao Huanhuan, Xia Bing just said that her boyfriend is treating us to dinner tonight. I have nothing to wear. Come shopping with me.”
Bi Tiantian shook her arm and looked at her with a face full of anticipation.
Xia Bing was their roommate. A dormitory had four beds, but there were only three people in theirs.
Shi Nianhuan did not really want to go, so she tactfully refused, “But I’m so tired. I want to go upstairs and sleep. Besides, her boyfriend is treating us to dinner. Why do you need to dress up so nicely?”
Bi Tiantian wore a lecherous smile. She leaned close to Shi Nianhuan’s ear and whispered, “You do not know this, but several people from her boyfriend’s dormitory are coming too. What if there’s a handsome guy? I have to be prepared at all times.”
Shi Nianhuan was amused by how serious Bi Tiantian looked. Her heart softened, and she could not withstand Bi Tiantian’s pestering. Before long, she agreed.
No wonder people said college students were busy. They clearly had nothing important to do, yet one person invited them to eat, then another invited them to eat, and later, to return the favor, they had to invite them back.
Shi Nianhuan did not particularly like eating with unfamiliar friends, but she was afraid people would call her aloof, so she could only patiently sit quietly to one side.
The skirt Bi Tiantian had spent the entire afternoon buying was expensive. It fit perfectly and accentuated her curvaceous figure. With light makeup on, her little face was rosy, her eyelashes curled, and her skin was smooth and delicate.
Unfortunately, Bi Tiantian was probably going to be disappointed. Of the four men at the dining table, aside from Xia Bing’s boyfriend, whose looks were decent enough, the other three were truly ordinary.
Seeing Bi Tiantian sitting to one side with her head bowed in dejection, Shi Nianhuan could not help wanting to laugh.
Xia Bing was very beautiful, and she could be considered one of the best-looking girls in their department. Shi Nianhuan had not even remembered her boyfriend’s name incorrectly, yet she had vaguely heard Bi Tiantian mention that he seemed to be the campus heartthrob of the neighboring department.
Taking advantage of the dim light at the food stall, Shi Nianhuan studied Xia Bing’s boyfriend with interest.
He really could only be considered ordinary. Compared with Jiang Chenyu, he was far inferior.
For some inexplicable reason, Jiang Chenyu came to mind, and Shi Nianhuan realized that she really wanted to slap herself.
What she never could have imagined was that something that happened next would bring about a historic change in the relationship between her and Jiang Chenyu, whom she had tried every possible way to stay away from.
Xia Bing and her boyfriend were truly intimate. Even when they came out for a meal, they clung to each other like glue.
Shi Nianhuan’s eyes grew unfocused as she kept forcing herself to ignore the hand of the so-called campus heartthrob resting on Xia Bing’s thigh and moving restlessly.