loud conspiracy

loud conspiracy

Shen Muwei ran only a hundred meters from Xiang Zhixing's side. She was tall and her long legs took her only a few steps to get there. When she reached him, she was only slightly out of breath. She seemed to like to laugh, and her dimples were very deep when she laughed.

Xiang Zhixing stared at her blankly, then awkwardly looked away.

Then came a brief silence.

Shen Muwei smiled stiffly. To become friends with someone, you must first show them a smile. This was what Shen Hongtao told her, so she always smiled whenever she was with someone she didn't know well since she was a child.

"Oh, right! I brought this with me!"

As she spoke, Shen Muwei took the red cloth bag out of her pocket, patted it gently, and handed it over: "This is for you."

His gaze drifted down to the red cloth bag in her delicate, slender fingers, and he asked, "What's this?"

"This is a peace charm. I got it from my grandma. It's something I used when I was little, something I got from a master. But I'm a little embarrassed because my grandma burned the original charm, leaving only this cloth bag. I thought that since the bag and the charm have been together for so long, it should have some protective power. Now I'm giving it to you, so you won't be afraid anymore, right...?"

As she spoke, she pushed it forward again.

Xiang Zhixing looked into her eyes, feeling a little dizzy, but his mind was clear.

He reached out and pushed it away: "No need, this must be very important to you, I can't take it."

"It's alright, you can keep it. It's a form of protection no matter what."

Shen Muwei forced it into his hand.

He gently held the cloth bag, unsure whether to accept it: "What if I lose it?"

"Huh? Will you lose it?" Shen Muwei didn't say she was going to give it to him, but her subtext was that she wanted to borrow it for a while. She would ask him for it back after this period of time was over. After all, this thing had been with her for so many years, and she had a lot of feelings for old things.

She was clearly taken aback by Xiang Zhixing's question, and her expression was somewhat surprised, making her look a little silly.

Xiang Zhixing lowered his head slightly, the shadow of his hat brim obscuring the corners of his mouth that he couldn't help but raise. After a while, he raised his head again, his complexion now normal.

"No, of course not."

Shen Muwei laughed: "That's good then. What do you want to tell me today?"

Xiang Zhixing: "Are you afraid of dogs?"

The two spoke at the same time.

Shen Muwei shrugged and said, "I'm not that scared. It's just that I was chased by a dog when I was a child, and the dog just now seemed to be very frightened by those kids. I'm afraid it will bite me."

"You were chased by a dog when you were a child, aren't you afraid?" he said. "That would be a trauma for many people, and I would definitely be terrified if it were me."

Shen Muwei stole a glance at him; from her angle, his thin chin added to his frail appearance.

So it's not surprising that he said he was afraid.

Shen Muwei replied, "I won't let myself be trapped in fear. Running away won't solve the problem. I like to face challenges head-on."

She raised an eyebrow. "It's exciting. I like doing exciting things. It makes me feel like I can control my life."

Xiang Zhixing paused for a moment, but quickly regained his composure, feeling as if something had pinched his chest.

"Then you're very impressive."

Shen Muwei: "No, it's not that great. It's just a habit of mine, and I'm not very good at it. For example, I still subconsciously get scared when I see a dog. Overcoming difficulties is not as easy as I imagined."

Xiang Zhixing nodded and pointed ahead: "Shall we talk as we walk?"

Shen Muwei followed the direction he pointed and walked slowly beside him.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke: "Actually, the reason I asked you to come out today is to ask if you can come with me to my part-time job."

"Part-time job? What kind of part-time job are you doing?"

"I work at a materials company, um... the environment isn't great, it's a bit dark and requires walking a long way... I..."

"I understand, you want me to walk that part of the road with you so you won't be scared, right?" She leaned closer nervously. "Now that I'm here, can you still see that thing?"

"I can't see it anymore."

Shen Muwei nodded thoughtfully: "Then I'm pretty good at it. Don't worry, I'll go with you, as long as it doesn't conflict with my schedule."

"I'll pay you your salary, as a thank you for keeping me company."

Her eyes lit up: "How much is the salary? Will I have enough for a meal?"

Shen Muwei only cared about how much salary she would receive; she needed at least enough for a meal to make sure she wasn't losing out.

"some."

"That's fine, I'm okay."

Xiang Zhixing probably didn't expect Shen Muwei to agree so quickly. He had a whole bunch of persuasive words in his head that he hadn't even said yet, but they were all useless.

We had already reached the entrance to the playground. The convenience store next to it was brightly lit, and the freezer placed at the entrance of the supermarket was also shining, making it very conspicuous.

"Would you like some ice cream? I'll treat you to one," Shen Muwei said.

Xiang Zhixing doesn't like ice cream. He didn't say that he even hates summer and hot autumn like this.

But he nodded nonetheless.

Shen Muwei asked him what flavor he wanted to eat, and he only said to buy the same flavor as you.

She happily ran to the store and bought two Choco-TZ cigarettes, then handed them to Xiang Zhixing.

It just so happens to be the one he hates the most; it's very sweet and cloying, with chocolate making up the majority of the ice cream.

Xiang Zhixing accepted it, opened the package, tasted it, and even finished it, his mouth full of sweet flavor.

Just as Shen Muwei was paying, she received a message from her roommate Zhao Ranzhu, saying that the company where she had worked during the summer vacation had successfully won its labor arbitration. To celebrate with her, she planned to go to the food street later to buy some barbecue skewers before returning to the dormitory, since she didn't have class the next morning anyway.

Electric bikes were densely packed outside the playground. Shen Muwei pointed to her lane and said, "Then I'll head back first?"

"So it's settled then?" Xiang Zhixing asked.

“Yes, you can just contact me by phone.” Shen Muwei wanted to remind him not to lose the small cloth bag she had given him, but after thinking about it, she realized that since she had already given it to him temporarily, it wouldn’t be good to keep bringing it up, so she didn’t say anything.

"Could you give me a ride before you go back? Take me back to my dorm."

"Huh? You didn't come by bike?" Shen Muwei asked.

After all, the campus where the two of them live is not here, and it would take quite a long time to walk there.

He nodded and said, "I came in my classmate's car."

“Okay, no problem, my electric scooter is fully charged.”

She was very generous; she quickly walked to her car, unlocked it, and pushed it out.

Her vehicle was a small, new national standard electric car, khaki in color, with a rather small back seat. She glanced at her own back seat and then at Xiang Zhixing: "How tall are you? Can you fit in? Won't it be a bit cramped?"

Xiang Zhixing sat down and put his feet on the footrest. He said calmly, "189, not stifling."

"Okay, I'm starting now. Make sure you hold on tight and sit down properly."

After saying that, Shen Muwei twisted the handle and drove forward.

She wasn't riding fast, with a tall man sitting behind her. She was controlling her speed to prevent any sudden accidents.

Xiang Zhixing was still somewhat frustrated. The back seat wasn't spacious enough, and he couldn't stretch his legs out. What frustrated him most was his hands; he didn't know where to put them.

Hugging a girl's waist seems a bit indecent; holding onto her clothes seems too coy; and holding onto a seat doesn't feel very stable.

But he had no choice but to hold onto the chair.

The girl's clothes billowed in the wind, her hair fluttered in the air, and the air was filled with her delicate fragrance. He involuntarily held his breath, and when he was about to suffocate, he took a deep breath, filling his chest with the elegant scent.

Shen Muwei's hair color is a natural brown, which appears golden when illuminated by the warm light of the streetlights.

Xiang Zhixing squinted, seeing golden, ribbon-like strands of hair fluttering in the wind. He blinked slowly, his thoughts drifting away.

At that moment, the wind, his hair, and the warm light brought him immense peace.

Shen Muwei stopped the car, and Xiang Zhixing, still carrying the momentum, slammed into her back. His hat was askew. He looked up blankly and found that the car had stopped in a bustling food street.

"Are you alright? I'm going to buy some food. Do you want some? Or wait for me in the car?"

He stood up nimbly, realizing that his buttocks were almost numb from being lost in thought the whole way.

"I'll go with you." He then adjusted his hat.

"Okay."

Shen Muwei walked over to the stall owner where she often ate barbecue skewers and ordered some of her usual items: potato slices, eggplant, butter, beef skewers, and grilled chicken wings. After paying, she went to wait.

Seeing that Xiang Zhixing was just standing to the side, Shen Muwei asked him, "Do you want to eat? It's on me."

She thought to herself, "She's so generous. She doesn't even have enough money for living expenses herself, yet she's still hiring people."

"Thank you, but no need."

When Xiang Zhixing refused, Shen Muwei breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The wait for the barbecue was very therapeutic, Shen Muwei thought so. Watching the skewers sizzle on the charcoal grill, and then being sprinkled with cumin and chili powder, just looking at them made her feel satisfied. She was also going to chat and eat barbecue with her girlfriends later, and just thinking about it made her happy.

She was focused on the skewers grilling over the fire, oblivious to the people around her. Then a loud male voice rang out:

"Hey kid, I just asked you to come here for a late-night snack, but you sneaked off on your own?"

Shen Muwei turned her head and saw that it was Xiang Zhixing's roommate. They had met briefly at the hospital, but she ran away quickly because she was afraid of being discovered.

Looking back now, she has no idea what he and Xiang Zhixing said after she left.

Xiang Zhixing's attention had been focused on Shen Muwei, and Zhou Chengming's arrival startled him. He pulled his hat down lower and whispered, "Didn't you see there's someone else here?"

Zhou Chengming then realized that the tall, sweet girl he had seen was Shen Muwei. He hadn't actually seen Xiang Zhixing yet; he had only noticed Xiang Zhixing next to her after seeing the tall, sweet girl first.

Having someone he knew would make things much easier; he planned to talk loudly to his friend to attract the girl's attention.

But he didn't expect that person to be Shen Muwei.

Zhou Chengming and Shen Muwei happened to come face to face. He smiled at her and then shrank behind Xiang Zhixing: "I didn't ruin your good time, did I?"

Xiang Zhixing was somewhat irritated. His eyes, hidden beneath the brim of his hat, gleamed with a cold light. He said in a low voice, "No, but if we continue to plot so loudly, things might not go well."