taciturn

taciturn

While distributing the milk tea, Shen Muwei didn't forget to look back. She noticed that the atmosphere was a little off, so she wanted to finish distributing the milk tea quickly and go back to prevent the two of them from arguing there.

She returned to their side promptly, chuckling as she stood between them.

"Are you leaving or not? Are you going to stand here any longer? You look a bit silly."

Xiang Zhixing looked down and saw the iced milk tea in her hand. He smiled and asked, "Is it good?"

The quick change of topic startled Shen Muwei, but she quickly picked up where he left off: "It's delicious, with only 30% sugar, it's especially good."

Although Xiang Zhixing acted irrationally and made a mistake before, at least his attitude in admitting his mistake was sincere. It's just that the other one is not so easy to deal with.

Song Yuanbai continued to stare at Xiang Zhixing, his eyes revealing obvious signs of anger.

Shen Muwei glanced at him and noticed that he seemed even angrier than before.

Xiang Zhixing ignored Song Yuanbai's warning and instead lowered his head to continue talking to Shen Muwei.

"You said last time that even half-sweet is sweet, so I bought the three-tenths sweet."

He acted as if no one else was around.

Song Yuanbai's temper was even more intense.

Shen Muwei noticed that Song Yuanbai seemed about to explode, and said to Xiang Zhixing, "Wait a moment."

Then he pulled Song Yuanbai aside and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Song Yuanbai retorted, "What's wrong with you? This person clearly had ulterior motives; he was just trying to get your attention at the supermarket that day."

Shen Muwei: "No, we had a fight at the supermarket that day. He was deliberately targeting me."

Surprise flashed in Song Yuanbai's eyes, and he asked incredulously, "You two knew each other before?"

"Yes, we know each other. We knew each other before we met at the supermarket."

Why wouldn't I know?

Song Yuanbai grew up with her and knew almost everything about her. If she made a new friend, she would definitely tell him. So why didn't this new friend tell him?

For the past week, he had been restless and had a strong sense of crisis for the first time. But he also comforted himself, telling himself that it was probably impossible because he had known her for so long. Even if someone different came into her life, she probably wouldn't understand or be able to figure it out.

But... what if the other party is a master? They meet frequently, and he takes his place. Is there still a chance for him?

Shen Muwei felt unbalanced after a new friend appeared between them, but she didn't plan to tell Song Yuanbai about what happened with Xiang Zhixing in the first place, because Song Yuanbai was too familiar with her family, and she was afraid that he would accidentally tell others about it one day.

Shen Muwei sighed: "Oh dear, is this really that serious? We're not even in the same school anymore, so I can't possibly report to you every time I make a new friend. Just like when we were in different classes in high school, you made a lot of new friends, and I didn't question you about why you didn't tell me. And now you know he exists, don't you? He's my friend, so can you be a little more polite to him? It's really hard for me to be in the middle."

Song Yuanbai was so angry that his nostrils were practically steaming.

"Shen Muwei, are these the same kind of things?"

"How is it not the same thing? It's all about making friends, so why should we care what friends the other person makes? Why don't you care what friends Yueyue makes, but you come to care about me? I noticed a long time ago that you really like to care about what friends I make. I know you don't trust me and are afraid that I'll make bad friends. But I'll have to be independent in the future, and you can't take care of me forever..."

At this point, Shen Muwei's eyes became moist, glistening as if pearls were about to fall. She hid her sobbing and continued:

"I know I'm not as smart as Yueyue or you. You guys are better at math, physics, and chemistry than me. You've always thought I'm stupid, which is why you're always controlling me. But I don't think I'm stupid at all. I'm just... I'm just better at humanities subjects. I've never felt like I'm that much behind you... Do you know how hurtful you are...?"

Song Yuanbai's throat felt swollen as if from an allergic reaction, and his legs felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, making it impossible for him to move. He couldn't even lift his hand to touch her head or comfort her.

It turns out that his waiting all this time had become another kind of burden for her, turning into his contempt for her. When did this start... and why didn't he know it all this time?

But Shen Muwei didn't cry. She had thought about this before. She considered Shu Yue and Song Yuanbai as her family because they were born a few months earlier than her, so they were her older brother and sister. It was only natural for her older brother and sister to worry about her. She was actually very happy to have two older brothers and sisters who cared about her.

She attributed it all to the love between her family members.

Song Yuanbai felt utterly powerless, unsure of where to begin. He almost instinctively wanted to voice his true feelings when Shu Yue called.

She was calling Shen Muwei.

As soon as Shen Muwei answered Shu Yue's call, she couldn't hold back anymore and cried, "Yueyue, Song Yuanbai bullied me..."

Shu Yue paused for a moment on the other end of the phone, then asked gently, "What's going on? Tell me, and I'll go and criticize him."

The three of them have always been like this since they were young. Shu Yue is the one who can make up her mind the most. Back then, the elders in her family did not want her to go north, but she insisted on running away from her family.

Shen Muwei briefly explained the situation, and Shu Yue understood that it was the same old story.

Shu Yue: "Give him the phone, and I'll yell at him for you."

Shen Muwei wiped away her tears: "No, I don't want him to touch my phone."

Shu Yue laughed out loud on the other end of the phone. Shen Muwei was just like her sister; she would hold a grudge for a while, but once her anger subsided, she would be friends with you again.

"Okay, okay, I'll hang up now. I'll call him and yell at him."

Shen Muwei sniffed: "Then you can't be alone with him, and you two can't have any secrets."

"OK".

After hanging up the phone, Shen Muwei glanced at Song Yuanbai, not wanting to talk to him. Soon after, Song Yuanbai's phone rang.

He sighed, picked up the phone, and walked to the side.

Shu Yue asked patiently, "You couldn't control yourself again?"

Song Yuanbai sighed again: "I don't know what to do anymore, Shuyue. I really don't want to wait any longer. That boy... is very dangerous. I know his purpose, but that idiot doesn't know anything."

Shu Yue: "Yes, I know, that's what I meant too. You can try telling Xiao Wei how you feel, but not now. You just had a fight with her, and she won't be happy no matter what you say right now. Try to appease her first, and then find an opportunity to talk to her tomorrow. Her anger will only last for one night."

"I understand... I'm suddenly a little nervous..."

Shu Yue: "Song Yuanbai, I have to remind you, don't have too high hopes. You can express your feelings and compete with others in a healthy way, but don't be a chauvinist. You know, Xiao Wei won't fall for that."

We understand the principles, but putting them into practice is far from easy.

Song Yuanbai nodded in agreement, then looked back and saw that Shen Muwei had turned her head to the side, as if she didn't want to talk to him.

After hanging up the phone, he went over and, of course, apologized first.

"I was wrong, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have interfered so much. He's your friend, I should have treated him better. I shouldn't have put you in such a difficult position..."

Shu Yue sent a message, and Shen Muwei opened her phone to read it.

Yueyue: [I scolded him for you, and he said he'll come and apologize to you properly.]

Movie: [He's already here, but I don't want to talk to him yet. Who cares if he's annoying?]

Putting her phone away, Shen Muwei maintained her affected manner and even glanced back at Xiang Zhixing. She was worried that Xiang Zhixing would feel awkward standing there alone, but fortunately, he wasn't stupid. Shen Muwei saw that he went to talk to her roommate.

It seemed that Xiang Zhixing hadn't been affected at all. This made Shen Muwei feel a little better.

Fortunately, she was easy to appease and wasn't really angry with Song Yuanbai; it was just an occasional emotional outburst. Song Yuanbai knew how to comfort her and quickly made her calm down.

Shen Muwei: "Then you can't treat him like that again. If you do, then you should go back."

Song Yuanbai breathed a sigh of relief: "Don't worry, I definitely won't do that again."

Shen Muwei nodded, and the two walked back together.

At the stall, Xiang Zhixing was chatting with Qian Eryun and Zhao Ranzhu. When she saw her return, he gave her a harmless smile: "We were just talking about going to see a late-night movie later. I wonder if you guys want to go?"

Shen Muwei asked first, "Won't we be too late to get back to the dorm if we go to the movies?"

Xiang Zhixing handed her his phone: "It's still early. The dorm closes at 11 p.m., so we'll choose the 8 p.m. showing. The movie is only an hour and a half long, so it'll be over by 9:30 p.m. We can make it."

Shen Muwei took his phone and swiped up and down. It was the movie she had wanted to watch before, which was recently re-released in China.

Almost without hesitation.

"Okay, let's choose the 8 o'clock show then, let's head over now."

Xiang Zhixing: "Okay, let's watch it at the cinema next door then. It's a five-minute walk. I'll buy the tickets first."

The tickets were bought quickly, and the group said goodbye to their senior and headed to the cinema in the nearby shopping mall.

When we arrived at our destination, Xiang Zhixing helped us get the tickets and buy popcorn and drinks.

There was no rush. When we entered the movie theater, advertisements were playing on the big screen.

There weren't many people at this time, and there were plenty of empty seats left.

Shen Muwei wanted to sit with Qian Eryun and Zhao Ranzhu, but she couldn't make up her mind. After all, she knew everyone here, but they weren't very familiar with each other without her.

This difficult problem was presented to her, and for the first time, she found it a bit challenging.

Xiang Zhi walked at the front and sat down at the corresponding seat number. They had bought seats together, and the people behind them just sat down in turn.

Song Yuanbai followed behind Xiang Zhixing, keeping an eye on him, so he naturally sat down as well.

The third person was Qian Eryun. Although she knew Song Yuanbai, she wasn't familiar with him. Besides, it was quite intimidating to have such a handsome guy sitting next to her. She quietly moved back to Shen Muwei's side and whispered, "Xiaowei, why don't you sit next to your friend? I'll sit with Zhuzhu."

Shen Muwei didn't ask any further questions; she had the same idea, and sitting like this was the best option.

After everyone was seated, Shen Muwei leaned forward to look at Xiang Zhixing, but Song Yuanbai followed her and asked if there was anything wrong.

Shen Muwei shook her head and leaned back, finally seeing Xiang Zhixing.

The two exchanged a glance, and Xiang Zhixing tilted his head to ask her if something was wrong.

Shen Muwei waved her phone, typed a few words, and sent them.

Movie: [Are you scared because there's no one next to you and it's very dark?]

Xiang Zhixing was puzzled for a second when he saw the message; he always forgot that he was actually pretending to be scared.

xzx: [No, just enjoy the show, don't worry about me. [Laughing]]

Shen Muwei put away her phone, then wanted to glance at him again, but Song Yuanbai leaned back in his chair, sitting upright. Beyond him, Xiang Zhixing gave her an "OK" sign.

Shen Muwei nodded. Just then, the classic dragon logo appeared on the screen, and she put away her phone to watch the movie.

This movie is one of Shen Muwei's favorite movies. The three people in her dorm have been saying they want to see it, but no one has actually gone yet.

Qian Eryun must have been too tired lately, because she fell asleep in her comfortable chair not long after the movie started.

The air conditioning in the movie theater wasn't too cold; it wasn't freezing, but it was still easy to catch a cold if you fell asleep. Shen Muwei took off her coat and gently covered Qian Eryun with it. When she turned around, two different hands handed her two different coats.

As if six dots had appeared above his head, Shen Muwei was stunned.

After a while, she didn't accept any of them, but took the coat that Zhao Ranzhu handed her.

Zhao Ranzhu wore a coat when she went out today, but she took it off in the office in the afternoon because it was too hot. She didn't put the coat back on after that, and even deliberately threw it at Chen Muwei.

The hour and a half of the movie passed quickly.

The group remained still until the end credits rolled and all the lights came on. Qian Eryun was startled awake, stretched, and handed the clothes back to Shen Muwei.

Everyone followed the flow of people and slowly descended the stairs to exit the theater.

The girls ate McDonald's for dinner and were starving. They ate some popcorn while watching the movie, but it didn't fill them up.

We still had time, so we discussed going out for a late-night snack later.

Shen Muwei walked over to Xiang Zhixing, took out her phone and asked him about the price of the movie, wanting to transfer money to him.

He refused, saying that it was originally intended for everyone to see.

Hearing this, Song Yuanbai scoffed, "I'll treat you to supper later."

Just as Shen Muwei was about to refuse, she said, "The three of us girls will go eat by ourselves. You two should go home quickly."

A passerby saw them discussing something and came over to say hello.

"Shen Muwei, Xiang Zhixing, hello, what a coincidence."

It's Zhang Wenhao.

Before Shen Muwei could even wonder what day it was and why so many people kept showing up, Zhao Ranzhu next to her burst out laughing.

She waved her hand and said, "It's nothing. I just suddenly remembered a scene from a movie that I found a bit funny."

Qian Eryun also wanted to laugh, but she could hold it in better than Zhao Ranzhu, so the two of them stood together and watched the show.

Shen Muwei: "What a coincidence, you're here too?"

Zhang Wenhao: "Yeah, we should be in the same theater. I just said I thought I saw you, but I wasn't sure. I didn't expect it to really be you. Where are you guys headed? A few friends of ours are going downstairs to sing karaoke later. Do you want to come?"

Shen Muwei waved her hand: "We won't be coming. We're going back to the dorm later."

He didn't insist, but his gaze would always inadvertently drift towards Xiang Zhixing and Song Yuanbai.

Are you going for a night run again tomorrow? Want to go together?

Xiang Zhixing and Song Yuanbai's expressions changed simultaneously.

Shen Muwei felt that there was nothing wrong with going for a run together, and it would be more lively with more people.

"Okay, let's meet at the park tomorrow."

"Okay, we'll be going now." Zhang Wenhao had quite a few friends, and they all looked at Shen Muwei with great curiosity.

Okay, bye-bye.

After finally seeing one off, it's time to head out for a late-night snack.

They ate their late-night snack nearby. While Xiang Zhixing was asking Shen Muwei what she wanted to eat, Song Yuanbai had already walked straight to the barbecue stall and picked up some skewers according to Shen Muwei's taste.

Xiang Zhixing saw this, his eyes darkened, but he wasn't in a hurry. He turned to ask the other two girls in the dormitory what they wanted to eat, behaving like a gentleman.

Qian Eryun and Zhao Ranzhu didn't stand on ceremony and directly told them what they wanted to eat.

Two boys were choosing skewers at the counter. Shen Muwei wanted to help, mainly because she was worried that the two might have some conflict and start fighting.

Zhao Ranzhu calmly pulled her aside and said, "Sit down. Someone has already gone to get it, so don't bother anymore. Sit down and rest for a while. It's tiring."

"Oh." Shen Muwei then sat down.

On the other side, Song Yuanbai looked at the cabbage skewers that Xiang Zhixing had taken out and sneered, "She doesn't like cabbage."

Xiang Zhixing paused in his work, then gave a friendly smile: "Really? Is there anything else you don't want to eat?"

Once the desire to compare oneself to others arises, one can easily lose their senses. Song Yuanbai was almost about to blurt out all the foods that Shen Muwei didn't like when he stopped himself in time.

Xiang Zhixing smiled and continued to get other things: "I got these for her roommate."

Although he was smiling, he wasn't actually very happy. He didn't know what Shen Muwei liked to eat. He and Shen Muwei had only appeared together at the barbecue stall twice. Once was when she was packing food, and Zhou Chengming happened to be there at the time, so he didn't notice what Shen Muwei had taken. The other time was after their previous argument, when they unexpectedly met at the barbecue stall. He didn't sit at the same table as her and didn't know what she had eaten.

But Song Yuanbai knew everything.

This realization gave him a slight sense of frustration, and in order to maintain his outwardly mild image and make himself appear less defeated, he had to keep smiling.

Besides, taking care of her two friends is also a way of being good to her. He doesn't think he's lost anywhere; this is nothing.

Although he doesn't have much of an advantage.

Song Yuanbai ignored him, only raising the corners of his mouth in a slight, contemptuous smile, and handed the skewers from the plate to the owner.

Xiang Zhixing watched his retreating figure, as if locking onto a target, and followed him all the way.

Childhood sweetheart...

-

Shen Muwei glanced over there every now and then: "Their relationship seems pretty good."

Zhao Ranzhu: "How did you know, my darling?"

"Didn't you notice they were both smiling at each other?"

Qian Eryun performed a ritual above her head, muttering, "No matter who you are, get off Shen Muwei! Smart Shen Muwei, come back soon..."

Shen Muwei slapped her arm and began performing a ritual above her head: "No matter who you are, get off Qian Eryun and return the gentle and kind Qian Eryun to you."

Zhao Ranzhu laughed heartily from the side: "You two look just like that meme, the two short-legged cats fighting and saying 'turn into pigs, turn into pigs'."

Shen Muwei, his face darkening, said, "Then we'll turn you into a pig right now!"

"Ah...no way..." Zhao Ranzhu cooperated extremely well.

Song Yuanbai took some chilled soy milk from the side and opened each bottle with a bottle opener, placing it in front of each person.

"We'll eat and drink at the same time later."

"Thank you, handsome," Zhao Ranzhu said, and Qian Eryun next to her also said thank you.

Shen Muwei waved her hand: "Oh, why are you being so polite? His treat is the same as mine."

As soon as he started speaking, Xiang Zhixing walked to the empty seat at the table and sat down. He listened to Shen Muwei's entire speech, and his hand under the table unconsciously clenched.

He looked up and his eyes met Zhao Ranzhu's without even realizing it.

He knew that Zhao Ranzhu had a problem with him; he could sense it during their conversation.

Tonight, while waiting for Shen Muwei, he went to talk to Zhao Ranzhu and Qian Eryun. He could clearly sense that Qian Eryun's attitude towards him was fairly normal, but Zhao Ranzhu didn't seem to want to talk to him.

Although Zhao Ranzhu was still talking to him, he could tell clearly that she didn't really want to talk to him, but only because she didn't want to put Shen Muwei in a difficult position.

Zhao Ranzhu seemed to want to see him make a fool of himself, and Xiang Zhixing simply did as she wished, lowering his head and looking slightly aggrieved.

The barbecue was ready in no time, and the owner brought it over.

They'd been there so many times that the owner recognized them. After putting the plates on the table, he glanced around at them and said, "Hey, you're sharing a table this time."

Shen Muwei realized what the boss meant: "Yes, it's more lively with more people."

"Okay, you guys eat and drink well, just call me if you need anything."

The boss said he should hurry up and leave to attend to other customers.

Song Yuanbai asked, "Sharing a table? What do you mean by sharing a table?"

Zhao Ranzhu would not miss such an opportunity to "spread rumors".

"Oh, it was when we went out for barbecue together that we ran into Xiang Zhixing and his friends. They wanted to share a table with us, but we refused."

Xiang Zhixing chimed in, "Back then, we weren't very familiar with each other, and I made Shen Muwei angry."

Keyword: "惹" (rě).

Certain words always seem a little different in certain contexts, such as "this moment" or "tonight," which are inexplicably tense.

Shen Muwei didn't intend to explain; she assumed Song Yuanbai knew about it. He probably already knew, it was about what happened at the supermarket last Saturday.

Qian Eryun gently pinched Zhao Ranzhu's thigh under the table, and said with a smile in a low voice, "You're such a bad person."

She raised an eyebrow and smiled. Since Xiaowei couldn't figure it out anyway, she might as well let her see how these two schemed against each other. It would be better to watch the live version; it would be so interesting.

Seeing that the others weren't moving much, Shen Muwei called out, "Eat quickly, we need to get back to the dorm soon, and it won't taste good if it gets cold."

The barbecue consisted of three girls constantly eating, while two boys inexplicably competed with each other, taking out their skewers and leaving only the intact meat on their plates.

Among them, Song Yuanbai always put Shen Muwei first, taking care of her so frequently that Shen Muwei sensed something was wrong.

She patted Song Yuanbai's hand and whispered, "Okay, that's enough. You don't need to take such good care of me. What's the point of eating barbecue if you don't have a skewer to eat with?"

Upon hearing this, Xiang Zhixing stopped moving and stuffed the meat he had already removed into his mouth.

Song Yuanbai stopped doing things that made her unhappy.

They ate for about half an hour, quickly finished, and their bellies were already round and full. They stood up to go back to their dormitory.

It was already completely dark by then, and the food street was thriving in the night.

Song Yuanbai seemed to know Shen Muwei's bottom line, so he wisely didn't give her a ride anymore. It wasn't until he saw Xiang Zhixing and Shen Muwei going to unlock their electric scooters that he realized that this guy went to the same school as Shen Muwei.

Before leaving, Shen Muwei got into the car, waved goodbye to Song Yuanbai, and reminded him to go home early and be careful.

The other car had already driven quite a distance when Xiang Zhixing slowly started his car. As he passed by, he smiled at him and told him to go home early and be careful, his tone gentle and considerate.

As the two cars gradually drove out of the food street, Song Yuanbai felt increasingly tightness in his chest.