SSB – Chapter 11.2

　　It felt quite deliberate.

　　Or should she call Sang Yan and say she wanted to go see him? Perhaps she might get a chance to meet him.

　　Sang Zhi tossed her phone aside and began daydreaming while looking at the comic book. After a while, she threw the comic book away, hid herself under the covers, and started brewing the drowsiness for her afternoon nap.

　　Why bother meeting him?

　　Meeting him didn’t seem to lead to anything good. He always played around with her, and with such a big age gap, she felt a generation gap while talking to him, like they had nothing in common.

　　She’d better just stay at home and take a nap.

　　Yes.

　　He could be considered much older.

　　In the face of sleep — he was nothing! 

       Considered! Much! Older!

　　Sang Zhi sat up again, drank a few sips of water, and extinguished all her impulses in the process. Satisfied, she lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, and started to hypnotize herself: “This shouldn’t be anything.”

　　”He just happens to be good-looking. When you see someone good-looking on the street, anyone would glance a few more times. Even with a good-looking dog, you’d want to go over and pet it.”

　　The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

　　Sang Zhi sighed and continued to hypnotize herself: “Maybe there was something there, but if I meet someone even better looking, I’ll switch my feelings to them.”

　　”For example, right now, not being able to see him, I don’t particularly want to. That proves it, this kind of feeling is very insincere.”

　　After saying that, her mood eased a bit, and she lay back down, continuing to read the comic.

　　Unknowingly, she fell asleep on top of her books.

　　After who knows how long, her phone, which was placed on the bedside table, started ringing.

　　It continued to ring for several tens of seconds before Sang Zhi was awakened by the noise. She opened her drowsy eyes and stared blankly at the phone for several seconds before grabbing it and directly hanging up the call.

　　Then, a series of call bombardments followed.

　　Sang Zhi remained on the bed for a while, waiting. When the ringtone sounded for the third time, she sluggishly answered the call, “Hello?”

　　On the other end, Sang Yan’s slightly impatient voice came, “What are you doing? You’ve hung up several times already.” 

　　”I was sleeping,” Sang Zhi replied unhappily, “If I hang up once, you shouldn’t call again.”

　　Sang Yan sneered, “If I don’t call, you’ll probably complain, right? Hurry up, I’m having dinner with friends outside. Are you coming along, or should I order a takeaway for you?” 

　　Before Sang Zhi could reply, another voice suddenly sounded on the other end, “Hey, it seems Duan Jiaxu is tutoring nearby. Should we invite him too?”

　　Sang Yan replied, “Whatever.”

　　”In that case, I’ll invite him,” the other person said.

　　Sang Zhi pursed her lips and withheld the words that were about to come out of her mouth. She spoke softly, “I’ll eat with you.”

　　Sang Yan: “Are you sure?”

　　”Yeah,” Sang Zhi got up and found the most reasonable excuse, “I’m hungry. It’s getting too late for you to pack something for me.”

　　”Okay, change your clothes,” Sang Yan said, “I’ll call you again before you make your way down.”

　　After hanging up the phone, Sang Zhi walked to the wardrobe and looked at the clothes inside. She picked a skirt and changed into it. She went to the bathroom to wash her face, and just as Sang Yan called again, she quickly put on her shoes and headed out.

　　Sang Zhi entered the elevator.

　　Perhaps because she slept too much, she felt a bit uncomfortable all over her body after waking up.

　　Especially her abdomen.

　　Sang Zhi thought she might have diarrhea and regretted not checking the bathroom earlier.

　　As she walked out of the main entrance, she immediately saw Sang Rong’s car. Sang Yan was sitting in the driver’s seat, and there was a slightly overweight man sitting next to him.

　　Sang Zhi walked over and got into the backseat.

　　The man in the front passenger seat turned around and greeted her, “Little Sister, do you remember me?”

　　He was Sang Yan’s friend, Qian Fei.

　　Sang Zhi nodded.

　　Sang Yan glanced back at Sang Zhi and said, “Buckle up.”

　　After watching Sang Zhi fasten her seatbelt, Sang Yan started the car.

　　Since she was going out with Sang Yan, Sang Zhi didn’t bring anything except her phone. She glanced at her phone and then looked out the window, asking, “Where are we going now?”

　　Qian Fei replied, “We’re going to pick up another big brother.”

　　Sang Zhi nodded and didn’t say anything.

　　Sang Yan glanced at Qian Fei and said, “Give him a call and ask where he is.”

　　”He said he’s at the bus stop on Dong Plaza…” Qian Fei pointed not far away, “Hey, is that him?”

　　Hearing this, Sang Yan followed Qian Fei’s finger and looked over, then drove the car over.

　　The car stopped. Through the window, Sang Zhi saw Duan Jiaxu walking towards them. He then opened the back door and sat next to her. Subconsciously, she lowered her eyes, avoiding his gaze.

　　Qian Fei muttered from the front, “Are you tutoring high school students?”

　　Duan Jiaxu lazily replied with a sound, but he didn’t make any other movements.

　　Sang Zhi discreetly observed him from the corner of her eye.

　　He seemed a bit tired, leaning against the seat as soon as he got in the car. His eyes were half-closed, and his hair scattered messily on his forehead, giving him a somewhat disheveled appearance. The dim yellow light from the streetlamp cast shadows on him, creating an obscure and elusive image.

　　After a while, Duan Jiaxu suddenly raised his eyelids and looked over.

　　As if he caught her gaze.

　　It caught her off guard.

　　Sang Zhi instinctively held onto the hem of her skirt, afraid that if she looked away, she would appear guilty. She didn’t dodge his gaze. After locking eyes for a few seconds, she lowered her head, pretending to be calm and composed as she looked at her phone. It was as if nothing happened.

　　Seeing this, Duan Jiaxu playfully raised an eyebrow. He didn’t know how he managed to get into a situation with this kid again. He sat up slightly, resting his elbow on the car window, and smiled lightly, asking, “Kiddo, why aren’t you greeting me?”

　　Sang Zhi glanced at him and obediently said, “Gege.”

　　Qian Fei turned back again and commented unwillingly, “Hey, how come you didn’t greet me?”

　　Sang Zhi hesitated for a moment, then called out again, “Gege, hello.”

　　As if not hearing Qian Fei’s words, Duan Jiaxu stared at Sang Zhi, his eyes bright and clear, naturally carrying a bold charm, but seemingly without any intention.

　　As if he hadn’t heard clearly, he suddenly asked, “Brother, hello what?”

　　Sang Zhi was puzzled, “Just saying ‘Gege’ is enough.”

　　Upon hearing the words, Duan Jiaxu chuckled softly, drawing out his breath. It seemed like he had finally heard correctly. He tilted his head and leisurely repeated, “Gege is handsome, right?”

　　”…”

　　”No wonder—” Duan Jiaxu suddenly leaned closer to Sang Zhi, raising an eyebrow with a smile, “You blush as soon as you see me.”