Sang Zhi waited in the restroom for quite a while.
The mall’s design was very user-friendly, and there was an area in the restroom where one could sit and wait for others. However, she didn’t dare to sit because she was afraid that the stain on her skirt might transfer onto the bench. She also felt too embarrassed to call and urge Duan Jiaxu, so she could only stand and wait.
After more than ten minutes, a tall and thin unfamiliar woman walked in. She looked around the restroom and fixed her gaze on Sang Zhi before approaching her. “Little Sister, are you Sang Zhi?”
Sang Zhi nodded quickly.
”Your brother asked me to come in and give you something.” The woman handed her the bag and hesitated for a moment before saying, “Do you know how to use it?”
Sang Zhi took the bag and nodded again: “Yes, thank you, Sister.”
Seeing her teary eyes, the woman comforted her, “It’s alright, everyone goes through this at some point. Don’t cry, go and change quickly.”
Sang Zhi thanked her again, then took the bag into a stall. She looked inside the bag and saw that most of the things she needed were there. She finally felt relieved. She carefully cleaned herself up, awkwardly changed to a new sanitary pad, and soon came out of the restroom.
She didn’t know what expression to show when facing Duan Jiaxu, so she lingered at the sink for a while.
Finally, she walked out in a resigned manner, like a broken jar.
Unexpectedly, she didn’t see Duan Jiaxu outside. Instead, she saw Sang Yan, whom she hadn’t seen since getting off the car. For a moment, Sang Zhi’s embarrassment and awkwardness eased slightly.
Noticing her presence, Sang Yan waved at her.
Sang Zhi walked silently to him.
Staring at her teary eyes, Sang Yan slightly bent down and asked, “What are you crying for, little brat?”
Hearing this, Sang Zhi’s tears started welling up again, and her voice choked, “Embarrassing.”
Sang Yan: “Who said you’re embarrassing?”
”It’s embarrassing.” Sang Zhi wiped her tears with the back of her hand. “Sniff… Also, you gave me a transparent bag… Everyone can see…”
”This is the bag the cashier gave me.” Sang Yan found it amusing. “Why are you blaming me? Blame the cashier.”
”I don’t care… Sniff-sniff…” Sang Zhi whimpered and demanded willfully, “You have to find me an opaque bag…”
”Where do I find one for you?” Sang Yan was annoyed by her crying and stood up straight, reaching out to her. “Alright, I’ll carry it for you. This way, if it’s embarrassing, it’ll be on me, okay?”
Hearing this, Sang Zhi looked in his direction. Seemingly agreeing to the proposal, her crying gradually subsided, and while tears still fell, she handed him the bag.
Sang Yan took the bag while his other hand held her wrist, then he started mocking her, “You claim not to be a child, but you cry over such a trivial thing.”
Silently, Sang Zhi wiped her tears onto his clothes.
Surprisingly, Sang Yan didn’t get angry and just asked, “Are you trying to make me dirty?”
Sniffling, Sang Zhi replied, “I didn’t wipe my snot on you.”
Sang Yan coolly glanced at her: “You dare.”
As soon as he said that, Sang Zhi immediately grabbed his hem, as if she was determined to go against him, and forcefully wiped her snot on it.
Sang Yan: “…”
The two of them, one big and one small, stood in a stalemate for a while. Eventually, Sang Yan was the first to give in. Suppressing his irritation, he could only take her with him to the restroom on the third floor.
He asked her to wash her face again and took the opportunity to tidy up his own clothes.
When they returned to the barbecue restaurant, it was already close to 7 p.m. Sang Zhi followed behind Sang Yan as they entered.
She discreetly glanced ahead and noticed that Duan Jiaxu and Qian Fei were sitting side by side at a four-person table. Duan Jiaxu was seated on the inner side, leaning lazily against the back of the chair, wearing a nonchalant smile as he listened to Qian Fei talk. He occasionally replied with a few words.
His posture was not proper, always casual and carefree, like a leisurely young master.
Yet, there was an inexplicable charm about him that made it hard to look away.
Sang Zhi didn’t know why it ended up being Sang Yan who came to find her. She speculated that Duan Jiaxu probably called him. However, the fact that it wasn’t him who went to buy those things for her made her feel less embarrassed.
Sang Yan asked her to take the seat on the inner side.
Having finally returned, Qian Fei asked in puzzlement, “Where did you guys go? I almost finished eating.”
Sang Zhi opened her mouth but didn’t know how to explain.
Sang Yan placed the bag he was holding next to the chair and glanced at her. He then came up with a random lie, “This little Devil went to play with the claw machines and didn’t want to come back for a while.”
Qian Fei didn’t think much of it. Perhaps due to the similar colors, he didn’t even notice that she had changed her dress. He just curiously asked, “Did you not catch any dolls?” “Yeah,” Sang Yan replied slowly, “Couldn’t catch any and started crying.”
”Oh?” Qian Fei glanced at Sang Yan and comforted her, “It’s alright, Little Sister. After dinner, I’ll go and catch one for you.”
Sang Zhi pretended not to hear and coincidentally made eye contact with Duan Jiaxu across the table. She quickly averted her gaze.
Qian Fei didn’t continue the topic and pointed to the menu nearby, “How about ordering more?”
”Sure,” Sang Yan placed the menu in front of Sang Zhi and said, “Choose whatever you want.”
Qian Fei continued munching on his skewers and asked, “Sang Yan, do you drink? Let’s have some beer. It’s no fun to drink alone.”
Sang Yan replied straightforwardly, “I won’t drink. I have to drive later.”
Qian Fei rolled his eyes: “Seriously? You won’t drink, and Duan Jiaxu won’t drink either. Who comes to a barbecue without drinking?”
Sang Yan: “Aren’t you seeing one now?”
Sang Zhi covertly glanced forward again, but this time, she didn’t coincidentally meet his gaze.
Duan Jiaxu kept his eyes low, using hot water to fill a glass, pouring about half a cup. The moment he looked up, Sang Zhi immediately averted her gaze.
Shortly after, she noticed the glass of water placed in front of her.
Sang Zhi looked up and obediently said, “Thank you.”
Quickly, Sang Zhi made her choices from the menu and handed it back to Sang Yan.
Sang Yan scanned it and was about to call the waiter when he noticed two items she ordered. He turned his head and asked, “Are these yours?”
Sang Zhi: “Yes.”
”Order by yourself,” Sang Yan directly crossed them out with a pen, “Don’t make me remind you.”
Sang Zhi wasn’t too pleased, but she didn’t want to argue with him in front of others, so she mumbled quietly, “It’s just a small portion; I only ordered one skewer.”
Impatiently, Sang Yan said, “Don’t expect any special treatment. I don’t have the time to take care of you like a little kid every day.”
Qian Fei accused him from the opposite side, “Sang Yan, why don’t you let your sister order something? It’s alright, Little Sister, you choose, I will treat you.”
”Shut up,” Sang Yan replied impatiently, “She’s allergic to beef and lamb.”
”Oh,” Qian Fei immediately changed his tone, “In that case, Little Sister, have something else. Being sick is not enjoyable.”
In reality, it was just a mild allergy, and there wouldn’t be any major issues if she had a little. However, Sang Zhi didn’t have the decision-making power and had to comply.
She picked up the glass of water in front of her and drank it in small sips, listening to the three other big men discuss topics that didn’t interest her.
After waiting for a while, Sang Zhi couldn’t hold back any longer and poked Sang Yan’s arm, “Gege.”
Sang Yan turned his head: “What’s up?”
”I’m really hungry.”
The speed of serving in this barbecue restaurant was way too slow.
Sang Yan glanced around the table and placed a plate of barely touched beef noodles in front of her: “Eat this first to fill your stomach.”
Sang Zhi responded with an “oh” and picked up her chopsticks. She was about to scoop a small bowl of noodles into her own bowl when she suddenly noticed that there was still quite a bit of beef left in the beef noodles. Feeling like she had discovered a treasure, Sang Zhi’s first instinct was to glance at Sang Yan, and then she looked in the direction of Duan Jiaxu and Qian Fei.
None of the three men were looking her way.
Feeling mischievous, Sang Zhi secretly hid a piece of beef in the noodles. She planned to pick it up with her noodles. That way, no one would notice that there was an extra piece of beef in her bowl, and no one would know that she had secretly eaten a piece of beef tonight.
— It was a seamless operation.
Just as she was about to pick up the noodles with the hidden beef, Duan Jiaxu suddenly called her.
”Little One.”
Sang Zhi’s chopsticks loosened, and she looked up. She replied, “Huh?”
Duan Jiaxu supported his right cheek with one hand and raised his eyebrows slightly, the corners of his lips forming a shallow arc as he prolonged his tone, “How about serving Gege first?”
Her movements halted, and she silently retracted her chopsticks. She uttered, “Oh.”
Then she pushed the plate toward him.
The other two were engrossed in their conversation and didn’t notice the interaction between the two of them.
Duan Jiaxu unwrapped a pair of new chopsticks and leisurely flipped through the plate of beef noodles. Throughout the following time, Sang Zhi kept her eyes fixed on his actions.
Then, she watched as he didn’t pick up a single strand of noodles but carefully placed all the beef from the plate into his own bowl, not leaving behind even a single piece of beef.
Once he had picked it all clean, he pushed the plate back in front of her and said, “All set.”
”…”
”Eat up.”
”…”
Peek-Aboo 
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