”Why doesn’t he directly approach me, but instead goes through you to find me?” Sang Zhi’s expression was matter-of-fact. “You two probably didn’t know each other before, right?”
”Well, that does make sense.” Yin Zhenru shrugged. “But if it wasn’t about you, he wouldn’t bother contacting me at all.”
Silence fell between them.
Sang Zhi stared at her and suddenly pointed at her own right cheek.
Yin Zhenru was puzzled: “What’s the matter? There’s nothing on your face.”
Sang Zhi pointed again.
Yin Zhenru immediately leaned back, a look of refusal on her face, “You’re not going to make me kiss you, right?!”
”What are you talking about?” Sang Zhi looked at her speechlessly. “I just wanted to tell you that I used to fight with Fu Zhengchu a lot in the past.”
”Huh? Why? When?”
Sang Zhi recalled, “It was in the second grade, I think.”
”Second grade? How old were you then?”
”I’m one year older than him,” Sang Zhi said, “When we were younger, some boys did hit girls, but not like he did. He didn’t treat other girls the way he treated me.”
”What do you mean?”
”He treated me like he would fight with a boy.”
”…”
”There was one time,” as if trying to emphasize the absurdity of her statement, Sang Zhi pointed at her right cheek again and enunciated clearly, “He punched me right here.”
She emphasized the word “punched.”
Yin Zhenru exclaimed, “Damn, was it serious?”
”Huh? I’m not sure if it’s considered serious,” Sang Zhi pondered for a moment, then emphasized, “It’s not like I couldn’t fight back. The main issue was that I wasn’t prepared, so I ended up falling to the ground.”
”…”
”Then I knocked out one of my teeth,” Sang Zhi paused for a moment and continued, “I was angry at the time, so I pushed him.”
”…And then?”
”He fell to the ground too and broke a bone.”
”…”
-
Upon hearing this, Yin Zhenru immediately dismissed her previous thoughts. When buying gifts afterward, she didn’t persuade Sang Zhi to choose one for Fu Zhengchu either. It was as if they treated the said party as an enemy and avoided such topics.
Sang Zhi enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere, following Yin Zhenru around the store, casually looking at some small trinkets.
Yin Zhenru picked a gift rather casually, buying a cute little night light she found appealing. With plenty of time left, they decided to enter a dessert shop on the same floor.
It was a small chain dessert shop with a traditional Chinese style, furnished with wooden tables and chairs. The colors were darker, and the dim yellow lighting created a warm and cozy ambiance. The air conditioning was set low, providing a pleasant escape from the outside heat.
The shop had no other customers, only one employee.
As the doorbell rang, the employee raised their eyes, sounding somewhat tired and lethargic, and greeted them with a lazy tone, “Welcome.”
The voice sounded familiar.
Sang Zhi’s breath caught for a moment, and she subconsciously looked up.
A man wearing a brown apron was sitting behind the cashier’s counter, his brows slightly lowered, and his eyes carried a hint of weariness. The light made his pupils appear lighter. His gaze flickered and stopped on Sang Zhi’s face.
Then, his eyebrow slightly arched, almost imperceptibly.
A brief silence followed.
Sang Zhi took the initiative and called out, “Brother.”
Duan Jiaxu glanced at the girl next to Sang Zhi and nodded in response: “Are you jere to hang out?”
Sang Zhi: “Yes”
Yin Zhenru’s eyes darted between the two of them, but she didn’t say anything.
Sang Zhi picked up the menu placed on the cashier’s counter and hesitated before asking, “Brother, do you work here?”
”Yeah.” Duan Jiaxu seemed indifferent. “Find a seat, and if you want to order something, come back later, and I’ll bring it over.”
Sang Zhi acknowledged with an “Oh” and sat with Yin Zhenru at a table near the corner.
As they browsed the menu, Yin Zhenru sneaked a glance in Duan Jiaxu’s direction and asked curiously, “Who’s that? I remember your elder brother doesn’t look like that.”
”He’s my brother’s friend.”
”He’s so handsome,” Yin Zhenru covered her chest dramatically, “I recall your brother being handsome too. Sang Zhi, you’re really lucky.”
Sang Zhi: “Don’t talk nonsense.”
”Huh?”
”Where does my brother look handsome?”
”…”
Soon, the two of them selected their desserts. Sang Zhi held the menu and walked up to Duan Jiaxu, saying, “Brother, I want a coconut pearl drink and a double-layered mango pudding.”
Duan Jiaxu: “Hmm.”
Sang Zhi calculated the total price, then took out a twenty-yuan and a ten-yuan bill from her pocket, along with three coins. She felt around but couldn’t find another coin. She placed all the money on the cashier’s counter.
As she turned to go back to her seat and retrieve a coin from her bag to make up the exact amount, Duan Jiaxu called out behind her, “Kiddo.”
Sang Zhi turned back and asked, “Yeah?”
Duan Jiaxu knocked on the money on the table with his knuckles, propped his elbow on the edge of the table, leaned slightly forward, and asked with a low chuckle, “Are you not going to keep your promise with me?”
Sang Zhi realized what he meant, pursed her lips, and silently returned to her seat. She took out another coin from her bag and walked back to the cashier’s counter, placing the coin in front of him.
Duan Jiaxu glanced down and said, “Still short of one.”
”…”
”…” Sang Zhi felt like he was trying to cheat her out of money and decided to stand her ground, “One costs eighteen yuan, the other sixteen yuan, which adds up to thirty-four yuan. I’m not short one yuan.”
”But didn’t you say that this brother is handsome?”
”…”
She didn’t remember saying that; it was Yin Zhenru. Besides, what did that have to do with this situation?
”If you’ve been secretly ogling me so many times, it’s only fair that you pay extra,” he teased with a nonchalant tone, “Otherwise, I will be at a disadvantage.”
Peek-Aboo 
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