SSB – Chapter 45

Chapter 45

　　How did we end up talking about Qian Fei?

　　As they chatted, he suddenly discovered that he was clever.

　　Sang Zhi couldn’t quite grasp his thoughts, so she could only nod in agreement. She fell silent, then lit up her phone and found Qian Fei’s contact in WeChat.

　　She wanted to ask something, but she felt like she had never contacted him before. It seemed a bit strange to reach out to him suddenly because of this matter. Moreover, he had a good relationship with Duan Jiaxu, so he probably wouldn’t easily tell her.

　　Sang Zhi decided to rely on herself and thought hard about the logical sequence of these sentences.

　　She pondered for a while.

　　She really couldn’t think of any connection.

　　However…

　　Sang Zhi suddenly realized something.

　　Why should she obediently answer his questions?

　　Why should she be interrogated by him like a criminal?

　　This matter didn’t seem to have much to do with him, right? Why should she fabricate lies in her response? Couldn’t she just stay silent, and he wouldn’t be able to do anything?

　　Realizing her foolish reaction just now, Sang Zhi let out a frustrated sigh. She felt like she had fallen into a pit, unable to vent her frustration at all, so she could only hold it in.

　　In the next moment, Duan Jiaxu casually asked, “How did you develop feelings for him?”

　　Sang Zhi was leaning against the car window, not even looking at him.

　　He didn’t receive a response from her for a while.

　　Perhaps sensing her displeasure, Duan Jiaxu didn’t continue the topic and calmly said, “When you’re with people you barely know, do you feel uncomfortable?”

　　Sang Zhi’s answer was a firm, “No.”

　　Duan Jiaxu: “If you don’t want to stay, just let me know.

　　”Oh.”

　　Duan Jiaxu glanced at her from the corner of his eye and asked, “Why so few words?”

　　”Not at all.” Sang Zhi looked at the colorful neon lights outside. She hesitated for a while, and then couldn’t help but say, “Also, it’s not that I have objections, I’m just reminding you. You might not have noticed, but you talk too much.” 

　　”Hmm?”

　　”I really don’t mean to object,” Sang Zhi said with a serious face, deliberately repeating herself, “You can continue talking if you want, I’m just giving you a heads up.”

　　”…” Duan Jiaxu burst into laughter again. “I talk too much?”

　　”Yeah.”

　　Duan Jiaxu humbly inquired, “Where is it too much?”

　　Throughout the journey, Duan Jiaxu had asked her hundreds of questions. She was getting a bit impatient and suddenly turned her head, saying, “Can you please stop using so many questions?”

　　Duan Jiaxu raised an eyebrow, and subconsciously said, “Why—”

　　Sang Zhi stared at him, clearly on the verge of explosion.

　　Before she could say anything, Duan Jiaxu calmly added a word.

　　”— Period.”

　　”…”

　　The dinner was arranged at the hot pot restaurant where Duan Jiaxu and Sang Zhi had waited in line for a long time last time, but due to the unexpected incident, they hadn’t been able to eat there.

　　Most of the others had already arrived.

　　Three square tables were put together to form a large table, and there were three hot pot bases. Sang Zhi glanced roughly, there were about ten people.

　　Two seats were still empty in the corner, probably intentionally left for them.

　　Sang Zhi also saw the woman she had met at the airport before.

　　One of the men with a crew cut noticed and grinned. “Duan-ge, you’re here so late. We’ve already started eating.”

　　Duan Jiaxu explained with a faint smile, “I went to pick someone up.”

　　Crew cut guy asked, “Your girlfriend?”

　　In response, Duan Jiaxu turned his head, looked at Sang Zhi, and then calmly said two words, “A friend.”

　　”…” Hearing this word, Sang Zhi froze for a moment, calmly greeted the others, and followed Duan Jiaxu to the innermost seat.

　　She started disassembling her cutlery, her mind wandering.

　　He actually said, a friend.

　　Unexpectedly, not, younger sister.

　　Sang Zhi could hardly believe her ears.

　　Soon, the man sitting across from Sang Zhi handed over the menu and smiled, “Take a look and see if you want to order anything else.”

　　Duan Jiaxu sat down next to Sang Zhi: “Decide what you want to eat.”

　　Sang Zhi nodded, glanced at the menu, randomly added a few items, and then pushed the menu in front of Duan Jiaxu: “Jiaxu-ge, I’d like to use the restroom.”

　　”Go out and turn left,” Duan Jiaxu said, “Can you find it yourself?”

　　”Yeah.”

　　”Then go.”

　　The hot pot restaurant didn’t have its own restroom, but there was one on each floor of the shopping mall. Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu had been to this place before, so she had some impression of this floor. She quickly found the restroom’s location.

　　She went in, used a compartment, and came out.

　　As soon as she came out, she saw the “Boss” that Duan Jiaxu had mentioned standing in front of one of the sinks.

　　Sang Zhi’s footsteps paused for a moment, feeling a slight awkwardness, but she quickly walked over. She turned on the tap and politely greeted her.

　　The woman took a tissue and wiped her hands. She gently said, “You’re Sang Zhi, right?”

　　”…” Sang Zhi nodded. “Yes.”

　　”I’m Jiang Siyun, you can call me Sister Jiang.” Jiang Siyun smiled. “I went to the airport with Jiaxu to pick you up before. Do you remember me?”

　　Sang Zhi quickly said, “I remember.”

　　Jiang Siyun: “Are you studying at the university here?”

　　”Yes.”

　　The two of them walked out of the restroom side by side. Jiang Siyun continued, “I remember when I saw you that time, you looked so small, but now you’re almost taller than me.”

　　”I develop slower,” Sang Zhi whispered, “And I probably won’t grow any taller.”

　　Jiang Siyun: “That’s fine, young girls don’t need to be too tall.”

　　Sang Zhi nodded again.

　　Jiang Siyun’s tone was gentle and comforting, “I didn’t properly greet you when I saw you at the airport.”

　　Sang Zhi: “It’s alright, you were already very kind to help.”

　　”Thinking about it now, it wasn’t really appropriate for me to go over at that time. I didn’t think much about it, I just wanted to help.” Jiang Siyun laughed, “It’s because Jiaxu had a bit of a fever that day. I initially wanted my husband to take him, but he had to go see a client at the last minute.”

　　Sang Zhi looked up, not sure what to say.

　　”These past few years, he has helped the company a lot, and my husband and I wanted to help him a bit more. Seeing that he wasn’t feeling well at the time, I got out of the car to help him find you together. Later, Jiaxu was worried that having a stranger around might make you uncomfortable, so he asked me to leave first. So, I didn’t stay around.” Jiang Siyun said, “I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to you either.” 

　　Sang Zhi scratched her head and added, “It’s okay.”

　　They happened to return to the hot pot restaurant.

　　Jiang Siyun patted her arm, and both of them went back to their seats. Sang Zhi glanced in her direction and only then noticed how intimate Jiang Siyun’s behavior was with the man next to her.

　　Sang Zhi glanced away.

　　She has this persistent feeling that the words she just said to her…

　　Was like an explanation…

　　But Jiang Siyun also didn’t seem to need to explain so much to her. It couldn’t be that, just from these two meetings, she had figured out her thoughts, right?

　　I’m not that obvious, am I…

　　The next moment, Duan Jiaxu’s voice interrupted her thoughts, “What are you spacing out for? Let’s eat.” 

　　Sang Zhi snapped back to reality: “Oh.”

　　After finishing dinner, the group planned to continue to the next activity.

　　This time, Duan Jiaxu didn’t join them. After bidding them farewell, he took Sang Zhi for a stroll nearby. Sang Zhi took out her phone and asked, “Jiaxu-ge, how about we go watch a movie?”

　　Duan Jiaxu: “What movie?”

　　”Let’s watch ‘Big White’.”

　　”Big White?”

　　”Big Hero 6.” Judging from his tone, it sounded like he hadn’t heard of it. Sang Zhi couldn’t help but glance at him, “It’s an animated film.”

　　Duan Jiaxu drew out the sound “Ah” lazily and said, “Ah, that one.”

　　Sang Zhi didn’t expose him, lowered her head again, and checked the upcoming showtimes. “I don’t know if it’s still playing, I’ve never had a chance to go watch it.”

　　”Found it?”

　　”Yeah.” Sang Zhi showed him, “This cinema is on the fifth floor here, there’s a screening at 8:30. Should we book this one?”

　　Duan Jiaxu: “Sure.”

　　Passing by a bubble tea shop, Sang Zhi pointed and said, “Jiaxu-ge, I want to buy a cup of oolong tea. Do you want anything?”

　　Duan Jiaxu replied, “I won’t have any. You go ahead.”

　　”Then won’t you be thirsty during the movie?”

　　”I’ll buy a bottle of water in a bit.”

　　”…”

　　Health-conscious, old-fashioned, a traditional man.

　　He doesn’t understand anything, and he doesn’t drink anything either.

　　The shop was popular, and there was a line of people outside.

　　The two of them stood in line for quite a while before Sang Zhi placed her order and received a number, waiting to the side. She glanced at the time, blinked, and said, “How about you go buy a bottle of water from the nearby shop first, otherwise we might run out of time.”

　　Duan Jiaxu thought for a moment: “Then wait here, don’t wander around.”

　　Sang Zhi acknowledged with an “oh” and found a seat in the bubble tea shop. She sat down and waited. When Duan Jiaxu returned, they happened to call her number.

　　The cup was an opaque paper cup, and she could feel the warmth through it when she picked it up.

　　Sang Zhi inserted a small straw into the cup and took a sip. Right as it entered her mouth, she felt something was off. Before she could react, the drink had already gone down her throat.

　　She stopped in her tracks.

　　Noticing her reaction, Duan Jiaxu turned his head: “What’s wrong?”

　　The taste still lingered in her mouth. Sang Zhi licked her lips and hesitated, “This cup doesn’t seem to be oolong tea, it’s more like…”

　　Before she could finish, Duan Jiaxu took her bottle, opened the lid, and looked inside. His expression changed, and he frowned: “This is milk tea.”

　　Sang Zhi exclaimed, subconsciously looking at him. Perhaps it was a psychological reaction, she felt her face itching instantly: “But I ordered oolong tea…”

　　Duan Jiaxu lifted his gaze, his eyes pausing. “You have a rash on your face.”

　　”…” Sang Zhi reflexively touched her face, feeling that her throat was also a bit swollen, and speaking was a bit difficult, “I only took a small sip.”

　　Duan Jiaxu’s Adam’s apple moved, his expression not looking good. He immediately pulled her downstairs.

　　”Let’s go to the hospital first.”

　　Fortunately, she had only consumed a small amount. Sang Zhi got an injection at the hospital, and her symptoms gradually subsided. She even had the presence of mind to refund the movie ticket. She called out, “Jiaxu-ge.”

　　Duan Jiaxu held the prescription and handed her the medicine: “What is it?”

　　Sang Zhi blinked, couldn’t help but say, “Milk tea actually tastes quite good.”

　　”…” Duan Jiaxu found it ridiculous. “Do you still want to drink it?”

　　”I wouldn’t dare to. Haven’t I learned my lesson from not drinking it? I’m just expressing my thoughts.” Sang Zhi shook her head and muttered, “Last time I drank milk, I threw up all night. How would I dare to drink it again?” 

　　When speaking of this, Duan Jiaxu recalled something and asked in a vague manner, “Did I buy you milk before?”

　　Sang Zhi paused for a moment and vaguely replied with a sound of agreement.

　　Duan Jiaxu remained silent for a few seconds. “You drank it?”

　　”No,” Sang Zhi hurriedly replied, “I gave it to someone else.”

　　The fact that she couldn’t drink milk was something Duan Jiaxu had learned from Li Ping during a time he spent at their home. He stood in front of her, feeling uneasy, “Why didn’t you tell me you couldn’t drink it?”

　　Sang Zhi whispered, “I… I didn’t drink it.”

　　Duan Jiaxu stared at her, as if recalling something. After a long pause, he spoke again, “In the future, when you’re outside and about to drink these beverages, open the lid and check first.”

　　Sang Zhi still had a rash on her face, not wanting him to see. She kept her head lowered, “Okay.”

　　The two of them left the hospital and walked side by side towards the parking lot.

　　Sang Zhi’s face still felt itchy, and she subconsciously reached her hand to scratch it. At that moment, Duan Jiaxu directly held both her hands and guided her forward.

　　She stood by his side, observing this action.

　　She always felt like a dog being taken for a walk by him.

　　Midway through, Sang Zhi suddenly remembered how today he introduced her to his colleagues as a “friend.” She bit her lip, struggled inwardly for a while, and finally asked, “Jiaxu-ge, why did you tell them today that I’m your friend?”

　　After a pause, she added, “Didn’t you always say I was your sister before?”

　　Upon hearing this, Duan Jiaxu turned his head.

　　In the tranquil night, under the harsh white light, in the empty parking lot.

　　Sang Zhi covered half of her face with a scarf, slightly raised her eyes, and noticed the slight arch of his eyebrows that oozed with a hint of playfulness, along with the curve of his lips bending ever so slightly.

　　Her heartbeat inexplicably began to quicken.

　　After an extremely brief silence.

　　A biting cold wind swept by, accompanied by a rustling sound in her ears.

　　The next moment, Duan Jiaxu spoke.

　　His deep voice rode along with the wind and entered Sang Zhi’s ears.

　　”Do you really see me as your brother?”