Jiang Zhaoye turned to look at Chen Tuizhi.
Chen Tuizhi looked as though he had just swallowed a whole lemon, his facial features scrunched up with envy. "Why? How come you can get handed free merch by girls just by walking down the street?"
Jiang Zhaoye unfolded the T-shirt and glanced at it. "...I'll check out this manga later."
"Wait, so you haven't even read it?"
Chen Tuizhi's expression grew complex, his teeth aching with jealousy as he glanced at the close-up photo of the black-haired, blue-eyed character on the T-shirt. "Though I gotta admit, you really do look like him."
He glanced at Jiang Zhaoye's blue eyes, instantly adopting a high-pitched, mocking voice: "Oooh~ Gege is so handsome~ The chosen Bai Linchuan~"
Unsurprisingly, he got beaten up immediately after.
After a bout of chaotic antics, the two obediently browsed around the shop. Chen Tuizhi successfully bought the limited-edition collaboration merch of his goddess, while Jiang Zhaoye picked up the first two volumes of Miyou War Chronicles on his way out.
After checking out, the sun was already slanting toward the west. Chen Tuizhi suggested, "There's a super trendy viral restaurant nearby... oh right, Xiaoman Eatery. A few classmates in our class chat said their Ginseng Spirit Mushroom Stewed Chicken is delicious and can replenish psionic energy. Shall we go?"
"Let's roll!" Jiang Zhaoye nodded. Seeing those jokers in the group chat posting photos all the time had long made his mouth water for a bite.
The two walked back along the pedestrian street for about ten minutes, entering Huaihai Building directly. Taking the elevator up to the seventh floor, they walked half a circle before finding their target restaurant—it was far too conspicuous, with dozens of people already queuing outside and every seat by the entrance occupied.
They all appeared to be young people who looked like students.
They took a queue number and were informed that they would have to wait half an hour for their turn.
Chen Tuizhi and Jiang Zhaoye exchanged a glance, neither having any intention of leaving.
"Wait?"
"Yeah."
Shifting their gazes, the two pulled their phones out of their pants pockets in unison and began killing time. Before long, Chen Tuizhi suddenly nudged him with his arm. Jiang Zhaoye looked up impatiently. "What are you doing?"
Chen Tuizhi winked and gestured toward the corridor with his chin.
Jiang Zhaoye followed his gaze and immediately spotted a group of people not far away. Wearing uniforms from Huaicheng Experimental High School, a mix of boys and girls were chatting and laughing as they walked over.
He recognized a few of them.
"Is that... Li Sining from our class?" He asked Chen Tuizhi in a low voice, sounding a bit uncertain.
Chen Tuizhi looked over along his line of sight and froze for a moment. "Seems like her, but the guy beside her... is that Zhang Mingxuan?"
"Yeah, the guy who always sits in the back row and barely talks."
The two looked at each other, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.
The flames of gossip began to burn fiercely.
Li Sining and Zhang Mingxuan barely spoke to each other in class usually, one sitting in the front row and the other in the back—two people who had nothing to do with each other. Yet now, they were linking arms, leaning shoulder to shoulder, affectionately whispering as they walked, sweet as honey.
"Are those two... together?" Chen Tuizhi's voice was filled with sheer disbelief.
"Looks like it."
As the group drew closer, the two tacitly lowered their heads, pretending to focus on scrolling their phones, but their eyes kept drifting over while their ears perked straight up.
Li Sining and Zhang Mingxuan snuggled close together. When a few classmates beside them began teasing, Zhang Mingxuan visibly flushed red, his face and neck turning beet red. Li Sining, on the other hand, was far calmer, generously laughing and joking with everyone.
Jiang Zhaoye and Chen Tuizhi exchanged another glance, both seeing confirmation in each other's eyes. Chen Tuizhi finally couldn't hold it in any longer. "Holy shit! Li Sining and Zhang Mingxuan! In all of ninth grade, I never once saw those two speak to each other!"
"I have," Jiang Zhaoye said, showing a reflective expression. "During the school sports meet, I think I saw Li Sining hand a bottle of water to Zhang Mingxuan."
"Oho? So the girl chased the guy?"
Right at that moment, someone from the opposite group looked up and caught sight of the two.
"Huh? Chen Tuizhi?"
Jiang Zhaoye didn't look familiar from a distance, but Chen Tuizhi's anime graphic T-shirt featuring his goddess was far too recognizable.
Getting caught in the act of gossiping about others was somewhat awkward, but bumping into acquaintances outside who called out your name meant they had no choice but to go over and greet them.
The two groups thus met up.
Chen Tuizhi took the initiative to tease, scanning Li Sining and Zhang Mingxuan with a smirk. "Nice! You two are together? Since when?"
"You guys kept this hidden pretty tight, huh~"
Hearing this, a flush crept onto Li Sining's delicate, fair face, and she shyly withdrew her arm from Zhang Mingxuan's.
"Y-Yes!" Zhang Mingxuan stepped forward at this point. His face and neck were still beet red and he stammered a little, but his actions placed his shy girlfriend behind him, his expression quite firm. "We're together! I... I confessed!"
Caught off guard by a mouthful of sappy public affection, the crowd couldn't help hooting and cheering again.
After a round of laughter, a girl standing a step behind Li Sining suddenly blurted out, "Are you... Jiang Zhaoye?"
The crowd followed her astonished gaze and froze as well.
Jiang Zhaoye had changed quite a bit. Previously, they only noticed a handsome blue-eyed guy standing beside Chen Tuizhi; only a few girls had been stealing glances every now and then, while the others hadn't looked closely. Hearing an acquaintance's name called out, they looked over properly and found him familiar, yet were still a bit incredulous.
But Jiang Zhaoye's facial features were still fundamentally the same.
"It's me." Jiang Zhaoye was getting a little impatient with being stared at; he had been stared at enough all day. At first, he had felt a secret thrill and smug satisfaction, but by now he was just tired.
Being stared at was exhausting since he had to keep up appearances constantly.
For the first time, he realized that acting cool was exhausting work.
Among the crowd, several of Jiang Zhaoye's classmates gasped instantly, suffering a shock no less than when the two had discovered Li Sining and Zhang Mingxuan becoming a couple.
"This change is way too huge!"
"Are those colored contacts you're wearing in your eyes?" Seeing the canvas bag Jiang Zhaoye carried printed with Bai Linchuan's close-up portrait, someone asked tentatively, "Are you cosplaying?"
"Did you get plastic surgery or put on makeup?"
"Hey! What kind of talk is that?" Chen Tuizhi raised his eyebrows. "Do you even know how to talk! Old Jiang awakened a spirit eye over the summer break, so it's completely normal to have some changes!"
"Spirit eye?" Everyone chorused. For middle school students in a small city, such a situation was rarely witnessed in person. Hearing that there was one right beside them, they all found it immensely fascinating.
Jiang Zhaoye nodded. "Yeah, no colored contacts or makeup. My eye color naturally became like this after awakening."
"Ah... sorry..." Realizing he had spoken out of line, the dense guy honestly apologized.
Just then, their queue number was finally called. Li Sining and Zhang Mingxuan's group had reserved a large table two days in advance, so they entered the restaurant together as well.
Guided by a waiter, Jiang Zhaoye looked around as they walked. The restaurant was decorated with great style, featuring wooden tables and chairs, warm yellow lighting, and several illustrations of spiritual plants hanging on the walls.
The moment the two sat down and finished ordering, they saw the group not far away sit down, with Zhang Mingxuan even pulling out a chair for Li Sining.
"Tsk tsk," Jiang Zhaoye marvelled. "Turns out it's pure romance."
Chen Tuizhi uttered a complex sigh: "...This world is insane; mice are serving as bridesmaids for cats."
Rate on N.U.
