The car was blasting loud heavy metal music, making Sang Zhi’s heart numb.

It eased her discomfort a bit.

Since he was sitting in the back seat, Duan Jiaxu hadn’t fastened his seatbelt. He didn’t lean in too close either, just slightly inclined forward. There was still a between them.

Neither too far nor too close.

Sang Zhi’s breath caught, unable to react immediately. She wanted to touch her face following his words but could hear the teasing tone in his voice, utterly unserious.

Instantly, she felt the displeasure of being teased by an older guy again.

She stopped her action and her face tensed. “How are you handsome?”

Qian Fei, who was glancing back, heard her words and instinctively looked at Sang Zhi, saying indignantly, “Exactly. And Duan Jiaxu, can you have some decency? How is the kid blushing?”

The music was loud and Sang Yan wasn’t paying much attention to their conversation but from Qian Fei’s words, he could roughly guess what Duan Jiaxu had said. He lowered the volume a bit and glanced through the rearview mirror.

“Isn’t he always like that?”

“True.” Qian Fei turned his head back, rolling his eyes dramatically. “Last time during the physical test, I was panting like a dog after running 1,000 meters. He saw and asked me why I was blushing just by seeing him.”

Sang Zhi: “……”

Duan Jiaxu leaned back into his seat, slouching like a boneless figure. Hearing Qian Fei’s words, he chuckled softly without interrupting.

Qian Fei grew more indignant. “I could barely catch my breath, then he said that and I almost suffocated.”

“Don’t even mention humans,” Sang Yan, who was turning the steering wheel, joined in criticizing Duan Jiaxu with a slightly mocking tone, “he talks like that even to dogs.”

“Huh?” Qian Fei was stunned for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. “He tells dogs, ‘You blush when you see Brother?’”

“……”

Sang Zhi imagined that scene.

Qian Fei gave Duan Jiaxu a thumbs up. “Impressive.”

Then he consoled Sang Zhi, “Little Sister, don’t pay attention to him. That brother is no good. Just play on your phone for a while. We’ll be there soon.”

Sang Zhi glanced at Duan Jiaxu and nodded expressionlessly.

Only then did Duan Jiaxu speak lazily, “Qian Fei, why are you sowing discord?”

Qian Fei made a sound, asking, “Am I sowing discord?”

Before anyone could respond, he looked at Sang Zhi again, “Little Sister, am I sowing discord?”

Sang Zhi shook her head. “No.”

Qian Fei spread his hands innocently at the front.

Sang Zhi grasped her seatbelt, intentionally adding, “This brother really doesn’t look like a good person.”

Upon hearing that, Duan Jiaxu’s eyelids twitched and he looked at Sang Zhi. As if he thought he had heard wrong, he slowly repeated, “I don’t look like a good person?”

Sang Zhi ignored him.

“Alright.” Duan Jiaxu’s lips curved faintly, saying meaningfully, “I’m not a good person.”

Pretending not to hear, Sang Zhi looked out of the window.

After a few seconds, she vaguely heard him say from his side.

“Little white-eyed wolf^[1]ungrateful person.”

Sang Yan drove the car to a nearby commercial area.

It was newly built and many shops hadn’t been rented out yet, so they hadn’t started operating. Only a few shops outside were open, making the area look somewhat desolate.

Afraid it would be hard to park, Sang Yan dropped the others first and then drove alone into the underground parking lot.

After getting out of the car, Sang Zhi felt increasingly uncomfortable. This feeling wasn’t quite like having diarrhea. She suddenly had a bad guess as she silently walked at the back.

Li Ping had told her about menstruation before. Many of her classmates had already experienced it and she occasionally heard them talking about it as well.

She saw them skipping PE classes because of it, drinking hot water in the summer, and going to the restroom every break because of it.

She saw it a lot and heard about it a lot.

Now, even if she was slow, Sang Zhi could connect it to that thing.

Li Ping was very meticulous in this regard. She had specifically prepared a few sanitary pads in each of Sang Zhi’s bags for emergencies.

But Sang Zhi thought she was just going out for dinner, so she hadn’t brought a bag. Her mind went blank and her pace slowed, hoping she was just overthinking.

Duan Jiaxu and Qian Fei walked ahead.

Qian Fei was enthusiastically discussing his recent gaming session with Sang Yan.

Duan Jiaxu listened casually. Soon, noticing Sang Zhi lagging behind, he stopped and turned back to ask, “Kid, why are you walking so slowly?”

Sang Zhi’s lips moved, but she didn’t speak.

“Walk in front.” Duan Jiaxu beckoned her. “If you walk behind, you might get kidnapped without Brother knowing.”

Qian Fei scratched his head awkwardly. “I forgot Sang Yan’s little sister was here……”

Sang Zhi dawdled, whispering, “Brother, I need to go to the restroom.”

Seeing her pale face, Duan Jiaxu asked, “Why is your face so pale? Not feeling well?”

“No.” Sang Zhi’s voice lowered. “I just need to go to the restroom.”

Seeing this, Duan Jiaxu roughly guessed what was happening and he lowered his voice to ask, “Upset stomach?”

Sang Zhi paused, then nodded.

“Let’s go inside the mall first.” Not wanting to embarrass her, Duan Jiaxu didn’t ask further. “Brother will take you to find the restroom.”

They had already planned to have dinner at a newly opened barbeque restaurant on the third floor of the mall. The indoor area was more crowded than outside, with more shops open.

Duan Jiaxu asked Qian Fei to go ahead of them and get a table.

Then he looked around for the signs, saying, “Kid, do you have tissues?”

Sang Zhi was silent for a few seconds. “No.”

“Then go to the restroom first, see if there are any tissues inside.” Duan Jiaxu thought for a moment. “If not, send Brother a message and I’ll buy some for you and get a sister to bring them in, okay?”

They walked in the direction of the signs.

Sang Zhi shook her head, uncomfortably saying, “I can go alone.”

“Let you go alone?” Duan Jiaxu raised an eyebrow. “This is your first time here, right? If you get lost, how will I explain to your brother?”

Sang Zhi mumbled, “Isn’t there a phone?”

Duan Jiaxu chuckled. “Why so much talking for a restroom visit?”

Sang Zhi immediately shut up.

10 meters away from the restroom, Duan Jiaxu stopped. “Go ahead.”

Sang Zhi glanced at him, then silently walked into the restroom. Luckily, it wasn’t crowded and the space was large. She found an empty stall, lifted her skirt, and pulled down her leggings and underwear.

Sure enough, it was as she had imagined.

Her underwear was stained with a large red patch and her black leggings seemed damp. Sang Zhi’s expression turned serious as she lifted the back of her skirt to check.

She was wearing a dark blue dress today. There was a slightly darker patch on the skirt, noticeable only if closely observed.

Sang Zhi felt devastated.

She wanted to go upstairs to buy some sanitary pads, but she didn’t have any money on her. And she couldn’t tell Duan Jiaxu about this matter, too embarrassed to say a word.

Feeling as if the world had collapsed, Sang Zhi stood there dazed for a long time. Finally, she made up her mind, pulling a long strip of tissue paper to line her underwear.

After leaving the bathroom, Sang Zhi found Duan Jiaxu still standing in the same spot, looking at his phone.

Noticing her with his peripheral vision, he put his phone back in his pocket. “Ready to go?”

“Brother.” Sang Zhi hesitated for a moment. “You go ahead. I want to wait for my brother.”

Duan Jiaxu said, “Your brother already went up.”

Her last hope shattered.

Sang Zhi hung her head. “……Oh, then let’s go.”

Feeling that she was acting unusual today, Duan Jiaxu was puzzled. “What’s going on with you today, Kid?”

Tonight’s sudden decision to go out was probably the most regrettable thing Sang Zhi had done in her life so far.

The misfortune of her delayed first period struck, accompanied by three guys who didn’t understand her at all.

They just thought she was being unreasonably willful.

Accepting Duan Jiaxu’s chide, she walked ahead in silence.

Duan Jiaxu couldn’t fathom what kids her age were thinking. Assuming she was just in a bad mood, he didn’t pay much attention. As he was about to follow her, his gaze swept on something.

At that moment, he noticed a darker spot on her dress.

“……”

Piecing together Sang Zhi’s strange behavior, Duan Jiaxu scratched his face and quickly approached her, hesitating as he asked, “It’s not diarrhea, right?”

Sang Zhi stopped, looked at him with red-rimmed eyes, and then quickly lowered her head without saying a word.

Duan Jiaxu felt a bit awkward. After a few seconds, he said, “Go back to the restroom. Brother will buy those for you.”

Sang Zhi didn’t move, her head bowed so low her expression couldn’t be seen.

“Go wait in the restroom first.” Duan Jiaxu reassured her. “It’s okay, it’s just a small matter.”

Hearing that, Sang Zhi’s shame surged and she suddenly burst into tears. Wiping her eyes, she cried with her shoulders shaking as if she had suffered a great grievance.

The awkward atmosphere was broken by her crying.

Duan Jiaxu, initially at a loss, couldn’t help but chuckle. But worried about upsetting her further, he stifled his laughter and asked, “Why are you crying again?”

Sang Zhi felt mortified. She kept her head down and continued to cry.

“Alright, don’t cry.” Duan Jiaxu coaxed in a low voice. “It’s not a bad thing. Go wait in the restroom.”

Not wanting to stay outside any longer, Sang Zhi nodded and choked out a “Thank you, Brother”, before walking back to the bathroom while trying to stifle her sobs.

After she went inside, Duan Jiaxu let out a sigh and headed towards the second floor. Once on the escalator, he decided to call Sang Yan.

The other party answered quickly, “Why aren’t you up here yet?”

Duan Jiaxu didn’t know how to respond.

“Hello? Can you hear me?” Sang Yan asked.

Duan Jiaxu grunted in response.

“The food’s already served. Why aren’t you coming up?”

“……”

“Say something, Man.”

“Bro, your sister—” Duan Jiaxu began.

“What?”

“She might be on her period.”

“……..”

The line fell silent as if Sang Yan had hung up.

Duan Jiaxu coughed and walked into the supermarket.

Sang Yan finally spoke, “Then what should we do?”

“……” Duan Jiaxu’s tone carried a hint of incredulity. “You’re asking me?”

Sang Yan was silent for a few more seconds before saying, “There’s a supermarket on the second floor. Go buy it, Bro.”

Duan Jiaxu found it ridiculous. “Is she my sister or yours?”

Sang Yan responded seriously, “You’re my bro.”

He was implying that his sister was also Duan Jiaxu’s sister.

Duan Jiaxu felt a headache coming on. “You come down and buy her personal items. I might get the wrong thing.”

There was a long pause.

Then Sang Yan swore, “Damn it.”

Duan Jiaxu: “?”

“Bad signal.”

Duan Jiaxu: “……”

“I’m hanging up.”

“……”