Why did Qian Fei come up all of a sudden?

As they were chatting, Duan Jiaxu suddenly thought Qian Fei was smart.

Sang Zhi couldn’t understand his thoughts at all and could only nod in agreement. She fell silent, then turned on her phone and found Qian Fei in her WeChat contacts.

She wanted to ask him but felt it was strange to suddenly reach out to him when she had never done so before. Besides, since he was close to Duan Jiaxu, he probably wouldn’t tell her anything easily.

Sang Zhi decided to rely on herself and tried hard to think about the logic of his words.

She thought for a long time, however, she still couldn’t find any connection.

But then, Sang Zhi suddenly realized something.

Why did she have to obediently answer his questions?

Why did she have to be interrogated like a criminal?

This matter didn’t seem to have much to do with him anyway. Why should she lie to answer him? If she just stayed silent, there was nothing he could do.

Realizing how foolish her previous reaction had been, Sang Zhi let out a frustrated sigh. She felt as if she had fallen into a trap and couldn’t vent her anger, leaving her only to stew in it.

The next moment, Duan Jiaxu casually asked, “How did you come to like him?”

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

After waiting a long time without getting any response, Duan Jiaxu sensed her displeasure and didn’t continue the topic, “Soon, you’ll be with strangers. Will you feel uncomfortable?”

Sang Zhi replied stiffly, “No.”

“If you don’t want to stay, just let me know.”

“Oh.”

Duan Jiaxu glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and asked, “Why are you talking so little?”

“I’m not.” Sang Zhi looked at the colorful neon lights outside and couldn’t help but say, “Also, I don’t mean to complain, but just a reminder. You might not have noticed that you talk too much.”

“Hmm?”

“I really don’t mean to complain,” Sang Zhi said with a straight face, repeating herself deliberately, “If you want to keep talking, go ahead. I’m just reminding you.”

“……” Duan Jiaxu laughed again. “Do I talk too much?”

“Yes.”

Duan Jiaxu humbly asked, “How do I talk too much?”

During the whole ride, Sang Zhi had been asked hundreds of questions by him. She got a bit impatient and suddenly turned her head to say, “Can you stop asking questions?”

Duan Jiaxu’s eyebrows rose and instinctively asked, “Why……”

Sang Zhi stared at him, clearly about to explode.

But before she could say anything, Duan Jiaxu slowly added one more word, “Period.”

“……”

———pr


The dinner’s venue was the same hot pot restaurant where Duan Jiaxu and Sang Zhi had waited in line for a long time but hadn’t managed to eat due to an incident.

Most of the others were already there.

Three square tables were combined to form a large table with three pots in the middle. Sang Zhi glanced around and saw about ten people.

Two seats in the corner were left empty, presumably reserved for them.

Sang Zhi also noticed the woman she had seen at the airport before.

A man with a buzz cut noticed their arrival and said with a grin, “Brother Duan, you’re late, we’ve already started eating.”

Duan Jiaxu explained with a faint smile, “I was picking someone up.”

Buzz Cut man asked, “Your girlfriend?”

Hearing that, Duan Jiaxu turned his head and looked at Sang Zhi.

Then he calmly said two words, “A friend.”

“……” Hearing what he said, Sang Zhi froze for a moment, then calmly greeted everyone and followed Duan Jiaxu to sit in the innermost seats.

She unpacked the utensils, feeling somewhat absent-minded.

He actually said ‘friend’.

Surprisingly, not ‘sister’.

Sang Zhi couldn’t believe her ears.

Soon, the man sitting opposite Sang Zhi handed over the menu with a smile, “See if you two want to add anything.”

Duan Jiaxu, sitting next to Sang Zhi, said, “See what you want to eat.”

Sang Zhi nodded, glanced at the menu, and randomly added a few items before pushing the menu to Duan Jiaxu. “Brother Jiaxu, I want to go to the restroom.”

“Turn left after you go out.” Duan Jiaxu said, “Can you find it yourself?”

“Mm.”

“Then go ahead.”

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

Sang Zhi went in, used the restroom, and came out of the stall.

As soon as she came out, she saw the ‘superior’ Duan Jiaxu had mentioned standing at one of the sinks.

Sang Zhi paused, feeling a bit awkward. Then she quickly walked over. She turned on the faucet and politely greeted the other party.

The woman took a paper towel to dry her hands and gently asked, “You’re Sang Zhi, right?”

“……” Sang Zhi nodded. “Yes.”

“I’m Jiang^[1]江 – river Siyun, you can just 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 hurriedly said, “I remember.”

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

“Yes.”

They walked out of the restroom side by side and Jiang Siyun continued, “I remember seeing you at that time. You looked so small then, but now you’re almost taller than me.”

“My development is slow,” Sang Zhi continued softly, “and I probably won’t grow any taller.”

“It’s fine. Women don’t need to be too tall.”

Sang Zhi nodded again.

Jiang Siyun’s tone was gentle and pleasant to listen to, “When we met at the airport, I didn’t get to greet you properly.”

“It’s okay, I was already bothering you.”

“Thinking about it, it was actually not very appropriate for me to go at that time. But I didn’t think much and just wanted to help.” Jiang Siyun smiled. “Because Jiaxu had a bit of a fever that day, I initially wanted my husband to drive him to the airport, but he had to meet a client at the last minute.”

Sang Zhi looked up, unsure of what to say.

“Over the years, Jiaxu has helped the company a lot so my husband and I wanted to help him more. When I saw he wasn’t feeling well, I got out of the car to help him find you. Later, Jiaxu was worried that having a stranger around would make you uncomfortable and asked me to leave first, so I didn’t stay.” Jiang Siyun continued, “I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to you.”

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

They happened to return to the hot pot restaurant.

Jiang Siyun patted Sang Zhi’s arm and they both returned to their seats. Sang Zhi glanced in the other party’s direction and noticed how close she was to the man next to her.

Sang Zhi looked away.

She felt that what the other party had just said to her seemed like an explanation.

But it didn’t seem necessary for Jiang Siyun to explain so much to her. It couldn’t be that just after meeting twice, the other party had figured out her thoughts, right?

She couldn’t have been that obvious, could she……?

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

Sang Zhi snapped back to reality. “Oh.”

After dinner, the group planned to continue to the next place.

This time, Duan Jiaxu didn’t go with them. After bidding farewell to the others, he took Sang Zhi for a walk nearby. Sang Zhi took out her phone and asked, “Brother Jiaxu, how about we watch a movie?”

Duan Jiaxu asked, “What do you want to watch?”

“Baymax.”

“Baymax?”

“《Big Hero 6》” Sang Zhi explained, noticing his confused tone. “It’s an animated movie.”

Duan Jiaxu drew out the last syllable lazily, “Oh, that one.”

Sang Zhi didn’t expose him and lowered her head to check the nearest showtimes. “I don’t know if it’s still showing. I haven’t had time to see it yet.”

“Did you find it?”

“Mm.” Sang Zhi showed him her phone. “There’s a showing at 8:30 at the cinema on the fifth floor. Should we book it?”

Duan Jiaxu agreed. “Okay.”

Passing by a milk tea shop, Sang Zhi pointed and said, “Brother Jiaxu, I want to get an oolong tea. Do you want anything?”

“I don’t drink that. You go ahead.”

“Won’t you get thirsty during the movie?”

“I’ll get a bottle of water later.”

“……”

What an old-fashioned health-conscious man.

He didn’t understand anything and didn’t drink anything.

The shop was busy, with many people lined up outside.

They queued for quite a while before Sang Zhi placed her order and took the number to wait on the side. She checked the time and blinked. “Why don’t you go get a bottle of water now? We might not have enough time later.”

Duan Jiaxu thought for a moment. “Then wait here and don’t wander off.”

Sang Zhi nodded and found a seat inside the milk tea shop, waiting. Just as Duan Jiaxu returned, her number was called.

The cup was made of opaque paper and it still felt warm in her hand.

Sang Zhi inserted a straw into the cup and took a sip. She immediately sensed something was off, but before she could react, she had already swallowed the drink.

She halted.

Noticing her movement, Duan Jiaxu turned his head. “What’s wrong?”

With the lingering taste in her mouth, Sang Zhi licked her lips and hesitantly said, “This drink doesn’t seem like oolong tea, it tastes a bit like……”

Before she finished, Duan Jiaxu took the cup from her and opened the lid. His expression changed and he frowned. “This is milk tea.”

Sang Zhi exclaimed, looking at him instinctively. Maybe it was psychological, but she felt her face itch instantly. “But I ordered oolong tea……”

Duan Jiaxu glanced at her, pausing. “You have a rash on your face.”

“……” Sang Zhi reflexively touched her face, feeling her throat swelling slightly, making it difficult to speak. “I only had a small sip.”

Duan Jiaxu’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his expression grim. He immediately pulled her downstairs.

“Let’s go to the hospital first.”

Fortunately, she had only drunk a small amount. After receiving an injection at the hospital, Sang Zhi’s symptoms gradually subsided. She even had the mind to refund the movie tickets, saying, “Brother Jiaxu.”

Duan Jiaxu returned with her prescription. “What?”

Sang Zhi blinked, unable to help but say, “The milk tea was quite good.”

“……” Duan Jiaxu found it absurd. “You still want to drink it?”

“I don’t dare. I’ve never had it before, so I just wanted to share my thoughts.” Sang Zhi shook her head and muttered, “The last time I drank milk, I threw up all night. How could I dare drink it again?”

At that, Duan Jiaxu remembered something and asked tentatively, “Didn’t I buy you milk before?”

Sang Zhi paused and vaguely hummed in response.

Duan Jiaxu was silent for a few seconds before asking, “Did you drink it?”

“No.” Sang Zhi quickly said, “I gave it to someone else.”

Duan Jiaxu had learned about her milk allergy from Li Ping once while he was at Sang Zhi’s house. He stood in front of her, sensing something amiss. “Why didn’t you tell me before that you couldn’t drink it?”

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

Duan Jiaxu stared at her, seemingly recalling something. After a long pause, he spoke again, “In the future, before drinking anything outside, make sure you check the contents first.”

Sang Zhi didn’t want him to see the rash on her face so she kept her head down. “Okay.”

They left the hospital and walked side by side towards the parking lot.

Sang Zhi’s face still itched and she couldn’t help but reach up to scratch. Eventually, Duan Jiaxu held both of her hands and led her forward.

She walked beside him, staring at his action.

It felt like he was walking a dog.

Halfway there, Sang Zhi suddenly remembered how he introduced her as a ‘friend’ to his colleagues today. She bit her lip, struggling internally for a long time before finally asking, “Brother Jiaxu, why did you tell them I’m your friend?”

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

Hearing that, Duan Jiaxu turned his head.

It was a quiet night, the lights glaring and the parking lot empty.

Sang Zhi had half her face covered with a scarf. Tilting her head, she noticed his slightly raised eyebrows with a hint of tenderness, as well as the small curve of his lips.

Her heartbeat inexplicably quickened.

There was a brief silence.

The biting cold wind blew, rustling in her ears.

The next moment, Duan Jiaxu spoke.

His deep voice was carried by the wind, blowing into Sang Zhi’s ears.

“Did you really take me as your brother?”