Chapter 18: Let’s Go—

Hang Xia rubbed his wrist with a wronged expression, muttering, “He hit me for no reason. I was just talking to Yao Wenjing.”

Yao Wenjing slightly parted his lips, looking completely helpless.

“It’s fine,” Lu Liu comforted. “They do this all the time. It has nothing to do with you.”

“Did we scare you?” Hang Xia quickly bounced back to his usual playful self, taking advantage of Shen Xiangyu’s lack of attention to punch him on the arm. “This is totally normal. Don’t all brothers mess around like this? Except for Lu Liu, who’s always hanging around with that fake smile.”

Lu Liu: “…”

Lin Zhi turned to look at Lu Liu, realizing that, in the eyes of Lu Liu’s friends, his gentle demeanor was just an act. It seemed his understanding of Lu Liu was only ^[1]“Skin deep” refers to something that is only superficial or not deep or meaningful. It suggests that something appears one way on the surface but lacks depth or substance underneath.skin deep.

“No,” Yao Wenjing shook his head, speaking quietly, “Lin Zhi and I have never messed around like that.”

“Uh…” Hang Xia paused, “Maybe it’s just that everyone has different ways of interacting.”

“Mm.” Yao Wenjing nodded seriously.

Lin Zhi held back a laugh, clearing his throat lightly. As expected, Hang Xia asked Yao Wenjing to say something, but it quickly turned into an awkward silence.

“Well, how come the food’s not here yet?” Hang Xia awkwardly changed the subject. “This is so boring. Let’s play a game!”

No one responded.

Lin Zhi hated seeing others feel awkward. Seeing that neither Lu Liu nor his friends were responding to Hang Xia, he smiled and asked, “What kind of game?”

Actually, Hang Xia didn’t need anyone to respond. Before Lin Zhi even finished his question, he had already taken out a spoon. After Lin Zhi asked, he became even more excited.

“See this spoon?” Hang Xia exaggeratedly showed it to everyone, “In a moment, I’ll put it on the table and spin it. Whoever the handle points to has to choose truth or dare…”

Before he could finish, Shen Xiangyu snorted, “How old-fashioned.”

Guan Junnan looked at the spoon and said, “Who’s going to use it once it’s dirty?”

Lu Liu thought for a moment, then asked with a “fake” smile, “Why should you be the one to spin it?”

Lin Zhi hesitated, looking between people, wondering whether or not to join in.

“It sounds kind of fun…” Yao Wenjing said weakly.

He had never had many friends growing up. He occasionally saw others playing similar games and found them interesting, but he had never been invited to join in.

Lin Zhi paused, then nodded, agreeing with Yao Wenjing. He and Yao Wenjing had always been “serious” with each other, and it seemed they had never done anything fun together. He was also cautious because Yao Wenjing was sensitive and rarely joked with him.

Now that he thought about it, he really wasn’t being a very interesting friend.

“See, you guys have good taste,” Hang Xia snapped his fingers with one hand, answering his three mischievous friends’ questions, “It may be old-fashioned, but it never goes out of style. I’ll just grab an extra clean bowl and chopsticks, alright? I’m just making an example, I didn’t say I spin it every time.”

Seeing Lin Zhi was interested, Lu Liu shrugged, signaling that it was fine.

“Shall we start then?” Hang Xia was eager to begin. “I’ll go first. Whoever gets chosen next will spin. Let’s go—”