He and Zheng Xunqian seemed to have too much fate.

At this moment, Zheng Xunqian’s gaze was focused on the waiter holding the bowl of noodles and didn’t notice them. Jing Tian quickly turned back, hunching his back and burying his head low, trying to reduce his presence.

All these movements were noticed by Chu Chen Tao.

“He’s here too,” Chu Chen Tao said.

Jing Tian frowned, silent, feeling annoyed.

In that day’s class, Zheng Xunqian, just like yesterday, sat beside him as if it were only natural. The two didn’t exchange a word throughout the class, but after it ended, Zheng Xunqian invited him out for a meal again.

He told Zheng Xunqian he was busy and had plans.

“Bring me along,” Zheng Xunqian suggested at the time.

“Have you forgotten what I told you yesterday?” Jing Tian raised his chin and told him, “It’s pointless to pester me. Think about it properly!”

At that time, he was confident, but now he felt guilty.

Seeing him looking uncomfortable, Chu Chen Tao glanced in Zheng Xunqian’s direction and then shouted very loudly to the waiter who had just put down the bowl of noodles, “Excuse me, we’re ready to order here!”

His sudden loud voice was quite abrupt, and many people around turned to look.

Surprisingly, Zheng Xunqian remained completely unfazed, as if he were deaf, not even lifting his eyelids, solely focused on picking out a pair of chopsticks from the ones in front of him that matched perfectly in height and thickness.

For the first time, Jing Tian felt fortunate for Zheng Xunqian’s self-centeredness.

It’s not easy to attract the attention of someone completely immersed in their own world.

Unfortunately, there are always people who make things worse.

The waiter came to their table, stared at Jing Tian for a moment, and recognized him: “Oh, handsome guy is here again! Your hair color is different this time; I almost didn’t recognize you!”

Chu Chen Tao was slightly surprised: “You’ve been here before?”

Jing Tian chuckled with his neck shrunk.

After the waiter finished speaking, she pointed to where Zheng Xunqian was sitting and said, “Your friend is over there.”

Her memory was so good that it wasn’t necessary.

Before Jing Tian could stop her, the auntie enthusiastically shouted to Zheng Xunqian, “Order number 16, your friend is here too!”

Zheng Xunqian, having just picked out the perfect chopsticks, looked up.

Jing Tian met his gaze, and his face immediately turned pale.

Chu Chen Tao seemed quite satisfied with everything and smiled at the waiter, saying, “You don’t need to call him, we’re not together. We’ll have two bowls of the signature noodles, each with an additional braised egg.”

The waiter took the order and left quickly.

Jing Tian quickly averted his gaze, his heart pounding.

What would Zheng Xunqian think?

Yesterday, Yang Yue asked him if he wanted to use Chu Chen Tao to make Zheng Xunqian jealous. He denied it immediately, but afterwards, he did have some thoughts.

It sounded like a good idea—if Zheng Xunqian cared about him, he would surely show some reaction, right?

But in reality, facing such a situation felt absolutely terrible. He wished he could knock the bowl over his head and flee.

“Don’t be nervous,” Chu Chen Tao completely misunderstood, “I’m here, so you don’t have to be afraid.”

Jing Tian lamented inwardly, just shut up!

You really shouldn’t have bad intentions; there will be consequences. He should have cursed Chu Chen Tao out on the phone yesterday and hung up.

After pretending to be dead for a while, he couldn’t help but be curious about Zheng Xunqian’s current reaction. Gathering his courage, he secretly turned around to take a look, only to be stunned.

Zheng Xunqian was quietly eating his noodles with his head down.

Jing Tian squinted his eyes immediately.

How can I describe this feeling? Afraid that he would come, yet afraid that he wouldn’t.

Seeing him unfazed, Jing Tian felt a bit annoyed, wishing he could go over and slam his table, urging him to pay attention.

At this moment, Zheng Xunqian, who usually minded his own business, noticed the gaze directed towards him and lifted his head.

The two locked eyes again, and Zheng Xunqian, just like before, didn’t flinch, staring straight at him.

Jing Tian’s heart drummed wildly, and he retreated once again.

“Don’t look,” Chu Chen Tao said, “Ignore whatever he does.”

But Jing Tian couldn’t help but be both timid and curious. When he looked back for the third time, Zheng Xunqian was still holding the chopsticks, frowning and motionless, lost in thought.

The auntie sitting diagonally across from Zheng Xunqian at the same long table as him shouted, “Young man, young man, stop shaking your leg! The table is shaking too!”

As she spoke, she reached out and shook in front of Zheng Xunqian.

Surprised, Zheng Xunqian looked up, “Sorry.”

Jing Tian felt slightly puzzled. Zheng Xunqian had never had this bad habit before.

He suddenly realized that this seemingly calm person nearby might be much more restless inside than he had imagined.

Just as he was thinking about whether to send a message to explain, Zheng Xunqian suddenly stood up abruptly.

A sense of foreboding arose in Jing Tian’s heart.

As expected, Zheng Xunqian quickly walked over to their table, lowered his head to look at him, opened his mouth, but didn’t say anything.

“…What?” Jing Tian asked.

Chu Chen Tao, standing up beside him, also asked, “Is there something you need?”

Zheng Xunqian didn’t even look at him, his gaze still on Jing Tian’s face, and he spoke with a tone that wasn’t forceful but rather calm, “Why?”

His tone wasn’t strong, but Jing Tian could still detect a hint of grievance.

Why would you be with him? Why refuse my invitation to be with him?

Jing Tian, who had thought of himself as confident and outgoing not long ago, still felt at a loss in such a situation, even after regaining his memories.

He was still angry with Zheng Xunqian and had no intention of forgiving him for the time being. But he didn’t want him to misunderstand the relationship between him and Chu Chen Tao in the slightest.

Jing Tian swallowed hard, gathered his courage, and stood up. “I…”

“You don’t have to be afraid of him,” Chu Chen Tao suddenly reached out and pulled him over, “I’m here.”

Before his fingers could touch Jing Tian’s coat, Zheng Xunqian, who had been ignored for so long, grabbed him.

“Don’t touch him,” Zheng Xunqian said.

Chu Chen Tao immediately became displeased, trying to pull his hand back, “What’s it to you?”

He exerted some force, but Zheng Xunqian, after stopping him, didn’t want any further contact with him and let go of his hand, which was a bit too forceful.

Chu Chen Tao’s arm swung uncontrollably, hitting the waitress who was approaching with the bowl of noodles.

The bowl of noodles toppled over due to inertia, and the thick and fragrant broth spilled everywhere.

The waitress screamed, and Zheng Xunqian quickly reached out to pull Jing Tian, shielding him on the other side.

After a brief chaos, the scene was a mess.

“What are you doing?” The waitress, with noodles splattered all over her, frowned and shouted at Chu Chen Tao, “Why are you waving your hands around?!”

Chu Chen Tao’s entire arm and half of his body were covered in soup, looking very disheveled. The freshly cooked noodle soup was naturally scalding hot, and he winced as he vigorously shook it off, frowning.

It looked quite painful. Jing Tian couldn’t help asking, “Are you okay?”

As if awakened by this question, Chu Chen Tao lifted his head and took a step forward, looking angrily ahead, reaching out to grab Zheng Xunqian’s collar.

Jing Tian was still blocked by Zheng Xunqian and couldn’t stop him. Fortunately, Zheng Xunqian reacted quickly, swiftly dodging to the side.

Chu Chen Tao missed, feeling embarrassed, and deliberately put on an indifferent attitude, saying, “Scared?”

“Nonsense,” Zheng Xunqian said, “Your hand is covered in oil.”

The air was quiet for three seconds. Jing Tian turned his head and tried to suppress his laughter.

Chu Chen Tao, feeling both embarrassed and angry, was about to explode when suddenly, there was a loud “bang” from the side.

“What are you all doing?” The waitress slammed the bowl she was holding, along with the tray underneath, onto the table, raising her voice, “If you want to fight, go outside! Making a mess here will affect our business!”

Chu Chen Tao took a deep breath and pointed to Zheng Xunqian, “You come with me.”

Zheng Xunqian frowned, looking at Chu Chen Tao’s oily half body with a disgusted expression.

“Forget it,” Jing Tian squeezed between them, trying to push Chu Chen Tao but hesitated due to not wanting to get his hands dirty. Instead, he held his hands up in the air, “Senior, you better go back and clean up… the fishy smell will seep in if you don’t wash it off quickly.”

Chu Chen Tao hesitated for half a second, then continued to threaten Zheng Xunqian, “I’ll let you off today because of him.”

After saying that, he turned and walked away.

Jing Tian was hesitating whether to follow when Zheng Xunqian grabbed his wrist from behind.

Chu Chen Tao reached the door and turned back to look at Jing Tian. From his angle, Jing Tian’s lower body was blocked by the table and chairs, so he couldn’t see their interaction.

Seeing Chu Chen Tao’s silent signal to follow, Jing Tian, in a panic, came up with a plan, “You go back first, I’ll clean up here for you!”

Chu Chen Tao hesitated visibly.

The auntie waiter nearby was pleased to hear this, sighing repeatedly, “This handsome young man has good manners; you can’t judge a book by its cover.”

Jing Tian turned away without looking at Chu Chen Tao and smiled at the auntie, “It’s nothing.”

Zheng Xunqian still held his hand, gently shaking it.

In the end, it was Zheng Xunqian who cleaned up the mess.

Staying to clean was just an excuse for Jing Tian. He was reluctant and not good at it in the first place, using the mop so awkwardly. After a futile effort, not only was the floor not clean, but the affected area also expanded. Zheng Xunqian, standing nearby, silently took the cleaning tools from him.

“…Sorry,” Jing Tian said awkwardly.

“Why did you clean up for him?” Zheng Xunqian asked as he worked.

Because I’m unlucky, Jing Tian thought.

“Um…” He looked at Zheng Xunqian, “Then why did you clean up for me?”

“Because you obviously don’t know how,” Zheng Xunqian said, “I can do it faster. Besides, I’ve cleaned up worse messes for you.”

Jing Tian felt helpless; this person would probably never say what he wanted to hear.

Zheng Xunqian nodded towards a nearby chair, indicating for him to sit.

As Jing Tian obediently sat down, he muttered quietly, “It’s strange. You would’ve definitely added ‘getting in the way, go away’ in the past.”

Zheng Xunqian paused for a moment and then said, “Then you would be even less willing to talk to me.”

“…,” Jing Tian licked his lips and said, “I don’t care about those little things.”

Zheng Xunqian remained silent.

He quickly cleaned the floor spotless and returned the mop to the shopkeeper. Since Jing Tian and Chu Chen Tao hadn’t paid for their noodles yet, he settled the bill for them as well.

Jing Tian hesitated, unsure whether to give the money back to him. It was proper to do so, but it felt strange if Chu Chen Tao’s portion was paid for by him too. He had a hunch that Zheng Xunqian wouldn’t like it.

In the end, he resorted to his most skilled trick, “You’ve worked hard. Let me treat you to bubble tea.”

Zheng Xunqian seemed surprised but quickly agreed, “Okay.”

The two sat in front of the familiar bubble tea shop, holding their drinks, silently sitting.

Jing Tian flattened the straw and found it especially difficult to suck up the tapioca pearls. Zheng Xunqian couldn’t help but laugh as he watched.

“Why didn’t you ask me why I was with him?” Jing Tian asked.

“Since you didn’t leave with him,” Zheng Xunqian said.

Jing Tian wondered, was it because of this? Was Zheng Xunqian too confident, or did he not care enough about him?

Zheng Xunqian glanced at him and said, “If you liked him, you wouldn’t have minded his dirty appearance just now.”

He had noticed that inconspicuous little gesture.

Jing Tian recalled silently whether he had subconsciously avoided the oily stains when he accidentally spilled soup on Zheng Xunqian. He couldn’t remember. Those stains seemed so insignificant in his memory.

Zheng Xunqian continued, “If I had asked, you would’ve thought about him again.”

“What do you mean, think about him,” Jing Tian sighed, feeling exasperated, “I don’t think about him!”

“Hmm,” Zheng Xunqian said, “Then let’s not talk about him.”

Jing Tian lowered his head and continued to bite the straw.

Suddenly, a bubble popped up in his mind. He remembered copying astrological traits secretly into his notebook before. One of the characteristics of Scorpio was jealousy.

It didn’t sound like a good trait and should have been tricky. Zheng Xunqian seemed to fit this characteristic, but he behaved strangely.

The straw was completely flattened by Jing Tian’s biting.

“…You were like that too that day,” Zheng Xunqian said, looking at him, “You couldn’t suck up the mochi balls at the bottom, so you changed to another side and kept biting until the straw became square.”

Jing Tian didn’t remember those details. In his revived memories, those details were all blurry. That day, he was concerned about other things.

“You looked… particularly annoyed with me that day,” he said to Zheng Xunqian.

Zheng Xunqian was stunned.

“I must be really annoying,” Jing Tian chuckled self-deprecatingly, “Always doing inexplicable and annoying things.”

He had dirtied Zheng Xunqian’s clothes and said many stubborn and unattractive words.

He didn’t like being like this at all, but in front of Zheng Xunqian, he couldn’t control it. His arrogance and inferiority were fighting in his mind, causing excessive contradictions and intense emotions, making him appear strange.

Zheng Xunqian’s undisguised disgust and resentment that day were reasonable, but they still hurt him.

Jing Tian lifted his head, smiled at Zheng Xunqian, pretended to be indifferent, and asked, “What were you thinking at that time?”

Zheng Xunqian looked at Jing Tian’s cup of bubble tea, quiet for a while, seemingly reminiscing.

“I don’t know,” he said, “It’s not like I forgot. It’s… I didn’t know what I was thinking at that time. But I was… puzzled, I guess?”

“Puzzled about what?”

Zheng Xunqian let out a sigh, raised his gaze, and looked at Jing Tian’s face, “Always doing inexplicable and annoying things. I really should dislike you.”

Jing Tian listened and couldn’t help but squeeze the cup in his hand, leaving a few marks.

“But strangely, I don’t at all. It doesn’t make sense.” Zheng Xunqian said, “I can’t figure it out, so it’s bothering me.”

“…”

“From the moment I remembered your name, I’ve been getting stranger,” Zheng Xunqian said.

As he spoke, he suddenly thought of something and laughed to himself, “Well, you’re also a strange person. Thinking about it, aren’t we a perfect match?”

Jing Tian was stunned for a moment, quickly lowered his head, and whispered in protest, “…You didn’t become strange because of me, you were strange from the beginning.”