During the summer vacation, except for one or two calls from her father occasionally, her mother and Xu Zhijia had almost no contact with her. Xu Zhilu’s quietness even made her feel that it was good. She hoped that they could live in harmony like this in the future. She didn’t need these family affections; she just wanted to enjoy life quietly by herself.

She returned home a week before school started. Shen Siyan, Cheng Song, and Xin An’an came to the station to pick her up in person. Xu Zhilu pulled the luggage out, and Xin An’an ran over.

“Ahhhhhh Zhilu! I missed you so much!” She hugged Xu Zhilu and couldn’t help screaming, “Wuwuwu, how could you have the heart to not come back for over a month!”

Xu Zhilu laughed, coughed twice, and patted her shoulder. “An’an, calm down, I can’t breathe.”

Xin An’an let out an “ah” and then got off her. “Let me see if you’ve lost weight.”

Xu Zhilu let her look, smiling with the corners of her lips curved. “Well, have I?”

Xin An’an touched her chin and walked around her, then smiled and shook her head. “Not really.” She smiled. “You’re getting prettier and prettier.”

Xu Zhilu smiled. Cheng Song quickly added, “That’s right. I haven’t seen you for more than a month, and I feel like I don’t recognize you anymore.”

Xu Zhilu raised her eyebrows. “So exaggerated?”

Cheng Song pointed and said, “If you don’t believe me, ask Brother Yan.”

Xu Zhilu turned her head subconsciously. The two then looked into each other’s eyes.

Shen Siyan seemed a little taller. He was wearing short jeans and a white T-shirt, looking fresh and clean. He had just had his hair cut, and his eyebrows were sharp and his eyes bright. He looked handsome in a different way than usual.

Xu Zhilu was stunned and stared at his neat, short hair for a few seconds.

“Brother Yan, I’m talking to you.”

Cheng Song looked at the two silent people and said, “Xu Zhilu has become much prettier and more elegant than before.”

Shen Siyan hummed and said calmly, “Is that right?”

Cheng Song: “…”

He glanced at Shen Siyan with disdain. “You really don’t know how to talk.”

Xu Zhilu met Shen Siyan’s gaze and turned away proudly. “Maybe there really isn’t.”

Shen Siyan choked and looked down at her. Actually, she did. Over the summer vacation, she not only did not get tanned, but also became much whiter. Her temperament was also much better, just as the two had just said.

She was dressed simply, in shorts and a white T-shirt, looking youthful and pretty.

Shen Siyan retracted his gaze from her and said softly, “Let’s go, let’s eat first.”

Cheng Song and Xin An’an looked at each other silently, both feeling helpless.

“Let’s go, let’s go.”

Xin An’an calmed down and pulled Xu Zhilu aside, saying, “What do you want to eat for your first meal after returning?”

Xu Zhilu didn’t think twice: “How about bullfrog hotpot?”

Xin An’an: “I think so too.”

The two girls had made their decision, and the other two boys had basically no objection.

Shen Siyan took her luggage and walked out first. He asked the driver to come over, and after the four of them got in the car, it was just right.

Cheng Song was forced to sit in the front passenger seat, while Xu Zhilu sat in the middle of the back seat, with Xin An’an on one side and Shen Siyan on the other. Due to their positions, their legs were accidentally touched.

She subconsciously moved to the side, feeling a little uncomfortable.

Shen Siyan was calm. After getting in the car, he just looked at his phone and didn’t say anything.

“Are you tired?” Xin An’an muttered beside her. “You don’t know how bored I was during the summer vacation.”

Xu Zhilu burst into laughter. “Isn’t it quite interesting?”

Although the two had never met, they chatted almost every day.

Xin An’an was taking cram school during the summer vacation. Fortunately, she and Cheng Song were enrolled in the same cram school, so they met every day. She told Xu Zhilu about Cheng Song’s embarrassing stories every day.

Xin An’an rolled her eyes. “It’s not interesting at all, it’s boring.”

Xu Zhilu smiled but did not expose her.

Xin An’an said, “School will start in a few days, what are you going to do?”

Xu Zhilu shook her head. “I haven’t thought about it yet, let’s sleep for a day.”

“Okay, if you want to go play, let’s go together. We haven’t been out to play this summer.”

“Good.”

The two of them were chattering away, not caring whether the other two would find it annoying.

Shen Siyan asked the driver to take Xu Zhilu’s luggage home directly, and then took them to the hot pot restaurant in the mall.

It wasn’t the regular mealtime, so there weren’t many people, and there was no need to queue.

After entering, the four began a large-scale raid.

Xu Zhilu and Shen Siyan were arranged to sit aside.

She got up and went to the bathroom. When she came back, Xin An’an and Cheng Song were not there.

“Where are An’an and Cheng Song?” Xu Zhilu asked.

Shen Siyan glanced at her and said, “They went to queue up to buy milk tea.”

Xu Zhilu said “Oh” to show that she understood.

Shen Siyan stretched out his hand and poured her a glass of water. “Drink some water.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Xu Zhilu looked at him. “Are you not busy today?”

Hearing this, Shen Siyan raised his eyebrows. “When was I busy?”

Xu Zhilu curled her lips. “Who knows?”

Shen Siyan was so angry that he laughed and said calmly, “I’m not busy.”

He watched Xu Zhilu drink most of the water, then said, “Just now…”

“What?”

Xu Zhilu turned to look at him.

Shen Siyan paused and said softly, “You have indeed become more beautiful.”

Xu Zhilu: “…”

She was stunned for a moment, then said “Oh” expressionlessly. “Really? Thank you.”

Shen Siyan raised his eyebrows. “That’s it?”

Xu Zhilu gave him a sidelong glance and said confidently, “What else do you want? Your compliment is really forced.”

Shen Siyan was speechless.

“How is it forced?” He looked at her with burning eyes. “I am telling the truth. I just didn’t react for a moment.”

Xu Zhilu lowered her eyes and sipped the water slowly without saying a word.

“Oh.”

Shen Siyan observed her reaction and couldn’t help laughing. “That’s it?”

Xu Zhilu turned to look at him. “What else do you want? Do you want me to praise you too?”

Shen Siyan said shamelessly, “Okay, praise me.”

Xu Zhilu: “…I won’t. You have nothing to brag about.”

She muttered, “But I did notice that you’re a little darker.”

Shen Siyan: “…”

He was so angry at her that he laughed. He couldn’t help but pat her head. “What are you talking about?”

Xu Zhilu snorted arrogantly. “That’s how it is; you are dark.”

Shen Siyan asked, “What does it matter if a man is a little darker?” He paused and looked at Xu Zhilu. “You don’t like dark skin?”

Xu Zhilu shook her head. “A fair complexion can hide three kinds of ugliness. Don’t you understand? If you look like this and you get a tan, it will be even more unsightly.”

At this point, Shen Siyan finally understood her sarcasm. He patted the back of her head and said with a smile, “I look like this, what’s wrong with me?”

Xu Zhilu replied confidently, “You know it clearly in your heart.”

“Am I ugly?”

Xu Zhilu turned around and glanced at him calmly. “It’s just so-so.”

Shen Siyan: “…”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Shen Siyan recalled, “But I remember that someone praised me for being handsome before, saying that I have beautiful eyes, a straight nose, and a beautiful mouth. Wasn’t that person you?”

Xu Zhilu paused, holding her cup, and looked at him blankly. “You remembered it wrong; I didn’t say such a thing.”

She would never admit that she had ever praised Shen Siyan like that. Anyway, he had no evidence, so she just denied it.

Shen Siyan glanced at her red ears and sneered. “Oh.”

Xu Zhilu’s ears turned red whenever she lied. This was a physical reaction she had had since she was a child. The two had known each other for a long time, so Shen Siyan knew all the little signs she made when she was lying.

Xu Zhilu nodded and was about to say something like “yes” or “that’s it” when Shen Siyan suddenly reached out and pinched her ear.

Because of his love for playing basketball, Shen Siyan’s fingers were not as delicate as those of most people. His fingertips felt numb, uneven, rough, and burning.

Xu Zhilu’s body froze, and she turned to look at him in disbelief, even forgetting to slap his hand away at first.

“You are–“

Before she could finish her words, Shen Siyan’s dark and bright eyes attracted her. He asked in a low voice, “Then why are your ears red?”

***

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