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“Tan Yixuan!” Wang Sasa turned around and saw Tan Yixuan in a daze, not avoiding even the obstacle on her left.

Since the event was held in the square, there were many children just learning to roller-skate, stumbling around.

Tan Yixuan didn’t notice and was knocked over by a boy in an elementary school uniform.

Wang Sasa hurried over, crouched down, and examined Tan Yixuan’s injuries. “Are you okay? Where did you get hit?”

The boy, tall and robust, got up grumbling and dusted off his knees, giving Wang Sasa and Tan Yixuan a scowl. “Don’t you look where you’re going?”

Wang Sasa’s eyebrows furrowed in anger, ready to scold the boy, but Tan Yixuan came to her senses and covered her knee, crying out in pain, “It hurts…”

Hearing the cry of pain, Wang Sasa immediately focused on Tan Yixuan’s scraped knee and frowned. “Can you stand? I’ll help you to a bench.”

Tan Yixuan tried to get up, but a sharp pain shot through her ankle, and it seemed she had twisted her foot as well.

Wang Sasa sighed deeply, reluctantly crouched down, and said, “Never mind, I’ll carry you to the hospital.”

Tan Yixuan looked at Wang Sasa’s frail back and hesitated for a long time. With people all around, sitting there wasn’t a good option, so she reluctantly climbed onto Wang Sasa’s back.

Tan Yixuan was as tall as Wang Sasa but had developed earlier. Normally, this wasn’t noticeable in school uniforms, but now, with their bodies pressed together, Wang Sasa felt Tan Yixuan’s soft curves.

Wang Sasa tried to ignore the awkward feeling caused by their close contact. She lifted Tan Yixuan’s knees and smiled playfully. “Tan Yixuan, have you gained weight?”

Tan Yixuan remained silent, ignoring her. Since she was lying on Wang Sasa’s back and couldn’t support herself with her arms, she had to cling to Wang Sasa’s slender neck. She rested her head on Wang Sasa’s shoulder and spoke softly, “If we go to the hospital now, we’ll miss the competition.”

Wang Sasa tilted her head uncomfortably, then rolled her eyes in a place Tan Yixuan couldn’t see, but her tone remained gentle and soft. “Isn’t that putting the cart before the horse?”

Tan Yixuan murmured a soft “Ah” and asked in confusion, “Putting the cart before the horse?”

Wang Sasa smiled and explained, “Don’t you know why I came to this square dance competition?”

The uncontrollable feeling in her heart came back…

Tan Yixuan lightly touched her chest, feeling a dull ache, and her face grew increasingly warm. Her voice unconsciously softened, “Is it… because of me?”

Wang Sasa raised her eyebrows. Even though she couldn’t see Tan Yixuan’s expression, she was sensitive to changes in tone and immediately noticed the faint hint of expectation and nervousness in Tan Yixuan’s words.

Wang Sasa smiled, feeling a sense of relief and triumph. If Tan Yixuan had any affection for her, she would probably have seen a red heart appear now. This was the perfect moment to press on and seize the opportunity!

Wang Sasa cleared her throat, coughed, and said, “I genuinely want to be friends with you, whether you believe it or not.”

Tan Yixuan remained silent.

Wang Sasa pressed on, “To be honest, I don’t remember what I might have done to you in the past. I only know a bit from what other classmates have said, so it’s understandable that you dislike me.” She acknowledged the mistake with a good attitude and promised to correct it, then added, “Although I don’t remember, I still need to apologize.”

Wang Sasa paused, giving Tan Yixuan some time to process.

Tan Yixuan was a bit dazed, once again catching a whiff of the unfamiliar perfume on Wang Sasa. It was sweet and pleasant… She thought, unconsciously inhaling the scent from Wang Sasa’s neck, and murmured, “What perfume are you using?”

As soon as the words were out, both Tan Yixuan and Wang Sasa were stunned.

Tan Yixuan seemed very fixated on her perfume? Wang Sasa was speechless for a moment, then casually replied with the name of the perfume brand.

Tan Yixuan murmured an indifferent “Ah” and tried to act as if she hadn’t just asked such a peculiar question or sniffed someone’s scent like a lovesick person. She nonchalantly changed the topic, “You don’t need to apologize to me.”

Wang Sasa took the opportunity to shift focus, intentionally misinterpreting Tan Yixuan’s words, “So because I wasn’t the one who hurt you, I don’t need to apologize?”

Wang Sasa expected Tan Yixuan to deny it, but was surprised when Tan Yixuan silently gave a soft “Mm.”

If Tan Yixuan wasn’t on her back, Wang Sasa felt she would have jumped for joy. It was not easy… Finally managing to reduce Tan Yixuan’s dislike, the next step was to work on becoming good friends, the kind who shared everything.

Wang Sasa thought for a moment and decided that with someone as reserved as Tan Yixuan, she couldn’t be too restrained. So she got straight to the point, “Yixuan, do you like me?”

Wang Sasa’s direct question almost short-circuited Tan Yixuan’s brain. Did she even realize how explosive that question was?

Tan Yixuan’s face flushed red instantly. After a moment of hesitation, she gritted her teeth and spat out three words, “No, I don’t!”

Wang Sasa wasn’t at all discouraged by this answer. Instead, she found it amusing and smiled, “If you don’t like me this time, then I’ll just ask again next time.”

What was with this talk of next times? What was Wang Sasa’s brain always thinking about? Sometimes Tan Yixuan really wanted to knock on her head to see if her brain worked differently from others.

As Wang Sasa continued to carry Tan Yixuan, she chattered on, “Since you don’t dislike me anymore, are we friends now?” Without waiting for Tan Yixuan’s response, she continued, “After all, we’re classmates. If we’re not even friends, that would be too miserable for me!”

Tan Yixuan remained silent but couldn’t help the faint smile at the corners of her mouth.

Would she ever admit to liking Wang Sasa? That was something she would never confess.

Wang Sasa carried Tan Yixuan out of the park and took a taxi to the nearby hospital. In the car, Tan Yixuan called the square dance coordinator and her grandmother, learning that the two vacant spots would be filled by substitutes. She sighed in relief.

Wang Sasa reassured her, “It’s okay, the two substitute aunts dance well too. Although it’s a pity we can’t compete ourselves, friendship comes first, and the process is more important than the result…”

Wang Sasa poured out comforting words as if they were free, and Tan Yixuan, overwhelmed by her incessant talking, had to interrupt, “Stop! I got it, can you please be quiet?” How strange; she had never noticed before that Wang Sasa was such a chatterbox, and a chatterbox who spoke nonsense at that.

Wang Sasa turned to look at the moonlight outside the window, feeling a rare sense of melancholy as she thought about her month of effort going to waste. “But not being able to show my dance to everyone is probably a regrettable thing for them…”

See, she was still a self-absorbed chatterbox.

Thinking this, Tan Yixuan lowered her gaze, hiding the hint of a smile in her eyes.

Tan Yixuan wasn’t overweight, even considered thin, but Wang Sasa was also not strong. Carrying Tan Yixuan out of the park had already pushed her to her limit. When they got out of the car, Wang Sasa had to walk about a hundred meters with Tan Yixuan on her back before she could walk no further.

Helpless, Wang Sasa had to help Tan Yixuan into the hospital. They were lucky; there weren’t many patients that day, and by the time Tan Yixuan finished her X-rays and bandages, it was around ten o’clock at night. Whether they could make it back in time to see the end of the competition was uncertain.

When they took a taxi back, the crowd had dispersed, with only a few people left cleaning up the tables and chairs. Wang Sasa searched for familiar faces and suddenly heard someone calling her name—a young girl’s voice.

She wondered if she was imagining things and frowned, looking around. Then she saw Ji Yiran, looking astonished, staring at her with a gaze that shifted between her and Tan Yixuan as if she had seen something extraordinary.

Wang Sasa raised an eyebrow. Was it really necessary to be so shocked? Hadn’t she made her goodwill towards Tan Yixuan clear enough at school? In a flash, she remembered that the group of four had always suspected her motives for approaching Tan Yixuan, thinking that much of her behavior at school was just an act.

So Ji Yiran was shocked to see her in this situation? Wang Sasa speculated, surprised, “Ji Yiran, what are you doing here?”

Ji Yiran, a bit dazed, never imagined she would run into Wang Sasa at the square dance competition. Why was Wang Sasa here? Her gaze inevitably fell on Tan Yixuan beside her. Was it because of her?

Ji Yiran answered absently, “I came to the competition with my grandma…”

It seemed that Ji Yiran lived relatively close to Tan Yixuan. The two were indeed fated, as later Tan Yixuan worked part-time and ended up being a colleague of Ji Yiran.

“B-Boss…” Ji Yiran stammered, “It’s so late, and you’re here…”

In Wang Sasa’s impression, Ji Yiran was always quiet and spoke very little. This was the first time she had a direct conversation with her.

Wang Sasa didn’t immediately answer her question but instead corrected her seriously based on her address, “Don’t call me ‘Boss,’ it’s not good for my image.” After a pause, she answered Ji Yiran’s question, “As for why I’m here, it’s obviously because I came to participate in the competition.”

A competition? What kind of competition could Wang Sasa be participating in? Dance? Hosting? It couldn’t possibly be square dancing!

Wang Sasa, regardless of what Ji Yiran was thinking, said with a hint of regret, “It’s a pity that Yixuan twisted her ankle earlier, so we had to withdraw from the competition… Without us two key players, I wonder what place we would have gotten. Did Grandma Tan and the others record the event?” She then urged Tan Yixuan to call the second coordinator.

The first coordinator was Wang Sasa herself, and the second coordinator was the dance instructor. At this late hour, Tan Yixuan naturally wouldn’t disturb the instructor at Wang Sasa’s request.

Ji Yiran looked at the two interacting, incredulous. Was it really as she suspected?

Wang Sasa, oblivious to Ji Yiran’s thoughts, continued, “Our song was ‘Two Butterflies,’ have you heard of it? It’s a really nice song…”

Ji Yiran: “…”

She must be dreaming… Overwhelmed by shock, she completely overlooked Tan Yixuan beside Wang Sasa.

Her younger cousin, who had just started fifth grade, was angrily pulling on her braid: “Sister! She’s the one who bumped into me! Neither of them has apologized yet!”

Ji Yiran snapped back to reality, looking around but finding no trace of Wang Sasa and the others.

After Wang Sasa took Tan Yixuan home, she intended to take a taxi back home directly. However, Grandma Tan insisted that it wasn’t safe for a girl to walk alone at night and insisted that Wang Sasa stay. Wang Sasa made a token refusal but eventually stayed as expected.

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