After finishing the noodles, Shen Yubai tilted his head to glance over at the trio behind him to his side. Xu Chuning and Shen Sinian were sitting together, with You Shuzhen opposite them. The three of them were enjoying their lunch, the scene warm and delightful.
Suddenly, Shen Sinian said something to her, and Xu Chuning's lips curled up, her eyes turning into crescents, which was nothing like her usual indifferent demeanor at school and when delivering meals to him.
Thinking of this, Shen Yubai felt a tiny bit displeased. However, at that moment, he was not clear about what was bothering him.
Ban Shu finished his last bite of noodles and looked up, still longing for more. He had never tried the food made by Xu Chuning's mom before and didn't have high hopes for the plain egg noodles today.
After finishing, he finally understood why Shen Yubai would skip the exquisite food at upscale restaurants and often visit Xu Chuning's little store instead. The taste was too good; it was better than the noodles he had in upscale restaurants that cost dozens of yuan per bowl.
"Brother Yu, Xu Chuning's mom's cooking—" Before he could finish saying how good the cooking was, he noticed Shen Yubai's abnormal gaze and followed it, his lips moving but swallowing back the words he was about to say.
This is terrible, his Brother Yu really had fallen for Xu Chuning, who, other than being fairly attractive, was quite ordinary in every other aspect.
Hearing Ban Shu's voice, Shen Yubai turned his head towards him, his expression indifferent, "What?"
Ban Shu met his gaze, took a deep breath, and said, "The cooking is good."
Shen Yubai: "Of course."
His choice couldn't be bad, could it?
Ban Shu: "..."
Seeing the proud look on Shen Yubai's face, Ban Shu couldn't help but think—Could it be? Shen Yubai hasn't even started anything with Xu Chuning, and yet he's already acting so defensive?
Both of them were distracted with their thoughts.
Realizing there was movement on their side, Xu Chuning turned her head for a glance, her eyes briefly meeting Shen Yubai's.
After a moment, she was the first to look away.
After settling the check, Shen Yubai and Ban Shu walked out of the small store.
"Brother Yu, are we going back to school or somewhere else?" Ban Shu was about to take out a cigarette to smoke.
Shen Yubai frowned slightly, "Don't smoke here."
"...?"
Ban Shu paused, holding his cigarette, "What?"
Shen Yubai: "It's a bad influence on kids."
Ban Shu looked around puzzled, "Where are the kids?"
Shen Yubai didn't respond further. He stood still, pondering for a few seconds, then looked back towards the store, "You go back to school first."
Ban Shu: "Huh?"
He was stunned, "What about you?"
Shen Yubai stared at the little store, his tone light, "I'll be back later."
Ban Shu blinked, once again following his gaze, and vaguely understood something. He suppressed the incredulity rising within him and nodded tentatively, "Okay, I'll head back to school first. You... come back early."
Shen Yubai hummed a response.
Not long after Ban Shu left, Xu Chuning and the other two finished their lunch and cleaned up the store.
You Shuzhen urged Xu Chuning to go back to school for a rest, as she still had classes in the afternoon.
Xu Chuning couldn't argue with her and had to agree.
Before leaving, she called Shen Sinian over and whispered, "See you at the school gate in the afternoon?"
Shen Sinian nodded, glanced outside, and asked, "Is he waiting for you?"
Xu Chuning had also noticed the person standing outside the store. She didn't know whether Shen Yubai was waiting for her or not, "I don't know."
Shen Sinian frowned and thought for a moment, "If he bullies you, tell me."
From her childhood until now, aside from You Shuzhen and her grandmother back home, Shen Sinian was the first person to say this to her. Looking at the boy in front of her who bore a slight resemblance to herself, a warm current flowed through her heart.
It was a strange sensation. Even though they hadn't interacted before, from the moment the DNA test results were confirmed, the more Xu Chuning looked at Shen Sinian, the better-looking and more like her own son he seemed.
"Okay," Xu Chuning agreed with a curved smile on her lips, before Shen Sinian could ask her why she looked at him that way, "but you must not fight with him."
As her words fell, she added, "And that means not fighting with anyone. Fists are not the best way to solve problems."
Shen Sinian: "Oh."
He promised her, his mood dejected, "I'll try my best."
Xu Chuning really wanted to reach out and pat his head when she saw him like this. He seemed like the cute little puppy that grandma kept at home, very adorable.
But with You Shuzhen observing them from not far away, Xu Chuning restrained the impulse in her heart.
Stepping out of the small shop, Xu Chuning glanced at Shen Yubai. She didn't call out to him and instead turned around and walked towards the road.
Watching her retreating figure, Shen Yubai frowned almost imperceptibly, "Xu Chuning."
He quickly caught up to her, "Wait for me."
Xu Chuning turned her head, "What is it?"
The two locked eyes as Shen Yubai, with one hand in his pocket, walked beside her and said indifferently, "I think we need to talk."
Xu Chuning: "About what? Shen Sinian?"
She reminded Shen Yubai, "I've told you everything about him, what else is there to talk about?"
Xu Chuning didn't actually like talking to Shen Yubai that much. People born into their kind always had a sense of superiority, whether at school or elsewhere, always seeming to be above the rest.
Xu Chuning found it very annoying, very detestable.
However, Shen Yubai was a regular customer of her family's, so she never showed her obvious dislike for him.
But this time, she was having a hard time controlling herself.
"Of course, there's still something to talk about," Shen Yubai said, "You're going to the hospital after school this afternoon?"
Xu Chuning wasn't surprised he knew, she hummed in affirmation, "What, you want to come with us?"
Shen Yubai: "Can't I?"
He was involved in the matter, wasn't he?
Xu Chuning stopped in her tracks, looking at him with some astonishment, "Are you sure?"
Shen Yubai tugged at the corner of his mouth, his stance and aura relaxed, "What's there to be unsure about?"
After a few seconds of standoff, Xu Chuning nodded her head, "Okay."
She felt this was an opportunity for Shen Sinian and Shen Yubai to communicate face-to-face.
Having agreed to go to the hospital after school, Xu Chuning continued walking forward. After a couple of steps, she stopped and looked back at Shen Yubai, "Is there something else you wanted to say?"
Shen Yubai: "...I need to go back to school too."
Indeed, the school teachers didn't bother him, but he wasn't the kind of student who played truant every day for no reason. Most of the time, Shen Yubai was still a law-abiding good student.
Xu Chuning: "...Oh."
She responded indifferently, "Sorry, I forgot."
Shen Yubai was taken aback, just about to say something more when a gentle female voice came from not far away, "Shen Yubai."
Both lifted their heads to look towards the source of the voice, and when they saw who it was, Xu Chuning quickly averted her gaze and quickened her pace to distance herself from Shen Yubai.
By the time Shen Yubai came to his senses, Xu Chuning had already walked far away. He looked at her retreating back, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion.
"What are you looking at?" In the midst of Shen Yubai's distraction, Xu Zhiyan walked up beside him. Following his line of sight into the distance, she only saw the blurred back of a girl. Thinking back to the scene of the two standing together just now, Xu Zhiyan pursed her lips and asked with an evasive gaze, "Who is she? A schoolmate from our school?"
The Shen Family and the Xu Family had business dealings, and Shen Yubai and Xu Zhiyan had known each other for a long time, and were currently classmates. Their relationship was relatively more familiar than with other classmates.
Or so it seemed to others.
In reality, Shen Yubai and Xu Zhiyan were not close.
Hearing her speak so familiarly to him as if they knew each other well, Shen Yubai walked forward with his hands in his pockets, showing no intention to introduce her. His demeanor distant, he said, "You don't know her."