Song Yi walked in front, with Shen Yujing following behind.
Shen Yujing devoured his hamburger at the speed of Zhu Bajie eating ginseng fruit, then quickly gulped down the remaining cola, ignoring how the ice cubes made his teeth ache.
After finishing, Shen Yujing quickened his pace to catch up with Song Yi, extending his hand in front of her expectantly, saying, "Look!"
Song Yi stopped in her tracks and looked up at Shen Yujing, "If you dare ask me to throw away your trash, I promise you'll die a miserable death."
"No, no!" Shen Yujing immediately protested, explaining: "Look, I finished everything!"
Song Yi: "?"
Surely being able to finish one's meal shouldn't be something worth praising after elementary school?
But the expectation in Shen Yujing's eyes was so obvious that Song Yi felt she should say something.
So she gave a small applause, "Wow!"
Although he could sense Song Yi's perfunctory response, Shen Yujing was still satisfied that she was finally talking to him again, and without any barbs in her words.
He walked alongside Song Yi as they left the cafeteria, but as luck would have it, they encountered an unwelcome guest right at the exit.
Seeing Hang Feng walking towards the cafeteria, Shen Yujing alertly moved closer to Song Yi, as if unconsciously declaring his territory.
However, from a distance, Song Yi had already waved to Hang Feng, "Good afternoon! My deskmate!"
Actually, Song Yi had initially wanted to call out "my good friend," but considering Shen Yujing's presence, she changed her greeting.
Hang Feng had grown accustomed to Song Yi's random greetings these days, but this time her form of address was different.
Was it because of...
His presence?
Hang Feng's gaze shifted to Song Yi's side, where that arrogant and annoying blonde guy stood.
Although they had interacted during the grade trip before, this didn't change the fact that in Hang Feng's eyes, he was no different from a stranger.
But Song Yi seemed quite familiar with him, as they were often together.
Usually, when Hang Feng encountered Song Yi, he barely acknowledged her, at most responding with a cold "mm."
But at this moment, as if possessed, Hang Feng lifted his head.
He looked in Song Yi's direction, his lips curving into a slight smile, his voice gentler than usual, "Good afternoon, my deskmate."
Though Hang Feng's words were directed at Song Yi, his gaze was fixed on Shen Yujing, lingering for a full three seconds.
Provocation! This was blatant provocation!
Being male himself, Shen Yujing naturally understood Hang Feng's intentions.
So when passing by Hang Feng, Shen Yujing deliberately said, "Song Yi, isn't Murong Huan going to find you this afternoon? I'll go with her."
As expected, Hang Feng looked up at him, his eyes showing a hint of complex emotions.
The next second, Song Yi replied without hesitation: "No!"
Shen Yujing, who had just been directly rejected: "?"
Weren't they usually hanging out together? Why was she rejecting him today? And in front of Hang Feng!
Hang Feng's gaze toward Shen Yujing also changed after Song Yi's response, from dangerous scrutiny to something like... contempt.
Yes, contempt was the word.
Even after walking far away, Shen Yujing couldn't help but turn back and give Hang Feng's retreating figure the middle finger.
What was that look from Hang Feng supposed to mean? Who was he looking down on! Just wait and see!
But compared to continuing to curse at Hang Feng, Shen Yujing was more concerned about the person in front of him.
He strode after Song Yi, then poked her shoulder, "Hey, Song Yi! Hey, Song Yi! Hey..."
Song Yi stopped in her tracks, suddenly turned around and forcefully poked Shen Yujing's chin while asking, "Is it fun? Is it fun? Is it fun? If you have something to say, just say it! I'm not deaf!"
"Oh..."
Shen Yujing responded glumly, asking, "Why did you reject me? Murong Huan can find you but I can't?"
Song Yi said, "Because I'm going with Murong Huan to buy some new things for the student council office building. Do you really want to come along?"
Given Shen Yujing's relationship with Jiang Yiheng, he wouldn't possibly want to help the student council - that would be like working for free for Jiang Yiheng...
"Sure," Shen Yujing agreed immediately, "See you tonight then."
Song Yi: "?"
True to his word, Shen Yujing came with Murong Huan after school that evening.
Song Yi and Murong Huan exchanged glances, clearly neither understanding what he was up to.
But that wasn't important; they needed to finish the task first.
As for Shen Yujing? He could be responsible for carrying things.
The three of them went to a nearby shopping mall and started buying various items, from a new air conditioner for the student council's break room to an entrance carpet.
At the moment, the three were in a kitchenware store.
Murong Huan picked out a new cup for Jiang Yiheng, a light white cup with silver edges, priced at 888 - quite an auspicious number.
Meanwhile, Shen Yujing came around from the other side, holding a specially designed toilet-shaped cup, "I think this one suits Jiang Yiheng better."
Murong Huan: "..."
She held her tongue.
Though both Murong Huan and Song Yi ignored Shen Yujing, he still bought the uniquely... well, bizarrely shaped cup.
Shen Yujing held up the gift bag, asking, "Song Yi, what do you think of this cup? Is it nice?"
Song Yi looked at him expressionlessly, "If you dare say you're going to give it to me, I can't guarantee what might happen next."
That had been Shen Yujing's original intention, but Song Yi's reaction clearly showed she didn't like the cup.
So Shen Yujing quickly changed his tune, "No, I meant that Quan Le's birthday is coming up in about half a year, this is my early birthday gift for him."
Song Yi remained silent, but Murong Huan shook her head with a sigh, "Quan Le must have had terrible karma in his past eight lives to have you as a friend."
Shen Yujing wasn't one to take things lying down, so he retorted, "As if Jiang Yiheng would like that cup of yours, it's hideous."
"It's still better than yours!"
"That's debatable!"
While these two were arguing, Song Yi unusually stayed out of it.
Because something more interesting had caught her attention than their bickering.
At the entrance of a pet food store not far away, a white dog was lying on the ground, with a young man holding its leash, seemingly arguing with the store clerk about something.
Seeing Song Yi's gaze fixed in that direction, Murong Huan first recognized who it was, "Isn't that Xu Che? What's he doing there?"
At the mention of Xu Che's name, Shen Yujing also became interested, "Let's go watch the show."
If Xu Che was bullying someone, he would uphold justice.
If someone was bullying Xu Che, he would applaud and fan the flames.
Either way, he would stand opposite to Xu Che.
So the three walked toward the pet store.
The little white dog saw Song Yi approaching and suddenly stood up, wagging its tail excitedly at her.
Looking at the white dog on Xu Che's leash, Song Yi found it strangely familiar, until she saw the scar on its front leg and was sure.
Song Yi asked in surprise, "Is this the dog from that man's house last time?"
Xu Che nodded, "Yes, I took it with me."
Song Yi was more confused, "But I remember it was a black dog?"
Xu Che replied, "It was just dirt. After a bath, it turned out like this."
Song Yi laughed, then asked, "I remember it was quite hostile towards you, how did it end up following you? It seems quite obedient to you now."
"It had no choice. If it stayed there, that man wouldn't have spared it," Xu Che said as he rolled up one sleeve, revealing several clear bite mark scars on his wrist, giving a glimpse of how horrific the scene must have been at the time.
Song Yi reached out with one hand, her fingertips gently touching those bite marks, her beautiful brows furrowing, "It must have hurt a lot."
The young girl's fingertips felt warm, and even that light touch seemed capable of gently dissolving all the pain he had endured.
Xu Che lowered his gaze and said softly, "It's just a few bites. Given enough time, it will understand who truly cares for it."
While the two were talking, Shen Yujing's gaze kept darting between their faces.
What did this mean? What exactly were these two talking about?
What was the last time? What secrets are they keeping from him? Why is he always the last to know everything?
What is Song Yi doing? Put that hand down! Put it down for him!
Thinking about what happened after meeting Hang Feng today, Shen Yujing decided to hold back his anger for now and wait until they left Xu Che before asking questions.
He must interrogate them thoroughly! Just how many things are there that he doesn't know about!
Soon after, Xu Che lowered his sleeve and briefly explained to them what had just happened.
Since this pet shop catered to high-end customers, the staff didn't want to serve someone with a common mutt, and they assumed Xu Che couldn't afford anything in their store just by looking at him. They told them to go to the pet shop across the street to buy some cheap dog food instead of wasting their time.
Song Yi looked at the shop assistant with amusement and asked, "What makes you think he can't afford anything here?"
After all, Xu Che was Shen Yujing's arch-rival, and to be an arch-rival, one must be equal in all aspects, including family background.
The shop assistant noticed Song Yi and the others, recognizing the Saint Slee Academy emblem on their uniforms. Their attitude immediately softened as they explained, "You don't understand. We often get customers like this, bringing in street cats and dogs, wandering around, and when we're not looking, their pets steal food without paying a cent. We've seen plenty of these people! In this day and age, with so many beautiful purebred cats and dogs available, anyone keeping street animals must be too poor to afford anything in our store."
Hearing this, Shen Yujing let out a derisive laugh.
He looked at Xu Che, "You're quite patient, aren't you? Even after she insulted you like that, you still haven't told her that your family owns this entire shopping mall?"
Shop assistant: "???"
Song Yi: "!!!"
Song Yi: "The weather's getting cold. Let's have this pet shop go bankrupt."
