"What?" Shen Yujing looked at Song Yi with confusion, "What do you mean by 'Three Brotherhoods'?"
Song Yi: "……"
Forget it, some things are better forgotten, it's best not to mention them again.
"It's nothing," Song Yi shook her head to deny, then changed the subject, "Where do you want to go to find Hang Feng?"
As expected, Shen Yujing didn't continue to ask about the topic of the Peach Garden Three Brotherhoods, but said, "His home, at this time he must be hiding at home, right?"
Song Yi asked again, "Do you know where his home is?"
Shen Yujing shook his head, answering with full confidence, "No, but I can ask Jiang Yiheng for it."
Thinking of the math problem that had been corrected in red pen on the test paper, Song Yi hesitated.
She wasn't suitable to comfort Hang Feng alone, so bringing Shen Yujing along should be fine, right?
So Song Yi said, "I'll take you there."
*
The Maybach stopped at the entrance of the alley, Song Yi and Shen Yujing got out of the car one after the other.
At this time, Grandma Hang had already returned, and when she opened the door and saw Song Yi and Shen Yujing, she was stunned for a moment.
"Yi Yi?" Grandma called Song Yi's name with a smile, then looked at Shen Yujing, "And this is?"
"Grandma, he's called Shen Yujing, also our classmate," Song Yi introduced Shen Yujing to Grandma, then pinched his arm, whispering, "Say hello."
"Hello, Grandma!" Shen Yujing immediately greeted, then asked, "Is Hang Feng at home? He left a book behind, we're bringing it to him."
Shen Yujing's lie was told without hesitation, and Grandma didn't doubt it at all, inviting them in, and said, "He just came home from school, in his room."
Shen Yujing and Song Yi exchanged a glance, both understanding that Hang Feng had lied, hiding from Grandma the fact that he didn't go to school or take the exam.
Grandma went back to the kitchen to busy herself, also saying that she had cooked a lot of rice today and insisted on keeping them for dinner.
With a sense of responsibility as the eldest, Shen Yujing strode inside, "Hang Feng! Hang Feng!"
"That's the bathroom," Song Yi said helplessly, "Come back, it's on the left."
"Oh," Shen Yujing took two steps back, then turned around as if thinking of something, looking at Song Yi with suspicion, "How do you know?"
Before Song Yi could answer, the door beside them opened.
A black hoodie-clad teenager stood inside, looking at them coldly, asking, "What are you doing here?"
"Of course it's to care about you!" Shen Yujing, who was unusually sociable, reached out to pat Hang Feng in greeting.
Hang Feng took a step back, obviously resisting physical contact with Shen Yujing, his face full of repulsion.
Song Yi glanced at the direction of the kitchen, then looked at Hang Feng, "Let's talk inside."
"Mm," Hang Feng mumbled in response, turned and walked inside, tacitly allowing Song Yi and Shen Yujing to enter.
As soon as Shen Yujing entered, he pulled out a chair in front of the desk and sat down, looking at Hang Feng with a face full of reproach, "What are you doing? Your hair is a mess, did you sleep all day?"
Hang Feng sat at the foot of the bed, impatiently lifting his eyelids, "What exactly do you want to say?"
Shen Yujing got straight to the point, "When are you going back to school?"
"We'll see."
"No," Shen Yujing's face was full of incomprehension, asking, "What are you afraid of? Just because those people are talking about you, you don't have the courage to face it?"
When Shen Yujing said this, his face was full of confusion, he didn't understand what Hang Feng was thinking.
Hang Feng turned his head away, obviously not wanting to answer this question.
Shen Yujing was about to speak again when suddenly there was a knock on the door.
Grandma's gentle voice sounded, "Kids, dinner is ready."
Hang Feng looked up, glanced at Song Yi, then walked out of the room, leaving only a cold sentence, "Don't tell my grandma anything she shouldn't know."
Looking at Hang Feng's back, his thin shoulders supporting the oversized hoodie, it was hard to imagine how he managed to develop abs with such a slender frame...
No, that's not the point.
Shen Yujing seemed to find it difficult to persuade Hang Feng, his head drooping in frustration, "Why doesn't he listen to me at all?"
Something felt off.
Shen Yujing always had a strange feeling that he was the leader, the eldest brother, and that Hang Feng and Song Yi should unconditionally listen to him.
It's a bit troublesome, these two subordinates are a bit hard to manage.
Hmm? No, wait.
Why did he think Hang Feng and Song Yi were his subordinates?
Just as Shen Yujing was confused, Song Yi passed by him, leaving only a sentence, "Let's go, time for dinner."
Tonight, Grandma made three dishes and a soup, not too lavish but more than enough for three people.
Seeing her grandson with two friends, Grandma felt completely at ease.
Until dinner was over, Hang Feng actively suggested to see them off, which was essentially a polite way of asking them to leave.
"Ah? I don't want to leave yet..."
Shen Yujing protested, of course, he had no say in the matter, and was pulled up from his chair by Song Yi, "Let's talk outside."
The three walked out of the house, all the way to the intersection, with Shen Yujing incessantly urging Hang Feng to return to school for the exam.
And Hang Feng? His heart was as cold as stone, never giving Shen Yujing a single response.
Song Yi rubbed her temples, feeling a headache.
Before today, she had never imagined that Shen Yujing could be so talkative, nagging endlessly, not just Hang Feng, even she was getting annoyed.
Suddenly, Shen Yujing stopped, blocking Hang Feng and Song Yi's path, saying, "I've decided, if you don't go back to school, I'll keep persuading you until you change your mind."
Shen Yujing rarely sticks to anything, but once he sets his mind to it, he won't stop until he achieves his goal.
Song Yi: "?"
Hang Feng: "?"
At this moment, the driver from the Shen family was waiting by the car not far away.
Shen Yujing waved at him, pointed to the area, "Tell my dad to buy me a house here, I'll live here from now on."
Seeing Shen Yujing was serious, Hang Feng's expression became even more complicated, he said, "You stay away."
"No way," Shen Yujing said, his gaze falling on Song Yi's face, "How about buying you a house too? We'll live on either side of his house."
Song Yi looked at Shen Yujing, excitedly asking, "Really?!"
Really? Could she get a free house? Not bad! She was willing to join Shen Yujing! Together they would urge Hang Feng to study hard and make progress every day!
Hang Feng: "……"
Shen Yujing's serious expression didn't seem like a joke.
And Song Yi's excited expression, what did she want to do?
Suffering from mental torment by being neighbors with Shen Yujing and Song Yi, or going back to school, any normal person would choose the latter.
Moreover, Hang Feng wasn't too resistant to returning to school, even the past month's life had made him accustomed to being at school, today he just wanted a brief escape.
Shen Yujing and Song Yi had basically laid the steps directly in front of Hang Feng, so he said, "You leave now, don't show up in front of me again, I'll take the exam tomorrow."
"Okay!" Shen Yujing agreed immediately, then quickly walked to the driver's side, "Don't buy the house! Go! Drive! Leave quickly!"
Driver: "?"
Song Yi & Hang Feng: "……"
Shen Yujing got into the car, and the car quickly started.
Suddenly, the window rolled down, and Shen Yujing stuck his head out, shouting to Hang Feng, "A gentleman's word is as good as gold! You can come to the exam tomorrow with confidence! If anyone dares to say anything against you, Song Yi and I will beat him up! There's nothing to be afraid of! Understand?!"
Shen Yujing's voice dissipated with the car driving away, leaving only Song Yi and Hang Feng.
Hang Feng looked at Song Yi, suddenly smiled, a bit helpless but also a bit relieved, "I finally understand why you two are friends."
The same impulsiveness, the same enthusiasm, the same style of action.
At first glance, it might seem strange, but getting used to it isn't so bad.
Song Yi didn't deny Hang Feng's words, but said, "Although he can be quite annoying at times, he's really not a bad person."
Hang Feng whispered, "What about me? What kind of person do you see me as?"
This question caught Song Yi off guard, and she turned to look at Hang Feng.
Under the moonlight, the surroundings were dimly lit, yet the boy's eyes sparkled like stars.
His gaze at her was filled with both timidity and anticipation, causing him to shy away from her eyes as soon as their gazes met.
This question, Song Yi had asked herself many times.
She had always thought these people would never cross paths with her, people she had once tried hard to avoid. Yet now, they were talking heart-to-heart like friends.
Their interactions had grown increasingly inappropriate.
Although the system had mentioned the Mary Sue setting and the attraction of the protagonist's halo, Song Yi understood that it was more than that.
She no longer felt as repelled by them as before, whether it was Shen Yujing, Hang Feng, Jiang Yiheng, or Murong Huan.
Each of them deviated from the settings and plotlines the original book had told her about.
Murong Huan had never bullied her once and always stood by her side. They were friends, the best of friends.
Jiang Yiheng didn't treat her with the icy coldness he showed others but reserved his warmth only for her, as the original plot had suggested. His attitude towards her and Murong Huan seemed about the same—neither particularly fond of her nor repelled by Murong Huan.
Hang Feng didn't seem so reclusive either. He often came to school and had gotten used to tutoring her in math. He was just a slightly quieter boy, no different from anyone else.
Shen Yujing now had nothing to do with the title "Devil Prince." He would apologize to her, care for those around him, and when he came to find her in public, he would deliberately bring Murong Huan along to avoid suspicion. He cared about her thoughts.
She had come here to change the tragic ending and live well.
But no one had said that the way to change it had to be through avoidance and escape.
She had already altered many key plot points, which meant the ending might have already changed.
Song Yi looked at Hang Feng and said earnestly, "You're not either, at least not the you I know now."
Hang Feng was taken aback, even holding his breath for a moment.
He lowered his eyes to look at the girl in front of him, his face showing a mix of surprise and anticipation as he waited for her to continue.
Song Yi went on, "You're different from before, and different from the you I knew. Now you have many things—Grandma Hang loves you, Xu Che cares about you, they all see you as a very important family member. Even Shen Yujing and I came for you, we all consider you a friend."
Suddenly, a cold mechanical voice rang in Song Yi's mind—
【Ding~】
【Hang Feng's darkening value has been cleared!】
【Congratulations, host! Your life safety value has reached 100%!】
