The boy's bangs fell over his forehead, his thick lashes drooping, casting a shadow.
He exited the chat and saw a new friend request.
A pink rabbit avatar, with the ID "Grow Up Well."
"A Yang."
Chen Yiyang looked up. He had plans with someone tonight. Several friends were walking along this congested main road.
Earlier, Xie Yue had wanted to eat radish beef offal, and Zhou Shihui had followed to taste it. It was too spicy, not his thing.
Zhou Shihui walked his bicycle over and said gloomily, "At six o'clock, isn't that the new girl at your place? What's up with you two? This morning she said 'I don't know you,' and now she's glaring at you? Did you two argue?"
Zhou Shihui had spotted Yun Mi a while ago. That girl had a rare temperament, pretty and lively, like a thriving vitality at the turn of spring and summer.
Every time he saw her, he couldn't help taking a few more glances.
She was his type.
Hearing the reminder, Chen Yiyang shifted his gaze slightly and met a face as fierce as a rabbit's.
"..."
Chen Yiyang calmly looked away. "Maybe I'm too handsome."
Zhou Shihui rolled his eyes. "Do you have no shame?"
On the phone screen, "Grow Up Well" was also saying, "Do you have no shame?"
Xu Zhiyu was sitting at the small chestnut stall on the edge.
According to Ding Yuan, the person who had originally run that stall was an old woman.
The old woman was Xu Zhiyu's grandmother, also her only relative, who had been hospitalized for two months.
Given Xu Zhiyu's situation, how could Chen Yiyang bear to bully her?
Chen Yiyang didn't reply. Yun Mi lowered her lashes, even more angry.
Too much. He made her cry and just stood there like a wooden block, unfazed! Was he even human?
Yun Mi's face was cold, her nose wrinkled in displeasure. She sent a message.
Her threatening words had no cute emojis or modifiers, just blunt and headstrong.
Grow Up Well: If you don't reply to me, I'll go find Aunt Wen.
Chen Yiyang silently looked up.
On the snack street filled with smoke and hustle, Yun Mi stood amidst the clamor. Her vivid little face was serious, facing him, as if waiting for his response.
Chen Yiyang: What?
Yun Mi had decided to properly teach Chen Yiyang a lesson on behalf of Aunt Wen.
Grow Up Well: Buy me a sanitary pad.
Chen Yiyang remembered the cliché "Take good care of your little sister," and had originally wanted to be nice and type "8" twice.
Seeing this, he silently deleted all the characters.
He typed: ?
The single question mark sent was so infuriating.
The more Yun Mi thought about it, the angrier she got. But afraid of hurting Xu Zhiyu, she figured it was better for someone who had been her "boyfriend" to buy it. She gave a reason that couldn't be argued with: I got my period.
Afraid he wouldn't agree, Yun Mi pleaded with a mix of flattery and coldness.
Grow Up Well: Brother.
Grow Up Well: What should I do?
-
Ding Yuan asked around if anyone had a sanitary pad, but came back empty-handed. She stood with her hands on her hips next to the fried fish stall, comforting herself. "Forget it. Xu Zhiyu will probably leave soon anyway. Her business here isn't good, and she still needs to go home and do homework."
Yun Mi was worried. She wanted to go back to 7-Eleven to buy one, but a round trip on foot would take more than twenty minutes, and she didn't know if Xu Zhiyu would still be there.
In a fit of anger, she had sent that message to Chen Yiyang. Now, as her mind calmed down, she regretted it.
Chen Yiyang hadn't replied at all. He had ridden his bike home.
Yun Mi lowered her eyes and muttered, "Too much."
She and Ding Yuan parted at the intersection and each went home.
The long path stretched on.
Yun Mi's figure was tall, her clothes warm-toned.
Like a giant warm rabbit.
On the bustling snack street, the crowd was dense, but Chen Yiyang spotted her at a glance.
He rang his bike bell.
The crisp ringing pierced through the noisy voices and the smoky air.