“Whatever.” Yuan Yuehan did not seem to care but her expression said otherwise. “Besides, you heard her; she knows exactly why we approached her. Is there anything else we can say?”
“That may be so, but even if we’re aware of it, it would still make some difference if we talked about it.”
“Do whatever you want.”
When Yuan Yuehan woke up the next day and was getting ready to go wash up in the bathroom, she was startled to bump into Tang Yuanyuan who was just coming out of there.
“Yuanyuan, why are you up so early?”
Tang Yuanyuan had switched out of her gloomy mood from the day before and was smiling at her. “Morning.”
For some reason, Yuan Yuehan found herself at a sudden loss for words. Did she come to terms with everything after just one night?
Seeing the dumbfounded look on her face, Tang Yuanyuan explained, “I’ve thought it through. We’re classmates after all, so there’s no need to make such a big commotion out of this. We should just get along with each other.”
Of course, they would not be the closest of friends, but she could put up with just being superficial friends.
Although it made her feel like a hypocrite, she did not want to keep figuring out the reasons people had to get close to her.
I’ll just pretend they actually want to be good friends with me. That way, I won’t be too lonely either. It doesn’t sound pleasant, but we’re really just using each other.
“Okay.” Yuan Yuehan smiled. “I’m glad that you were able to see past it. Let’s go eat breakfast together after I’m done washing up.”
“Sure.”
While Yuan Yuehan was brushing her teeth, she scrolled through WeChat on her phone and asked Tang Yuanyuan, “What do you want to have for breakfast? Are we going to the dining hall or somewhere outside?”
Tang Yuanyuan wanted to say that they should just eat at the dining hall.
But Yuan Yuehan suddenly cut in, “Let’s go out. This restaurant that opened recently has pretty good food. Xiaolu and I have been there before. We’ll take you there today so you can try for yourself.”
Tang Yuanyuan was a bit concerned. “Can we make it back in time if we go out to eat?”
“Of course. It’s still early now. We just have to be quick. ”
“Okay.”
“Xiaolu, that brat, is still not up yet. Can you go wake her up so she doesn’t hold us back later?”
After that, Tang Yuanyuan went to wake Zhang Xiaolu up. Once they were all ready, they departed together.
Since losing her best friend Meng Kefei, Tang Yuanyuan spent most of her time with Zhang Xiaolu and Yuan Yuehan. Their family backgrounds were not as outstanding as hers, but they were not too bad either. Surprisingly, they had similar opinions when it came to certain things.
For example, when they bought clothes, they all agreed on a brand that had both good quality and style. The same also applied for shoes and food—they all prioritized quality.
However, when Tang Yuanyuan and Meng Kefei used to spend time together, Meng Kefei often prioritized cheaper options. Even when Tang Yuanyuan wanted to pay for her, she did not want to accept it.
Clear distinctions kept emerging from their different perspectives on things.
Because of those differences, either one of them had to compromise each time. Despite that, they could have still been happy together as long as one did not impose on the other.
But after being with Zhang Xiaolu and Yuan Yuehan, Tang Yuanyuan realized that she was happier with them. Furthermore, she also realized that her own happiness was the most important.
Everything else did not matter as much.
As the days went by, she did not look for Yuchi Yishu. At the same time, he had gotten busier because it was his final year in university, so the both of them did not have much time to talk. Zhong Chufeng also only visited her every once in a while.
She spent most of her time with Zhang Xiaolu and Yuan Yuehan—going in and out of campus, studying, exercising, eating, and drinking. They never let any moment go to waste and had everything planned out perfectly.
In the midst of all that, they seemed to have grown closer to each other. Tang Yuanyuan felt like Zhang Xiaolu and Yuan Yuehan were not as ill-intentioned as they once were. Did they influence her or did she influence them?
In a blink of an eye, two months had gone by.
One afternoon, the three of them were in a beef noodle shop eating noodles. Tang Yuanyuan ordered an extra spicy one which made her nose all red and her eyes tear up every now and then. After wiping her face with a piece of tissue paper, she continued eating.
“Oh, you. You can’t even eat something that spicy. Why do you keep ordering that?”
After calling her out, Zhang Xiaolu stood up and ordered a bottle of frozen yogurt from the shop owner. “Drink some of this. I heard yogurt helps to take the heat away.”
“Thanks.” Tang Yuanyuan took the yogurt from her and drank a few mouthfuls. The cold sensation immediately filled the inside of her mouth and almost numbed her tongue that felt like it was on fire just before. At that moment, she felt a lot better.
“I think you should just give up on that and have the shop owner get you one with clear soup instead. You really can’t eat spicy food.” Yuan Yuehan was about to take away her bowl of extra spicy noodles and get a new order when she saw the shop owner bring out a bowl of clear soup noodles right as she stood up.
“This is for you, Miss.”
“Huh?” Tang Yuanyuan looked slightly dazed while sitting there with her eyes and nose all red. Even her eyes were swollen from the heat, which made her look rather pitiful.
At the same table, Yuan Yuehan and Zhang Xiaolu were also slightly confused.
“We haven’t even ordered yet, sir. How did you know?”
The shop owner was a kind and honest man in his forties. He looked at them with a cheerful smile then pointed somewhere. “That young lad over there said you looked like you were having a hard time eating that, so he ordered a bowl of clear soup noodles for you.”
The three girls were stunned. Then, they turned to look in the direction the shop owner was pointing at.
A fair-skinned and clean-looking young man wearing glasses was sitting over there. When he saw them look over, he waved a hand at them and looked rather friendly.
“Miss, the young man wanted me to tell you not to force yourself if you can’t eat spicy food because your stomach won’t be able to handle it. You don’t want your stomach to hurt later.”
Tang Yuanyuan felt like the young man’s gaze on her was too piercing and avoided it intentionally. In a small voice, she said, “Thanks, sir. I got it.”
The young man did not come over and Tang Yuanyuan did not continue to eat the bowl of extra spicy noodles. Before this, she was already planning to order a bowl of clear soup noodles for herself.
She did not expect someone to order for her. When she lowered her head to drink the soup, she heard Zhang Xiaolu and Yuan Yuehan let out a cheeky laugh.
“Hehehe, Yuanyuan. Is someone finally pursuing you?”
“Tsk. She’s so pretty. I actually thought it was weird that no one pursued her in the past. This is how it should really be.”
The expression on Tang Yuanyuan’s face changed slightly. “Don’t say things like that, you guys.”
“What are you scared of? All he did was buy you a bowl of beef noodle soup.”
However, that gesture had shaken up Tang Yuanyuan. Pursing her lips, she lowered her head and ate the noodles in silence.
Once they were done eating and ready to pay for the bill, the shop owner informed them that their table had already been paid for.
They knew who it was without a second thought. Since he left not too long ago, Tang Yuanyuan had no choice but to quickly chase after him.
