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Psst! We're moving!
Shen Yihuan slept soundly.
She woke up to the sun high in the sky, slowly blinked, and cleared her mind for ten minutes. Everything that happened yesterday gradually returned to her.
Tsk.
She grabbed her phone to check the time; it was 9:30 AM.
Last night, she had simply removed her makeup with a paper towel dipped in water. This morning, she didn’t even have cosmetics, only a tube of lipstick in her bag.
Just as she put on her pants, Lu Zhou pushed the door open, holding a bag, and tossed it onto her bed.
Shen Yihuan glanced at it: a clean towel, a toothbrush, and toothpaste. He had just bought them.
Lu Zhou looked fresh and clean, so he must have been up for a while.
She quickly washed up and walked out of the bedroom. Lu Zhou was reaching up to take her clothes off the drying rack. On the sofa was another meticulously folded “tofu block” blanket.
“Here,” he said, folding the clothes and putting them in a bag.
Shen Yihuan took them, watching him walk back into the bedroom. Soon, the sound of water running came from the bathroom.
She sat on the sofa, her eyes falling on the ashtray full of cigarette butts, over a dozen of them, all smoked overnight.
How long did he smoke for...?
Did he not sleep at all last night...?
When he came out again, he had changed clothes. Lu Zhou’s wardrobe only contained one type of clothing: besides military uniforms and shirts, it was all simple short-sleeved shirts, athletic pants, and jeans.
Today, he wore a white short-sleeved shirt and black pants. He looked clean, and there was no sign of fatigue on his face.
“Let’s go,” he said, picking up his car keys.
“Where?” Shen Yihuan frowned. “I’m not wearing any makeup.”
“Don’t you have to work?”
“My work is quite flexible, and anyway, it’s already late at this hour,” Shen Yihuan shook her phone.
“Then I’ll take you home.”
“Let’s go get some breakfast,” she suggested. “I’m hungry.”
________________________________________
They drove to a chain Chinese breakfast restaurant.
It was a newly opened, popular internet-famous shop in the area. Even at almost 10 AM, it was still packed with people.
“Get out, I’ll go find a parking spot,” Lu Zhou said.
“Okay.”
Shen Yihuan obediently got out. Their relationship had finally eased, and she didn’t want to upset him.
The restaurant offered many types of breakfast, all exquisitely prepared. Shen Yihuan wandered around and felt even hungrier.
Her studio was currently in talks with a TV channel about a food show, which would require food photography follow-ups. Shen Yihuan felt that if they photographed the food at this restaurant, the results would be excellent.
After wandering around, she returned to the entrance to wait for Lu Zhou.
Suddenly, there was a noisy commotion at the entrance. A figure in pink approached, surrounded by several men and women holding up phones and taking pictures.
Shen Yihuan squinted. Zhang Tongqi.
Just when you don’t want to see someone, you run into them.
She wasn’t wearing makeup, completely barefaced, and didn’t want to get tangled with her. Just as she was about to turn to avoid her, she heard a soft, sweet voice call out, “Yihuan!”
“...”
Zhang Tongqi smiled, parting the crowd to greet her, surprised. “What are you doing here?”
“...” Shen Yihuan was speechless. She glanced at the fans around. “Eating breakfast, what else?”
“Then let’s eat together.”
Shen Yihuan raised her hand, avoiding Zhang Tongqi’s intimate attempt to link arms. “I’m waiting for someone.”
“That’s fine, we can still eat together. I don’t mind.”
Shen Yihuan really didn’t want to deal with her, but also worried that angering these fans would cause more trouble. She just gave her a faint glance. “I’m with Lu Zhou.”
Zhang Tongqi’s expression visibly changed, but she quickly put on a smile again. “That’s perfect then, we’re all classmates.” She smiled at her fans. “Everyone, please disperse. Thank you for your support, but I’m going to eat now.”
After saying that, she directly pulled Shen Yihuan and ordered a set meal.
“Let’s find a seat first. Lu Zhou can come over later. By the way, where did he go?”
Shen Yihuan picked up a packet of vinegar. “Parking.”
There were still fans taking pictures nearby, but they were further away, mostly just passersby taking photos of a celebrity. They weren’t fervent fans, but their glances were unavoidable.
Shen Yihuan felt annoyed by the stares. She was barefaced, while Zhang Tongqi’s makeup was exquisite, her cheeks rosy with blush. In comparison, Shen Yihuan appeared too plain.
Her skin was cool-toned and fair, her lips a pale pink, her brows and eyes completely unadorned. But upon closer inspection, one would notice that her features were much more beautiful than Zhang Tongqi’s, possessing an ethereal quality beyond ordinary people.
“Why are you having breakfast with Lu Zhou?” Zhang Tongqi asked.
Shen Yihuan glanced at her. “Does it concern you?”
They were sitting in a corner, so there was no worry of their conversation being overheard.
“So you’re chasing him again,” Zhang Tongqi said, resting her chin on her palm and smiling. “I never thought Shen Yihuan would have a day when she’d beg for a reconciliation.”
Shen Yihuan’s expression remained unchanged. She used a wet wipe to clean her hands, slowly wiping all ten fingers. She always found such inexplicable relationships annoying.
Before, she and Lu Zhou were a couple, so she naturally didn’t have to pay attention to such things. Now, however, she was forced into a web of relationships, labeled as an imagined rival.
“Didn’t you used to like him too? What good would not chasing him do? In the end, he still ended up with me,” Shen Yihuan said.
Zhang Tongqi was very confident. “That was when we were young. Now it’s different.”
“Even if Lu Zhou doesn’t like me, you’re not his type either,” Shen Yihuan crossed her arms, chin slightly raised. “I was with him for five years; I know him well.”
Zhang Tongqi glared at her, then suddenly raised a hand towards the entrance. “Over here!”
Shen Yihuan turned her head.
Impressive.
In this situation, it looked like she was the third wheel, interrupting their meal.
Lu Zhou bought his food, carried his tray over, and pulled out the chair next to Shen Yihuan to sit down.
“What a coincidence,” Zhang Tongqi said, trying to strike up a conversation with him.
Lu Zhou hummed in response.
“I’m sorry for disturbing your meal. I really wanted to try this breakfast place, and I didn’t want to draw attention,” she said, her tone completely changed, very soft.
Shen Yihuan raised an eyebrow, almost wanting to put down her chopsticks and applaud Zhang Tongqi’s shamelessness.
She was so flashy, not even wearing a mask, and yet had the nerve to say she didn’t want to draw attention.
Lu Zhou took a bite of his rice ball. “It’s fine.”
Shen Yihuan saw the steamed buns in his plate and handed him the extra packet of vinegar she had taken. “Lu Zhou, do you want this?”
He moved his porridge bowl aside. “I have some.”
Zhang Tongqi let out a soft, cold laugh.
Shen Yihuan instinctively looked up, her voice chilling. “Had enough? If you’re going to be sarcastic, go eat somewhere else.”
“I just find you so ridiculous. Didn’t you say Lu Zhou wouldn’t like anyone else but you?”
Shen Yihuan corrected her. “I said he wouldn’t like you.”
“Where do you get your confidence? Do you still think messing around with boys all day is so great? Do you know how ridiculous you looked in our eyes back then? A little hoodlum...”
Lu Zhou glanced at her, his expression very faint.
Then he put down his chopsticks and took Shen Yihuan’s hand. “You’re right.”
“Ah, what?” Shen Yihuan was stunned, not reacting immediately.
“He won’t like her.”
He naturally lowered his eyes, a little awkward, even appearing somewhat docile.
Like a... large golden retriever.
Shen Yihuan’s thoughts wandered.
He didn’t even look at how ugly Zhang Tongqi’s face had turned. Seeing that Shen Yihuan had finished eating, he walked out of the store with her without a word of farewell.
The car was parked far away. All the way there, Shen Yihuan was rambling on, denouncing Zhang Tongqi. She had just gotten an assist from Lu Zhou, successfully achieving “first kill,” and she was quite carried away with herself.
“It’s disgusting! She was totally doing it on purpose! Her makeup was so heavy, and she came over to me because I was barefaced. So many people are taking pictures, it’ll definitely be posted online. I’ll be outshined by her, it’s so frustrating!”
She puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction. “Ah, I regret it so much! I should have at least put on some lipstick. Everyone online will definitely praise her for being pretty, and I don’t want to be compared to her...”
She talked for a long time, while Lu Zhou walked silently beside her.
Shen Yihuan poked him with her elbow. “Say something.”
“...”
Still silent.
Shen Yihuan didn’t mind.
Lu Zhou’s words just now had made her so happy that she wasn’t going to hold a grudge against him.
“But she does seem prettier than in school. I barely remembered her face back then. Sigh, her lipstick today was also quite pretty. If it weren’t hers, I’d want to ask for the shade.”
Lu Zhou tilted his head.
From the corner of his eye, he watched the young girl skip and bounce, not as subdued as she had been the last few times he saw her.
“You’re prettier,” he said.
Shen Yihuan froze.
After she reacted, she smiled even more brightly, rummaged through her bag for a milk candy, and handed it to Lu Zhou.
She smiled at him. “A candy for your reward.”
He lowered his gaze. His fingernails were neatly trimmed and rounded. His recently done manicure now had new nail growth, with a small pale crescent at the base.
On his light pink nail, he held a candy in fluorescent pink packaging.
He slowly curved the corners of his lips into a faint smile, his expression soft and yielding.
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