Lin Ting kept her head down, busily wiping the juice off her skirt, unaware of Duan Ling’s unusual behavior.
Duan Xinning came over with the mop, picked up the playing cards from the floor, and told them to move aside so the mop wouldn’t hit their feet.
Feng Ye, who lived on the first floor, had heard the commotion upstairs and came up to check on them.
Seeing juice stains on Lin Ting and Duan Xinning mopping the floor, she spoke: “You spilled juice?”
Duan Xinning rarely did chores and clumsily dragged the mop and replied, “Yeah.”
“I’ll mop. You guys go back to your rooms and keep playing cards.” Feng Ye walked over with a gentle smile, taking the mop from Duan Xinning’s hands.
Juice wasn’t like water; it was sticky and harder to clean.
Duan Ling slowly put the cards back into the box.
“I’m a bit tired. I’m done playing.”
Lin Ting tossed the juice-stained tissue aside, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
“It’s only ten o’clock. You’re already tired?”
She remembered he usually went to bed around eleven.
‘Why was he an hour early tonight?’
Duan Ling met her gaze and replied, “Maybe it’s because I had some alcohol. I want to sleep earlier.”
Although they had only had one drink each, even a small amount of alcohol could affect the body.
She said, “Oh,” then bent down to wipe the juice off her feet.
“Then you should go to sleep.”
He averted his eyes and turned back to his room.
Lin Ting wasn’t staying over tonight; hearing that he wouldn’t play anymore, she went home.
As soon as she got home, her phone rang.
Opening it, she saw a group message on WeChat.
Xie Qinghe: [@Lin Ting @Duan Ling @Raising Dog @Xinning, do you guys have time tomorrow?]
Lin Ting replied.
Lin Ting: [I do. What’s up? Xie Qinghe, are you inviting us to eat?]
Back in their senior year of high school, Lin Ting had helped Jin Anazi and Xie Qinghe get food from the cafeteria many times.
Each dish had a fixed portion; once sold out, no more was made for anyone.
If you were late, you could only eat what others had left.
Some things, once done once, tend to happen again.
Over time, they became friends.
Of course, friends are friends, but boundaries were clear — Lin Ting still charged them for helping with the food.
Later, she added them all to a WeChat group she created.
They chatted there whenever needed.
Even after graduating high school, the group didn’t dissolve; people still popped in from time to time, just like now.
A few seconds later, Xie Qinghe replied.
Xie Qinghe: [Not about eating, I want to invite you all to the strawberry farm. If you still want a meal, I’ll take you to a house near the strawberry farm tomorrow noon and cook a few dishes.]
Sweet and sour strawberries were Lin Ting’s favorite.
But the strawberries here weren’t cheap — thirty to forty yuan per jin, and she could eat a few jins.
So one strawberry feast would cost at least over a hundred yuan.
For a student who just graduated from high school, that was quite an expense.
Lin Ting: [Wow, really? You can cook? Why didn’t you tell us before? When did you learn?]
Xie Qinghe: [Really. I just learned recently, but I haven’t even eaten my own cooking. Last time I made two dishes; my parents said it was okay. I wanted to try a bite, but they snatched it away and finished it all.]
Lin Ting: [That must mean you cooked really well for your parents to fight over it.]
Lin Ting had lived for over a decade but only knew how to cook noodles and fry eggs.
While chatting, someone else in the group spoke up — an avatar of a dog and the nickname “Raising Dog” — Jin Anazi.
Raising Dog: [Xie Qinghe, can I take some of the strawberries home?]
Xie Qinghe: [Sure, this is my mom’s strawberry farm, and she’s the one who asked me to invite friends. You can pick as many as you want and bring them home. Don’t be shy.]
Raising Dog: [Can dogs eat them?]
Lin Ting: [Dogs can eat strawberries in moderation. Jin Anazi, are you taking strawberries home for Jin Jin?]
Jin Anazi had a dog named Jin Jin.
Lin Ting had heard about it a few times, but Jin Anazi hadn’t accepted the name fully.
Every time she called it Jin Jin, he rolled his eyes.
Raising Dog: […]
Lin Ting saw the string of ellipses and guessed that Jin Anazi was rolling his eyes furiously behind the screen.
Lin Ting: [Hahaha.]
Raising Dog sent a voice message: [Get lost. I’m warning you, Lin Ting, if you call it Jin Jin again, I’ll sew your mouth shut with a needle.]
She sent several photos of Jin Anazi’s dog, purposely labeling them “Jin Jin.”
These were pictures taken before graduation when she and Duan Ling’s group visited Jin Anazi’s house.
Lin Ting: [Bring it on.]
Xie Qinghe watched their banter in the group helplessly.
After a while, he tried to pull things back on track, typing to ask if they would come.
Duan Xinning arrived late.
Xinning: [I’m coming, I’m coming. I just finished tidying up my room and didn’t see the WeChat message until now. I’ve been wanting to eat strawberries lately… Can I bring someone extra?]
Xie Qinghe: [No problem.]
After the college entrance exam, Duan Xinning finally decided to bring Xia Zimo to meet them, saying he was her boyfriend.
They all knew without guessing that he was the person she wanted to bring.
Xinning: [@Xie, thanks =_=]
Raising Dog: [Going.]
Lin Ting: [I’m coming too! How could I miss this? Without me, no one would liven up the strawberry picking; you’d all be bored.]
Lin Ting had a thick skin.
Raising Dog: [Hmph. Without you, it’s like we lost a mosquito buzzing all day long; our ears would have a lot more peace.]
Lin Ting: [Did someone just talk? Saying I’m not human? How could Jin Anazi not get the sarcasm in my words?]
Xie Qinghe also noticed, feeling a bit amused but worried they’d start fighting.
He spammed the group to block the chat so Duan Ling wouldn’t miss earlier messages, then quickly posted.
Xie Qinghe: [@Duan Ling, what about you?]
Lin Ting: [Duan Ling went to sleep. I’ll ask him tomorrow morning. @Xie Qinghe, send the time and place; I’ll see if we’re taking the bus or riding bikes tomorrow.]
Xie Qinghe sent a location in the group.
They were to arrive at the strawberry farm by 10 a.m.
Lin Ting replied with “OK.”
With the strawberry farm trip settled, she and Jin Anazi resumed their usual bickering, sending message after message in the group, all roasting each other.
At first, Xie Qinghe tried to mediate, but halfway through, seeing they were getting more energetic, he switched to silently watching.
Just then, a “ding” sounded, and a new message appeared in the group — one that wasn’t from any of them.
Duan Ling: [@Xie, I’m coming too.]
Lin Ting: [Duan Ling??? You said you were tired and going to sleep. Why are you replying now?]
Duan Ling: [Forgot to turn off WiFi. Too many group messages; my phone kept ringing. I thought something urgent happened, so I got up to check.]
Lin Ting believed him.
He had no reason to lie.
With Duan Ling’s interruption, she stopped arguing with Jin Anazi, sent a “Good night, everyone” sticker, and put her phone down to sleep.
The once lively group chat instantly fell silent.
Duan Ling checked his phone a moment, made sure she wouldn’t reply to Jin Anazi anymore, then turned off the screen.
***
The next morning at 10 a.m., they arrived on time at the strawberry farm Xie Qinghe had mentioned.
Xie Qinghe arrived earlier and, upon seeing them, handed out baskets and scissors.
Lin Ting looked at the rows of strawberries under the greenhouse, constantly swallowing, eager to start picking and eating.
“Go ahead, come back at eleven. I’ll cook for you then.” After saying that, Xie Qinghe also sent them straw hats for sun protection.
“Okay.”
Lin Ting put on the straw hat, carrying her basket into the greenhouse.
Duan Xinning had Xia Zimo with her, and the two were very affectionate.
Lin Ting didn’t want to be a third wheel.
Duan Ling walked behind Lin Ting.
Jin Anazi had originally planned to take the same path but, seeing her ahead, changed his route.
Xie Qinghe was confused, “Why split up?”
It was understandable for Duan Xinning and Xia Zimo to avoid each other, as a couple not wanting to disturb the others.
But why avoid Lin Ting?
Jin Anazi crouched to pick strawberries and replied, “She’s annoying. I don’t know where she gets so much to say. Only Duan Ling can put up with her.”
Xie Qinghe disagreed, defending Lin Ting.
“I think Lin Ting’s great.”
“Are you crazy?”
Meanwhile, Lin Ting picked strawberries, washing them with mineral water before eating, unable to wait even a few minutes.
“Duan Ling, these strawberries are so sweet. Try one.” She washed one and held it to his mouth.
Duan Ling opened his mouth and ate it.
Jin Anazi glanced at them and said, “If I didn’t know they grew up together, I’d think they were a couple.”
Xie Qinghe didn’t mind and replied, “They’re just used to this way of interacting.”
Jin Anazi said it casually.
An hour later, everyone else’s baskets were nearly full.
Only Lin Ting’s basket was still half-empty.
She didn’t pick the big, bright red strawberries but the oddly shaped ones.
She picked out a strawberry shaped like a hand from her basket and offered it to Duan Ling.
“For you.”
He held it in his palm but didn’t eat it.
The next moment, Lin Ting called the others over, handing them strawberries she picked and asked Duan Xinning, “Look, doesn’t this one look like a star?”
Duan Xinning loved it and even took a few photos.
“It really does.”
Jin Anazi squeezed a pumpkin-shaped strawberry and “admired” Lin Ting’s taste.
Xie Qinghe examined the cockscomb-shaped strawberry she gave him.
Duan Ling looked at the strawberries everyone had received, then glanced back at his own.
His hand tightened unconsciously but stayed at just the right pressure, not crushing the strawberry.
Xie Qinghe put away the strawberries and led them to a house near the farm, then set out chairs.
“Sit for a bit. I’ll go cook now. Should be ready in about half an hour.”
Lin Ting: “Want me to help?”
“No need. The lady in charge of the strawberry farm helped wash everything beforehand.”
Before long, they ate the dishes Xie Qinghe made together, then all leaned back on the lounge chairs, exhausted.
Only Duan Ling was spared because he said he had eaten too many strawberries and couldn’t eat any more.
Duan Ling fed Lin Ting strawberries, letting the sweetness wash away the taste of food in her mouth.
Xie Qinghe was flustered, panicked.
“Are you okay? Is my cooking really that bad?”
Jin Anazi twitched at the corner of his mouth, “It’s fine, just nearly died.”
He took off his apron, picked up chopsticks to try a small bite, his face changed dramatically, and he spit it out.
How had his parents ever said it was okay?
How had they managed to finish his cooking?
After this trauma, they were hesitant to eat any more of his food and decided to buy ingredients for a barbecue instead.
Barbecue was hard to mess up.
After eating barbecue, they decided to play games.
Lin Ting had recovered but still felt a little queasy thinking about the taste of the meal.
She quickly drank a beverage and asked, “What game?”
Jin Anazi: “Truth or Dare. If you don’t want to tell the truth or do the dare, you have to eat a bite of Xie Qinghe’s cooking.”
She shot him a look of “How can you be so cruel? You’re ruthless.”
Xie Qinghe:”….”
Jin Anazi tore some pieces of paper, wrote numbers from one to six on them, folded and mixed them, then told them to each draw one.
Finally, he took an empty bottle, spun it on the table, and whoever the bottle pointed to gave orders.
The bottle pointed to Xia Zimo, who said, “You pick a number that’s not yours and ask him/her if they choose truth or dare.”
Xia Zimo: “Number three.”
Duan Ling leisurely pulled out the paper marked three, laid it on the table for them to see, and calmly said, “I choose dare.”
Xia Zimo thought for a few seconds, smiling mischievously he said, “You have to kiss number six.”
Jin Anazi: “Who’s number six?”
This was unlucky — right at the start, they drew each other.
Lin Ting sighed, grabbed a handful of hair, and tossed out the number six slip.
“It’s me.”
Xia Zimo was sure they wouldn’t actually kiss and grabbed chopsticks to offer food.
“Do you want to kiss or not? If not, you both have to eat Xie Qinghe’s cooking. Come on, eat…”
Before he finished, Duan Ling turned his head, grabbed Lin Ting’s nape, and lowered his head to kiss her.