The sound of the kiss echoed in her ears.
Song Qiuyu’s mind was buzzing, her hands and feet twitching stiffly, her pupils dilating.
Feeling the wild rise and fall of Jiang Xiao’s chest beneath her palms, her own heart began pounding like a drum.
Some nearly forgotten feelings, left to gather dust in a dark corner, suddenly surged in like the rising tide, tightening her entire body.
She dared not move carelessly again.
Their eyes met—Jiang Xiao had already forgotten to breathe.
Everything happened so suddenly.
The one who was forced to pounce on the other should have been extremely flustered, and so was he—yet, shamelessly, he was even starting to enjoy it a little.
At that moment, both Song Qiuyu and Jiang Xiao sharply caught the sudden flash of a camera.
They glanced over and spotted Sang Tian snapping a photo of them with her phone; both their hearts lurched violently.
Sang Tian, satisfied, recorded this moment.
It felt like a blessing from the heavens, and her face broke into a radiant smile.
Immediately, Song Qiuyu shoved Jiang Xiao away and
sat up, both hands clamped over her mouth, deliberately making retching sounds.
Meanwhile, Jiang Xiao turned his face away, covering it with a large hand. His brow furrowed tightly, and he wore a look of utter disgust.
Their reactions, so perfectly coordinated, left everyone else convinced that they truly despised kissing each other.
Witnessing this, Sang Tian looked as though she’d been struck by lightning, completely dumbfounded.
This wasn’t how she imagined things would go!
Xie Zhuran’s eyes, on the other hand, lit up. He slapped his thigh and exclaimed, “Oh, oh, oh! Isn’t this one of those classic scenes from Naruto?”
“It really is.”
Lin An agreed with Xie Zhuran’s assessment.
He glanced at Uchiha Xiao and Uzumaki Qiuyu in front of him, nodding his head.
The more he looked, the more they resembled them.
Even the reason for their kiss was similar—the only difference was that their relationship wasn’t nearly as bad as Sasuke and Naruto’s.
Their reactions had a somewhat exaggerated, theatrical flair to them.
No wonder they were outstanding students in the directing department.
“If that was their first kiss too, that’d be so tragic.”
Xia Qi, a die-hard Naruto fan, nodded in deep agreement.
That kiss definitely wasn’t their first!
Song Qiuyu was forced to recall the moment in the Opera House when Jiang Xiao kissed her by force, breaking out in a cold sweat at the memory.
Time really did fly. Since then, even more complicated, inexplicable things had happened between her and Jiang Xiao.
Jiang Xiao narrowed his eyes, quietly turning to look at the person who had caused all this chaos. His gaze grew heavy.
For some reason, he felt as if he’d seen that face somewhere before.
“Sorry!”
Meeting Jiang Xiao’s icy gaze, Science Guy assumed he was about to blow up, so he quickly bowed his head and apologized loudly.
Science Guy looked delicate, but surprisingly had a booming voice—so loud that everyone in the carriage heard him.
People cocked their heads, pricked up their ears, and shifted their attention over.
“Hm?”
Song Qiuyu jumped at the sudden noise, letting out an instinctive yelp.
Jiang Xiao’s reaction was cool and indifferent, but Fat Boy was on edge, nearly numb with anxiety.
Logically, this pair should have been a real couple.
If it was a real couple kissing, the most that would happen is getting scolded a bit.
But the way this pair reacted—something was very off! They were probably in deep trouble today!
Then, Science Guy started talking a mile a minute, explaining everything in an orderly fashion, even bringing up the incident last month when he’d caused Song Qiuyu and Jiang Xiao to fall down a tall set of stairs.
Song Qiuyu frowned as she listened, suddenly realizing what was going on and
preparing herself to get angry.
Just that one fracture alone—Jiang Xiao had suffered so much, and she herself had endured plenty, too. All that suffering had to be swallowed in silence, like eating bitter herbs.
She had helped Jiang Xiao bathe so many times, every day teetering on the edge of disaster!
And now, she’d even been forced to kiss him in public!
Fat Boy’s expression grew even worse.
He gripped his instant noodle cup tighter, ready to defend his buddy—clearly not planning to stay out of it.
Noticing Fat Boy’s reaction, Song Qiuyu thought it over and ultimately decided to resolve the matter calmly.
She also made sure to get medical expenses reimbursed for the person who’d been hurt.
By the way, she learned their destination was the same, so she simply asked him to help them shoot short videos and do odd jobs when the time came.
Xie Zhuran was rather surprised by his roommate’s approach.
If it were him, he would’ve scolded Science Guy a bit more.
Besides, Song Qiuyu used to have a bad temper when he and Lin An made him mad, but now, he was handling things much more gently.
Science Guy and Fat Boy were both a little shocked and deeply grateful they’d run into someone with such a good temper.
Lin An, however, saw right through Song Qiuyu’s plan, glasses glinting.
He looked at Science Guy and Fat Boy, who thought they’d encountered a soft-hearted god, with an utterly merciless gaze, and sighed.
Buy one, get two free—two new minions acquired.
Qiuyu’s move was ruthless.
“So it’s settled! Go ahead and follow our short video account—search for Sugar-Dipped Lemon on Douyin!” Song Qiuyu said, looking at Science Guy and Fat Boy.
Of course, Jiang Xiao also saw through her little scheme, but he simply watched her handle everything, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
He noticed that after she mentioned their Douyin account, quite a few other people nearby pulled out their phones, apparently searching for the account too.
His Xi’er always seemed to think quickly in critical moments.
He couldn’t help feeling proud.
Afterward, Science Guy and Fat Boy went back to their seats, instant noodles in hand, and checked the short video account they’d just followed on their phones.
Both wore indescribable expressions.
So they were both guys?
But at least the matter was resolved.
Fat Boy’s chubby hand trembled as he put on his headphones and scrolled through the videos under the account, his expression complex, unsure if he should say what he was thinking.
Even though that cute girl isn’t really a girl, this Jiang Xiao is even more infuriating!
Aside from not being able to give birth, Xiaonan Niang is perfect in every way—
Wait, that’s not right.
Who says not being able to give birth is a flaw?
That’s obviously a plus.
And look at this comment section—Jiang Xiao really is popular with the ladies!
I’m so damn jealous. Reincarnation is really a skill. If I could possess Jiang Xiao for a day, I’d do anything!
Seeing his friend tearfully wolf down a big mouthful of instant noodles, Science Guy fell silent for two seconds, kept scrolling through the short videos, and suddenly felt excited about helping out as an assistant.
What does helping with short videos even entail?
“Song, the spicy chicken drumsticks on this train are really good. Want one?”
After business was done, Sang Tian played along by not bringing up the kiss between Song Qiuyu and Jiang Xiao, who acted as if nothing had happened.
She understood everything now.
Their deliberately exaggerated reaction was just to avoid suspicion.
“Yeah, yeah! While you were sleeping, Song, Sang and I each bought one—they’re really tasty, definitely worth a try!”
Xie Zhuran nodded in agreement.