After only a few bites, Ye Qingchang’s stomach was full.
To be more accurate, her small frame couldn’t hold much to begin with. There were even two pieces left over that she couldn’t finish, which had to be thrown away.
“If only I could be granted a giant stomach right now,” Ye Qingchang muttered, clutching her stomach, which felt as if it were bulging. “It’s a shame about this leftover malatang.”
“Are you talking about the kind of giant stomach that even X-rays can’t penetrate?”
“Forget I said anything.”
The two of them stood up and walked out of the restaurant. Ye Qingchang once again opened her sun umbrella.
“Black clothes actually absorb a lot of heat, you know.” Xiao Yi’an looked at Ye Qingchang, who couldn’t stand even a little bit of heat, and let the comment slip.
“I know, but other clothes are too bright and lively for me. It feels out of place, like a living person wearing a burial shroud.”
“Isn’t it the other way around?”
“As long as you get the gist.” Ye Qingchang waved her hand from beneath the shade of the umbrella.
Autumn and spring in the south were actually very short. Perhaps only one or two months a year could truly be considered spring or autumn; the rest of the time, it was either deathly hot or freezing cold.
As for how to tell if it was actually the fleeting southern autumn or spring, her entire dormitory had a special method. They only needed to walk down the street and look at the legs of other girls.
If there were girls wearing stockings, then it was spring or autumn.
This method had been relatively reliable — until now. Having become girls themselves, they realized they didn’t want to wear stockings no matter what.
‘I’m not wearing them, and I’m sure my roommates won’t either,’ she thought. ‘So, the validity of this method is still up for debate.’
“Should we head to the Literature Club room now?” Xiao Yi’an paused. “If I’d known, I would have gone ahead to turn on the air conditioning. It was on the way when I was doing the club promotion earlier.”
“It’s fine. Even though today doesn’t feel like autumn, I remember the club room is always cool and shady. It’s quite comfortable there all year round.”
“That might be because the literature inside is so gloomy. It always has a faint, chilling vibe,” Xiao Yi’an said. “Back then, to make myself look like a literary boy, I didn’t even keep many mainstream books in there. They were all profound, cryptic things I couldn’t understand. Honestly, they weren’t even as good as those ‘Dragon King Son-in-law’ stories.”
“Are you talking about the ones where the hero returns to find his wife and daughter living in a bridge hole, so he calls in 100,000 soldiers to boost their sales performance?” Ye Qingchang seemed to recall something.
Xiao Yi’an simply looked at her blankly. “You read quite a lot of those yourself.”
“My roommates read them, not me! You have to believe me!” Ye Qingchang felt as though her innocence was being threatened.
“Fine, I believe you.”
Xiao Yi’an continued, “I happen to have the key to the club room with me today, so we can go straight there.”
“Speaking of which, what exactly did you hide that you had to take me there to see?” Ye Qingchang tilted her head as she asked.
“It’s nothing much. Just some things that were never meant to see the light of day. I took them out, and now I want to prove their final value.”
After saying this, Xiao Yi’an suddenly showed a look of slight disgust. “I’ve really read too many of those nonsensical books. Now, even the way I talk is cryptic.”
“I feel like you’re still being a bit of a riddler.” Ye Qingchang stared at Xiao Yi’an’s profile. “So, what’s the simpler explanation?”
“The simpler explanation is: I don’t want to tell you right now. You’ll know once you see it for yourself.”
“That certainly is simple enough,” Ye Qingchang said. “If that’s the case, were there many things I said during our online chats that you didn’t actually understand?”
“Yes. And since I couldn’t just not respond and look like we were incompatible, I chose to speak in riddles.” Xiao Yi’an nodded slightly.
“So that’s how it was. No wonder…”
‘No wonder I always felt like my digital pet was giving me nonsensical answers,’ she thought. ‘But I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was wrong at the time.’
It was as if she had asked if a steak was good, and Xiao Yi’an had replied with “curry.” Perhaps he meant the steak was good with curry, or maybe he meant it wasn’t as good as curry.
The two of them walked into the activities building. It was finally a bit cooler, allowing Ye Qingchang to fold her umbrella.
“You gave the umbrella to me. Weren’t you worried about getting a tan?”
“I don’t have a constitution like yours — looking like a skeleton archer from a block-world game. Besides, I put on quite a bit of foundation today, so it should be sun-proof enough.” Xiao Yi’an pointed to her lightly made-up face.
“I feel like that was a bit offensive.” Ye Qingchang smoothed out the folds of her umbrella.
Everyone in her dorm, except for her, would just toss their umbrellas aside after use. She was the only one who would meticulously tidy hers. Or rather, there were only two umbrellas left in the dorm, and both were hers. No one knew what happened to the others’ umbrellas, but Ye Qingchang remembered that everyone had one when the semester started.
“At least you’ll feel more at ease using the umbrella now.” Xiao Yi’an shrugged.
Next, the two arrived at the door of the club room. Ye Qingchang watched as Xiao Yi’an took out the key and opened the door.
A slightly cool, dry breeze brushed against them, carrying the scent of decaying wood — like the coffin of a dying man. Or perhaps this place was the coffin itself, having killed the former Ye Qingchang and Xiao Yi’an. Now, the two of them were returning to the scene like murderers revisiting their crime to admire their handiwork.
Unfortunately, they weren’t killers. They were here to find the treasure left behind by the previous Pirate King, Xiao Yi’an.
“I can’t believe you hid something here without me knowing.” As she walked in, Ye Qingchang felt that she might have been somewhat negligent as the Literature Club president.
“You haven’t spent as much time in the club as I have. I always arrived first, so it’s normal that you wouldn’t know.” Xiao Yi’an walked straight toward a bookshelf in the corner.
Ye Qingchang watched her and decided to find a place to sit. Having just eaten and walked such a long distance, she felt as if she had exhausted half her life.
Xiao Yi’an was still rummaging around nearby. Ye Qingchang wasn’t in a hurry.
She waited quietly until Xiao Yi’an lugged over a large, heavy box. It wobbled as she moved, suggesting there was quite a lot inside.
“What’s in here?”
“You’ll know once you see it.” Xiao Yi’an flipped the box open.
There was no dust; it hadn’t been stored for long. Perhaps it had even been opened quite recently.
Inside, the box was stuffed full of envelopes.
He really need to learn to read.