The evening wind carried a slight chill as Song Qiuyu stood outside the shop alone, letting the night breeze wash over her.
The November wind was already somewhat cold.
She gazed at the bleak sunset in the distance, her thoughts drifting back to the message she had sneakily seen in the men’s restroom earlier that afternoon.
That Jiang Xiao fellow… it seemed like he had someone he liked. Not Shen Xi, but someone other than her.
The original message roughly said he appeared to have feelings of interest and infatuation for someone and hoped Shen Xi could forgive him.
This gave Song Qiuyu a bit of a headache.
Logically speaking, Jiang Xiao having someone he liked should be a good thing.
She was genuinely happy about it.
But what Jiang Xiao said afterward made her a little tense.
He only confessed to Shen Xi and said he would suppress his feelings, telling Shen Xi not to worry.
“Not worrying? That’s definitely suspicious!”
She wished she could immediately tell Jiang Xiao to be brave and pursue his happiness, to forget about her…
She looked up, feeling both guilty and speechless, exhaling a warm breath that dispersed as a white mist in the cold air.
The weather was getting colder.
The white season was approaching.
Frowning, she looked toward their table thoughtfully, troubled.
She wondered if the person Jiang Xiao liked could be Sang Tian. Logically, it should only be Sang Tian…
After all, Jiang Xiao hadn’t spoken to any other girls besides Sang Tian.
No matter what, at least Jiang Xiao finally liked someone else.
That was a good start. Next, she just needed to figure out how to make Jiang Xiao braver—or better yet, how to have Sang Tian seduce Jiang Xiao.
A pure and innocent boy like Jiang Xiao definitely wouldn’t be able to resist the seductive advances of someone he liked. He might confess right away!
If that didn’t work, well, they could always resort to marriage for the sake of a child, right?
Heh heh heh.
She had to come up with a plan.
Ignoring the strange feelings stirring in her heart, she put her phone back into her pocket and turned to walk back into the shop.
At that moment, she faintly caught the voices of her Roommate and Sang Tian discussing something.
“Are we really going to do this? Hide it from Song Classmate like this—”
Sang Tian’s voice was full of hesitation.
“That’s exactly why it’s fun—keeping it a secret. Tonight, no matter what, we have to make Lao Song really happy.”
Xie Zhuran looked mysterious.
“And it was Lao Jiang’s idea, too!”
Hearing this, Song Qiuyu’s mind filled with question marks.
Although she couldn’t quite understand, it seemed they were hiding something from her, and it was Jiang Xiao’s suggestion?
And the purpose was to make her happy… happy?
Hmm…
Right now, there were two ways to make her happy: one, the owner of the Notebook could contact her immediately, or two, Jiang Xiao could quickly forget Shen Xi and enter a normal relationship.
But they probably didn’t know about those things yet.
Jiang Xiao wouldn’t have told anyone about the Notebook.
So what else could possibly make her happy?
With a puzzled expression, she walked over as if nothing was wrong.
“Song Classmate, you’re back!”
Sang Tian hurriedly swallowed the words she was about to say.
She had originally wanted to trick Jiang Xiao into giving her some sweet hints.
“You guys were just talking about something?”
Song Qiuyu asked casually, testing the waters.
“Oh, oh, we were just saying that once we get to the KTV, we absolutely can’t let Lao Jiang grab the microphone again!”
Xie Zhuran’s expression was frank.
“Indeed.”
Lin An and Sang Tian nodded in agreement.
“Hmm, I see.”
Song Qiuyu nodded but didn’t expose them outright.
Then she shook her head and added, “But I think you’re wrong. Precisely because Jiang Xiao can’t sing, we absolutely can’t let him off easy!”
Jiang Xiao remained silent.
“That’s true! Qiuyu’s right!” Lin An adjusted his glasses and smiled.
Xie Zhuran recalled Jiang Xiao’s singing that day, winked at the person beside him, then picked up a beer and took two sips.
“Yes, yes, Lao Jiang, you have to sing several songs later!”
Jiang Xiao said nothing but nodded slightly and took a sip from the glass in front of him.
After dinner, everyone headed to the KTV together.
They walked straight through the bustling crowd and entered the reserved private room.
Song Qiuyu didn’t sit down immediately; instead, she picked up the microphone and handed it to Jiang Xiao.
“Jiang Xiao, you go first with the first song! I’ll help you pick.”
Jiang Xiao glanced at Song Qiuyu and took the microphone without a word.
Then Song Qiuyu went to the song selection console, deliberately choosing songs about confessions and courage.
“All set, Jiang Xiao, you sing now.”
She returned to the sofa, arms wrapped tightly around her backpack.
A blatant hint.
Jiang Xiao looked at the songs she picked, his expression one of helplessness, unsure what to say.
Still, he gritted his teeth and sang.
Enduring the torture of the piercing music, Xie Zhuran and Lin An wore pained and struggling expressions, while Sang Tian was clearly enjoying herself.
This song was very meaningful. It was as if Song Classmate was bravely confessing to Jiang Xiao, and Jiang Xiao was bravely confessing to Song Classmate at the same time.
Was the ship she was rooting for about to sail?
Song Qiuyu thought so.
Since Haki Xiao lacked courage, she was giving him a little push, hoping he wouldn’t disappoint her.
Sing out your love bravely!
Feeling a burning gaze on his side, Jiang Xiao tightened his grip on the microphone, instinctively turning his face and glancing sideways at the person not far from him.
Song Qiuyu tilted her head, seeming a bit puzzled at his sudden look.
“Idiot, why are you singing to me?”
“Blaming me for picking your songs?”
“It’s for your own good!”
But Haki Xiao didn’t appreciate it?!
Soon Jiang Xiao looked away, and as he sang, he gradually infused the song with his current emotions, sinking into it.
A tangled, troubled, restless mood wove a vast net trapping him with no escape.
At the same time, he couldn’t blame anyone else—only himself for harboring the wrong feelings for the wrong person.
And Song Qiuyu deliberately picking this song was like cruelly egging him on to take the initiative.
He could only pretend it was a coincidence, not something Song Qiuyu intended.
“Huh? Doesn’t Lao Jiang’s singing suddenly sound a little better?”
Xie Zhuran was surprised.
“No way, that’s just your illusion,” Lin An said, opening a can of beer.
After finishing the song, Jiang Xiao bent down and placed the microphone on the table, then straightened his back and turned to look at the person still clutching her backpack tightly.
“Song Qiuyu, come out for a moment. I have something to tell you.”
“Hmm?”
Just as Song Qiuyu was about to ask, she saw him silently mouthing two words:
“Notebook.”
Seeing this, she almost instantly stood up from the sofa, moving with a stiff and mechanical air, but forcing herself calm as she hugged her bag and walked over.
Jiang Xiao also grabbed his bag.
The two of them left the private room, while the remaining three exchanged glances and each stopped what they were doing.
“Uh, Jiang Xiao, what do you want to say?”
Outside, Song Qiuyu looked nervously left and right, clutching her bag even tighter as she followed Jiang Xiao.
He said nothing, just quietly carried his bag and headed toward the men’s restroom.
Seeing Jiang Xiao’s silence, Song Qiuyu recalled the secret conversation they had when she wasn’t around, and her heart shuddered.
No way… no way, could what they talked about be related to what was in that Notebook?
Then, what was this thing that was supposed to make her happy?
Lost in thought, she followed Jiang Xiao into the men’s restroom.
What she didn’t expect was that inside, two young men were playfully wrestling, their chemistry so intense it made Song Qiuyu feel like she had suddenly traveled to Chengdu.
Nice.
Even going to the restroom was like crossing provinces.
Noticing their arrival, the two blushed and hurriedly left.
Having already had dirty thoughts, this unexpected sight left Song Qiuyu stunned.
She unconsciously squeezed her legs shut, already wanting to run away.
Others feared beasts under the skirt; her situation was completely reversed!
Jiang Xiao’s face was cold as he stopped walking.
Song Qiuyu stopped as well.
“Song Qiuyu.”
With those words, Jiang Xiao turned around, lowered his eyes, ripped open the zipper of his bag, and reached inside with one hand.
“Hm?”
Song Qiuyu nervously swallowed, afraid even to breathe.