"What parents?"
"I'm not that old."
Xie Chuchu scrunched up her face.
Then she relaxed her expression.
"True."
"Going around overthinking things like this doesn't feel like me."
"I'm done thinking about it. I'm done."
Xie Chuchu shook her head.
"Sorry."
Xie Chuchu flashed Chi Xiuke a toothy grin.
"Was I especially annoying just now?"
"I kept going on and on about the same thing..."
Xiuxiu must be sick of hearing it, right?
But her good upbringing wouldn't let her show it...
"Your smile just now was so silly."
Chi Xiuke's eyes curved into crescents.
"But you have nice teeth."
Xie Chuchu: ...
That completely unrelated remark, and something so unlike her friend's usual style...
She tugged at the corner of her mouth.
Then bared a row of white teeth.
"Of course."
"I brush my teeth very diligently."
"And besides..."
"Is my smile silly?"
"Silly?"
"It's not silly at all, okay?"
"Pfft~"
Chi Xiuke smiled brightly.
"Mm."
"It's pretty goofy."
"But also pretty cute."
Xie Chuchu: ...
"You little rascal..."
After a moment of speechlessness, she laughed.
What a thoughtful girl.
She knew Xiuxiu wasn't taking her apology seriously at all.
Xiuxiu was helping her relax in her own way.
She felt touched.
"Xiuxiu."
She grabbed her friend's arm.
"You're so nice."
"What are you doing?"
Chi Xiuke instinctively moved away.
"That's so cheesy..."
"Hehe."
Xie Chuchu grinned.
Xiao Xiao's eyes softened with a smile.
With two girls keeping each other company, he hadn't needed to come along again tomorrow.
But... something had changed.
He hadn't expected his initial guess to be right.
What Xue Jiamin had seen... really had been Zhujian.
For the boy's sake, it would be better if Zhujian didn't appear in front of him during tomorrow's competition, so