Awkward Chat While Shopping

The hotpot restaurant was bustling with noise, with barely a single seat left unoccupied.

Whether it was intentional or not, they only realized once they stepped inside that a single table could only accommodate four people.

Chen Chen was quick-witted and agile; he plopped himself down first, then pulled Chen Xu and Chen Ming in with him. With Su Xiaoxiao added to the mix, the table was perfectly full, as if they had rehearsed it beforehand.

Seeing this, Shen Qing and Gu Jingshi had no choice but to sit at a separate table nearby.

It was a pity, though; aside from the occasional fleeting glance, the two of them barely spoke a word throughout the entire meal.

Chen Chen and his group at the next table were itching with frustration, feeling their efforts had gone to waste.

They simply threw themselves into devouring the hotpot, leaving only Su Xiaoxiao to keep the atmosphere alive with all sorts of gossip and rapidly shifting topics.

Suddenly, the conversation turned to the girl Chen Chen had been frequently "bumping into" at the library, and what she was actually like.

"Don't worry about that," Chen Chen said, waving a hand. "She already has a boyfriend."

"Tch, that's what you get for being so indecisive."

Chen Ming smirked from the side, gloating, only to be met with a glare from Chen Chen.

"Get lost. That's still better than you, who doesn't even dare to say a single word."

Whether it was a veiled criticism or not, they glanced out of the corners of their eyes at Shen Qing, who was focused solely on his own food, feeling a sense of exasperation at his lack of progress.

Amidst the laughter and chatter, the meal soon came to an end.

The six of them stood at the entrance of the hotpot restaurant, the night breeze blowing past and dissipating some of the lingering scent of hotpot from their clothes.

"It's still early," Chen Chen suddenly suggested. "Should we walk around a bit? It's the weekend anyway, and who knows when we'll be back here again."

As he spoke, he kept winking at Chen Ming and Chen Xu.

The two understood instantly. Chen Xu nodded and cleared his throat. "It is quite early, and there's nothing to do back home. Don't you think so, Xiaoxiao?"

Su Xiaoxiao nodded in cooperation, drawing out her tone. "Yeah, who knows when we'll be back again."

She finished with an emphatic tone, looked at Gu Jingshi, then at Shen Qing, and with a roll of her eyes, let go of Gu Jingshi's arm.

"Oh, my shoelace is untied. You guys go ahead."

She crouched down to look at her shoes, which didn't even have laces, and took the opportunity to tug on the hem of Chen Xu's pants.

The four of them slowed their pace in tacit agreement, gradually falling behind, until Shen Qing and Gu Jingshi unknowingly walked to the front, moving side by side.

Though, neither of them spoke a word.

Behind them, Chen Chen and the other three followed stealthily, looking like thieves or perhaps incompetent detectives.

"What exactly is going on with these two?" Chen Ming whispered. "Weren't they doing fine before? How did they suddenly break up without any warning?"

"God knows." Chen Chen shook his head, sipping his lemonade. "They just broke up out of the blue. Whenever I ask Shen Qing, he just says he doesn't know."

"A cliff-edge breakup, then."

Chen Xu pushed up his glasses to summarize, and all three of them turned their gazes toward Su Xiaoxiao.

"Xiaoxiao, do you know anything?"

Su Xiaoxiao shook her head as well. "Jingshi has been very busy lately; I haven't seen her in half a month either. I asked her about it before, but she just brushed it off, saying they might not be a good fit. It doesn't sound like her personality at all."

"Huh? Not a good fit after two years together, and without any major conflicts in between?"

Chen Ming felt he could no longer understand modern dating.

"Wait, quiet." Chen Chen suddenly raised a hand to interrupt, his eyes lighting up. "They look like they're about to talk."

The four of them fell silent instantly, their eyes fixed on the pair in front.

The silence had been awkward for a while, so Shen Qing cleared his throat and decided to take the initiative. "How have you been lately?"

It was an awkward opening, but at least it broke the silence.

"I'm alright." Gu Jingshi raised a hand to tuck away hair that had been blown loose by the wind. "Just handling some company matters. I just took over, so I'm not very familiar with a lot of it yet."

"That's great." Shen Qing nodded. "You have a job before even graduating, unlike me, delivering food."

His tone was casual, and he even managed a small smile.

Watching them from behind, Chen Chen and the others were getting anxious at the sight of their awkward small talk.

"What is going on with these two?"

"Shen Qing, you idiot, look at her ears! Her ears!"

"What's wrong with delivering food?" Gu Jingshi paused her steps and turned around, her tone suddenly becoming more serious. "I think it's quite good."

She lifted her head, and their eyes met.

"Besides, there are so many people delivering food, but you're the only one I can spot in a crowd at a single glance."

The space between them seemed to freeze for a moment.

"Holy crap!"

"Holy crap!!"

"Damn."

Three consecutive, hushed exclamations of "damn" came from behind, expressing their disbelief. Wasn't it over between them?

Su Xiaoxiao didn't speak, but her eyes clearly lit up.

"That would be quite an honor."

Shen Qing chuckled, "But we've already broken up. Aren't you afraid I'll misunderstand if you say things like that?"

"Is that so?"

Gu Jingshi shook her head. "You can say those two words so calmly, as if you don't really care anymore. Why would you be afraid of a misunderstanding?"

Broken up? Had she ever said those words?

Hearing Shen Qing's reply, Su Xiaoxiao finally couldn't help but rush over, glaring at him with exasperation before hooking her arm through Gu Jingshi's and walking away.

Shen Qing shook his head; he could naturally see through the arrangements made by Chen Chen and the others, but there was simply no need for it.

"Hey, watch it, you bumped into me."

"Sorry."

Suddenly, a quarrel broke out. Distracted, Shen Qing instinctively looked over.

He saw a young man apologize after bumping into someone, then brush past another person, silently passing something over.

The movement was practiced; the people around didn't notice a thing.

A pickpocket?

Shen Qing narrowed his eyes. He hadn't been sure at first, but then the young man pretended to collide with someone else, and his sleeve instantly bulged.

What era was this? There were still pickpockets, and they were working in a gang, no less.

Suddenly.

Perhaps due to years of ingrained vigilance, the young man who had made the move seemed to sense something and whipped his head toward Shen Qing.

"Let's go. With your emotional intelligence, I don't know how Gu Jingshi ever took a liking to you in the first place."

Chen Chen walked up just then and rolled his eyes at Shen Qing.

"What, jealous of your brother's looks?"

"Pah, pretty boy."

The thief looked around, but his line of sight only caught a few youths who looked like college students, messing around with each other.

Was it just a hallucination?

Or were there cops secretly watching him?

Should he call it quits?

He grew conflicted. Because of the police, this was only his second attempt this week, and he hadn't gained anything yet.

If this continued, his "performance" for the month wouldn't be enough.

After much deliberation.

The thief decided to test the waters a bit longer and signaled his accomplice to keep a certain distance.

Anyway, the goods weren't on him; even if there were cops, they would still need to find evidence.

His gaze swept over carelessly when, suddenly, a head of striking red hair appeared in his vision—but that wasn't the point.

The point was on the girl's wrist—a Patek Philippe. Although he couldn't tell which specific series it was, even an entry-level model was worth over a hundred thousand.

To think such a big fish would appear here!

His breathing grew rapid. Call it quits? To hell with that. So what if there were cops? Finishing this one job would be worth a year's haul!

However, there were too many people on the other side; a direct approach definitely wouldn't work. He signaled his accomplice not far away.

"Do you have eyes or not!"

"Who are you yelling at? You're the one who wasn't looking where you were going!"

The sudden argument immediately drew the attention of most people nearby, naturally including Chen Chen and his group.

Perfect opportunity!

A flash of joy crossed the thief's eyes. He moved closer, acting as if he were just watching the commotion, but before he could actually reach the girl, a sharp, stabbing pain shot through his arm.

"Isn't this A-Yuan?"