Happy

As the sky gradually darkened, the neon lights at the entrance of the farmhouse restaurant flickered on, blinking conspicuously.

Sparse woods flanked the farmhouse restaurant, with an open field across the road. Far from the bustle of the city, there was only one other farmhouse restaurant several hundred meters ahead.

Huang Yonghe arrived first. He stood at the entrance waiting for the club members, and when he saw them, he said, "Come in, turn left. We've rented out that whole area. Help yourselves to whatever you want to eat."

They had bought an all-you-can-eat barbecue package. Since they had arrived late, there were no fishing or vegetable-picking activities. They simply took ingredients from the prepared food racks and grilled them themselves.

After greeting the club president, Duan Xu and the other three headed inside.

The farmhouse restaurant was quite large. They walked left for a long time before reaching their spot: an open area specifically for barbecuing, with more than a dozen grills. A grid-like frame was set up overhead, with lightbulbs tied to it at intervals.

Along the inner side stood a long row of food racks, stocked with meat, vegetables, seafood, drinks, and alcohol—everything they could possibly want.

They had not arrived too late, so there were still empty grills. Besides, some classmates had other plans that evening and could not come. Of the original forty-plus people, only around thirty had shown up. With two or three people per grill, there was more than enough room.

"Xuxu, come on! Let's get some meat first!" Zhou Zhou grabbed Duan Xu and excitedly rushed toward the meat section.

Shen Yanlang glanced at Duan Xu. After thinking it over, he decided not to follow. Instead, he went to an empty grill with Xiao Xu and pointed to the one beside his. "You can grill your own food."

Xiao Xu could not have asked for more. "Sure!"

"Perfect. Yan-ge, you can use this chance to make up with Duan Xu." Xiao Xu chuckled.

Shen Yanlang gave a quiet hum. His gaze followed Duan Xu, and when he saw Duan Xu take quite a lot of meat, the corner of his lips lifted involuntarily.

A few minutes later, Duan Xu and Zhou Zhou each returned carrying two plates piled full of meat skewers.

Zhou Zhou reached Xiao Xu's grill first. After setting the plates down, he asked, "Do you know how to grill?"

"A little." Xiao Xu smiled sheepishly.

Seeing that, Zhou Zhou rolled up his sleeves. "Then I'll do it. I'm good at grilling, and it tastes amazing. You can try some later."

"Okay!" Xiao Xu grinned like an idiot.

Meanwhile, Duan Xu could only go over to Shen Yanlang's grill. Of course, he also intended to seriously listen to Shen Yanlang's inner thoughts.

"Are you grilling, or am I?" Duan Xu took the initiative to ask.

Shen Yanlang's eyes flickered, and the corners of his lips could not help rising. "I'll do it. You can just wait to eat."

He's finally willing to acknowledge me.

Duan Xu gave a guilty little cough, his gaze darting away. "I can help out."

"Okay." Shen Yanlang smiled gently and began preparing everything.

Once the fire was lit, Shen Yanlang turned the skewers methodically. His peripheral vision remained fixed on Duan Xu. He wanted to say something, but he did not dare speak rashly.

What can I say so Xuxu won't get angry?

Duan Xu paused while brushing on the seasoning, his ears warming slightly. After a moment, he took the initiative to say, "Yan-ge, about this afternoon..."

"It was my fault." Shen Yanlang hurriedly apologized first. In his eyes, regardless of the reason, he had made Duan Xu unhappy. "But you have to tell me what I did wrong. That way, I won't make you angry next time."

Duan Xu's heart trembled. He looked up at Shen Yanlang, whose expression was serious and eyes soft. Under the lights, Shen Yanlang looked especially focused and affectionate.

Daring not to look for too long, Duan Xu quickly lowered his head. "It wasn't you. No, that's not right, it was..."

He wanted to say it was his own fault, but after thinking about it, the root cause had still been Shen Yanlang. Yet Shen Yanlang had not really done anything wrong. Duan Xu had simply been startled.

What exactly did I do?

Shen Yanlang was baffled. Thinking back on their time together that afternoon, nothing seemed to have gone wrong. How had he upset Duan Xu this badly?

Could it be because I deliberately fell onto him?

Probably not. Xuxu isn't that petty.

Duan Xu: "..."

After calling him "Xuxu" once, Shen Yanlang was now saying it more and more naturally.

Oh, so that had been deliberate.

Sigh. Forget it. Though it was because of Shen Yanlang, Shen Yanlang was not really at fault. It was just...

Duan Xu took a soft breath. Since Shen Yanlang had come up with an excuse himself, Duan Xu would not hold back. "Because you deliberately fell onto me. I almost fell over."

Shen Yanlang froze. Under the white light, his handsome face looked a little blank. "Really?"

It was really because of that?

"Mm, really." Duan Xu nodded and looked at the food on the grill. "Turn those over. Don't burn them."

Shen Yanlang came back to himself and lowered his head to turn the skewers, his thoughts still in a daze as though he could not quite believe it.

Duan Xu could not reveal that he could hear Shen Yanlang's thoughts, so he could only make things up. "Sorry. Thinking about it now, I made too big a deal out of it. I hope you're not angry."

"No, I'm not angry." Shen Yanlang answered immediately.

How could I possibly be angry with you?

But... I don't believe what you just said.

Duan Xu: "..."

After a stretch of silence, Shen Yanlang handed Duan Xu a grilled beef skewer. "Try it."

"Thanks." Duan Xu took it and had a bite. His eyes sparkled as he looked at Shen Yanlang. "It's delicious!"

Shen Yanlang's heart itched under that gaze, though he only smiled and said, "Looks like my cooking isn't bad."

"You should eat too." There were still grilled beef skewers left, and Duan Xu felt embarrassed eating alone when he had barely done any work.

Shen Yanlang smiled faintly. "Okay."

However, his hands were still busy turning the food, so another thought occurred to him. "My hands aren't free right now. Feed me."

Duan Xu bit into a piece of beef, his feelings especially complicated. In the end, considering that Shen Yanlang truly was not free, he took a skewer and held it up to Shen Yanlang's mouth.

Shen Yanlang lowered his eyes and took a bite. "Thank you."

Xuxu fed me himself. I'm so happy!

Duan Xu: "???"

Hello? You were the one who asked for it. Could you not twist the facts?

Duan Xu could only complain inwardly. Outwardly, he still had to feed Shen Yanlang. Just as Shen Yanlang finished one skewer, Xue Jingshu and Han Xi finally arrived.

They came over for a look. There were still grilled skewers on the plate, so Xue Jingshu unceremoniously took two—one for himself and one for Han Xi.

"You got here pretty quickly." Xue Jingshu elegantly took a bite and commented, "Not bad."

Shen Yanlang said unhappily, "Grill your own if you want to eat."

I grilled those for Xuxu.

Duan Xu's heart trembled again. That guess of his seemed to gain further confirmation.

At that moment, Zhou Zhou also came over carrying a plate of grilled meat skewers. "Come on, everyone, try my cooking!"

No one stood on ceremony. Each took a skewer, and compliments immediately rang out one after another. Zhou Zhou beamed with delight. "Thanks, thanks! If you want more, come get some! Don't be shy!"

After responding, Xue Jingshu went to the grill on the other side of Zhou Zhou and Xiao Xu's, which was still empty.

Before long, Zhou Zhou and Xiao Xu returned to their grill, while Shen Yanlang continued grilling for Duan Xu.

"Xuxu, do you think mine tastes better, or Zhou Zhou's?" Shen Yanlang asked as though he did not care.

If Xuxu thinks Zhou Zhou's tastes better, then I'll...