We ate at the all-you-can-eat barbecue restaurant for over an hour.
Midway through, Song Yunshen sent Xia Kening a WeChat, telling her that he had something to do that evening and would be home late, and that she could come later.
Surprisingly, Xia Kening didn't ask any questions, and simply replied with an "Oh".
Song Yunshen was surprised, but didn't ask any further questions, lest he be asked in return and have to explain.
At 6:30 p. m., Song Yunshen and Xia Jinshu, having eaten their fill, leaned back in their chairs, rubbing their bellies.
Xia Jinshu squinted comfortably, feeling like she hadn't eaten so much in a long time.
My stomach is so full.
The ingredients at this restaurant are quite fresh. I'll take my mom and mom here for barbecue next month when I get paid, on her birthday. The prices are reasonable and affordable.
Xia Jinshu thought to herself, and began to look forward to it.
At this moment, Song Yunshen let out a burp, stood up, and said to her, "Let's go, we should go to the glasses shop."
"Hmm." Xia Jinshu got up and picked up SpongeBob SquarePants and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from the side and hugged them to her chest.
The two left the barbecue restaurant and took the escalator down to the basement level.
Because she was holding the baby in her arms, Xia Jinshu couldn't easily reach out to hold onto the handrail. Seeing Song Yunshen reached around her waist, grasped the handrail on Xia Jinshu's side, and gently supported her.
Xia Jinshu clearly noticed Song Yunshen's actions and silently accepted his kindness.
That sense of security I felt before welled up again.
"Arrive."
After arriving at the basement level, Song Yunshen quickly led her to Auntie Cao's glasses shop.
Upon entering the store, the sales staff quickly came to greet us.
"Hello, welcome!" the saleswoman said with a smile. "May I ask—"
Before the other person could finish speaking, Song Yunshen raised his hand and said, "I'm the proprietress's nephew. She should have told you, right? I brought my friend here to have his eyesight checked."
"Oh, oh." The saleswoman immediately understood, her smile becoming even more enthusiastic. "The boss's wife already told us. Please come this way."
"Don't we need to verify your identity or anything?" Song Yunshen followed, asking with a smile.
"No, no, no," the young saleswoman said with a smile. "The boss's wife said her nephew is very handsome, easily recognizable. I didn't believe her at first, but after seeing you, I immediately do."
"Ahem, you flatter me." Song Yunshen rarely showed such humility.
Listening to the interaction between the two, Xia Jinshu, who was following behind, frowned slightly, feeling a little uncomfortable.
But she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong.
She felt a subtle urge to stop Song Yunshen from talking to the salesperson.
What a strange idea.
"The vision test is over here, it's very convenient." The salesperson told the person operating the equipment inside, then invited the two over, "Which of you will go first? After you sit down, just point your eyes at this part of the device."
Song Yunshen had come under the pretense of having Xia Jinshu accompany him to get his vision tested, so he sat down in front of the equipment first and had his vision tested as required.
After the test was finished, he stood up and waved to Xia Jinshu: "Why don't you take the test too?"
"Hmm." Xia Jinshu didn't stand on ceremony, sat down in the chair, and, imitating Song Yunshen's earlier actions, successfully completed the test.
The test results came back shortly afterward.
Song Yunshen's eyesight is fine; it's quite healthy.
Xia Jinshu has a prescription of about 150 degrees, which normally doesn't affect her classes much, but if it continues like this for a long time...
Going there carries the risk of increasing your prescription.
This is especially true if you frequently experience eye strain.
Xia Jinshu looked at her vision test report and pursed her lips. Song Yunshen, who was next to her, leaned over to take a look and then tentatively asked, "How about getting a pair of glasses?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Jinshu subconsciously shook her head and politely declined, saying, "The impact isn't actually that big. I feel I can still see quite clearly during class."
"Of course you can see clearly from the second row," Song Yunshen said. "If you were sitting in the last row, it would probably be a bit blurry."
Given Xia Jinshu's height of at least 1.7 meters, it would be normal for her to sit in the fourth or fifth row.
But she was first in the class, and if Xia Jinshu asked for it herself, the teacher would definitely be willing to put her in the front row.
"My advice is still to get a pair of glasses," the saleswoman said from the side. "You're still young, your eyes are still developing, and if you overuse your eyes, your prescription will increase very quickly."
"Especially with your current prescription, you unconsciously squint when things seem even slightly blurry."
"While this way you can still see clearly, it puts a lot of strain on your eyes. Prolonged use will cause eye fatigue, leading to a further increase in your prescription."
"This creates a vicious cycle."
Xia Jinshu understood this, of course, but she still gently shook her head, pulled Song Yunshen's arm to the side, and said softly, "I don't have the money to buy it now. Let's wait until I get my salary next month."
Upon hearing her words, Song Yunshen knew that the other party would definitely not accept his kindness now.
Even if she told Xia Jinshu that Auntie Cao was willing to sponsor a pair of glasses for free, Xia Jinshu probably wouldn't be happy.
After thinking for a moment, Song Yunshen decided not to bring it up again and simply nodded, saying, "It's okay, you can decide for yourself whether to buy it or not. The salesperson was just giving you a suggestion. It's fine if you don't buy it, but—"
"But what?" Xia Jinshu blinked, afraid that he would say something about buying her a pair.
She had already received too many favors from Song Yunshen, and if this continued, she really didn't know how to thank and repay him.
"You can take a look even if you don't buy anything. Pick out what type of lenses and frames suit you first, so you don't have to waste time choosing later." Song Yunshen said, picking up a pair of glasses from the display stand and putting them on Xia Jinshu's face.
Xia Jinshu adjusted the frame of her glasses and turned to look at herself in the mirror.
The plain black frame made her face look thinner, but she didn't like the feeling of being framed, as if it limited her vision.
"How about this?" Song Yunshen looked at Xia Jinshu, who was still beautiful in the mirror, and felt that she had a different kind of charm after wearing glasses.
She seemed to have a more scholarly air about her, which softened the slight fierceness in her face and made her overall appearance much gentler.
Xia Jinshu shook her head and took off her glasses.
Song Yunshen Shen waved to the salesperson beside him and pointed to several other pairs of glasses in the display case, saying, "Take a look at them for me."
"Okay, just a moment."
Soon, Xia Jinshu tried on several pairs of glasses, in various styles.
When she put on a pair of frameless glasses with only oval lenses, Song Yunshen, who was standing next to her, was immediately struck by her beauty.
Holy crap!
Now he really has to call her "Mom"!
Song Yunshen felt that Xia Jinshu had suddenly matured several times over.
If he wore glasses like these during class, it would really be...
Xia Jinshu felt that Song Yunshen's gaze was strange, but when she looked in the mirror, she felt that the glasses did look quite nice.
It seems to suit her style quite well.
She examined it for a long time, then finally took off her glasses, checked the time on her phone, and said, "It's about time, shall we go?"
Song Yunshen glanced at the glasses she had just taken off, then looked up and winked at the saleswoman, deliberately turning to block Xia Jinshu's view, and pointed at the glasses.
Then he said, "Okay, we'll be going now."
"Okay, okay, welcome back next time." The saleswoman understood immediately, smiled and saw the two off. Then she returned to the display case and wrote down the model number of the glasses they had just seen.
By the time we left Wanda, it was completely dark.
The intersection remained bustling with traffic.
Song Yunshen led Xia Jinshu to the electric scooter parked by the roadside. After putting on helmets, they rode the scooter back.
On the way, Song Yunshen asked, "Where do you live? I'll take you home first."
"Just drive towards the entrance of your residential area," Xia Jinshu said, sitting sideways in the back seat.
"No, I definitely have to take you home first." Song Yunshen was quite curious about where the Xia Jinshu and Xia Yunuo sisters lived, and today was a good opportunity.
"I told you, just drive towards the entrance of the complex." Xia Jinshu smiled. "The gate of my complex is right across from your West District."
"Huh?" Song Yunshen was taken aback for a moment, then realized, "Your home is in the East District?"
"Yes."
"No wonder—" Song Yunshen muttered to himself, then laughed again, "What a coincidence."
He had actually mentioned this to Xia Yunuo before, asking if she wanted him to pick her up directly at the entrance of her apartment complex in the morning, so she wouldn't have to walk to the breakfast shop by herself every time.
Xia Yunuo refused, saying it was unnecessary.
In retrospect, that was indeed quite unnecessary.
Song Yunshen drove Xia Jinshu steadily all the way, and arrived at the entrance of the Tangning New Residence East District residential area in just a few minutes.
Xia Jinshu jumped off the back seat, returned the helmet to Song Yunshen, and, still holding SpongeBob SquarePants and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in her arms, waved to him. "I'm leaving now, bye-bye."
"Bye-bye, see you tomorrow." Song Yunshen stopped at the entrance of the residential area, not in a hurry to leave. After watching Xia Jinshu walk into the residential area, he took out his phone and sent a message to Xia Kening.
[ Song Yunshen ]: Come down, I'll wait for you at the entrance of the community.
[ Xia Kening ]: Ah? You're back?
[ Song Yunshen ]: Yes, hurry up, I'm right at the entrance of your community.
[ Xia Kening ]: Oh, right away.
Putting his phone away, Song Yunshen parked his electric scooter nearby and strolled over to the convenience store, where he greeted his grandmother and grabbed some free snacks.
At this moment, Xia Jinshu had already arrived downstairs at her apartment building. As soon as she pressed the elevator button, she saw the elevator stop on the first floor and the elevator doors slowly opened.
Xia Kening came out from inside, and the two sisters bumped into each other, exchanging a glance.
" Ningning?" Xia Jinshu raised an eyebrow. "Going out for a run?"
"Mmm." Xia Kening nodded, knowing who her sister had gone out with that night, and was still a little annoyed, not wanting to talk to her.
After nodding, he immediately brushed past her and hurried away.
Xia Jinshu paused for a moment when she saw her hurrying away, then looked down at the SpongeBob SquarePants in her arms, thinking that she had originally planned to share it with her.
Never mind, let's talk about it when she comes back from her run.
Xia Jinshu shook her head and stepped into the elevator.
After returning home, he placed SpongeBob SquarePants on Xia Kening's bedside table, then took the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles into the bedroom, smiling as he said to Xia Yunuo, " Xiao Nuo, look what I brought you!"
Xia Yunuo, who was doing her homework, turned her head in confusion and saw the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that Xia Jinshu handed her. She was stunned for a moment, then took it with both hands. "Where did this come from?"
"I went out to dinner with my classmates tonight, and they insisted on playing the claw machine," Xia Jinshu said. "I tried twice, and I won both times! There was even a SpongeBob SquarePants, which I put on Ningning's bed. This Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles one is for you."
"Thank you, sister." Xia Yunuo pursed her lips, played with the doll in her arms for a while, then looked at her sister, feeling a little uncomfortable.
How could my sister deliberately hide it from me?
She's definitely overthinking it.
Even when her sister went out with Song Yunshen, she still remembered her and Ningning. How could she doubt her?
Touched, Xia Yunuo hugged the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and climbed up to the top bunk, settling it down beside her bed.
From now on, let the turtle sleep with her.
Could it be that Song Yunshen captured these Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?
Xia Yunuo suddenly had this thought.
I wonder if I'll hear anything from my sister again tomorrow. Maybe I should try to probe her feelings?
Xia Yunuo is now very curious about the relationship between Song Yunshen and her sister.
She couldn't understand how these two could stay in touch, even go out to eat together, and now they were even playing claw machines.
Surely she's not really tutoring Song Yunshen?
Xia Yunuo glanced at the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, then at Xia Jinshu's back as she sat at her desk, and sighed softly to herself.
I really want to know the answer.
but----
Okay, I'll just have to bear with it for now.