In the bustling shopping mall, Xia Yunuo followed Song Yunshen onto the escalator and headed towards the fourth floor.
As noon approached, and it was also a summer weekend, Wanda Plaza became increasingly crowded.
When the two passed the fifth floor, many popular restaurants already had queues.
Fortunately, the two were lucky; when they arrived at the Feizi restaurant on the fourth floor, two tables of people had just finished their meal and were leaving.
When the waiter called out to those in line at the door, some people, although they had joined the queue, had actually gone to eat at other restaurants.
So, as soon as Song Yunshen and Xia Yunuo arrived at the restaurant entrance, they were successfully assigned a table.
After entering the restaurant, Xia Yunuo looked around and whispered to Song Yunshen, "There seem to be a lot of children."
"I remember this restaurant has kids' meals, quite a few kids like them." Song Yunshen looked at Xia Yunuo and teased with a smile, "I brought a little one here to eat too."
"I'm not a little kid," Xia Yunuo retorted, then added, "If I had known we were going to eat here, I should have picked Yingying up beforehand; she would probably have liked it too."
"Then let's not," Song Yunshen said. "I'm already tired enough from taking her to the children's playground later, and I don't want to feed her."
"You don't need to do it," Xia Yunuo said, blinking. "I'll feed them."
"You said it yourself."
"I did say that, but Yingying didn't come today again."
"It's alright," Song Yunshen said with a smile. "There's always next time. How can there only be one outdoor class?"
"Hmm!" Xia Yunuo's eyes lit up when she heard there would be a next time, and she immediately nodded.
The two followed the waiter to a seat near the floor-to-ceiling windows. Xia Yunuo hesitated for a moment, then chose to sit opposite Song Yunshen.
There are advantages to sitting opposite someone; you can see Song Yunshen's face directly with just a glance up, without having to sneakily turn your head to peek.
The downside is that it's a bit far away.
After being seated, the two scanned a QR code and began ordering.
Xia Yunuo has a small appetite, so she only ordered one steak set meal and that was it.
In addition to a steak set meal, Song Yunshen also ordered two or three snacks.
Just as he finished ordering and was about to place his order, someone suddenly knocked on the glass next to him.
Song Yunshen turned his head to look at the corridor outside the glass and immediately saw Deng Shitao's long face.
His gaze shifted and he saw Chen Yue standing next to him.
Looking down again, Song Yunshen noticed their hands clasped tightly together, clicked his tongue, and gave him a questioning look.
" Brother Shen! Can we share a table?" Deng Shitao called out from outside. "We're going to see a movie later and we don't have time to wait in line. Can we share a table?"
Song Yunshen didn't answer directly. Instead, he turned to look at Xia Yunuo. Seeing her nod slightly to indicate that it was alright, he then beckoned to Deng Shitao, inviting the two of them in.
"Thank you, Brother Shen!"
"Thank her." Song Yunshen pointed at Xia Yunuo.
"Thank you, sister-in-law!" Deng Shitao laughed and immediately called out to Xia Yunuo.
"I'm not..." Xia Yunuo was stunned when she heard this address. She hurriedly waved her hands, trying to explain.
But as soon as Deng Shitao finished shouting, he immediately took Chen Yue's hand, turned around, and left the floor-to-ceiling glass, heading towards the entrance of Feizi, leaving Xia Yunuo standing there dumbfounded in her chair.
"It seems we've been misunderstood." Song Yunshen winked at her. "What should we do?"
"I'll explain later..." Xia Yunuo muttered softly, feeling inexplicably happy, completely unaffected by the misunderstanding.
"Then come sit down here first." Song Yunshen patted the other chair next to him.
"Ah?"
"You want to sit with Chen Yue?" Song Yunshen raised an eyebrow. "Even if you did, they probably wouldn't agree."
"Oh, oh." Xia Yunuo realized what was happening, quickly stood up, walked to Song Yunshen's side, and sat down in the chair next to him.
At this moment, Deng Shitao and Chen Yue had already arrived at the two-person table and sat down opposite them.
As soon as he sat down, Deng Shitao thanked him again, "Thank you so much! What a coincidence! We were both planning to skip lunch and go straight upstairs to the movie theater, but Xiao Yue spotted you two right away."
"Haha~ I knew I wasn't mistaken." Chen Yue, a cheerful girl, greeted the two with a smile after sitting down, then hugged Deng Shitao's arm and said to them, "You two are so easy to recognize, I recognized you from afar."
"Yes, I like hearing that." Song Yunshen nodded in satisfaction. "Outstanding people always stand out from the crowd."
Deng Shitao usually sat behind Song Yunshen and Xu Zhuoyue at school, and was already used to Song Yunshen's usual speaking style. He ignored Song Yunshen's boasting and asked:
"You two are here on a date too?"
"No, no, that's not it." Xia Yunuo finally seized the opportunity and quickly explained, "We're not dating, you've misunderstood."
Upon hearing this, Deng Shitao and Chen Yue exchanged a glance, both seeing the mockery in each other's eyes.
"I understand, I understand." Deng Shitao chuckled twice.
Chen Yue, however, coaxed him gently, deliberately asking, "So, you two just came to Wanda for lunch? Did you just arrive at noon?"
"I arrived at 10 a. m.," Xia Yunuo confessed honestly.
"What did you do after you arrived?" Chen Yue asked again.
"I went to the trendy toy section on the sixth floor for a bit."
"So, after we're done playing, we come here to eat?"
"Mmm."
"So this is a date?"
"Huh?" Xia Yunuo was stunned.
"Dating isn't something that only couples can call a date," Chen Yue said matter-of-factly. "Simply put, it just means meeting up and hanging out together."
"Is that so?" Xia Yunuo had never heard this before and was completely bewildered by Chen Yue's logic.
Chen Yue was a little surprised by her adorable reaction. "I didn't expect that. I thought you were usually very aloof. You seem so silly."
"I..." Xia Yunuo was speechless, not knowing how to refute.
Seeing this, Song Yunshen tapped the table with his finger and reminded them, "Aren't you two going to see a movie later? Hurry up and order."
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"Oh, right, let's order!" Deng Shitao took out his phone and scanned the QR code.
Chen Yue, who was standing next to Deng Shitao, didn't use her own phone and snuggled up to him. The two of them intimately looked at the same phone and ordered food.
Seeing this, Song Yunshen gave a speechless smirk, thinking to himself that he should have known better than to agree to let the two of them share a table.
They actually flaunted their affection right in front of him.
That's going too far!
Seeing the two of them behaving so intimately, Xia Yunuo blushed slightly and couldn't help but steal a glance at Song Yunshen.
I fantasized about being like Chen Yue...
Eek~
No, no!
I can't think about it anymore!
The two people opposite them quickly finished ordering, and the four of them continued chatting.
Having established a good atmosphere from their previous conversation, Xia Yunuo dropped her usual aloofness from school and asked with a friendly smile, "What movie are you guys going to see later?"
" The Lychee Road," Chen Yue said. "Do you want to see it too? I see there are still empty seats, want to join us?"
"No, thank you." Xia Yunuo shook her head. "We have other things to do this afternoon."
"Let's just watch our own thing," Deng Shitao stopped Chen Yue. "Let's eat."
At this point, the waiters started serving the dishes one after another. Song Yunshen and Xia Yunuo ate slowly because they weren't in a hurry.
Deng Shitao and Chen Yue were in a hurry to see a movie, so they each only ordered one steak set meal. After quickly finishing their meal, they got up to leave in less than twenty minutes.
"Oh, by the way, Brother Shen, add me on WeChat," Deng Shitao said to Song Yunshen. "Let me know after you pay, and I'll transfer the money to you."
"K." Song Yunshen added him on WeChat, and then turned around to see Xia Yunuo also taking out her phone and scanning Chen Yue's WeChat.
After they left, Song Yunshen asked, "Why did you add her on WeChat?"
" Chen Yue asked to add me," Xia Yunuo said. "Can't I add her?"
"Of course you can," Song Yunshen chuckled. "It's your phone. You can add whoever you want without my permission."
I was afraid you'd be unhappy.
"How could I not be happy?" Song Yunshen patted her head. "If you can make a few more new friends, I'll be overjoyed for you."
"Even if Chen Yue and I become friends, you will definitely still be my best friend among all my friends," Xia Yunuo said earnestly.
"That would be my honor."
Xia Yunuo was too embarrassed to ask if she was Song Yunshen's best friend.
She was afraid Song Yunshen say no.
And the probability of it not being true is quite high.
After all, Song Yunshen Shen, who is very popular, has far too many good friends.
We won't miss her, and we won't add her either.
Xia Yunuo did not want to humiliate herself.
After seeing Deng Shitao and Chen Yue off, the two continued their meal.
Song Yunshen took out his phone, calculated the time, and sent a WeChat to his aunt, informing her that it was almost time to send Yingying over.
By the time Yingying arrived, they had probably finished eating, so they went downstairs to pick her Yingying.
Xia Yunuo noticed that Song Yunshen was looking at WeChat and couldn't help but ask tentatively, "Who are you chatting with?"
"My aunt," Song Yunshen said, "She said she just finished lunch and will bring Yingying over after she's finished cleaning up the dishes."
"Oh, okay." Xia Yunuo nodded.
I thought it was Ningning trying to chat with Song Yunshen again.
Oh, it's my aunt.
As Xia Yunuo was thinking this, she realized that she had finished her drink, so she got up to pour herself another one.
Feizi's drinks are self-service; you can pour as much as you want.
But just as Xia Yunuo stood up, her gaze fell on Song Yunshen's cup again. Noticing that his drink was almost empty, she asked softly, "Shall I pour you some too?"
"Oh, thank you." Song Yunshen handed over his cup.
"Still lime?"
"Um."
Xia Yunuo left with the two cups, glancing down at Song Yunshen's cup, which still had a little drink left, and felt a little tempted.
But since they were in public, she was too embarrassed to sneak a drink, so she obediently went to get a beverage.
Just then, Song Yunshen's phone vibrated.
Upon picking it up, I discovered it was a message from Xia Kening.
[ Xia Kening ]: So~ boring~
[ Song Yunshen ]: What did you do this morning?
[ Xia Kening ]: What else can I do? Go to the library and do my homework! It's all your fault!
[ Song Yunshen ]: Doing homework is good. How can you improve if you don't do homework? If you regress, you'll be calling me "Dad" after school starts.
[ Xia Kening ]: I don't care about any of that, I want to play Genshin Impact!
[ Song Yunshen ]: You're beyond saving.
[ Xia Kening ]: I don't care, I don't care, I just want to play! If you don't let me play, you're a jerk!
Reading this passage, Song Yunshen could even picture Xia Kening throwing a tantrum, making a slight smile appear on his lips.
[ Song Yunshen ]: You can come and play later tonight. If you can't even stay up for this short time, you'll never amount to anything.
[ Xia Kening ]: It'll be a long time.
[ Xia Kening ]: And this is different! I was supposed to play this morning, but I didn't. That feeling of disappointment is the worst!
[ Song Yunshen ]: Okay, then I'll let you play a little longer tonight, until 8:30?
[ Xia Kening ]: Hmph! You think you can make me stop being angry by compensating me like this?
[ Song Yunshen ]: Let's play until eight o'clock then.
[ Xia Kening ]: No! I'm not angry anymore!
[ Song Yunshen ]: So you just don't get angry?
[ Xia Kening ]: Happy! Happy! I'm so happy right now! You're the best, brother!
[ Song Yunshen ]: Ha, hypocritical woman.
[ Xia Kening ]: I call this being genuine! Not hypocritical at all!
After chatting with Xia Kening for a while, Song Yunshen Xia Yunuo return with two drinks, so he decisively ended the conversation and put his phone away.
Xia Yunuo thought Song Yunshen was discussing sending Yingying over with his aunt, and didn't think much of it.
After sitting back down, she handed Song Yunshen his drink.
Looking at the drink in front of him, Song Yunshen suddenly recalled the bottle of Mizone that Xia Yunuo had drunk all that morning, and his expression turned suspicious.
Hopefully, this time they didn't steal a drink.
After lunch, Song Yunshen paid the bill at the front desk, sent the bill to Deng Shitao, and then received a 20% discount.
[ Deng Shitao ]: Why is it so cheap? Is it on sale?
[ Song Yunshen ]: My cousin works here, and there are discounts for topping up accounts.
[ Deng Shitao ]: Awesome! I've transferred the money to you. My movie is about to start, so I'll have to talk to you some more!
[ Song Yunshen ]: Received.
Xia Yunuo stood next to Song Yunshen, peeking out to see what was happening. She saw Deng Shitao transfer money to Song Yunshen meal, and immediately became hesitant and awkward.
[ Deng Shitao transferred the money, so shouldn't I also proactively transfer money to Song Yunshen his meal?]
He didn't mention it himself, but he must have wanted to treat me. I can't keep taking advantage of him like this every time.
[The steak set meal is 69 yuan, but with a 20% discount, it's about 50 yuan, which should be just enough for my allowance.]
Hearing Xia Yunuo's thoughts, Song Yunshen sighed helplessly, patted her shoulder, and said, "I'll treat you this time, but next time it'll be your turn. I'm waiting for you to treat me to a big meal on payday."
Xia Yunuo, who was originally struggling with when to transfer money to Song Yunshen, was stunned for a moment when she heard this.
"Mmm!" Xia Yunuo vigorously, her initial anxiety and nervousness instantly replaced by a sense of relief and relaxation. "I'll treat you next time!"
Not only did she treat him to dinner, she also wanted to take Song Yunshen to the movies!
Just like Deng Shitao and Chen Yue.
Although you can watch it at Song Yunshen's house, watching it in a movie theater is a completely different experience.
Xia Yunuo was mentally calculating when she would get paid next month.
It's the 19th now, and I should get my salary around the 6th of next month, which means there are still about two weeks left.
well...
Why is it taking so long?
"Let's go, don't just stand there," Song Yunshen said. " Yingying will be here soon, let's go downstairs to meet her."
After saying that, Song Yunshen led Xia Yunuo downstairs to Gate 1 of Wanda Plaza, walked to the intersection, and soon saw the car that Ruan Zheng usually drove.
A white tram stopped at the intersection. Song Yunshen reached out and opened the back door, smiling as he looked at Yingying inside.
"Brother!" Yingying excitedly wiggled her little bottom toward Song Yunshen.
Song Yunshen Shen laughed heartily, reached out his hands, lifted her by the armpits, and scooped Yingying up in his arms.
Xia Yunuo helped close the back door.
Ruan Zheng rolled down the passenger window and called out to Song Yunshen, "I'm leaving Yingying in your care now, be careful!"
"Understood!"
" Yingying!" Ruan Zheng called out to her daughter again, "Stay close to your brother and Teacher Xia outside. Don't run around alone. Listen to them, understand?"
"Okay!" Yingying snuggled into Song Yunshen's arms, grinning as she agreed, then started clamoring, "I want to go to the trampoline! Hurry, let's go!"
"Then we'll be going now," Song Yunshen said to his aunt.
"Okay, I'll head back now." Ruan Zheng nodded, then asked, "Should I pick you up later?"
"No need, no need. I came by electric scooter, I can just take them both back later."
"Okay, be careful on the road."
"Okay."
After seeing his aunt off, Song Yunshen put Yingying down on the ground and took her little hand in his.
Yingying was a little dissatisfied and opened her arms to Song Yunshen: "I want my brother to hug me!"
"Brother is saving his energy so he can play with you a little longer later. I won't hug you now." Song Yunshen winked at Xia Yunuo and gestured towards Yingying's other hand with his lips.
Xia Yunuo understood immediately, and took Yingying's other hand in hers, smiling as she said, " Yingying, what did we say in class? Be good when we're outside."
"We should listen to Mom and Dad!" Yingying retorted. "Are my brother and pretty sister Mom and Dad?"
Song Yunshen: "..."
Xia Yunuo: "..."
Sigh... You shouldn't lecture Little Brat so much.
"Come on, come on, do you still want to play on the trampoline?" Song Yunshen pulled Yingying towards the gate. "The slower you walk now, the less time you'll have to play later. We'll only play until three o'clock at most before going home, so don't waste your time."
Upon hearing that time was limited, Yingying immediately became anxious and hurried towards the gate.
So Song Yunshen and Xia Yunuo each held one of Yingying's little hands and smoothly walked into the entrance of Wanda Plaza, heading towards the children's playground on the sixth floor.
[It really feels like a parent taking their daughter out for a trip.]
Xia Yunuo blushed slightly as she stole a glance at Song Yunshen, thinking to herself.
Hearing her thoughts, Song Yunshen turned to look at her, and their eyes met.
The two glanced at each other casually, feeling a jolt of electricity in their hearts, and immediately turned their heads to look straight ahead.