Tiny Times in a County Town

The moment Chen Rongrong sat down on Zhou Yuwen's lap, everyone froze.

Dong Xue, who had been blushing shyly just moments ago, was no longer red in the face. Instead, she sat beside them with a cold expression. For some reason, she felt insulted by Chen Rongrong.

Chen Rongrong, however, was very pleased with Dong Xue's expression.

She reclined halfway against Zhou Yuwen, who held her steady in the crook of his arm.

Swinging her yoga pants-clad legs, she made a face at Zhou Yuwen and muttered, "You're so mean!"

"You came in and went straight to playing games with them. You didn't even think to spend time with me."

Zhou Yuwen said, "You and Shen Ding looked like you were having so much fun. I couldn't bear to interrupt you."

"Oh, stop it. I was trying to make you jealous."

As Chen Rongrong spoke, she gave Zhou Yuwen a smack on the chest.

Zhou Yuwen merely smiled.

Only then did Shi Zhenzhen come to her senses.

The girl really was a little silly; her train of thought seemed different from everyone else's. Her eyes lit up as she said, "Wait, Rongrong!"

"When did you two get together? Why didn't you tell us?"

"And there I was, just saying I wanted to set Zhou Yuwen and Dong Xue up!"

"Why set us up? There's no spark between us." Before Shi Zhenzhen could finish, Dong Xue hurriedly chimed in, a smile on her face, though it was a somewhat bitter one.

Chen Rongrong got off Zhou Yuwen's lap and sat down next to him, pressed against his side, neatly separating him from Dong Xue.

She took Dong Xue's hand with a sincere expression. "Xiaoxue, I didn't mean to keep it from you."

"Zhenzhen told me this afternoon that you liked Zhou Yuwen. In that situation, I really felt too awkward to say that Zhou Yuwen and I were together. You won't blame me, will you?" Chen Rongrong looked utterly sincere, her big eyes glistening.

Dong Xue didn't even have time to process it herself. She could only force a smile and pull her hand out of Chen Rongrong's. "When did I ever tell you I liked Zhou Yuwen? That was all Zhenzhen. I thought she was just fooling around at the time."

"Besides, I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. It's Shen Ding's birthday today."

Dong Xue pointed to Shen Ding, who was sitting by the song-selection console.

Shen Ding was a little luckier than Dong Xue. At least he'd had some time to process it.

But...

Well, it was hard to say.

Dong Xue had no real feelings for Zhou Yuwen. She simply thought he was handsome and wanted to date him. Shen Ding, on the other hand, truly liked Chen Rongrong. He'd liked her for three years.

The moment he saw Chen Rongrong sit in Zhou Yuwen's lap, Shen Ding felt a stinging in his eyes and an ache in his nose.

Really, he was on the verge of tears.

If they had gone on without paying him any attention, Shen Ding probably would have cried.

Then everyone turned to look at him.

In their little group, Shen Ding's feelings for Chen Rongrong were no secret. Everyone knew, and Chen Rongrong also feigned understanding while playing dumb. But now that she was going public, she had to make things clear.

So Chen Rongrong beckoned to Shen Ding. "Shen Ding, come over here for a moment."

"Huh? Oh."

Shen Ding shuffled over to the sofa.

Chen Rongrong held Zhou Yuwen's hand tightly with one hand and poured a drink with the other.

She was a little nervous too.

Her first couple of remarks were for Dong Xue and Shi Zhenzhen. "I think you've both misunderstood. I've always thought of Shen Ding as a friend. We made that very clear between ourselves, and he also knew about Zhou Yuwen and me."

"Oh, I don't know how to say this."

"Shen Ding, it's your birthday today, and I feel really awkward bringing this up out of the blue."

"Here, let me propose a toast. Happy birthday!"

Chen Rongrong stood up and handed Shen Ding the first glass.

She was still holding Zhou Yuwen's hand as she stood, intending to pull him up with her.

But Zhou Yuwen showed no sign of getting up.

That annoyed Chen Rongrong immensely. She pouted and kicked him twice. "Get up! Come toast Shen Ding with me."

"Forget it. This is about your friendship; I'd just be the odd one out."

Dong Xue and Shi Zhenzhen both laughed when Zhou Yuwen said that.

Chen Rongrong was nearly driven crazy with anger and yanked Zhou Yuwen to his feet.

Zhou Yuwen felt helpless. He'd only just been reborn, so how had he ended up in a rural version of Tiny Times?

Chen Rongrong insisted that Zhou Yuwen join her in toasting Shen Ding.

What was there to say to that?

Shen Ding held his glass for a long while, his gaze unfocused, as if he were staring at the drink in front of him.

"Shen Ding?" Chen Rongrong called his name again.

"Huh? Oh."

"Are you all right?" Dong Xue couldn't help asking.

Shen Ding's nose still ached, but then he broke into a grin. "Come on! What could be wrong!? What are you all thinking? I've known about those two for ages!"

When Chen Rongrong clinked glasses with him, Shen Ding acted as if he didn't care and tipped his head back.

He drank the entire glass of beer in one go.

"See! I knew it, Shen Ding's the best! He protects me like a big brother!" Chen Rongrong winked playfully, looking very happy.

"Incredible!" Shi Zhenzhen said from the bottom of her heart.

"What's incredible?" Chen Rongrong asked.

"Nothing..."

The girls chatted back and forth while Shen Ding grinned, bent over, and poured himself another large glass of beer. "Come on, Brother Zhou... let me toast you!"

"Shouldn't you slow down?"

"I'm fine. I'm happy today!"

Shen Ding acted unconcerned. He didn't know how to describe what he was feeling.

He felt very solemn as he offered Zhou Yuwen this toast.

He said, "You'd better treat Chen Rongrong well. If you ever mistreat her, I won't let you off!"

"Hehe, see that? I have my own family backing me up too!" Chen Rongrong wrapped her arms around Zhou Yuwen's waist, pleased with herself as she nestled against him.

Zhou Yuwen looked at the drink in his glass and said nothing.

Shen Ding clinked his glass hard against Zhou Yuwen's, then, without waiting for him to speak, knocked back everything in his glass again.

Once he'd finished, he went to pour another.

Zhou Yuwen said, "Drink a little less."

"I'm fine. I'm happy today!"

Grinning, Shen Ding asked Zhou Yuwen why he wasn't drinking.

"Are you trying to dodge a drink?"

"Are you looking down on me!?"

"If you still won't drink, I won't approve of you and Rongrong!"

Shen Ding's emotions were a little unsteady, and Zhou Yuwen felt helpless. He hadn't wanted to drink, but look at things now.

Forget it. I'll drink, then!

Only after Zhou Yuwen drank did Shen Ding smile with satisfaction. "That's what brothers do! Come on, keep drinking!"

Shen Ding didn't know what to say now either. Perhaps drinking was the best thing to do. He drank himself and urged Dong Xue and Shi Zhenzhen to drink too.

As for the two girls, Dong Xue and Shi Zhenzhen, they probably already had a bellyful of private things they wanted to talk about, but for now they could only hold it in and keep drinking with Shen Ding.

They figured they would probably be talking until midnight once the gathering was over.