Chapter 135: Mysterious Brain Circuits
The books were divided into two bags, and carrying them was quite heavy—knowledge weighs a lot.
Under the disdainful gaze of the bookstore owner, Xu Qing handed both bags to Jiang He to carry, and they left the bookstore together. The day was still young, just past three in the afternoon. With spring arriving, the days were growing longer, no longer like the dark winter months when nightfall started creeping in by five. Now, the afternoon was only halfway through.
"How about grabbing so milk tea and heading back ho?"
"I want kumquat lemon," Jiang He said, effortlessly lifting the books with one hand while fishing out her phone to pay for the drinks with the other. After taking a few steps forward, she added, "Less ice, less sugar."
Adding too much sugar to kumquat lemon tea overwhelms the lemon’s flavor with sweetness. She had tried it once and never liked it again. Out of curiosity, she had also once asked for no sugar at all. The tea shop worker confird her order twice before making it, only for it to turn out so sour she couldn’t drink it. Xu Qing ended up taking the drink off her hands, holding his nose as he finished it.
"If you’re buying, you tell the staff yourself. I’m not your mouthpiece," Xu Qing refused to help.
When they reached the shop, Jiang He ordered two cups of the sa flavor herself, paid with a WeChat scan, and waited for their drinks. Once the drinks were ready, they each took one, pierced the lids with straws, and started sipping.
The habit of biting on straws was sothing Jiang He had picked up from Xu Qing. It helped them drink slower, savoring the cool, slightly sour flavor. The drink brought a faint look of contentnt to her face.
"Hey, isn’t that the fat guy over there?" Jiang He, biting her straw, noticed two figures ahead and gestured subtly with her chin.
"Haozi!" Xu Qing had already called out, waving at Qin Hao, who was standing by a tree in casual clothes. Qin Hao turned to look, his expression suddenly tense.
"What are you doing here?"
"We’re just out shopping," Xu Qing replied casually, stepping closer and glancing at the girl beside Qin Hao. His gaze shifted back to Qin Hao.
"We’re shopping too," Qin Hao coughed lightly and introduced, "This is Liu Jingfang. I—"
"I’m his girlfriend," the girl interrupted.
"Blind date," Qin Hao corrected, averting his gaze awkwardly.
"His girlfriend," the girl insisted.
"I’m Xu Qing, his friend," Xu Qing said to the girl, nodding. Then he added, "We have plans—she wants to catch a movie, and it’s about to start. Want to join us?"
"No, no," Qin Hao quickly declined.
"Then see you around," Xu Qing said, walking off with Jiang He. He glanced back at the pair as they left. Jiang He remained silent, biting her straw until they were out of sight. Only then did she speak up.
"I didn’t say I wanted to watch a movie."
"Of course you didn’t."
"So were you lying to them?"
"It’s just an excuse. Didn’t you notice sothing strange about those two?" Xu Qing had initially thought he’d caught Qin Hao out on a date with his girlfriend, but their interaction seed odd.
A fake girlfriend? No... it seed more like she was chasing him.
"I didn’t think anything was strange," Jiang He replied, finishing her milk tea. She looked around for a trash bin, tossed the empty cup, and stood quietly beside Xu Qing, waiting for him to hold her hand.
"You don’t know him well enough. By the way, it’s surprising you rembered him. Is it because he investigated you?"
"There was a photo of him in Uncle Qin’s room this afternoon."
"Oh, I missed that."
"Why do all of you have nicknas ending in ‘zi’? He’s Haozi, there’s Wangzi the rich guy, and you’re Qingzi... Does that an I should be Hezi?"
"Hezi?!" Xu Qing choked, coughing twice before explaining. "We gave each other nicknas in school. Adding ‘zi’ made it sound cooler, like Laozi, Zhuangzi, and Confucius."
"But you’re a girl. No need for a nickna."
"Oh," Jiang He nodded. She decided "Hezi" didn’t sound great, and "Jiangzi" was even worse. Her given na, Jiang He, was just fine. Satisfied, she swung her arm to nudge Xu Qing.
Xu Qing wouldn’t leave her hanging, so he grabbed her hand. "Let’s go ho."
"I thought we were watching a movie?" Jiang He hesitated, not wanting to go back yet.
"That was just an excuse."
"But it’s still early."
Xu Qing looked at her, then at the nearby cinema. He didn’t argue further.
"Let’s watch a movie, then," he relented. It seed like this was the first ti she had actively requested to do sothing.
Love, whether in ancient tis or modern days, didn’t seem so different. People liked holding hands, watching movies, and doing little things together...
"Isn’t it more comfortable to watch at ho on the couch?" Jiang He suddenly suggested after a few steps. She rembered their last cinema outing, where they couldn’t talk or interact in the dimly lit hall.
The sight of an overly affectionate couple in the corner was off-putting. She certainly wouldn’t engage in such behavior in public. Thinking about it, being at ho seed much better. They could sit on the couch, with the cat and so cola, chat about the movie, or even—if she wanted—pin Xu Qing down.
Xu Qing, unaware of her reasoning, assud she was trying to save money. He tugged her forward, saying, "The cinema has a better atmosphere."
"I don’t want to go."
"It’s not that expensive."
"I don’t like the environnt."
"I’ll pay," Xu Qing offered.
"..." Jiang He planted her feet firmly, making it impossible for Xu Qing to pull her along. After a mont of staring at each other, he sighed.
"Really not going?"
"No," Jiang He shook her head.
"Alright then."
Xu Qing gave up. Won were known to change their minds quickly, and thankfully Jiang He wasn’t well-versed in modern gas of emotional manipulation. Otherwise, he might’ve started second-guessing if he’d upset her sohow.
Back ho, Jiang He placed the books on the table, turned the computer screen toward the couch, and suggested they watch a movie together.
"You seriously ca ho to watch a movie?" Xu Qing was surprised.
"Of course," Jiang He nodded earnestly.
"You’ve been thinking about this the whole way back?"
"Yes."
"..." Xu Qing didn’t understand her logic. He thought she didn’t want to watch anymore, but she wanted to watch at ho instead?
"What do you want to watch?"
"I don’t know. I just want to watch sothing," Jiang He said, feeding Winter lon so cat food before returning.
"Didn’t you say couples should shop, eat, watch movies, and drink milk tea? We can eat and watch movies at ho."
"..." Xu Qing froze, realizing he couldn’t argue with her reasoning.
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