Yu Na was still grading howork in her office when her phone lit up beside her. She caught a glimpse of the "1" out of the corner of her eye. Ever since she had changed Xiao Chen's contact na to "1", she had beco extrely sensitive to seeing that number. Her heart would quiver involuntarily whenever she saw it.
She put her pen down and picked up her phone.
1: [Do you want to eat hot pot?]
"...?" She wondered about his intentions. Was he taking the initiative to invite her to dinner?
She bit her lower lip and replied: [I'd like that.]
1: [Qiao Rui said to invite you over to my house to eat hot pot tonight, to thank you.]
"..." Of course it wasn't his idea.
Yu Na pouted, dissatisfied with his words but unable to find any flaws. It would be strange if he had invited her himself.
When he didn't receive a reply for quite so ti, he sent another ssage: [Or would you rather eat out sowhere?]
Yu Na ca to her senses and quickly responded: [At your house~~ The sll from hot pot restaurants is too strong.]
1: [Okay, where are you? I'll co pick you up.]
Yu Na: [I'm still at school, co get here.]
1: [ok]
Xiao Chen's house wasn't far from the school. He drove over and it didn't take long.
Over the past couple days, Yu Na had been preoccupied with the school sports festival, and hadn't finished grading howork. She didn't want to co to school over the weekend either, so she was planning to grade at ho with a stack of assignnts.
She hustled down the stairs with her bag on her back and a pile of howork cradled in her arms.
Xiao Chen was waiting for her in the parking lot.
Yu Na opened the passenger door and climbed in. She saw him casually leaning back in his seat, catching a quick nap. Hearing her movents, he opened his eyes.
He first noticed what was in her arms and asked, "What's that?"
"Howork I need to grade."
He unexpectedly remarked, "Working so hard?"
"I haven't finished grading them."
The stack of howork rested on Yu Na's lap. One hand shielded it protectively while the other fidgeted with her bag strap.
When alone together, it seed they lacked conversation topics. Most of the chances they'd had to et again recently were due to Qiao Rui, so naturally he featured heavily in their discussions.
Yu Na broke the silence first by asking, "Is Qiao Rui's foot okay?"
Xiao Chen: "It's fine now."
Another lull in conversation. But Xiao Chen gradually slowed the car until smoothly halting outside of the supermarket.
Yu Na followed his lead, undoing her seatbelt. "Why are we at the supermarket?"
"Aren't we eating hot pot at ho? No ingredients."
"...Oh."
At the supermarket, Xiao Chen pushed the cart while Yu Na walked alongside, using glances at the shelves as excuses to sneak peeks at him.
In these fleeting monts, it felt just like their university days. Back before she had confessed to him, asking him to accompany her was such a normal, easily fulfilled wish. But after Xiao Chen found out she liked him, he never hung out with her again, rarely even replying to her WeChat ssages. She vaguely recalled the tortured nights waiting desperately for his replies.
She knew him well enough to understand that no matter what, she couldn't let him discover she still liked him. Surely after all this ti he wouldn't think that anymore. As long as she didn't break this unspoken boundary between them, their relationship wouldn't beco awkward.
Yu Na took a deep breath, her steps light. She grabbed a carton of yogurt from the shelf and placed it in the cart, carefully observing his reaction.
Xiao Chen t her gaze briefly before glancing at the yogurt. His expression remained perfectly normal. It was as if buying her favorite treats was a natural law, still caring for her just like before.
Encouraged, Yu Na grabbed a bag of chips from the shelf and added it to the cart, scrutinizing him again. But this ti, Xiao Chen's eyebrows furrowed.
She expected him to say sothing like "You're really too comfortable around ." Just as she considered suggesting separate checks... But in the end her pettiness won out. Xiao Chen didn't actually comnt on that at all. Instead, puzzled, he picked up the bag of chips from the cart to examine it closely for a few monts. "This isn't - " He turned the bag's label towards her, eyebrows twitching, "Are you sure you want the mustard flavored ones?"
"Huh?" Yu Na looked at the chip packaging, which was indeed mustard flavored. Embarrassed, she smiled awkwardly. "Oops, I thought they were cucumber flavored..."
Xiao Chen stood behind her, reaching over to grab the cucumber flavored chips from the shelf ahead.
Yu Na suddenly found herself encircled by his presence, surrounded by his scent and the fragrance lingering on him in this fleeting mont.
If only she had supernatural abilities! She definitely would have paused ti right then. Regardless of consequences she would have flung herself into his embrace, clinging tightly to him, greedily inhaling his scent. Only after having her fill of holding him would she erase this mory from him.
But in reality, Xiao Chen placed the cucumber flavored chips in the cart and voluntarily stepped back, away from her. And the captivating, heart-fluttering sensations evaporated along with him.
She distanced herself as well, wandering over to browse other shelves, not wanting to fall for him.
Not far away, Xiao Chen was buying ingredients.
Suddenly her phone vibrated in her pocket.
As he placed a carton of tomatoes in the cart, he calmly took out his own phone.
It was a WeChat ssage from Qiao Rui:
Qiao Rui: [Bro, my friends invited out to dinner [pleading face]]
Xiao Chen: [No, you said we were having hot pot. And the teacher is coming over too.]
Qiao Rui: [???]
Qiao Rui: [That was your idea! I'm being detained against my will here!]
Xiao Chen: [No]
Qiao Rui: [Please, if I leave you two alone won't that give you so private ti? This third wheel is begging to flee!]
Xiao Chen: [Piss off, stay ho and wait.]
Qiao Rui: [If you won't let go, then I'll tell Teacher Yu later that this dinner was all your idea!]
Xiao Chen: [You're welco to try.]
Feeling his threat lacked impact, he tacked an especially lethal death glare onto the end of his ssage.
Yu Na walked over holding hot pot soup base mix and asked him, "Do you have any at ho already?"
Xiao Chen hastily put his phone away at the sound of her voice. "Hm?"
"...What's up?" Yu Na was amused by his flustered reaction.
"Oh, nothing." Unconcerned with flavor or brand, Xiao Chen took the soup base from her and tossed it straight into the cart, answering, "One of Qiao Rui's friends contacted him about going out to eat."
Hearing this, Yu Na was elated. She probed cautiously, "So what does Qiao Rui want to do...?"
"I told him he can't go."
"...I see." Yu Na pressed her lips together, giving him an assessing side-eye. After so hesitation she donned her open-minded teacher persona and gently advised, "You actually shouldn't stop him."
Xiao Chen: ?
Out of self-interest, Yu Na quietly added, "Kids that age are very rebellious. The more you restrict them, the less they'll listen."
"..."
Xiao Chen walked over to her. "What's that supposed to an? It was his idea to invite you for a al in the first place."
"I don't really care. We already know each other anyway."
The subtext couldn't be more obvious. Now to see if the man beside her might finally catch a hint for once, making her happy.
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