manynovel Chapter 71 Shopping
Chapter 71 Shopping
Chapter 71 Shopping
The first week went by quickly.
Before I could react, the bell rang for the end of the last class on Friday afternoon.
Old Zhou closed his lesson plan, pushed up his glasses, and said, "There's not much homework this weekend, just two worksheets, due Monday."
"Just a reminder, this semester only has one weekend off on the first day, and only once a month thereafter, so if you want to have fun, make the most of this weekend."
The classroom was filled with wails.
But some people's eyes lit up.
Cai Yingying was the first to turn around, slamming her hand on Xu Zhi's desk: "President Zhi! We have to go shopping tomorrow! We absolutely have to go shopping! I saw a bubble tea shop in that newly opened mall on a video, it looks amazing in photos!"
Xu Zhi was packing her schoolbag, not even looking up: "I'm not going."
"Why!"
"Something's up."
"What's up?" Cai Yingying leaned closer, looking suspicious. "What could you possibly have up this weekend?"
Xu Zhi zipped up her pencil case and said casually, "Something came up."
Cai Yingying stared at her for two seconds.
Years of experience as a close friend told her that this "something's up" was suspicious.
But she didn't ask any further questions.
You can't get the information out of Xu Zhi if she doesn't want to talk about it.
"Alright then." Cai Yingying gave up, glancing behind her. "Then you two—"
Yu Chen was packing his things when he paused.
Li Rui looked up, her face blank: "What happened to us?"
"Come shopping with me tomorrow!" Cai Yingying clapped her hands. "Perfect! One can carry my bags, and the other can take pictures of me!"
Li Rui: "???"
Yu Chen: "————"
"Don't make that face!" Cai Yingying glared at them. "It's so boring for me to shop alone! You two grown men, instead of spending the weekend shopping with pretty girls, are you just going to stay home and play video games?"
Li Rui opened her mouth, wanting to say that she really wanted to stay home and play games.
But looking at Cai Yingying's face, he didn't dare to say it.
He looked at Yu Chen, his eyes filled with "Save me".
Yu Chen was silent for two seconds before saying, "Okay."
Since I don't have much to do anyway, I can go and buy some household items and clothes for the house this weekend.
Li Rui's eyes widened: "???"
Cai Yingying nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Li Rui: "And you?"
Li Rui swallowed hard: "I—I can do it too—."
"That's more like it!" Cai Yingying clapped her hands. "Tomorrow morning at ten o'clock, at the mall entrance, see you there!"
Li Rui's expression was as if she had just swallowed a fly.
Most of the people in the classroom have left.
Yu Chen picked up his schoolbag and prepared to leave.
As I reached the door, I heard footsteps behind me.
"Yu Chen".
Xu Zhi stood behind him, carrying a canvas bag.
Are you really going tomorrow?
Yu Chen nodded: "Mm."
Xu Zhi glanced at him but didn't say anything.
Two people stood in the corridor, the setting sun shining obliquely through the window, casting long shadows on the ground.
"Yingying's shopping trip is terrifying," Xu Zhi suddenly said.
"Starting from six hours."
Yu Chen's lips twitched.
Xu Zhi looked at him, a slight smile curving her lips: "Then good luck."
After saying that, she picked up the bag and walked towards the stairwell.
Yu Chen stood there, watching her back.
After taking a few steps, without turning her head, her voice drifted over: "Don't die in the mall."
Yu Chen stared at the figure disappearing at the top of the stairs, paused for a moment, and then smiled.
Saturday morning.
The sun is shining brightly.
The mall entrance was packed with people.
The new shopping mall was bustling with people, and there were several flower baskets at the entrance, with a few people dressed as mascots handing out flyers.
Cai Yingying stood at the door, holding her phone and constantly checking the time.
But she seemed a little distracted.
10 o'clock sharp.
Yu Chen squeezed through the crowd and walked up to her.
Cai Yingying looked up: "Yu Chen! You're here! Where's Li Rui?"
Yu Chen glanced back and said, "Behind me."
As soon as she finished speaking, Li Rui squeezed out, panting, her forehead covered in sweat: "There are so many people—"
It must be tough for a homebody like him to go out shopping in the sweltering heat.
Cai Yingying gave him a disdainful look: "You're already tired after just starting? No way, you have to shop with me until we get our money's worth today!"
Li Rui's face turned pale instantly.
The three of them entered the mall.
A blast of cool air hit her face, making Li Rui let out a long sigh of relief.
But he soon realized that he had vented his anger too soon.
Two hours later.
Li Rui sat in the mall's rest area, looking like a lump of mud.
He was carrying three bags, all of Cai Yingying's spoils. There were four more bags at his feet, also belonging to Cai Yingying.
Yu Chen stood to the side, carrying only one bag. Cai Yingying said this one was the lightest and asked him to carry it.
Cai Yingying came out of the fitting room wearing a new dress and twirled in front of them: "How's this one?"
Li Rui raised her head, her gaze unfocused: "Beautiful—"
Cai Yingying frowned: "You said it looks good without even seeing it clearly?"
Li Rui: "Beautiful—really beautiful—"
Cai Yingying looked at Yu Chen.
Yu Chen looked at it carefully and nodded: "It's alright."
Cai Yingying smiled with satisfaction: "This one is perfect! Hold it for me, I'll try on the next one!"
She then went into the fitting room.
Li Rui slumped in her chair, staring at the ceiling, muttering to herself, "My God, only two and a half hours have passed—"
Yu Chen didn't say anything, but glanced in the direction of Cai Yingying's fitting room.
Cai Yingying is acting a little strange today.
I'm always looking at my phone.
It's like they're waiting for some news.
Two more hours passed.
2:30 p.m.
The food court on the fifth floor of the shopping mall.
Li Rui was lying on the table, with a bowl of barely touched ramen in front of her.
"I can't go on—" he said weakly, "I really can't go on—"
Cai Yingying sat opposite, poking at the spicy hot pot in her bowl with her chopsticks, without taking a single bite for a long time.
She was looking at her phone again.
Yu Chen glanced at her.
"Waiting for news?"
Cai Yingying was stunned for a moment, then looked up at him.
Then she put down her phone and sighed.
"Yu Chen," she lowered her voice, "I have something to tell you, but don't tell anyone else."
Yu Chen looked at her.
"Xu Zhi probably went hiking today."
Yu Chen paused with his chopsticks.
"Mountain running?"
"It's that mountain over in the East District," Cai Yingying said. "She has a motorcycle, but her dad won't let her ride it. She's been hiding it. A couple of days ago I heard her say the motorcycle was fixed, and today she said she had something to do—I guess she went to ride it."
Yu Chen didn't say anything.
A scene flashed through my mind.
Xu Zhi leaned forward and pressed into the curve, the car tilting into a thrilling yet smooth arc, the tires barely scraping the road surface.
The wind blew fiercely into her coat, the hem of which fluttered backward, and her hair broke free from under her helmet, dancing wildly in the rapidly moving air.
Yu Chen lowered his eyes, picked up the water on the table, and took a sip.
The ice water slid down my throat, suppressing the inexplicable restlessness in my heart.
Is that place dangerous?
Cai Yingying bit her lip: "I heard that people often run mountain races there on weekends. The mountain road is quite steep and has many bends."
She paused, then lowered her voice: "She rides her bike recklessly, I'm afraid something might happen to her—"
Yu Chen put down his chopsticks.
He looked at Cai Yingying and suddenly understood why she had been looking at her phone all day.
It's not about waiting for news.
It's worry.
Why don't you just ask her directly?
"She won't tell you even if you ask." Cai Yingying smiled bitterly. "That's just her personality. She doesn't want you to worry, so she won't say anything."
Yu Chen remained silent for two seconds.
Beside her, Li Rui suddenly looked up: "Running in the mountains? Which mountain in the East District?"
Cai Yingying looked at him.
"I've heard people say that," Li Rui said. "There are often races there on weekend afternoons, it's quite exciting. Some people come all the way from other cities specifically to compete there."
He glanced at Cai Yingying's face and lowered his voice, "Are you worried about Xu Zhi there?"
Cai Yingying didn't say anything.
But her expression said it all.
Li Rui scratched her head: "Then how about we go take a look?"
Cai Yingying was stunned for a moment.
"Shall we go take a look?" She looked up.
"Yeah," Li Rui said, "We've already done enough sightseeing, let's go check it out. If she really is there, you can rest assured."
"
Cai Yingying looked at Yu Chen.
Yu Chen had already stood up.
"Let's go."
Cai Yingying looked at him and suddenly realized that this usually quiet boy wasn't so boring after all.
"it is good."
On the taxi.
Li Rui leaned against the car window, looking utterly dejected.
"I thought I could go home and sleep after shopping—" he muttered to himself, "but now I have to go up the mountain to get some fresh air—"
Cai Yingying, sitting in the front row, turned around and glared at him: "Stop talking nonsense! Didn't you make the suggestion?"
"I just said it offhand—"
"You have to take responsibility for what you say casually!"
Li Rui shut her mouth, continuing to look utterly hopeless.
Yu Chen sat in the back seat, looking out the window.
The mountain is getting closer.
He suddenly remembered something.
Did Xu Zhi know he was coming too?
They probably don't know.
What if we really run into them later—
He thought about the scene and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
Interesting.
at the same time.
Mountain road in the East District.
A black motorcycle was parked on the side of the road.
Xu Zhi took off her helmet and shook her hair.
The sunlight fell on her face, revealing a thin layer of sweat.
Several motorcycles were parked nearby, and a group of people were chatting together.
A guy with dyed blond hair walked over and whistled at her: "Hey girl, nice car, that was a great turn!"
Xu Zhi glanced at him but didn't say anything.
The blond-haired guy wasn't annoyed at all, and grinned, "Want to run another lap? How about a bet?"
Xu Zhi tucked the helmet under her arm and said in a calm tone, "I don't gamble."
"Okay, okay, fine, no gambling then." Yellow Hair raised his hands in surrender. "How about we just run and make friends?"
Xu Zhi glanced at him, then looked at the people next to her.
They were all regulars who ran in the mountains, and she had seen a few of them before.
She put on the helmet.
"One lap."
The engine roared.
The black motorcycle sped off.
The blond-haired man watched her retreating figure and clicked his tongue, "So cool."
Someone nearby chimed in, "Who's this girl? She's not only pretty, but she can run pretty fast too."
"I don't know." The blond guy got on his bike. "But it's interesting. I'll ask her for her WeChat later and we can chat about it."
He twisted the accelerator and followed.
Yu Chen glanced to the side and saw that Li Rui had fallen asleep against the car window, drooling almost out of her mouth.
In the front row, Cai Yingying was nervously looking out the window, her fingers tapping incessantly on her knees.
Yu Chen withdrew his gaze.
He looked out the window at the mountains that were getting closer and closer.
Suddenly I feel a bit expectant.
What should I say as the first thing when I see her?
"What a coincidence?"
He thought about it for a moment, then smiled.
Forget it.
We'll talk about it when we meet.