Chapter 22

  But Yuan Zhi didn't wait until the weekend. The next evening after school, he took He Sheng to the city to buy a ball of yarn. He Sheng followed him reluctantly, saying "Now all the small shops are closed, we can't buy it."

  "Who said go there and buy it? I want to go to a boutique."

  But it's expensive on that side, He Song touched her own pocket and started worrying about whether she had enough money. Yan Bai gave her enough pocket money, but unless it was a necessity, He Song wouldn't use it.

  Yuan Zhi took her to a store in the downtown area, which was not large in size, with simple and elegant decorations. The bright lights made several balls of yarn look high-end. He Sheng picked up one and felt it, finding that it was similar to what she had bought before.

  Yuan Zhi quickly pointed at a middle-aged woman in silver-gray clothes who was looking at them from the side and said, "It's this one."

  "Okay, I'll go inside and get it for you."

  The price tag was on the ball of thread. He Sheng and others hurriedly pulled at Yuan Zhi's clothes as they walked, saying: "It's too expensive, I didn't bring enough money."

  Yuan Zhi smiled and said, "It's okay, I have it!"

  "See you later, I'll buy it for you on Sunday, how about buying it here?"

  "You've come all this way, why don't you buy something?"

  "It was agreed that I would send you."

  Yuan Zhi was delighted to hear this and said with a smile: "That's nothing, at worst you can just return the money to me when you get home, it doesn't matter."

  He Sheng didn't say a word, turned his head to look at other balls of thread and said in a low voice: "I plan to buy more."

  "What's wrong?" Yuan Zhi looked at her, "Are you going to change the previous one?"

  "Not yet." He Song shook his head, "I want to weave a pair for Wu Shu and He Shou as well." After a pause, "And also for Yan Gege."

  Yuan Zhi originally wanted to say that they should also buy it, but after hearing the last one, he stopped and his face fell. "What's with this 'Shen Gege', I've told you before that those who have a relationship with them are not good people, how come you don't remember? You just don't believe what I say, right?"

  "It's not that I don't believe." He Song slightly furrowed her brow, the significance of Yan Bai in her heart was something Yuan Zhi would never be able to understand, especially when she first arrived in this city, Yan Bai had given her much more than what she saw.

  Yuan Zhi said in a cold voice: "As soon as I hear his name, I get annoyed. Mention it less in the future."

  At this time, the boss walked over, Yuan Zhi took over the things and paid the money. He turned his head to look at He Song standing in the pile of wool, hesitated for a few seconds, and reluctantly said: "If you want to buy something, choose quickly, don't make an exception."

  He Sheng looked up at him in surprise, and the other person had already turned away. She couldn't help but purse her lips and smile, then quickly pointed to several colors for the boss's wife, "I'll take these."

  The boss's wife turned around and went back to get it again. He Shuang tilted her head to take a sneak peek at Yuan Zhi, who glared at her and turned around to face the other side. He Shuang followed him again, tilting her body to look at him.

  Yuan Zhi was annoyed and patted her forehead, saying in a harsh tone: "What's wrong with you? Don't you recognize me?"

  He Sheng didn't get annoyed, and smiled with narrowed eyes, "Thanks!"

  Yuan Zhi let out a cold snort, scratched his ear, and felt a bit of heat.

  Winter nights fall earlier, after finishing shopping and going out, the sky is already completely dark, replaced by the dazzling lights on the road.

  Yuan Zhi stuffed the plastic bag with a ball of yarn into He Sheng's backpack, looking at the girl with red eyes and nose, "Have you had fun playing here for so many years?"

  He Shuang shook her head, she had few friends and was not familiar with the place at all, so there was no way she would have thought of going out. The only time was a few days ago when she went shopping with Chen Jiayin, and they returned immediately after finishing their shopping.

  "Let's take a walk around today and have some delicious food along the way." The orange light cast a warm glow on Yuan Zhi's pretty face, and the smile at the corner of his mouth seemed to be tinged with color.

  "Will Wu Aunt worry?"

  "No, I just called her." Yuan Zhi had a mobile phone and carried it with him every day, but he rarely made calls. The most common use was either listening to songs or playing games.

  He Sheng didn't say anything else and obediently followed Yuan Zhi. The bustling downtown area was crowded with people, and as they walked to the pedestrian street, it was lined with all sorts of high-end small shops. Along the specially made stone path, they walked in, and roughly in the middle, there was a row of long stalls.

  "There are more snacks here." Yuan Zhi said to her sideways, there are more people here than outside. At this time, several young men came over with boxes and accidentally bumped into He Song, causing him to stumble.

  Yuan Zhi hastily grabbed her arm and pulled her into his chest, shielding her as they continued walking in. He whispered in her ear, "You choose, whichever one you like, we'll stop and buy it."

  "Good." He Sheng kept turning his head left and right, looking at the various small stalls, all of which were food, and above each stall hung a sign with a unique slogan.

  She walked halfway and stopped, "This one will do!"

  Yuan Zhi looked in the direction she was pointing and found that the child wanted to eat lean meatballs. "What else?"

  "That's enough."

  "This bowl is too small, obviously not enough for your appetite."

  He Sheng pointed to another side and said, "Add that one too."

  "Alright." Yuan Zhi settled the person into position, "You stay here, I'll go buy."

  After finishing speaking, he turned around and walked away, constantly running back and forth in front of the two stalls. The tall and slender boy's handsome figure made everything around him seem dull and grey.

  There were many people buying food at this time, and each snack stall was crowded with a thick layer of people. By the time Yuan Zhi came out carrying things in both hands, his clothes were all wrinkled.

  He sat opposite He Song, took out the things wrapped in plastic bags one by one, far more than the two he had mentioned earlier. He said: "Eat while it's hot, I also bought some meat skewers, if not enough we can buy more."

  He Sheng eats without any taboos, and the lean meatballs he personally ordered have a lot of fillings. The heavy flavor is indeed heavy, but it's also very refreshing to eat. They all ate with their heads down, not even looking up at Yuan Zhi once.

  After a while, Yuan Zhi, who was sitting opposite and chewing on squid skewers, frowned, "Eat slowly, have some of this side dish too, don't just focus on drinking the soup."

  Everything is gone, even water is scarce.

  He Shuangzui had chili pepper mouth, a circle of red lips, shiny with oil, and breathed out: "This is delicious."

  "That's all you can eat." Yuan Zhi handed her a piece of Shandong pancake, "Look at your mouth, it's as sour as pickled vegetables, isn't it ugly?"

  He Sheng took it over and bit into it, not paying attention to his words.

  After eating and drinking enough, He Sheng's whole face turned red, feeling like smoke was coming out of her head, because everything had chili peppers in it, she ate until her eyes were wet.

  Yuan Zhi helped her carry her school bag and turned his head from time to time to look at her, "Are you okay?"

  "It's nothing." He Qiong said in a low voice, slightly furrowing his brow and sticking out his tongue, feeling a bit numb.

  Yuan Zhi ate very little, most of it went into her belly. In fact, she was already full, but she didn't want to waste it, so she stuffed the rest into her mouth with all her might. She patted her bulging belly and felt that inside was hot and spicy.

  "Let me buy you a bottle of iced water to quench your thirst." Yuan Zhi said, looking at the beverage store not far ahead.

  "Is it cold in winter too?"

  "Of course."

  Yuan Zhi bought her a cup of mango popping boba, He Sheng took it and drank a mouthful. The cool and sweet drink instantly reduced the heat in his mouth, and the round particles inside slid through the straw into his mouth, bursting open with one bite. He Sheng felt refreshed, sucking on each one and biting down.

  Yuan Zhi looked at her and thought she was silly, but also quite funny, so he couldn't help poking her cheek, almost making the popping boba egg in He Song's mouth pop out.

  In front of the square, even in winter, the musical fountain was open, and on the top of the building opposite, a huge LED screen played wedding shop advertisements one after another. Yuan Zhi pulled over a wooden chair and sat down with He Sheng.

  "Sit on this thing and drink it all before going home."

  He Sheng nodded, his eyes fixed on the colorful water pillar, his mouth making a sucking sound, and after a while, he stopped, "I've finished drinking."

  Yuan Zhi turned his head and looked at He Sheng under the light of the advertisement board. "How is your mouth still so red?"

  He Sheng licked his lips, "It's still a bit spicy." The cold drink was better when it entered his mouth, but it burned again when he swallowed.

  Yuan Zhi suddenly raised his hand and pressed He Sheng's lips with his thumb, which was very hot and rough. "Is there anything to wipe it off? It's so dry, even if you eat spicy food, it won't be like this."

  He Shuang leaned back and avoided his touch, "No, I never wipe things."

  "Your hand?" Yuan Zhi's gaze shifted to her hand, "Did you wipe it clean?"

  "Nothing." She had never wiped anything since she was a child, and as a result, her hands were rough beyond recognition.

  "Let me take a look." Yuan Zhi pulled her hand over and pinched it, the thick calloused palm and slightly cracked skin on the back of her hand didn't feel very good to the touch, "Is this still a woman's hand? It's even worse than mine."

  He Sheng lowered his head, feeling quite embarrassed by what he said.

  The next second, Yuan Zhi pulled her up and said, "Come on, let's go buy some stuff. I'll teach you how to be a woman."

  Have a good trip!