Chapter 35

Yu Na was still grading homework 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 name to "1", she had become extremely sensitive to seeing that number. Her heart would quiver involuntarily whenever she saw it.

She put her pen down and picked up her phone.

: [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.]

: [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 some time, he sent another message: [Or would you rather eat out somewhere?]

Yu Na came to her senses and quickly responded: [At your house~~ The smell from hot pot restaurants is too strong.]

: [Okay, where are you? I'll come pick you up.]

Yu Na: [I'm still at school, come get me here.]

: [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 homework. She didn't want to come to school over the weekend either, so she was planning to grade at home with a stack of assignments.

She hustled down the stairs with her bag on her back and a pile of homework 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 movements, he opened his eyes.

He first noticed what was in her arms and asked, "What's that?" "Homework I need to grade."

He unexpectedly remarked, "Working so hard?"

"I haven't finished grading them."

The stack of homework rested on Yu Na's lap. One hand shielded it protectively while the other fidgeted with her bag strap.

When alone together, it seemed they lacked conversation topics. Most of the chances they'd had to meet 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 home? 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 moments, 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 messages. 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 time he wouldn't think that anymore. As long as she didn't break this unspoken boundary between them, their relationship wouldn't become 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 met 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 time, Xiao Chen's eyebrows furrowed.

She expected him to say something like "You're really too comfortable around me." Just as she considered suggesting separate checks... But in the end her pettiness won out. Xiao Chen didn't actually comment on that at all. Instead, puzzled, he picked up the bag of chips from the cart to examine it closely for a few moments. "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 moment.

If only she had supernatural abilities! She definitely would have paused time 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 memory 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 message from Qiao Rui:

Qiao Rui: [Bro, my friends invited me 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 some private time? This third wheel is begging to flee!]

Xiao Chen: [Piss off, stay home and wait.]

Qiao Rui: [If you won't let me go, then I'll tell Teacher Yu later that this dinner was all your idea!]

Xiao Chen: [You're welcome to try.]

Feeling his threat lacked impact, he tacked an especially lethal death glare onto the end of his message.

Yu Na walked over holding hot pot soup base mix and asked him, "Do you have any at home 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 some 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 mean? It was his idea to invite you for a meal 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.