The two of them walked slowly into the entrance of the department store, following the surging crowd.

Even during the day, the lights in the mall were still very bright, and the glass windows and clean marble floors of the shops reflected a lot of incandescent light, making it quite dazzling.

The cold air from all directions blew "swoosh, swoosh," and the red ribbons at the central air conditioning vents fluttered.

If the average flow of people passing by was a little smaller, the temperature here might make people think they were walking in a morgue in the basement; however, because the surrounding crowd was too crowded, the excessive air conditioning became just right.

Everywhere they looked, there were crowds of people rubbing shoulders.

In order to avoid being scattered by the crowd, although the two of them were not holding hands, they still subconsciously leaned close to each other.

He and Zhu Qingyue leaned shoulder to shoulder, and through the thin fabric of her skirt, Sunny Xu seemed to be able to feel her body temperature.

The short-haired girl turned her face and asked softly.

"Are you angry?"

"Huh? No."

Even Sunny Xu himself didn't notice that his eyebrows had unconsciously furrowed into a frown.

"You look like you're angry with that expression."

Zhu Qingyue shook her head.

"Are you jealous of Starry?"

"That's impossible."

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"Hey, Sunny, you have a small mind..."

"I told you, I'm not."

The two of them took the escalator together.

Because the flow of people was too large, they could only stand on the same step, waiting for the conveyor belt to rise slowly.

The girl had to grab his arm to maintain balance. She leaned in a little closer and said softly:

"Then let's go out and play together again in the future. I'll accompany you specially, is that okay?"

"...No need."

The girl's breath was warm and moist, brushing across Sunny Xu's cheek, making his ears feel a little itchy.

He calmed his mind and replied.

"If you think I'm uncomfortable, it's simply because I'm not used to this kind of environment. Because under normal circumstances, at this time, I'm at home studying."

"...I see, it seems I underestimated your studiousness."

Zhu Qingyue grabbed his sleeve and couldn't help but laugh.

"Actually, there is a legitimate reason for coming to the mall this time."

"Oh?"

"You see, the sports meet is coming up soon."

"I see, you're here to buy related items, right?"

Because the school's playground was relatively small, the sports meet at No. 15 High School was generally not held indoors, but at the city gymnasium.

"Yes."

Zhu Qingyue nodded and continued.

"And this time, there may be more than just our school going there. The college entrance examination is coming up soon, and our school and the city's No. 1 High School need to be prepared to be selected as examination centers, and the sports meet will be held together."

The two of them left the escalator. The first floor of the mall was all chain restaurants and eateries, and the second floor was the actual department store.

"It seems like everyone is very busy."

Sunny Xu pondered.

According to the schedule, the summer vacation starts in July, the final exams are at the end of June, and before that, the college entrance examination is held in June.

The sports meet is in May, so the schedule for the entire second half of the semester is quite tight.

"Yes. And, the teachers who are too busy to prepare for the sports meet have asked me to prepare things for the sports meet."

Zhu Qingyue counted on her fingers.

"For water, we can buy it nearby when the time comes; chocolate for athletes to replenish energy, salt for making saline, medical bandages, adhesive bandages, some essential medicines and medical supplies need to be obtained from a special pharmacy, or the school should provide them."

"The main things are the small flags, horns, etc., which are used for cheering."

"In addition, there are safety pins, white cloth for making number tags..."

"It's really hard work."

Sunny Xu couldn't help but sigh.

Being a student cadre is not easy, especially for someone like Zhu Qingyue who is outstanding and highly valued.

With Sunny Xu's grades, it wouldn't be a problem to be a study committee member or class monitor, and the reason he voluntarily gave up was actually a bit selfish: he wanted to be able to focus on studying wholeheartedly without being distracted by other things.

"Yeah, it's going to be hard."

Zhu Qingyue said with a sly look.

"As a boy, you'll have to work hard later."

- Yes, I'm the one who's busy now!

However, he didn't feel discouraged because of this, after all, he had already promised her. He had thought about slacking off before, but this time, he would consider it a contribution to the group.

"...So, are you really okay with this?"

Before entering the mall, Zhu Qingyue suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"Huh?"

Sunny Xu looked up in surprise.

"Although it's a failed punishment, I won't force you. Do you feel like you've been deceived or used as a tool?"

Zhu Qingyue said seriously, "If you don't want to, I can hire someone else..."

"No, I'm not so fragile, you're too sensitive."

Sunny Xu replied with a smile.

"More than that, Qingyue, I'm more curious about one thing."

"What is it?"

Zhu Qingyue pulled out a shopping cart from the entrance. After Sunny Xu took it, the two of them stepped into the dazzling merchandise area.

"I want to know how you persuaded Starry that day."

"What else could I say... I just simply invited her to come out and play on Sunday, saying 'there's a new department store opening in a couple of days, I heard they have a wide variety of things, do you want to go and take a look together' and so on."

As Zhu Qingyue answered, she grabbed a passing waiter."Excuse me, where are the flags and horns for refueling placed?"

The salesperson looked at them with some surprise for a while, probably thinking that these two people looked too young, right? He quickly pointed in a direction for Zhu Qingyue.

"....I see."

Xu Xiangyang followed the salesperson's directions and pushed the cart deeper into the supermarket.

Shelves full of goods stood tall, like they were going to reach the ceiling all at once.

"Also, you promised to treat her to something to eat, right?" Zhu Qingyue smiled and said, "Starry, she's quite susceptible to delicious food, isn't she?"

"....That's true."

The two walked side by side past a row of shelves in the center, with various packaged foods piled up like small mountains.

Xu Xiangyang fell silent for a moment and asked again.

"In that case, you don't need to use 'punish me' as an excuse to make me move the goods, she would agree to your invitation anyway, right?"

"Yes, I always thought so."

Zhu Qingyue replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"So, this invitation is not just for Starry, but also for you. I want to take advantage of the day off and go out with you two."

"But you just..."

"Sunny, don't you think our relationship is already quite good?"

Zhu Qingyue pointed to the people passing by. The mall was full of people pushing carts or carrying baskets, shuttling back and forth between the towering shelves.

Most of them were friends, couples, or families traveling together, some even holding children.

"You see, we can talk to each other naturally like this, and go shopping together on Sundays. In the eyes of others, we must already be very good friends, right?"

No, this...

Xu Xiangyang had just observed quietly, and several pairs of customers who passed by them, upon seeing the two of them, smiled and turned to whisper to their companions.

On the one hand, it was because they both looked too young, and on the other hand, with Zhu Qingyue's appearance and charm, it was easy to attract attention—

And the content of their conversation was self-evident.

Compared to friends, the first word that came to the minds of those who saw them must be something else, the best possible being "siblings" or "brother and sister," but he and Zhu Qingyue didn't look anything like that.

Xu Xiangyang's evaluation of this was quite objective, but he glanced at the girl beside him and found her humming a tune happily, so he didn't speak again.

He felt it was better not to speak at this time.

"...You're right."

"Isn't it? But it's different when I'm with Starry. To be honest, I still feel a bit restrained, whether it's me or her."

Zhu Qingyue couldn't help but sigh.

"If we have a relatively clear topic between us, like when I'm teaching her, I teach seriously and she learns seriously."

"But other than that, I feel that if the two of us were left alone in one place, we would probably just stare at each other and not be able to speak."

Xu Xiangyang couldn't help but imagine the scene described by Zhu Qingyue... he was starting to understand the girl's worries a bit. Even without witnessing it firsthand, just thinking about it was embarrassing.

"I think it's better to start learning to adapt to each other now, rather than trying to figure it out later when the time comes."

From Zhu Qingyue's words, it could be heard that she had indeed thought about it very seriously and for a long time.

"Do we have a common language between us? If not, I hope we can find one quickly... So, Sunny, how do you feel now?"

"Ah...?"

Xu Xiangyang was stunned, not knowing why the topic had turned back to himself.

"Do you feel a little happier hearing me say this?"

Zhu Qingyue said in a relaxed tone, as if she had just finished a long speech.

"I'm not just concerned about Lin, I just hope you can help more because our relationship is a bit closer."

"You still have to go around in circles to say that." Xu Xiangyang pursed his lips. "Forget it, you're making me sound like I'm jealous of Starry."

"Aren't you?"

Zhu Qingyue teased.

"Why would I be jealous..." Xu Xiangyang shrugged. "I just thought, when you invited her to go out on Sunday, did Starry agree very readily?"

"Yes, even I was surprised, I didn't expect it to go so smoothly."

After hearing this reply, Xu Xiangyang fell silent again.

The items Zhu Qingyue wanted to buy were at the far end of the mall, and the two of them passed through most of the mall, even passing by the fresh food section.

"Do you want to buy some fresh fish? Bring it home and make soup."

An old man wearing plastic gloves grabbed a fish that was still jumping around in the pool and warmly invited them.

"Um, no..."

Before Xu Xiangyang could finish his sentence, a middle-aged woman holding a net next to him said without looking up.

"Oh, you don't understand, young couples nowadays don't know how to cook, they like to eat out."

Although both of them were speaking in dialect, Xu Xiangyang and Zhu Qingyue understood clearly.

Neither of them commented on this.

...

After passing through two or three areas, they finally arrived at their destination.

Zhu Qingyue picked and chose on the shelves, while Xu Xiangyang pushed the cart behind her.

The girl picked up a small horn and threw it into the cart, seemingly breaking the silence between the two.

"What's wrong? You haven't said a word since just now."

"...I've been thinking about Starry."

"Hmm?"

"Since she agreed so readily, it means that Starry has been looking forward to going out with someone."Sunny Xu scratched the back of his head, looking slightly annoyed.

"But I've always kept her at home. Although it may seem like a good thing to others under the guise of studying... I know that's not the real issue."

"Then what is the real issue?"

"The real issue is that I never noticed her true feelings."

Sunny's voice turned serious.

"This can only mean... I haven't been caring enough for her."

He remembered the first time he went to the nearby commercial street with Starry Lin. Looking back, she did seem genuinely happy that night.

And after that, even when they went out together, it was always to buy things, never just to hang out.

Although Starry Lin never mentioned it, deep down, maybe she had always wanted to go out and have fun with friends?

Sunny realized that Starry Lin didn't speak the truth because she had promised herself to study hard, and he himself was always cooped up at home studying, so she couldn't bring herself to be honest.

Some things just couldn't be shared with others, like the fact that they were actually living under the same roof.

Even though their relationship had become so close, he still hadn't noticed the feelings she had hidden.

However, Seigetsu Zhu had noticed. Compared to his own dullness, she seemed more like a responsible friend—

"So, are you jealous of me again? Jealous that I can sense what Starry is thinking, and that our relationship will soon improve?"

Seigetsu Zhu had a look of amusement on her face.

"You just complained about me being sensitive, are you sure you're a boy? How come you're even more sensitive than me?"

"...I told you, it's not jealousy."

Sunny's retort was weak.

"Okay, okay, regardless of what we missed before, isn't today a chance to make up for it?"

Seigetsu Zhu affectionately patted his shoulder.

"Just like how you have to be punished for losing to me in the exam; as Starry's teachers, we should reward her for making progress."

"..."

Sunny didn't say anything, just nodded silently.

"Alright, everything's been bought..."

Seigetsu Zhu counted the items in the cart, then looked up with a smile on her face.

"It's time to go see her. Let's go, Sunny!"