BSS - Chapter 24
Chapter 24
This was the second time Deng Chuan had ridden in Xu Wei's car.
When they got out, Xu Wei grabbed a white paper bag from the back seat.
The hot pot restaurant's parking lot was outdoors, with a single tall, bright lamp post standing in the middle. It was like a suspended half-moon, and the clamor of the road filtered through the trees. Yet, Deng Chuan found it strangely quiet.
It was peak dinner time, so the parking lot was quite full. People came and went-either young people just starting their careers or families with old and young. Of all the pairs walking together, besides couples, there were only the two of them.
As they approached the waiting area on the first floor, a waiter came to greet them. Xu Wei nodded at the young man, who was wearing a mask and a hat, making his eyes curve into a smile. Then she said, "We have a friend who's already here."
Who? What friend?
Only then did Deng Chuan notice the white paper bag in her hand.
The young waiter made a welcoming gesture. "They're already upstairs? Please watch your step."
Xu Wei was wearing a woolen coat today. The white fabric made her skin look as fair as snow. She reached up to tuck a stray strand of hair back into her collar. Against the vibrant, fiery red background of the hot pot restaurant, she gave the waiter a slight nod, instantly pulling the scene into what felt like a slow-motion shot from a Hong Kong film.
Deng Chuan keenly noticed that many of the young people present were staring, their eyes glazed over.
She frowned and glared back at each of them, one by one.
The young people had only been looking casually, but when they saw the person next to her staring back so defiantly, they grew embarrassed and lowered their heads, returning their attention to their phones.
It wasn't until Xu Wei, standing ahead, called her name softly that Deng Chuan retracted her gaze, running over gleefully as if she had just completed a mission to protect her master.
Xu Wei probably hadn't noticed the one-sided battle her little friend had imagined behind her, nor did she know that her young knight had already easily won this small victory. As she started up the stairs, she explained to her knight, "Sorry, I originally had plans to have dinner with a friend tonight, but since I made a last-minute decision to bring you, we'll just have to eat together."
Deng Chuan didn't mind. She only asked, "Is she a good friend of yours?"
"Yes," Xu Wei said. "A very good friend of mine. We have plans to travel together during the break, so she drove over from her place to wait for me to start my vacation."
Deng Chuan felt a little envious, and a little sour. "That's nice," she asked sullenly, "Just the two of you?"
"Yes."
The little friend had nothing more to say. She just trudged forward in silence. Xu Wei saw this and, after a moment of contemplation, seemed to sigh softly as she spoke.
"Deng Chuan, outside of school, I have my own life."
Deng Chuan didn't speak.
"I might not be who you imagine me to be," she said tactfully, but the meaning behind her words was clear.
Deng Chuan suddenly stopped. Xu Wei turned and saw her crestfallen expression, feeling a pang of sympathy.
It was normal for a teenager to have an active imagination and hold unrealistic fantasies about an older person like herself. The world was a vast and exciting place, and a long stretch of Deng Chuan's life was still a blank canvas, waiting to be filled. In half a year, she would get into university, and from then on, the sky would be the limit. She would be loved, and she would love others. By then, she would have forgotten all about her.
Why did she have to be the villain who popped the beautiful bubble of a dream?
Just as this thought crossed Xu Wei's mind, she heard Deng Chuan say in a gentle tone, "Teacher Xu, you are free, and of course, I am free too, right?"
"..." Xu Wei was momentarily speechless. A voice in her heart sighed, saying that it was precisely this freedom that made her so precious. If you were to spell it all out, how cruel that would be.
Fine.
In her heart, Xu Wei quietly conceded to the free-spirited little friend.
After speaking her mind, Deng Chuan didn't wait for Xu Wei's reply and took the initiative to reach for Xu Wei's wrist. Xu Wei didn't resist, allowing her to gently lead her by the wrist as they continued up the stairs.
Once they reached the second floor, they stood for a moment, looking around in a bit of a daze. Then, as if suddenly remembering she needed to regain some authority, Xu Wei took the lead and pulled Deng Chuan along to find their friend.
Steam rose from every table. They weaved through the crowd, passing together through the most authentic, worldly hustle and bustle. Deng Chuan gazed at Xu Wei's back and listened to the sounds of people talking and laughing around her. She felt a sense of destiny in this scene, as if she and Xu Wei were fated to meet, fated to walk this path together, forever.
She secretly rejoiced in her heart.
The second floor was already full. Deng Chuan followed Xu Wei as she turned left and right, finally spotting a table where a single person sat alone. The hot pot base was already on the stove, and all the dishes had been served.
All around them, groups of three or four sat together, gathered around bubbling pots that looked like blooming flowers, their laughter filling the air. The man at the next table had already started drinking, the empty beer bottles on his table forming a transparent barrier.
Only this person sat alone, guarding a hot pot that hadn't even been filled with water yet, with a full spread of dishes on the table. She looked completely out of place.
...She looked even more pitiful.
When Yang Jing saw Xu Wei approaching with Deng Chuan, she looked up, her exquisite face showing the exhaustion that follows a breakdown. "Miss Xu. Do you have any idea how awkward it's been for me to sit here alone all this time?"
Xu Wei smiled radiantly and said, "I'm sorry..."
Before Xu Wei could finish, Yang Jing unleashed the complaints she had been holding back in a rapid-fire barrage. "I was sitting here all by myself, to the point where the waitress came over and suggested I order first... She looked at me like I was some poor soul with no friends or who'd been stood up-"
"It got even more awkward after the food arrived. You can see for yourself, everyone around me is happily eating hot pot, and I'm just sitting here by myself. I feel so pathetic. I sat here waiting for you, from dusk till dawn, Your Majesty-"
She took a breath. "Why didn't you reply to my messages?"
Xu Wei pressed her lips together, let go of Deng Chuan's wrist, and deftly parried, "I didn't see them."
Yang Jing huffed. Since someone else was present, she decided to let the matter drop for now. She watched as Xu Wei pulled Deng Chuan to sit on her side of the table. Unsurprised, she subtly and calmly sized up the high school student across from her.
When Xu Wei had told her she was bringing a student to dinner, she had expected to see some nonconformist kid. After all, during their school days, it was always the rebellious students who took up most of a teacher's energy.
She hadn't expected Xu Wei to bring along a tall, straight little sapling.
That was her first impression of Deng Chuan. The kid was wearing a loose black jacket, which gave her a cool aura, but her features were clean and sharp, with a radiant, youthful glow about her.
Xu Wei introduced her, "This is Deng Chuan."
Before Deng Chuan could respond, Yang Jing spoke up proactively, "Hello, hello. I'm your Teacher Xu's childhood friend, Yang Jing."
Deng Chuan greeted her politely, "Hello, Sister Yang."
Yang Jing immediately smiled at Deng Chuan, the corners of her lips twitching in approval of Xu Wei's taste. Her features were striking, her eye makeup glittered, and she wore golden-colored contacts, giving her gaze a wild look, like a leopard that had wandered into human society.
Xu Wei said with some dissatisfaction, "Why are you smiling like a female rogue?"
Yang Jing openly stared at Deng Chuan again while replying, "Have you ever seen one?"
Xu Wei calmly retorted, "Aren't you one?"
"Miss Xu, you made me wait for half an hour, and this is how you treat the person you've wronged?"
"Are you blaming me?"
Yang Jing smiled. "How would I dare blame you? You must have had your reasons for being late. It's okay, I'm willing to wait for you."
Xu Wei grunted in satisfaction and gestured for the waiter to start the hot pot.
While they were talking, Deng Chuan was also observing Yang Jing.
She spoke to Xu Wei with an easy familiarity, and her gaze towards Xu Wei was frank, devoid of any hidden forbearance or lingering affection.
If anything, she had looked at her a few more times.
Deng Chuan was now completely at ease. She began to relax and look at the scenery around her, the tension she had been holding onto finally loosening.
Just then, Yang Jing seemed to realize there was another person at the table she could use to regain the upper hand. She started to tease, "Teacher Xu, doesn't this little friend have final exams tomorrow? Isn't it a bit wrong of you to whisk her away like this?"
Xu Wei said calmly, "I have faith in her."
Yang Jing pursed her lips. Her eyes darted around, and she shifted her full attention to Deng Chuan, who was sitting quietly and listening to them talk. She started to cozy up to her. "Deng Chuan, right? Just call me Sister."
Deng Chuan said, "Hello, Sister."
It was much more sincere than her previous greeting.
"Oh my." Yang Jing was clearly delighted to be addressed this way. She smiled, savoring the moment before saying:
"So sweet, no wonder you all..." She swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue and gave a dry laugh. "...Haha, you all like being called 'Sister'."
Xu Wei also grinned, her teeth flashing so brightly they seemed to illuminate the room. To Yang Jing, it looked like she was sharpening her knives.
"..." She scooted a little closer to Deng Chuan's side and continued to ask with great interest:
"Is Teacher Xu fierce at school? Does she ever scold you?"
Teacher Xu's expression instantly turned stern.
Deng Chuan said, "Teacher Xu isn't fierce." She thought about it seriously for a moment before making a final verdict: "Not at all."
Yang Jing caught a glimpse of Xu Wei's upturned lips from the corner of her eye and suddenly felt that she probably wasn't going to get her own back today.
But she still wanted to try. She pretended to sigh and said, "I was just kidding, don't be so serious."
She passed the menu over. "See if there's anything else you want to eat. My treat, your Teacher Xu is paying."
She had expected to see a flustered expression on this composed little kid, but to her surprise, Deng Chuan took the menu very steadily. She politely said her thanks, her "Sister" sounding very sweet. Then she carefully studied the menu and turned to consult with Xu Wei, asking if they could add an order of shrimp paste.
Xu Wei ignored the look Yang Jing shot her way and lowered her head to study the menu with Deng Chuan, whispering in response, "Let's add a portion then."
Deng Chuan said, "Does Teacher want to eat bamboo shoots?"
Xu Wei replied, "I kind of want some."
Alright, they'd order a portion of that too.
The two of them didn't look up for quite a while.
Yang Jing had studied psychology in university. She knew that in any given space, a person's attention is mostly focused on what they care about most. Just like now-the bowls, chopsticks, hot pot, duck intestines, tripe, crispy fried pork, the people at the table, and the background noise all made up the current scene, but a person's eyes would only have one focal point.
Feeling a bit speechless, she swished a piece of tripe in the pot, feeling no different from the teacup on the table.
The pair across from her finally finished ordering and handed the menu to the waiter.
Xu Wei saw that Yang Jing had already started eating and chided her, "Why didn't you wait for us?"
Yang Jing nearly rolled her eyes.
Halfway through the eye-roll, she had a sudden stroke of genius and found a way to break through the enemy's defenses.
While Xu Wei was focused on cooking some fatty beef, Yang Jing cooked a piece of tripe for Deng Chuan, placed it in her bowl, and asked with a grin, "Little Friend, do you want to know what your Teacher Xu was like in high school?"
She watched with satisfaction as the little friend's eyes visibly lit up.
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