After Xu Miaoran left, the entire hot pot restaurant remained as noisy and bustling as ever.
No one noticed the incident in this corner.
However, the stained sesame paste was a constant reminder of what had just happened.
The boy took off his soiled clothes, revealing a white short-sleeved shirt underneath.
Without saying anything, Su Qing stood there blankly, speechless.
Looking at her toes, Su Qing spoke again.
"Jiang Sui, I want to go home." The girl's voice reached Jiang Sui's ears clearly. Jiang Sui paused, resting his chopsticks on Su Qing's bowl.
"After dinner, I'll take you home." Su Qing bit her lip.
She didn't mean to spoil the fun; she simply didn't want to eat anymore and wanted to leave.
But her upbringing told her that was rude, and she truly couldn't stay any longer.
Xu Miaoran probably already considered her an enemy, and she didn't know what to do.
But she knew clearly that she couldn't afford to offend her. She didn't want anyone to disrupt her peaceful life. She needed to think, to calmly consider what she should do, what she needed to do next.
He just didn't wait for Su Qing to refuse.
"I didn't eat breakfast this morning, you're right."
The young man's dark, bright eyes turned as he looked at Su Qing. He was more than a head taller than her, bending over to look at her.
He leaned in closer, his dark circles visible under his eyes.
Su Qing dodged slightly, avoiding him, unsure how to respond.
"I'm hungry, Su Qing."
His voice was faintly tired, as if he had noticed Su Qing's backward movement. The young man didn't move any closer, but continued to cook the meat in the boiling pot.
Seeing the girl sit down obediently, despite the obvious awkwardness, Jiang Sui's expression softened, and even the slightest smile seemed to curl at the corner of his mouth.
"I've seen you before, did you know that?"
A calm voice uttered from his throat, and Jiang Sui surprisingly felt relaxed. The boy's obvious surliness had inexplicably subsided in Su Qing's presence, making him seem harmless.
Ding-ling-ling...
Su Qing didn't hear Jiang Sui's words until her cell phone rang.
After hanging up the alarm, she looked up at him. "Sorry, I didn't hear what you said."
The moment she pressed the alarm, she vaguely heard what seemed to be four words.
Did you know that?
"Know what?" she looked at Jiang Sui with surprised eyes.
The boy just shook his head, raised his eyebrows, and placed a large piece of meat in her bowl.
"Nothing, I told you to eat more, okay?"
At that moment, Su Qing felt like she'd missed something, but after glancing at Jiang Sui, she didn't ask any more questions.
She probably just wanted to finish her meal quickly and go home, feeling uneasy, Su Qing pursed her lips and picked up her chopsticks.
Her eyes were pure as she licked the sesame paste from her lips. Many words flashed through her mind, but she remained calm and spoke, looking at Jiang Sui.
"You'll explain it to Xu Miaoran, right?"
The young man looked up at that moment, his eyes a little uncertain.
But Su Qing's expression grew calmer.
"I hope you can explain it to her, Jiang Sui. Do you understand?"
"I hope I can pass my senior year smoothly."
The girl stared at Jiang Sui intently.
Jiang Sui's eyes were cold, and the smile on his lips had faded. He simply replied, "What's there to explain?"
She hadn't expected Jiang Sui to say that.
She tightened her grip on her chopsticks, biting her lip as she looked at him stubbornly.
"You know." Her eyes were filled with certainty.
You know, Jiang Sui. Aloof, cold, quiet, and rational—all these qualities were perfectly displayed in this teenage girl, as if she knew it all.
Jiang Sui felt that all the dishes had suddenly become bland.
"Okay, I'll explain."
As soon as these words were spoken, the girl's expression across from him visibly softened.
Her earlier tense expression was now noticeably relaxed.
"Thank you, Jiang Sui."
These words had been in her mind for a long time, a thought only she knew.
The girl, speaking them out loud, hadn't noticed the icy coldness in the boy's eyes.