Chapter 13
#Xu Jingyou is such a bro! He even used the straw I sucked on without hesitation.#
Xu Jingyou looked at Yuan Man straddling the bicycle, then looked at the empty rear seat.
“Why isn’t it me taking you?” Xu Jingyou asked.
Yuan Man let out an “Ah?” and said, “I’m a grade higher than you! If people knew I let a xuedi ride me around, wouldn’t that make me look like I’m bullying you!”
Xu Jingyou: “But I’m taller than you, have longer legs than you, have more strength than you…”
“Stop, stop, stop! Being tall is amazing, huh?” Yuan Man was so angry his fur stood on end.
Since he was little, he loved running and jumping, possessing excellent athletic cells. In the first year of junior high, he shot up to 1.7 meters, looking down on the group of little beans in his class. He thought this “advantage” would continue forever, making him the No. 1 man in Chinese basketball. Who would have thought he would just stop growing!
He was in Grade 2 of high school now, and his height had only increased by eight centimeters. Those boys who used to be shorter than him had all surpassed him one by one. He chugged milk every day, did jump touches, hung from horizontal bars, but his height didn’t budge an inch. It made his teeth itch whenever he saw a boy over 1.8 meters now.
Especially Xu Jingyou, with his arrogant height, elegant as a crane.
Yuan Man mumbled as he jumped off the bike, giving the front seat to Xu Jingyou. “Fine, you ride if you want, but you have to pedal hard. Any more delay and Feng Lin Huijuan will disappear!”
Xu Jingyou swung his long leg over the bike. Yuan Man cooperatively sat on the rear seat, legs together to one side. Finding Xu Jingyou’s schoolbag in the way, he simply took it off and hugged it to his chest. Carrying his own bag on his back, with bulging bags front and back, he looked like a clumsy little penguin.
The boy protected the bag in his arms with one hand, and to keep his balance, reached forward with the other to grab the rider’s hem.
Xu Jingyou felt the sudden heat source on his waist. His throat went dry as he looked down, only to see the boy’s hand intimately clasping his waist, fingers nimbly gripping the uniform hem and tugging.
“What are you waiting for!” Yuan Man urged him. “Ai Qing (Beloved Subject), start the procession quickly, don’t delay Zhen’s (The Royal We) state affairs!”
Xu Jingyou didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The little bit of ambiguous thought that had just risen was instantly beaten into ash.
“Then sit still and hold on tight.”
In the next second, he stepped on the pedal, and the bicycle glided forward smoothly; inertia caused Yuan Man’s body to sway, but luckily he had hugged Xu Jingyou’s waist tight beforehand, avoiding making a fool of himself.
Two people and one bike sandwiched in the boiling crowd quickly moved away, leaving the original owner of the bicycle standing at the noisy snack street alley entrance, staring blankly in the direction they left.
“Hey, wait… isn’t that my bike??”
…
The two chased Feng Lin Huijuan’s bicycle, sneaking and hiding all the way.
Don’t let that girl’s thin and small stature fool you; she really had some skill in pedaling a bike. Fast as lightning, completely ignoring traffic rules, turning when she wanted, charging when she wanted, even riding all the way up the pedestrian overpass ramp. She was wilder than those food delivery drivers.
Look at Xu Jingyou again—riding steadily, yielding to pedestrians, dutifully moving aside when others rang their bells.
Riding along, Xu Jingyou stopped.
Yuan Man poked his head out from behind his back, asking anxiously, “What’s wrong, what’s wrong?”
Xu Jingyou: “There’s an old granny crossing the road, I’m going to help her.”
Yuan Man: “…”
Finally moving again, but before reaching the next intersection, Xu Jingyou stopped again.
Yuan Man poked his head out again. “What is it this time?”
Xu Jingyou: “There’s a grandpa walking a dog by the road who got wrapped into a Christmas tree by two dog leashes. I’m going to help him.”
Yuan Man: “…”
Third time.
Yuan Man was already used to it. “Is it a grandpa or a granny this time?”
Xu Jingyou: “Neither.” He pointed to the street park. “That kid’s balloon floated into the tree. I can reach it at that height.”
Yuan Man: “…”
Yuan Man thought, How come I never noticed Xu Jingyou was so warm-hearted before?
He almost thought Xu Jingyou was deliberately prolonging the time riding him around.
When the bicycle stopped for the fourth time, Yuan Man had completely lost his temper. He buried his head into Xu Jingyou’s back and asked lazily, “What happened this time? Don’t tell me there’s a blind person waiting for you to lend a hand?”
“We’re here.”
“Eh?”
Xu Jingyou turned back to look at him. The eyes behind the lenses held a hint of a smile from a successful prank, but it vanished quickly. “Feng Lin Huijuan just parked her bike by the road and went into that milk tea shop.”
Yuan Man looked in the direction he pointed and indeed saw a famous local chain milk tea shop by the road. This was a core commercial area. Since it was Saturday afternoon, there were many people shopping. They originally thought Feng Lin Huijuan went in to buy milk tea because she was thirsty, but after waiting and waiting at the entrance, she never came out.
“How about… we go in and look?” Yuan Man suggested.
Xu Jingyou nodded and stepped toward the shop.
“Wait! You’re going just like this?” Yuan Man hurriedly pulled him back.
Xu Jingyou: “?”
Yuan Man hooked his finger, gesturing for him to lean closer. “Since we are tracking someone, of course we have to hide~ our~ identity~”
Xu Jingyou humbly asked for advice: “How do we hide?”
Yuan Man: “First, take off the uniform jacket.”
Normal U Attached High’s uniform was blue and white. After taking off the jacket, only the pure white uniform pants remained, looking less conspicuous.
Xu Jingyou obediently stuffed the removed uniform jacket into his schoolbag.
Yuan Man: “Your face is too conspicuous. No, no, must hide it.”
He fished a mask out of his bag and put it on Xu Jingyou personally, then took off his glasses and messed up his hair.
Thinking about it, he put a mask on himself too, and conversely placed Xu Jingyou’s glasses on his own nose bridge.
Xu Jingyou was stunned. He never thought the Xuezhang he fancied would wear the glasses he never took off; the frame still retained his body heat.
“Whoa!” Yuan Man suddenly swayed, hurriedly grabbing Xu Jingyou next to him. “What’s your prescription? So dizzy.”
“Two hundred on one side, three hundred on the other. You haven’t worn glasses before, it’ll be uncomfortable. Better take them off.”
“No! It’s precisely because I haven’t worn glasses that I must wear them; that’s what makes it a disguise. Otherwise, if we walk in like this, she’ll definitely spot us.”
Actually, Xu Jingyou’s prescription wasn’t strong, but Yuan Man’s vision was too good—5.2 on both sides—so even lenses of two or three hundred degrees made his head spin.
And because the prescription was different on each side, he felt like he was walking on uneven ground, forced to hold Xu Jingyou’s hand tightly to avoid falling.
Thus, the two boys walked hand in hand into that chain milk tea shop. Yuan Man’s entire attention was on finding the person, naturally unaware that the gazes of people around them were landing on their tightly clasped hands.
The milk tea shop was large, with two floors. Besides selling milk tea, it also sold bread and desserts. Being the weekend, the shop was packed with people; every seat was taken, and the waiting area was full of people holding receipts.
Yuan Man whispered to Xu Jingyou, “You go look on the second floor, I’ll look on the first.”
Xu Jingyou was worried. “Can you manage alone?”
“Of course I can!” Yuan Man pulled the glasses down his nose, revealing a pair of crafty eyes. “Don’t worry, when I look for people I’ll lower the glasses! I won’t trip on flat ground.”
He spoke with such confidence that Xu Jingyou had no choice but to go to the second floor with the mindset of a quick battle.
Yuan Man wasn’t stupid enough to run around the room looking for someone; that looked too much like a thief, and he’d have nowhere to cry if the police uncle caught him. He cleverly lined up in the ordering area, pretending to study the menu while glancing around randomly.
Waiting and waiting, the people in front of him finished ordering, leaving only him.
Oblivious, he was still squinting his eyes searching for the person.
“Hello, what would you like to drink?” the milk tea barista behind the counter reminded him.
Yuan Man’s mind was on finding someone, so he only glanced at the barista. Through the blurry glasses, he only saw a thin, small girl wearing a uniform and apron, every strand of hair tucked into a hat, wearing a mask covering half her face. She looked no different from any other barista behind the counter.
Yuan Man asked casually, “What’s the new milk tea here?”
“Osmanthus Jasmine Peach Gum Iced Coconut Four Seasons Spring.”
Yuan Man: ?
Are milk tea shops switching to producing chemical reagents now? Adding this and that, aren’t they afraid it’s flammable and explosive?
Yuan Man: “Uh, then I’ll take this Osmanthus Jasmine… whatever Spring.”
“Change tea base?”
“Tea base?”
“Add cloud milk foam?”
“Milk foam?”
“Sprinkle thick matcha powder on top or no powder?”
“Sprinkle powder?”
“Ice level and sugar level?”
Thank heavens, finally something Yuan Man had heard of.
“Two cups, less ice, 30% sugar… No, one 30% sugar, one full sugar!”
Xu Jingyou rode the bike carrying him for so long under the sun just now; he definitely needed to replenish some sugar.
Yuan Man never spared a chance to praise himself—he was truly amazing, ordering two cups of fragrant milk tea all by himself. The xuedi would definitely look at him with admiring eyes again.
“Please take your receipt. This store promises to serve within fifteen minutes.” The barista handed over the receipt. “Please wait to the side.”
While waiting for the milk tea, Yuan Man didn’t forget to look for Feng Lin Huijuan on the first floor. Unfortunately, he scanned every table in the store and didn’t see that familiar figure.
Could it be she was on the second floor?
Just as Yuan Man was pondering, Xu Jingyou finally came down from the second floor.
Seeing Yuan Man waiting by the counter, Xu Jingyou walked quickly toward him, reporting in a low voice, “I didn’t find her on the second floor.”
“What?” Yuan Man was surprised. “Not on the first floor, not on the second floor, then where did she go?”
Xu Jingyou: “Xuezhang, is it possible…”
“Number 1089, two cups of Osmanthus Jasmine Peach Gum Iced Coconut Four Seasons Spring!” The barista behind the workbench called out. “Is 1089 here?”
Yuan Man spun around with a swish, handing over the receipt. “Here, here, here.”
Xu Jingyou: “Xuezhang, actually…”
The barista wiped the water marks off the cup, moving nimbly, asking as she wiped, “Drinking here or taking away?”
Yuan Man: “Drinking here.”
Xu Jingyou hesitated to speak. “Xuezhang, did you notice…”
The barista raised her hand and dropped the straws; two straws flew precisely into the cups, which were then pushed in front of them.
Yuan Man held the two cups of milk tea, speaking solicitously to Xu Jingyou, “Quick, taste it. This is their shop’s new Osmanthus Jasmine whatever Spring. I ordered full sugar for you. Thanks for your hard work riding me on the bike just now.”
As he spoke, he pulled down the mask covering his face and took a huge gulp from his own cup.
Ice-cold, 30% sugar, indeed tasty, but a bit sweet.
The boy frowned. “Eh, how come 30% sugar is this sweet? Did they get the sugar level wrong?”
He looked up to ask Xu Jingyou’s opinion. “I’ll taste yours, don’t be disgusted by me!”
Saying that, without waiting for Xu Jingyou to answer, he lowered his head and wrapped his mouth around the straw of the other cup. His red lips enclosed the straw wall, sucked lightly, and silky milk tea rolled down his throat, so sweet it made him shudder.
“God, full sugar is actually this sweet!” Yuan Man was very annoyed. “Really shouldn’t have ordered full sugar, it’s too sweet to drink. You definitely can’t drink it.”
Just then, the barista behind him spoke unhurriedly: “Our store promises to remake if you are not satisfied. Do you two need that?”
“Yes!” Yuan Man said quickly. “Change both cups to no extra sugar!”
“No need,” Xu Jingyou suddenly spoke up. “Just change one. Change that full sugar one to no extra sugar, you drink it; leave this 30% sugar one for me.”
Yuan Man: “Huh? But I already drank from this 30% sugar one…”
“It doesn’t matter,” Xu Jingyou said. “Didn’t you say it yourself? Told me not to be disgusted by you.”
Yuan Man thought, Xu Jingyou is such a bro! He even used the straw I sucked on without hesitation.
Seeing they agreed, the barista quickly took away the full sugar tea to remake it.
Her remake speed was fast. The new cup of milk tea indeed had just the right sweetness, making Yuan Man beam with joy.
Yuan Man pointed to the original 30% sugar cup and said to Xu Jingyou, “This milk tea is really good, why aren’t you tasting it?”
He didn’t know what was up with the xuedi; they were about to drink milk tea together, yet he stood there silly, refusing to take off his mask.
At this moment, the barista spoke up: “Xuezhang Yuan is right. Xu Jingyou, you haven’t tasted this 30% sugar cup yet, right? Since you haven’t left the shop, I can still remake it. If the taste isn’t right after you leave, I can’t remake it.”
Yuan Man: “That makes sen… Eh?????”
He whipped his head around, so fast he almost sprained his neck. He stared in shock at the young barista behind the counter, mind blank, asking stammeringly, “You, you know us?”
The barista gave him a baffled look. “Of course I know you. He is Xu Jingyou from Grade 1 Class 3, you are Yuan Man from Grade 2 Class 3. You guys just wore masks, it’s not like I’m blind, why wouldn’t I know you? But, why are Xu Jingyou’s glasses on your face?”
Yuan Man: “…”
He took off the glasses and rubbed his eyes hard. He had fair skin, and his whole face was boiling red; he couldn’t hide it even if he tried.
Behind him came Xu Jingyou’s helpless sigh. The xuedi leaned close to his burning ear tip and whispered, “I wanted to remind you just now. This barista is exactly Feng Lin Huijuan who we were looking for.”
[Author’s Note] Student Feng Lin: The Grade 1 Study God and the Grade 2 Senior walked into the milk tea shop where I work holding hands. So weird. I’ll take a few more looks. [Vegetable Dog][Vegetable Dog][Vegetable Dog] (Setting note: You can work part-time at a milk tea shop at 16!)
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