As expected, Fu Shitian and Shi Yi both won the election. Jian Luhe joked that they were a perfect match, a class monitor and a league secretary, should they celebrate
It just so happened that this semester had just started and we hadn't had a dormitory gathering yet. When the four of us were chatting at night, we decided to go together on Sunday night to eat the newly opened stone pot fish restaurant in the shopping mall across the street.
The ingredients of the stone pot fish are fresh, and the fish used are all species with few bones. Shi Yi was careless and got pricked on the upper jaw after just two bites during the dinner. It was fine after spitting it out, it was no big deal, but Fu Shitian looked nervous and distressed.
Later, when Shi Yi ate fish, Fu Shitian carefully picked out the bones before putting it in her bowl. After finishing the stone pot fish, the waiter served the dishes and added soup, turning it into a fish hot pot. When the shrimps were served, Fu Shitian was afraid that Shi Yi would prick her hand, so he peeled them first and handed them to Shi Yi.
Shi Yi was not used to being taken care of like this, but she felt very comfortable with Fu Shitian being so concerned about her. She let Fu Shitian put the shrimp goby into the bowl and gently told him, "I don't want it, you can eat it yourself."
Fu Shitian smiled and said nothing. Shi Yi took action and peeled a shrimp and put it in Fu Shitian's bowl. The tenderness and affection that naturally flowed from their interaction made Jian Luhe feel that he and Yin Fanlu were fed a big mouthful of dog food.
"Fanlu, do you feel full?" Jian Luhe stared at Fu Shitian and Shi Yi and teased.
Yin Fanlu was peeling shrimp for herself. She glanced at Fu Shitian and Shi Yi and laughed, "It's okay. It's delicious."
Shi Yi was quite calm. Fu Shitian felt a little embarrassed and quickly peeled a shrimp and put it on Jian Luhe's sauce dish.
Jian Luhe smiled, "Wow, thank you Si Tian, you are so nice!" She was about to reach out for her chopsticks when she found Shi Yi staring at her with a half-smile.
She blinked, and Shi Yi's smile deepened, but his face was not smiling. Jian Luhe pursed his lips, put away his chopsticks, pushed the plate towards Shi Yi, and lowered his head and said: "I'm afraid I can't enjoy it, so please accept it, sir."
Shi Yi chuckled from his nose and said disdainfully: "Just eat and stop playing tricks." He lowered his head and peeled another shrimp for Fu Shitian.
Jian Luhe took back the plate with a smile, and while dipping the shrimp paste evenly in the sauce, she sighed, "Hey, I suddenly feel that girls are better, they are careful, gentle and considerate."
Yin Fanlu teased: "What are you doing? This statement is very dangerous."
Jian Luhe laughed, hugged Yin Fanlu's arm affectionately, and said tenderly: "Sister Lu, what do you think of me? How about I kick my old Deng out, and we can just make do with each other?"
Yin Fanlu replied calmly: "No, I'm not interested in you."
Jian Luhe snorted, sat up straight and complained, "You talk as if you are interested in someone." She became curious and said, "Sister Lu, have you really never liked anyone?" This was how Yin Fanlu answered when she was asked to tell the truth while playing a game during her freshman year.
Yin Fanlu paused for a moment while picking up the food with her chopsticks, then put them back without picking up anything. She replied nonchalantly, "It was before."
Jian Luhe nodded, lowered her head to drink the soup, and suddenly reacted: "What do you mean it was before?! It's not now? Ah, what's going on?! Sister Lu, you are actually in trouble!"
Shi Yi and Fu Shitian were also aroused by their curiosity. They stopped eating and stared at Yin Fanlu.
Yin Fanlu cleared her throat uncomfortably, "There is... just that person. Nothing is confirmed, I'll tell you later when I have a chance. Let's skip this topic."
For no reason, Fu Shitian thought of the chocolates that Chen Xizhu had given her. There was a look of inquiry in her eyes, and Yin Fanlu didn't know if she noticed it. She looked at her awkwardly, then quickly lowered her head and changed the subject, which was very different from her usual calm and generous style.
Fu Shitian put a question mark in her heart, and then an exclamation mark. Was she a lesbian? She wanted to take this opportunity to mention Chen Xizhu to see Yin Fanlu's reaction, but seeing Jian Lu and Yin Fanlu were acting coquettishly and asking her to reveal more, Yin Fanlu was not sure and gave up the idea.
Everyone was a sensible person and sharing secrets should not turn into prying into privacy. After a few jokes, seeing that Yin Fanlu really didn't want to talk, they followed her wishes and stopped asking questions.
The topic unknowingly turned to the long winter vacation that had just passed. Jian Luhe and Yin Fanlu also went out to travel, both of them went to Southeast Asian countries, and they had a lot to talk about. Fu Shitian fell silent and just listened with a smile.
Shi Yi noticed it, frowned, tilted his head and whispered to Fu Shitian: "There are several short holidays this semester."
Fu Shitian's attention was diverted. "Well, Qingming Festival, May Day, Dragon Boat Festival..."
Shi Yi smiled and asked, "Do you want to pick a holiday and go out together?"
It couldn't be a better invitation. When it was time for romance, Fu Shitian's first reaction was not joy. She was flustered for a moment, and her throat tightened, but looking at Shi Yi's tender eyes, she couldn't say anything to spoil the mood, and she was too embarrassed to say it.
She forced a smile and said, "Okay. Then... how about May Day? The weather shouldn't be too hot." He also reserved time and prepared money for her.
May Day, there is still one month before Fang Ruohua's due date. Shi Yi nodded: "Okay, is there any place you want to go?"
"I can do anything."
Shi Yi was dissatisfied: "It's either okay or not okay."
Fu Shitian said softly, "It's true. Where we go is not the most important thing. What's important is going with you."
Shi Yi's eyes softened suddenly. Just as she was about to speak, Jian Luhe interrupted with a teasing voice: "Let's go, Sister Lu, I'm really full this time." She imitated Fu Shitian's tone and repeated softly: "The important thing is that I'm going with you."
Yin Fanlu couldn't help laughing, Fu Shitian's ears turned red, and all the affectionate atmosphere was gone.
Shi Yi looked at her kindly, and said in a low voice, "Since you enjoy the meal so much, you should treat us tonight."
Jian Luhe was not afraid of losing face and surrendered directly: "Ah, I was wrong, Shi Yiyi, please forgive me, you know how empty my wallet is now." Dating costs money. She put a large amount of her New Year's money into regular financial management every year. Since she started dating, she had to save up some pocket money for the occasional gifts she and Deng Yiran gave each other, and she had to go out on a date and save some money for the trip, which made her very tight.
"It's not important who treated us. What's important is that we all enjoyed the meal." She winked endearingly, "Isn't that right?"
Fu Shitian's dimples formed, giving her a way out, "Yeah, that's right."
Jian Luhe made a heart shape with her hands happily and asked with concern, "Are you guys going to go out and play? It's only three days, so time is a bit tight."
Shi Yi asked: "Do you have any recommendations?" Jian Luhe has the heart of a literary youth. When Shi Yi was in high school, he was forced to listen to her talking about countless places that he must visit in his life.
Jian Luhe said: "I guess you have been to most places."
Shi Yi said: “I haven’t been there.”
Jian Lu and the old man on the subway looked at their phones. Shi Yi added: "I have never been there with Si Tian."
Jian Luhe: “…” Okay, she held back the pain of being fed dog food again and began to recommend seriously, and Yin Fanlu also joined in the conversation.
Everyone was chatting happily and Fu Shitian was listening attentively. Gradually, the bitterness of being short of money faded away, and was replaced by sweet anticipation - the first real trip in his life.
Traveling with Shi Yi.
It's worth trying harder.
After the weekend, the new semester entered its second week, and life gradually got back on track. When Fu Shitian ran for class monitor, he said he was worried that he would not be able to manage his time well. Shi Yi also knew from previous contacts that Fu Shitian had been working part-time and might be busy. But she did not expect Fu Shitian to be so busy.
The part-time tutor who had to go out was afraid that Shi Yi would worry, but she didn't want Shi Yi to pick her up, and she didn't trust Shi Yi to wait for her at the bus station late at night, so she arranged for her part-time job during the weekend. Throughout the week, the only part-time jobs she had at night were the work-study program at the school library and the occasional temporary part-time jobs she took with Chen Xizhu.
Her real battlefield was in the dormitory after the lights were turned off at night—translating all night long.
Originally, they slept with the bed curtains open at the end of last semester, but after Fu Shitian started working part-time this semester, they were afraid that it would disturb Shi Yi's sleep, and also afraid that light would leak out and affect Yin Fanlu and Jian Luhe, so after turning off the lights, they drew the curtain between them.
Fu Shitian's movements were very quiet when she was working, and even if one strained one's ears, one could hardly hear the sound. Shi Yi wanted to confirm whether she had fallen asleep, so he could only open a small gap in the bed curtain to see if there was any light leaking through the gap in Fu Shitian's bed curtain.
For two consecutive days, Shi Yi waited until after four in the morning before he saw the light in the crack finally disappear.
Shi Yi felt so distressed, worried that she couldn't handle it, so he tactfully reminded her to take care of her rest. Fu Shitian nodded in agreement, and the lights were turned off on time at 12:30 that night.
Shi Yi breathed a sigh of relief. But two days later, she woke up from a nightmare at four in the middle of the night. She was still frightened and wanted to pull open the bed curtain to see her lover's sleeping face to calm her nerves. As soon as she opened a small gap, she suddenly saw the familiar light between the bed curtain and the wall behind her.
Only then did she realize that Si Tian was lying to her.
She tricked her into going to bed early, tricked her into feeling at ease. She just changed the order of her sleeping time. She might have slept from 4 to 7 before, but now she sleeps from 12:30 to 3 or 4. She coaxed herself to sleep first, and then she got up to work.
Shi Yi didn't know how to react for a moment.
Is this a job that must be done? She and Fu Shitian did not live in the same dormitory before, and their contact was limited. She didn't know whether Fu Shitian's life rhythm was like this before, or whether it had only become like this now.
She was really worried about her health, but she was also worried that if she said more or said harsh words, it would hurt Fu Shitian's self-esteem. Besides, Fu Shitian already cared about her. He never ignored her. Every weekend when he came back from his part-time job, he would always bring her some cute little things or snacks she liked. He was so busy, she went to visit Fang Ruohua on Saturday and stayed overnight at Fang Ruohua's invitation. When she returned to the dormitory on Sunday, she would find that Fu Shitian had neatly stacked all the materials she needed to organize as the league secretary, just because she complained casually when they were leaving the counselor's office together. Her biggest headache was this trivial organization work.
So she could only keep silent about it, and reduced the frequency of her and Fu Shitian's walks on campus to enjoy the lake, going out to the snack street, shopping malls, and watching movies. She tried to leave as much time as possible for Fu Shitian to be busy, accompany her in the library, and stay in the dormitory with her, hoping that she could finish her work and rest earlier.