Chapter 77 Kissing Fish
As it approached nine o'clock, Teng Yi returned.
After picking up Shen Bing from the airport, he had first taken her home. Suffering from jet lag, she had yawned the entire way and collapsed into bed as soon as they arrived, leaving no time for the mother and son to properly catch up.
Once Teng Yi had settled his mother in, he returned to the base.
Unlike usual, when he would head straight to the practice room, today he went directly to the office at the end of the hallway after going upstairs.
The office door was slightly ajar. Teng Hao was bent over his homework, while Ruan Yu sat beside him, also writing something with swift strokes. Both were deeply focused.
Teng Yi watched quietly at the doorway for a moment before raising his hand to knock.
At the sound, both people inside looked up simultaneously, their expressions faintly expectant.
"What? Were you waiting for me?" Teng Yi stepped inside. Though his words seemed directed at Teng Hao, his gaze landed squarely on Ruan Yu.
Ruan Yu met his eyes and blinked.
"Yeah, I've been waiting. So? Did you talk to Mom?" Teng Hao asked nervously.
"No." This time, Teng Yi's eyes shifted to his brother.
"Why not?"
"Later. She's exhausted today."
Teng Hao pouted. Though anxious, he also felt bad for his mother after her long journey.
Teng Yi walked over to Teng Hao's side and ruffled his younger brother's hair with one hand, while the other discreetly found its way to Ruan Yu.
She felt the warmth of his palm seep through her blouse, steady and comforting against her back. A shiver ran through her, and her entire body went weak.
"What if Mom doesn't agree?" Teng Hao, oblivious to their subtle exchange, remained lost in his own worries.
"Thinking of giving up again?"
Though Teng Yi was speaking to his brother, his hand trailed downward, using his body as cover to quietly clasp Ruan Yu's hand.
"No. This time, no matter what, I won't back down."
Teng Yi lightly scratched Ruan Yu's palm, and she spread her fingers, interlacing them tightly with his.
"Good boy," he murmured, his voice low.
It was unclear who exactly he was praising.
Ruan Yu didn't dare move, overwhelmed by this secret sweetness.
"Almost done with today's tutoring?" Teng Yi suddenly asked Ruan Yu in a perfectly professional tone, even as their hands remained entwined.
"Mm. Almost. Once he finishes these problems, I'll check them, and if there are no issues, we'll wrap up."
"Let's grab a late-night snack together after."
Ruan Yu froze slightly. Was he really inviting her out right in front of Teng Hao?
"With everyone," he added.
He was doing this on purpose, pausing dramatically to make her nerves tense for no reason.
"Is today a special occasion?" Ruan Yu asked.
"A new member joined. We’re all getting together to welcome them."
"Han Zuo?"
"You've met?" Teng Yi's brow twitched.
"Yeah, I ran into him in the hallway earlier."
"How was it?" His tone was loaded with meaning.
"How was what?" Ruan Yu was confused.
"Never mind."
What he really wanted to ask was: How was it? Any regrets about not letting him pursue you?
But on second thought, that would be far too blunt and revealing. He wasn’t the type to be easily controlled by jealousy.
"Can I come too?" Teng Hao looked up at Teng Yi. "It's the weekend tomorrow, so staying up late tonight is fine."
"Sure."
"Yay!" Teng Hao cheered.
"I'll head out first and let you two finish up."Teng Yi released Ruan Yu's hand and before turning away, secretly threw her a wink.
That gesture was both roguish and playful.
Just like during the school anniversary.
She suddenly realized that her heart had already begun to flutter for him back then.
Ruan Yu watched Teng Yi leave, her lips curving upward the entire time.
Teng Hao shot her a glance, full of questions. "What are you so happy about? Is late-night snack really that exciting?"
"Nothing."
"Tch."
The tutoring session ended right at nine.
Ruan Yu and Teng Hao went downstairs together. Fang Wan was already waiting in the lobby, and the others gradually gathered from the practice rooms.
Han Zuo and Cai Hong were chatting and laughing, blending in well.
Teng Yi did a headcount and noticed someone was missing.
"Where's Shanzi?"
"He's busy." Cai Hong winked. "Just heard him on the phone—some hometown friend wants to set him up with a girl. He didn’t want to go, but the girl was really insistent on meeting him."
Everyone exchanged knowing smiles.
"Alright, let's go." Teng Yi pointed across the street. "Same place as usual—the skewer joint."
"Skewers again?" Fang Wan followed along, covering her forehead with exaggerated distress. "Eating skewers with you guys every day is giving me breakouts. Next time, let's go for something lighter!"
"What do you want to eat?" Xiao Qing looked at her. "You expect a bunch of high-energy guys to go graze on greens with you?"
Another round of laughter erupted.
"You're so annoying." Fang Wan raised her hand to punch Xiao Qing's shoulder.
Xiao Qing dodged behind Teng Yi, and Fang Wan chased after him. The two bantered back and forth around Teng Yi, with Fang Wan "accidentally" bumping into Teng Yi several times under the pretense of going after Xiao Qing.
Ruan Yu tried her best not to look, but even from the corner of her eye, she couldn’t help feeling a surge of jealousy, as if her territory had been invaded.
"Enough." Teng Yi stopped them. "We're crossing the street—cut it out."
"You always bully me." Fang Wan shot Xiao Qing a glare before turning to Teng Yi. "Teng Yi’s the best."
Teng Yi said nothing, but the others teased them.
The light turned red.
Distracted by their playful banter, Ruan Yu didn’t notice the signal and stepped forward absentmindedly.
"Hey!" Teng Yi grabbed her abruptly.
The motion was too rushed—far from gentle.
Snapping back to reality, Ruan Yu gasped at the sight of cars whizzing past.
"Be careful," he reminded her from behind.
Still upset, Ruan Yu didn’t want to acknowledge him. She pulled her hand free and stepped aside, only to accidentally step on Han Zuo’s foot.
"Ah, sorry!" she quickly apologized.
"It's fine, doesn’t hurt." Han Zuo smiled good-naturedly.
The little incident passed quietly, but Ruan Yu’s mood remained sour.
The group entered the skewer joint.
The place had a nice atmosphere—lively but clean, with nothing more than laughter and clinking glasses. No clouds of smoke from patrons.
Teng Yi had called ahead to reserve a large table, big enough for everyone.
When seating, Fang Wan predictably claimed the spot next to Teng Yi and guided Teng Hao to sit on his other side. Teng Yi didn’t react, and Ruan Yu couldn’t be bothered to fight for a spot. She sat beside Teng Hao, with Han Zuo taking the seat next to her.
The waiter brought the menu.
Cai Hong pulled Han Zuo along to order, while the rest chatted and laughed.Ruan Yu kept her head down, looking at her phone, but her peripheral attention never left Fang Wan.
Fang Wan poured water for Teng Yi, handed him tissues, reminded him of stains on the table… She really knew how to flirt at every opportunity.
Skewers, drinks, and beer were soon served.
To make the newcomer feel welcome, the conversation revolved entirely around Han Zuo—how old he was when he started dancing, what styles he specialized in, what competitions he’d participated in… It was more thorough than a background check.
Han Zuo was bombarded with questions, leaving him no time to even touch the skewers.
Seeing that the second plate of grilled wings was about to be snatched up, Ruan Yu quickly saved one for him.
This simple, well-intentioned gesture happened to be caught by Xiao Qing’s ever-prying, gossipy eyes.
"Hey, top-scorer girl, don’t go flirting with our handsome new guy just because he’s good-looking," Xiao Qing called out, instantly diverting everyone’s attention.
"I wasn’t," Ruan Yu protested anxiously.
She and Han Zuo had just managed to clarify their relationship, and now Xiao Qing’s teasing threatened to make things awkward again.
"Then why are you dressed up so nicely today?"
"..."
Ruan Yu was frustrated. She hadn’t expected her carefully applied makeup to be noticed at such a moment—and by Xiao Qing, of all people.
Following Xiao Qing’s lead, everyone turned to look at Ruan Yu.
Under the lights, her face glowed softly, her usually understated beauty now quietly radiant.
The others regretted not noticing earlier just how pretty Teng Hao’s top-scorer girl was.
"I—"
"They’ve known each other for a while, haven’t they?" Fang Wan chimed in with a smile, her gaze flickering between Ruan Yu and Han Zuo with a hint of implication. "I saw them chatting away happily earlier."
"Oho, seems like there’s something going on," Xiao Qing said, perking up.
Ruan Yu, flustered by the teasing, turned her head—only to find both Teng Yi and Teng Hao staring at her, making her feel even more wronged.
"Ruan Yu and I are just friends," Han Zuo explained.
But his words were subtly interpreted by the group as an attempt to cover something up.
"Wait, wait—I just realized you look familiar!" Xiao Qing rubbed his temples and jumped up from his chair. "Han Zuo, were you at the Red Eagle Street Dance Competition that night? At the Red Eagle Stadium?"
"I was."
"That’s it!" Xiao Qing’s face lit up with realization. "So you’re the guy who exchanged WeChat with Ruan Yu that night! No wonder you looked so familiar. Ohhh… now it makes sense."
"What’s wrong with exchanging WeChat?" Ruan Yu glared at Xiao Qing. "Isn’t that normal?"
"Is it? Then how come I don’t have yours?" Xiao Qing grinned.
"Neither do I." Teng Yi, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up. Without missing a beat, he pulled up his WeChat QR code and shamelessly held it out to Ruan Yu. "Add me. Now."
Everyone laughed, completely oblivious to the jealousy in Teng Yi’s tone—except Ruan Yu, who caught the unmistakable sourness.
The knot in her heart suddenly loosened. Call it even.
"Didn’t you hear Xiao Qing? Adding you would be weird," Ruan Yu deliberately said in front of everyone.
"Add me anyway," Teng Yi insisted.
"Fine."
Ruan Yu dragged her feet as she picked up her phone, opened WeChat, and scanned his QR code.
With a beep , Teng Yi’s furrowed brows finally relaxed."Boss, add the top scorer girl to the group later," Cai Hong said. "Everyone should add her. After all, we're friends—it wouldn't make sense not to have any contact info."
Teng Yi didn’t respond, just silently swiped on his phone.
Ruan Yu felt her phone vibrate in her hand. She unlocked the screen and saw a message from Teng Yi on WeChat.
"Eat up. After you’re full, I’ll take you to see something fun."
--?--
Ruan Yu wasn’t very hungry to begin with. Two grilled wings and a can of cola were enough to make her feel like she might hiccup.
"I’m full," she replied.
"Follow me."
After sending this message, Teng Yi stood up and headed toward the back of the restaurant.
"Boss, where are you going?" Cai Hong called out.
Teng Yi was already too far away to hear.
Xiao Qing reached over and ruffled Cai Hong’s hair. "You’re always so hung up on Teng Yi. He doesn’t need you looking after him—go find yourself a girlfriend already."
Cai Hong chuckled sheepishly, lamenting how unlucky he was that no girls seemed to like him.
The others immediately started tossing out advice, talking over each other.
Seizing the moment when no one was paying attention, Ruan Yu also got up and slipped away from the table.
Behind the skewer bar was a small courtyard connected to the kitchen. While the waitstaff were busy in the dining area, the rest of the employees bustled about in the back. Ruan Yu scanned the area and spotted Teng Yi chatting with the owner of the skewer bar in the courtyard. The two were laughing and joking, clearly on good terms.
She didn’t interrupt.
Teng Yi noticed her arrival, exchanged a quick word with the owner, then strode toward her.
"That’s all you ate?" Teng Yi asked.
"Yeah."
"Afraid of gaining weight?"
"No, just not hungry." Ruan Yu glanced around. "So, what’s the fun thing you wanted to show me?"
Instead of answering, he casually took her hand.
"Come on."
She followed him through the courtyard and into the restaurant’s hallway.
The hallway was long, bathed in flickering indigo lights that made it feel like stepping into a nightclub. Before they even reached the end, Ruan Yu spotted a "fish wall."
It wasn’t an actual wall of fish—just an embedded aquarium designed as part of the decor. The blue water, lush greenery, and swaying fish made it look like a miniature underwater world from afar.
"So pretty."
Ruan Yu walked up to the tank and pressed close to the glass, peering inside.
The bottom was lined with colorful coral stones, while whimsically shaped artificial rocks and thriving aquatic plants swayed gently in the water. Silvery-white and pale pink fish glided leisurely past, elegant and unhurried.
With their plump lips, they occasionally nibbled at algae on the tank or plants, and sometimes bumped into each other in adorable little "kisses."
Kissing fish. The whole tank was full of them.
As Ruan Yu watched, a pink fish swam right up to her, pressing firmly against another pink fish—their lips locked in a prolonged kiss, just like lovers.
It was cute, sure, but why had Teng Yi brought her here to see this?
Just as she was wondering, Teng Yi’s tall frame suddenly leaned in close.
"Learn anything, little fish?" His breath tickled her ear.
Ruan Yu’s earlobe tingled, and she instinctively tried to sidestep away—only for Teng Yi to wrap an arm around her waist, holding her in place.
"W-what?" she stammered.
Teng Yi tilted his chin toward the kissing fish.
"What do you think?"
Her face burned under the dim blue light, her legs nearly giving out. But her mouth remained defiant.
"I don’t need to learn anything."Teng Yi raised an eyebrow. "You know how?"
What did that expression mean?
Did he look down on her?
"Of course I do! I... Mmm..."
Ruan Yu's lips met sudden softness, her words swallowed in an instant.
She felt Teng Yi moving against her mouth, her eyes widening in shock.
A blue glow enveloped them, fish darting past as the world spun wildly. Clutching desperately at Teng Yi's sleeve, she lost all ability to react.
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