Hidden Love

How did it suddenly shift to Qian Fei?

As they were chatting, she suddenly felt he was clever.

Sang Zhi couldn't figure out his thoughts at all, so she could only nod in agreement. She remained silent, lit up her phone again, and found Qian Fei in her WeChat contacts.

She wanted to ask something, but felt that since she had never contacted him before, suddenly reaching out about this matter seemed odd. Moreover, he was close with Duan Jiaxu and probably wouldn't easily tell her anything.

Sang Zhi decided to rely on herself, racking her brains to think about the logic behind those few sentences.

She thought for a long while.

Really couldn't figure out any connection.

However.

Sang Zhi suddenly realized something.

Why should she obediently answer his questions?

Why should she meekly let him interrogate her like a criminal?

This matter didn't really have anything to do with him, did it? Why should she fabricate lies to answer? If she just remained silent, he wouldn't have any way to deal with it, right?

Realizing her foolish reaction earlier, Sang Zhi let out a frustrated sigh. She felt as if she had fallen into a trap, with no way to vent her irritation, and could only keep it bottled up inside.

The next moment, Duan Jiaxu casually asked, "How did you come to like him?"

Sang Zhi leaned against the car window, not even looking at him.

After a long while without getting a response from her.

Perhaps sensing her displeasure, Duan Jiaxu didn't continue with this topic and calmly said, "There will be all unfamiliar people later. Will you feel uncomfortable?"

Sang Zhi replied stiffly, "No."

Duan Jiaxu: "If you don't want to stay, just let me know."

Sang Zhi: "Oh."

Duan Jiaxu glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and asked, "Why so few words?"

"Not few," Sang Zhi looked at the colorful neon lights outside, and after holding back for a long time, couldn't help but say, "Also, I don't mean to complain, I'm just reminding you. You might not have noticed, but you're the one talking too much."

"Hmm?"

"I really don't mean to complain," Sang Zhi said with a stern face, deliberately repeating herself, "If you want to keep talking, go ahead. I'm just reminding you."

"..." Duan Jiaxu chuckled again, "I talk too much?"

"Yeah."

Duan Jiaxu humbly asked for advice, "Where exactly?"

Just on this journey, Sang Zhi had been asked hundreds of questions by him. She was getting impatient and suddenly turned her head to say, "Can you please stop using interrogative sentences?"

Duan Jiaxu raised an eyebrow and instinctively said, "Why—"

Sang Zhi stared at him, clearly about to explode.

Before she could say anything, Duan Jiaxu slowly added two more words.

"—period."

"..."-

The gathering was set at the same hot pot restaurant where Duan Jiaxu and Sang Zhi had queued for half a day last time, only to end up not eating because of that incident.

Almost everyone else had already arrived.

Three square tables were pushed together to form one large table, with three hot pot bases. Sang Zhi took a quick glance and estimated about ten or so people.

There were still two empty seats in the corner, probably reserved specifically for them.

Sang Zhi also saw the woman she had met at the airport before.

One of the men with a crew cut noticed them and said with a grin, "Brother Duan, you're so late. We've already started eating."

Duan Jiaxu smiled faintly and explained, "Picking someone up."

Crew cut man: "Your girlfriend?"

Hearing this, Duan Jiaxu turned his head and glanced at Sang Zhi.

Then he calmly said two words: "Friend.""..." Hearing these two words, Sang Zhi froze for a moment before calmly greeting them and being led by Duan Jiaxu to the innermost seat.

She absentmindedly unwrapped her tableware.

He actually said "friend."

Actually not "little sister."

Sang Zhi could hardly believe her ears.

Soon, the man sitting across from Sang Zhi handed over the menu with a smile, "See if you'd like to add anything else."

Duan Jiaxu sat down beside Sang Zhi, "See what you'd like to eat."

Sang Zhi nodded, scanned the menu, randomly added a few items, then pushed it toward Duan Jiaxu, "Brother Ji Xu, I need to use the restroom."

"Go left when you exit," Duan Jiaxu said, "Can you find it yourself?"

"Mm."

"Go ahead then."

The hot pot restaurant didn't have its own restroom, but each floor of the mall had one. Sang Zhi had been here with Duan Jiaxu before and still had some impression of this floor, soon spotting the restroom location.

Sang Zhi entered, used the toilet, and emerged from the stall.

As soon as she came out, she saw the "superior" Duan Jiaxu had mentioned standing at one of the sinks.

Sang Zhi paused briefly, feeling inexplicably awkward, then quickly walked over. She turned on the faucet and politely greeted her.

The woman pulled a paper towel to dry her hands, saying gently, "You're Sang Zhi, right?"

"..." Sang Zhi nodded, "Yes."

"My name is Jiang Siyun, you can call me Sister Jiang." Jiang Siyun smiled, "I went with Jiaxu to pick you up at the airport before, do you remember me?"

Sang Zhi quickly replied, "I remember."

Jiang Siyun: "Attending university here?"

"Yes."

Walking side by side out of the restroom, Jiang Siyun continued, "I remember when I saw you last time, you looked quite small, but now you're almost taller than me."

"I developed quite slowly," Sang Zhi said quietly, "And I probably won't grow any taller now."

Jiang Siyun: "That's fine, young girls don't need to be too tall anyway."

Sang Zhi nodded again.

Jiang Siyun's tone was gentle and comfortable: "When we met at the airport, I didn't properly greet you."

Sang Zhi: "It's fine, I was troubling you anyway."

"Thinking back, it was actually somewhat inappropriate for me to tag along then, mainly I didn't think much of it, just wanted to help." Jiang Siyun smiled, "Because Jiaxu had a fever that day, I originally wanted my husband to take him, but he suddenly had to meet a client."

Sang Zhi looked up, momentarily unsure how to respond.

"Over these years he's helped the company a lot, both my husband and I want to help him more. Seeing he wasn't in good condition that day, I got out of the car to help him look for you. Later Jiaxu was worried you might feel uncomfortable with a stranger around, so he asked me to leave first, which is why I didn't stay longer." Jiang Siyun said, "I didn't get to say goodbye to you either."

Sang Zhi scratched her head and repeated, "It's fine."

They happened to return to the hot pot restaurant just then.

Jiang Siyun patted her arm, and both returned to their seats. Sang Zhi glanced in her direction and only then noticed how particularly intimate her behavior was with the man beside her.

Sang Zhi withdrew her gaze.

She couldn't help feeling that what Jiang Siyun had just told her...

Seemed like an explanation...

But Jiang Siyun probably didn't need to explain so much to her. It couldn't be that after just these two meetings, she had already detected her feelings, could it?She wasn't that obvious, was she...

The next moment, Duan Jiaxu's voice interrupted her thoughts: "What are you spacing out for? Eat."

Sang Zhi snapped back to reality: "Oh."

After dinner, the group planned to continue with another activity.

This time Duan Jiaxu didn't join them. After bidding them farewell, he took Sang Zhi for a walk nearby. Sang Zhi took out her phone and asked: "Brother Ji Xu, should we go watch a movie?"

Duan Jiaxu: "Watch what?"

"Watch Baymax."

"Baymax?"

"Big Hero 6," hearing his tone as if he'd never even heard of it, Sang Zhi couldn't help glancing at him, "It's an animated movie."

Duan Jiaxu drew out an "ah" sound lazily: "That one."

Sang Zhi didn't expose him either, lowering her head again to check the nearest showtimes: "I wonder if it's still showing, I haven't had the chance to watch it."

"Found it?"

"Mm." Sang Zhi showed him, "This cinema is on the fifth floor here, there's a showing at 8:30, shall we book this one?"

Duan Jiaxu: "Alright."

Passing by a bubble tea shop, Sang Zhi pointed and said: "Brother Ji Xu, I want to buy some oolong tea. Do you want anything?"

Duan Jiaxu: "I don't drink that, you go ahead."

"Won't you get thirsty during the movie?"

"I'll buy a bottle of water later."

"..."

Health-conscious old-fashioned old man.

Doesn't understand anything, doesn't drink anything either.

The shop had good business, with quite a few people queuing outside.

The two queued for quite a while before Sang Zhi could place her order, taking the number and waiting to the side. She checked the time and blinked: "Maybe you should go buy some water first, otherwise we might not have enough time later."

Duan Jiaxu thought for a moment: "Then wait here, don't wander off."

Sang Zhi made an "oh" sound, found a seat in the bubble tea shop, and sat waiting. By the time Duan Jiaxu returned, her number was just being called.

The cup was an opaque paper cup, and she could still feel the warmth inside when she picked it up.

Sang Zhi inserted the small straw into the opening and took a sip. The moment it entered her mouth, she felt something wasn't quite right, but before she could react, the drink had already been swallowed.

Her footsteps halted.

Noticing her movement, Duan Jiaxu turned his head: "What's wrong?"

The taste still lingered in her mouth. Sang Zhi licked her lips and said hesitantly: "This drink doesn't seem to be oolong tea, it's a bit like..."

Before she could finish, Duan Jiaxu took her cup, opened the lid and looked inside. His expression changed, frowning as he said: "This is milk tea."

Sang Zhi made an "ah" sound, instinctively looking at him. Perhaps it was psychological, but she felt her face instantly begin to itch: "But I ordered oolong tea..."

Duan Jiaxu raised his eyes, his gaze pausing: "You've got red rashes on your face."

"..." Sang Zhi reflexively touched her face, feeling like her throat was somewhat swollen too, making it difficult to speak, "I only took a small sip."

Duan Jiaxu's Adam's apple moved, his expression not looking good as he immediately pulled her toward the stairs.

"Let's go to the hospital first."

Fortunately, she had only consumed a small amount. After Sang Zhi received an injection at the hospital, her symptoms gradually subsided. She even had the presence of mind to refund the movie tickets while saying: "Brother Ji Xu."

Duan Jiaxu returned with the prescription slip after getting her medicine: "What?"

Sang Zhi blinked and couldn't help saying: "The milk tea was actually quite tasty.""……" Duan Jiaxu found it absurd. "Don't tell me you actually want to drink it?"

"Wouldn't dare. It's just that I've never tried it before, so I'm merely voicing my thoughts." Sang Zhi shook her head and muttered, "Last time I drank milk, I threw up all night. How would I dare drink it again?"

Mentioning this, Duan Jiaxu recalled something and asked ambiguously, "Did I buy you milk before?"

Sang Zhi paused for a moment before vaguely uttering an "Mm."

After a few seconds of silence, Duan Jiaxu asked, "Did you drink it?"

"No," Sang Zhi quickly replied. "I gave it to someone else."

Duan Jiaxu had learned about her inability to drink milk once when he was at Sang Zhi's house and overheard Li Ping mention it. Standing in front of her now, he felt something was off. "If you can't drink it, why didn't you tell me?"

Sang Zhi said softly, "...But I didn't drink it anyway."

Duan Jiaxu stared at her, as if trying to recall something. Only after a long while did he speak again. "From now on, when you're outside, before drinking any beverages, make sure to open the lid and check first."

Sang Zhi still had red rashes on her face and didn't want him to see, so she kept her head lowered. "Mm."

The two left the hospital and walked side by side toward the parking lot.

Sang Zhi's face still felt a bit itchy, and she couldn't help but reach up to scratch it. Eventually, Duan Jiaxu simply grabbed both her hands and led her forward as they walked.

Standing beside him, she stared at their linked hands.

She couldn't shake the feeling that she was like a dog being taken for a walk.

Halfway there, Sang Zhi suddenly remembered how he had introduced her to his colleagues earlier that day as his "friend." She pursed her lips, wrestling internally for a long time before finally asking, "Brother Ji Xu, why did you tell them I was your friend today?"

After a pause, she added, "Didn't you always say I was your little sister before?"

Hearing this, Duan Jiaxu turned to look at her.

In the quiet night, under the glaring white lights of the empty parking lot.

Sang Zhi had her scarf covering half her face and slightly raised her eyes, noticing his slightly lifted brows carrying a hint of tenderness and his lips curved into a small arc.

Her heartbeat inexplicably began to quicken.

After an extremely brief silence.

A biting cold wind swept past, rustling noisily in her ears.

The next moment, Duan Jiaxu spoke.

His deep words, carried by the wind, swept into Sang Zhi's ears.

"Do you really think of me as your brother?"