Chapter 8: Just Like Before
Her voice was soft, with a hint of hesitation.
When Bai Shuchuan lifted his gaze from the ground to Su Moyu, what he saw was a girl who was a head shorter than him…
That’s right, he still couldn’t fully accept it yet.
The girl frowned slightly. Her clear, beautiful eyes looked straight at him, as if waiting for his answer.
Bai Shuchuan suddenly didn’t know what to say.
Maybe he just wasn’t good at dealing with girls.
But the person in front of him was Su Moyu.
He reminded himself of that.
“It just sounds tiring. And during National Day, there should be a lot of people traveling.”
“Alright then,” Su Moyu replied softly, looking like she was thinking about something.
Bai Shuchuan hesitated for a moment, then added, “You could go with someone else.”
Su Moyu actually laughed.
“Then tell me, who can I go with?”
Just as Bai Shuchuan started thinking, she interrupted him.
“With my current situation, it wouldn’t look right no matter who I go with. Besides, we just got married, remember?” she said jokingly.
“…Okay.” Bai Shuchuan replied awkwardly.
“Then you can cancel the ticket later. At least you can get some money back.”
“Mm.”
The atmosphere fell silent again.
Bai Shuchuan secretly glanced at her face. He didn’t see any sign that she was unhappy, but her smile was gone too.
Just thinking about traveling gave him a headache. Crowded tourist spots, noisy people, long lines… all felt like a waste of time and energy.
But…
He looked at Su Moyu again. She noticed his gaze and turned to him.
“What’s wrong?” she asked softly.
Bai Shuchuan hesitated, about to speak, but at that moment the taxi they called arrived. Su Moyu stepped forward, opened the door, and got in.
“Going to MixC Mall?” the driver asked with a smile after looking at them.
“Yes,” Su Moyu replied casually.
“There’s a good hot pot restaurant there,” the driver added.
Su Moyu’s face lit up with excitement. “That’s exactly where we’re going!”
Seeing her smile again, Bai Shuchuan’s expression became a bit downcast.
He didn’t want to be the one who ruined the mood, but if he agreed to the trip, he would have to deal with all the trouble of traveling.
After weighing it in his mind, he chose to stay silent.
“I think you’re a pretty boring person.”
That voice suddenly echoed in his mind. He let out a quiet breath, and his mood became more irritated.
He thought he had already forgotten it.
………………………
After getting out of the car, Bai Shuchuan walked beside Su Moyu.
The hot pot restaurant she wanted to go to was inside MixC Mall. As they went up the escalator, Su Moyu suddenly saw a familiar figure…
At the entrance of a shop not far away, Zhou Ya also looked over at Su Moyu. She greeted both Su Moyu and Bai Shuchuan with a surprised smile.
…Why do we run into each other everywhere?
Su Moyu complained in her heart, but a bitter smile still appeared on her face.
Beside Zhou Ya stood a boy with medium-length hair. Su Moyu recognized him right away, he was a classmate from high school.
The two of them were holding hands, looking very close.
“Susu, what a coincidence,” Zhou Ya greeted her with a smile. “Are you here to shop too?”
“Mm… we’re here to eat,” Su Moyu replied. Her eyes fell on their joined hands, but she still forced a smile.
“Hey.” The long-haired boy greeted Bai Shuchuan, who nodded back.
“Then let’s eat together! Do you want barbecue or hot pot?” Zhou Ya said, shaking her hand that was holding Shang Hanyu’s. “Do you want hot pot?”
“Yeah, anything is fine,” Shang Hanyu replied.
Su Moyu looked him up and down. He used to be the top student in their class. Before she got close to Zhou Ya, the two of them were always studying together…
That meant, in this version of the world, without her involvement, Zhou Ya and Shang Hanyu had stayed together until now.
And…
Su Moyu looked at Zhou Ya’s expression. That lively smile, she rarely showed it when she was with Su Moyu.
“Then let’s go, hot pot it is,” Zhou Ya said with a smile. But when she noticed Su Moyu’s stiff expression, her face showed concern.
“Susu, are you feeling unwell?”
“Oh right, you were drunk at noon, weren’t you… You’ve never been good at drinking, yet you still drank.”
Hearing her gentle voice, Su Moyu froze in place.
…………………………
“You’re quite childish, Su Moyu. Being with you is tiring.”
A memory from yesterday suddenly came back to her mind. Looking at this very familiar face, she was reminded of that night in high school…
Back then, Zhou Ya had just started dating her.
“What do you actually like about me?” Zhou Ya had asked softly.
They were standing on the dark playground, like other couples hiding in the night.
Su Moyu had said many things back then, so many that she couldn’t remember them now. But that warm feeling in her heart still remained, impossible to erase.
…………………………
“It’s nothing, I just suddenly thought of something,” Su Moyu said with a gentle smile. “Don’t worry. If I can come out to eat hot pot, how could I be unwell?”
Zhou Ya laughed at her words.
“You really love eating,” Zhou Ya teased. “Just like before.”
Su Moyu kept looking at her face. That same smile still touched something deep inside her. Her eyes seemed to stir with emotion, but the smile on her lips stayed just right.
Even the way Zhou Ya spoke was the same as before.
As this thought came to her, Su Moyu’s lips trembled slightly. Luckily, Zhou Ya turned around and stepped onto the escalator the next second, allowing Su Moyu to hide her emotions.
Bai Shuchuan glanced at Su Moyu. Seeing her quietly lower her head, he hesitated.
She’s probably a bit sad.
He thought so, but he really couldn’t think of anything to say to comfort her.
Words like “It’s okay, don’t be sad” had already been complained about by Su Moyu as useless.
Helplessly, he reached out to pat her shoulder. But since she was much shorter now, his hand ended up resting on her head instead.
Feeling the warmth on top of her head, Su Moyu instinctively looked up at him.
Bai Shuchuan blinked in slight surprise, but calmly continued to pat her head.
Well… it was fine. If he touched the wrong place, then so be it. He could just treat it as if he meant to pat her head from the start. After all, she was shorter now, it was convenient.
The next second, Su Moyu pressed her lips together and lowered her head again.
But in that brief moment, Bai Shuchuan seemed to see her eyes turn slightly red…