The restaurant they entered was a regular cafe restaurant where youngsters usually went to hang out. At one of the tables near the window, Zhou Ya sat with a giddy expression on her face.
Li Caiyi and Feng Nian chose the table behind her to watch how the situation unfolded, but the nervousness seemed contagious. The more restless Chen Ruolan was, so were the two of them.
"Look at her. She never cared much about her appearance, but now she checks her reflection almost every minute!" Feng Nian whispered to Li Caiyi.
"Well, she is a girl in love. It's not strange to want to present your best self in front of the person you like."
"Is that also the same case for you towards Dai Zhiqiang?"
"Ahem. No comment."
They waited for another five minutes until a familiar figure entered the place. The man had neatly trimmed black hair, parted in a 7:3 ratio. His body wasn't tall, but it looked proportionate with that white shirt and chino pants.
Li Caiyi immediately noticed him as Fu Hang and told Feng Nian about it.
"Okay, appearance-wise, he does look harmless, just like you said. Oh, he just smiled at Lan Lan. What a sales-like smile; I'm not buying this."
For Li Caiyi, Fu Hang's smile appeared genuine and soothing like the first spring breeze, but Feng Nian kept picking on him. Thank goodness Chen Ruolan didn't hear it.
"Shh, don't stare at him so much. He is coming this way!"
Li Caiyi and Feng Nian feigned an innocent look as they calmly sipped their drinks. The corner of their eyes never let Fu Hang out of their sight.
The table didn't have much distance, so they could hear their conversation quite well.
"I'm sorry. Did you wait for long?" Fu Hang's breezy voice could be heard first.
"No. Not at all. I just arrived here myself. Why don't you sit first?" Chen Ruolan replied. Her tone was much sweeter than usual, and Feng Nian feigned a vomiting expression when she heard it.
"Lan Lan, you looked beautiful today. That skirt suits you very much."
Li Caiyi couldn't see Chen Ruolan's expression, but she could sense Chen Ruolan's bashful happiness from her following words.
"Really? I'm glad if you like it, then."
"Then how about we eat before going out for a bit?" Fu Hang smiled while raising his hand to order.
After that, the two of them conversed about various things. Most of them were about movies, and nothing seemed strange about them.
Besides the polite compliment at the beginning, Fu Hang didn't comment on Chen Ruolan, nor did he try to dig for more information about her. It was an amicable conversation between good friends.
Feng Nian frowned doubtfully. "Caiyi, what do you think of the guy?"
"Hmm, he didn't seem to be a bad person. Even if he is interested in our Ruolan, I think he is more of the subtle type. He treated her like a good friend and didn't make any reckless pass on her."
"Hmph, so even you had been deceived by his charm. But I won't fall that easily. Imagining a guy somehow attracted to movie-freaks like Lan Lan is already suspicious in itself."
"Nian, Ruolan will be sad if she hears that. Besides, what's wrong with Lan Lan? She is an easy-going young lady who can make people feel at ease. I think it's natural that some guy will be interested in her."
Feng Nian made a complicated expression. "Don't get me wrong. Of course, I'm happy if she can get together with someone. That someone better treat her well, though, or I will never approve him."
Li Caiyi studied Feng Nian closely. She had just gotten to know her friends briefly, but Feng Nian seemed to be very hung up about Chen Ruolan, more than she did with Zhou Ya.
At first, Li Caiyi thought it was because Chen Ruolan was gullible and Feng Nian couldn't leave her alone, but she wasn't so sure anymore.
"You must be curious why I acted like this, aren't you?" Feng Nian grinned teasingly.
Li Caiyi cleared her throat, feeling a bit awkward about being seen through. "If you don't want to tell me, it's okay."
"No. It's not anything special, really. It's because I was bullied in the past."
Li Caiyi's eyes widened in disbelief. "WHAT?!"
"Ssh!" Feng Nian quickly lunged forward and clamped Li Caiyi's mouth shut.
Li Caiyi immediately realized her mistake and furtively glanced at the pair sitting at the next table. Chen Ruolan didn't seem to notice, but Fu Hang looked this way for a moment before talking to Chen Ruolan again.
He didn't recognize Li Caiyi and must have thought they were just a pair of girls engrossed in their girl talk.
Li Caiyi made a signal with her eyes, and only then did Feng Nian put down her hand. Then she scolded her in a suppressed voice. "Geez, don't shriek like that. Do you want to blow our cover away?!"
"Sorry. I was just shocked. You are very calm and straightforward. I thought you fear nothing and the type that won't let herself be bullied."
"Well, I have a firm head and thick skin, so many people found me an eyesore. I said I was bullied, but it wasn't like they harmed me physically. I just got isolated, the classic public punishment for the misfit."
"Is this the story of when you were in middle school?"
"Yeah. At that time, Lan Lan was the first to talk to me. She didn't know who I was and treated me like a normal classmate. Even after she knew, she stayed by my side. Then, Zhou Ya from the next class gradually became closer to me too. We have been friends ever since."
Li Caiyi was stunned, looking at her melancholic smile as she told her story. That strong-willed Feng Nian seemed very vulnerable.
She didn't know much about her friends, but she felt jealous, knowing they had such a close and tight bond.
"Nian, I'm so sorry it happened to you."
"Why are you apologizing?" Feng Nian chuckled. "Don't be like that, or you'll make me feel uncomfortable. It was all in the past, and I have you guys with me. I'm in my best condition now."
"Me too. I'm so glad I can meet you guys."
"Phew, now the air is heavy because of my boring talk. Let's continue stalking two, alright?"
Li Caiyi giggled. "Sure!"
However, even after they followed them secretly to the cinemas and other places, it didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary would happen. They looked like a regular couple on a date you could find anywhere.
"Nian, are we still going to follow them? I think it should be enough now. We should let them have their own privacy."
"But…"
"No. You have seen enough. I know your opinion of Fu Hang has changed too. Don't be stubborn, and just let Ruolan have her time."
Feng Nian's shoulders slumped dejectedly, but she didn't refute. "Alright. I will let this one go. Do you want to play or go home?"
"Hmm…"
Li Caiyi didn't have many chances to hang out alone with Feng Nian. She wasn't rushing to go home either, so it might be a good idea to play some more.
Just when she was about to agree, Li Caiyi glimpsed a familiar figure among the crowd.
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