Chapter 130

"If it happens often, won't you feel disappointed or angry after a while?"

When Tang Song asked this question, he seemed unusually cautious, which showed how much he cared about this matter.

Shen Ci just shook her head with a calm expression: "I wouldn't attach my emotional value entirely to a man. You might not like hearing this, but for me personally, that is indeed the case."

"Having the other person's company is certainly nice, but if it's not there, I have plenty of other things to do. You can put work before me, and I won't just revolve around you alone."

She said this with remarkable frankness, even carrying a hint of nonchalance.

Yet in the near future, when Tang Song suddenly received a call and put on his clothes to leave while they were having a good time, she realized that she had said these words too early today!

That was truly disappointing!

But at this very moment, her words sounded quite reassuring to Tang Song.

Before long, the dishes were served; they were all new-style fusion dishes, some with unique ways of eating. Tang Song taught her how to eat them with great patience and even thoughtfully peeled shrimp for her, picking all the crab meat into the shell before placing it in front of her.

He didn't talk much, but the details were everywhere.

Meanwhile, in a private room at the back of the restaurant, several people were walking out together, and Li Xiao was among them.

As if by some instinct, even though he could have turned right to leave with his friends, his gaze turned back toward the corner by the window on the left as he stepped into the main hall, and at a single glance, the only person he saw was Shen Ci.

He was slightly stunned, and his footsteps stopped subconsciously.

He had barely left the house these days. Since being "forced" by Lin Biqi, his condition had worsened; his once handsome appearance was now much more weathered. He only came out today because he had to accompany a childhood friend for his birthday.

He didn't expect it to be such a coincidence.

"What's wrong, Xiao Zai?"

His friend draped an arm over his shoulder and asked with curious concern.

At this moment, Shen Ci also suddenly turned her head. For some reason, Li Xiao's subconscious reaction was to hide himself; he hurriedly turned his head to avoid Shen Ci's gaze, shaking his head with a somewhat dejected and flustered expression: "Nothing, let's go."

He seemed to have lost the courage he once had to be righteous and persistent, because he knew he was no longer worthy!

His friend didn't notice anything unusual and just laughed: "I thought you saw someone you knew. Tonight at '3CC', I asked the PR to save all the pretty ones for us. You've already broken up, so you can't not order today; don't ruin the fun for your brothers."

Li Xiao didn't hear a single word his friend said; he just wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.

"I also bought movie tickets after dinner." Tang Song suddenly looked at Shen Ci and spoke. He hesitated for a moment before asking: "Do you think my date arrangements are a bit old-fashioned?"

Shen Ci saw how serious he was and thought he was quite cute at that moment.

"If it were a horror movie, then that would indeed be a bit old-fashioned."

Tang Song hurriedly said: "It's a sci-fi movie."

Upon hearing this, Shen Ci arched her brows and smiled: "Taking a girl to see a sci-fi movie is quite something, but you hit the nail on the head, because I love it. My favorite movie is 'Interstellar'."

Tang Song's eyes lit up: "Me too!"

Their eyes met, and at that moment, Tang Song felt as if his soul resonated with Shen Ci's, causing his heart to skip a beat.

Shen Ci also saw such a clear change in Tang Song's expression for the first time. His eyes were very beautiful, and the flash of joy that had just overflowed, with his bright pupils like stars in the sky, made his whole person come alive.

However, for this movie, the two of them were truly just watching a movie.

Tang Song sat upright the entire time, like a gentleman, which was astonishing; there wasn't even any ambiguous probing.

Shen Ci was left between laughter and tears, laughing at herself for being unable to deny the eager anticipation in her heart, and crying because she couldn't understand why Tang Song was so oblivious to the mood in such an atmosphere.

Until they returned to the dorm building to say goodbye, Shen Ci looked into his eyes and asked directly: "Were you being a fake gentleman or a real one in the cinema just now?"

Tang Song also lowered his head slightly to look at Shen Ci, paused, and then said: "A fake gentleman."

Shen Ci laughed, but she was happy to hear this answer.

"Thank you for seeing me back; I'm very satisfied with today's date."

Upon hearing this, Tang Song's expression relaxed, and he asked subconsciously: "Satisfied with me?"

Shen Ci scanned his face and said: "Whether I'm satisfied with you remains to be seen; it's too early to draw conclusions."

Tang Song was stunned for a moment before he reacted, a thought-provoking expression appearing on his face. Had he just been teased by Shen Ci?

Shen Ci smiled, waved goodbye to him, and turned to run into the dormitory.

Tang Song watched her back, his handsome eyes softening by three degrees.

Returning to the dorm, the first thing Shen Ci saw upon pushing the door open was that Pili had returned. Before she could even greet her, she saw Gu Lianxing look up, her eyes swollen like walnuts and filled with tears.

Shen Ci was startled: "What's wrong, Lianxing? Why are you crying?"

Seeing Shen Ci return, Gu Lianxing cried even harder, stepped forward to hug her, and choked out: "It's too tragic, she's so pitiful!"

Shen Ci was bewildered, cast an inquiring look at Pili, with three question marks hanging over her head.

Who is tragic?

Who is pitiful?

Pili sighed helplessly and pointed at herself: "She's talking about me."

"Huh?"

Shen Ci blinked inexplicably and hurriedly straightened Gu Lianxing's body: "Pili is still here; isn't it inappropriate for you to cry like this?"

Pili shrugged and said indifferently: "She insisted on pestering me with questions, so I told her my story. Before I could even finish, she started crying and begged me not to tell her anymore."

That must be a tragic story, right? But looking at Pili's reaction, it seemed like she, the person involved, didn't care at all.

Pili had to tell Shen Ci again. Simply put, Pili's background was very tragic; her parents died when she was young, and no close relatives were willing to raise her. In the end, it was her father's good brother, the owner of the Baolin Martial Arts Hall, Master Chen, who adopted her.

At that time, her name was Jin Cancan, and later, after Master Chen taught her martial arts, she changed her name to Pili.

Martial arts training was extremely bitter; Pili never had a day without injuries from childhood to adulthood, but she never complained because she knew she had no one to rely on in this life except herself. This was also Master Chen's original intention in having her learn martial arts to become strong—to let her protect herself when she grew up and no longer be the abandoned child who was passively chosen.

But just half a year ago, the master's wife, who had treated her like her own daughter since she was little, suddenly fell ill with a rare terminal disease and was admitted to the ICU. The expensive costs forced the family into a dead end. Master Chen wanted to sell the ancestral home, and Pili chose to secretly fight in underground boxing matches to earn money.

It was this background that made Gu Lianxing cry uncontrollably.

"Oh, stop crying, it's like I'm dead!" Pili said.