Chapter 250: Loves to Settle Disputes with Fists

Friday, 3:30 p. m.

Xu Xu Qingzhou's small apartment welcomed its first guests since the move. After more than a month apart, Guo Zi had changed noticeably—he dressed sharply, exuding a newfound steadiness.

The biggest change was Ding Ding Jiahui: her style had transformed completely—a white T-shirt with jeans, youthful and radiant, undeniably a beauty.

Guo Zi had clearly struck gold.

Xu Xu Qingzhou was happy for Guo Zi. No matter how you looked at it, Ding Ding Jiahui suited him far better than Zhou Zhou Bingyi. Though the future between them was uncertain, things looked promising now.

"Wow, your new place is even nicer than the photos! This is Er Miao, right? Er Miao~"

Ding Ding Jiahui had adopted the beauty aesthetic, but her slightly childish personality remained unchanged—she chattered nonstop the moment she stepped inside.

"Meow~"

Xu Xu Qingzhou himself downloaded a game on Song Yao's computer right away, and soon both were battling it out in the Valley's Peak.

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Ding Ding Jiahui nodded firmly, as if remembering something. She stole a glance at the two boys in the living room—both utterly absorbed in the game—then leaned closer to Song Yao and whispered, "Yao Yao, have you and Xu Xu Qingzhou..."

Ding Ding Jiahui frowned, searching for words, then settled on a comparison from something familiar: "It's like... the kind of wife-like aura I've seen in Japanese manga."

"Too early," Guo Zi scratched his head. He'd moved out to share an apartment in freshman year—he wasn't as bold as the two of them, and his family certainly wouldn't approve.

Er Miao, unafraid of strangers, affectionately licked Ding Ding Jiahui's hand.

Guo Zi was stunned—he'd never told anyone about that embarrassing incident. He'd even probed subtly and directly several times since, and Ding Ding Jiahui had never mentioned it to Song Yao. "I was there with Song Yao at the time," Xu Xu Qingzhou said.

Song Yao and Ding Ding Jiahui were preparing ingredients in the kitchen.

"Alright, coming."

Xu Xu Qingzhou smiled, slightly awed by fate's strangeness—after his rebirth, everyone's paths had shifted.

After nearly a year in university, Guo Zi wasn't unchanged—he'd noticed the look on Xu Xu Qingzhou's face, the same "fellow sufferer" expression he wore himself. "Zhouzi, you're not as miserable as I am, are you?"

"Exactly, exactly!" Guo Zi nodded vigorously.

Song Yao's eyes flickered—she understood her friend's implication. She wanted to deny it, but then remembered: she hadn't done it herself, yet she'd imagined it for Xu Xu Qingzhou. Her face instantly burned hot.

Song Yao clipped her hair up with a clip, a pink apron hanging around her neck.

"You're right... it does sound like that."

Just as they finished the second game and were about to start the third, Ding Ding Jiahui's voice called from the kitchen: "Guo Zi, Xu Xu Qingzhou, stop playing and come carry the dishes."

"Exactly, Yao Yao, you should rein in your Xu Xu Qingzhou—he's crushing us!"

"You and I..."

Xu Xu Qingzhou picked up an orange from the table and tossed it to Guo Zi: "Thinking of moving out to share an apartment too?"

"..."

After a pause, Song Yao chopped scallions with a steady rhythm, then turned to Ding Ding Jiahui: "So... you and Guo Zi are... together?"

In the living room, the two boys had logged out of the game.

Xu Xu Qingzhou said: "Calm as a maiden, wild as a frantic rabbit?"

The kitchen couldn't hold four people, so Xu Xu Qingzhou and Guo Zi became idle spectators, sitting in the living room playing games. Xu Xu Qingzhou's computer already had LOL installed—he let Guo Zi use it.

Song Yao froze mid-motion: "Really?"

"Your troubles... it feels like we don't have any of those."

"He means..."

Ding Ding Jiahui worried about her GPA, complaining how cutthroat her classmates were—many lined up at the library before dawn.

"..."

"I used to dream of sweet love, but now it's sweet... yet..." Guo Zi sighed. "Sometimes it's painful. Don't let Ding Ding Jiahui's carefree demeanor fool you—when she's angry, she's terrifying."

"Exactly..." Ding Ding Jiahui studied her friend, always associated with the word "ice queen."

"How do you know?"

"Oh?" Xu Xu Qingzhou was curious.

!.

She once found such things burdensome—turning one person's life into two's—but now she found it enjoyable.

"Come on, Dragon Boat Festival joy!" Guo Zi nodded.

Xu Xu Qingzhou thought: Song Yao really did like to reason things out—but she always used her fists to do it. One wrong word and she'd threaten to punch him.

"Where?" Song Yao sliced lotus root.

"Hey, Zhouzi, don't just vent about us—what about you two? Any complaints?"

Guo Zi glanced back at the two girls preparing food in the kitchen, feeling a sudden pang of nostalgia. "Suddenly, it feels like we've all become adults."

Guo Zi sighed helplessly. Though embarrassing, he did have a girlfriend now. He paused, then added: "But... this relationship isn't quite what I imagined."

"Do you feel the same about Song Yao?"

"Nonsense, how could I ever be like you?" Xu Xu Qingzhou's face turned serious. He cleared his throat and urged: "Stop daydreaming—pick your hero already."

The four raised their glasses in celebration—the two boys drank Wusu beer, the girls sipped cocktails.

With two more people, the house buzzed with energy. After a brief rest, the group set off en masse to buy groceries.

After playing with Er Miao, Ding Ding Jiahui wanted to tour Song Yao's room.

Guo Zi said he'd wanted to quit the club since sophomore year—he'd spent a year there and found it meaningless. He planned to devote all his energy to his studies in the coming years.

The two girls went into the room; the two boys had no such tour planned.

"Huh?" Ding Ding Jiahui knew her friend well—if she said no, it was no. But then... why was she blushing? Even with Ding Ding Jiahui's vivid imagination, she couldn't picture Song Yao doing something for Xu Xu Qingzhou.

Before Xu Xu Qingzhou could speak, Guo Zi shook his head on his own: "No, Song Yao is cold and distant—clearly the type of quiet, refined girl who loves to reason."

"I used to ship you two, but love—you have to experience it yourself to truly understand."

This kind of gathering was the most relaxing—everyone could speak freely.

"Stop pretending to be deep," Xu Xu Qingzhou rolled his eyes. "You've got Ding Ding Jiahui to thank for that slap—otherwise, you'd still be wandering somewhere lost."

At 6:30 p. m., the orange sunset stained the clouds, the afterglow lovely. The hotpot in the 505 living room bubbled warmly.

"..."

Guo Zi scanned the room, his eyes filled with envy. It was good to be Zhouzi—living with your girlfriend already.

She said it, forming a circle with her left thumb and forefinger, then slowly poking her right index finger into the circle.

"No way, we've only been together a short while," Ding Ding Jiahui shook her head, leaning against the wall. "Still, I never thought I'd ever fall in love."

"It's like... one look, and my heart shakes three times. How to describe it... never mind, you wouldn't get it anyway."

Ding Ding Jiahui helped Song Yao, peeling and washing the lotus root before handing it over. "Yao Yao, I noticed you're different from last time we met."

"No," Song Yao forced her voice to remain calm.

Xu Xu Qingzhou and Song Yao said little, mostly listening to the couple across from them.

"Damn it, say no more—just give me the drink!"

Xu Xu Qingzhou smiled reassuringly: "Fatty, don't worry—a slap for a girlfriend? Totally worth it."

"Oh, okay."

No wonder they're friends—they both have violent tendencies.

Everything to buy had been planned in advance, so by 5 p. m., they returned with groceries and began preparing dinner.

"Happy Dragon Boat Festival!"

"Yao Yao, you're blushing!" Ding Ding Jiahui's expression was exaggerated—she looked like she'd uncovered a massive scandal. The couple she'd shipped for so long had finally come together.

Song Yao deeply agreed—when two people are together, you must pay attention to each other's subtle feelings, like meal preferences and such.

"..."

Guo Zi's face flushed crimson. He stammered for a long time, overwhelmed by shame—as if stripped naked and paraded through the streets.

"Stop—I know what you're implying, Yao Yao~ You've gone bad."

Er Miao glanced at the laughing two-legged creatures, then at the two-legged creatures jumping and singing on TV. "Meow," it lowered its head and picked up a piece of cat food from the dish.

Crisp and crunchy, two flavors, generous portions.

A perfect cat life.

(End of Chapter)