"An Qian, haven’t you noticed their attitude?" Although Brother Shitou and Jiashu didn’t show any unpleasant expressions, the awkward atmosphere was too obvious; she felt embarrassed to stay any longer.
"What’s wrong with my idol and classmate Jiashu always being like this?"
Having said that, An Qian left Xiao Shanyue speechless.
An Qian added, "So, you like my idol, huh? Since you like him, just boldly pursue him; what’s with all this hesitating?"
"It’s not the kind of liking you’re talking about." Xiao Shanyue’s face blushed slightly, feeling as if her genuinely pure heart had been colored by An Qian.
Thinking back to the awkward atmosphere in the kitchen earlier, Xiao Shanyue didn’t know what Shitou thought of her, she just heard An Qian push her face closer and insist, "You really don’t like him? Hmm, don’t like? Are you sure?"
"What I said was, it’s not the kind of liking you think." Brother Shitou was very kind to her, and in her eyes, Brother Shitou shone with a brilliant light. She pursued that light but never considered romantic feelings.
Besides, in Xiao Shanyue’s heart, a person as outstanding as Shitou, who could possibly match him?
"Really not?" An Qian said in disbelief.
Xiao Shanyue was speechless, but she couldn’t respond as firmly as before.
Do I like him? Xiao Shanyue suddenly felt confused.
"What if he has other women by his side in the future? Would you mind, would it hurt?" An Qian pressed on.
Xiao Shanyue paused again. Brother Shitou had always been good to her, and his usual aloofness kept others at bay; he never had contact with any girls other than his sisters, and Xiao Shanyue knew she was the only one.
But if Brother Shitou one day met a girl he liked and fell in love, wanted to have a girlfriend, or get married, Xiao Shanyue didn’t know why her heart felt so heavy, even somewhat sinking.
Xiao Shanyue didn’t answer An Qian and kept walking forward until she reached her residence and unlocked the door to enter.
An Qian called after her, but Xiao Shanyue didn’t respond.
As they returned, the bodyguard had already provided a safety message to Shitou’s side, as inviting people to their home for a meal naturally included ensuring their safe return.
The bodyguard didn’t show himself and secretly followed An Qian and Xiao Shanyue to their residence, only leaving once they were safely inside.
At Shitou’s side was Xiao Shu sitting on the sofa drinking tea. Xiao Shu asked, "Brother, have you ever thought about dating?"
Dating?
Shitou nodded, "I have thought about it, after I turn twenty." He didn’t plan on it now.
Xiao Shu felt his brother was more like a computer, no, a smart robot. Although he also had plans, his brother’s planning was extraordinary.
"Brother, don’t tell me you even plan your first hand-hold, your first kiss." Xiao Shu couldn’t help but ask.
"No, but I might consider it," Shitou thought, experiencing life naturally includes dating, marrying, having children.
"But let’s just go with the flow, Grandma always says to go with the flow."
When Shitou said that, Xiao Shu was speechless; a person full of precise plans down to the second telling him to go with the flow.
"Do you want to date?" Shitou asked Xiao Shu.
Xiao Shu shook his head, "I haven’t met anyone that excites my heart yet." If he did, it would naturally happen.
"We’re still young, there’s no rush to date after finishing our studies," Shitou always thought this way; his plan was to complete his degrees before adulthood.
Xiao Shu agreed, though learning never ends, school life is a part of one’s life. Completing school knowledge and passing each stage’s assessments signifies becoming qualified.
Shitou and Xiao Shu continued their enriched academic life; Xiao Shanyue and An Qian also became busy with schoolwork. After several days of reflection, Xiao Shanyue finally figured out what she wanted to do in the future.
Still, she would find two days a week to seek Shitou’s counsel, using those times to cook and eat together.
One day, Xiao Shanyue received a call from her birth mother, which left her startled; she stared at it for a long time as the phone incessantly rang before she finally pressed the answer button, "Hello, this is Xi Shanyue, may I ask who’s calling?"
Xiao Shanyue knew very well this was her birth mother’s call, she had always remembered, even kept it in her heart, but such calls were rare.
"Shanyue, it’s mom," the woman on the phone spoke.
Hearing this title, Xiao Shanyue frowned slightly. ’Mom,’ a word both familiar and foreign, made her throat feel dry, yet she couldn’t bring herself to say it, "Oh, Lady Che, is there anything you need?"
"Am I not your mom? Is this how your dad has been teaching you these years?" the woman on the other end said, displeased.
"Is there something you need?" Xiao Shanyue did not directly respond, her gaze fixed on a spot, she spoke coldly.
Mom and dad, haha, parents were always familiar strangers in her life.
One home for dad, another for mom, she had been left to fend for herself from a young age. If not for Brother Shitou, if not for Grandma Xia, she wouldn’t be who she is today.
Thinking this, tears welled up in Xiao Shanyue’s eyes, then dispersed instantly with the voice on the other side of the phone.
"I’m going to M country in a few days, I want you to meet a friend, get ready."
As soon as Shanyue heard this from the other side, she asked, "Get ready for what?"
"Why ask so many questions, can’t I, your mother, meet you once?" Although she hadn’t raised her much, she had come from her womb, she is her daughter; Lady Che’s voice was very commanding.
With a "click", Xiao Shanyue hung up the phone. She didn’t see any reason to meet, and she didn’t feel that after more than a decade, her mother suddenly had a burst of maternal love for her.
Moreover, she was past the age of needing motherly love and had no interest in meeting anyone with her birth mother. Xiao Shanyue’s expression was somewhat indifferent when she thought of her birth mother, naturally leading her thoughts to her father.
Previously, while she was in China, she would still make an effort to go home and maintain at least the semblance of being part of the family.
But after going abroad, neither parent had contacted her, not even to ask if she needed money, how she was doing, if she was eating well, if she was dressed warmly, or getting along well with others.
No, not even during holidays did they greet her; if she didn’t actively return home, they might as well have acted like she didn’t exist.
Xiao Shanyue originally wanted to study hard mainly because of Shitou but another reason was to show her father her capabilities.
Yet it didn’t matter; no matter how excellent she was, she never caught her father’s eye; instead, it was her sister, who despite failing exams and crying out of sadness, would still be comforted and coddled by her father.
Xiao Shanyue blinked away the sourness in her heart as the ringing phone continued, but she did not pick it up again.
She put down her phone, entered the bathroom, and washed her face to refresh herself.