"Hoo—" As soon as she entered the room, Shen Jianxi let out a long breath and rubbed her stiffly smiling cheeks.
Interacting with elders was a skill she hadn't mastered yet.
"Does it feel that bad?" Fu Yi found her relieved demeanor amusing.
She was so at ease with her classmates at school, why was she so awkward with elders?
"I'm not uncomfortable, I'm just nervous."
His mother's gaze, in particular, made her fidget.
"Hahaha, it's alright, my mom is very easy to get along with." Fu Yi sat on the bed and gestured for her to sit down too.
Shen Jianxi pulled his chair closer, finally having the chance to examine the room.
Fu Yi kept it very clean, and there was no peculiar odor in the room, only the faint scent of laundry detergent.
The room was simply furnished but looked very cozy.
Shen Jianxi had been preoccupied with avoiding Song Duanli since morning. Now that her mind was finally relaxed, a wave of sleepiness washed over her. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she yawned, covering her mouth.
"Fu Yi, could I borrow your phone?"
Shen Jianxi suddenly remembered her boyfriend, who she'd met by a lake in a past life. He had said they would meet at school today when they parted yesterday, but she hadn't gone.
"Sure." Fu Yi handed her the phone and returned to his book, but his peripheral vision kept track of her movements.
She dialed the number she had memorized. It was answered almost immediately.
"Who is it?"
"Xie Shu, it's me," she replied softly, then pulled the phone away.
The next second—
"Shen Jianxi!" Xie Shu's furious voice boomed throughout the bedroom. She glanced awkwardly at Fu Yi. Seeing that his attention was on his book, she felt relieved and continued, "Calm down, Xie Shu."
"How can you expect me to calm down? I've called you over a hundred times today, and you haven't returned a single one! Who was it that said we'd meet at school today?!"
Xie Shu felt wronged. He had woken up early that day, dressed himself up, and felt anxious all the way to school. And for what?! He hadn't seen his girlfriend all day!! Who gets stood up on the first day of a serious relationship?!
"My phone died and wouldn't turn on. Something happened on my end..."
Before she could finish, Xie Shu interrupted her impatiently.
"What happened? Are you hurt? Where are you now? Don't be scared, I'm coming over right now."
Hearing the sounds of him packing on the other end of the line, Shen Jianxi quickly stopped him. "No, I'm fine. Don't rush, just stop and listen to me."
"I can't go home for a while."
"Where are you?" Now that he knew she was safe, Xie Shu relaxed.
"I'm at a friend's place."
"Okay, I'll come pick you up. Give me the address."
Knowing she couldn't stop him, Shen Jianxi simply gave him Fu Yi's address.
With the address, Xie Shu immediately climbed over the wall and hailed a taxi at the school gate, heading to his destination.
Hearing Xie Shu giving the address to the driver on the phone, Shen Jianxi finally hung up.
"Here you go. Thank you." She handed the phone back, her expression a little embarrassed, as Xie Shu's roar was impossible for him not to have heard.
Fu Yi took the phone and asked casually, "Boyfriend?"
"Yes, that's right."
Fu Yi nodded and said nothing more.
If one looked closely, they would notice his book remained on the same page, with five deep fingernail marks on the margin.
Shen Jianxi sat in the chair, letting her mind wander, until Fu Yi's phone rang again.
Glancing at the caller ID, Fu Yi told her, "It's your phone, probably your boyfriend."
"Hello..."
"I'm here, come down."
So fast?! Shen Jianxi was astonished. She checked the time; only fifteen minutes had passed. A normal trip from school to here would take at least thirty minutes. Was Xie Shu traveling by rocket?
She gathered her belongings and bid farewell to Fu Yi, stopping him from getting up to see her off.
"Auntie, I'm leaving now. Thank you for your hospitality today."
After saying goodbye to Fu Yi's mother, who was sitting on the sofa, she engaged in a five-minute tug-of-war with her, finally dissuading her aunt from insisting she stay the night.
"Xie Shu!" As soon as she got downstairs, she saw her little boyfriend and called out in surprise, "Xie Shu!" She ran towards him.
Her movement startled Xie Shu. He quickly ran to catch her, afraid she would fall.
He held her securely in his arms before frowning and saying, "You can't run on the stairs! What if you fall?"
"I know, I know."
"You said you couldn't go home. What's going on?"
"Because you found out I'm dating you, so I ran away from home!"
Seeing her not the least bit scared, and even a hint of pride, Xie Shu chuckled. "Did you even consider how dangerous it is for a girl like you to run away from home..."
"Xixi, you left your things," a male voice interrupted their conversation.
Xie Shu warily sized up the newcomer, looked down at Shen Jianxi, then back up at the innocent-faced Fu Yi. He hadn't expected his girlfriend's friend to be a guy.
He recognized Fu Yi as the guy Shen Jianxi had bumped into at the stairwell last time. Xie Shu took the item, which was a silk scarf. He tightened his hold on Shen Jianxi and said possessively, "Thank you for getting this down for my girlfriend."
He emphasized the words "my girlfriend" with particular weight.
Looking at Fu Yi's expression, Shen Jianxi couldn't tell if he was being intentional or not.
"You're welcome." Fu Yi smiled, his dimples particularly cute.
However, this smile felt familiar to Xie Shu. He searched his mind carefully and was struck as if by lightning. His entire body tensed.
Shen Jianxi, nestled in his arms, felt this change clearly. She looked up at him worriedly, only to find his expression terrifyingly grim.
77: "Ding! Favorability +10. Current favorability with Fu Yi is 10."