It seems we are already very close.

(The last chapter was supplemented with four thousand words early this morning. If you haven’t read it yet, you might want to go back and check it out, orz.)

A high school student who fishes to buy a car—sounds a bit magical, and Chen Minyue didn’t believe it at first.

Later, when Wen Zhining mentioned that during the National Day holiday Shen Nian had brought her fish, and Xia Yanchun, who sells fish, also witnessed it, Chen Minyue finally nodded with half-belief.

Fishing, studying, and selling fish all at once—was he trying to be two people at once?

“Better stop fishing for those things recently. Studying is the most important, got it? It’s not like we’re short on money at home.”

“Got it, I won’t fish during the mock exam revision period.” Shen Nian answered obediently.

Less said, less trouble. He didn’t fish and sell that often, just made a few thousand yuan. Selling fish was just a small trick to launder money; otherwise, there was no way to explain where his money came from. If he couldn’t explain it, spending money would be awkward, and not spending was like having nothing at all.

Buying an electric scooter worth a few thousand yuan definitely couldn’t be hidden. If he didn’t say anything, Shen Yue would spill the beans. One lie requires ten more to cover it up; muddling through vaguely was actually the best solution.

Ah, the whole family is full of scheming minds.

After the parent-teacher meeting ended, the rest of the time was basically a holiday. Xia Yanchun dragged Wen Zhining and Chen Minyue to go shopping, and Shen Nian followed along too. But first, he had to ride his electric scooter back to the community, then catch a ride with Wen Zhining to the mall.

The mall wasn’t that big; Shen Nian had been there a few times and was already bored. But Xia Yanchun was always excited every time she came, checking out all the pretty things, before finally settling down to visit Miniso to look at cosmetics and the like.

Just looking, no buying. Occasionally she’d try things out, sometimes for twenty or thirty minutes.

Isn’t that just dragging it out?

Being scared to tears by girls’ shopping trips.

“Shen Nian, come on, let me buy you a new pair of shoes.” Passing by a shoe store, Chen Minyue called out to Shen Nian, wanting to give him a little reward for doing well on his tests.

“No need, I already have several pairs.”

“Then how about some new clothes? Winter’s coming; get something warm. We’ll help you pick after we finish shopping.”

“Okay.” Shen Nian nodded.

He didn’t change clothes that often—jackets, hoodies, and the like were mostly the same few pieces going back and forth. It was definitely time for some new ones.

But before that, he had to wait for the girls to finish shopping.

Both sets of parents were around, and Shen Nian knew Xia Yanchun didn’t want to draw too much attention. Most of the time while shopping, she kept her head down looking at her phone. Since Xia Yanchun didn’t talk to him, he was too lazy to bother with her.

Back in their first and second years of high school, they were just like this—keeping quiet meant peace; talking usually ended in an argument.

“Mom, this one, this one~”

“Pretty nice. It’d look even better if it were a bit smaller.”

“I think this one’s good enough. Xia Yanchun, take a look.”

“Looks great, very fitting for Auntie.”

Xia Yanchun also picked out an autumn-colored coat to try on. It gave off a mature vibe. After spinning around twice in front of the mirror and feeling satisfied, she bought it.

Chen Minyue bought a skirt, while Wen Zhining didn’t find anything she liked and ended up empty-handed.

“Done shopping?”

“Yeah, let’s go buy yours now.”

“Maybe I can just order online.”

“We’re already here.” Chen Minyue said, pointing to the men’s clothing store nearby. “Just pick whatever you like, even if it’s a bit expensive.”

“Scoring six hundred and eighty points beats everything, right?”

“If you can score seven hundred points, that would be even better.”

Shen Nian smiled. For him, seven hundred points was no longer an unattainable goal.

For most families, scoring seven hundred points was like some ancestral miracle—something only their great-grandparents could achieve after worshiping the gods for three days and nights underground.

Their family was just ordinary, experiencing the usual ups and downs depending on exam scores.

Chen Minyue had been smiling the whole way, looking several years younger. Shen Nian thought maybe if he bought a pair of shoes worth two thousand yuan, his mom might actually say yes.

Men’s clothing store.

Before Shen Nian even started picking out clothes, the girls who loved shopping had already started choosing for him, especially Chen Minyue, who made him try on several pieces.

Looking at the price tags, one jacket originally priced at six hundred yuan was discounted to four hundred eighty-eight. Shen Nian was stunned.

“Buying something that expensive? Might as well have a meal at Haidilao.”

“What's the difference?”

“Just get something around one or two hundred.” Shen Nian hung the tried-on clothes back on the rack.

They switched to another store, where the prices were much more reasonable. Just as Shen Nian was about to pick two nice jackets, he suddenly felt a poke on his shoulder.

“Shen Nian, this one looks pretty good.” Xia Yanchun pointed to a light-colored jacket nearby, something like a shirt jacket. “It has layers to it, should look great with pants.”

Shen Nian was a bit surprised. Yanchun was even helping pick clothes now—he liked it.

“You like this kind?”

“No, I just think it looks nice,” Xia Yanchun said, looking him straight in the eyes, completely sincere.

Shen Nian stroked his chin and raised his hand, but didn’t dare to ruffle her hair. Instead, he turned to take down the jacket she had pointed out to try on.

The jacket had a bit of a Japanese style—clean, relaxed, and casual. It felt warmer than Shen Nian expected when he put it on.

It just so happened that his school uniform pants were black, which matched well.

“Looks really sharp,” Chen Minyue complimented.

Even Wen Zhining joined in, “You’re getting better and better looking.”

“Ahem, it’s natural, can’t help it.”

“You’re not humble at all…” Xia Yanchun whispered.

They say handsome but unaware of it—how come he’s bragging everywhere?

Shen Nian stood up straight, actually looking quite the part.

Xia Yanchun thought Shen Nian always had a youthful vibe, and with this outfit, that youthful energy was practically overflowing. Maybe adding glasses would be even better.

She had to admit, Shen Nian’s figure was indeed…

Squinting, Xia Yanchun picked out two more jackets for him, and Shen Nian could pull off every single one.

After trying on several jackets, Shen Nian ended up buying the light-colored shirt jacket he tried on first. It really looked good, and the price was just a bit over one hundred yuan.

Chen Minyue and Wen Zhining didn’t come to the city often, so the two of them went off to explore on their own. Xia Yanchun, who used to come here often with Li Shiyan, now felt a bit uninterested.

Her feet were getting sore and weak; she didn’t even want to browse Miniso. Xia Yanchun found a row of massage chairs and sat down to rest, handing all her bags to Shen Nian.

These massage chairs had sensors that detected when someone sat down without paying, and after a few polite reminders, they would start repeating a mechanical voice saying, “Please do not occupy the seat,” within just two minutes.

“Get off my massage chair.”

“No way,” Xia Yanchun huffed. “It only costs like ten bucks for a few minutes, totally a rip-off, and no one else is using it.”

“The manager’s going to come up and kick you out soon.”

“Let him come. We’ll deal with it when he does. I’m sitting, and I’m not paying.”

Shen Nian felt a bit embarrassed. “You’re pretty bold. If the manager shows up, I’ll just run—slowest one falls behind… Ah, whatever, I’ll just let you have the massage.”

“Massage? What a waste of money.”

“Well then, I’ll listen to you, Yanchun.” Shen Nian had no shame anyway, so he sat down.

Xia Yanchun glanced at him sideways. This guy called her “Yanchun” only when they were alone.

It was kind of thrilling—pretending one way in front of family but acting differently in private. Several times when they left together, she was half afraid Shen Nian would sneak off behind their backs, but luckily, he was pretty honest.

“By the way, why did you help me pick out clothes just now?” Shen Nian lay back comfortably, calm and casual.

“Because I thought they looked good.”

“Didn’t you say we should keep some distance? Helping me pick clothes feels a bit too close, babe.”

“…” Xia Yanchun fiddled with her fingers. “What’s wrong with that? I think it’s normal.”

“Then what counts as ‘too close’?”

“At the very least… holding hands or something.”

“Damn, looks like we’re pretty close already.”

Xia Yanchun blinked, caught off guard. After a moment of silence, she raised a finger and said seriously, “That’s just me being too lazy to bother with you and indulging you. We’re not close at all, don’t say stuff like that.”

“Can you indulge me a little more? I’m begging you on my knees.”

“…”

“...No way.”

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