Hanging Out Together All Day Long

Bickering back and forth, Xia Yanchun was no match for Shen Nian, so she went to squat by her front door to eat alone.

"Like a hobo," Shen Nian teased, loving to be a bit cheeky.

Xia Yanchun scoffed, ignoring him, and ran back inside her house to eat in frustration.

Shen Nian was in a great mood, sitting on the first floor all the way until evening.

The moon was bright, and the stars were sparse.

Shen Nian suspected for a moment that Xia Yanchun was just fooling him. What "taking a walk to digest"? If she didn't digest it soon, she'd be pooping it out.

He glanced at the time; it was already past eight.

Just as he was about to go back inside to take a shower, Xia Yanchun came skipping out of the house next door.

Seeing her wet hair, Shen Nian laughed in exasperation.

The damn Haji-Chun actually took a shower secretly. If she had told him earlier, he would have gone back to wash up too. Wouldn't it be nice if both of them smelled fresh and clean?

Xia Yanchun stepped onto the threshold with her hair down. Even from a distance, he could smell the pleasant scent of her shampoo.

Her hair wasn't fully dried. Since they were going out for a walk anyway, it saved her the trouble of blow-drying it. The weather had been dry these past two days, so a twenty-minute walk outside would probably dry it completely.

"Are you still planning to go for a walk?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

"Then why did you take a shower?"

"It's not like I'll sweat from a walk. What's wrong with taking a shower?"

"..."

She actually had a point.

Shen Nian looked her up and down. Xia Yanchun had changed into a set of pajamas. The pants looked like the thick, fleece-lined kind, and she had thrown a jacket over her shoulders so she wouldn't just be walking out in her PJs.

Living in a small town meant there wasn't much to worry about; people wore whatever they wanted. Xia Yanchun didn't really care about her image anymore—she was even wearing slippers for their walk.

"Let's go then." Shen Nian carried his plastic chair back into the house.

As soon as he came back out, he caught Xia Yanchun picking her nose.

"..."

"Wait for me to wash my hands."

"If you were secretly eating your boogers, just say so."

"Gross. Next time, I'll secretly wipe them on you."

"Damn it, who's the gross one here..."

Shen Nian's brain uncontrollably pictured it, and a shiver of disgust ran down his spine.

Did Chunbao really not care about her sweet, beautiful girl persona anymore?

Hmm... it seemed like she had never cared about it in front of him.

He let it go. You Haji-Chun, you.

After cleaning up, Xia Yanchun ran out with wet hands, casually wiping them on her clothes. Just like that, she was the cleanest, prettiest girl again.

"Let's go." Xia Yanchun took the lead, walking ahead and curling her finger at the certain someone behind her.

"Where to?"

"Just wandering around is fine."

Xia Yanchun felt relaxed. The evening breeze was comfortable, and with the recent rise in temperature, even she didn't find it too cold. Two thicker layers of clothing were more than enough to handle it.

There was no real nightlife in the town, except for a few nearby billiard halls where several small-town punks would be playing pool. Even without going inside, one could see the thick clouds of smoke.

Small southern towns had no shortage of these punks, especially in middle school. Xia Yanchun used to think this was normal, but after entering high school, she realized they had all disappeared.

Because most of them couldn't pass the high school entrance exams.

In the past, to show off his individuality, Shen Nian used to hang out with those punks. She had been terrified that they would lead him into smoking, which led to quite a few arguments between them.

Back in middle school, she already couldn't do much about him except nag. If she tried to hit him, Shen Nian would actually hit back—a slap to the wrist hurt a lot!

Starting in the ninth grade, perhaps realizing that brawling and arguing wasn't great, Shen Nian slowly began to restrain himself and rarely got physical. By high school, they almost never fought physically anymore; only occasionally would they trade a slap.

It went without saying that Shen Nian didn't dare use too much force. With her fragile frame, a full-strength slap from him would probably leave her owing him a life.

"Do you know how to play pool?" Xia Yanchun asked curiously.

Shen Nian threw his hands up. "Never played, but I could learn."

With his [Glimmer Experience] system, he couldn't guarantee he'd become top-tier, but at the very least, becoming an expert among ordinary people or a city-level pro would definitely be no problem.

He didn't know where the limit was since he hadn't tried it. If the ceiling was high, maybe with some effort, he could even compete professionally.

"Have you ever smoked?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Have you ever drank alcohol?" Xia Yanchun continued.

"Yeah, I can down three cans of beer."

"Good for you. I can only drink one. I secretly had some during the New Year before, and it was so bitter."

Shen Nian rubbed his chin. "You get drunk off one can? Is that even a thing?"

Looks like he'd have to get two packs for this coming New Year.

"What are you thinking about?" Xia Yanchun didn't even want to expose him, rambling on, "I just think it's bitter, not that I get drunk after one can, okay? It tastes awful. What's the difference between drinking that and being a masochist?"

"Doesn't your dad drink too?"

"..."

Xia Yanchun didn't dare say more. After all, both of their dads drank to some extent.

Wouldn't that one sentence insult both of them?

Shen Nian caught up to Xia Yanchun, poking his head around her. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Nothing. I just think that since you don't smoke or drink, you're pretty decent compared to other guys."

"For sure."

"But it's also very average. Nine out of ten of us girls don't smoke or drink. An excellent guy is just like an ordinary..."

"Yes, yes, yes," Shen Nian raised his voice, not giving Xia Yanchun a chance to keep talking.

Did a mere Xia Yanchun think she could unleash a Xiaohongshu combo on him?

Xia Yanchun puffed out her cheeks and lightly elbowed Shen Nian.

She hated people who interrupted others the most. Just like a jerk.

The town did have streetlights. When they walked over to the market area, there were still many shops open. Inside a no-name burger joint, there were only a scattered few people; business looked dismal, but the cheap rent made up for it.

Looking at Xia Yanchun, Shen Nian felt a sudden urge to pinch the young girl's soft, delicate cheek.

"Huh? You two..."

A middle-aged woman's voice suddenly rang out from the other side of the road. Shen Nian followed the sound and immediately recognized the person.

"Hello, Ms. Huang!" Shen Nian stood at attention like a good boy.

The classic scenario of running into your middle school homeroom teacher during a night walk.

Xia Yanchun was also a bit surprised. Covering her mouth, she greeted, "Long time no see, Ms. Huang!"

Ms. Huang smiled. "I was wondering why you looked so familiar. It really is you two."

As two of the very few students in the whole school, and the only two in her class, to get into Cinan No. 2 High School, she naturally had a deep impression of them.

Even if their grades hadn't been good, it had been less than three years, so she wouldn't have forgotten her previous batch of students that quickly.

"It's been a long time since I saw you two, and you're still hanging out together. I remember you two always played together in middle school, too."

"Not really..." Xia Yanchun felt guilty. In her memory, she and Shen Nian weren't that close back then. They argued every day, unlike what the teacher was saying.

"What do you mean 'not really'? You were always together. During morning exercises, Shen Nian was always pulling your hair."

"!" Xia Yanchun suddenly became flustered.

No way! So in other people's eyes, she and Shen Nian had been that close for that long?!

What kind of eyesight did they have? They clearly fought all the time, okay?!

"Are you out for a walk too, Ms. Huang?" Shen Nian scratched his head, feeling quite embarrassed.

He used to be quite mischievous back then and only settled down after getting scolded by their homeroom teacher a few times.

If his grades had been a bit worse, he probably would have been labeled as the class troublemaker by the other teachers.

"Yeah, the students are on break, so I come out for a walk every day now." After speaking, Teacher Huang smiled at the two of them. "The school has gone through some major renovations over the past two years and looks completely different. You guys should come visit sometime. Just tell them you are my students, sign your names, and you can go right in. All the old buildings have been torn down."

"Damn, I knew it. The second I leave, the school gets an upgrade."

"Hahaha, you two are high school seniors now, right? The college entrance exams are coming up. Your grades must be pretty good?"

When you are a teacher, it is honestly hard to resist asking about your former students' current grades. Asking about test scores is just an instinct they cannot suppress.

"Not bad. This guy got a 718 on the finals, and I got a 717."

"You scored how much??"