Shen Nian Trap

The photographer gestured in front, pointing a cannon-like camera this way, snapping several shots in the blink of an eye.

Some of the outgoing boys struck all sorts of hilarious poses in the back, which were captured as well. Su Kexi even laughed out loud when she went to take a look.

Su Kexi called a few class officers over, and they picked and chose together until they finally selected the best-looking photo to be the graduation picture.

"The graduation photos will be laminated and distributed to everyone later. Anyway, this is the last class, so you don't need to go back to the classroom. You're free to do what you want, just don't make a racket near the teaching buildings."

"Awesome, let's head to the cafeteria!"

"Let's go, let's hit the snack store!"

"Come on!"

...

Everyone decided to have an early lunch, staking out the cafeteria early on.

The cafeteria opened quite early. Even before class officially ended, Shen Nian and a bunch of students had already finished eating.

The main theme was that speed is of the essence.

After lunch, Shen Nian returned to the classroom. Shortly after, Xia Yanchun also came back, carrying a bottle of Pepsi.

"Here."

"The sun must have risen from the west today," Shen Nian said with certainty.

"Crazy, I bought it for you and you're complaining." Xia Yanchun curled her lips. "If you're not going to drink it, I'll drink it myself."

She glanced around, and after confirming no one was really looking, she actually unscrewed the cap and took a sip straight from the bottle.

She didn't really like cola; it was too fizzy. Compared to cola, she preferred fruit tea.

"Why is sugar-free still so sweet..."

"It doesn't have sugar, but it has other sweet things in it, dummy." Shen Nian snatched the cola over. He wasn't disgusted by something Xia Yanchun had drunk from.

He took a big gulp, feeling completely refreshed. This stuff really hit the spot.

The world couldn't lose cola, just as the West couldn't lose Jerusalem, and movies couldn't lose subtitles.

"You'd better not drink too much. One bottle every once in a while is enough."

"I rarely drink it nowadays, okay."

"I hope you don't sneak a drink when I'm not looking."

"...We spend twenty-three out of twenty-four hours a day together, how could I sneak a drink."

"Hmph," Xia Yanchun snorted.

Today was special. School had just let out, and other students might return to the classroom to grab things. Naturally, she wasn't as bold as during their previous lunch breaks. She had been quite cautious when handing Shen Nian the cola just now.

She sat back in her seat, flicked her hair, and hesitated about whether to tie it back into a small ponytail.

"Hey, what do you think of my hairstyle today?"

"It's pretty good, cute."

"Then do you think a single ponytail is better, or this one?"

"Hmm..." Shen Nian pondered, then said casually, "I'd have to play with it to know."

"?"

What a weird thing to say.

If Xia Yanchun didn't know that Shen Nian often played with her hair, she really would have been scared by his outrageous and creepy comment, making him sound like some kind of pervert.

After resting her head on the desk for a while, Xia Yanchun looked sideways at Shen Nian. "Shen Nian, since we have plenty of time today anyway, I want to go home and take a nap at noon."

"Oh?" Shen Nian finished the rest of the cola and smiled. "Then what are we waiting for? I'll give you a ride back."

"I'm afraid that once I go back, I won't want to come out again."

"Then ask for a leave of absence. There's no point in attending the two study hall periods in the afternoon anyway."

"Mhm, let's go!"

Xia Yanchun just wanted to drag Shen Nian into taking a leave with her.

Taking a leave alone felt uncomfortable, but two people taking a leave together was perfect. As for whether the classmates would gossip, she didn't really care anymore.

It wasn't their first time skipping together anyway.

Grabbing two books and stuffing them into her backpack, Xia Yanchun put on her small bag and pushed Shen Nian to walk together.

"I feel like I've been corrupted by you, always asking for time off, sigh." On the campus path, Xia Yanchun took big strides ahead of Shen Nian, muttering. The young girl always had endless things to say.

"You're blaming this on me too, huh?"

"It's the truth."

"Bullshit, I wasn't the one who brought up taking a leave this time. Wow, Xia Yanchun, you've been pinning the blame on me for everything since we were kids."

Shen Nian sweatdropped. It seemed Sister Chun was also someone true to her original nature.

Xia Yanchun pursed her lips. If a younger brother wasn't used as a scapegoat, then his existence was meaningless.

At the school gate, students in uniforms were coming and going.

Those riding electric scooters like Shen Nian were in the minority; most rode bicycles.

Sitting on the back seat, Xia Yanchun wrapped her small hands around Shen Nian's waist, secretly poking his abdomen with her nails through his clothes.

By the time they reached her residential compound, she had already asked Su Kexi for leave on her phone.

Shen Nian parked the scooter, resting one hand on Xia Yanchun's shoulder while his index finger twirled her low ponytail playfully.

It felt a bit lacking compared to the small ponytail, not bouncy enough.

The weather was a bit hot. Shen Nian bared his teeth and said, "I worked so hard to drive you back, aren't you going to treat me to a couple of Mr. Peanut ice creams?"

"Oh right." Xia Yanchun nodded. "Perfect timing. Let's go to the wholesale store and buy a box of ice cream for the fridge."

"Wow, an ice cream buffet."

"What are you doing? I'm not buying them for you. Eating so much every day will give you a stomachache!"

"I don't believe it. I'll deal with it when I get a stomachache."

Xia Yanchun gave him a deadpan stare. She wished she hadn't brought up buying ice cream.

Last year, almost all of the Mr. Peanut ice creams she bought were devoured by him. Who would believe that whenever this guy had time to come to her house, it wasn't to hang out with her, but to make a beeline for the fridge to find Mr. Peanut.

She felt like a powerless owner, only able to watch her Mr. Peanut ice creams be wiped out by an outsider.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Pouting, she kicked Shen Nian, leaving him to guess why she was sulking, and jogged away.

There was an ice cream wholesale store in the commercial area just outside the neighborhood. It sold ice cream in the summer and cotton quilts in the winter; it seemed all these ice cream wholesalers operated like that.

"Chunbao, do you want to hear the story of my love-hate relationship with Chocliz?" Shen Nian put a few Chocliz ice creams into the cardboard box, looking deeply affectionate.

"Just take them if you want to eat them, stop acting out bad memes."

"Alrighty, Chunbao is the best."

With those words, Shen Nian felt reassured and tossed handfuls of Chocliz into the box.

The retail price was 3.5 yuan, but the wholesale price was only 2.8 yuan. In these kinds of shops, buying a few meant paying retail, while hitting a certain threshold unlocked the wholesale price. Buying in bulk could still save quite a bit of money.

Chocliz, Mr. Peanut, Green Tongue, Little Pudding... It seemed it was always these same few varieties.

"Why do you like Mr. Peanut so much?" Shen Nian rubbed his chin as he looked at the box full of Mr. Peanut ice creams. Although Chunbao bought a lot, he rarely actually saw her eat them.

Out of that whole fridge full last semester, Xia Yanchun probably only ate three or four. He was the greedy one who accidentally wiped them all out.

"Because they're delicious, why else."

"I never see you eating them."

"Even if I eat them, I have to do it in moderation."

"Understood, Chunbao. I promise I won't eat more than this number every day." Shen Nian held up a hand.

"...You're asking for death."

Xia Yanchun was completely speechless and swiftly paid the bill.

A huge box of Shen Nian bait actually cost over fifty yuan.

Since Shen Nian came over every single day now, was it really necessary to buy so much?

Besides, the Shen Nian of today wasn't like the Shen Nian from childhood. Even if I had a Peanut Prince popsicle, he wouldn't necessarily come over to my house. It was nothing like when we were kids, when he would endure a whole day of my bullying just to eat a single popsicle.

Sigh, I really miss the way Shen Nian used to let me pinch, kiss, and hug him with a look of utter reluctance on his face.

Nowadays, Shen Nian would only look like he is thoroughly enjoying it.