He who touches pitch shall be defiled.

After September comes October, and the mall is bustling with promotions. The bubble tea shop has hung up a "Second Cup Half Price" banner, with staff scrambling to keep up with the flood of orders.

Xia Yanchun and Shen Nian found a spot to sit, ordered three cups of bubble tea, and sipped slowly while waiting for Li Shiyan. When Xia Yanchun looked up, Shen Nian had already tossed his empty cup into the trash.

"Huh? Are you a water buffalo? How’d you finish that so fast?"

"Maybe you’re just too slow?"

"Pfft…"

Girls always seem to arrive fashionably late to meetups, and Li Shiyan was no exception—showing up two minutes behind schedule, slightly flustered. Today, she had her hair in twin braids, giving off a sweet, slightly ditzy vibe, her poofy little skirt swaying as she walked over adorably.

Her cheerful mood dimmed the moment she spotted Shen Nian.

"You—why are you here?!" Li Shiyan’s eyes widened as she pointed at Shen Nian, her gaze darting between the two.

I get it, I get it. No need to explain further—let’s just skip to the usual teasing.

"What, can’t I come shopping? Seriously, you." Shen Nian pointed back, looking like a disgruntled husky.

"I meant why are you two here together?!"

"We’re heading back to our hometown tomorrow, so we came to buy some stuff today. Forgot to give you a heads-up, Shiyan," Xia Yanchun said, looping her arm around Li Shiyan’s.

"Oh, no worries."

Wait, why are they already glued to each other the second they meet?

How do girls bond so effortlessly? Meanwhile, whenever Shen Nian and Chen Dong cross paths, it’s just mutual "dumbass" insults.

Rage, shivers, despair—men really have it rough… Wait, no!

Shen Nian imagined a scenario where Chen Dong greeted him with affectionate clinginess, and his face twisted as if he’d been splattered with cow dung as a kid (courtesy of Xia Yanchun’s past mischief).

Nope. Better stick to calling each other dumbasses. "Fighting is love, insults are affection"—next time he sees Chen Dong, he’ll just punch him twice. Who says guys can’t have their own version of intimacy?

After just half a day apart, the two girls were already acting all cozy. Shen Nian couldn’t stand it. "Hey, hey, weren’t we supposed to go shopping?"

"Let’s go, let’s go."

Ignoring him, they strolled off hand in hand, chatting and laughing.

The mall’s first floor was a food street, packed with trendy snacks. Since they’d already bought bubble tea, they sipped as they browsed, Shen Nian trailing behind like a pack mule—Xia Yanchun kept handing him half-finished snacks to hold.

Li Shiyan eyed them with a hint of envy, glancing between Xia Yanchun and Shen Nian.

Shen Nian caught on and wordlessly offered his other hand. Delighted, Li Shiyan passed him her snacks, careful not to let their fingers touch, then skipped off happily with Xia Yanchun.

So much for shopping—Shen Nian was just here to be their porter.

Li Shiyan dragged Xia Yanchun into the mall to enjoy the AC, chatting about post-holiday plans. She peeked back at Shen Nian, who was scrolling on his phone, then leaned in to whisper to Xia Yanchun.

"So you two really planned this together? You must be super close now."

"Not that close…"

"Progress! Last time I asked, you both said you barely knew each other. Now it’s ‘not that close,’ which means ‘a little close,’ which means—"

Xia Yanchun sighed and poked Li Shiyan’s soft cheek. "What’s with you, little loli? Hmm?"

Thud.

Li Shiyan froze, her surroundings fading to black as a metaphorical lightning bolt struck.

The sky might as well have collapsed.

"How could this happen? Even you, Yanchun…" Her voice trembled with betrayal, as if she’d just witnessed the dark side of "you are the company you keep."

"Pfft—HAHAHA!"

Xia Yanchun lost it. Teasing Li Shiyan was way more fun than she’d realized—two years as desk mates, and she’d never tried this before.

"Wow, that laugh is inhuman. No surprise, hanging out with Shen Yue’s rubbed off on you."

Shen Nian had crept up unnoticed, and the sound nearly made him crack too. The student had surpassed the master—no wonder Xia Yanchun used to be such a menace.

The second floor had a Miniso. After resting, Li Shiyan dragged Xia Yanchun inside to browse hair ties, accessories, and cosmetics.

Most women seemed biologically drawn to these things, and Xia Yanchun was no exception. Though she’d never worn makeup, she still paused to admire the prettier displays.

The store was mostly couples or solo women—hardly any lone guys ventured in, given the abundance of feminine products. There was even a lingerie section, so the girls ditched Shen Nian without a second thought.

Shen Nian: "…"

Oh, come on. If it’s on a person, fine, but now I can’t even look at clothes on a rack? Like I’ve never seen any before.

Back home, Shen Yue sometimes made him hang her laundry. And it wasn’t like he hadn’t seen Xia Yanchun’s either—not on purpose, but he dropped by her place so often she couldn’t possibly clear the balcony every time.

Ah, this felt right. Shen Nian mentally grumbled: Rage, shivers, despair—when will men rise up?

He found a spot to zone out while Xia Yanchun and Li Shiyan happily tried on bras and playfully critiqued each other’s figures. They emerged later, each carrying a small shopping bag.

Xia Yanchun, who’d shoved everything else onto Shen Nian, kept this purchase to herself. Even if Li Shiyan were blind, handing him lingerie would’ve been too obvious.

Sure, she and Shen Nian had slept in the same bed, kissed, and seen each other in compromising situations—but now? Completely platonic. Fewer misunderstandings meant a happier society. Flirting was for trashy people; she and Shen Nian just roasted each other, often fantasizing about dancing on the other’s grave.

If playful bickering counted as flirting, then their past physical fights must’ve been declarations of love.

Siblings fought all the time as kids—Shen Nian was just seven years younger than Shen Yue, so she’d overpowered him. They’d only mellowed with age.

"You two really treat me like a tool, huh? Fine—after break, each of you owes me a meal swipe," Shen Nian grumbled.

Xia Yanchun wasn’t that stingy. "You can swipe mine twice. But not Shiyan’s—she didn’t know you were coming."

"Didn’t know I was coming, yet she piled stuff on me anyway," Shen Nian shot back. Oh, you sneaky little loli—helping with snacks was one thing, but you totally took advantage.

I might vibe with your bestie, but that doesn’t mean I’m your pack mule too. Fake authority from a tiny loli.

"I’ll treat you…" Li Shiyan mumbled, too timid to refuse. Still, she had made him carry things, so she couldn’t argue. It was just one meal—surely Shen Nian wouldn’t go full villain and swipe 30 or 40 bucks, right?

With that settled, she shamelessly hung more bags on him, her twin braids bouncing as she walked.

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