Chapter 31 Moonlight

Chapter 31 Moonlight

Shi Yu watched as Lin Yao immediately focused on eating her noodles, not sparing him another glance.

His dark eyes dimmed slightly.

But his gaze remained fixed on the young girl's slightly puffed cheeks, adorned with peach blossoms.

It was clear that she was very happy now.

If she’s happy, that’s good.

Shi Yu's eyes were as deep as ink as he gazed at her for a while before suddenly saying in a low voice, "Eat first; I'll be out for a moment."

"Huh?" Lin Yao slowly lifted her face from the bowl of noodles, but Shi Yu had already left.

Where did he go?

Was it because she had been so engrossed in eating her noodles that she ignored him and made him leave in anger?

Forget it... Shi Yu always seems to get cold and distant for no reason, like he's sulking. No need to worry about him.

The beef noodles are delicious.

Lin Yao, fearing that staying outside too long might raise Xia Tingnan's suspicions, buried herself in eating the noodles despite them still being hot.

After a while, the bowl of beef noodles, with an extra portion of beef, was empty.

Lin Yao felt completely comfortable, her body warmed by the noodle soup.

She took out a wet wipe and carefully wiped her mouth, making sure to clean any possible residue from her face and fingers.

Just as she was about to get up and look for Shi Yu,

a familiar voice suddenly came from the entrance of the noodle shop, "Brother Shen, let's sit here; it's well-ventilated."

A youth wearing a white shirt and loosely draped with a No. 5 Middle School uniform jacket entered the shop, accompanied by several other boys from the same school.

The youth had an impeccable, beautiful face. Under his indigo short hair, his fair skin and slightly drooping, elongated eyes revealed his current bad mood.

Holding a cup of milk tea, he sat down casually at an empty table near the entrance with Huang Mao.

It was Shen Chaowen!

Lin Yao was startled and quickly turned around to sit back down.

How unlucky to run into Shen Chaowen here.

Thinking of Shen Chaowen's troublesome and obsessive character in the original book, plus witnessing his outrageous behavior earlier today when he forced Shi Nian to date him,

Lin Yao shrank further into the corner, hoping to lower her presence, wishing they would finish their noodles and leave without noticing her.

At a few tables behind Lin Yao, the owner brought the noodles over.

Huang Mao took a bite of his noodles and, upon looking up, noticed that Shen Chaowen hadn't touched his.

He was frowning, staring at the milk tea in his hand, lost in thought.

Huang Mao grinned and asked, "What's wrong, Brother Shen? This shop's milk tea is the best, and I had them add the boba just as you said. Is there still a problem?"

"Hmm." Shen Chaowen responded indifferently, clearly dissatisfied, his amber eyes filled with criticism, "It tastes awful."

Awful?!

Several tables away, Lin Yao overheard this and immediately thought Shen Chaowen must have a problem with his taste buds.

Could anyone else find the boba-filled Snow King milk tea unpalatable?

Does Shen Chaowen even understand milk tea?

"This..." Huang Mao was speechless.

Tonight, for some reason, Shen Chaowen, who never drank milk tea, suddenly wanted to try it. So Huang Mao had bought him three cups of milk tea already.

The first one didn’t have boba and was thrown away.

The second one had boba, but Shen Chaowen said it wasn’t good.

The third time, Huang Mao specially went to Snow King to buy a milk tea with extra boba, yet Shen Chaowen still found it awful?

Huang Mao kicked the boy next to him who was eating noodles, "Hey, go to the milk tea shop at the end of the street and buy another cup for Brother Shen. Remember, less ice, with boba, and a little sugar."

The boy slurped his noodles and got up to leave.

Lin Yao finally understood: no wonder it tasted bad; Shen Chaowen had ordered it with a little sugar.

A little sugar is such an absurd choice.

Drinking milk tea with a little sugar is worse than drinking plain water; it can’t possibly taste good.

Sitting in her seat, Lin Yao quietly criticized Shen Chaowen while listening to Huang Mao's conversation behind her.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar name from Huang Mao's mouth.

Huang Mao: "Brother Shen, if you ask me, we shouldn't have let them go today. We've seen how Qi Yanye acts like a dead dog without Shi Nian. If you snatch Shi Nian away, Qi Yanye will definitely be furious. And that Shi Yu, he dared to make you lose face today. Next time we see him, we should..."

Oh no...

Lin Yao suddenly lifted her head.

Of course, how could she have forgotten about Shi Yu?

Shi Yu said he would be back in a moment after going out. He should be returning soon.

If Shi Yu comes back now and runs into Shen Chaowen and the others...

Lin Yao didn’t dare to think further and hurriedly reached for her phone.

But when she took out her phone and opened the contact list, she remembered that she hadn’t added Shi Yu on WeChat.

She could only leave a message for Shi Nian, asking Shi Nian to quickly send a message to Shi Yu, telling him not to come back.

Just as she finished editing the message and sent it to Shi Nian, the little brother who had gone out earlier to buy milk tea for Shen Chaowen suddenly ran back.

The little brother was panting. "Brother Shen, I saw Brother Yu at the bookstore over there. He hit you at noon, and now he’s alone. Should we go over and give him trouble?"

Lin Yao was startled.

She had thought earlier that Shi Yu had gone out because he suddenly turned cold and wasn’t happy.

Turns out, he went to the bookstore to buy books for her.

Before Lin Yao could think more, she heard Huang Mao, who was with Shen Chaowen, say, "What ‘Brother Yu’? He hasn’t been at No. 5 Middle School for a long time. You should change your way of addressing him."

Huang Mao glared at his companion and, seeing that Shen Chaowen was just looking at the milk tea in his hand without any reaction, anxiously said, "Brother Shen, why don’t we go over and talk to him? After all, he doesn’t seem to like Qi Yanye either. If we team up with him, maybe he can persuade Shi Nian to date you. What do you think..."

Shen Chaowen lifted his eyelids and gave Huang Mao a look that seemed to ask if he was crazy, then curled his lips. "Not interested."

Huang Mao: "..."

Shen Chaowen stood up, rotated his wrist, and a more vivid smile appeared on his beautiful but sinister face. "But since he’s alone, it’s better without that crybaby around. We can settle the score from this afternoon."

After saying that, Shen Chaowen led Huang Mao and the others out.

Lin Yao sat in her seat, stunned for a while before reacting.

Could Shen Chaowen be referring to her as the crybaby?

*

For evening self-study at No. 3 Middle School and No. 5 Middle School, except for the strict supervision of seniors, other grades were free to choose whether to attend or not.

However, most people, unless they were taking extra classes outside or lacked the discipline to study at home, would choose to come to school for evening self-study.

It was just the time when both schools’ freshmen and sophomores were finishing their evening self-study.

Many students wearing the uniforms of both schools poured out, some rushing to catch buses, while others headed to various nearby shops.

The bookstore on the street had just received a batch of the latest popular anime, and it was bustling with students eagerly buying and paying for their purchases.

Lin Yao took a shortcut to try to reach the bookstore early and notify Shi Yu, but unfortunately, she arrived a step too late compared to Shen Chaowen.

It was very dark, and the street lamps were lit one by one, casting small circles of light.

Lin Yao saw Shen Chaowen and Huang Mao standing at the bookstore entrance and quickly hid behind a street lamp.

She caught her breath, peeked out from behind the street lamp, revealing her pair of bright, black eyes.

Shen Chaowen happened to arrive at the bookstore entrance at that moment.

His beautiful face wore a smile as he scanned the crowd, but the smile faded slightly.

Shen Chaowen glanced at the little brother beside him, his eyes turning cold. "Where is the person you mentioned?"

The little brother stretched his neck to look inside. "I... I clearly saw him just now, holding a few books and talking to the shopkeeper... Why did he disappear so quickly?"

Huang Mao rolled his eyes and held his forehead.

How stupid.

Why didn’t he call them earlier and report back, resulting in Shi Yu leaving before they arrived.

Doesn’t he know that Brother Shen drank milk tea all night and skipped dinner, only to be called here right when he wanted to eat some noodles!!

Huang Mao: "You really should have told us that Shi Yu wasn’t here, making Brother Shen run here for nothing..."

"Forget it, next time make sure you’re certain before calling us."

Shen Chaowen’s beautiful but eerie features were covered in a layer of coldness as he turned around. "Let’s go, to buy milk tea."

Seeing Shen Chaowen turn and walk towards her direction with a gloomy expression, Lin Yao quickly pulled her head back behind the street lamp.

Oh no, why is Shen Chaowen walking in her direction!

Huang Mao still spoke in surprise. "Brother Shen, why are you so fixated on buying milk tea tonight?"

Shen Chaowen sneered, his voice seemingly laced with laughter, but upon closer listening, it was filled with a chilling coldness.

"The crybaby next to Shi Nian said that milk tea with boba is the best. Her taste seems questionable. Next time I see her, I’ll grab her and ask her properly."

Huang Mao let out a confused "Ah"?

He couldn’t understand why Brother Shen suddenly had a grudge against that girl.

Milk tea is just a matter of personal taste.

Upon hearing Shen Chaowen’s words, Lin Yao’s face turned pale, and she almost started crying.

What’s wrong with Shen Chaowen! His own taste is strange, why does he want to grab her!

Thinking of Shen Chaowen’s crazy and dark antagonist character in the book, Lin Yao was sure that if he caught her, she wouldn’t have a good outcome.

The young girl was terrified, turning around to lean against the streetlight, looking left and right for an opportunity to escape.

However, the shops on this small road were all breakfast vendors, and they had long since closed at this hour. There was no light coming from either side of the shops, making the area under the streetlight where Lin Yao stood the most obvious source of illumination.

A circle of pale yellow light shone down from above, and any slight movement by Lin Yao would inevitably draw the attention of the people behind her.

Even if she didn't move and waited for them to pass, they would still notice her.

The girl's eyes turned red with anxiety.

How could her vision be so poor, choosing such a spot to hide?

But the voices of Shen Chaowen and his friends grew closer, about to reach her side.

Panicked and scared, Lin Yao felt as if her legs were filled with cement, and she could only tightly hug herself, lowering her head like an ostrich with her eyelashes trembling slightly.

She silently prayed in her heart that Shen Chaowen wouldn't see her, while passively waiting for the inevitable moment when they would discover her.

Lin Yao held her breath in tension.

Her body, which had been warm after eating hot noodles, now visibly stiffened.

The fingertips wrapped around her arms went numb, cold, and trembling.

Suddenly, her numb, cold, and lightly trembling fingers were grasped by a large hand with distinct knuckles.

Warmth enveloped her fingers.

Lin Yao felt herself fall into a familiar, cool embrace.

A figure quickly approached from her left rear, the youth's slender and handsome left hand holding her slightly frozen fingertips, while his right arm pulled her back firmly.

"Don't look back."

Shi Yu's clear, low voice sounded in her ear as he held her and walked forward briskly.

Lin Yao suddenly woke up in this embrace, opened her eyes, and looked up.

What met her gaze were Shi Yu's pitch-black eyes, as dark as obsidian, fixed straight ahead.

Moonlight fell on his thin, tight lips and his taut, smooth jawline, making his features even more striking and captivating.

It really was Shi Yu!

Lin Yao's already red and teary eyes instantly welled up with moisture.

Shi Yu didn't say anything; he just tightened his grip on her waist and continued walking briskly.

In the dimly lit alley, she almost blended into his black silhouette.

From behind, they looked like a close, intimate couple.

"Tsk, I told you, there are so many young lovers these days. Look, there's a pair up ahead."

Huang Mao's voice suddenly rang out behind Lin Yao, startling her, and she instinctively huddled closer to Shi Yu.

She thought Shi Yu was already walking fast enough.

But Shen Chaowen and his friends were just a few steps behind them.

"Hey, do you think they're from No. 5 Middle School or the neighboring No. 3 Middle School?"

"They look a bit familiar; maybe they're from our school..."

"I bet a week's worth of breakfast that they're from No. 3 Middle School. Let's go check it out. Whoever loses buys lunch."

Huang Mao's words clearly piqued everyone's interest, and several people quickened their pace to catch up and see for themselves.

Teenagers at this age were always eager to know who was dating whom and what gossip there was, willing to take a closer look for the fun of it.

Shen Chaowen seemed uninterested in such matters.

But because of Huang Mao's words, he lifted his gaze and glanced at the black silhouette ahead, which was holding the girl particularly closely.

For a moment, Shen Chaowen squinted his eyes.

That black silhouette seemed to be...

Just as Shen Chaowen wanted to get a clearer look, the figure suddenly pulled the girl into a nearby alley.

There were no lights in that alley.

Only by the faint moonlight could one vaguely see the boy in a black hoodie pressing the girl against the wall.