Jiang Yuan sipped the brown sugar ginger tea through a straw. After getting the consent of her roommates, she tapped away on her phone to invite Chi Xu and his roommates for a mountain climbing and camping trip this Saturday.
Lin Suye said, "We can't miss this great opportunity to strengthen your bond. Yuan Yuan, go for it boldly!"
Yu Huan chimed in, "Great! I want to meet more people and see if I can find my crush."
Su Kexin assured her, "Yuan Yuan, don't worry. Your happiness is in my hands."
Jiang Yuan was both amused and exasperated. She picked up the White Rabbit toffees on the table and tossed one to each of them. "Eat up and shut up."
Yu Huan exclaimed, "Aha! I'm eating the wedding candy of Yuan Yuan and Chi Xu. Celebrate!"
Lin Suye added, "There should be applause here. We definitely need applause."
The three roommates clapped in unison.
Flushed by their antics, Jiang Yuan fanned her face vigorously to dispel the heat. "Don't get too excited. What if he's busy and has no time?"
"He must make time! Chi Xu has to spare time for you!" Su Kexin slammed the table, looking imposing. "Otherwise, what kind of crush is that?"
Just then, her phone vibrated. Chi Xu had sent a new message.
[forikyy: I've asked my roommates. They're available next weekend.]
Jiang Yuan shared the good news with everyone. They cheered and started preparing the items needed for the mountain climbing and camping trip.
After some thought, she created a group chat named "Mountain Climbing Squad". Chi Xu gradually added his roommates to the group. Everyone greeted each other and began to make preparations for next Saturday's activity.
A week passed in a blink of an eye. Jiang Yuan didn't deliberately chat with or bump into Chi Xu. As the saying goes, distance makes the heart grow fonder. They'd be together for two days during the mountain climbing trip, and it was easy to get tired of each other.
At noon on Saturday, they agreed to meet at the bus stop at the school gate.
Lin Suye had to send a courier, so she would stay at school temporarily. The others would go first, and she would catch up later on her own.
Su Kexin volunteered to accompany Lin Suye. Jiang Yuan and Yu Huan went to the bus stop in advance.
Jia Fang in the group chat kindly asked where everyone was.
Yu Huan directly sent their location. Jiang Yuan and she had just come out of the underground passage. Looking up, they saw four boys standing beside the bus stop.
Jia Fang spotted Jiang Yuan and Yu Huan first and waved.
The other three boys also looked over.
"My two roommates will take the next bus. No need to wait for them. How about the bus? Is it coming soon?"
The boys' gazes were intense. Jiang Yuan walked up to Chi Xu nonchalantly and smiled as she spoke.
Yu Huan didn't follow immediately and took the opportunity to get to know Jia Fang and the others.
"It'll be here in two minutes. Is your bag heavy? How about I carry some for you?" Chi Xu lowered his eyes, a hint of tenderness in them.
Jiang Yuan tightened her grip on the bag strap and shook her head. "No need. You boys are carrying much more stuff than us, like the barbecue grill and drinks. Don't worry. I can handle this."
"Don't underestimate me." Jiang Yuan curved her eyes and playfully punched his shoulder. In fact, she was extremely nervous.
The novels said that physical contact could strengthen the bond, especially with a boy who had a crush on you.
Seeing that Chi Xu showed no sign of aversion, Jiang Yuan let out a sigh of relief and withdrew her fist nonchalantly.
Just then, the bus arrived. Everyone swiped their cards and got on with the crowd.
There were no empty seats on the bus. Jiang Yuan grabbed the handrail and secretly looked back. Chi Xu was standing behind her.
He seemed to be standing in a protective posture. Jiang Yuan's heart skipped a few beats.
What kind of story usually happens between the male and female leads on a bus? Jiang Yuan quickly ran through the plot of the novels in her mind.
Typically, when the bus jolted, the female lead accidentally fell into the male lead's arms.
Should she... take the opportunity to do the same?
Carrying a big bag, Jiang Yuan quietly turned around to face Chi Xu, in case the bag hit him hard when the bus jolted.
"What's wrong?" Chi Xu raised an eyebrow and said calmly.
Jiang Yuan replied guiltily yet "defiantly", "The view over there is not good. I'm changing my position."
Her phone in her pocket vibrated. Jiang Yuan took out her Bluetooth earphone, connected it, and answered the call.
"Yuan Yuan, where are you now?" It was Lin Suye's voice.
The bus was moving smoothly on the road. Jiang Yuan let go of the handrail, opened the navigation app, and told her which bus stop they were at.
Suddenly, the bus braked sharply, accompanied by the driver's cursing.
Jiang Yuan didn't grab the handrail and lurched forward, crashing into Chi Xu's arms.
Her face hit his firm chest, and her nose ached.
God, the novels were all lies. They never told her it would hurt so much. Her nose was about to break.
Jiang Yuan fought back the tears and hung her head, not daring to look at him. She whispered, "I'm sorry. Does your chest hurt?"
Her own nose was killing her.
There was a moment of silence on the phone. Then Lin Suye's shrill scream came through. "What did you say, Yuan Yuan? Aren't you on the bus? You! Grabbed! Chi! Xu's! Chest!?"
Unexpectedly, Lin Suye misunderstood her words. A wave of embarrassment washed over her. She suddenly looked up, forgetting that she was wearing a Bluetooth earphone, and shouted into the phone.
"You've got the wrong idea. It's not like that."
As she looked up, a sharp pain shot through her head. Jiang Yuan gasped, and the tears welled up and fell.
She turned her head cautiously and was stunned.
Due to the sudden fall, her hair had gotten caught in Chi Xu's zipper, and she couldn't pull it out.
Chi Xu realized the seriousness of the situation and comforted Jiang Yuan. "Don't move. I'll handle it."
The phone exploded again. Su Kexin's voice came out. "What do you mean don't move? Are you on top of him? Yuan Yuan, you're so bold!"
Jiang Yuan ignored the two ladies on the phone who were having wild imaginations. She pointed at her entangled hair, her voice a bit choked from crying just now.
"Can you pull it out?"
It exploded again. This time, it was Lin Suye and Su Kexin shouting in a hurry, making her ears ache.
"Hey, are you two playing so wild? You really don't treat us as outsiders!"
"I'll be as gentle as possible. Don't move. It'll hurt." Chi Xu frowned and carefully tried to separate the hair.
"It hurts! Be gentler!" Jiang Yuan gasped again, on the verge of tears.
Lin Suye said, "It seems Chi Xu is really bold. Yuan Yuan likes it."
Su Kexin agreed, "I agree. Listen to her voice. She's crying."
Jiang Yuan, who was silently listening, thought, "I've made some bad friends."