After dinner, the group went their separate ways.
Jiang Sui and Hu Yifan said they were going to play basketball and walked forward.
Zhang Yihan's family called him, so they didn't together yet.
Su Qing and Liu Ranran were walking together. Liu Ranran had been pestering Su Qing to go shopping together, and when she finally found the opportunity, she took her to the mall.
But halfway through, someone called, and Su Qing was left alone again.
She had no interest in the dazzling array of goods, so she could only take the elevator to go home to do the test papers that Jiang Sui had assigned her a few days ago.
Su Qing lowered her eyes, a bit absent-minded.
At that time, because of the bill, they hadn't exchanged a single word until they parted ways.
Furthermore, the faint scent of cigarette smoke from the boy lingered in her mind and heart, lingering.
Because it was the weekend, the elevator was incredibly crowded, with parents with children and couples on dates. Su Qing was at the very back, her small frame drooping, feeling a bit suffocated by the squeeze.
She should have taken the escalator, but she was being lazy and didn't want to walk anymore, thinking the elevator would be faster. She hadn't expected so many people to get in.
Su Qing raised her head, trying to see which floor she was on, planning to descend once she reached the next one.
The girl frowned and looked up, a flicker of shock crossing her eyes.
Jiang Sui rested his palm against the wall behind her, his cold, icy features tinged with frost. His thin lips were lightly pursed, and he remained silent.
He simply propped himself up with his arm, giving her ample space. The moment he appeared, the pungent, stench of the elevator suddenly cleared, and the noisy sounds gradually faded.
Su Qing could even feel the breath of the young man above her.
She lowered her head even lower, clenching her palms slightly.
Wasn't he going to play basketball with Hu Yifan? Why was he here? A flicker of doubt crossed her mind.
They were so close together, their clothes sticking together. As the elevator went up and down, more people ascended than descended, and the occasional squeeze forced the young man to slightly bump forward...
It was like an embrace, the two of them almost wrapping their arms around each other.
Until the elevator stopped and everyone gradually left.
After pressing the button and closing the door, he and she were alone in the elevator.
The young man then turned and stood beside her. The faint scent of hot pot still lingered around them, entangled in each other's embrace.
"Didn't you go play basketball?"
Su Qing pinched her fingertips, mustering her courage. The boy's face naturally drooped. His tall stature forced Su Qing to tilt her chin up, so she could barely see his profile, but couldn't quite discern his expression or emotions.
The boy's eyelashes were very long, cascading beautifully.
"Hmm."
Su Qing's heart, already tense, hung in the air for a moment. Jiang Sui remained silent, then uttered another word.
She pursed her lips.
A bit confused.
She was clearly feeling a little uncomfortable, but Jiang Sui's expression at that moment made her even more uncomfortable.
They didn't say another word until they exited the elevator, left the mall, and walked onto the street.
Su Qing walked in front, Jiang Sui following behind her.
His silence was truly infuriating. She paused, turned, and looked at the man behind her. He had also stopped.
The boy's face remained expressionless, his eyes fixed on her without blinking.
Su Qing took a deep breath, unable to bear this. She pinched her fingers, stepped to the inside of the sidewalk, and tugged at Jiang Sui's sleeve, bringing him closer.
"Jiang Sui, don't be like this."
The young man stood across from her, looking at her calmly.
"What don't be like this, it's you who's always so eager to cut ties with me."
His voice was cold, and his eyes flashed with displeasure.
Su Qing was momentarily bewildered, biting her lip. Naturally, she understood Jiang Sui's implication: they should still pay at the hot pot restaurant. She remained stubborn.
"I'm not trying to cut ties with you. We've been working hard lately, studying together..."
She couldn't understand why not using Jiang Sui's money meant she was severing ties with him.
The boy's gaze grew colder.
Su Qing's fingers tugging at his shirt dropped, and she slowly raised her head to meet his cold gaze.
"Jiang Sui, we're still too young. All our expenses right now require support from our families..."
Su Qing paused for a moment, remembering the last time she'd gone to that Western restaurant with him for steak. Those waiters and staffs, even the managers, had been incredibly respectful to him.
The nobleness and aloofness emanating from the young man's every gesture were definitely not something an ordinary family could cultivate.
She wasn't completely ignorant. Some people were born in Rome. If she truly wanted to be with him, she didn't want to look up to him, but rather fight alongside him.
"It's not my family's money. It's my own. I earned it myself."
The young man, perhaps knowing what she was about to say, spoke each word with a simple, unforced emotion, a simple statement of fact.
It seemed as if the girl didn't believe him.
He made a final statement.
"All the money I spent was earned by myself."
Su Qing looked at Jiang Sui in surprise. Earned it myself?
She was about to ask a question, but just then the boy's phone rang.
Su Qing saw Jiang Sui hesitate for a moment as he answered the phone. "You answer it first."
The ringing was so rapid, it felt as if one could sense the anxiety on the other end.
"Jiang Sui, Hu Yifan was beaten in the basketball arena..."
Liu Ranran clutched the phone, her voice frantic and sobbing, even before she could finish her words.
"He's fainted, his face covered in blood..."
Jiang Sui's eyes instantly turned cold and serious.
"How's he? Have you called an ambulance?"
"I did, but I just didn't know who to talk to, so I called you."
Liu Ranran looked at the empty basketball court. There was only herself and Hu Yifan, lying on the ground. She didn't dare move, not even Hu Yifan. When she arrived, she saw a group of people beating him. She yelled for the police, but they stared at her fiercely before running off.
"Wait, I'll be right there!"
Jiang Sui hung up the phone, grabbed Su Qing's wrist, hailed a taxi, and they got in.
His eyes were cold and frightening.
"What's wrong, Jiang Sui?"
Even the boy's fingers were icy cold.
"Something's happened to Hu Yifan."
Jiang Sui's voice was a little hoarse, but only he knew why Hu Yifan had gotten into trouble...
Originally, he should have been the one in trouble...