Cheng Orange smiled and asked, “Why is your nickname just a string of English letters? What is that? Some kind of poser?”
Shen Yao scratched his ear.
“It’s German. I don’t even know what it means, just picked it randomly online.”
Chengcheng pretended to be casual.
“You even saved your aunt’s contact as ‘Boss’? Doesn’t the Old Lady hate it the most when people call her ‘old’?”
Shen Yao mumbled softly, “It’s not Shen Qingxiao.”
As soon as the words left Shen Yao’s mouth, Chengcheng felt a nameless fire rising in her heart. She blurted out, “Then who is it?”
The moment she said it, she realized it was inappropriate and looked nervously at Shen Yao, but luckily, he didn’t seem to notice anything strange.
“It’s… a friend.”
Chengcheng seemed to want to cover up her embarrassment and laughed out loud.
“You don’t have to tell me. I was just asking in passing.”
But inside, she felt agitated. She and Shen Yao were childhood sweethearts. Before the village was rebuilt, they used to catch cicadas together, hand in hand. Shen Yao never had any secrets from her.
So how come now, there’s suddenly a woman avatar on Shen Yao’s QQ?
She told herself, it’s just that she isn’t used to Shen Yao keeping things from her, that’s all—it’s not because she thinks of him in any other way……
Everyone grows up. In the future, Shen Yao will also have his own family and secrets. But no matter what, they’ll always be Good Brothers, right?
Cheng Orange and Shen Yao each kept their thoughts to themselves, neither noticing the other’s oddness.
Shen Yao took back the phone and noticed Cheng Orange’s nickname was “Little Sweet Orange”, with a Green Diamond sparkling next to it.
The nickname didn’t suit Cheng Orange at all—too cutesy, like a little girl instead of… But wasn’t Cheng Orange a girl after all?
“Um…”
“I wanted to…”
They both opened their mouths at the same time, then closed them in sync when they saw the other’s movement.
“You go first…”
“You say it…”
“…”
An awkward silence.
Suddenly, Cheng Orange gave him a push and giggled, “What’s with this weird atmosphere? What’s up with you lately? Why are you always so distracted?”
Shen Yao shook his head.
“Nothing… I just wanted to ask, how much did these magazines cost? I’ll pay you back.”
Cheng Orange got annoyed.
“If you give me money, I’ll stop being friends with you. Why are you saying stuff like that?”
“Sorry.”
“If you really want to thank me, how about taking me for ice cream this weekend? I want to go to the Milk Ice Cream Shop in the City.”
“Alright, then…” Tomorrow, he had to help Qiao Yunxue find out The Truth of the Phone Ghost. “Let’s do the day after tomorrow.”
Chengcheng made a phone gesture with her hand.
“Then remember to call me.”
“Definitely.”
While they were talking, Chengcheng’s friends gathered around. Shen Yao was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open, so after greeting them, he left.
Once Shen Yao was gone, Cheng Orange sat a little dazed on the cafeteria seat as her girlfriends surrounded her, chattering away.
“Chengcheng, did you have a fight with Shen Yao lately? Why doesn’t he hang out with us after school anymore?”
“What was that about just now? You two looked all mysterious, nudging each other. Did you really have a lover’s quarrel?”
Cheng Orange grabbed her hair, already a bit impatient.
“I told you, Shen Yao and I aren’t like that! Aren’t you tired of saying the same thing again and again? Do you know how much trouble you’re causing for me and Shen Yao with your gossip?!”
She was really angry this time, but it wasn’t so much at their prying as at something else.
Seeing her lose her temper, the others instantly fell silent, glancing at each other and not daring to speak.
The more Cheng Orange thought about it, the more irritated she felt. The nameless fire in her heart only grew stronger.
“Shen Yao is a Best Student aiming for University, can’t you stop dragging him down? You keep spreading these weird rumors, making me and Shen Yao keep our distance at School, it’s so annoying!”
Her sudden outburst was odd, and after being yelled at, one girl couldn’t help but protest,
“Chengcheng, if you’re fighting with Shen Yao, that’s between you two. Why take it out on us? Wasn’t it you who decided to keep your distance? Back when the Senior Sisters were around, they called Shen Yao a Bookworm and told you not to get too close. Why didn’t you get mad then?”
Bang!
Cheng Orange slammed the table, startling the girl and attracting everyone’s attention. She glared.
“So I’m saying, I used to be an idiot, alright?!”
She hurriedly ate two mouthfuls of food, picked up her lunchbox, and left, leaving her friends whispering amongst themselves.
Cheng Orange dumped her leftovers and went to the sink, turning the tap up all the way.
She bent down and splashed water on her face, as if that could put out the fire inside her.
She was always Shen Yao’s Good Brother, right?
But… they were clearly childhood sweethearts who even promised to marry someday. How did it turn out like this?
Her friends were right. It all started because of the Senior Sisters’ prejudice.
Back then, the town’s middle school was full of Street Rascals, boys and girls alike. Shen Yao, who actually studied hard, was the Outsider among them.
Chengcheng wasn’t good at studying. After starting middle school, she couldn’t keep up with Shen Yao and naturally fell in with the Senior Sisters.
They wore skipping classes, manicures, and piercings like badges of Honor, and considered drinking and smoking as achievements.
Cheng Orange, being good at fighting, was of course favored by the Senior Sisters.
She wasn’t as much of a Rebel as they were—after all, her parents still kept her in check. Because of that, she never fully fit in.
Back then, to win the approval of her Predecessors and prove herself, she deliberately kept her distance from Shen Yao, pretending not to know him in front of the Senior Sisters.
After all, everyone knew that Shen Yao from Seventh Class was a Study Maniac bound for University.
But after just one semester, the Senior Sisters all dropped out one after another.
Chengcheng heard they went south to work and would never return to School.
The face they fought for as the Girls’ Gang vanished overnight.
In the end, their Out-of-the-Mainstream behavior at School just seemed ridiculous.
She had been too ashamed to face Shen Yao again, but he just comforted her easily:
“You didn’t go bad, just got led astray by some Bad Friends. It’s not too late to get back on track. And besides, you guys just did your hair weird, pretending to be non-mainstream gangsters, but you didn’t actually hurt anyone or yourselves.”
She worriedly asked if she had hurt him, but Shen Yao just shook his head, relaxed as always:
“I’ve always decided to study hard and get into University, so I never cared about those random things. Don’t worry about it.”
Cheng Orange believed him, and believed in herself too.
Since then, whenever someone praised Shen Yao, she would boast about how special he was.
And if anyone spread rumors about them, she would always jump up to clear things up first, afraid Shen Yao would be uncomfortable.
She believed she was Shen Yao’s best Brother, his Good Brother.
Even if she couldn’t study, she could silently support Shen Yao on his path to greatness.
Shen Yao always put his studies first, never letting random things distract him before University…
The cold water soaked her face, making it hard to breathe.
So that woman avatar person couldn’t be anything strange, right?
She definitely wouldn’t be someone who would distract Shen Yao, right?
She suddenly spat out a mouthful of water, her eyes clearing from confusion to focus.
No matter who it is, if she drags Shen Yao down, Cheng Orange will never let her off.
Shen Yao would never lie to her.
Right.
Right?