Chapter 49: Oh. What does it have to do with me?

“What are you two talking about?”

The store manager suddenly appeared, startling Mu Yiqiu and Xia Yu.

“What’s with the fuss?”

Seeing Xia Yu looking shaken, the manager worried that something might have happened to him and Xiao Liu on the way here.

“The route Xiao Liu takes to work is indeed unsafe.”

Xia Yu choked on his words nervously, but after calming himself, he truthfully described what he had seen.

After listening, the manager’s expression grew serious—it did sound rather creepy.

“I’ll report this to the Staff of Street Management tomorrow morning. We’ll have streetlights and cameras installed on Xiao Liu’s way home.”

However, the incident had happened some time ago, and no police sirens had been heard nearby.

Looking out at the calm scene outside, a dead body should have attracted police attention.

Xia Yu recalled that the Curly-haired Man was wearing a trench coat and smelled strongly of smoke.

Judging by his accent, he didn’t seem to be a local.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t made the Curly-haired Man show any ID, so he couldn’t confirm the man’s identity.

But seeing how calm and skilled he was, it didn’t look like the first time he’d encountered a corpse.

“Could he be trying to settle it privately?”

Mu Yiqiu’s words only made Xia Yu more scared.

Worried something might happen on his way home, he timidly tugged at Xia Yu’s sleeve and said,

“Yu-ge, could you walk me home later…?”

“I’ll walk you? No way. Don’t scare yourself.”

Xia Yu lightly tapped Mu Yiqiu’s head, dispelling the latter’s wild imagination.

“Instead of guessing randomly, why not think about what to eat later?”

“I’m too scared to eat.”

Xia Yu gave Mu Yiqiu a helpless glance.

“I’m hungry.”

With that, Xia Yu hooked his arm around the reluctant Mu Yiqiu and headed toward the door.

“Let’s go for barbecue.”

Xia Yu took Mu Yiqiu to a nearby street barbecue stand, picked up a bunch of skewers, and ordered two bottles of drinks casually.

Xia Yu was still curious about whom the Curly-haired Man had called, but even now, sitting at the barbecue stand, no one had entered the alley nor had any police cars appeared.

“Dinner’s ready, dinner’s ready.”

Once the skewers were grilled, Mu Yiqiu, who had claimed he had no appetite, was the first to dig in, skewer after skewer, eating with more relish than anyone else.

Xia Yu had invited Mu Yiqiu out because he wanted to ask him something.

“You think… if I go visit a friend’s house, do I need to bring something?”

It was Xia Yu’s first time attending such a gathering.

Having no experience, he thought it wouldn’t be right to go empty-handed and wanted to hear Mu Yiqiu’s opinion.

Mu Yiqiu had mentioned before that his family had many relatives and that during the New Year, he had to visit them all.

He spent the whole winter break visiting relatives and barely had any leisure time.

Last night, Xia Yu lay in bed and looked up what kind of gifts to bring when visiting someone.

Expensive ones were too pricey, cheap ones felt too shabby.

He’d never been invited before, so this first time going to such a gathering, he’d definitely be nervous.

As long as Xia Yu didn’t cause trouble for Mo Yidong and could pull off the act without any slip-ups, everything would go smoothly.

“Maybe bring a fruit basket?”

“Not really appropriate.”

Xia Yu didn’t tell Mu Yiqiu that he was going to Mo Yidong’s house, though the kid had probably guessed by now.

He hesitated and said,

“They have someone sick at home. Bringing a fruit basket would make it seem like I’m visiting the patient.”

“Ah…”

Mu Yiqiu paused mid-chew for a few seconds, then suddenly understood and exclaimed,

“Oh~”

Looking at Xia Yu, Mu Yiqiu realized that Mo Yidong’s family also had Mo Yaofei.

That guy had just gotten beaten by Xia Yu.

Bringing a fruit basket would definitely look like an apology visit.

Wait… no, hold on…

Mu Yiqiu thought for a moment more.

Xia Yu going to the Mo family as a guy wouldn’t work either.

With Mo Yaofei’s tactics, he’d definitely tattle to his parents, and if a commotion broke out when there were many guests, people would talk about who did the hitting, and Xia Yu would be at a disadvantage.

Since Xia Yu was being so roundabout about it, he obviously didn’t want Mu Yiqiu to know it was Mo Yidong’s place.

So Mu Yiqiu had to pretend not to know.

After thinking it over, Mu Yiqiu reached his conclusion:

Xia Yu would probably have to become a girl again tomorrow.

The thought brought a meaningful smile to his face.

“What’s that smile supposed to mean? It’s kind of creepy. I advise you to take it back.”

Xia Yu cautiously stared at the mysterious smile on Mu Yiqiu’s face, feeling chills down his spine as if Mu Yiqiu had seen right through him.

“It’s nothing. Eat up! The skewers will get cold and won’t taste good.”

Mu Yiqiu chuckled and picked up a piece of chicken blood curd with his chopsticks.

Looking at the skewers on the table, he thought about how to answer Xia Yu’s question.

“We’re all students without much income. Just showing up is good enough.”

“You have a point.”

Since Xia Yu was only going to return a favor, there was no need to fuss over etiquette.

The two weren’t that close, and it wasn’t like meeting the parents, so no need for much preparation.

After mentally preparing himself in every way, Xia Yu stopped worrying about how tomorrow would go.

“But there’s one thing I have to make clear.”

“Hm?”

Mu Yiqiu, as if seeing through everything, deliberately said,

“Switching between suppressants and enhancers is really bad for your body. It can further disrupt your endocrine system. Be careful not to suppress too much, or you might end up fully as a girl.”

Xia Yu shot Mu Yiqiu a cold glare.

“Get lost…”

After finishing their meal, the two left the store.

Mu Yiqiu looked around; the street was lively, but he hadn’t decided where to go next.

“Where do you want to go next, Net Café or Indoor Basketball Court?”

“Not a good idea to exercise vigorously right after eating. Let’s go to the Net Café.”

Just as they were about to enter the Net Café inside the mall, Mu Yiqiu suddenly spotted a familiar figure standing at the mall entrance across the street.

Excited, he grabbed Xia Yu’s arm and said,

“Hey! Wait! Look over there! Guess who I see!”

“Calm down! Who is it? It’s not a celebrity. What’s the big deal…?”

Xia Yu glanced in the direction Mu Yiqiu indicated, then widened his eyes and shouted,

“Damn it! Let’s get out of here! This place isn’t safe to stay!”

Yesterday, he’d heard Mo Yidong mention something was up, but he hadn’t expected to run into him so soon.

This Xuanyu place really was small!

“Hey, don’t leave yet. What’s the rush?”

Mu Yiqiu quickly grabbed Xia Yu.

He loved hearing Yu-ge’s gossip.

Finally catching a rare side of Xia Yu no one knew about, he wanted to savor it and stir up some excitement.

“Aren’t you curious to see what Mo Yidong’s up to?”

Xia Yu turned his gaze away, not wanting to stand there even a second longer, just wanting to leave.

“Forget it. Why do I care what he’s doing?”

“You see he’s with a girl I don’t recognize. They’re chatting and laughing. Mo Yidong’s even carrying her shopping bag.”

Xia Yu suddenly stopped in his tracks, glanced toward the mall, then quickly turned back.

“Oh.”

He remained calm as he headed toward the Net Café behind the mall.

“What does that have to do with me?”

Seeing Mu Yiqiu still standing there, Xia Yu urged,

“Are you coming to the Net Café or not? If not, I’m going home.”

Hearing Xia Yu’s impatient tone, Mu Yiqiu was secretly thrilled.

Yu-ge’s flustered!

He’s flustered!