Shen Zhifei paused, her hand holding the chopsticks still. "I forgot it at school."
"Oh, it's okay, let's talk about it tomorrow," Song Lang swayed back to the sofa, stared silently at the back of Shen Zhifei's head for a while, and then said, "Feifei, do you still remember Lin Qian from Class 1?"
Shen Zhifei gave a soft "hmm".
Song Lang turned slightly to the side, an angle that allowed him to see Shen Zhifei's reaction more clearly. He continued, "She gave me a letter today. I was having too much fun during the day and forgot about it. I only remembered it when I was waiting for you. She asked me to meet her at 5:30 this afternoon."
Shen Zhifei put down his chopsticks and began tidying up the takeout boxes on the coffee table.
Song Lang said, "I originally wanted to go back to school, but I thought that almost two hours had passed and she must have left, so I didn't go."
Shen Zhifei tied the takeout packaging bag into a knot and threw it into the kitchen trash can, then took the vacuum cleaner and cleaned the carpet in front of the sofa.
After the noise from the vacuum cleaner subsided, Song Lang asked, "Do you think I should go apologize to her tomorrow? If I do, she'll definitely become my girlfriend."
The figure at the kitchen doorway paused for a moment, then resumed their work as if they hadn't heard him.
Shen Zhifei heated up a glass of milk for the two of them, and handed one to Song Lang, saying, "I'm a little tired, goodnight."
After saying that, he turned and went into his room.
Song Lang slumped on the sofa, recalling Shen Zhifei's reaction just now, and became even more certain of one thing: Feifei liked Lin Qian.
That night, he tossed and turned in bed, pondering this nascent love triangle. Before drifting off to sleep, he vaguely thought: as long as Fei Fei is happy, his sacrifices are nothing. He and Lin Qian are probably destined to be apart.
Chapter 011
"I'm sorry, you're a really nice girl, but we're just not a good match."
The next day, before the closing ceremony of the sports meet, Song Lang found Lin Qian, and the two went to a small corner of the playground side by side. The opening remarks were quite cruel.
Lin Qian's eyes were a little red and swollen, obviously she had secretly cried again after returning home last night.
Hearing Song Lang's rejection with her own ears, her eyes reddened again, but her mood was no more bitter and heavy than yesterday.
She tilted her head back and smiled, a slightly forced smile. "I thought you might like me a little, but I was just being presumptuous."
Song Lang couldn't stand seeing others cry, especially her beautiful, bright eyes, which resembled his brother's. He would panic whenever her eyes reddened.
"Don't, don't cry, this isn't your fault," Song Lang frantically rummaged through his pockets, pulled out a tissue and handed it over, his brain racing, finally coming up with a very righteous reason, "We're still young, we need to focus on our studies."
After saying that, he nodded very firmly and emphasized again: "Yes, we must study hard in order to become a qualified and outstanding successor to communism."
Lin Qian stopped crying and started laughing. Song Lang was indeed a gentle person.
She nodded and smiled, "Okay, then let's all study hard and not date too early."
Song Lang breathed a sigh of relief.
Lin Qian walked towards her classroom, but after a couple of steps, she turned back and asked, "Can we still be friends in the future?"
Song Lang replied without hesitation, "Of course."
Lin Qian laughed, waved at him, and turned to run to where she was going.
Watching her departing figure, Song Lang couldn't help but sigh. Alas, his first love ended before it even began.
After that, Lin Qian would often visit Class 4. Every time she appeared, Zhou Sen and the others would whistle and cheer. Lin Qian didn't care, she would just smile and greet them before going to chat with Song Lang.
Song Lang was afraid that his brother would feel uncomfortable, so he deliberately steered the conversation towards him. Later, Lin Qian started going directly to Shen Zhifei in Class 4 because he knew Xu Zhimo.
"Hey, I heard that the beautiful Lin who used to chase after you is now dating our little Fei? Is it true?" One day after school, while Shen Zhifei was in the teacher's office delivering test papers, Meng Fanxing asked Song Lang gossipily.
Song Lang exhaled a large puff of smoke, wrapped his scarf around himself again, and said in a muffled voice, "Why don't you just ask Fei Fei directly?"
Meng Fanxing shrank back sheepishly and chuckled, "I even wanted him to help me highlight the key points for the exam."
Song Lang chuckled, casually scooped up a handful of snow from the railing, and shoved it into Meng Fanxing's collar when no one was looking before taking off running.
Meng Fanxing was startled by the cold and chased after him, cursing and swearing, trying to hit him. In the midst of their playful fight, the gossip was forgotten.
Actually, Song Lang also really wanted to know the answer, but he didn't want to ask.
That winter seemed particularly cold, with two heavy snowfalls within a week. Song Lang wished he could stay in bed forever and never have to go to school.
Shen Zhifei, on the other hand, remains as disciplined as a wound-up robot, getting up at six o'clock every morning for a run.
"It's pitch black outside, and it just snowed again. Why are you running around? Go get some sleep." Song Lang rolled over and lay a little further into the bed to make room for Shen Zhifei.
“There are streetlights in the neighborhood, so it’s not dark,” Shen Zhifei said, standing by the bedside.
"Come in quickly, it's cold." Song Lang shrank his head further inside, his voice muffled.
Shen Zhifei shook her head helplessly, bent down to tuck the blanket in for him, and went out in the dark.
When Shen Zhifei returned from his run, Shen Lingyu had just gotten up and made breakfast for the two children. Shen Zhifei pulled Song Lang, who was sleeping like a log, out of bed. While eating breakfast, one of them was refreshed and the other was listless.
Shen Lingyu shook her head: "Tsk tsk, we were both raised by me, how come there's such a big difference between us?"
Shen Zhifei choked, and Song Lang sprayed the milk directly onto the dining table.
"Mom! What are you saying!" Song Lang took the tissue Shen Zhifei handed him and wiped his mouth clean. "Don't you know how to use your words? I still want to eat."
Shen Lingyu rolled her eyes at him. "You're quite careful with your words now. What score did you get on your Chinese test? Tell me and show your mother."
Song Lang immediately became dejected.
Shen Zhifei smiled faintly and came to his rescue: "Mom, my brother has improved in this monthly exam, which is very good."