Secretly Liking Him - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Before Gu Xun could wrap his head around it, Shi Juntao was already pushing him further inside: “Hurry up, hurry up! Where is that shop!”

Gu Xun was pushed so hard he almost lost his balance. He quickly grabbed onto Shen Yanzhi beside him. Once he was steady, he cursed: “What the hell is the rush! The shop isn’t going to run away!”

Shi Juntao knew he had been a bit too impatient. Even after being yelled at, he just shrank his neck and apologetically pressed his hands together in a prayer gesture toward him.

Gu Xun immediately curled his lip: “Pathetic…”

Shi Juntao had thrown caution to the wind by now anyway, and since he was thick-skinned, he simply acted as if he hadn’t heard Gu Xun’s muttering.

The four of them walked down the shopping street, looking at both sides to find the handmade glass shop Gu Xun had mentioned.

Gu Xun’s mouth didn’t stay idle: “I say, why are you following the crowd and getting into puppy love? If you accidentally get caught by a teacher, just wait until they call your parents. And of all people to like, you like Song Xinxin…”

Shi Juntao immediately straightened his back for the sake of his crush: “She’s wonderful! I just like her!”

Gu Xun: “…Uh, I didn’t say she wasn’t good.”

Shi Juntao: “Then what do you mean!”

Gu Xun subconsciously leaned closer to Shen Yanzhi, fearing Shi Juntao might flare up in rage for the sake of a lady: “Aren’t I a living example? Getting involved with that girl carries a potential risk to your life!”

Shi Juntao probably thought of Song Yumin and Hu Lei, as he visibly swallowed hard.

But soon, Song Xinxin’s pretty and quiet face appeared in his mind. In an instant, Shi Juntao felt he had infinite courage!

Shi Juntao said like a martyr: “Can liking someone be controlled! Why don’t you think about it—I like her even though it’s so dangerous, which shows I really, truly like her!”

Wang Xiaosong clapped for him, his emotions very full: “Well said!”

Gu Xun wanted to kick him to death: “Stop egging him on!”

Only Shen Yanzhi stopped his pace and said: “We’re here. This is the shop.”

The other three had been talking so much they had forgotten to look for the shop. Turning around, they saw the legendary handmade glass shop.

Almost instantly, Gu Xun saw Xu Meng through the shop’s glass display window, picking out items inside.

Xu Meng was wearing a white floral dress today with a very Korean-style braid. she looked even prettier than she usually did at school, having the vibe of a little fairy.

Xu Meng also saw them and waved generously, revealing a sweet smile.

Gu Xun subconsciously waved back, returning a somewhat hurried smile.

Shen Yanzhi only spared a glance at Xu Meng before noticing Gu Xun waving back like an idiot. His brow furrowed slightly, and he pulled Gu Xun into the shop.

Shi Juntao poked Wang Xiaosong: “That’s someone from your class, right? What’s her name?”

Wang Xiaosong turned to glare at him with a red face: “Why are you asking that!”

Shi Juntao was baffled: “Just… just asking randomly. Why is your face red?”

Wang Xiaosong forced himself to stay calm: “The weather is hot!”

Shi Juntao suddenly had an epiphany and instantly smiled wickedly: “Xiaosong, are you… hmm?”

Wang Xiaosong’s face turned bright red: “What nonsense are you talking!”

Then Wang Xiaosong ran into the shop, and Shi Juntao followed immediately.

Inside the shop, Xu Meng was already introducing items to Gu Xun and Shen Yanzhi. Gu Xun listened while nodding randomly, then quickly waved Shi Juntao over when he arrived.

Xu Meng looked at Shi Juntao with a smile: “Is it you who’s buying?”

Shi Juntao was a bit bashful but still nodded: “Mhm!”

Seeing him shy, Xu Meng withdrew her slightly teasing smile: “What kind of thing do you want to buy? Stationery or small accessories? Everything in this shop is purely handmade, so even if the styles are the same, you won’t find two identical ones. It’s great for gifting.”

Fearing he had no ideas, Xu Meng turned her head to show him a hair clip decorated with a glass flower pinned in her hair: “Look, look at this. This one sells very well. If she has long hair, you could give her one.”

Then she pointed to the stationery section nearby: “There are also glass pens over there. Paired with gold powder ink, the writing is exceptionally beautiful.”

Shi Juntao listened intently, and Wang Xiaosong stood still as well. Gu Xun and Shen Yanzhi began to wander around the shop.

Both of them were good-looking, especially Shen Yanzhi, who was a “kill-level” beautiful youth, drawing the gazes of all the girls in the shop.

Gu Xun and Shen Yanzhi, however, were chatting about: “What if these glass things accidentally break? They’re pretty, but not very practical…”

Shen Yanzhi gave an “Mhm” in agreement.

Gu Xun got even more enthusiastic: “Look at this, such a big piece of glass hanging on an ear. Tsk tsk, it’s so hard being a girl.”

Shen Yanzhi looked at him and asked: “Aren’t you buying something to give away?”

Gu Xun hesitated, then turned to ask him: “Would the styles here be suitable for my mom? Probably not…”

Shen Yanzhi withdrew his gaze and said: “Mhm, seems so. You could buy a few plates to take back for fruit or something.”

Gu Xun thought this was a good idea and immediately began picking out plates with him.

When they were almost finished looking, they saw Shi Juntao also holding quite a few things, ready to check out.

Gu Xun wasn’t surprised by how much Shi Juntao was taking, but…

Gu Xun: “Xiaosong, what did you get?”

Wang Xiaosong’s face was very red: “Just… just a bracelet…”

Gu Xun was about to ask: “What are you buying that for? You…”

Gu Xun’s words got stuck in his throat because Shi Juntao was smiling and winking at him, the meaning conveyed in that expression being far too rich.

As a buddy, Gu Xun seemed to understand something instantly.

Gu Xun stared fiercely at Wang Xiaosong: “Who is it!”

Wang Xiaosong: “…”

Shi Juntao leaned in to whisper the scoop: “It’s that pretty vice monitor from your class…”

Gu Xun felt that he might have left the house the wrong way today; otherwise, why would these two suddenly have ideas about girls!

Gu Xun’s expression was one of such disbelief as his gaze flickered back and forth between Shi Juntao and Wang Xiaosong.

Shi Juntao didn’t stop, giving him more scoops: “There’s also who-and-who, and that other guy, they’ve been dating for a long time. Their progress is much faster than ours.”

The two Shi Juntao mentioned were also on good terms with Gu Xun; they were middle school classmates, but they weren’t in the same class now.

Gu Xun clutched his chest, feeling like he had been left far behind by the masses.

Shen Yanzhi said calmly: “Adolescent restlessness.”

Gu Xun’s expression was numb: “I feel like I’m watching Animal World with my parents, and Teacher Zhao Zhongxiang says, ‘Spring has arrived’…”

Shen Yanzhi clearly knew what the second half of that sentence implied and replied: “Then you’re thinking a bit too far ahead.”

Gu Xun: “…I was just speaking off the cuff.”

While they were in this silent awkwardness, Xu Meng came over smiling: “Are you guys coming to see the fireworks display tonight?”

The four of them looked at each other, clearly knowing nothing about any fireworks display.

Xu Meng laughed: “It’s at the musical fountain over by New City Square. There will be National Day fireworks.”

Shen Yanzhi turned to look at Gu Xun. Gu Xun muttered: “…Our town is really rich.”

Shi Juntao had no interest in fireworks; he just wanted to know if Song Xinxin was coming out to watch them tonight.

Wang Xiaosong, meanwhile, asked cautiously: “Vice Monitor, are you coming to watch tonight?”

Xu Meng nodded: “Yes!”

Wang Xiaosong immediately tugged Gu Xun’s shirt: “Then we’re coming too!”

Gu Xun quickly pulled his shirt back: “What are you doing! I’m going to be exposed!”

Shen Yanzhi quickly reached out to save him. Gu Xun really wanted to beat Wang Xiaosong on the spot. He was wearing a loose T-shirt, and when it was tugged just now, his shoulder was exposed. There were so many girls in the shop; he was very shy, okay!

However, Wang Xiaosong looked at him with burning eyes, the hope almost turning into something physical: “A-Xun!”

Gu Xun: “…”

In an instant, the heroic sentiment of “doing anything for a brother” surged up. Gu Xun thought to himself: It’s just a fireworks show, what’s the big deal!

Gu Xun said: “We’ll watch, we’ll watch!”

Then Gu Xun processed it and turned to look at Shen Yanzhi: “Are you watching?”

Wang Xiaosong: “…”

Shen Yanzhi looked at Gu Xun, then his gaze swept over Wang Xiaosong and Xu Meng, before he said: “Need to tell home first.”

Gu Xun: “…True.”

Wang Xiaosong immediately asked Xu Meng actively: “What time are the fireworks? You… uh, should we… should we pick a place to meet?”

Xu Meng smiled and said: “Ten o’clock. I’m coming with my parents. Here, take these!”

As she spoke, she took several coupons out of a small satchel she was carrying and handed one to each of them: “This is for a free ice cream, one per person. My mom gave me too many.”

Wang Xiaosong clutched the coupon with indescribable disappointment: “Oh…”

But then Xu Meng added: “We can meet up when we go to get the ice cream! I’m heading back now, bye-bye!”

Gu Xun poked Wang Xiaosong: “Alright, stop looking, she’s long gone.”

Only then did Wang Xiaosong seem to wake from a dream, his tone very dreamy: “She just gave me an ice cream coupon…”

Gu Xun looked down at the coupon in his own hand, thinking: She didn’t just give it to you, is it worth all that?

However, Shen Yanzhi tugged him, signaling him to shut up.

So Gu Xun shut up.

Lunch was, as agreed before, Shi Juntao’s treat of fried chicken. Since Gu Xun had brought Shen Yanzhi along to eat off the “big donor,” he offered to buy the drinks and took charge of queuing for the food.

Shen Yanzhi followed in the queue to help carry things.

The lady boss of the shop saw these two beautiful children and gave them very generous portions of fried chicken pieces. Seeing this, Shi Juntao couldn’t help but sigh that he should bring Shen Yanzhi out every time—today’s meal money was well spent.

After finishing the fried chicken, Gu Xun’s mouth was oily, and he declared they must come again next time.

After eating, they found a small shop to call home, saying they would be staying out until after ten to watch the fireworks before coming home.

Once everything was settled, Gu Xun asked: “What are we doing now?”

They couldn’t just stand around until ten, right?

Shi Juntao had completed his big task for the day, so he didn’t care where they went. Wang Xiaosong was obsessed with the evening fireworks and had no thoughts on the current situation either.

Gu Xun looked at Shen Yanzhi: “Handsome, any suggestions?”

Shen Yanzhi thought for a moment: “Go browse a bookstore.”

The three opposite him: “…”

Shen Yanzhi smiled at Gu Xun and said: “To pick out a book of ‘good phrases and sentences’ for you.”

Gu Xun felt his face warm up and muttered something under his breath without finishing a full sentence.