Time Has Grown Dim, And Evening Has Already Fallen - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Xie Qiubai wasn’t annoyed by the teasing; he maintained his youthful, sunny smile. “I just figured there’s no way the two of us will end up in the same class in Grade 11. I wanted to ask you out tonight…”

Mid-sentence, Xie Qiubai’s eyes fell back onto the person standing next to Cheng Xun. The two of you should come have a meal with us. Think of it as a farewell dinner for our Grade 10 crew.

Lu Xingshu: “?”

Cheng Xun: “…”

Why on earth are we having a ‘farewell dinner’ for Grade 10? And why invite Lu Xingshu? Despite these thoughts, Cheng Xun took Xie Qiubai’s feelings into account and eventually nodded.

After parting ways with Xie Qiubai at the corner internet cafe, Cheng Xun turned to Lu Xingshu to ask for his opinion.

So, do you want to go to the dinner tonight?

After all, they weren’t that close, and with Xie Qiubai making such a scatterbrained invitation, Cheng Xun was worried Lu Xingshu might feel burdened.

To his surprise, Lu Xingshu didn’t refuse. “They’re your friends anyway.”

Cheng Xun gave a soft “oh” and muttered, “I’ll let Grandma know in a bit then.”

The two of them followed the address Xie Qiubai had given them. It was a Sichuan restaurant—perfect for Xie Qiubai’s tastes, as the guy was obsessed with spicy food.

They gave the waiter the private room number and were led inside.

Cheng Xun silently criticized Xie Qiubai for being extravagant by booking a private room. In his opinion, a group of guys like them would have been fine at a roadside barbecue stall. Since they were minors and couldn’t drink alcohol, everyone would just be clinking Coke glasses and acting silly anyway.

Once in the room, Cheng Xun greeted the group.

Lu Xingshu recognized several of the boys; they were the ones who had come to the convenience store that night. It was a “one-meeting” acquaintance.

Maintaining his persona as a quiet, tag-along diner, Lu Xingshu followed Cheng Xun inside.

Xie Qiubai was indeed a spice lover. Just looking at the spicy hotpot on the table, surrounded by a series of fried foods and chili dipping sauces, Lu Xingshu and Cheng Xun both worried for their fragile stomachs.

Even though they were guests, they didn’t come empty-handed. Lu Xingshu had grabbed some drinks from the family store and brought them in an eco-friendly bag. Fortunately, this restaurant didn’t mind customers bringing their own beverages.

Nowadays, people usually preferred fruit juice or coconut milk for banquets, but students still leaned toward “Fat Nerd Happy Water” (Coke).

While it was called a farewell dinner, they were only being split into different classes; it wasn’t a final goodbye. The main point was just for everyone to get together and have a good meal.

Naturally, they weren’t going to let Xie Qiubai pay for everything alone.

Lu Xingshu and Cheng Xun each asked for a glass of plain water. Items like fatty beef slices and meatballs fresh out of the hotpot became much less spicy after being rinsed in the water.

The two hadn’t coordinated, yet they instinctively performed the same action.

Watching them, Xie Qiubai couldn’t help but go into “mockery mode.”

Xun-ge, finally someone can keep you company in the ‘can’t eat spicy’ club. Xie Qiubai stuffed a slice of spicy beef into his mouth as he spoke. You’re no longer the weakest link.

Cheng Xun dipped a mushroom pork ball into some peanut sauce. Hearing the mockery, he shot a sharp look back. “I don’t see you ordering a split-pot with a mild side.”

Of course, Cheng Xun was just talking. In their circle of friends, it seemed he was the only one who couldn’t handle spice.

Well, now he had Lu Xingshu to join him.

Lu Xingshu didn’t say anything in response. While the others gorged themselves, he continued to blanch his beef with an air of calm indifference.

It’s a farewell dinner, so eat up! If it’s not enough, keep ordering, Xie Qiubai said grandly.

A moment later, he was interrupted by the boy next to him. “Lao Xie, you’re the one abandoning us to study Arts, okay?”

Cough, cough, cough… Xie Qiubai suddenly choked. After he finished coughing, he wailed, “How did you guys find out?

The Academic Rep saw your track selection form and told us, Cheng Xun said, selling out the Academic Rep without hesitation.

Xie Qiubai took a sip of Coke and explained righteously, “I’m just listening to my mom. She said that even if I don’t understand the Arts, I can get some points through rote memorization. But if I don’t understand Science, I’m just completely lost.”

Can’t be helped, since I’m not good at anything else. He sounded more self-deprecating as he went on.

Cheng Xun thought carefully and finally found a point to praise: “Strictly speaking, your Chinese and English are okay, so choosing Arts isn’t wrong.”

Hearing this, Lu Xingshu lifted his lashes and glanced at Xie Qiubai, who was sitting there grinning like an idiot. The handsome boy looked full of vitality, his bright white teeth looking a bit annoying.

He remembered Cheng Xun saying the guy was a student-athlete; his sports results were probably more important anyway, so whether he studied Arts or Science didn’t matter much.

In the end, he didn’t offer an opinion, sticking to his “quiet diner” persona 100%.

After everyone was full, they thought about heading home, but someone suggested a movie. It happened that a 3D blockbuster was playing for the summer break. After a quick discussion, they all decided to go.

Cheng Xun originally didn’t want to go. In his view, watching movies was a waste of time and money—mostly money…

Somehow, Lu Xingshu seemed to sense his intent. Without a word, he paid for Cheng Xun’s ticket, remaining unmoved even when he received a massive glare from him.

Cheng Xun was helpless, but he made sure to text Grandma in advance so she wouldn’t worry.

The group picked seats in the third-to-last row, occupying almost the entire row. Lu Xingshu sat at the end, with Cheng Xun on his right. A bucket of French fries sat on the armrest between them. They tasted okay, but having just finished a big meal, they couldn’t really eat them.

Cheng Xun hadn’t wanted to buy them either, but Lu Xingshu was simply too fast with the payment.

This guy really needs some ‘special education’ on how hard it is to earn money, he thought to himself.

Lu Xingshu, oblivious to his thoughts, began eating the fries with a calm expression.

Cheng Xun narrowed his eyes at him, but his cat-like eyes lacked any real intimidation in the dark.

The biggest hassle with 3D movies was wearing the special glasses, which is very unfriendly to those who already wear glasses. Luckily, neither of them was nearsighted.

The movie was high-energy, cool, and exciting. Cheng Xun watched, mesmerized. He didn’t go to the movies often since he didn’t have much money; the few times he had gone were usually because he’d used the internet at Xie Qiubai’s family cafe, and Xie Qiubai insisted on some “reciprocity.”

Even though the movie ticket was way more expensive than his internet fees…

By the end of the movie, the fry bucket was still mostly full. Both of them had been too focused on the film to eat.

Might as well take them back for Grandma to try, Cheng Xun decided. Clutching the bucket, he followed the crowd out through the emergency exit.

He laughed and said goodbye to his old classmates. Though their time together as a class was short, there was still a bit of reluctance. After all, starting in Grade 11, the Arts and Science tracks at Ninth High were in two different buildings quite far apart.

Summer break finally arrived, and Cheng Xun’s busy summer began.

He had promised to take Lu Xingshu along to find a part-time job, and he had already told the noodle shop owner he wouldn’t be returning.

Grade 11 required mandatory evening self-study, so he had originally planned to quit that job once he moved up anyway.

For two boys, looking for work at a supermarket or a milk tea shop during the summer was a solid plan.

However, with Lu Xingshu’s looks, it would be a waste not to use them.

In the end, they found a newly opened milk tea shop. It was opened by Xie Qiubai’s older cousin, Zhou Li, whose family had funded it after his graduation.

The big-name, expensive milk tea chains hadn’t reached the county yet; C County wasn’t a particularly developed area. Instead, unbranded shops and low-priced, consumer-friendly chains were more popular.

Zhou Li wasn’t an absentee boss. Counting Lu Xingshu, Cheng Xun, and Xie Qiubai (who came to help), the shop had about three and a half staff members.

Certain people whose minds were full of “slacking off” only counted as half a person.

Zhou Li had undergone proper training. Fortunately, these chain shops had basic standardized procedures; as long as one wasn’t slow, they could learn after a few tries.

On the first day of business, Zhou Li ran a “Buy One Get One Free” promotion, mainly giving away the shop’s signature lemonade.

Grandma’s convenience store had lower foot traffic during the day, and she insisted that she could handle it alone.

Her original intention was for the two boys to go out and have fun together; she hadn’t expected both of them to choose part-time work for the summer.

Cheng Xun had always been sensible and independent. What surprised Grandma was Lu Xingshu…

Before the Lu family’s downfall, he probably never had to consider the idea of earning his own money.

Even if Father Lu wasn’t a competent parent, he had never shortchanged him on money—one could tell just by looking at his laptop, which was the latest model. The clothes and shoes he brought were all big brands.

Grandma had expected Lu Xingshu to spend the summer at home feeling gloomy. She didn’t expect that despite his cold exterior, the boy was quite considerate of the family.

However, being a “young master” who had never stepped into a kitchen, Lu Xingshu was completely clueless when it came to anything culinary.

Even though they learned the procedures together, he somehow made milk tea at half the speed of Cheng Xun, which was baffling.

Furthermore, adding sugar required precision. At the start, he had no sense of proportion, nearly turning the refreshing lemonade into pure syrup.

Lu Xingshu took a sip with a blank expression, then casually handed it to Cheng Xun.

Cheng Xun took a sip of the “syrup” without thinking. It was so sweet his brow furrowed, and his disdain for Lu Xingshu grew by another two notches.

Fortunately, the guy was a fast learner. Once he got the hang of it, he didn’t make mistakes again.

Foot traffic was high today, with many students on break coming by after hearing the news.

There were also those who came specifically after hearing that there were handsome guys at the new milk tea shop on the corner.