To Sweep Across Like Wildfire - Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Meng Chi’s heart skipped a beat. She had only taken one tiny sip—how on earth did Shen Qingruo find out?

Then, a soft rustle sounded beside her. Shen Qingruo walked over and said in a slow, drawn-out drawl, “Did you secretly buy cigarettes, too?”

Meng Chi: “…”

How did she know?

Shen Qingruo crossed her arms over her chest and said, “How should I punish you?”

Meng Chi thought to herself, Why should I be punished? I’m an adult. I can do what I want. It’s not like I’m hurting anyone.

Shen Qingruo caught the flick of defiance in the corner of the girl’s eye. This kid really needs a lesson in discipline.

She couldn’t help but reach out, her fingertip brushing against the smooth, silky skin of Meng Chi’s face. Her movement stalled for half a second before she gave a light pinch. Just as she was about to pull away, Meng Chi’s hand shot up and gripped her wrist.

Meng Chi was slightly taller than her. Though her features were young, they already held a hint of sharp authority. Given time, she might truly become someone intimidating.

Shen Qingruo suddenly realized that the “kid” was quite different from her. Having tumbled through the real world for years, Shen had developed a bit of a “don’t-care” attitude, whereas Meng Chi clearly came from a good background—polite, reserved, and yet, if offended, her aura would immediately sharpen. She wasn’t afraid of standing her ground; she likely had a family business waiting for her to inherit. Barring any accidents, her life would be one of peace and prosperity.

Shen Qingruo’s gaze shifted to the tip of Meng Chi’s ear, which was bright red. She thought that if the girl didn’t fix this habit of blushing so easily, it would be hard to truly intimidate anyone.

While her mind wandered, she didn’t notice the change in Meng Chi’s face. The girl’s cool gaze had softened significantly, the edges of her eyes turned slightly red, and she slowly leaned in. By the time Shen Qingruo reacted, warm breath was already ghosting over her lips, and an unexpected pair of lips pressed against hers.

Shen Qingruo had just been thinking about how easily Meng Chi blushed, but the moment they touched, her own ears began to burn.

It was as if she had entered a world of ice and fire—half of her brain was sinking into the lingering kiss, while the other half was racing with logic. They were still by the sinks. Anyone could walk in and see them kissing.

At her age, she wasn’t shy, but she worried about scaring the “younger sisters.” If someone saw them, they’d go back crying to their mothers, asking why two “big sisters” were pressing their mouths together in the bathroom. This KTV would be flagged for “inappropriate content” for sure.

To save the establishment from a sudden raid by the vice squad, Shen Qingruo reached up, lightly hooked Meng Chi’s collar, and pulled her into a stall.

…

The kiss finally broke.

Shen Qingruo panted slightly, “Where did all that shyness go?”

Meng Chi’s cheeks were burning as she recalled the scene. The bathroom lights were bright, reflecting in Shen Qingruo’s eyes like sparkling diamond dust. Shen was so close, wearing that playful, teasing smile that threw her entire heart into disarray.

Knowing she was in the wrong, Meng Chi didn’t argue. She simply raised her hand to straighten the collar Shen had rumpled.

The bathroom was heavily scented with fragrance, masking any other odors. Soon, someone walked in, opened the stall next to them, and a moment later, the sound of a flushing toilet rang out. Despite having done nothing wrong, Meng Chi froze, waiting until the person left before moving again.

With a slight flush on her own cheeks, Shen Qingruo reached out and gently took Meng Chi’s hand, her thumb stroking the smooth back of it. “Do you want to try it here?”

…

After an unknown amount of time, Xie Zhen’s voice came from the door: “What is wrong with you two? Did you fall into the toilet?”

She strode in, her footsteps echoing sharply on the tile as she knocked on the doors one by one. Soon, the sound of a flush came from the stall next to them.

The door opened, and the person inside stepped out, kindly saying, “There’s no one else in here but me. You’d better look elsewhere.”

“Alright, thanks.” Xie Zhen paused by their stall, then turned and hurried out, muttering, “Did those two go back already?”

A moment later, the phone in Shen Qingruo’s bag vibrated. She had brought her makeup bag to the restroom to touch up, and in the rush, she had stuffed her phone inside.

Shen Qingruo took a long breath and answered, saying she and Meng Chi were downstairs buying snacks and would be back in the room shortly.

Twenty minutes later, leaning lazily into the crook of Meng Chi’s neck, she blew a soft breath and whispered, “You’re so bad… but I like it quite a bit.”

…

When they returned to the booth, Xie Zhen was sprawled on the sofa playing on her phone, crunching on potato chips. She finally looked up and asked, “What kind of snacks take that long to buy?”

Exhaustion flickered in Shen Qingruo’s eyes. She tossed a few bags of deli food onto the table and collapsed onto the soft sofa.

Xie Zhen sat up immediately and poked through the bags. “None of my favorites are in here.”

“Who said I went to pick your favorites?” Shen Qingruo countered.

“Well, these aren’t your favorites either.”

“Who says?” Shen Qingruo seemed to recover slightly. She sat up and winked at Meng Chi, who was sitting beside her. “Starting today, I like them.”

Xie Zhen didn’t catch the underlying tension between the two. She just thought Shen was being nonsensical and flopped back onto the sofa. “You’re crazy.”

“Why aren’t you singing? Weren’t you full of energy earlier?”

“I’m old. I’m tired.”

Shen Qingruo crumpled up the paper ball Xie Zhen had thrown earlier and tossed it back. “Pick a song for me.”

Her aim was true; even though Xie Zhen ducked, it hit her shoulder. Xie Zhen shook her shoulder to drop the paper and said, “Can’t you pick it yourself?”

“I have no strength.”

“…” Xie Zhen didn’t catch the double meaning in her words, assuming it was just laziness. she gave her a “polite” middle finger. “Which song?”

“The kid sang an English song earlier, so I’ll do one too.” Shen Qingruo thought for a second. “Love Story, by Taylor.” She added for Meng Chi’s benefit, “Taylor Swift. You know her, right?”

Meng Chi: “…” Meng Chi: “I know her.”

Ever since she had asked about the “Number 11 Bus” (walking), Shen Qingruo felt the need to explain everything to her. Meng Chi couldn’t tell if she was being mocked or not.

Shen Qingruo nodded satisfactorily. “Good. Give me the mic.”

“I might as well just sing it for you,” Xie Zhen rolled her eyes and handed it over.

Shen took laziness to a new level, lying motionless on the sofa as she began to sing along to the upbeat melody.

Despite her lack of “virtue,” Shen Qingruo’s voice was genuinely beautiful. When she sang seriously, she was as good as any professional bar singer.

The song stirred memories for Xie Zhen. She remembered the first time she heard Shen sing it was during a game of Truth or Dare. There were about a dozen people, most of whom weren’t very close. Shen was picked and asked to sing.

When she sang, almost every guy in the room was staring at her. Back then, Shen was cold and rarely spoke; no one expected her to sing so well. Usually, people without training have “flat” voices with no emotion, but a person who looked so distant actually had a voice full of feeling. With the song’s intense emotion—like a lover’s burning confession—Xie Zhen was sure many of the opposite sex fell into a romantic fantasy that night.

Later, another classmate chose Truth and was asked the funniest thing he’d ever searched online. He said, “When will Ultraman return to Earth?”

As everyone joked around, Shen Qingruo chimed in calmly, “I once searched how long a person can go without food before starving to death.”

Everyone laughed, thinking the “ice queen” had a funny side. Long after, Xie Zhen realized she wasn’t being funny. It was the truth.

Looking back, Xie Zhen felt a surge of sentimentality and thought she should be nicer to Shen. She looked over, only to see Shen making faces and opening her mouth, signaling for Meng Chi to feed her some water.

Xie Zhen: “…”

Every time she managed to feel a bit of pity, this woman managed to stomp all over the “protective filter.” She’s a literal demon.

Before Meng Chi could react, Xie Zhen sprang up, poured a full glass of water, and held it to Shen’s lips, practically trying to drench her. This was the revenge of a straight friend whose sentimental moment had been shattered.

Shen Qingruo looked bewildered by the sudden “enthusiasm,” but that didn’t stop her from using an exaggerated, dramatic tone: “Zhen-er, slow down… there’s too much… I can’t take it!”

Meng Chi: “…”

She had been about to pick up the glass when Xie Zhen beat her to it. She stood there, frozen, unable to go forward or back. Watching the intense scene between the two of them, she slowly took a sip of her own water and thought: You both play very… freely.

…

Before the KTV session was even supposed to end, Xie Zhen decided she was done. After a quick discussion, they checked out.

Xie Zhen sighed, “We’re really not young anymore. Back in the day, I could pull all-nighters. Now I can’t even stay for two hours.” She flicked through her phone and showed it to them. “There’s a good Northeast Chinese restaurant nearby. Want to try?”

“Are you sure they’re still open?”

Xie Zhen checked the hours and the reviews. “This place does BBQ at night. They stay open late, until 3:00 AM!”

“Do you eat Northeast cuisine?” Shen Qingruo asked, tilting her head toward Meng Chi.

“Whatever you guys decide is fine with me,” Meng Chi replied. She thought to herself: Northeast food… at least it’s not spicy.

The restaurant was crowded, with several tents set up in the outdoor lot. Once they arrived, the hostess led them inside. Xie Zhen ordered several signature dishes: Pork with Sauerkraut and Vermicelli, Double Cooked Pork Slices (Guobaorou), Di San Xian (Sauteed Potato, Eggplant, and Pepper)…

Even after that, she felt she hadn’t ordered enough. “Should we get some skewers too?”

The calories in every dish made Shen Qingruo’s head ache. As Shen was scalding the chopsticks with hot water, she pointed the tips toward Xie Zhen. “Are you ever going to change your WeChat nickname?”

Xie Zhen’s nickname was still: “Won’t change my name until I hit 95 lbs.”

Xie Zhen smacked her lips. Seeing Shen push the scalded bowl and chopsticks to Meng Chi, she said in an affected tone, “I wonder if I, as your ‘mother,’ have the luck to enjoy a set of bowls scalded by my ‘daughter’?”

“You’re not going to see that day,” Shen Qingruo replied. “Scald them yourself.”

Meng Chi took the bowls Shen had pushed to her, set them down, and then scalded a new set of tableware and pushed them back to Shen Qingruo.

Xie Zhen watched the exchange, her teeth practically aching from the “sweetness.” “What are you two doing? Exchanging wedding toasts?”