Tarik’s presence made it easy to book a table at a very good local restaurant.
Lei Xirui, who had initially felt somewhat awkward and reserved being alone with Tarik, clearly relaxed after meeting Xia Qingtian and the others.
She had already chatted with Xia Qingyu on the phone at length.
Although the conversations mostly revolved around school matters and some competition regulations, and perhaps more personal topics like reminding each other to add or remove layers of clothing due to the changing weather.
Only when topics related to Xia Qingtian occasionally came up would Xia Qingyu become more talkative.
For instance, they had chatted more frequently when Xia Qingtian’s “Ying Yue” was released.
Even with just that, Lei Xirui was already quite happy.
At this moment, Xia Qingtian’s sisters and Lei Xirui were together, laughing and chatting about the differences between Finland’s climate and China’s.
Beside them, Shi Xingwu, Tarik, and Li Xiaozhong were gathered and chatting.
However, for the most part, Shi Xingwu was the only one talking enthusiastically.
Li Xiaozhong and Tarik each had their own thoughts, their expressions unreadable.
“By the way, Nie Qingkong, why did you leave so suddenly before?” Shi Xingwu changed the subject, looking at Tarik. “I couldn’t even reach you when I wanted to.”
“Something important came up at the time,” Tarik replied with a slight smile. “I had to leave in a hurry, so I couldn’t inform you all in time, and I stopped using my domestic contact information.”
“That must have been something very important~” Shi Xingwu said, crossing his arms. “Let’s exchange contact information again later.”
“Okay.” Tarik responded vaguely, glancing at Xia Qingyu from the corner of his eye.
Xia Qingyu seemed unchanged from before, still beautiful, her eyes sparkling with a smile.
Li Xiaozhong had been secretly observing Tarik and caught his furtive glance at Xia Qingyu. Li Xiaozhong lowered his gaze, his grip on his cup tightening.
“In any case, meeting is fate!” Shi Xingwu laughed heartily, then asked, “When did you and Siri start dating?”
“No!” Lei Xirui, who had been chatting with the Xia sisters, immediately shook her head and denied it. Seeing everyone’s attention on her, she said sheepishly, “I wanted to go out for a walk, and my third brother was worried about me going alone, so he asked Tarik to accompany me.”
“That’s right,” Tarik said with a light chuckle. “Miss Lei and I met today.”
“Tarik?” Xia Qingtian repeated the name, giving Tarik a deep look.
“Is there a problem?” Tarik looked at Xia Qingtian.
“I still prefer to call you Nie Qingkong,” Xia Qingtian said to Tarik with a charming smile, though her eyes didn’t convey the warmth.
“A name is just a moniker; you can call me whatever you like, Sister Qingtian.” Tarik smiled like a gentleman, his smile equally superficial.
“Oh, that’s right,” Shi Xingwu said with a chuckle, not noticing the shift in expressions between Xia Qingtian and Tarik. “Qingtian, Qingyu, and Qingkong, just by your names, you three sound like family, hahaha…”
Upon hearing Shi Xingwu’s words, Xia Qingtian and Tarik merely curved their lips. Xia Qingyu lowered her head slightly, no one knowing what she was thinking. Li Xiaozhong turned his face away, unwilling to bother with him.
Only Lei Xirui managed a polite, light laugh.
Just then, Lei Xirui’s phone rang; it was her third brother urging her to return.
“Excuse me,” Lei Xirui said with an apologetic smile. “I have to go back.”
“I’ll take you,” Tarik said, rising directly. He then scanned the group and said, “This place is owned by a friend of mine. I’ve already informed them. It’s my way of extending hospitality after our reunion. Please enjoy the rest of your meal.”
After saying this, Tarik cast one more glance at Xia Qingyu and walked out with Lei Xirui.
After Tarik and Lei Xirui had gone some distance, Shi Xingwu suddenly remembered something. “Oh, we didn’t exchange contact information.”
“He never intended to exchange contact information with us, did he?” Li Xiaozhong looked at Shi Xingwu speechlessly. “If he could have, he probably wouldn’t have wanted to see us today at all. Can’t you tell at all?”
“Huh?” Shi Xingwu blinked, looking utterly confused. “Why?”
Weren’t they good friends?
They had had such a great time together on the cruise, and they had gotten so close.
Seeing Shi Xingwu’s reaction, Li Xiaozhong didn’t bother explaining. He could only shake his head and sigh, then look at Xia Qingtian for help.
He couldn’t manage this fool.
“It’s fine. If he wants to find us, it’ll be easy here,” Xia Qingtian said, smiling at Shi Xingwu. “We’ll meet again next time.”
“Yeah, that’s the only way,” Shi Xingwu said with a chuckle, then put the matter out of his mind. As they continued their meal, he commented, “The food here is quite good.”
Watching Shi Xingwu’s carefree demeanor, Li Xiaozhong took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
He wondered if Shi Xingwu’s personality was a good thing or a bad thing.
Xia Qingyu hadn’t spoken until everyone had almost finished their meal. Then she said, “I’m full.”
On the drive back to the manor from the restaurant, the driver was present. Only Shi Xingwu was talking excitedly the whole way. Then, seeing that everyone else was silent, he curiously asked, “Why aren’t you guys talking?”
“We can’t match your energy,” Xia Qingtian said with a light smile. “We’re a bit tired.”
Xia Qingyu’s gaze fell on the night scenery outside the window, and she murmured in agreement, “Yes, tired.”
“You should rest too,” Li Xiaozhong said, looking at Shi Xingwu. “You’re energetic like a perpetual motion machine…”
“Hehe,” Shi Xingwu chuckled upon hearing this and stopped talking, not wanting to disturb anyone.
After only three minutes of silence, Shi Xingwu fell asleep, even starting to snore softly.
“This eccentric fellow…” Li Xiaozhong didn’t know where to begin complaining.
“It’s quite good, like a child’s nature,” Xia Qingtian said with a light laugh upon seeing this. “Among you all, Shi Xingwu is probably the happiest one?”
“That’s true,” Xia Qingyu’s face finally showed a hint of a smile. “He looks happy every day.”
“That’s his only good quality, I suppose,” Li Xiaozhong said with a shake of his head and a smile.
“Nie Qingkong,” Xia Qingtian changed the subject and brought up a name. “Or… should I call him Tarik? After all, Tarik is his real name.”
Li Xiaozhong and Xia Qingyu exchanged glances, then both looked at Xia Qingtian.
Xia Qingtian smiled. “When did you discover there was something off about him?”