Tang Siwen was slow-witted, but not an idiot.

She saw it. When she appeared before Chen Yuan, Xia Xinyu was like she herself used to be, vigilant to protect her braised beef bun from the bun assassin. Then, she understood that the other party's behavior was about protecting one's food…

No, what should it be called? Sovereignty.

Chen Yuan’s sovereignty was complete, sacred, and inviolable.

That’s probably the meaning.

But she hadn’t thought about encroaching on Chen Yuan…

"Mmm...delicious! Thank you."

Xia Xinyu took the bun and immediately took a bite to express her gratitude.

"You haven't even tasted the filling yet, and you think it's delicious..."

Tang Siwen felt that this girl had a unique understanding of buns.

And this coincided with some of her own views.

Ordinary buns are judged by the filling; top-tier buns are judged by the dough.

It seemed that Xia Xinyu was also a discerning bun connoisseur.

"Because… I already tasted the soup." Xia Xinyu continued to explain, trying to hide the embarrassment in her heart.

But the feeling of guilt couldn't be erased no matter what.

She should trust Chen Yuan. They were just ordinary good friends.

And because the other party was too beautiful, that sense of crisis made her instinctively alert. Then, she declared her sovereignty in a very ungraceful manner…

This undoubtedly hurt a girl who was genuinely kind.

She even brought me a bun.

"It really is good." Chen Yuan didn't mind. He took the bun and started eating, and didn't forget to praise it.

"This can be ranked as the third most delicious braised beef bun." Tang Siwen slightly proudly held up three fingers and said earnestly.

"The first is the one at school, right?" Chen Yuan asked.

"Yes, it's the one at school."

Tang Siwen nodded in agreement.

Then, she suddenly remembered the experience of making a wish before, and then Chen Yuan fulfilling it manually.

If that uncle selling buns hadn't said anything, she would have just thought that the gods had heard her prayer and conveniently fulfilled this small wish.

Chen Yuan had never taken credit in front of her.

In other words, unlike others… well, like Cheng Haiying, who approached her with demands, Chen Yuan not only had no demands but even fulfilled her wishes without asking for anything in return.

Does he… like me?

No.

He likes her.

Then, what is he...?

Tang Siwen thought and thought, trying hard to figure it out, but couldn't come up with anything. It wasn't until the two of them were walking into the karaoke that Chen Yuan didn't forget to call out to her, who was falling behind, that she understood.

He was simply kind, and he would lend a helping hand when he saw injustice.

And because she was too unsophisticated and even a little 'slow', Chen Yuan would be even more indignant when she was bullied: What's the big deal about bullying a slow-witted person?

That's probably it.

"I understand."

When going upstairs, Tang Siwen said something out of the blue, causing the two of them to stop and look back at her in confusion.

At this time, Tang Siwen smiled faintly, and then her expression returned to normal. She glanced at Xia Xinyu, who tasted like caramel pudding, and said to Chen Yuan, "You haven't introduced me yet."

"Oh, right." Chen Yuan reacted and said, "This is Tang Siwen, my friend, the top student in Class 18."

"Hello," Xia Xinyu greeted her, showing goodwill.

"This is Xia Xinyu." Chen Yuan then looked at her and said, "The top student in Fourth High, also my neighbor. You should have seen her before."

After all, he hadn't officially announced his relationship with Xia Xinyu yet, so he couldn't be too hasty in introducing her as his girlfriend.

"Hello." Tang Siwen took the initiative to extend her hand to Xia Xinyu and said, "Xia Xinyu, you look very delicious… beautiful today."

Wait, what did you just say?

Did you really think of Xin Bao as caramel pudding milk tea?

Although Xin Bao is indeed warm and tempting like a cup of it on an autumn day, please don't objectify women, Bao Bao-daren!

Xia Xinyu didn't expect that high school students would shake hands in social situations, and that she would be praised for being 'beautiful'. After being stunned, she smiled and stretched out her hand, grasping the other's hand: "You too, pretty little lady."

Friendship between girls is truly heartwarming.

If you ask a boy to praise another boy for being handsome, it’s better to just kill him.

Not to mention having to return the compliment with ‘you’re handsome too.’ He’d rather take out five hundred yuan from his credit account than say that.

Here's a math problem: Assume there's a small group of six girls, and each person posts a photo of themselves, and then the remaining five people all compliment 'beautiful.' After everyone has posted their photos, please answer:

What is the group number?

Then, these two girls became at least acquaintances.

The three of them went to the karaoke together.

Opening the door was Zhou Fu, who had arrived recently. As soon as she saw them, she grabbed Xia Xinyu's hands, her eyes shining, and said, "You look so pretty today, your fashion sense is so good."

"You too, this knitted sweater suits you very well."

"Xinyu, I'm He Sijiao, nice to meet you." He Sijiao also put down the microphone and walked over, 'complimenting' politely, "You look so good, the last time I saw you, you were still wearing our school uniform."

"You too, it's a bit novel to see you wearing a skirt."

As expected, that math problem really existed.

Girls will always return compliments to avoid the other party from not complimenting them next time.

"Siwen's here too, that's great. I was just complaining there were too many boys." He Sijiao grabbed her arm and led her to the sofa.

What made Tang Siwen feel displeased was that it seemed like she hadn't been complimented.

Is it just because I'm still wearing my school uniform when I come out to play...?

"Now, we have…" After observing for a while, He Sijiao began to count, "Xinyu, Siwen, Fufu, me, and Qiao Yi, five girls. So, this big sofa is ours."

Just like that, the five-person fairy group occupied the middle sofa.

And the remaining nine boys were evenly seated on the three small sofas, three in each group.

However, Sister Jiao was very 'thoughtful' in hiding Xinyu and Qiao Yi in the very center, keeping a certain distance between them and their respective 'partners'.

It could only be said that the entire show's effects depended on Sister Jiao.

But Xia Xinyu clearly wanted to sit next to Chen Yuan, and even started asking for help with her eyes: Come sit over here, it's okay even if it's in a group of women.

No, I'm not going.

"Yu-zi, how's it going?" Chen Yuan asked, looking at Zhou Yu, who was red in the face.

"Cheating, women just can't play fair."

Zhou Yu, who was almost forced to throw up, held his forehead, full of regret.

He was playing dice with He Sijiao. Every time he was about to open the cup, He Sijiao would rub her leg against his and look at him with 'flirtatious eyes', and then, in front of his face, secretly open his cup to peek at the points.

The key was that Zhou Yu couldn't say anything.

Don't cheat, can't you play properly?

Forget it, losing is losing in this situation.

Of course, I want to state that it's not because it felt kind of comfortable to be rubbed against, so I took the initiative to surrender…

It's purely because I didn't want to argue with a girl!

"Have some more to drink?" Chen Yuan asked after pouring Zhou Yu's glass full.

"No, no, I can't drink any more." Zhou Yu waved his hand, refusing directly.

Then, he heard Chen Yuan whisper in his ear like a demon, "You're drunk, but Sister Jiao isn't. When it's time to leave, would she have the heart to watch you go home alone? She'll definitely send you home."

"..."

Zhou Yu looked at the cunning man beside him and knew that he was setting him up again. So, he picked up his glass with considerable disdain: "Suddenly, I'm a little thirsty."

Classic *kele* (coke).

I don't know who you *byd* learned from.

"I like this song."

After a rap masterpiece that could be considered the only one of its kind—"I Got Smoke"—was queued up, Zhu Zihao immediately sat on the rotating stool for ordering songs. Then, he said to another friend, "Come on, let's sing together."

"Doesn't feel as good as Smoke Distance."

"The next one will be 'Come Quickly.'"

"Oukun Oukun."

Just like that, the two boys hogged the microphone.

At this moment, He Sijiao suddenly had an idea. She took out the cards on the table, smiling and suggesting, "Shall we play Truth or Dare?"

"Better to play *Sanguosha* (Three Kingdoms Kill)."

Tang Jian had already been hurt by these damned couples today, so he decided not to let these people enjoy themselves again, and directly took out another box of board games.

"It's no fun to play *Sanguosha* without paying, let's just play Truth or Dare," Liu Yan suggested.

"Indeed, it takes half an hour just to explain the rules of *Sanguosha* to girls." Zhang Chao also felt that it was too difficult to popularize this kind of entertainment.

"Explain the rules to girls?" Zhou Yu laughed, pulling out a character card with extremely complex skills and asking, "What? Can you understand it?"

"Regardless, I'll just take two cards at this time."

"He Sijiao is different from other girls, let's carry out our plan as usual." Zhang Chao, seeing that Tang Jian had already developed a sense of timidity, reminded him that there were still two couples present.

Which of the remaining girls was as bold as He Sijiao?

"Alright, alright, let's go."

After Tang Jian agreed, and most people agreed, everyone decided to start.

The way to decide Truth or Dare was to use dice. The person with the lowest score would be punished.

Everyone had two dice, placed in their palms, shaken, and then revealed together on the table.

"By the way, Truth and Dare have the right to refuse. But the price is that boys drink a can of beer, and girls drink a glass."

Considering that the game couldn't be too extreme, and too offensive, He Sijiao specifically set this precept to avoid getting into anything lewd.

"Feels a little unfair…"

Tang Jian said leisurely.

"Where?" He Sijiao asked with a kind face.

Tang Jian quickly said seriously, "Why can girls only drink one glass with AA, isn't that a big loss?"

"Thank you, we'll just take this loss, haha."

Zhou Fu covered her mouth, giggling.

"Okay, I have no opinion." Tang Jian shut up.

So, everyone started the first round.

When rolling the dice, Xia Xinyu used a lot of force. And just as she was about to stop, Chen Yuan suddenly said to her, "Roll it a little longer."

Xia Xinyu was puzzled, but she did as she was told.

Then, a 4 and a 5, for a total of nine points.

Great, this was an absolutely safe zone.

"Damn, 1 and 3, something big is going to happen…" Tang Jian was numb.

But at this moment, a boy who rolled two 1s reached for the Dare card without even thinking.

Looking at the card, the boy read it out loud: "Completely delete the software with the largest memory usage on your phone."

"Hahaha, you won't be able to start it up now!"

This scene amused Zhou Yu, because this boy was a master of that open-world mobile game, just like his deskmate.

Besides that open-world mobile game, what else could take up dozens of gigabytes of memory on a phone?

Just as everyone was preparing to watch him make a fool of himself, this guy directly opened a beer can—*dun dun dun dun*!

In half a minute, he chugged a bottle of Little Snowflake.

Then, everyone gave him a look of respect.

This is our [BEEP] friend.

The collection of all good virtues in the world.

"I have to say, it's a bit interesting." Looking at the guy who hiccuped after drinking the wine, his face turning red on the spot, He Sijiao suddenly discovered the fun of this game.

"Although you drank the wine, you preserved your nationality," Tang Jian consoled him.

"Damn it, again! Again!"

The boy was not convinced and continued to the next round.

Chen Yuan could see the future, so he could avoid all losing futures.

Of course, he was just protecting Xia Xinyu.

Moreover, if the card Xia Xinyu drew wasn't that embarrassing, he wouldn't be a sore loser.

Teasing Xin Bao a little was quite fun.

Then, the second round began.

This time, it was Xu Junyi's turn. Even if his score added up to 6, he couldn't escape the fate of being pranked.

"I'll just Dare…"

"Don't want to tell the truth?" Then, He Sijiao directly interrupted him and took the lead, "Beauty Yi, don't you want to hear some truth?"

"Eh." Xu Junyi suddenly became anxious, "Show mercy, you…"

"Want to hear it, see if someone dares to say it." Qiao Yi shrugged, saying sarcastically, "Right?"

*Ohhhhhhh*——

That's the kind of atmosphere we want!

The guys at the scene were all hyped up.

That's the right flavor.

I want to see blood flowing like a river *jpg*.

"I'm not afraid of telling the truth, I'm just…"

"Don't explain to me, I listen to you, hehe."

As soon as these two *hehe*s came out, Xu Junyi knew that he couldn't escape. So, he simply gave up: "Okay, then you pick one for me."

"Okay." Qiao Yi wasn't polite, directly taking a Truth card and announcing it in front of everyone.

——Who do you think is the most beautiful and who is the ugliest among everyone present?

"I love this game to death, brothers."

Tang Jian suddenly found fun.

And Zhang Chao couldn't help but complain, "It's almost an open-book exam, it just depends on who the ugly one is."

"That's right, say which of us brothers is the ugliest, say it boldly." Liu Yan also started to stir the pot.

"Hiss…"

Xu Junyi began to gnash his teeth.

"Let's say the most beautiful one first~" Zhou Fu started cheering.

"Of course…" Xu Junyi felt very ashamed, but his girlfriend was most looking forward to it, so he looked at her face, he said nauseatingly, "Of course, Miss Qiao Yi is the most beautiful, the most beautiful in the universe."

Qiao Yi shrank back, her face turning red.

But indeed, she was quite happy.

Then, the sounds of *yoyo yo* echoed around her.

"Still Miss, *yoyo yo*!"

"Miss has arrived, everyone make way!"

"Xu-san is truly the representative of male virtue."

"The ugliest is!" Xu Junyi endured the shame and then turned it into grief, looking at everyone.

At this moment, everyone became nervous, after all, this topic was really awkward.

If he had low EQ, he would really offend people.

But how could someone who already had a girlfriend have low EQ? He immediately picked up the beer and chugged half a bottle, and said, "All the beauties are captivating, and all the handsome guys are romantic, where are there any ugly people?"

*The bigger picture.*

"Hey, Xu-san speaks pleasantly."

"Alright, alright, worthy of being a love saint, you've really figured out this smooth-talking part."

"Next round, next round."

"Also, you two, come back as soon as you finish singing 'Smoke Distance,' don't cheat."

This time, more people joined.

Then, the chances of being unlucky were even smaller.

However, this round was still unlucky for the guys.

"Damn, it's me!"

Tang Jian was numb.

Then, he drew a Truth card.

——Name a girl you've had a crush on, someone everyone here knows.

"Alright, alright, 47." Tang Jian blurted out the name without even thinking, with an unwilling look on his face.

Then, he was booed by the boys.

"You motherfucker, that's Li Zi-ge's ambiguous person, don't make things up!" Zhu Zihao condemned him.

As Li Yuanzhen's middle school classmate, Liu Yan also stood up for him: "Forget it, change it."

"No, it's just Truth, can't I even say what I want?" Tang Jian said.

"You can say what you want, but how many times have you seen people named 47? You haven't even said a word to her." He Sijiao knew that Tang Jian was purely lustful. His so-called crush was just pulling out a girl who fit his aesthetic from the names of people he knew.

"Next round, next round, okay?"

Tang Jian hated this group of people to death.

Which of the boys in the class dared to say that they hadn't longed for the little beauty from Class Fifteen?

He originally wanted to say Cheng Haiying, after all, she was a top student, a beautiful girl, and also the campus radio announcer. But saying that would definitely be met with the retort: Bro, stop obsessing over the little swan, be realistic.

As for Li Yuanzhen and 47's CP…

They're not together yet, so what's the big deal!

"But speaking of which, 47 is really nice." Thinking of this, Zhang Chao said, "She seems to have regarded Class 18 as a friendly nation. She even takes the initiative to say hello when she sees me."

"Yeah, she said hello to me last time too," Liu Yan also said.

"Girls with this kind of personality are indeed likable." He Sijiao also agreed, "Tang Jian, you should be more rational. Li Yuanzhen is handsome and capable, you don't have much of a chance…"

"No, are you really not playing anymore?"

Tang Jian picked up the dice and started shaking them. Everyone just smiled and didn't continue to tease him.

Then, this round began.

This time, the person with the lowest score was Chen Yuan.

A 2 and a 3.

As the person with the most frequent romantic luck here, and with his girlfriend on the scene, the brothers were extremely excited.

"Xinyu, help me pick one."

But this guy not only could play, but he even played the game with a smile.

"Um… okay." Xia Xinyu didn't expect him to directly let her pick, and her smile became a little embarrassed.

"Yuan-zi, this competitive male behavior is a bit pathetic," Zhou Yu said.

Xu Junyi also complained leisurely, "Brother Yuan, do I feel like you're targeting me?"

"No, nothing like that, willing to bet and accept the loss, willing to bet and accept the loss."

Chen Yuan waved his hand, showing quite a bit of magnanimity.

"Then I'll pick a Dare for you."

The previous Dare card showed Xia Xinyu the limits. On the contrary, the Truth cards might be a bit 'out of line'.

Therefore, she very carefully chose a card.

Then, it was revealed:

Hug someone on the scene for thirty seconds.

"It's boyfriend power time!" Zhou Fu, like a war correspondent, was excited as soon as she saw the Dare card.

"If there's no girlfriend or ambiguous person on the scene, wouldn't it be a bit of a big deal…" Liu Yan complained.

"Silly, it only says hug, it doesn't necessarily have to be the opposite sex." Tang Jian was an old driver.

He understood unhealthy ways to play, and he also understood healthy and harmonious ways to play.

Of course, the main thing was to have fun.

"..." But Xia Xinyu was a little frightened, not expecting to draw something so explosive at once.

Looking at Chen Yuan, she reminded him with her eyes: Hug a lighter guy.

Hug a guy?

Then it's better not to play!

"Thirsty."

Chen Yuan opened a bottle of Snowflake, intending to chug it down in a wave of boos.

At this moment, a cool hand suddenly pressed on the back of his hand.

Looking up, it was Xia Xinyu leaning down, her long hair gently falling beside his ear. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and she said softly, "You've… already had a lot to drink today."

(End of Chapter)