After Confessing To My Childhood Friend - Chapter 43
Chapter 43: Eating Hotpot
◎Have You Considered Changing Partners◎
By the time Chen Mengyin and Xie Zhirou arrived at the hotpot restaurant, Xu Qingqing and Wang Xueling were already elbow-deep in beef slices.
It was a cold winter evening. The wind howled outside, numbing people’s scalps, tightening their cheeks, and making their limbs feel stiffer than ancient corpses.
Pulling aside the door curtain, a wave of heat from inside the restaurant began to thaw Chen Mengyin’s frozen body. Right at the entrance, she could see the chef behind the counter slicing beef with swift, rhythmic motions.
Scanning the packed restaurant, Chen Mengyin quickly spotted the backs of Xu Qingqing and Wang Xueling’s heads. She grabbed Xie Zhirou’s hand and made her way over, plopping down across from them and asking, “What made you suddenly want to invite us out for dinner?”
By “us,” she meant herself and Xie Zhirou.
“You’ve got some nerve asking that,” Xu Qingqing said after swallowing a bite of beef. “Trying to get you to hang out is harder than climbing Mount Shu.”
“Oh, go grab your own dipping sauce,” she added. “Xueling and I already ordered some beef. If there’s anything else you want, just order it yourself.”
“Got it.” Chen Mengyin stood up, went to get two bowls of sauce, and casually placed one by Xie Zhirou’s side. Picking up where they left off, she said, “Clearly, you never invited us, and now you’re blaming us for being unavailable?”
Wang Xueling threw a tray of beef into the pot and gave Chen Mengyin a dramatic eye roll. “Says the one who’s been too busy dating to even remember us two lonely souls. Didn’t I ask in the group chat if you two wanted to hang out?”
“Exactly! You wouldn’t even check the group messages,” Xu Qingqing chimed in. “If it weren’t for your recent social media posts, we would’ve thought you were kidnapped.”
Since before the holidays, Xu Qingqing and Wang Xueling had been messaging the group chat about meeting up—but their messages might as well have been tossed into the ocean. No response.
“I was mentally prepared for you to ignore me when I messaged you this afternoon. You replying right away? That was a miracle.”
She didn’t say it aloud, but Xu Qingqing had been ready to storm Chen Mengyin’s house if she hadn’t replied.
Chen Mengyin and Xie Zhirou exchanged a look that clearly said: See? I told you this was a trap.
Xie Zhirou placed a piece of cooked beef into Chen Mengyin’s bowl as if to say, At least it’s a delicious trap.
Xu Qingqing and Wang Xueling didn’t know why they suddenly smiled at each other, but that didn’t stop them from being thoroughly disgusted. The beef in their mouths instantly lost its flavor.
“Have mercy, don’t make us slap you at the dinner table,” Xu Qingqing said, face pale. “If I ever ask you out to dinner again, I’m an idiot.”
Wang Xueling nodded in agreement.
“I’m sorry, my bad,” Chen Mengyin apologized quickly but without a shred of sincerity. “I’ve been busy with homework, okay? I didn’t check the messages carefully.”
The truth was, she’d muted the group chat.
“I bet you muted us,” Xu Qingqing said, not fooled for a second. She and Chen Mengyin had been friends for years. She gave the couple a look of betrayed friendship.
Knowing they were in the wrong, Chen Mengyin and Xie Zhirou offered their most charming smiles.
No one hits someone who’s smiling, right?
Xu Qingqing was defeated by the couple’s antics. She scooped a handmade beef ball into her bowl and, while waiting for it to cool, said, “Don’t act like we’re the bad guys here! We mainly wanted to ask if you’re free the day after tomorrow—we’re planning to go hiking and camp overnight on the mountaintop to watch the sunrise. Interested?”
Chen Mengyin was intrigued. She and Xie Zhirou had tried to watch the sunrise at the beach once, but after drinking too much the night before, they overslept and missed it.
“Wanna go?” she asked Xie Zhirou.
Chen Mengyin’s interest was obvious. Xie Zhirou nodded. “Sure. Just the four of us?”
“Yeah. Qingqing and I will take care of renting the tent and heater. You two bring snacks and bread or something. We’ll need something to pass the time while we wait for sunrise,” Wang Xueling said. “But don’t pack too much—carrying heavy stuff up a mountain is hell.”
“Got it,” Chen Mengyin nodded, then asked, “But why go hiking in winter? Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?”
Xu Qingqing gave her a “what a dumb question” look. “It’s even worse in summer. So hot. We’d be suffering.”
“Honestly, we just got bored with homework and shopping. It’s time to reconnect with nature and enjoy life a little,” she added.
“I knew there had to be a reason,” Chen Mengyin said, shaking her head.
“Hey now, it’s called a healthy work-life balance, okay? One more thing: you two better book your own hotel room on the mountain. Xueling and I are not sharing a room with a couple.”
“As if I’d want to share with you,” Chen Mengyin fired back.
Xu Qingqing and Wang Xueling rolled their eyes in perfect unison.
“Be sure to post the meetup details in the group chat. I’ll probably forget,” Chen Mengyin said, slumping in her chair with a glass of coconut juice.
“Even if we do, will you read it?” Xu Qingqing and Wang Xueling growled. “Zhirou, please keep an eye on her. Make sure she replies at least.”
Xie Zhirou laughed softly and promised she would.
Chen Mengyin tried to argue that she did check messages but just hadn’t seen them recently due to homework. She was immediately met with death glares and quickly zipped her lips, afraid Xu Qingqing might actually smack her.
“I’m not really gonna hit you,” Xu Qingqing said, mimicking her pose and lounging back in the chair.
“Food coma” was becoming a real threat.
Despite the noisy restaurant, the warm environment was perfect for a nap. The four girls were full and lazy. If the setup allowed, they probably would’ve dozed off right at the table.
Half-asleep, Chen Mengyin asked if there were any more plans for the night. If not, she was heading home to do homework—she was very busy.
Xu Qingqing called her a masochist. “You’re on break and still obsessed with homework? You’re young! Live a little! Go out and explore our vast and beautiful country.”
Chen Mengyin said quietly, “If you had to upload your daily assignments to DingTalk every day like the experimental class does, you’d be doing the same thing.”
Xu Qingqing & Wang Xueling: “Respect.”
“Welp, no wonder I don’t have what it takes. Turns out we’re not in the experimental class, haha!” Xu Qingqing laughed heartlessly, pretending to pity Chen Mengyin.
Chen Mengyin fake-smiled and kicked her under the table.
“OW! Zhirou, control your girlfriend!” Xu Qingqing clutched her leg dramatically. “How could you like someone like her? Really haven’t considered switching to someone else?”
Wang Xueling snickered. “Yeah, Mengyin’s too wicked. Go for a sweeter one.”
Chen Mengyin knew they were teasing, and she knew Xie Zhirou wouldn’t actually leave her over a joke. Still, she played along, fake-crying and clinging to Zhirou’s arm. “Don’t leave me, I was wrong.”
Xie Zhirou patted her earlobe and said, “We’ll see how you behave tonight.”
Chen Mengyin feigned bashfulness. “Gosh, not in front of so many people!”
Xu Qingqing and Wang Xueling groaned in agony, covering their eyes and begging for emotional damages and medical expenses.
“I’m done. I’m leaving,” Wang Xueling gasped.
Xu Qingqing wanted to leave too, but she still had unfinished business. She forced herself to stay and asked seriously, “By the way, what are your plans for the future? Are you just going to keep hiding your relationship from your parents?”
She and Wang Xueling had worried about Chen Mengyin and Xie Zhirou’s situation for a long time. It was obvious both girls were serious about each other.
Since dating, Chen Mengyin had become much more motivated. In the past, she would’ve asked classmates from other sections for their homework pics and uploaded those. Now, she diligently completed her work and submitted it herself.
Xie Zhirou had changed too—she smiled more than she had in years. Especially when talking to Chen Mengyin, her eyes always held a gentle warmth.
While Xu Qingqing was happy for her friend, she was also concerned. What if their parents didn’t approve? What if it broke them?
“Oh, Zhirou and I are planning to tell them after graduation,” Chen Mengyin said, scratching her nose. “My mom already knows. She kind of gave us her blessing.”
Xu Qingqing’s eyes widened. “Your mom knows?! How did she find out? And she’s okay with it?”
“She found out on New Year’s Eve, yelled at me a bit, and told me to focus on my studies. She said if I want approval, I’d better earn some brownie points in the future.”
Xie Zhirou squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry. My mom likes you a lot.”
Chen Mengyin shrugged. “Can’t help being popular.”
Wang Xueling muttered, “That’s because Aunt Tang doesn’t know you stole her daughter. Wait till she finds out.”
Chen Mengyin fell silent.
“Don’t scare her. My mom doesn’t hit people,” Zhirou reassured her, gently patting her hand. “I’ll be with you.”
“Zhirou—” Mengyin looked at her with teary eyes. “Let me take the beating. I’ve got thick skin.”
Xu Qingqing smirked. “If it comes to that, Xueling and I can give you some practice rounds.”
“Nooo—!”
“Prepare to die!”
The four of them goofed around for a while before Xu Qingqing, finally too tired, called an end to the chaos and declared dinner officially over. Everyone was to head home and meet again in two days.
When they stepped out of the hotpot restaurant, night had fallen. It was even colder than when they arrived. The wind felt like invisible blades scraping their faces. Chen Mengyin quickly adjusted Zhirou’s scarf, waved goodbye to their friends, and said:
“Bye! Stay safe on the way home.”
“You too!”
Chen Mengyin took Zhirou’s hand and stuffed it into her coat pocket. Smiling, she said, “Let’s go home?”
Zhirou’s lips curved into a soft smile. “Okay.”
The two of them walked under the yellow glow of the streetlights, their shadows long and inseparable like twins.
Chen Mengyin looked up and exhaled a white puff of air.
It was snowing.