Let's Do Some Questions - Chapter 33

The light in Ailan’s eyes instantly dimmed, and her face paled slightly. She smiled and nodded at Song Man, forcing a casual demeanor.

Actually, nothing was wrong, but she felt a large hand tightly gripping her heart, making it hard for her to breathe.

She didn’t know what was wrong with her, she just felt incredibly uncomfortable.

“Then, Man Jie, be careful on your way.”

Ailan waved goodbye to Song Man and stood by the roadside waiting for a taxi.

“Okay, you be careful too. Deng Wei, Mao Mao, make sure Ailan gets inside her house before you leave.”

Song Man sensed that Ailan seemed a bit disappointed. She felt a little awkward, apologetic for not being able to take her follower, but she really didn’t want anyone else on her bike anymore.

“Mission accomplished, guaranteed.”

Deng Wei gave an OK sign, put his arm around Mao Mao, and walked over to Ailan.

Chu Fengqiu took all of this in, pleased with the outcome.

She had expected Ailan to look back at her like before, but she didn’t. Ailan didn’t look back the entire time, not at her, nor at Song Man.

She knew Song Man wouldn’t do something like taking someone home and leaving her stranded. If she really did that, she wouldn’t be the Song Man she knew.

Selfishly, Chu Fengqiu hoped she could be more important to Song Man.

Noticing this thought, Chu Fengqiu was slightly startled at first, but then felt it was only natural.

If possible, she wanted to remain good friends with Song Man forever. If she could occupy the top spot in her heart… just thinking about it made Chu Fengqiu feel happy.

Song Man was a very good person. Chu Fengqiu really liked the feeling of being with her, a feeling she had never experienced before.

Only after the taxi drove away did Song Man get on her bike.

“Chu Fengqiu, ever been for a spin?”

Song Man beckoned to Chu Fengqiu with her finger, holding a helmet in one hand.

Chu Fengqiu shook her head honestly.

“Want to go?”

Song Man’s voice held a hint of coaxing.

Chu Fengqiu hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Why did she feel like something wasn’t quite right?

“I’ll tell you first, once you get on my bike, it’s not so easy to get off.”

Song Man drew out her words, sounding like sincere advice, but it seemed a bit mischievous no matter how you looked at it.

Chu Fengqiu never fell for provocation, but Song Man had piqued her curiosity. She took the other helmet from the bike, put it on, and fastened it, showing her attitude.

“I like how straightforward you are. Come on, get on.”

Song Man patted the back seat. Feeling the seat dip, Chu Fengqiu lightly placed her hands on Song Man’s waist.

“Hold on tight. Like I said before, I’m not responsible if you fall off.”

Song Man spoke and started the engine.

She had to control her speed in the city. Once outside the city center, the traffic on the road gradually decreased. Later, there were only a few cars, and Song Man gradually became more unrestrained, driving all the way out of the city.

In the dark night, the blue motorcycle was like a ghost, flashing past extremely quickly. Only the sound of the engine could be heard, like a fleeting clap of thunder.

Song Man even wanted to take off her helmet, but for the sake of her face and head, she decided against kissing the wind blades.

She enjoyed the feeling of the wind piercing through her body. All worries were forgotten in that instant.

Chu Fengqiu could only hold Song Man tightly from the back seat. It was her first time experiencing speeding. Compared to the speed when they arrived earlier, Song Man’s speed just now was gentle.

Song Man felt the hands around her waist tighten and laughed mockingly without restraint.

“Chu Fengqiu, scared?”

She had to shout to ensure her voice wasn’t swallowed by the wind.

“What did you say?”

Chu Fengqiu didn’t hear clearly and asked louder.

“I said, are you scared?”

“I’m not scared.”

Chu Fengqiu replied. Then she realized her voice was too low and responded with a louder shout.

It was the first time the usually ladylike and polite Chu Fengqiu had shouted so loudly. After shouting, she had to admit, it felt a bit exhilarating.

“Good, as long as you’re not scared.”

Song Man accelerated again and took a sharp turn.

This was simply playing with heartbeats. Chu Fengqiu felt her body tilt forward, as if she was about to embrace death in that instant, to be thrown out a distance and then torn into pieces. She even imagined how she would look when she died, bl00d splattering everywhere. But the next moment, she was pulled back up, her heart still beating violently. Even after Song Man stopped the bike, her heart was still pounding uncontrollably.

“Scared you this time, didn’t I?”

Song Man unbuckled her helmet and parked the bike by the roadside.

She smiled smugly, waiting for Chu Fengqiu’s reaction.

Chu Fengqiu just covered her chest, looking neither out of control nor scared to tears.

“Hey, didn’t scare you silly, did I?”

Song Man opened Chu Fengqiu’s helmet and waved her hand in front of her face.

“That feeling… was a bit special.”

Chu Fengqiu grabbed Song Man’s waving hand and pulled it down. After that moment of extreme blankness passed, the feeling of surviving a disaster, or rather, escaping death, cleared her mind a lot.

“It must be tiring for you to always be so reserved. This is much better.”

Song Man pulled her hand out of Chu Fengqiu’s and cupped Chu Fengqiu’s face.

Chu Fengqiu’s eyes were slightly flushed, and her expression wasn’t as polite and distant as usual, making her seem much more real.

For a moment, time seemed to quiet down. Chu Fengqiu couldn’t hear the cicadas in the surrounding trees, couldn’t see the two stars occasionally twinkling in the night sky, couldn’t feel the roar of the wind blowing past her ears. She could only see Song Man in front of her, feel the warmth on her face, and hear the sound of her own heart beating in her chest.

In the vast emptiness, meeting those eyes, she even felt a flutter in her heart.

Song Man, on the other hand, looked strangely at Chu Fengqiu, who had suddenly zoned out. She was a little worried that the girl had really been scared too much.

After all, although she was confident she wouldn’t crash just now, for someone who hadn’t experienced it, it was truly very dangerous. They might feel like they were just a hair’s breadth away from being scraped on the ground. So, Song Man expected Chu Fengqiu to be scared.

But Song Man didn’t mean to play a malicious prank. She just wanted Chu Fengqiu to relax a little, not be so tense all the time. It must be uncomfortable.

“Hey, give me some reaction. It was my fault for doing that. I’m sorry, I apologize. Don’t scare me like this.”

Song Man looked at Chu Fengqiu, who was still staring blankly at her, feeling a bit worried. Although she thought Chu Fengqiu’s psychological resilience wouldn’t be that poor, if she really scared someone badly, she couldn’t bear the responsibility.

Chu Fengqiu watched Song Man’s lips open and close, but the sound seemed to come from a very distant place, making it hard to hear clearly. Her hand unconsciously covered the back of Song Man’s hand, and only then did she feel herself being pulled back to the real world little by little.

“I’m fine.”

Chu Fengqiu looked into Song Man’s eyes and shook her head.

Song Man only felt that those eyes were dark, revealing emotions she couldn’t read. In the instant their eyes met, her heart skipped a beat, making her awkwardly withdraw her hand. She subconsciously looked up at the sky, trying to find another topic.

“The air here is quite nice.”

She could see a few stars in the sky, not many, but much better than the black clouds in the city.

“Mm.”

Chu Fengqiu responded softly.

Song Man was looking at the sky, while Chu Fengqiu was looking at Song Man’s side profile. For some reason, she remembered Song Man’s look as she tilted her head back to gaze at the night sky for a long time.

Even the best atmosphere has to end. Before midnight, Song Man brought Chu Fengqiu home. After saying goodnight to each other, she closed the door.

Song Man took a shower, lay in bed, and took out her phone. She found that Lingnan had replied to her message an hour ago.

【Lingnan】: I tried calculating for a while, only got halfway, and couldn’t solve this problem.

【Lingnan】: But I asked for outside help. I’ll send it to you.

Song Man clicked on the image Lingnan sent. What immediately caught Song Man’s eye was the beautiful cursive script. To be honest, writing mathematical letters in cursive was a bit strange. Song Man stopped focusing on the font and concentrated on the problem itself. The steps were indeed very complicated. Fortunately, the solver’s thinking was relatively clear. After reading through, Song Man still had some doubts.

It used more complex formulas and theorems that she hadn’t encountered yet. Song Man felt there should be an easier-to-understand solution, but she hadn’t figured it out yet.

【A Man】: I’ll go calculate it.

【Lingnan】: Okay. I didn’t reply earlier because I wasn’t feeling well, so I didn’t look at my phone.

【A Man】: Are you feeling better now?

【Lingnan】: Just the same, I guess. I’ve been taking targeted therapy drugs for two or three years. The doctor originally said if it stabilized, the situation would improve a lot, but it relapsed.

【Lingnan】: One of my fellow patients has already passed away. To be honest, I’m a little scared.

【Lingnan】: Actually, more than a little. My hands are shaking.

【Lingnan】: Sorry for talking so much off-topic. I just couldn’t help it. Go calculate now.

Song Man’s fingers hovered over the keyboard, wanting to type some words of comfort, but she didn’t know what to say.

【A Man】: You’ll get better.

【Lingnan】: I’ve always believed that.

Song Man took out paper and pen from the drawer and continued calculating on the bed.

Separated by a wall, Chu Fengqiu was also working on the problem her Question Bank friend sent her.

It was a bit complicated. She took out scratch paper, discarded some steps, thought back and forth for nearly half an hour, figured out the answer to the problem, and sent it out.

When she received the answer, Song Man was grinding a gacha game. After pulling a useless SSR, Song Man clicked into the Question Bank.

The answer Q-Shen gave was the same as Lingnan’s. Song Man also calculated the same answer later.

【A Man】: You didn’t calculate it this way too, did you?

Song Man sent the image Lingnan had sent to Q-Shen and received a reply she didn’t quite understand.

【Q-Shen】: You know Ke Lingyu?

【A Man】: Who is Ke Lingyu? Lingnan sent me this image.

【Q-Shen】: Lingnan isn’t her. Maybe I was mistaken.

Chu Fengqiu had watched Lingnan’s live stream and seen Lingnan’s face, confirming that Lingnan wasn’t the person she was thinking of. But in Chu Fengqiu’s memory, the only person who wrote math so fancily was her former rival.

【A Man】: I’ll go ask.

Song Man’s curiosity was piqued, and she went to ask Lingnan.

【Lingnan】: How did you know?

【Lingnan】: Do you know her?

【A Man】: I don’t know her. Q-Shen said it. Q-Shen might know her.

【Lingnan】: Really? Can you help me ask? If you know her, that would be great.

Song Man could feel Lingnan’s excitement, and then felt a bit strange. Shouldn’t Lingnan know this Ke Lingyu if she got the answer to this problem from her?

Song Man expressed her confusion, and Lingnan was silent for a long time.

【Lingnan】: She doesn’t know it’s me. If she knew it was me, she wouldn’t be willing to talk to me, but I really want to know how she’s doing. Please.

Song Man felt there was gossip to be had, but she didn’t know that what she was about to learn would open a door to a new world for her.