Let's Do Some Questions - Chapter 46

The class bell rang, but Song Man was still sleepy.

She suddenly missed the times when Song Qinglan indulged her. Although Song Qinglan had ulterior motives, Song Man really enjoyed herself back then.

This class was Biology. The biology teacher was an elderly-looking woman with glasses, her face marked by the passage of time.

Despite her age, the biology teacher was still sharp. If anyone made a small movement, she would silently cast a glance, not scolding, but watching with a gentle gaze that made people feel immense pressure.

Song Man absentmindedly looked up and suddenly met her eyes, instantly jolting awake.

She instinctively flinched the hand holding Chu Fengqiu’s, her hand sliding off Chu Fengqiu’s arm. This caused Chu Fengqiu to immediately look at her, her fingers gently stroking the back of Song Man’s hand in comfort.

Song Man didn’t feel embarrassed about being caught. She was just no longer sleepy. She held her pen and looked down at her biology book.

Anyway, she knew all these concepts and wasn’t really listening. She pretended to read but was actually thinking about her own things.

Chu Fengqiu wrote notes in her book, waiting for Song Man’s hand to rest on her arm again.

But after waiting for a while, Song Man didn’t make any move.

Song Man was still deep in thought. Tomorrow was Deng Wei’s birthday, his eighteenth, which was significant. She was thinking about how to celebrate for her little follower.

In the morning, Deng Wei’s mother had messaged her, inviting her to their house for lunch tomorrow.

Song Man felt that even without considering her friendship with Deng Wei, just for the sake of his auntie’s cooking, she had to give Deng Wei a decent birthday gift.

But what the specific gift would be, Song Man hadn’t decided yet.

She thought of several ideas, but none felt quite right.

Until class ended, Song Man still couldn’t come up with anything.

Her hand was suddenly grabbed by another hand. Song Man wasn’t startled and let Chu Fengqiu hold it.

“What are you thinking about?”

Chu Fengqiu felt the warmth in her palm. Song Man wasn’t cold, so why didn’t she reach out again for the rest of the class? She had been waiting but didn’t get it.

She had initially thought Song Man was just low on energy, but now that class was over, Song Man wasn’t slumped on the desk. She was just staring blankly at the desktop, clearly lost in her own world, thinking about something.

“I’m thinking about what gift to get Deng Wei.”

“A gift?”

“Yeah, it’s his birthday tomorrow. As his big sister, I have to do something. Plus, he’ll be eighteen tomorrow, an adult. I need to give him something meaningful so he remembers I’m his boss.”

Song Man never believed anyone could stay with someone forever. All good things must come to an end. Their companionship was just for a phase. One day, she would leave high school and go to a wider world, and Deng Wei would eventually have his own life.

They would separate, and perhaps the gap between them would grow wider. That’s why special things like gifts were needed to commemorate the present time.

“What are you planning to prepare?”

“Haven’t figured it out yet.”

Song Man was thinking of giving something meaningful, valuable for preservation. She wouldn’t give anything too expensive. Even if she could afford it, it wasn’t suitable for Deng Wei.

Song Man often treated her followers to food, but she never took them to experience the flashy, tempting world. It was like a reality show she once disliked, showing people a worldly glitz that didn’t belong to them, then making them clearly realize they couldn’t have it yet. That disparity might inspire some to strive, but that was the minority. The vast majority would have their mindset thrown off balance.

So, the most expensive things Song Man ever showed her followers were her precious motorcycles.

“Do you have a general direction?”

Chu Fengqiu started helping Song Man plan. Song Man’s followers were, in a way, her followers too, so this gesture could be conveyed together.

“I thought for a long time just now, but couldn’t come up with anything very meaningful that also fits my style.”

From childhood to adulthood, Song Man had received enough gifts to fill a warehouse, from expensive jewelry to heartfelt cards. She had so many gifts she couldn’t even unwrap them all.

She initially thought about giving Deng Wei a card, but that was too literary and didn’t quite match Song Man’s style. Besides, Deng Wei wasn’t a literary youth; he was quite careless and might lose it anytime.

As for a commemorative photo album, Song Man initially thought it was feasible, but then she realized it wasn’t her style either, too sentimental. The main point was that Song Man didn’t like taking pictures, and Deng Wei, that straight-laced guy, liked taking pictures even less. There wouldn’t be much material for an album.

“I was thinking, maybe give him a watch?”

A watch is both practical and aesthetically pleasing, and very useful. It should be the perfect gift.

“That could work.”

Chu Fengqiu nodded.

However, she thought of a problem. If Song Man gave him a watch, this gift would be worn close to his body day and night. Seeing it would make him think of Song Man… A layer of gloom settled over Chu Fengqiu’s heart.

Even if Song Man didn’t mean it that way, and Deng Wei didn’t mean it that way for now, who could say for sure? Even if it was truly touching brotherhood, Chu Fengqiu was petty and didn’t want that situation to arise.

“But that’s too common.”

Chu Fengqiu followed up on her previous sentence, continuing.

Her expression was so sincere, it was impossible to see the twists and turns in her mind.

“I think so too, it’s not special enough.”

That’s why Song Man had been agonizing for so long. If she had decided on a watch earlier, she wouldn’t have been so conflicted.

“Then what do you think would be better?”

“Do you know what he likes?”

“What he likes… Oh, right, I remember now.”

Song Man clapped her hand, remembering what would be most suitable to give him.

It was something she had completely forgotten, but with Chu Fengqiu’s reminder, she suddenly remembered the character Deng Wei had once told her he liked.

Deng Wei liked Iron Man. Song Man liked him too. In the Marvel superhero series, Song Man’s favorite was Iron Man. When she was about fourteen, her grandma even spent a lot of money to get her an Iron Man-style mechanical arm that could even shoot lasers.

Song Man had told Deng Wei about it. At the time, Deng Wei was practically begging on his knees to see it, but it was at Song Man’s grandma’s house and couldn’t be easily brought back.

“Are you planning to give him that?”

Chu Fengqiu asked after hearing her.

“Of course not. That’s too big and heavy. I plan to give him a figurine.”

Something relatively expensive but not overly so, full of meaning, matching Deng Wei’s hobby, and something he could collect. Simply perfect.

“Problem solved.”

Song Man snapped her fingers. Chu Fengqiu nodded beside her, also thinking it was a good idea.

The gift was special. It could be displayed and looked at every day. When Deng Wei looked at the figurine, he would definitely only think of the character and spirit it represented, and he would also remember who gave it to him. Compared to a watch, it really couldn’t be better.

“Deng Wei’s mom said she’s inviting us to their house for dinner tomorrow. You should come with me.”

“Is that okay?”

Chu Fengqiu felt she wasn’t very familiar with Deng Wei yet and wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to go like that.

“Why wouldn’t it be okay? You’re my friend, and you’re his goddess! If he knew you were coming, he’d probably squeal like a pig. He wouldn’t refuse, don’t worry.”

Chu Fengqiu nodded and agreed.

“Then I’ll prepare a gift for him too.”

“Like what?”

“《Tianli 38 Sets》?”

Chu Fengqiu still had a box of practice questions. Literally a box. These things get updated quickly, so it’s best to give them away sooner rather than later.

“Hahahaha, are you a devil? If you give him that, he’ll probably burst into tears on the spot.”

Because it would be truly moving.

“Then what do you think would be better?”

“Why bother getting him something so good? A card is more than enough. If absolutely necessary, a music box or something is presentable.”

Song Man waved her hand, indicating that Chu Fengqiu didn’t need to put in special effort. Hmph, Chu Fengqiu hadn’t even put in effort to prepare a gift for her yet, how could she let Deng Wei steal the show?

“Then a music box it is.”

“Okay, the boutique outside the school definitely sells them. I’ll go with you after school.”

“Alright.”

And so, the matter was happily decided.

Chu Fengqiu wasn’t competing with Song Man over whose gift was more elaborate. If Song Man had told her to prepare something elaborate, Chu Fengqiu would probably feel sour inside.

After school, Song Man and Chu Fengqiu went straight to the boutique outside the school gate, picked out a music box, and had the store wrap it. Placed in a gift box, it looked quite nice.

Chu Fengqiu also bought a card, wrote a blessing, and planned to put it inside.

“I’ll write too, I’ll write too. We’ll write on the same card and put it in.”

Song Man took the pen from Chu Fengqiu’s hand and signed her name next to Chu Fengqiu’s signature.

Chu Fengqiu and Song Man’s names were next to each other. Chu Fengqiu took the pen back, thought for a moment, and added a heart in the space between their two names.

“Pfft, Lao Chu, I didn’t realize you had such a girlish heart.”

This heart was really, tsk tsk tsk, how to put it, those who knew would think it was a birthday blessing, those who didn’t might think it was a wedding invitation.

Chu Fengqiu just smiled without speaking, put the card into the gift box, and carried the bag out with Song Man.

When Song Man got home, she found her dad was back.

“Dad, no overtime tonight?”

“I have to go to Europe with your mom for a meeting, probably three to five days. I came home to pack some things.”

Xu Qinglang looked a bit tired, but a smile naturally appeared on his face when he saw his daughter.

“Okay, take care of yourselves. Make sure to rest well when you’re not busy.”

“Got it, we will. You be good at home, okay? Remember to call your sister and check on her. She’s been busy with a project for two or three days, heard she hasn’t even had time to eat. Just like your mom, she forgets about herself when she’s busy.”

“Okay, got it.”

Song Man watched her dad leave with his suitcase, waving goodbye to him.

“This kind of busy life, I actually don’t like it at all.”

Song Man suddenly said.

But some people always thought she would like it.

“I know my parents work very hard, but I’m just a lazy person who loves ease.”

Song Man sighed, then pulled Chu Fengqiu to wash up and eat.

“Everyone’s like that.”

Chu Fengqiu said.

“That’s not necessarily true. Some people are born to be busy.”

Song Man wagged her finger at Chu Fengqiu, picked up the bowls and chopsticks from the table, and started eating.

Chu Fengqiu felt that Song Man seemed to be hinting at something, but couldn’t figure out what.

After eating, Song Man went to her room and put the newly arrived figurine into a box, planning to give it away tomorrow.

Tomorrow was Saturday, and Qingcheng No. 1 High would have a half-day off.

After school, Song Man told Deng Wei she’d see him later, then went home with Chu Fengqiu to change out of their school uniforms, grabbed the gift box, and headed to Deng Wei’s house.

Deng Wei hadn’t invited many people, just a few close friends. Deng Wei’s mother had cooked a large table of dishes and was still busy in the kitchen when they arrived.

“Make yourselves at home. The food will be ready soon. There’s fruit on the table. Lu Lu, go pour some water for your older brothers and sisters.”

Deng Lu was an eight-year-old girl, also dressed up beautifully today. Hearing her mother, she trotted towards the water dispenser.

“Pretty sister, have some water.”

Deng Lu brought a cup of water to Song Man and sweetly called out.

Song Man pinched the little girl’s face, deciding not to hold a grudge against her for being the real mastermind behind the Magic Fairy incident.

Deng Lu was huffing and puffing pouring water, while Deng Wei was grinning foolishly at the gifts everyone brought.

“Ah hahahaha, you’re all friends, no need to be so polite, really hahahahahahahaha.”

A clear, magical laughter like a barbell echoed in Song Man’s ears.

“Open them and see.”

Song Man motioned for Deng Wei to open the gifts.

“Then… I’ll open them?”

“Go on, open them.”

Everyone egged him on.

Deng Wei first opened the gift next to him and found it was a music box.

“See that? My goddess gave it to me.”

Deng Wei remembered who handed it to him and showed it off to everyone.

“Look closely, there’s a card inside, and my name is on it.”

Deng Wei looked, and indeed there was. The card was red, and on the back, there was a heart between their two names.

“This looks like a wedding invitation.”

Deng Wei just said it casually, but years later, looking back, he realized he was truly prescient.