Let's Do Some Questions - Chapter 47

As soon as Deng Wei said “wedding invitation,” everyone laughed along.

“Since you know it’s a wedding invitation, keep it safe. Remember to give your gift money later.”

Song Man laughed along. Maomao gave a thumbs-up from the side.

“Exactly, Wei Ge, don’t forget to give Man Jie gift money.”

“Go away, go away. If I’m giving gift money, would I forget to invite you along?”

Deng Wei joked back. Chu Fengqiu also smiled, though only she knew what she was happy about.

“What are you guys laughing about so happily? We can hear it from outside the door.”

Ailan pushed the door open and asked curiously.

“Lan Jie is here! We’re opening presents. Where’s my present?”

Deng Wei held out his hand, and Ailan slapped it.

“Who asks for presents like that? Then I won’t give it.”

“Isn’t this just avoiding the formality?”

Ailan handed the gift to Deng Wei and walked over to Song Man’s side.

“Man Jie.”

She called out to Song Man, then glanced at Chu Fengqiu next to Song Man.

Chu Fengqiu met her gaze openly and returned a smile, though it wasn’t sincere.

Chu Fengqiu hadn’t understood the meaning behind Ailan’s look at Song Man before, only vaguely sensing Ailan’s hostility and unfriendliness towards her. But now, looking back, that strange feeling made sense.

Since she might be a love rival, Chu Fengqiu naturally wouldn’t be overly friendly.

Song Man also smiled and greeted Ailan when she saw her. After a few days, Song Man had long since put the awkwardness of their previous interaction behind her and still treated Ailan as a friend.

“Hey, who sent this long box?”

Someone pointed to the most conspicuous gift among the few on the sofa and asked.

“Man Jie sent it,” Deng Wei quickly answered. “Man Jie, what did you send? This box looks quite big.”

Deng Wei was naturally extremely curious about the gift from Song Man.

“Just open it and see.”

“It feels a bit heavy, Man Jie. You didn’t send me a brick, did you?”

Deng Wei still remembered the Magic Fairy Wand incident. Song Man had told him to bring a brick to hold the fort, but his sister had swapped the brick for a Magic Fairy Wand.

“I’ll send you an iron brick.”

Song Man snorted. Deng Wei still dared to mention the brick.

Deng Wei opened the outer box and saw what was inside the transparent case. He almost screamed.

“Ahhhhh! Man Jie, I love you to death! Oh my god…”

Deng Wei almost performed a tough guy crying on the spot. His expression was still stunned, and his hand kept touching the outer cover.

“Wei Ge, what is this?”

“Iron Man! The craftsmanship, oh my heavens, I’m going to faint.”

Deng Wei’s hands were trembling.

He had always wanted one but didn’t have the money, so he could only look at pictures to satisfy his craving. He never expected such a huge surprise to fall from the sky.

“Man Jie.”

Deng Wei looked at Song Man, moved, his eyes a little red.

“Don’t love me, there’s no future.”

Song Man indicated that she was just a legend.

She knew what Deng Wei was moved by, not just the value of the gift, but also the meaning behind it.

Ten years of Marvel. People who didn’t understand couldn’t possibly grasp the emotions some things carried.

The original heroes were gone, and Iron Man would never return.

“Man Jie, once my sister, always my sister!”

“Got it, little brother.”

“Man Jie, with that gift out, I suddenly feel like the gift I gave Wei Ge is embarrassing.”

Maomao scratched his head, looking quite sheepish.

“Holy crap, Maomao, come here, I promise I won’t beat you to death.”

Deng Wei put down Iron Man, opened the next box, and was shocked by the photos of his past “kill-me-please” hairstyle that came into view.

“What’s wrong, what’s wrong? I just put some of your beautiful photos from a few years ago! This is a memento of youth! Look at this special hairstyle, hahahaha, you were the coolest guy on this street!”

Deng Wei and Maomao started chasing each other, displaying their unique characteristics. The others stood in the living room watching these two act like idiots.

It wasn’t until Deng Wei’s mom brought out the dishes that this chaotic tug-of-war ended.

Song Man naturally sat with Chu Fengqiu. Deng Wei sat on her other side. Ailan was a step late and could only sit next to Deng Wei.

Deng Wei’s mom’s cooking was really good. Song Man ate non-stop, not even having time to chat.

Deng Wei was drinking beer and chatting with a few guys, discussing what they would do in the afternoon.

“Where can we go? Not singing again, is it? I’m tired of singing.”

“How about playing pool? But Man Jie doesn’t like playing.”

“How about mahjong?”

“Are you stupid? If we make two tables, the second one will still be short one person.”

“Man Jie, where do you want to go?”

They discussed back and forth, then looked at Song Man.

“Ask the birthday boy. The birthday boy is the boss today.”

Song Man said indistinctly, chewing her food.

Deng Wei thought it over, then slapped the table.

“There’s nothing fun in the city. We’ve been to everything we can go to, and the places we can’t afford, well, forget it. How about we just go to Happy Valley!”

Deng Wei proposed this idea and thought it was more and more feasible.

It wasn’t tourist season, so Happy Valley wouldn’t be too crowded. It would be much more fun than singing karaoke.

“No problem.”

Song Man thought it was fine. Everyone nodded, thinking it was a great suggestion.

Having decided on Happy Valley, everyone left after finishing lunch.

“Be careful.”

Deng Wei’s mom reminded them. Deng Wei, holding his sister’s hand, nodded.

As the ultimate doting brother, Deng Wei wouldn’t leave his sister behind to go play on such an important day. Happy Valley also had rides for children. Eight people piled onto the bus and headed towards their destination.

There weren’t many people on the bus, but with eight people getting on, it became a bit crowded. There were only two empty seats. Deng Wei found a seat for Deng Lu and stood by her side. The other seat was taken by another follower, who motioned for Song Man to come over.

“You sit. I’m fine standing.”

Song Man waved her hand and held onto the railing.

From the bus stop near Deng Wei’s house to Happy Valley, it was about seven stops, taking around twenty minutes.

Chu Fengqiu and Song Man stood on the same side. Song Man stood on the inside, and from the side, it looked like Song Man was leaning into Chu Fengqiu’s arms.

Ailan stood beside Song Man, her brows furrowing unconsciously.

When she saw Song Man and Chu Fengqiu’s clasped hands, her brows furrowed even tighter, and her heart was startled, feeling a blockage.

Ailan had always felt that Song Man was a relatively independent person who didn’t like being clingy with people. Her every move had a cool, decisive handsomeness. In the past, if she tried to be more intimate, Song Man would directly refuse.

But now, Song Man was right in front of her, holding hands with another girl.

Ailan couldn’t understand, not at all.

She looked at Chu Fengqiu, and the more she looked, the more she felt sad and disheartened.

Although they were both Song Man’s friends, she hadn’t felt the gap when she was with Deng Wei earlier. But after this Chu Fengqiu entered their small circle, Ailan became acutely aware of that gap.

Even if she didn’t like Chu Fengqiu, Ailan had to admit that this person was good-looking, a striking presence. Standing next to Song Man, she didn’t fade into the background. But precisely because of this, Ailan disliked Chu Fengqiu even more. It was she who forced her to confront the chasm between herself and Song Man.

Song Man, however, was unaware of Ailan’s low mood just an arm’s length away. Holding hands with Chu Fengqiu wasn’t because they were being overly affectionate due to their good relationship; it was purely out of habit.

When Chu Fengqiu reached out her hand, Song Man habitually grabbed it. Anyway, Chu Fengqiu’s hand was cool and comfortable to hold. She had no idea what misunderstandings her actions were causing Ailan.

This bus route home passed through the city center. At that stop, a lot of people suddenly got on, filling the bus completely.

Song Man was almost squeezed off balance by a big man. Fortunately, Chu Fengqiu quickly pulled her, preventing her from being hit.

As the space shrunk, Song Man was squeezed into the innermost spot. Chu Fengqiu’s hand propped up beside her, separating her from the crowd.

By the time Song Man reacted, she was fixed in Chu Fengqiu’s embrace.

A mixed, unpleasant smell filled the air. Because it was summer, the smell of sweat, unknown perfume, and other scents mixed together, making it a bit overwhelming. And to make matters worse, a person who seemed to sweat profusely was standing next to Song Man. The sour smell of sweat was a bit pungent. Song Man inhaled a large gulp unexpectedly and almost suffocated.

She simply leaned towards Chu Fengqiu, smelling the pleasant scent on Chu Fengqiu’s clothes, and felt herself recover a bit.

When she looked up again and smelled that sour odor, Song Man decided it was better to just bury her head in Chu Fengqiu’s clothes and survive until they got off the bus.

Chu Fengqiu was happy to enjoy Song Man’s embrace. Although she knew Song Man didn’t mean it that way, it didn’t matter; the result was the same.

She slightly turned her face and sniffed Song Man’s hair. Only the glass reflecting her image saw the smile on her face.

The bus suddenly braked hard, and the carriage shook. Chu Fengqiu still steadily protected Song Man, not letting her be pressed against her.

Complaints sounded in the carriage. Someone explained that a child had run across the road. Fortunately, the bus braked in time, and the cars behind didn’t crash either.

Everyone then started complaining about the parents’ irresponsibility. If something had happened, everyone inside and outside the bus would have been affected.

Song Man had only managed not to fall by holding onto Chu Fengqiu. Her whole body was pressed against Chu Fengqiu. When the bus resumed driving steadily, she stood firm with a frown.

“Did I press you and hurt you?”

Song Man asked quickly. Just now, her entire weight had been on Chu Fengqiu. It was quite impressive that Chu Fengqiu hadn’t been pulled sideways and had remained so firm.

“It’s fine, I was holding on.”

Chu Fengqiu ignored the pain in her wrist from forcefully gripping the railing just now and shook her head at Song Man.

Song Man felt relieved, pulled at Chu Fengqiu’s clothes that she had wrinkled by rubbing against them, then smelled that unpleasant odor again, and leaned her head closer to Chu Fengqiu once more.

The big brother next to her was truly lethal. She couldn’t resist this damned, misplaced charm at all and could only rely on the scent of Chu Fengqiu to continue surviving. Then she realized that when she was about to fall sideways just now, Chu Fengqiu had put an arm around her waist and pressed her into her embrace, preventing her from leaning forward and falling.

“Lao Chu.”

Song Man called out, leaning against Chu Fengqiu.

“Hmm?”

“You were so cool just now.”

Song Man leaned close to Chu Fengqiu’s ear and whispered a compliment. Because of their posture, she was practically breathing into Chu Fengqiu’s ear.

Chu Fengqiu’s brain instantly buzzed. A wave of Song Man’s scent traveled through her ear canal into her brain, instantly occupying all her senses, so much so that she couldn’t make any physical reaction, only letting out an almost inaudible response from her nose.