Chapter 4: Things Don’t Go Smoothly

After school, Wen Yu was kept behind by Fu Chengque.

The publicity group was formally established, and the first collective meeting within the organization was smoothly held after Fu Chengque’s enthusiastic opening speech.

Leader Fu first explained the significance of the work, then assigned positions, and clarified the responsibilities between each production unit. During the meeting, she kindly said:

“I’m hungry…”

So she assigned Wen Yu to go to the canteen and purchase some snacks and drinks.

By the time Wen Yu returned, the meeting had already ended successfully.

“Wen Yu, come with me to help out. Everyone else, you’re dismissed!”

There was a cheer, and after eating and drinking, they packed up their bags and locked the classroom door.

The two members of the publicity group ran the fastest, followed by Xiao Gua, with the boy waiting for her.

Wen Yu and Fu Chengque were the last ones left, and the girl was still following behind.

“You’ve been looking around a lot lately.”

A voice came from behind, and Wen Yu turned to see Chengque looking around.

“So have you.”

“I…”

“Just look around, the scenery’s nice.”

Wen Yu pointed to the long stretch of irises planted along the school’s arches, with vines climbing up the columns.

Fu Chengque looked, and it was indeed beautiful, but after three years, she couldn’t see anything new.

After a moment of thought, she went along with Wen Yu’s words:

“Oh… the… the scenery’s nice here, but I know another place that’s beautiful too…”

“Oh?”

“Do you want to go see it?”

“Now?”

“The night view is beautiful…”

“Then will you lead the way?”

“Sure!”

The girl was about to roll up her sleeves and get to work, but her phone suddenly vibrated.

Taking a look, it was her mom.

“Qiao’er[1], come home quickly. What are you doing out so late?”

“Something came up at school…”

“Even if something came up, you can’t delay coming home. Your grandma’s here. Hurry back.”

“But…”

“But what? Her health has improved recently. Your uncle is taking her on a trip to relax. They’re leaving tomorrow. Hurry back!”

Fu Chengque felt quite unwilling. Her little plan was to lure Wen Yu to a nearby park where there was a restaurant offering special services. Once they sat down there and the tableware was set, this “candlelight dinner” would happen.

But now… she could only console herself that there was still time.

Despite Chengque’s incessant apologies, Wen Yu waved his hand to indicate it was fine; he didn’t mind these one or two days.

They went home together. When Wen Yu reached the doorstep, he heard lively chatter inside. Pushing the door open, he saw a family inside.

He thought it might be relatives visiting, but it turned out to be Fu Chengque’s grandma’s family!

Wen Yu greeted them with a smile and approached the elderly lady with graying hair, saying, “Grandma, you’re here. How’s your health? Have dinner here tonight; I’ll go out and buy some of your favorite food.”

The elderly lady immediately laughed heartily, “Much better, much better. Thank you for thinking of me, Xiao Yu. Do you still remember your grandma?”

“I do. Usually, only Chengque gets to see you on New Year’s, and I used to be mad at her for that.”

“You sweet talker.” The elderly lady clapped her hands and turned to Wen Yu’s mom, saying, “Xiao Yu has grown up. Last time I saw him, he was shy and wouldn’t say a word.”

Wen Yu’s mom was also a bit stunned; her son had changed!

He wasn’t like this before!

Everyone happily chatted for a while, and then the guests politely declined the host’s invitation to dinner and returned to the neighboring Fu family.

Grandma was very happy, and the conversation never stopped.

“Xiao Yu is such a good kid. Honest and kind. Qiao’er, you have to keep an eye on him.”

Fu Chengque’s hand holding the chopsticks trembled.

Mrs. Fu pretended to be displeased, saying, “Mom, what are you telling the kids? He’s in his senior year; studies are important.”

Grandma immediately stopped eating and held the chopsticks, “You know the importance of studying? Back then, you didn’t go to university, and who did you follow around? You even eloped, and in the end, you had to beg me to organize your wedding.”

Mr. Fu’s hand holding the chopsticks trembled violently.

Wow, that’s intense, thought Fu Chengque. She had never heard her parents talk about such stimulating past events.

Fortunately, her uncle mediated, and the dinner finally ended in a relatively harmonious atmosphere.

After dinner, Grandma, who was originally supposed to stay in a hotel with her uncle’s family, insisted on staying over and sharing a room with her granddaughter. Despite everyone’s dissuasion, Fu Chengque could only tearfully express her welcome; she missed her grandma too much.

She definitely couldn’t go out tonight.

Fortunately, there was still time.

【task Duration: 19h47m12s】

Tomorrow night, she must also persuade Wen Yu to come over.

***

The next day.

Wen Yu was startled by the dark circles under Fu Chengque’s eyes.

Her originally fair and delicate face, her features were always exquisite.

She still had faint eye bags, her eyes were always bright.

Today, the eye bags were dark.

She seemed absent-minded when she left, so Mrs. Fu had to remind Wen Yu, “Xiao Yu, help take care of Qiao’er. She must have been kept up by Grandma chatting yesterday and didn’t sleep well.”

“Okay, leave it to me.”

“Also, today Qiao’er, her dad, and I are accompanying her grandma on a day trip. We won’t be back tonight. There’s still a lot of yesterday’s food in the fridge. Your parents have something to do today and won’t be home tonight, right? So you come over to my house to heat up the food and eat with Qiao’er. Be careful with the stove.” Then she turned to Fu Chengque and shouted, “Did you hear me?”

Fu Chengque absentmindedly responded, understanding.

Wen Yu also agreed; his mom had mentioned these things in advance.

After going downstairs, the two chatted as they walked.

“Did you sleep with Grandma?”

“We talked half the night. She woke up around 5:00 AM today.” The girl started pounding the wall. “She even woke me up. Oh my god, 5:00 AM… Do old people not need to sleep?”

“That’s tough.”

What Fu Chengque didn’t say was that the approaching task time was the real reason she couldn’t fall asleep.

“Wen Yu, are you free tonight?”

“I have a meeting with you.”

“So, you are free. Do you still want to go see the scenery we talked about yesterday?”

“Aren’t you risking your life? Shouldn’t you come back early to rest?”

“I’m fine. Look, I’m very energetic.”

“I think you’re still dreaming.”

“…”

“What?”

“What do I have to do for you to believe I’m okay?”

“I won’t believe it no matter what. If you faint outside later, I’ll have to carry you back. Am I looking for trouble?”

“Don’t you like sightseeing? It’s beautiful there!”

“Then I definitely can’t let an accident ruin my mood for sightseeing. Otherwise, I’ll hate both you and the scenery, which is not what I want.”

“Why are you like this?”

“I’m just like this.”

One in front and one behind, they boarded the bus no. 211, and then Fu Chengque sat by the window, feeling drowsy.

Originally, Wen Yu sat far away, but after some thought, he moved to sit beside her.

Suddenly overwhelmed by sleepiness, the girl leaned on his shoulder as the carriage jolted.

Fu Chengque couldn’t remember how she spent this day at all, as if it were filled with nothing but drowsiness.

But she didn’t dare to sleep too deeply, yet she was so tired.

Alternating between drowsiness and wakefulness, she feared that if she overslept like in the mornings, she’d wake up feeling cold-hearted.

As soon as the school bell rang, Fu Chengque jolted awake. Ignoring the curious gazes of her classmates, she rushed to Wen Yu and grabbed his shirt.

“Come with me.”

“Hey hey, you’re pulling too hard, where are we going?”

“Like we talked about this morning.”

“I’m not going.” Wen Yu quickly left the classroom. “There’s no meeting today, right? Then I’m leaving.”

“You’re not allowed to go. You have to come with me, otherwise we’re not going anywhere!”

“You’re acting really strange today. Do you have something you need my help with?”

“…no, nothing…”

With less than 3 hours remaining, she was getting desperate. “Anyway, just come with me for a bit.”

“Fine, then… can I use the restroom first?”

Fu Chengque thought for a moment, feeling overwhelmed by the eager eyes of her classmates, so she nodded reluctantly.

“Okay, but I’m coming with you. You can’t run away.”

“You’re going into the men’s restroom too?” Wen Yu was shocked.

Fu Chengque blushed, “I… I never said I was going in.”

Inside the bathroom, Wen Yu shivered, seriously contemplating the current situation. There was no doubt: Fu Chengque was sick.

There was a major problem today!

She clearly had something to do, and it was the place she was desperately trying to get Wen Yu to go, and it didn’t seem like a good thing.

Going against the grain, that place was definitely off-limits today.

There was a gap in the wall of the men’s restroom where boys would hide to smoke and evade teachers. They could climb over the wall and leave the school.

Fluidity, it was necessary.

***

Fu Chengque waited for half an hour.

Normally mild-mannered, she was on the verge of exploding.

She pulled out her phone and dialed Wen Yu’s number, but all she heard was beep, beep… and then the sound of beeping.

He ran away; he definitely wasn’t in the restroom anymore!

Fu Chengque grabbed her things and hurried home. Her intuition told her that Wen Yu had gone home.

[Task Duration: 01h12m22s]

Fu Chengque rushed back home, put down her things, and grabbed the key to Wen Yu’s house. The door lock was open but the door wouldn’t open.

Wen Yu had bolted it from the inside!

“Wen Yu, open the door! Come with me!”

“Wen Yu, open the door, if you don’t, I’ll break it down!”

***

“Wen Yu, please open the door, I’m really in a hurry. I have something…”

“Please, I don’t have time…”

After shouting for a few minutes, Fu Chengque’s voice changed, no longer firm, but with a hint of crying.

With a click, the door opened, and Wen Yu poked his head out, looking at Fu Chengque’s tearful appearance.

“What’s the matter?”

“Wen Yu, please help me, just come with me for a while, you just need to sit there for a moment… please…”

She squatted on the ground, looking up, tears in her eyes, like an abandoned kitten.

“Please… I’m begging you…”

Wen Yu couldn’t bear it.

Why was he so kind-hearted?

“Alright, alright, let’s go. Come on…”

“Really?” Chengque suddenly jumped up, excitedly spinning around, “Great, let’s hurry!”

She immediately dialed the restaurant’s number. Just as it started ringing, the whole floor suddenly went pitch black with a “click.”

A power outage…?

Fu Chengque tried pressing the hallway light switch a few times, but there was no response. Meanwhile, the restaurant phone got answered.

“Hello, this is Shili Lake Restaurant, how can I help you?”

“Hello, I’d like to make a reservation for later…”

“I’m sorry, there’s a power outage in the area tonight, we’ve suspended operations. If you need, you can book for a time after tomorrow, would you like us to arrange that for you?”

Fu Chengque’s heart sank instantly.

It’s over.

“Do you need anything?”

A wave of exhaustion suddenly surged up.

[Task Duration: 0h19m12s]

“Thank you… no… I don’t need anything…”

Is there still time…?

Should she look around nearby again?

Fu Chengque rubbed her eyes.

Tired, eyes sore, body heavy, head seems unable to turn.

Forget it, it’s too late.

Fu Chengque muttered “I’m not going” and staggered back home, collapsing on the sofa, not wanting to do anything.

She felt incredibly unlucky today, everything went wrong.

Closing her eyes for a while, a wave of exhaustion surged over her.

Half in a daze, half awake, she suddenly heard two light knocks at the door.

“Fu Chengque, are you there?”

“Damn, you scared me. Why are you lying here?”

Wen Yu walked in with a candle, first shining it on Fu Chengque’s face, then on the dining table.

“Not going out and not planning to eat either? Your mom asked me to take care of you, didn’t expect I’d have to serve you meals too.”

The boy sighed, swiftly took out several dishes from the fridge, heated them up on the gas stove, and placed them on the table.

Seeing that the first candle was almost burnt out, he lit a new one and placed it on Fu Chengque’s side.

The girl nervously leaned back, letting the darkness cover her face slightly.

Wen Yu didn’t notice her subtle movement; he just clapped his hands satisfied. “Let’s eat!”

[Congratulations, task completed!]

[You’ve received a reward: Comprehensive Drawing Ability +15, Enhanced Color Ability +5, Special Task Bonus: Dance +4]

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[1] Fu Chengque’s nickname

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