The two walked for about ten minutes and arrived at the snack street.
Throughout the journey, Meng Ruozhao couldn't help stealing glances at the person beside her.
When he tilted his head slightly, the elegant curve of his long neck resembled the white porcelain displayed in a museum.
Even though the collar of his shirt was a bit loose, it couldn't conceal his innate nobility.
When they reached the outside of the hot - pot restaurant, his well - defined fingers stepped forward to push open the glass door. The protruding arc of his wrist bone exuded a restrained elegance.
As Meng Ruozhao walked into the hot - pot restaurant from his side, she caught a whiff of a faint pine - wood fragrance.
She hesitated for a moment, but soon, the aroma of the hot pot surrounded her nostrils.
She sneered at herself inwardly. Why was she always so suspicious?
There were not many customers in the restaurant, and the environment was very clean.
The waiter led them to a window seat and handed them the menu.
Meng Ruozhao then passed the menu to Pei Jiangmu.
"You order. Order whatever you like."
When Pei Jiangmu took the menu, he gave her a gentle smile.
His posture of looking down at the dishes was more like reading an obscure sonnet.
The finally dried bangs cast a cobweb - like shadow on his eyelids.
When the waiter came to refill their water for the third time, he finally circled the special beef with a pencil.
The force with which the pen tip pierced the paper betrayed his deliberately maintained calm.
"Sister, are you sure you'll let me order whatever I want?"
He suddenly looked up, and his eyelashes turned transparent golden - brown under the light.
"I might order a lot."
There was a childish probe in his words, but his Adam's apple nervously slid.
Meng Ruozhao noticed that he was unconsciously rubbing the cuff of his short - sleeved shirt—where a loose thread was dangling precariously.
She withdrew her gaze and couldn't help smiling, her eyes full of indulgence.
"Order. Don't worry. Sister can afford it."
Hearing this, Pei Jiangmu let out a soft laugh.
"Sister is so nice. She's even nicer to me than my family."
This was a sincere statement, sweet as honey.
Meng Ruozhao just quietly looked at him, her eyes gentle.
Since she woke up, apart from Yan Qiubai and Du Changlin, she hadn't interacted much with other young men.
Compared with Yan Qiubai's unpredictability and superiority, and Du Changlin's rage and hostility.
She found Pei Jiangmu at this moment both cute and heart - wrenching.
After a while, Pei Jiangmu passed the menu back to Meng Ruozhao. "Sister, take a look."
He knew all her food taboos and preferences, but he couldn't show it too obviously.
Meng Ruozhao took the menu. Seeing that the person who had just said he would order a lot had only ordered four or five dishes, she felt even more heartache.
"I've told you not to save money for sister."
As she spoke, she almost ticked off all the meat dishes in the menu.
She didn't order any mutton dishes because her intuition told her that he probably didn't like it.
Coincidentally, she didn't like it either.
While waiting for the dishes to be served, they chatted casually.
Pei Jiangmu talked about the interesting things that happened during his school days.
Since Meng Ruozhao had no memories of her student days, she listened with great interest.
He told the story so vividly that it was as if she had experienced it herself.
Especially when she heard that he had a crush on a junior back then and always did some clumsy things, she became even more interested.
Pei Jiangmu said that the junior he liked was on duty every Friday.
He would always clean the blackboard and arrange the desks and chairs neatly while she went to the teacher's office to hand in her exercise books.
Even the chalk on the podium would be arranged in the colors of the rainbow.
Once, his class had an extended session. In order to do all these things before she came back.
He ran from his building to hers without even remembering to hold an umbrella, and his school uniform was completely soaked.
Meng Ruozhao was so engrossed in listening that she imagined the young Pei Jiangmu running in the rain, and a ripple of emotion welled up in her heart.
She joked with a smile, "So what happened later? Did the junior promise to marry you?"
Few people could resist him just because of his good looks.
Hearing this, Pei Jiangmu gave her a deep look, and a burning sensation suddenly rose in his throat.
He subconsciously clenched his teeth tightly, as if this could hold back the passionate words that were about to blurt out.
The pupils behind his bangs dilated slightly, and the curve of her upturned lips when she looked over was engraved on his retina.
The swaying shadow of the hot - pot restaurant's decoration was cast on his tense hand.
It was as if he was trying to suppress the thorns of possessiveness that were about to break through his skin.
When Meng Ruozhao didn't receive an answer for a long time and thought she had touched on his sad past, she subconsciously bit her lip.
He suddenly rammed his knee into the table leg. The pain finally calmed his trembling calf muscles.
All the surging undercurrents instantly froze into a perfect smile.
"No. She got annoyed with me later."
He lowered his head. There was a yet - to - form tsunami hidden in the shadow cast by his eyelashes on his cheek.
Meng Ruozhao sensed the disappointment in his words and felt a bit sad for him.
She reached out and gently patted the back of his hand, consoling him softly.
"Youthful feelings are always like this. Most of the time, they end without a result."
"But those experiences are actually very beautiful. Maybe she will find them interesting when she looks back on them later."
Pei Jiangmu looked up and met her gentle and concerned gaze. The surging emotions in his heart welled up again.
He really wanted to tell her the truth, that in fact, the junior was her.
There had never been anyone else in his world.
A long time ago, he had been deeply trapped in her world and couldn't extricate himself.
But reason reminded him again and again that it wasn't the right time yet.
If he said it now, she would definitely disappear without looking back.
At this time, the waiter began to serve the dishes one after another.
The steaming hot pot was placed on the table, bubbling and giving off an alluring aroma.
Pei Jiangmu picked up his chopsticks and first put a piece of her favorite snowflake beef into her bowl.
"Sister, try this."
His voice trailed off softly, but the veins on his wrist were bulging, as pious as if offering a sacrifice.
Meng Ruozhao thanked him and told him to eat quickly and not worry about taking care of her.
Next, they ate and chatted.
Pei Jiangmu suddenly changed the topic and casually asked, "What about sister? Do you have a boyfriend?"
Meng Ruozhao paused and subconsciously looked at him.
There was a hint of caution that she didn't even notice.
However, he was just using a strainer to look for the shrimp balls in the pot and filled her bowl with them.
This slightly over - stepping question seemed to be just a casual one.
She didn't know how nervous Pei Jiangmu was behind his seemingly calm appearance.
He actually didn't want to hear anything about other men from her mouth.
But he had to listen—at least, he needed to know her current thoughts.
Meng Ruozhao let down her guard and nodded. "Yes."
Was it really that simple?
Pei Jiangmu couldn't read her emotions and even regretted teaching her to be too vigilant before.
Even he couldn't figure out what she was thinking now.
He was not willing to give up. With a harmless smile on his face, he continued to ask.
"Then sister's boyfriend must be very excellent and love sister very much to be with sister, right?"