Chapter 266: Summer, Beach, Fireworks, and Confession! (Deliberately Ordinary)
Su Yuqing’s phone screen lit up with a reply from Chen Mo: "Got it. Huang Mao is doing a lot better. Tell Yuanyuan to come out for a late-night snack."
She set her phone down and looked at Zhao Yuanyuan. The girl’s head was buried in her knees, but her shoulders had relaxed slightly. "Yuanyuan," Su Yuqing said softly, "the late-night snack is almost ready. Why don’t we... go out and eat something? Everyone is out there."
Zhao Yuanyuan’s body visibly tensed up again. "...Is Huang Mao there, too?" came her muffled voice.
"Yeah, everyone’s there." Su Yuqing didn’t evade the question. "Don’t be afraid of it being awkward. The fact that he’s there is all the more reason you should go. Like I just said, you just need to send one message: you still value his friendship, you just need time. If you hide in here and don’t come out, you’ll just make him overthink things and assume you hate him."
For a few seconds, the room fell silent, leaving only the gentle sound of the waves outside.
Finally, Zhao Yuanyuan took a deep breath and lifted her head.
Her eyes were still a bit red, but the panic and self-blame that had nearly crushed her had faded significantly. In its place was a timid but determinedly calm expression.
"I... I’ll try," she said quietly. Her voice was thick from crying, but it no longer trembled.
Su Yuqing smiled encouragingly. "You still have tear stains on your face. If Huang Mao sees them, he’ll think he’s the one who made you cry. Go wash your face first, and then we’ll go out. Remember, just be yourself."
The aroma of the late-night snack already filled the living room.
Chen Mo was placing the last of the barbecue on the coffee table. Huang Mao sat awkwardly in a corner of the sofa, his eyes periodically glancing in the direction Zhao Yuanyuan would be coming from.
Zhou Hao and Qu Danwan, as well as Lin Yu’an and Zhao Yuanyuan, were also on the sofa. To keep Huang Mao from feeling too awkward, everyone was trying their best to liven up the atmosphere.
They were all holding cards, playing a game of Old Maid.
Soon, Su Yuqing arrived with Zhao Yuanyuan. Hearing their footsteps, everyone’s gaze instinctively turned toward them.
Zhao Yuanyuan walked out behind Su Yuqing, her steps a little hesitant.
𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
She immediately spotted Huang Mao in the corner of the sofa and averted her gaze as quickly as a startled deer. A blush crept back onto her cheeks, and her fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes.
Huang Mao’s heart leaped into his throat, and his palms grew sweaty with nervousness.
He remembered Chen Mo’s words: ’Just act normal! The more you force it, the more awkward it’ll be!’
He took a sharp breath, forcing down the fluttering in his chest and his own disappointment. He struggled to muster his usual, somewhat roguish smile—though, given his current state, it came out looking stiff and deliberate.
"Yo, the great Miss Zhao finally deigns to emerge from her cave? Any later and I would’ve snatched all your favorite grilled chicken wings!" Huang Mao deliberately raised his voice, even reaching out as if to grab the golden-brown chicken wings from the plate.
This familiar taunt, aimed at a specific target (her favorite chicken wings), was like a key. With a mental CLICK, it unlocked Zhao Yuanyuan’s instincts, which had been temporarily sealed away by the shock.
The moment the words left Huang Mao’s mouth, she snapped her head up, her almond eyes wide. Her earlier shyness and bewilderment vanished, replaced by a familiar, fierce glint that screamed ’hands off my food!’
"Yellow Hair, you dare!" Her voice was still a little stuffy, but it was full of fire. "Those are mine!"
It was a reflexive retort, the kind she always used when bickering with Huang Mao, delivered with all her usual mock fierceness.
Her voice was like a small pebble dropped into still water. Though faint, it sent out ripples that washed away some of the suffocating awkwardness.
With her familiar retort, the heavy stone in Huang Mao’s heart shifted, giving him just enough room to breathe.
His smile remained stiff and his limbs felt clumsy, but he felt like he was starting to find his ’normal’ rhythm again.
He defiantly stuck his neck out and continued playing the ’annoying’ role. "Tch, does it have your name on it? Finders keepers!"
This time, his movement was more exaggerated. He leaned forward and reached directly for the plate of chicken wings, as if he’d succeed in the very next second.
"Why you—!" Zhao Yuanyuan’s "battle" mode was fully activated.
Su Yuqing’s earlier comfort, her inner confusion, her guilt toward Huang Mao—at this moment, all of it was temporarily pushed to the back of her mind by the "urgent mission" of "defending the chicken wings."
Almost on pure instinct, she shot out from behind Su Yuqing with a feral energy, her sights set on Huang Mao’s outstretched "demonic claw" and the tempting plate of chicken wings.
However, just as she reached the coffee table and moved to slap his hand away, she froze for an unnatural split second.
The moment her fingertips were about to touch the back of Huang Mao’s hand, they flinched back slightly as if from an electric shock. Her "fierce" expression cracked for a fleeting moment, revealing her true panic and bewilderment.
But the hesitation was fleeting. She immediately concealed it with a much larger motion, snatching the entire plate of chicken wings and hugging it tightly to her chest like a rare treasure. At the same time, she didn’t forget to glare fiercely at Huang Mao with her big eyes, as if to say: "See! Mine!"
Huang Mao’s hand was left hovering in mid-air. Watching her familiar, food-guarding posture, paired with the deliberately ’fierce’ expression on her face, he felt his own tension ease considerably.
Playing along, he made a sulky, "Tch, you win," expression, pulled back his hand, and even deliberately pouted. But deep in his eyes, the faint glimmer of light that had appeared because of her ’normal’ reaction grew a little brighter.
Soon, the two of them fell into their usual dynamic.
Seeing this, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
But everyone knew they couldn’t possibly be okay so quickly. What they were seeing was just an act they were putting on for the group.
However, it was obvious they needed time to slowly work through things, so everyone tacitly agreed not to bring it up.
Chen Mo also joined in, cracking jokes and fooling around.
For a time, the atmosphere was quite pleasant.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they gathered to play another round of cards.
This time, Chen Mo deliberately suggested a game of Truth or Dare. He planned to create an opportunity to force the two of them to be alone together.
The person who got rid of all their cards first could order anyone they chose to do a truth or a dare.
Chen Mo had "inadvertently" arranged for Zhao Yuanyuan and Huang Mao to sit diagonally across from each other, so they wouldn’t have to be face-to-face.
While playing cards, both of them seemed a little distracted.
Zhao Yuanyuan tried hard to immerse herself in the game, but when she caught a glimpse of Huang Mao out of the corner of her eye, her smile would instantly vanish, replaced by a deliberately stony, "serious" expression.
Huang Mao’s movements were much stiffer than usual as he played. He rarely looked at anyone when it was his turn, keeping his gaze fixed on his own cards or the food on the coffee table.