CH 102

The fact that Zhou Yuan had a childhood sweetheart was an interesting development.

Miaomiao glanced at Zhou Yuan, who was next to her, and she seemed to partly understand Deng Feng’s dilemma.

Back then, Deng Feng acted miserably every day. At the time, his suffering and grief had amazed her, for she couldn’t comprehend his suffering. But now she knew what it was like, for she was now in a similar situation like him.

She still had a very good companionship with Zhou Yuan. Deng Feng, on the other hand, increasingly distanced himself from Jingjing after displaying his temper tantrums.

For some inexplicable reason, Miaomiao’s vigor had fled from her, and she no longer wanted to frolic with Zhou Dun. But fortunately, Zhou Dun’s attention was focused on the television.

Miaomiao didn’t feel despondent as she watched the television with Zhou Dun, but her heart felt a great sense of unease.

As Zhou Yuan came out of his room to watch TV with his brother, Miaomiao didn’t even throw a single glance at him. This was something that he noticed.

Zhou Yuan asked, “What do you want to eat for lunch?”

Zhou Dun engrossed himself in the television, so he gave no response.

Miaomiao replied, “I’ll head back for lunch.”

“You aided me with this so much that I want to give you an invitation for lunch. You don’t have to be overly polite to me and head back for lunch.” Zhou Yuan naturally sat next to Miaomiao. They sat very close to each other.

The two were tablemates in school; therefore, they were close, but they sat upon their stools and weren’t closely ensconced together like they were now as they sat on the couch.

Miaomiao stared intently at the TV as if it was the most beautiful object in the house.

This slightly surprised Zhou Yuan, as he wondered how the two actors in the show became attracted to each other.

Zhou Yuan reached out for a piece of fruit when he noticed his brother storming out of the room. He then said, “Brother, brother. Tell me what happened to your childhood sweetheart!”

His brother’s impertinent exhortation irritated Zhou Yuan, “Stop bringing up that nonsense.”

He always adhered to the principle of ‘if you won’t allow me to say it, I’ll say it anyway’, and he mimicked his father’s tone, “You worry too much, my son. Concerning your current situation, you’ll definitely get along with your tablemate in the near future.”

A faint rufescent tinge crept onto his cheeks as he blushed when he heard his own words escaping his mouth. This was a rare occurrence.

He believed that Miaomiao’s reluctance to speak to him was due to his father’s joking around when they were younger, so he explained, “My father jokes around a lot. We had a close friendship during our youth, so he made some jokes about it. Don’t take it personally.”

A complicated feeling swept over Miaomiao, so she had no idea how to respond.

Does that mean that she’s the childhood sweetheart she was talking about?

Miaomiao didn’t stay for lunch, but she did return home since Mother Hua called and asked her when she was coming home.

When Miaomiao returned, she saw Jingjing eating some pickled cucumbers on the couch. Jingjing loved pickled cucumbers, so she always ate them when she visited Miaomiao’s house.

But a problem arose. When Miaomiao headed out, she told her mother that she was going to visit Jingjing. Her lie was now exposed.

Mother Hua didn’t say anything at all about her lie. Jingjing greeted Miaomiao, “Come eat some pickled cucumbers!”

Miaomiao ensconced herself on the couch, and Jingjing asked, “Where did you go this morning?”

“I went out for a walk.” It was better not to tell Jingjing, for she was far too playful and ebullient for her own good. If she found out, Miaomiao wouldn’t hear the end of it. She would divulge this to the entire world.

Miaomiao smoothly danced around the subject, “I wanted to go find you, but I stumbled upon an event along the way, and I ended up going there to see it. Why did you come alone today?”

Back then, Jingjing always came along with Deng Feng.

“Deng Feng is entering some competition. Deng Feng has changed a lot. He’s going to participate in some audition or competition, but he made no mention of this to me at all. I found out from a girl from my class. Did you know about this?”

Miaomiao was also incognizant of this.

Seeing Miaomiao’s expression, Jingjing got her answer. She became even more incensed that he kept such a big secret from her, “We all grew up together. We kept no secrets from each other. I even told you who my favorite teacher was in elementary school. Deng Feng has changed a lot!”

After musing for a while, Miaomiao replied, “He’s a boy. He’ll probably have a girlfriend someday. He’s going to be something that he does with her. Although we’re close friends for now, we won’t remain close forever. Jingjing, Deng Feng will eventually get married, and then his wife will be the only person closest to him.”

Jingjing sighed and nestled her head onto Miaomiao’s shoulder, “I wish that we could remain children forever. It’ll be wonderful if we could go to school together, play with each other after school, do homework together…”

Miaomiao ruffled her hair, “We can’t stay little kids forever.”

“Then, how are we going to remain best friends? How about this? Secondary to our parents, we’ll remain best friends forever, okay?” Jingjing insistently asked.

Miaomiao nodded, but her attention still swirled on something else, “What competition is Deng Feng partaking in?”

Since Deng Feng was an athletic student, she guessed that his competition was also related to sports.

Jingjing responded, “He’s participating in the selection competition for China’s Good Voice. I heard that the winner can also release a single and sign with an entertainment company.”

Miaomiao had never heard Deng Feng sing since her childhood, so she didn’t know whether this competition was suitable for him.

During the evening, Miaomiao asked Deng Feng about this as well as his decision to not inform them about it.

Deng Feng responded quickly, “Because I will stammer when I introduce myself on stage. A lot of people will mock me, laugh at me. I don’t want her to see me like that.”

Miaomiao: “…” She inexplicably felt a sense of heartbreak.

She mused over it and realized that she also wouldn’t want Zhou Yuan to see her being laughed at if she were put in a similar situation.

“Miaomiao, could you aid me when the time comes? There will be a live voting session; I’m afraid no one will vote for me…” Deng Feng said, his confidence fleeing from him.

Miaomiao was certainly willing to go.

But she wasn’t sure if Jingjing would also go; Jingjing already knew about it, but it didn’t mean that she would be in attendance.

Suddenly, Miaomiao realized that there was a difficult quandary. Deng Feng had no idea that Jingjing found out. She couldn’t just ask Jingjing not to go see him compete. Deng Feng didn’t want her to be in attendance, but Miaomiao couldn’t persuade him to change his mind either.