Chapter Twenty-Six: The Price of the Grilled Sausage

Chen You nodded with a smile. “Yes, I haven’t seen you since we graduated from middle school.”

Seeing Gu Yan’s wary look at Chen You, Yu Sheng hurried to explain, “This is my middle school classmate, Chen You. Chen You, this is my classmate, Gu Yan.”

Gu Yan sized up Chen You—he wasn’t as tall, not as handsome, and not as well-behaved as Chen Ke’an. Good, he thought to himself, no competition here.

Having completed his inner assessment, Gu Yan immediately flashed a brilliant smile. “Hello, I’m Gu Yan, Yu Sheng’s neighbor and classmate.”

Chen You was visibly taken aback by his enthusiasm. “Ah… hello, I’m Chen You.”

After shaking hands, an awkward silence fell between them. Just as Yu Sheng was about to say goodbye, Chen You spoke. “You two are out having fun?”

“Yes, mainly to bring her out to play,” Yu Sheng said, pointing to the little one.

Chen You seemed relieved. “Actually, we were pretty close in middle school. I’m not sure why, but we lost touch after that.”

Yu Sheng hadn’t expected him to be so blunt and was momentarily at a loss for words, only managing a somewhat awkward nod. It was true—she’d been good friends with Chen You and Chen Ke’an in middle school, but things had changed.

Yu Sheng’s silence made Gu Yan sense something was off.

“Oh, by the way, I don’t use my old QQ number anymore. Can I add you on WeChat?”

Gu Yan’s first instinct was to refuse on Yu Sheng’s behalf, but then he remembered he had no official standing. If he meddled too much, she might resent him for it.

He stared intently at Yu Sheng, willing her to refuse.

“Alright… okay!” she agreed.

After Chen You added her on WeChat, he said goodbye, and Yi Yi, tired out, was ready to go home. Yu Sheng and Gu Yan headed back as well.

Yu Sheng couldn’t help but feel that something was off with Gu Yan on the way home. There was a strange, oppressive air about him.

Once they got home, Yi Yi had fallen asleep on the road, so Yu Sheng helped Gu Yan put her to bed.

Having finished helping, Yu Sheng suddenly felt awkward standing by the bed. “Well, I’m going upstairs. If you need anything, just call me.”

Gu Yan nodded. Yu Sheng, unsure what was wrong with him, was about to leave when—

“Wait!” Gu Yan suddenly grabbed her wrist and hugged her from behind. It lasted barely two seconds—Yu Sheng hadn’t even registered what happened before he let go.

“What… what are you doing!” Yu Sheng was flushed with embarrassment and anger.

Gu Yan blinked at her. “That’s the price for the grilled sausage.”

“You… you!”

But then, hadn’t she eaten his snacks before too?

Almost as if he could hear her thoughts, Gu Yan smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll collect on the snacks you ate before, little by little.”

“So be careful with anything I give you in the future! Of course, considering how long I’ve been eating at your house for free, if you want me to pay you back, I can start right now!” he said, pulling down his jacket zipper.

What’s gotten into him today? He seems angry…

“No need to pay me back!” Yu Sheng, terrified of what he might do next, covered her eyes and ran out.

As soon as Yu Sheng left, Gu Yan’s smiling face fell.

Why was I so impulsive today? Did I scare her?

But the way Yu Sheng looked at that boy today… I can’t help but feel there’s something going on.

Ah, I really want to know! And that boy actually had the nerve to ask my wife for her WeChat right in front of me—does he have a death wish?

Chen You, right? Gu Yan’s eyes flashed as he turned on his computer.

Back at Yu Sheng’s home—

After getting home, Yu Chen was playing games.

“Push the tower! What are you doing just standing there? Ah!”

“Shen Henyun, do you even know how to play?”

Yu Chen and his teammates were chatting through their headsets while playing King of Glory. “Sorry, my internet lagged.”

“No problem, keep going!”

Yu Sheng watched him with an expression of utter disdain. Sensing her gaze, Yu Chen spared a glance at her. “Back already, sis? How was it with Brother Gu Yan today?”

From the game came Shen Henyun’s voice, “Yu Chen, your sister’s back? Hi, sis!”

Yu Sheng rolled her eyes. “You’re in my grade! Why are you calling me sis?”

“Oh, right, I forgot!”

“Pfft…” Yu Chen couldn’t hold back his laughter.

“What are you laughing at? Have you finished your homework? You did so poorly on your last test and you’re still playing games!” Yu Sheng said, exasperated.

“Yu Chen, you didn’t do well last time? Want me to tutor you? I was in the top thirty last time,” Shen Henyun boasted.

Tired of his nonsense, Yu Chen muted his mic.

Yu Sheng went to her room and checked her phone, seeing a friend request from Chen You. After a moment’s thought, she accepted it.

Let this be a farewell to my old self.

Chen You: How have you been lately?

Yu Sheng: Pretty good.

Chen You: Your friend today didn’t seem to think much of me. Hope there’s no misunderstanding. (facepalm laughing-crying emoji)

Yu Sheng: Not at all! (laughing-crying emoji) He’s not that kind of person.

Chen You: Maybe I misunderstood, then.

Yu Sheng looked at the messages. Had Gu Yan really been unfriendly to Chen You today? She hadn’t noticed—he’d even greeted him enthusiastically, just like a friend. But, come to think of it, Gu Yan did seem a little upset after Chen You left.

Chen You: Do you still keep in touch with Yan Mian?

Yu Sheng: Not much anymore.

Chen You: I always felt like I was the reason you two drifted apart.

Yu Sheng: How could that be? Don’t flatter yourself! (laughing-crying emoji)

Though she sent a laughing-crying emoji, Yu Sheng’s face remained impassive.

Yan Mian had been her best friend in middle school, though, thanks to the old saying “guard against fire, theft, and your best friend,” Yu Sheng never called her a “bestie,” nor did Yan Mian.

Chen You: Good, I had a bit of guilt about it.

Yu Sheng snorted quietly. How could she have had a crush on such an average boy back then? What was wrong with her, putting him on such a pedestal?

Chen You: How’s Chen Ke’an these days? I haven’t talked to him in ages. Is he still top of the class?

Yu Sheng: Yes, he was always first in our grade, but after Gu Yan transferred in, he’s been second. He seems to be studying even harder now.

Chen You: Gu Yan’s that good? Wow, impressive. If I’d known, I would have added him on WeChat too, haha.

Yu Sheng: Haha, I need to do my homework. I didn’t touch it at all today—unlike them, I’m not a genius who can slack off and still be amazing.

Chen You: Okay.

Yu Sheng finally rid herself of Chen You, taking a deep breath of relief.

If, earlier that afternoon, she’d still felt a lingering fondness for Chen You, now it had completely vanished.

Back in seventh grade, her first desk mate was Yan Mian. They’d barely known each other, having gone to different elementary schools, and didn’t speak a word to each other at first. Everything changed a week later.

During PE, while running laps, Yu Sheng overheard Yan Mian talking to an old elementary school friend about a game—one Yu Sheng had recently become obsessed with.

After PE, she struck up a conversation, and from then on, the two were inseparable, all the way until ninth grade. Even when teachers changed their seats, it didn’t affect their bond.

Starting in eighth grade, Yu Sheng developed a crush on the boy who sat next to her—Chen You. Young and infatuated, she thought he was her ideal type: good at school, tall and slim, warm smile, always helpful, frequently aiding her with her studies. It gave her the illusion that he might like her back.

Yu Sheng confided her secret only to Yan Mian, who teased her about it.

A few days later, Yan Mian quietly told her that Chen You already had someone he liked.

“How do you know?”

“I walk home with him. I asked him.”

But Yan Mian had never told her that she lived in the same direction as Chen You.

Yu Sheng could only offer an awkward smile and ask, “Who is it?”

“It’s Su Ying!” Yan Mian whispered in her ear.

But Yu Sheng felt little shock or turmoil in her heart.

Su Ying, the class Chinese rep—petite, delicate, soft-spoken, the complete opposite of Yu Sheng.

After that, Yu Sheng believed her first crush was over. There was a hint of bitterness, but she got over it quickly.

In the second semester of ninth grade, about a month before the high school entrance exams, Yu Sheng and Yan Mian had a fight. She couldn’t remember the reason—probably something trivial—but the stress of exams made tempers flare. From that moment until the end of exams, they didn’t speak a word to each other and deleted each other from QQ and WeChat.

Yu Sheng never knew why she was so ruthless—maybe because, after finding that Yan Mian deleted her first, she deleted Yan Mian’s QQ as well.

With the pressure to get into a top high school, Yu Sheng’s focus shifted, and she stopped dwelling on it.

After the exams, Yu Sheng was filled with regret, but it was too late. Yan Mian never reached out.

When she received her acceptance letter from a top high school, the first thing Yu Sheng wanted to do was ask about Yan Mian. The class monitor told her that Yan Mian had transferred to a different city for high school.

From then on, she lost touch with Yan Mian.

A few classmates ended up at the same high school as Yu Sheng. Not long after the first semester began, while walking across campus, someone tapped her on the shoulder—it was a boy she’d gotten along with in middle school, something of a rival back then.

“Did you hear?”

“Hear what?” Yu Sheng was puzzled.

Her question confused the boy. “Weren’t you close with Yan Mian? She started dating someone from our class. Guess who?”

Yu Sheng hadn’t expected to hear about Yan Mian from someone else. “I don’t know, we haven’t kept in touch.” She lied—she didn’t want anyone to know they’d lost contact.

“It’s Chen You. Surprised? I was too—I thought he liked you! He…”

The boy kept chattering, but Yu Sheng heard nothing but the name—Chen You.

“How do you know?”

“Their QQ statuses and profile pictures.”

Oh, right. She’d long since deleted Yan Mian’s QQ. Yu Sheng gave a self-deprecating smile.

“You can go check,” the boy said, waving as he walked off in the opposite direction.

By then, Yu Sheng had no feelings left for Chen You—those hopes had been dashed long ago. But Yan Mian and Chen You—she truly hadn’t expected that.

How to describe it? It felt like a betrayal, but not because of Chen You—no, it was all about Yan Mian.

Thinking back, Yu Sheng realized she should have seen it coming. From the moment Yan Mian never told her that she and Chen You lived in the same direction, she should have known.

As for Chen Ke’an, since he lived near Yu Sheng and got along well with Chen You, he naturally became part of their little group. The four of them would hang out together every school break.

Now it all made sense—why Yan Mian and Chen You always arrived together.

Yu Sheng returned home, reeling. It took her several days to process her emotions and recover from that indescribable feeling.

Thinking of the past, Yu Sheng sighed. She wondered if, when Chen Ke’an mentioned visiting their old teacher, Yan Mian would go too. If she did, what would Yu Sheng do? Would she reconnect, like she had with Chen You, letting go of old grievances and starting anew?

No, impossible, Yu Sheng thought with a wry smile. No matter how they reconnected, they could never go back to how things were.