As she spoke, she lowered her head to operate the computer, then took a few bills from the register and placed them on the counter. “This is the extra you paid.”

“Thank you.”

The cool scent of mountain pines and mist enveloped her. At the same time, a slender, good-looking hand reached past her side and took the refunded money from the cashier.

Jin Zhao’s attempt to grab the bill failed. Slightly awkward, she lifted her head to look at him.

The boy lowered his gaze. The warm light of the farmhouse restaurant reflected into fragmented glimmers in his dark eyes.

With an unreadable tone, he said, “Until you find that mysterious and wealthy husband, I’ll do it.”

Jin Zhao: “?”

When they returned to the private room, everyone was already high on the mood. The beer wasn’t enough to get them drunk—it was purely that the atmosphere had kicked in.

Finger-guessing, drinking—anyone who knew would say they were just eating barbecue; anyone who didn’t would think it was a thank-you banquet for teachers.

As soon as Meng Yanxi walked in, Luo Heng came over holding a glass to urge him to drink, only to be rejected mercilessly by Meng Yanxi. “Not drinking.”

Meng Yanxi didn’t drink, just watched Luo Heng and the others go wild with alcohol.

But the boomerang came fast. The few who were acting drunk suddenly wanted to play Dou Dizhu, then Truth or Dare, and dragged him and Jin Zhao into it as well.

Jin Zhao wasn’t very good at Dou Dizhu. Sometimes she followed Si Tian’s lead, sometimes Meng Yanxi’s, repeatedly scraping through by the skin of her teeth—an especially torturous experience.

She was distracted, and so when a spider crawled into the private room, she was the first to notice it.

Xishan Town sat at the foot of the mountain; the air in the mountains was damp, and the spiders were especially large—one was as big as a palm. Jin Zhao jumped in fright, then immediately felt lucky she’d brought insecticide in advance. She hurried to reach for her bag, only to grab empty air and remember that after coming down the mountain, they’d put everything into the car first.

She was doomed.

This round, Cao Bo lost. While everyone was jeering and punishing him, Jin Zhao picked up a barbecue tray and stood up.

She tiptoed toward the spider in the corner.

She wasn’t afraid of spiders, but she’d never seen one this big before. Her scalp still prickled. Thinking of the scar on the inside of Meng Yanxi’s wrist, she was also afraid of being bitten. But since Meng Yanxi was afraid of spiders, she ultimately decided not to call a server—otherwise it would turn into a big commotion and he’d see it.

She knew that truly fearing something meant being afraid even to look at it.

She carefully squatted down, pressing the thin edge of the barbecue tray against the floor, inching closer to the spider.

The spider twitched slightly. She was so frightened she almost dropped the tray and ran on the spot, but she steadied herself. Suppressing her fear, she edged closer again. The spider moved once more.

In less than a minute, cold sweat had broken out in her palms.

On the third attempt, she finally managed to “scoop” the spider up with the tray and was just about to carry it out to throw it away when a shadow suddenly fell over her, covering her. Flustered, she looked up. Before she could even see who it was, a pair of long, bony hands had already swiftly taken the tray from her hands and carried the spider out at a quick pace.

When Meng Yanxi returned to the private room, she was still standing there, pale-faced, dazedly asking him, “Aren’t you afraid of spiders?”

Meng Yanxi said, “Which of us looks more afraid?”

The two of them returned to their seats. Only then did Jin Zhao react belatedly, turning her head to accuse him. “You lied to me?”

It was because she thought he was afraid that she’d helped chase the spider away for him. If he hadn’t said he was afraid, she wouldn’t have scared herself like that when she clearly wasn’t afraid of spiders.

The boy sat under the light, quietly looking at her.

Around them were the noisy sounds of a few drunkards cheering and dealing cards, loud and chaotic, yet in this moment the lights strangely became gentle and serene.

After a while, he said softly, “I really was afraid when I was little. After being bitten, I wasn’t anymore.”

Jin Zhao: “?”

“After being bitten, shouldn’t you be even more afraid?” Jin Zhao couldn’t figure it out and asked in a low voice while playing cards.

Meng Yanxi drew a card with his right hand. The dark red scar on the inside of his wrist flickered under the light.

He played two cards, then turned to look at her and said, “I was bitten by a venomous spider. Being bitten by a venomous spider is nothing special.”

When he said this, Jin Zhao clearly saw the cool detachment and cold indifference in his eyes—directed even at himself.

What a complicated person.

—That thought flashed through her mind in an instant.

How could one person carry such starkly different traits at the same time?

Arrogant and reckless, yet passionate and soft; cool and aloof, yet still with a boy’s spirited roguishness and shameless, silly thickness of skin.

But she soon had no time to let her thoughts wander, because she lost.

This round, she ultimately failed to muddle through.

The winner was Lu Jingyue, who asked, “Truth or dare?”

Jin Zhao was timid and chose without hesitation, “Truth.”

“Alright.” Lu Jingyue glanced at Meng Yanxi, tapped the tabletop with his finger, and asked, “If Meng Yanxi and one million yuan both fell into the water, who would you save first?”

Jin Zhao: “……”

What a vicious family.

Bro, are all the men in your family this sharp-tongued?

Jin Zhao didn’t dare look at Meng Yanxi, and even less dared she answer.

One look, one answer—either would expose her.

One million yuan wasn’t impossible; once she became a university lecturer, it wasn’t as if she couldn’t earn it. She still wanted to save Meng Yanxi.

But truth really would expose her.

Jin Zhao could only dodge the question. “I can’t swim.”

But how could Lu Jingyue possibly let her off?

“Assume you can. Meng Yanxi can’t, the one million can’t either. Only you can swim.”

Pretending not to see the murderous look in Meng Yanxi’s eyes, Lu Jingyue continued to pile it on. “And if you lie, you won’t be able to become a university lecturer.”

Jin Zhao: “……” This guy is unbelievable!

Just as Jin Zhao had no idea how to choose, an arm suddenly extended from beside her—muscle lines smooth and powerful. It picked up the glass in front of her, and before she could react, tilted back and drank it all in one go.

“I’ll drink for her.” Meng Yanxi inverted the glass and set it back on the table.

The glass made a tap as it touched the tabletop, and the entire room erupted into wild cheers.

Shrieks and catcalls fractured the light into scattered shards. Caught off guard, Jin Zhao lifted her gaze and collided with the boy’s pitch-black, unfathomable eyes.

Now Jin Zhao finally understood why Meng Yanxi had refused to drink so mercilessly at the start.

He had absolutely no alcohol tolerance.

One cup—and he was drunk.

Granted, Luo Heng later ordered baijiu, and it was very likely mixed into the beer, but still—just one cup, wasn’t Meng Yanxi’s alcohol tolerance a bit too terrible?

If it were her, she probably wouldn’t even be drunk. She might as well have drunk it herself. Jin Zhao thought bluntly.

With Meng Yanxi drunk, the group could only call it a day. As soon as they got in the car, Meng Yanxi fell asleep.

Jin Zhao took care of him anxiously, afraid he might be allergic to alcohol—after all, it was hard for a normal person to go down after just one cup.

Lu Jingyue, however, said, “It’s fine. He just has terrible tolerance. Don’t worry, his drinking behavior is okay. He won’t do anything that makes you lose face.”

Jin Zhao: “?”

No—why would I lose face?

By the time they returned to the city, it was around half past eight. Lu Jingyue had the driver drop off the others first. When he got out himself, he woke Meng Yanxi.

Meng Yanxi woke up, but the alcohol clearly didn’t.

After that, it was just the two of them the rest of the way. Whether he was trying to make conversation or simply acting drunk, Meng Yanxi dug up his sister’s dark history from his phone and showed it to her one by one.

Meng Zhuxi refusing to attend dance class, arguing with him, losing the argument, then sitting on the ground wailing.

Meng Zhuxi rolling around on the floor.

Meng Yanxi: “Isn’t it great? My sister can even climb pillars.”

As he spoke, his finger swiped the screen, trying to show her a video of his sister climbing a pillar to avoid dance class.

Jin Zhao: “……”

She finally understood what Lu Jingyue meant.

Drunk Meng Yanxi really wouldn’t make her lose face—he just made his sister lose all of hers… Meng Zhuxi was truly miserable.

Acting out of humanitarian concern, Jin Zhao pressed down on his hand. “Meng Yanxi, you’re drunk.”

Meng Yanxi quietly looked at her for three seconds, then flatly denied it. “No.”

“Yes.”

The faint glow of the phone illuminated the boy’s clean, sharp jawline. Meng Yanxi fell silent for a moment, then insisted, “No. Otherwise how could I still feel pain?”

Jin Zhao immediately grew nervous. “Where does it hurt? Did you get bitten by a spider again just now?”

“No, the one from before.” Meng Yanxi shook his head and held out his right wrist to her. “Here. It hurts a lot.”

Jin Zhao looked at that deep red old scar and fell silent.

“When were you bitten?” she asked cautiously.

Meng Yanxi struggled to calculate. “Twelve.”

Jin Zhao: “……”

Brother, that was five years ago.

“Meng Yanxi, you’re really drunk.”

Fortunately, the road in the city wasn’t long. They had arrived at Jin Zhao’s home.

She got out of the car. Meng Yanxi got out with her.

Jin Zhao wanted to stop him, but he was strong, standing steady and square. If one ignored his mental state, he really didn’t look drunk at all—there was barely any smell of alcohol on him.

Meng Yanxi said, “I’ll walk you inside.”

This calmness startled Jin Zhao again.

She was an underage girl who had lied about going to school and come home with a drunk male classmate. If they were spotted, the roof at home would be blown off.

Meng Yanxi seemed to realize it too. He didn’t insist, but suddenly asked, “When’s your birthday?”

Jin Zhao felt that Meng Yanxi was really drunk tonight.

“July 21st.”

At this moment, Meng Yanxi’s mind was unexpectedly clear. He nodded and said, “School will already have started by then.”

Jin Zhao: “Mm.”

“Lovers, or friends?”

The sudden intrusion of that sentence made Jin Zhao’s heart give a sharp tremor.

The boy’s long lashes fluttered at the same time.

Both of them were half a beat slow before turning their heads together toward the source of the sound.

In front of the residential complex was a small square. It wasn’t very late yet. There were elderly people walking children, teenagers skateboarding, and young couples strolling hand in hand.

Not far from them, a young girl suddenly jumped out behind a boy, holding a bunch of balloons, bringing with her an unexpected confession.

The boy froze, then suddenly smiled, raised his brows, and asked, “With you?”

The girl said, “Mm!”

The boy said, “Lovers.”

Having gotten the answer she wanted, the girl boldly hooked an arm around the boy’s neck, rose onto her tiptoes, and kissed him.

Instantly, cheers and laughter erupted from the surrounding passersby.

Caught off guard by witnessing a confession, Jin Zhao’s cheeks burned hot.

Still a high school girl, she wasn’t used to facing such blazing love head-on. Jin Zhao glanced once and quickly withdrew her gaze. Meng Yanxi turned his head to look at her.

Now she didn’t even dare look at him. Bracing herself, she said goodbye, “I’ll—”

“Choose me next time.”

The boy in front of her interrupted her farewell.

Jin Zhao froze and looked up. “What?”

The roadside lights were dim, casting the boy’s eyes into shadowy depth. He lowered his head and looked at her quietly. “One million is too heavy. Even if you went into the water, you couldn’t lift it. But you saved me. I can give you more. More.”

He said more twice, as if something had brushed against the tip of her heart. Jin Zhao felt something strange stir inside her, yet she couldn’t explain it.

But almost immediately, another question surfaced—one that confused her even more. She asked honestly, “But if I can’t even lift one million, how could I save you?”

Meng Yanxi was stunned by her. “You really…”

He pressed the back of his hand to his forehead and murmured softly, “I’ve made it this obvious.”

Jin Zhao: “What?”

Meng Yanxi shook his head. “Forget it. We’ll talk next semester. Anyway, school starts again in nine days… goodbye.”

Jin Zhao felt that he must be drunk and nodded. “Goodbye.”

At that time, Meng Yanxi thought there was plenty of time ahead. Only later did he realize that mountain birds and fish ultimately do not share the same path—that saying goodbye is easy, but meeting again is hard.

Later, their reunion came a full nine years late.