Chapter 77: Different Values, How Can We Be Friends ②
“So I want to say, I want to invite her out for a meal alone… to formally apologize to her.” Zhang Haiyang leaned against the doorway, not intending to go to the toilet. “My previous apologies were all with everyone else, and during the farewell party too. No matter what, with so many people around, she would forgive us, right?”
“Alone?!” Luo Xu burst out laughing, washed his hands, and walked closer to Zhang Haiyang, laughing heartily. “Alright! Xiao Yang, you’ve grown up! You’ve got your eye on Nie Qiu?”
“Say… say… what are you talking about!” Zhang Haiyang waved his hands repeatedly. “Didn’t I say it? I just feel that we wronged her quite a bit before her hospitalization, so I wanted to treat her to a meal and formally apologize or something.”
“After the meal, then exchange contact information, then on Sunday, coincidentally go out for a walk, then…” Luo Xu chuckled ambiguously, patting Zhang Haiyang’s shoulder. “I understand this kind of thing, don’t worry, buddy, I support you, go for it! Nie Qiu isn’t that dirty girl she used to be anymore. Honestly, she looks quite good when she’s serious. Although the acne on her forehead does affect her appearance, hahaha… but… *cough*, but I really will support you, go for it, brother, haha…”
Zhang Haiyang sighed helplessly, knowing he couldn’t get through to Luo Xu, so he looked at Li Kai.
When Li Kai heard Zhang Haiyang say he wanted to invite Nie Qiu out alone, he felt a bit uneasy. Seeing Zhang Haiyang looking at him, he said, “How about this! Since you said Chen Li bullied her because of me, then I’ll be the host. I’ll treat you all to a meal, how about that?” He didn’t know why he said that, nor could he understand why he made such a decision, but the thought of Nie Qiu and Zhang Haiyang going out to eat together made him extremely uncomfortable.
No, in fact, sitting at his seat every day, he saw Huang Yan and Peng Yu Yang going in and out with Nie Qiu, chatting and laughing, and he felt equally uncomfortable. He couldn’t explain why he was uncomfortable, he just felt that if he were among them, it would be better.
“Do I want to be friends with this person?” Li Kai almost wanted to cover his face with his hands, feeling that his taste in friends was really problematic. Nie Qiu, although she made them progress and gave them many insights, he always felt that her appearance and personality were really not suitable for being friends with them.
Zhang Haiyang smiled, “Okay, okay! Let’s go out for a meal after school today. We’ve been studying for so long, and none of us brothers have had a good get-together. How about we go sing after dinner?”
Luo Xu raised his hand and knocked Zhang Haiyang on the head. “We have homework assigned for every subject now, don’t think about playing. Imagine how we can get into the same school. We can get into a key high school by spending money, but getting in through our own efforts is much more prestigious. I’m telling you, you’ve only improved by a few dozen places, and you’re still ranked in the lower half of the class. You need to work harder! Thinking so much just from a meal, pfft.”
Zhang Haiyang covered his head and took a step back, looking up at the sky, and sighed, “When will this end!”
“You don’t have to study hard either!” Luo Xu said with a smile. “Don’t let your brothers look down on you!”
“Then it’s settled. We’ll go invite Nie Qiu for a meal after school this afternoon.”
Easier said than done. After school that afternoon, Nie Qiu left the school with Huang Yan, who had left before her. Of course, Peng Yu Yang was also following behind them.
Zhang Haiyang walked up to Li Kai and whispered, “How is it, how is it? What did Nie Qiu say?”
“I haven’t said anything yet!” Li Kai rolled his eyes. Whether it was during class or after class, he had been organizing his thoughts, but he just didn’t know how to start. It was too embarrassing. Going out for a meal with a good buddy, saying “I’m treating” is easy. When going out with a girl, usually others invite him! This was the first time he was inviting a girl, and he didn’t know how to start.
“You haven’t said anything all day?” Zhang Haiyang was dumbfounded, looking at the backs of Nie Qiu, Huang Yan, and Peng Yu Yang, utterly shocked. “Quick, quick, they’re leaving!”
Zhang Haiyang urged Li Kai to pack his schoolbag, and he slung his own schoolbag over his shoulder and chased after them. “I’ll go chase them first, you hurry up and come down!”
“Okay.” Li Kai replied, put down the book in his hand, and stopped packing. He stood up. “Ah Xu, Xiao Lei, A Xin, let’s go!”
The few of them responded, packed their things, and left the classroom with Li Kai. Zhang Haiyang stopped Nie Qiu at the school gate. He smiled and called out, “Nie Qiu, we’d like to invite you for a meal.”
Nie Qiu glanced at Huang Yan and Peng Yu Yang. They were about to go to a milk tea shop not far from the school for a cup of milk tea. After all, it was still summer, and drinking some cold milk tea was the most relaxing part of their tense daily study life.
“No, I have something to do at home. Thank you, Zhang Haiyang.” This person sat in front of her desk, so she naturally knew his name.
Seeing Nie Qiu glance at Huang Yan and Peng Yu Yang, Zhang Haiyang assumed Nie Qiu was unwilling to go because of them. He smiled and said, “How about it, Huang Yan and Peng Yu Yang, you guys come too? Shall we all go out for a meal?”
“Nie Qiu’s family runs a barbecue stall, you know that,” Huang Yan said with a smile. “Our class has a lot more homework now. Nie Qiu has to go to the night market with her aunt to set up the stall after finishing her homework every day. She doesn’t have the free time to go out for a meal. Let’s save this meal for later. When it’s summer or winter break and we have time, we can go out to eat then!”
When Zhang Haiyang heard Huang Yan’s words, he knew he couldn’t treat Nie Qiu and the others to a meal today, so he smiled and said, “Alright then, let’s save it for later!” It was his fault too. He knew Nie Qiu had to go home to help her mother set up the stall every day, and he came up with this idea, wasn’t that just wasting her time? Because of this, Nie Qiu didn’t even attend the make-up classes on Sundays.
“Then, Nie Qiu, you go home first! See you tomorrow.”
Nie Qiu smiled and nodded, said “Bye-bye,” and then turned to leave with Huang Yan and the others. The milk tea shop at the school gate wasn’t a famous brand; milk tea was only one yuan a cup. The entire milk tea shop could only accommodate four people turning around. The three of them stood outside the milk tea shop, each ordered a cup of milk tea, and then waited for the shop owner to make it.
“I said I’m paying today, no one is allowed to fight me for it.” Huang Yan took out a wallet folded from a pretty sticky note from her schoolbag, took out three yuan, and was about to hand it to the milk tea shop owner.
Nie Qiu smiled and grabbed Huang Yan’s hand. “I can’t always let you two treat me! Let me treat you today.” Nie Qiu knew that Huang Yan’s family background was similar to hers, but recently, Huang Yan and Peng Yu Yang had been treating her to milk tea every day. At first, they would buy it and catch up to give it to her. Later, when they walked home from school together, she realized that these two were taking turns buying it for her.
She couldn’t take it for granted. If they were friends, there were no friends in this world who only took. In relationships, it’s best not to let such things create a rift. Besides, she didn’t want Huang Yan to save her meager pocket money every day just to buy milk tea.
Peng Yu Yang smiled and said, “I think you two shouldn’t argue anymore. I’m the boy, I’ll treat you.”
When Zhang Haiyang and Li Kai walked over, they saw Nie Qiu and the others waiting for milk tea outside the milk tea shop. Li Kai walked up, “The milk tea here is cheap and unhygienic. I’ll treat you to milk tea at Mi Guo!”
