Returning to Parents' Seventeen
Chapter 109: To Give or Not to Give

Chapter 109: Chapter 109: To Give or Not to Give

Three people were discussing here while Shen Yubai, outside the shop, seemed to sense something. He looked around and locked his target inside the store.

Half a minute later, Xu Chuning’s phone in her pocket buzzed.

She didn’t pull it out.

But soon, the ringtone went off.

At this, Cheng Mingyin and Deng Xitong both looked at her in unison, and Xu Chuning had to pull out her phone in front of them and answer the call, "Hello?"

At the same time, the person standing not far outside the store also put his phone to his ear, looking at her and saying, "Why did you go out?"

"..." Hearing this, Xu Chuning fell silent for a moment, speaking discontentedly, "Can’t I go out?"

She wasn’t in prison, was she denied even the freedom to go out?

Shen Yubai was taken aback by her straightforward tone, "That’s not what I meant."

Xu Chuning made an acknowledging noise, feeling that her tone was indeed not very nice. She softened her tone and asked vaguely, "Why did you call me?"

Shen Yubai’s reply was very straightforward, "You didn’t reply to my message, so I had to call."

Xu Chuning: "..."

She felt a lump in her throat. Under the gaze of her two friends, she said reluctantly, "What I mean is, do you need something from me?"

Shen Yubai: "No."

Xu Chuning’s lips twitched, wanting to curse.

The next second, she noticed Shen Yubai smiling in her direction and his clear voice said, "Saw you, just wanted to say hi."

Xu Chuning didn’t expect the reason for his call to be so simple, she paused, murmuring, "...then you’ve said hi now."

Her implication was that they could hang up the call now.

Shen Yubai made an affirming noise, "Then let’s hang up. Be safe going home tonight."

After hanging up the phone, Xu Chuning faced the inquisitive looks of her two friends inching closer.

"What are you two doing?"

"Was that a call from Shen Yubai?" Cheng Mingyin asked.

Xu Chuning: "Didn’t you both hear it?"

The phone’s noise isolation wasn’t very good.

"We didn’t hear it very clearly." Deng Xitong said, "What did he say? He saw us too, right?"

Xu Chuning nodded, "He didn’t say much, just wanted to greet us."

"Us?" Cheng Mingyin raised her eyebrows, "You mean to greet you, right?"

Deng Xitong agreed, "Did he mention who the girl with him was?"

The two had a lot of questions. Xu Chuning found it a little hard to answer, shaking her head: "No."

"Why didn’t you ask him?" Deng Xitong was anxious.

Xu Chuning paused, opening her mouth, "How could I ask?"

Cheng Mingyin covered her lips and coughed, quickly said, "It’s fine, it’s fine, that girl didn’t look like our age, from her dress, she should be a bit older than us."

Deng Xitong also realized that she had been too inquiring and agreed, "Indeed, could that be Shen Yubai’s sister?"

Speaking of this, she asked, "Does he have a sister?"

Xu Chuning: "?"

She met their gazes with a hint of helplessness, "I don’t think so."

She hadn’t heard Shen Yubai mention it, nor had Shen Sinian ever brought it up.

However, she wasn’t sure if Shen Yubai had any cousins or the like. He rarely talked about the Shen Family matters.

After discussing for a while, they didn’t come to any accurate conclusion.

Suddenly, Deng Xitong had an idea, pulled out her phone and said, "We can just ask him directly."

They all were in a big group chat.

Cheng Mingyin: "...Is it okay to ask?"

"What’s the harm in asking." Deng Xitong didn’t overthink it, "I’ll ask."

As she spoke, she had already opened the group chat and singled out Shen Yubai: [Shen Yubai, who was that girl with you just now, she is so beautiful.]

As this message was sent out, Shen Yubai did not respond immediately. Instead, Ban Shu and Yu Gaoyi chimed in.

Ban Shu: [What girl?]

Yu Gaoyi: [How beautiful? More beautiful than my goddess?]

Cheng Mingyin: [Who’s your goddess?]

Yu Gaoyi: [Xu Zhiyan, don’t you guys know?]

Deng Xitong: [......]

Cheng Mingyin: [.........]

Yu Gaoyi: [What do you mean?]

Shen Sinian: [I mean your taste isn’t very good.]

Yu Gaoyi: [What’s wrong with my taste?]

Deng Xitong: [I suggest you find a new goddess.]

Yu Gaoyi: [Why? Do you guys think she’s not good?]

Cheng Mingyin expressed directly: [We don’t really like her. However, you have the right to like whoever you want, and we won’t interfere—as long as you don’t let us know.]

Yu Gaoyi: [Can I ask why you guys don’t like her?]

Before Deng Xitong and Cheng Mingyin could speak again, the very busy Shen Sinian popped up: [No reason, just don’t like her.]

This time, it was Ban Shu’s turn to be surprised: [Sinian, do you really dislike Xu Zhiyan that much?]

This was the first time Ban Shu knew about it. Regarding the incident last time in the cafeteria, he hadn’t thought much about it; he could sense that Shen Sinian didn’t quite like Xu Zhiyan, but he had not realized it extended to actual dislike.

Shen Sinian: [Very much.]

He didn’t mind at all letting other people know that he didn’t like Xu Zhiyan.

Yu Gaoyi: [Why?]

Shen Sinian: [She’s too fake.]

Ban Shu: [Yo, Sinian, you have a pretty sharp eye.]

In fact, Ban Shu also felt that Xu Zhiyan was quite phony, but given the close relationship between the Shen Family and the Xu Family, and the fact that Shen Yubai’s mother and Xu Zhiyan’s mother were best friends, there were some things Ban Shu found difficult to say. Moreover, Shen Yubai had been dismissive towards Xu Zhiyan since childhood. Whether Ban Shu voiced his opinion about Xu Zhiyan or not, Shen Yubai had never taken her seriously.

Because of this, there was no need for him to add fuel to the fire.

Just as several people were discussing Xu Zhiyan, Shen Yubai appeared.

Uncharacteristically, he quoted the question raised by Deng Xitong, responding with: [Sister Pei Shao.]

Cheng Mingyin: [Pei Shao? Didn’t he transfer schools?]

Everyone was aware of who Pei Shao was.

Shen Yubai: [Yeah.]

Ban Shu: [When did Sister Zhenzhen come back?]

He also knew Pei Shao’s sister, Pei Zhenzhen.

Shen Yubai: [Two hours ago.]

Ban Shu: [Pei Shao isn’t back?]

Shen Yubai: [No, in a few days.]

Ban Shu: [Okay, let’s catch up when he’s back.]

Shen Yubai: [Yeah.]

While the group was chatting, Xu Chuning saw a private message from Shen Sinian: [Ningning, do you know Pei Zhenzhen?]

Xu Chuning: [...I don’t know her, what about it? Do you know her?]

Shen Sinian: [I know her, she’s really nice.]

Understanding, Xu Chuning asked with a slight smile: [Do you like her?]

Shen Sinian: [I like you the most.]

It must be said, Shen Sinian had a way with words.

Xu Chuning was amused by his answer and typed slowly: [I mean, will we have a good relationship with her in the future?]

Shen Sinian: [Yes, you really like her too. Whenever she’s back in Jiang City, no matter how busy you are, you always make time to dine and shop with her.]

Speaking up to this point, Shen Sinian complained: [That’s a privilege I don’t get.]

Xu Chuning: [...Am I that unfair to you?]

Shen Sinian: [Not really unfair.]

He mentioned these things not because he wanted Xu Chuning to feel guilty. He just wanted to be cute with her.

Xu Chuning chuckled: [Alright, got it.]

Shen Sinian: [Mhm, I need to continue my training. Why are you out today?]

Xu Chuning: [Having a meal with Xitong and the others, I’ll head back after.]

Shen Sinian: [Then pay attention to safety on your way back, and don’t stay out too late.]

Xu Chuning: [Got it.]

While chatting with Shen Sinian, Xu Chuning often got the impression that he was the elder.

Just about to put away her phone, Xu Chuning caught a glance of the message Shen Yubai had sent before calling her—a few messages, in fact.

The first one was asking how she came to be out.

...

The last one was asking what time she would be back and if he should pick her up.