Returning to Parents' Seventeen
Chapter 136: Do You Want It as a Gift?

Chapter 136: Chapter 136: Do You Want It as a Gift?

Actually, Shen Yubai wasn’t very close to Xu Chuning, there was still a certain distance between them.

He just walked behind her, guiding her movements, teaching her archery.

At first, Shen Yubai didn’t think much of it.

Not until he noticed the stiffness of the person in front of him did he realize how intimate their current posture was. He was half a head taller than Xu Chuning, and when he looked down, it seemed like Xu Chuning was in his embrace.

"..."

After a few seconds of silence, Shen Yubai was the first to regain his composure, "Sorry, I didn’t mean anything else."

Hearing his voice, Xu Chuning also snapped back to reality, "...I know."

She pursed her lips, looked at him, "Maybe I should watch you do it first?"

Shen Yubai pondered for a moment, "Okay."

Xu Chuning knew that Shen Yubai was capable in many things. But she had never imagined that he was also excellent in archery.

He stood not too far, his figure erect, his gaze piercing as he looked into the distance, his whole being seemed to radiate. He was tall and handsome.

The arrow left his palm and whizzed straight into the bullseye.

Xu Chuning was amazed, even the owner who was sneakily watching them spoke up, "Young man, you have good archery skills, you must have played often, right?"

Shen Yubai responded lightly, "I’ve played for some time."

He had developed an interest in archery when he graduated from junior high and had dedicated two months to practice it seriously.

Owner: "No wonder."

Shen Yubai demonstrated to Xu Chuning twice, "Got it?"

Xu Chuning: "...I’ll try again?"

Shen Yubai chuckled, "Okay, if you can’t do it, just learn again."

Xu Chuning: "Alright."

Xu Chuning was a resilient person, any skill she wanted to master, she would definitely learn.

At the beginning, it truly wasn’t going well.

Gradually, Xu Chuning started getting the feel of it. By the time an hour was about to pass, Xu Chuning could already shoot the arrows onto the target. Although she was still some distance away from hitting the bullseye like Shen Yubai, she had grasped the technique.

"Do you want to play a little longer?" asked Shen Yubai.

After thinking for a bit, Xu Chuning replied, "Maybe next time, my hand is a bit sore."

Shen Yubai had forgotten about that, "You might feel soreness in your hand tonight."

He reminded Xu Chuning, "When you get back, ask Aunt You to give you a hot compress."

Xu Chuning nodded and remembered.

After an hour of archery, the two went to other places.

Deng Xitong and others were still engrossed in games.

Shen Yubai asked Xu Chuning if she wanted to try, after half an hour of playing, Xu Chuning realized... she really didn’t like playing games.

Eventually, the two went to play claw machines.

When Shen Yubai and Xu Chuning arrived at the claw machine area, it was still crowded.

They waited a while before it was their turn.

Xu Chuning was quite skilled at claw machines, but grabbing stuffed animals also required a bit of luck.

Both focused on a claw machine, not noticing someone watching them from not too far.

Xu Zhiyan never expected, on a rare outing to watch a movie with Tang Ruqing, she would encounter Xu Chuning and Shen Yubai. Close to the summer vacation, Xu Zhiyan noticed something off about their relationship, but she didn’t think much of it, and she had asked her mother who knew that Shen Yubai and Xu Chuning were close because of Shen Sinian.

Shen Sinian was Shen Yubai’s cousin, and he was closer to Xu Chuning.

Thus, Xu Zhiyan assumed that the previous time Shen Sinian gave her a hard time in the cafeteria was simply because he couldn’t bear seeing his brother’s gift being tagged with her label.

Because Shen Sinian and Xu Chuning were so close, Xu Zhiyan naturally assumed that Shen Yubai had a good relationship with Xu Chuning due to Shen Sinian. He had this protective thought for the cousin that the Shen Family had recently found, which explained the kindness.

Not until she saw the intimate interaction between Shen Yubai and Xu Chuning did Xu Zhiyan realize how utterly wrong she had been.

Shen Yubai might favor Xu Chuning due to Shen Sinian.

But that kind of favor was different from what it was now. The way he looked at Xu Chuning was clearly not just a typical classmate relationship.

Thinking this, Xu Zhiyan’s expression grew even uglier; she bit her lips, her face filled with disbelief.

"Zhixian..." Tang Ruqing also gasped when she saw Shen Yubai pat Xu Chuning on the shoulder and smile at her, "What are Shen Yubai and Xu Chuning doing? What is their relationship?"

Xu Zhiyan’s expression darkened slightly, "You ask me, but who do I ask?"

Tang Ruqing was startled, "Zhixian, don’t be angry, I didn’t mean that."

She frowned, "Shall we go over now?"

"What do we say when we get there?" Xu Zhiyan asked, "Am I supposed to ask why they are together?"

Tang Ruqing opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say.

From the beginning to the end, Shen Yubai had never shown any signs of affection towards Xu Zhiyan; they really had no right to confront them.

"So, what do we do now?" Tang Ruqing asked.

Xu Zhiyan bit her lips and stamped her foot in frustration, "I don’t know."

She was so angry, "I don’t want to watch the movie anymore, let’s go back."

After saying this, she didn’t wait for Tang Ruqing to agree and turned around to run.

Tang Ruqing had no choice but to sorrowfully follow her, "Zhixian..." she consoled her, "Why don’t you ask your mom when you get home?"

Xu Zhiyan: "How should I ask?"

Tang Ruqing thought for a moment, "Let auntie inquire a bit to see, if Shen Yubai and Xu Chuning... are they dating?"

Xu Zhiyan didn’t speak.

Tang Roqing furrowed her eyebrows and mumbled, "Both of them are high school students, the school wouldn’t allow it."

"He is Shen Yubai." Xu Zhiyan said angrily, "How could the school possibly control him."

"If they can’t control him, they can control Xu Chuning," Tang Ruqing blurted out.

Xu Zhiyan also abruptly stopped in her tracks, the two exchanging glances.

"..."

At the game arcade, Xu Chuning grabbed several plush toys, while Shen Yubai ended up with none.

After playing for half an hour and spending all the game coins Shen Yubai had exchanged, they were still reluctant to leave as they went to find Cheng Mingyin and the others to have dinner.

Dinner was Ban Shu’s treat; he had mentioned wanting to have a meal together back when they were in Pingning, and this was finally the chance.

A group of them had a hearty meal at a nearby hot pot restaurant, ready to go home separately.

There were three girls and three guys; they split up based on their routes home, each man accompanying one girl home.

The routes of Shen Yubai and Xu Chuning were actually opposite, but Ban Shu and Yu Gaoyi very tacitly did not compete with Shen Yubai over this.

It seemed everyone by default accepted that Xu Chuning should be sent home by Shen Yubai.

Xu Chuning felt somewhat helpless realizing this.

Shen Yubai didn’t have his driver follow, so they ended up taking the bus to send Xu Chuning home.

The two of them silently got off at their stop, Shen Yubai walked her through the narrow alley they had traversed several times before.

When they reached the entrance of the building she lived in, Xu Chuning stopped, "I’m home."

Shen Yubai nodded, "Rest early."

Xu Chuning nodded and just as he was about to turn and leave, she called out to him, "Shen Yubai."

Shen Yubai looked up, "What is it?"

Xu Chuning hesitated for a moment, then handed him one of the plush toys she won in the afternoon, the particularly ugly-cute one, "Here, do you want it?"

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