Running away from the Love-Brain

Her First Love

Chen Wenran didn't accept the three hundred and twenty-five yuan. Instead, before leaving, she took all the mangoes from Cui Xijin's house as payment. This meant that Cui Xijin had to go downstairs to buy mangoes.

Tonight, Love Maze Street wasn't any different.

Except there were more people.

Cui Xijin saw the record store owner at a barbecue stall. The person was holding two skewers of sweet potato noodles, unceremoniously gnawing away by the roadside. Upon seeing her, they stretched out a leg, blocking her path and asking,

"Hey, did that girl like the record?"

Cui Xijin didn't hold back; she stepped over the outstretched leg and casually replied, "I don't know."

After she spoke, she didn't wait for a response and walked toward the mango store, hearing the record store owner shout behind her,

"Well, why don't you ask her, you idiot!"

?

Cui Xijin suspected that this record store owner had too much time on their hands, worried so much about after-sales that they felt the need to inquire about every record sold.

Maybe business was too slow.

And who was the idiot?

Cui Xijin frowned at the thought.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable, she became particularly picky when choosing mangoes, thinking none of them looked appealing.

There were also a lot of people in the mango store tonight, all of them like ants seeking shelter from the rain, milling around the colorful fruits.

Cui Xijin wore a listless expression, scanning the neatly arranged mangoes. Suddenly, she was nudged by some ant-like person, not with much force, but she didn't pay it any mind. As she reached for the mango she had her eye on, she unexpectedly brushed against a thin, cool hand—

It was the back of a hand.

The skin touched, feeling a bit cool and soft. She instinctively pulled back. She heard a hurried voice beside her,

"Sorry, sorry!"

Her spine went rigid for a moment. The person who bumped into her also quickly withdrew their hand, letting out a faint, bewildered "Eh"—

Both of them turned to look at each other.

Their gazes collided amidst the sweet aroma of tropical fruits.

Suddenly, they both looked away at the same time.

Like two ants that had just collided, they hurriedly avoided eye contact and changed their paths in unison.

But they didn't leave right away.

After their awkward collision, they both stayed in place, circling nearby, completely losing their original direction.

Cui Xijin rubbed her dry throat, instinctively glancing toward the entrance, only to meet Chi Buyu's gaze, which seemed to dart away.

Or perhaps it hadn't.

In any case, she quickly averted her gaze, even turning her body slightly away, facing half the mangoes and a whole side of apples and bananas, left with only the option of being dumbfounded.

Chi Buyu also turned around abruptly, stiffly presenting her back to Cui Xijin, remaining silent.

They had turned into two silent ants.