What should he do? Should he go over and ask?
If Nuoya’s friend really hadn’t shown up, then what?
Invite her to join them for dinner? The first issue was whether Nuoya would even agree.
As for Su Mengyao and Su Mengli, he didn’t know their real personalities all that well yet. But if he suggested bringing a friend over, they would probably go along with it for his sake.
Still, that didn’t feel right.
Having dinner with his online group friends was supposed to be a relaxed, fun time. They’d already gotten to know each other somewhat before meeting up.
It was precisely because they’d built that mutual understanding and approval that they’d decided to meet for this meal.
Dragging in someone Su Mengyao and Su Mengli didn’t know out of the blue would probably just make things awkward for them.
But… Yan Nuoya was his friend too, sort of.
Letting her sit there all alone like that—putting himself in her shoes, wouldn’t it feel pretty lonely…?
Would it? Would it really?
Mo Xiangwen furrowed his brow, thinking it over carefully. Actually, maybe not?
If it were him eating Haidilao by himself, it actually sounded pretty great.
Lonely? What was that?
He glanced at Yan Nuoya again. She was carefully adding ingredients to the pot, playing on her phone while she waited, then leisurely picking out a piece, dipping it in sauce, and popping it into her mouth.
Far from looking lonely, she seemed utterly content.
Damn, it was exactly like how he’d pictured himself in that situation.
He must have stared at Yan Nuoya while lost in thought for too long, because at some point she noticed his gaze. She smiled and waved him over.
Was she calling him to come sit?
Fine by him. He wanted to check on her situation anyway—it would save him from all this overthinking.
“Come on, Xiangwen, have a seat.” Yan Nuoya scooted over a bit and patted the spot next to her.
“No thanks, I’m still eating with some other people.” He shook his head and declined.
“No worries, just a little bite. I added too much; I might not finish it all.”
Nuoya smiled warmly as she grabbed a spare set of utensils from the side. She poked a hole in the packaging with her chopsticks, then neatly tore it open.
He glanced at the neatly unpacked tableware, momentarily at a loss for words.
Yan Nuoya wasn’t in any rush. She leisurely scooped some food into a bowl for him with the strainer.
What was this? Why did he suddenly feel like he had no choice but to sit?
“Don’t worry, just these two pieces.” She smiled faintly. “It won’t take time away from your meal with the others.”
She’d put it that way, so he had no choice but to sit down.
It felt oddly reminiscent of that time they’d sat together on the high-speed train when he’d first come to school.
Come to think of it, he’d been holed up in the dorm with his roommates playing games these past couple days—even meals were takeout. He hadn’t seen much of Yan Nuoya.
“Are you waiting for a roommate, Nuoya?”
She chuckled lightly. “I didn’t expect you to be so direct.”
“Beating around the bush is too much hassle, and I couldn’t think of a better way to ask.”
“Fair enough.” Yan Nuoya shook her head. “No, my roommates don’t even know I’m here.”
“So it’s a friend?”
“Yeah.”
“They haven’t shown up yet?”
Yan Nuoya paused with her chopsticks and turned to look at him. “Are you worried about me?”
“Well, yeah. We’re at least half-friends, right?” Mo Xiangwen nodded candidly.
Yan Nuoya met his eyes and suddenly burst out laughing. “Oh, really?”
“Yeah, he had other plans. But don’t worry about me.” She smiled and shooed him along. “Finish up and get going. Don’t let me hold up your dinner.”
Out of nowhere, she’d invited him over—then out of nowhere, shooed him away.
Still, she seemed in a much lighter mood now.
He shook his head and started to leave when Yan Nuoya suddenly called him back.
He turned around to see her winking at him, a playful smile on her face. “Oh, right—no need to agonize over inviting me to join you. I’m already done eating.”
…This woman really had mind-reading powers. Too dangerous. Better to keep his distance.
Back at table eight, Su Mengli gave him an odd look for being gone so long but just nodded in welcome. She didn’t say anything else.
Su Mengyao, on the other hand, blurted it out without thinking. “What took you so long? The pot’s ingredients have cycled through once already.”
“Sorry about that.” Mo Xiangwen explained, “I ran into a friend just now and chatted for a bit.”
“A friend?” Su Mengyao looked startled. “I didn’t think you’d made any friends here at school besides the two of us in just a few days.”
“Maybe a roommate?” Su Mengli chimed in from the side.
So what exactly was his image in their minds?
Mo Xiangwen grumbled inwardly, then shook his head. “Not a roommate.”
Su Mengyao’s face filled with shock. “…For real? Sis, I think we need to reassess Xiao Yi.”
Su Mengli pressed her lips together. The surprise of it going beyond her expectations left her with an incredulous feeling.
Seeing their reactions, Mo Xiangwen couldn’t help but blurt out, “Your reactions are way over the top, damn it.”
“Hahaha, sorry, sorry. Here, Xiao Yi, have some beef.” Su Mengyao scooped a piece into his bowl by way of apology.
“But yeah, it wasn’t someone from school anyway.”
“Oh, that makes sense.” Su Mengyao nodded, relieved.
Su Mengli had nodded along on instinct at first, then realized it and shyly looked away, giving a light cough.
“Ahem, it’s totally reasonable for Xiao Yi to have an old friend who also got into H University.”
Did he have to thank her for at least trying to cover?
“Nah, not that either. We met while I was traveling.”
“Eh?!”
“Eh?!”
…Okay, you two, enough with that.
Still, he’d started building up some immunity to their reactions.
“I mentioned it in the group chat before—how I saw a white-haired girl while traveling, right?”
“Yeah, that happened.” Su Mengli nodded.
“I ran into her again somewhere else later, and turns out she’s a classmate, so we got acquainted.”
Su Mengyao asked curiously, “Wasn’t that your fantasy?”
“??? That’s kinda rude, Xiao Huo.”
“Ahem, go on.” Su Mengyao smiled awkwardly.
“There’s no more to it. I just spotted her earlier and chatted a bit.” Mo Xiangwen shrugged. “What, were you hoping for some juicy drama?”
Su Mengyao denied it flat-out. “No, no.”
“There really is a white-haired girl? Albinism?” Su Mengli asked curiously.
“Silver-white hair, I think. Probably not albinism.” Mo Xiangwen shook his head thoughtfully. “She looks perfectly healthy to me.”
“Maybe she dyed it?”
Mo Xiangwen glanced toward where Yan Nuoya had been sitting, but sure enough, she’d finished and left, just like she’d said.
“No idea. But if there’s a chance and she’s cool with it, I could introduce you sometime.”
