The spicy hot pot Su Yudie wanted to eat was delicious and affordable.
It was very popular among students.
Each person had a small pot, about twenty centimeters in diameter, heated by an induction cooker.
The bright red soup base boiled and rolled in the pot, looking very appetizing.
Su Yudie held the menu, constantly marking items, and murmured, "Beef, tripe, thousand-layer tripe, lotus root slices, potatoes, enoki mushrooms, duck blood, shrimp dumplings, luncheon meat, Ciba, tangyuan, pineapple cake..."
"You're ordering so much, can you finish it all?" Zhuang Zi'ang reminded her.
"I eat a lot, and besides, don't I have you?" Su Yudie said, head down.
Zhuang Zi'ang silently drank his lemon tea, not daring to speak further.
As a boy, it would be very embarrassing if his appetite was not even as good as a girl's.
Not long after, the waiter brought the dishes.
Su Yudie evenly divided each dish into two portions and put them into the two pots.
Then she asked, "Coke or Pepsi?"
Zhuang Zi'ang replied, "Coke."
Su Yudie then waved her hand and asked the waiter for two cans of iced Coca-Cola.
The dark brown cola poured into the glass, producing dense bubbles.
Su Yudie raised her glass and clinked it with Zhuang Zi'ang: "Zhuang Zi'ang, I wish you to forget all your troubles and be happy every day."
Zhuang Zi'ang said with emotion, "Xiao Hudie, thank you."
The carbonated cola went down his throat, causing a slight tingling sensation.
Su Yudie put the first piece of hot beef into Zhuang Zi'ang's bowl, and then she began to feast.
While eating, she was also like a food critic, making various comments.
"Duck intestine should be cooked'seven up, eight down,' but this is a bit overcooked."
"The sea cabbage is too salty; it wasn't rinsed enough times."
"The beef balls weren't pounded enough times; they're not bouncy enough."
...Her small mouth seemed unable to stay idle, always needing to say something.
Zhuang Zi'ang pulled out a tissue and handed it to her: "You have oil at the corner of your mouth."
Su Yudie took it and casually wiped her mouth: "Thanks."
Generally speaking, pretty girls are very concerned about their appearance.
Yet, Su Yudie, with a face as beautiful as a celestial fairy, savored all the earthly delights.
Such a girl easily makes people feel close to her; she is truly endearing.
"Xiao Hudie, why are you always so happy?" Zhuang Zi'ang asked.
"Being happy is one day, being unhappy is also one day, so why not be happy every day?" Su Yudie countered with a smile.
Zhuang Zi'ang nodded silently.
She had a point; he couldn't refute it.
If he continued to be sad about yesterday's events, he would be falling short.
"Oh, by the way, do you have a nickname?" Su Yudie asked curiously.
Zhuang Zi'ang shook his head blankly.
His classmates either called him 'class monitor' or by his full name; only Li Huangxuan called him'son.'
'Son' probably doesn't count as a nickname, right?
"Then I'll call you Big Idiot," Su Yudie said while blanching tripe.
"Why? That sounds awful," Zhuang Zi'ang retorted unhappily.
"Because you lied to me this morning, and your lies were full of holes," Su Yudie held a grudge.
Zhuang Zi'ang thought to himself, he had been first in his grade for two consecutive years.
If that counted as stupid, then what were his other classmates?
The hot pot meal lasted about forty minutes.
After fishing out the last piece of potato from the pot, Su Yudie put it into her mouth, a look of satisfaction on her face.
Zhuang Zi'ang waved to the waiter to pay the bill.
Su Yudie quickly said, "I was the one who said I wanted hot pot, let me pay."
Zhuang Zi'ang smiled and said, "I'll treat this time; you can treat next time."
"Alright then!" Su Yudie nodded.
Unconsciously, they had already arranged their next outing.
They left the hot pot restaurant around one in the afternoon.
Zhuang Zi'ang planned to go to his mother's two-bedroom apartment to tidy and clean it, as he would be living there permanently from now on.
When Su Yudie heard this, she insisted on going with him, saying she wanted to help him work.
As he opened the door, the next-door neighbor sister happened to come out.
Zhuang Zi'ang had seen her a few times before and greeted her politely.
"Oh, do you have a girlfriend?" The neighbor sister's eyes lit up when she saw the beautiful Su Yudie.
"No, she's a friend," Zhuang Zi'ang quickly explained, feeling a little embarrassed.
"It's fine, you don't have to hide it from me. It's perfectly normal for young people like you to date," the neighbor sister said with the tone of someone who had been there before.
Su Yudie's pretty face flushed upon hearing this.
Despite her usual chattering and eloquent speech, at moments like this, she became as quiet as a gourd.
She wanted to explain but didn't know how to start.
The apartment was a bit old, but the lighting was good.
Xu Hui only stayed there for a few days each month, and sometimes when she was busy, she would just stay at a hotel near the station for a night.
There wasn't much furniture in the house, making it feel especially empty.
There were also no green plants, giving it a somewhat lifeless feel.
Zhuang Zi'ang said to Su Yudie, "Xiao Hudie, for these three months, if you want to find me to play, you can always come here."
Su Yudie blinked her big, watery eyes: "What about after three months?"
"We'll see then!" Zhuang Zi'ang evaded, his eyes dimming.
He estimated that by that time, he would probably be in the hospital.
In this world, few people would be sad or upset by his departure.
Su Yudie's lips curved into a smile: "If you make me unhappy, I won't come to play with you."
Zhuang Zi'ang blurted out, "I won't."
The next three months would undoubtedly be incredibly bleak and lonely, and he would also endure immense physical pain and torment.
He didn't want his dying life to lose this precious splash of color.
Su Yudie looked pretty and delicate, but she was a little expert at chores; she must have done a lot of housework at home.
Working together, they soon made the small home look brand new and cozy.
When they went out to take out the trash, they also stopped by a nearby supermarket to buy some daily necessities.
Zhuang Zi'ang specifically bought a desk calendar.
It was the kind where you tear off a page each day.
He weighed it in his hand; ninety days was just a thin stack.
These light, flimsy sheets of paper were the countdown to his life.
At the checkout, Su Yudie didn't want to wait in line and went outside to wait for Zhuang Zi'ang.
When Zhuang Zi'ang came out, he found her holding a round glass fish tank with some pebbles and water plants inside.
Two red goldfish were swimming happily.
"Zhuang Zi'ang, this is my gift to you, to congratulate you on your new home."
"Why are you giving me two fish? I can barely even keep myself alive," Zhuang Zi'ang grumbled.
"I made you not catch any fish yesterday, so this is my compensation. It will add a touch of life to your new home. Promise me, they absolutely must not die," Su Yudie said earnestly.
"Not die?" Zhuang Zi'ang was startled.
"I'm talking about these two fish. If you let them die, I definitely won't let you off," Su Yudie shook her fist.
Zhuang Zi'ang gazed deeply into Su Yudie's eyes, as if trying to see through her heart.
It was truly a happy thing to be friends with a girl like her.
But why did he have to meet her when his life was about to end?
Xiao Hudie, if only I had met you sooner, how wonderful that would have been!