Chapter 1: BFFs

  As the streetlights came on, the night market near B City University Town was filled with the sound of vendors calling out their wares. The scene was one of bustling excitement, with bright lights illuminating everything. Along both sides of the road stood tall French plane trees, their large, dense canopies full of vitality in the glow of the streetlights. This was a new variety that had been improved by the gardening department to be ball-less and fast-growing, so even in spring, there would no longer be a flurry of catkins covering innocent passersby and sending them scratching all the way to the dermatology clinic.

  As far as the eye can see, because it's Tuesday, there are fewer tender faces of students on the streets, and most of them are local or foreign foodies who come for the fame. The shops on both sides not only have the must-haves for night markets like barbecue and fried foods but also various specialties from all over the world. Even Southeast Asian specialty cuisine and tropical fruits can be found here.

  Among them, a dessert shop with a yellow bottom and black letter signboard is particularly eye-catching. The four words "dessert dessert" on it are like written in brush calligraphy, the font is elegant and freehand, strong and powerful, and simply adds a few points to the whole store's distant and leisurely atmosphere.

  All the lights in the yet-to-be-opened store were turned on, and through the glass window, you could see that the interior was dominated by a cool color scheme with a refreshing style, and the environment was very clean and tidy. Whether it's the purple gauze curtains that can be seen everywhere, or the soft sofa chairs, or the small and elegant crystal lamps on the ceiling, they all show that this dessert shop has a considerable decoration fee.

  A woman with long hair and a lemon-yellow counter leaned against her, wearing a sky-blue cheongsam that set off her slender figure, although her facial features were not particularly prominent, she had a quiet and gentle temperament, her fair and delicate skin was well-maintained, and there was no sign of age.

  "Yes, she's arranging a heavy workload for her friends, all of whom are teaching at the university town," the woman said on the phone, her voice soft and gentle, with a hint of a smile, occasionally glancing up at the staircase leading to the second floor. "Don't worry, although it's her first time, I believe she'll definitely do a great job. Hmm, what was that? Alright, I'm almost back...". The woman's face suddenly flushed with two rosy clouds, complementing the shy smile on her lips, adding a few more alluring touches to her demeanor.

  And at this time, the second floor——

  "I'm sure you've all tried almost every dessert I can make, and I'm sure you have a good idea of the taste and presentation. So, when it comes to promoting my desserts, I think it's just a small case for university students like yourselves who are already almost a year in. The dessert shop is opening this Saturday, and each of you needs to distribute 500 flyers within three days. With your charming personalities and increasingly thick skin, it should be a breeze, right? But... if you don't show some professionalism, I might accidentally add some special seasonings to the desserts I give you one day, and I won't know what will happen."

  Perhaps it was because the threat I posed was too real and too deadly, the four girls sitting across from me exchanged a glance with each other and immediately nodded in agreement before quickly changing the subject.

  Xiaoyu's eyebrows danced with excitement as she said: "Yaoyao, I thought you were just joking around before, but it turns out you're actually here opening a dessert shop with your aunt! That's great, now we can hang out together often again!"

  I hadn't even had time to respond to her exclamation, and this matter was also far beyond my expectations. A cold and clear sentence "For three months after the college entrance examination, you were silent, I thought someone had raped and killed you and abandoned your body in the wilderness" successfully strangled what I wanted to say in its infancy.

  My gaze fell on the owner of the voice, and a glance from those slightly raised phoenix eyes that seemed to be mixed with a sharp sword-like gaze made me shudder: "At that time, I just wanted to go out and clear my mind..."

  Xiao Yu glared at her: "A Qian, can you be any more venomous?"

  "A shallow smile played on her lips: 'Try it and you'll know.'"

  Xiaoyu was out of breath, turned her head to look at me, her eyebrows were all scrunched up: "But Yaoyao you really scared us half to death, just afraid that you'd suddenly... it's all that damned He Mottian's fault! If he hadn't followed..."

  "Kokoro!" Kaoru interrupted her, "It's all in the past."

  She snorted angrily from her nose and stopped talking.

  Hearing the name "He Mochen" again made me pause for a moment, and the scenes I had deliberately forgotten began to flash through my mind in fragments. There was the image of him gently leaning down to kiss Li Qiwei, his cold smile as he said to me "Do you think I really like you?", and the look on his face that night when he stood by the pond with a detached expression, and Li Qiwei's slightly twisted features... and I, who hadn't cried since turning five, retreated step by step with blurry vision.

  After the college entrance exam, during the days of relaxing outside, I kept reminding myself that those things were already in the past, whether it was that scoundrel or that slut, and they would no longer have any impact on me. Since I had already been blinded once, I wouldn't have a second chance to be blind again. Taking a deep breath, I used my hand as a hammer and knocked on my head. Actually, I'm someone who is very afraid of pain, but at the moment, I was in a state of nostalgia, so the force of my hand suddenly forgot to control itself, and I immediately gasped: "Ah!"

  My dear four-person squad immediately cast suspicious glances at me, I smiled and rubbed the painful spot while saying: "It's okay, Haiying, I've forgotten about those things. At that time, I was inconsiderate, you guys are my best friends after all, but I didn't even greet you, don't worry, it won't happen again."

  They nodded slightly.

  "Haha!" Mu Mu suddenly burst out laughing, "Yao Yao, look at you, after just four months of dessert classes, you can already open a dessert shop. It really proves the saying - if you didn't get into college, it's because you were born to do business!"

  Not just me, but Xiaoyu and the others were also stunned. The cold wind from the air conditioner swept by, and the low, muffled voice sounded particularly clear in the quiet, empty hall.

  Mu Mu definitely didn't expect the effect of this sentence to be so significant, and suddenly it became cold. I looked at her in a speechless manner as she tried to shrink her body to reduce her presence.

  After some thought, I beckoned her over with a crook of my finger: "Mumu, come here."

  She hesitated for a moment and slowly moved in front of me.

  I lifted her chin with one hand and looked at her with affection: "Mumu, in the months that can be counted on one's fingers, you've already been chased by your senior?"

  After another brief moment of silence, a loud burst of laughter erupted, and the atmosphere that was slightly dull just now suddenly became lively. Indeed, no matter when or where, gossip is always the best catalyst to ignite the high spirits.

  Xiaoyu slammed her hand on the table: "Mumu, you're really shameless! How long has it been? You've actually been secretly letting someone take advantage of you behind our backs!"

  Mumu's lovely doll-like face turned completely red, and she looked at me with a mixture of annoyance and frustration, saying: "How did you know this time?"

  I slightly tilted my head, feeling the crystal chandelier on the ceiling casting a blurry shadow on my face, and made sure that my expression was sufficiently enigmatic before speaking: "Mumu, you... are still too tender."

  From the moment she came in, every time there was a text message ringtone, she immediately lowered her head to look at the screen, smiling with pursed lips while looking. That sweet and shy face is no different from high school days. If I still can't see it, it can only be said that I'm actually pretending not to see it. Looking again, she still has a deep thinking expression, and I couldn't help but sigh softly in my heart, this naive child!

  Ah Qian bent down and tapped the table with her fingers, saying: "Yaoyao, Mumo now has a family member, so it's reasonable that her flyers should be doubled, right?"

  As soon as this was said, several other loners echoed in agreement. I thought for a moment and nodded solemnly to Ah Qian: "Well done, you're indeed studying law, fair, just and open!"

  Ignoring Momo's resentful gaze, he directly placed a large stack of flyers in her hand and said solemnly: "Since you're an upperclassman, you must know more people. There are a total of 1,500 here, you take 500, he takes 1,000, tell him that if he dares to secretly throw them away for me, your BFF Party won't let him get close to you under our noses, did you hear?"

  She reluctantly agreed with a gloomy face, but when the text message alert sounded again, she smiled and said "Senior Eoba is looking for me, I'll go first" and ran downstairs.

  In an instant, I suddenly discovered that Mu Mu was a more terrifying existence than the end of the world. In this space where even another apocalypse couldn't conjure up a clear sky and thunder at 9 PM Beijing time, her flirtatious "Senpai Oppa" somehow managed to create a dry thunderstorm and diligently unleashed its full force, sending us all into a collective shudder.

  After a few minutes, Haiying finally broke the silence with a light cough, picked up a flyer and waved it at me: "Why don't you put your face on this?"

  I blushed and smiled, saying: "I'm a decent housewife, how can I be so reckless..."

  "Right, right, those guys will definitely come to the door without hesitation when they see you as a living signboard. And after coming in, they'll find that besides you, this vase-like girl who can rival the green building's flower, there's also your aunt, whose temperament makes me feel like spring breeze even with a poker face... I'm sure their aesthetic sense will be stunned and they'll become regulars here! " Xiao Yu interrupted me with a series of rapid-fire words, then stroked her chin and said to Haiying with a sly smile: "I didn't expect it, Sister Haiying, but it turns out you're not only good at learning eight-legged essays, but also have a knack for business. How about I hire you as the planning director in the future? With our good relationship, we can just set the salary to 250,000 yuan per year!"

  Haiying didn't even bother to lift an eyelid.

  I slapped a palm on Xiaoyu's shoulder, feeling quite satisfied with my menacing tone: "Little sister, you know that desserts can't be eaten randomly, so why don't you know that words can't be spoken randomly? You actually dare to make fun of my aunt, treating my military officer uncle like carbon dioxide? And who did you say is the vase girl in the brothel? Hmm? Try saying it again."

  She dryly laughed and said: "Yaoyao, don't be like that, they were just joking."

  I gazed at her slender neck, as if I was about to move my demonic claws up. She immediately put on a serious face and said: "Ah, no! Actually, I was just momentarily blinded by the pork fat and didn't know what I said or did, it was all so foggy... Ah, I suddenly remembered that I still need to go home and accompany my mom, and now it's already this late! Haha, never mind, you guys continue chatting, I'll just take a step ahead!" After finishing speaking, she struggled free from my grasp, panting heavily as she moved towards the stairs.

  "Halt."

  She looked at me with tears in her eyes: "Yao Yao, I'm really going back..."

  Before she could finish speaking, I handed her a stack of flyers: "For being rude, add 200 more."

  She suddenly smiled and left a lip print on my face, then gave a flirtatious glance to the two people watching from behind, "I'm leaving."

  I wiped my face with a look of disgust, and Haiying continued to say: "Yao Yao, don't you really consider printing another batch of promotional materials? A small mistake can also ruin your dream of opening a branch store."

  I took two stacks of flyers and placed them in front of them, then crossed my hands under my chin, revealing a smile that I thought was gentle and elegant: "No need, after you distribute these, there will definitely be people who know what's good and come to try it out. After tasting, they'll know that the desserts here are the most varied and affordable on this night market street. Word of mouth will naturally spread, and my business will surely grow like a snowball!"

  She obviously wanted to say more, but was interrupted by Ah Qian's cold laugh. Then Ah Qian said in a statement tone: "Bai Yaoyao, you actually think that the photos taken of yourself are not good-looking enough for your own image, and feel that it damages your image, right?"

  The smile on my face froze, and after a while, I sighed: "Great lawyer, do you have to demolish the stage so thoroughly..."