Open Strife and Covert Battles Part 2

"You're going to W University too? I want to go too." Yue Zhishi ate a piece of cherry pork, then put a larger piece in Song Yu's bowl, whispering to him, "This is really good, you should try it."

Shen Mi glanced at the untouched fish in his bowl. "I know. You talk about W University in front of me every day, my ears are getting calluses."

"That's wonderful. It would be great if you could both get in. You can look out for each other." Lin Rong was very happy and served Shen Mi a bowl of dried shrimp and pork rib soup. "Our Lele is like a little kid every day. I've been afraid he'd be tricked or bullied since he was little. If you go to W University, you have to take good care of him."

Shen Mi smiled and accepted the soup. "Of course, don't you worry, Auntie."

Yue Zhishi wasn't pleased with this statement. "I'm not a kid anymore. Besides, my brother is also at W University. I'll go to him if I need anything."

Lin Rong deliberately teased him, "Your brother is busy as hell. How could he have time for you?"

"So Brother Song Yu is also from W University," Shen Mi's face showed a hint of surprise. "What a coincidence. Then we'll be senior and junior in the future. That's awesome."

Song Yu glanced at him, too lazy to engage, thinking to himself, 'It's no coincidence. The person who sits in front of you is only aiming for W University because of me.'

When it came to praising his brother, Yue Zhishi was exceptionally enthusiastic. "Yeah, my brother is super amazing. He's already doing experiments with the senior graduate students."

"Wow." A look of admiration also appeared on Shen Mi's face. "Lele, you and your brother give off completely different vibes. You really don't seem like brothers."

Yue Zhishi didn't like this statement, lifting his chin with some displeasure. "No matter how different we seem, he's still my brother."

"You're so cute," Shen Mi said suddenly, very directly.

Song Yu looked up, his eyes narrowing slightly as he watched the brightly smiling Shen Mi.

He suddenly realized that the differences between people were indeed vast. Xia Zhixu also had a sunny smile, but the smile on his face always made people feel comfortable and quickly closed the distance between them. But the person before him became more and more unpleasant the more he looked at him.

Before today, Song Yu had felt that his natural aversion to Shen Mi stemmed mostly from his own prejudice, and that he should be a less narrow-minded person. But after meeting him today, he overturned this self-doubt.

Shen Mi was different from any of Yue Zhishi's previous friends.

Of this, Song Yu was certain.

"Right?" Lin Rong seemed to have found a sense of validation from Shen Mi. "Did you know, Lele was even cuter when he was little. It was so cool to walk him around outside. When I picked him up from kindergarten, people would call me 'that doll's' mom. It gave me so much face."

Shen Mi's eyes widened. "Are there pictures? I'd love to see what he looked like as a child. Was he like one of those child models?"

Yue Zhishi refused outright, "No, don't look at my childhood pictures."

Most of the time, Yue Zhishi didn't like being called cute. In his mind, a word like 'cute' was synonymous with being childish, naive, and not mature enough.

Because he had a target he desperately wanted to catch up to, he always tried his best to downplay the distance between them.

Lin Rong skipped over Yue Zhishi's refusal and said to Shen Mi, "The photos are at home. I'll show them to you next time you come over to play. There used to be two big albums, I don't know what happened,"

At this point, a hint of confusion appeared on Lin Rong's face. "Now there's only one left at home. I can't find the other one no matter how I look."

As soon as her voice fell, Song Yu choked. He lowered his head and coughed. Yue Zhishi immediately handed him his own water and patted his back, asking in a low voice if he was okay.

"Did you get a fish bone stuck?" Shen Mi was very concerned. "My mom says drinking some vinegar works. Want to try?"

Yue Zhishi shook his head, refusing very seriously. "That's a folk remedy."

Song Yu took a sip of the water Yue Zhishi handed him and said "I'm fine" in a low voice.

"Speaking of which, a girl wanted to give Lele a nameplate just now," Shen Mi smiled. "But he was cruelly rejected."

"A nameplate?" Lin Rong asked in confusion. "Isn't that the thing you wear to school every day? What's the use of having someone else's? You can't wear it."

"Auntie, you don't know, giving a nameplate is basically the same as a confession nowadays."

Hearing this, Lin Rong's gossip-loving heart ignited. "Really? Lele, why didn't you accept it?"

Yue Zhishi's mouth opened, he faltered, and hesitated for two seconds before saying in a small voice, "I already have one, I don't need any others."

"For real? Whose did you take? When? You didn't even tell me."

Lin Rong's reaction made Yue Zhishi feel like he had brought trouble upon himself. For some reason, he started to stammer, "...Giving and receiving nameplates doesn't necessarily mean that. Sometimes, good friends can give them as a memento."

He rarely acted like this; usually, he would have said it directly and openly.

'Maybe it's because I didn't sleep well last night and I'm not in my right mind,' Yue Zhishi comforted himself.

Lin Rong persisted, "So whose did you accept?"

Before Yue Zhishi could speak, Song Yu admitted it directly: "Mine."

The three people at the table all looked at Song Yu, but he maintained his usual indifferent expression, as if it had nothing to do with him, and said matter-of-factly, "When I graduated from my third year of high school, Yue Zhishi asked me for it. Because I did well on my exams, he wanted to rub off some of my good luck."

This explanation sounded perfectly reasonable to Lin Rong. "So that's how it is."

She picked up a spoon and stirred the soup in her bowl, joking, "Your brother's nameplate isn't easy to get. Who knows how many little girls out there are thinking about it."

Shen Mi was a little stunned, but he quickly smiled again. "Are you two cutting off each other's romantic prospects?"

"I don't have that many romantic prospects." Yue Zhishi was very eager to skip this topic, because he remembered his reaction to the milk tea incident just now, and Song Yu's response hadn't been good.

He didn't want to make Song Yu unhappy.

When he lowered his head, he noticed that Song Yu was wearing the same shoes as him, the same style, just a different color. It was just a tiny similarity, but Yue Zhishi became happy because of it.

His mood always shifted very simply.

Lin Rong put a stalk of water spinach in Yue Zhishi's bowl. "If you don't have romantic prospects, you can slowly accumulate them. You're about to go to university. Don't be like your brother, focusing all your energy on studying and living like an ascetic. At your age, you should go out more and meet more friends."

"Auntie's right, I think so too," Shen Mi said. "I'm thinking of finding a place to intern during the summer vacation to save up some spending money. I don't really want to ask my parents for money after I start university."

He already had an enthusiastic and sensible image in Lin Rong's eyes. Hearing this, Lin Rong appreciated his ideas even more. "Not bad. Do you have a suitable job now?"

Shen Mi shook his head and sighed. "It's not easy to find. Very few places hire recent high school graduates for part-time jobs now."

Seeing his troubled look, Yue Zhishi also wanted to offer some advice. "How about trying tutoring?"

"The tutoring market is too saturated right now. Parents only want students from famous universities."

Lin Rong thought for a moment. "Otherwise, you can come to Yanghe Qizhe. You're eloquent and have a good personality, you can come help me out." She patted Shen Mi's shoulder. "Auntie won't treat you unfairly."

"Really? Auntie, you're too nice!"

Watching the lively scene opposite him, Song Yu felt he had nothing to say. He just turned his head to Yue Zhishi and said, "You already have your professional considerations. Relax at home during the summer vacation, read some books, and enrich yourself."

"I know." As if without thinking, Yue Zhishi grabbed Song Yu's wrist under the table and asked in a low voice, "Can I go to W University to find you? They say the library at W University is very good."

"It's too far," Song Yu said.

He quickly added, "I'll be back during the summer break too," as if to comfort him.

Lin Rong also advised Yue Zhishi, "Just listen to your brother. Rest more at home and recharge your batteries before studying again."

Shen Mi looked at Song Yu and Yue Zhishi, and after a while, he said, "You two brothers have such a good relationship. I'm envious. I also really wanted an older brother when I was a kid."

Yue Zhishi was rather proud, thinking to himself that even if Shen Mi had an older brother, he definitely wouldn't be as good or as outstanding as Song Yu, which made him feel even more fortunate.

Lin Rong lamented, "Yes, Lele has been the most attached to his brother since he was little. When he was a child, he couldn't be away from him for even half a step. They had to eat and sleep together."

Shen Mi glanced at Song Yu and then smiled again. "Then what will they do when they have partners in the future? Won't they be unable to live together then?"

This joke made the two people opposite him fall silent. Yue Zhishi was a bit dazed, blinking a few times. The table suddenly vibrated; it was Song Yu's phone. Song Yu took the phone and left the table, walking to the nearby floor-to-ceiling window to answer it. Yue Zhishi silently watched his back, Shen Mi's question still swirling in his mind.

It wasn't long before Song Yu returned. Lin Rong asked him if something was up.

"Yeah. My senior called to tell me there's a last-minute group meeting this afternoon, and he wants me to report on the previous data at the meeting."

Yue Zhishi was a little disappointed. "Then do you have to go?" He always sounded a bit timid when making requests, so his voice became softer. "Can't you ask for leave?"

Song Yu nodded, took a sip of water, and put down the cup. "I can't miss the group meeting. I need to discuss the recent work progress with the others in the group. The data is all with me, so it would be too irresponsible to take leave casually." After speaking, he picked up the car keys, seeming ready to leave.

Since it had come to this, Yue Zhishi had no other way to stop him. He considered the possibility of forcing his way along in the afternoon, but there was no way he could sneak into Song Yu's meeting. He might even end up causing trouble for him.

"Your brother is so amazing," Shen Mi said again in that adoring tone. "Unlike me, who only knows how to take you around to have fun and has no desire to study or work at all. If it were me, since I'm already back, I definitely wouldn't go to the group meeting."

These superficial little tricks had already tired Song Yu out.

But Shen Mi clearly hadn't, adding, "He's obviously only three years older than us. How is he so mature?"

Song Yu stood up and gave Shen Mi a friendly smile.

"Perhaps it's because I've been to university."