Chapter 38: Deng An

　　After finishing my morning routine, I let my hair down and tossed the leftover food from the fridge into the trash. With the summer heat, nothing was safe to eat after sitting out overnight.

　　I noticed there were still some vegetables left in the fridge—some greens, cucumbers, potatoes, eggplants, and a bag of eggs. A simple stir-fry of cucumbers and eggs came to mind, something easy that I could manage.

　　I got busy in the kitchen while Yumeng tidied herself and the apartment in her bedroom.

　　About an hour and a half later, I served the cucumber and eggs along with two bowls of rice on the coffee table. It was just the two of us, so no need for a formal dining setup.

　　As we ate, Yumeng kept praising how good the food was, and it made me feel pretty happy.

　　After we finished eating and cleaned up, Yumeng pulled out an ironing board from her mom’s room, insisting on straightening my hair. She originally wanted to curl it, but I firmly insisted on just keeping it straight.

　　Then, out of nowhere, she produced some face masks. We ended up lounging on the couch, wearing face masks and chatting.

　　“Xia Ning,” Yumeng called out to me.

　　“Yeah?”

　　“What really happened last night… and why are you carrying around pills?” She suddenly remembered what had happened the night before.

　　“Your eyes were so red… it really freaked me out.”

　　Did she notice? As I was trying to think of a way to lie my way out, she added, “Xia Ning, I feel like something’s bothering you.”

　　Her words made my heart skip a beat.

　　“What could possibly be bothering me? I just had a headache last night, maybe my eyes got a little bloodshot. Or maybe you just imagined it,” I deflected, not wanting anyone else to know about these things.

　　“Xia Ning, those pills you’re carrying aren’t for headaches. I can tell. I’ve taken headache pills before, and they don’t look like that!” The little rascal suddenly seemed a lot sharper. She sat up and looked straight at me.

　　I was momentarily at a loss for words and fell silent.

　　“Xia Ning, we’re good friends. What’s going on with you? Do you… have some kind of illness?” Yumeng asked hesitantly.

　　Am I really going to have to tell her? If not, what excuse should I come up with? For a moment, I was speechless, but to her, my silence was as good as a confirmation…

　　She grabbed my hand. “Xia Ning, please tell me… okay?” Her brows were furrowed in worry, and she looked at me with such a sad, pleading expression that she was about to cry.I stood up and embraced Yumeng, feeling it was time to reveal part of the truth, though I’d hold back some details.

　　“Yumeng, you’re probably wondering what’s going on. Remember, I’ve been into that strange dream world twice,” I said softly, resting my head on her shoulder.

　　She nodded, some stray strands of her hair brushing against my ear, but I didn’t move.

　　“Because of those experiences, I’ve had some lingering side effects, like this headache. You remember Professor Li, right? He promised to help me in a few days. Don’t worry, I’ll get better after the treatment. The medicine was given to me by him,” I said, blending truth with a bit of fiction.

　　Yumeng let out a sigh of relief. “So, that’s the day after tomorrow?”

　　“Yes,” I nodded.

　　As we separated, her face mask slipped onto my shoulder. I laughed and put it back on her face, but in the process, my own mask fell off from laughing so much.

　　It was three o’clock in the afternoon.

　　“Hey, Yumeng, come down. We’re at the entrance of your neighborhood,” a cheerful girl’s voice said over the phone.

　　While we were putting on our jackets, Yumeng said, “That was Monkey, but we call her Xiaorong. I’ll introduce you when we get there.”

　　We locked the door and headed downstairs.

　　On the way down, Yumeng kept reminding me not to be shy, since everyone was friendly.

　　“Xiaorong has been so kind to me since I came back; she’s always inviting me out.”

　　I just listened, as I hadn’t met any of them before.

　　When we reached the lobby, I saw a seven-seater Volkswagen parked at the base of the steps. It was obviously an expensive car, and several people were standing nearby, glancing our way—three guys and two girls, chatting amongst themselves.

　　As soon as they saw us, the two girls started waving energetically.

　　“Over here!”

　　The afternoon sun was still blazing. It hadn’t felt too hot inside, but as soon as we stepped out, even the breeze felt like waves of heat.When we reached the group, Yumeng began making introductions.

　　There were two girls around our age. One was named Wu Jia, wearing a short skirt and a spaghetti strap top. The other was Deng Rong, known as Xiaorong to Yumeng, in shorts that showed off her long legs. She was fairly attractive.

　　The tall guy next to her was Deng An, Xiaorong’s brother. He looked to be about twenty-one or twenty-two and was quite handsome. He kept smiling at me.

　　Yumeng didn’t know the two guys either; it was Xiaorong who introduced them. One was Song Yuan and the other was Shen Hui. They were about the same age and were friends of Xiaorong’s brother.

　　“This is Xia Ning, a good friend of mine,” Yumeng said in introduction.

　　“Hi there,” I greeted with a polite smile.

　　“It’s true that you need to see someone in person to really understand them. You’re beautiful, Xia Ning. An really didn’t lie to us,” Shen Hui said with a smile, his arm around Wu Jia’s shoulder.

　　“Exactly,” Song Yuan chimed in with a grin.

　　“Hey!” I saw Wu Jia give Shen Hui’s arm a playful pinch, causing him to wince and exclaim.

　　Wu Jia’s look toward me changed, and I immediately felt like maybe I shouldn’t have come.

　　“Hey, you two, cut it out,” Deng An said, waving his hand.

　　“My bad, Jia Jia!” Shen Hui apologized softly.

　　Wu Jia shot him a glare.

　　Xiaorong smiled and took Yumeng’s hand, leading her toward the car.

　　“Alright, let’s head out!” Deng An said.

　　The others cheered, gathered around the car, and got in. I stood there for a moment, hesitating.

　　After everyone had gotten in, Yumeng noticed my hesitation. She opened the door on the side and stepped out to pull me gently. “What’s wrong, Xia Ning? Let’s go…”

　　“Hey there, beautiful. Come on, get in!” Deng Rong called from inside the car, smiling.

　　The others remained silent.

　　I forced a smile and said, “It’s nothing. I thought I left my phone upstairs. Let’s go.”

　　I got in the car, not wanting to make things awkward for Yumeng. To my surprise, they had left the front passenger seat open for me.

　　As the car started and quickly left the neighborhood behind, Shen Hui, sitting in the seat behind the driver, leaned forward and said, “Hey, An, how much did you pay for this car? It’s so spacious and comfortable.”

　　“Oh, it wasn’t that much. My dad bought it for me, just a little over two million!” Deng An replied nonchalantly.

　　I turned my head to look at the scenery retreating outside the window, the words they said clear in my mind. The greenery and street vendors flashed by, and the sound of car horns emphasized the hustle and bustle of the city.“An doesn’t have a girlfriend yet, right?” Wu Jia asked from the back seat.

　　“Hehe, nope, not yet...” Deng An replied with a chuckle.

　　“Why don’t you… take a look at me?” Wu Jia said with a playful grin.

　　“Come on, sis, you’re like my brother’s future wife. You know the saying—don’t mess around with a friend’s girl,” Deng An said, laughing.

　　“Jia Jia, what are you talking about?” Shen Hui sounded a bit irritated.

　　“Oh, I’m just kidding, relax!”

　　“Hey, pretty, do you have a boyfriend? Maybe you should consider An?” Wu Jia, sitting in the middle seat behind me, patted my shoulder.

　　“I…” I turned around, unsure of how to respond, and could only manage a hesitant “I.”

　　When I didn’t answer right away, everyone in the back burst into laughter.

　　“Alright, alright, cut it out,” Deng An said, trying to sound annoyed.

　　“Wow, someone’s getting protective,” Wu Jia teased with a laugh.

　　Another round of laughter followed before it finally died down.

　　Their behavior made me uncomfortable, but there wasn’t much I could do. Yumeng was a well-behaved girl from a strict family. She probably hadn’t had many chances to go out and have fun, or maybe this was her first time at a karaoke bar. I understood her curiosity and excitement completely.

　　About half an hour later, the car pulled up in front of the karaoke place.

　　The name of the venue was displayed in colorful lights above the entrance: “Music Master,” with a guitar-shaped light box beside it.