Lovely Allergen

Chapter 61: Glittering Fragments

Song Yu nodded politely at Nan Jia, using that as his greeting, and then went straight into the seat across from Yue Zhishi. He spoke without any emotions in his voice, as if he was a household service robot with an outstanding appearance.

"No today. Only ."

"Mixian's fine too." Yue Zhishi very happily took the bowl from Song Yu. He then asked, thinking of what Nan Jia had just said, "Have you participated in the arts festival before?"

"Mn." Song Yu nodded, casually separating out the cutlery. "I was in my faculty's debate team for a bit."

Nan Jia was smiling when she said, "I even competed against your brother once in a semi-final. He really was the dark horse in the first years' competition. Everyone initially thought this person who didn't know how to talk wouldn't be articulate at all, and then he turned out to be a golden fourth speaker."

"It's not that he's bad with words. He just doesn't like talking." Yue Zhishi explained for Song Yu immediately, but his heart yearned to see the sight of Song Yu in a suit, sitting at the long tables of a debate competition.

Yue Zhishi poked the tip of Song Yu's foot with his own. "Then will you participate this year?"

Shaking his head, Song Yu said, "I don't have the time. I stopped last year."

Nan Jia shrugged as well. "I was chatting to his faculty's coach a while ago, and he was really regretful about Song Yu. He felt like he was a really strong seeded player. You have to know — the attacking and defence strategies of a second or third speaker are actually really easy to learn and practice. There's no lack of excellent second and third speakers, but it's actually very hard to find strong fourth speakers."

Yue Zhishi had also participated in debate competitions in high school, and he very much agreed with what Nan Jia said. "That's right, especially when the strength of the two teams are equal and it's hard to figure out who has the stronger position. In situations like that, the later you speak, the more pressure you have. It's often up to the fourth speaker to fight for success."

Song Yu was indifferent. "It wasn't as exaggerated as that. The second and third speakers are always the main force of the team."

"It's regretful anyway." Nan Jia said to Yue Zhishi, smiling, "But I feel like, other than his studies, everything your brother does is just for fun and just to get some experience. You can be like him too and try a few more things. It's university. You should grab all the opportunities you can to enrich yourself."

They didn't talk much further. Nan Jia very quickly finished her food, returned her plate and then said goodbye to them as she left. She was always very busy, rushing from one place to the next, but she lived every one of her days to the fullest.

With no one there to chat with, Yue Zhishi peacefully sat there, pondering as he ate, and then after a little while, he raised his head. "Song Yu."

Song Yu didn't even look up. "It sounds like my name comes out of your mouth easier every time you say it."

Yue Zhishi squeezed Song Yu's legs in between his own, rocking them slightly before he let go. "It feels more intimate that way."

"Why did you stop going to the debate team? You could've been able to enter the university team if you continued, and you might've even been able to participate in those championship competitions."

And then, as if he was cutely whining, Yue Zhishi said very softly, "I want to watch you compete too."

Now that it was only the two of them, Song Yu's explanation increased. "I originally joined with the intention of killing time. After participating for two years, I realised it really was something that required a lot of time. I needed to continuously train. Just for one argument, I needed to repeatedly research information, guess the other team's arguments and then find a way to dismantle it. All of that work doesn't come from thin air; it needed time and energy. I didn't have the energy to continue with it, so after I quit the team after my last planned competition."