The Mushroom Effect - ZhanYi

Chapter 30

"Xiao laoshi!"

Xiao Zhan walked into the private booth, and Song Li greeted him with his usual high spirits. They were roughly the same age, and if Wang Yibo had successfully presented as an Alpha, he might have had a lively and outgoing personality like Song Li. Xiao Zhan sighed inwardly and smiled as he sat down, saying, "You're here for the meal quite early, I thought I'd have to wait for you."

"Oh, I'm just not enthusiastic about work. I'm enthusiastic about everything else except work," Song Li said without the slightest embarrassment. Xiao Zhan shook his head, teasingly scolding him, "You little rascal, you're shameless. Have you ordered yet?"

"Look at you, Xiao laoshi, how can I order first when you're treating? Of course, I'll wait for you to decide," Song Li flipped his teacup and poured tea for Xiao Zhan.

"Forget it, I'll stop fooling around, let's talk seriously." Song Li watched Xiao Zhan order the dishes and took a sip of tea before saying, "Actually, if you hadn't mentioned the dinner, I would have thought you gave Yibo-ge some other gift. I noticed he's still wearing his old watch."

Xiao Zhan paused for a moment before replying, "Well, it's fine. Let's order another hot dish, this one." He closed the menu and handed it back to the server, then looked at Song Li. "The watch Yibo is wearing now holds a special meaning for him. I didn't know until after I gave him the watch, and he told me about it."

"I see," Song Li nodded, "That's a bit unfortunate then..."

"It's okay. Gifts are about the intention behind them. As long as it makes him happy, that's what matters. How he handles it is up to him," Xiao Zhan said lightly, but his heart was far from calm. Even if he managed to brush off the topic with Song Li, he still felt embarrassed.

If Song Li hadn't brought it up, Xiao Zhan would have forgotten about it. He had carefully picked out the gift, but Wang Yibo received it with great difficulty and never wore it. What was the point of not wearing the watch? Xiao Zhan went through so much trouble for this meaningless gift, taking Song Li out for a meal, pretending to be happy, lying about how much Wang Yibo liked it, and feeling no different from self-torture.

"Speaking of this, let me tell you a story, Xiao laoshi"

Song Li was someone who couldn't stop talking, even to himself. Xiao Zhan had spaced out and didn't catch what he had said earlier, so he just picked up his teacup and uttered a vague "Mm."

Song Li continued, "A long, long time ago, I also had a crush on a girl I knew since childhood. She was the daughter of my dad's friend, and our families lived across from each other. She was smart, quiet, and obedient, the type of well-behaved girl. I had liked her for a long time but didn't dare to confess because I was afraid she wasn't interested in love and only focused on studying. I thought even if she rejected me, it would be fine, but I didn't want my dad to scold me. But guess what happened later?"

Xiao Zhan glanced at him, "Did she confess to you?"

Song Li shook his head, "No, she presented as an Omega, which I expected. But after the college entrance exam, my dad told me she got pregnant."

"What?" Xiao Zhan was genuinely shocked, frowning, he said, "Pregnant? After the college entrance exam, at eighteen?"

"Eighteen," Song Li nodded and then chuckled, "I couldn't believe it either because the girl I knew wouldn't do such a thing. When my dad told me about it, she had just gone for an abortion, and I went to the hospital to see her. We attended different high schools because of the college entrance exam, and I hadn't seen her for two or three months. When I saw her in the hospital, to be honest, I couldn't believe it was her."