That night, the four of them didnât have dinner together.  When Li Erqin and Peng Zige returned to the broadcasting studio, Rong Si was there by himself.
âWhereâs Su Zi?â Peng Zige asked anxiously.
âShe said she had something to do this evening.â
Peng Zige was pensive.
âYou rejected her?â Peng Zige continued on asking.
âYup.â
Peng Zige raked his hair in frustration and stole a look at the similarly quiet Li Erqin. She was secretly glad and yet at the same time felt a sense of loss.
Hey, I think I like you. Â These words became taboo, best kept as a secret.
(Minodayz: she was secretly glad..Really!!! Oooooooo!!! Planning to make your own confessions???)
Not long after the start of the evening remedial class, Li Erqin received a text from Su Zi, [Erqin, can you come to the sports field to keep me company?]
Li Erqin kept her phone, stood up and left the broadcasting studio.
Rong Si, as usual, continued working on his workbooks with his head down.
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Peng Zige looked uncertainly at the door and then at Rong Si. He opened his mouth wanting to ask something but then had a sudden moment of clarity. Scratching the back of his head, he decided to continue digging into his English vocabulary list instead. He was the spitting image of a live PENG monkey!
Li Erqin was worried that Su Zi would have cried until her nose ran so she went especially to buy two cups of hot milk tea.  When she met up with Su Zi, Su Zi was rubbing her hands together and jumping up and down by the podium rails.  Upon seeing Li Erqin, she rushed forward gratefully welcoming her, âErqin! Hot milk tea? Perfect timing! Itâs freezing!â
Li Erqin took a sip of milk tea, âYup, cold blast incoming.â
Su Zi snuffled her nose, âToo cold. My nose is beginning to drip. Â Do you have a tissue?â
âYou didnât remind me,â Li Erqin was startled. âI didnât think your nose would be running. Â Then again,â trying to explain herself, âI was worried that youâd be crying and all so I went and got us some milk tea.â
Crying and milk tea?
(minodayz: ummm yah â LEQ how did crying = milk tea! Lol Iâm dying here!!! I think I can start a Dummies guide to LEQ ~ ROFL!!! Iâm about to start crying too! )
âIf I were crying, then wouldnât it have been even more imperative to bring some tissues?â Su Zi looked at her strangely. âI canât wipe my tears with milk tea.â
Li Erqin was suddenly enlightened!
âLetâs go. Letâs go and get some tissues first. Otherwise I may have to use my sleeve to wipe my dripping nose.â
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Both of them walked in silence for awhile until Su Zi asked, âErqin, youâre not going to ask me?â
âAsk what?â
âWhat Rong Si said to me.â
âDo you want to talk about it?â Li Erqin asked in return.
âItâs ok.â Su Zi took a big mouthful of milk tea.  âItâs not like thereâs much to say.â
Li Erqin just kept silent.
As Su Zi quietly held onto her cup of milk tea, she flashed back to the afternoon and the transparent look in Rong Siâs eyes. They were clear and sincere and showed no intention of alienating or pushing her away. âIâve always considered you a very special friend and classmate and hope that we will continue to remain friends. I hope for us four to work hard and improve together, to face the future together and to not allow any situation to break us apart. If you have any problems or difficulties (in the future), I would, without any reservation, be willing to help you.
Here, he had paused and carefully observed Su Ziâs face. Then he continued, âI greatly value our friendship.â
Thinking up to this point, Su Zi snuffled her nose again. âHey, Li Erqin, that time when you decided not to hang out with us, what was it like being on your own?â
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Li Erqin shrugged, âI donât recommend that you try it. It was just miserable.â
Su Zi chuckled.
âI also hope that you wonât leave us.â Li Erqin took the initiative to take Su Ziâs hand. âPlease think about it.â
Su Zi broke free from Li Erqinâs hold.
Li Erqin was momentarily stunned.
She immediately grabbed onto Li Erqinâs arm in an intimate way and playfullyleaned close. âI had never thought to leave you guys at all! Itâs just that Iâm worried things will be awkward with Rong Si.â
Li Erqin immediately replied, âWell then, just ignore him and itâll be fine. At any rate, he is just naturally emotionally deficient (can also be said to be deficient in his interpersonal skills).â
Rong Si? Emotionally deficient?
Su Zi was totally flabbergasted. Li Erqin would possibly be the only person to ever describe the Male God/Idol Rong Si as being emotionally deficient.
(Minodayz : Ya think? I mean itâs LEQ and her observations! LOL)
Then again, Li Erqinâs statement carried a grain of truth.  If one were to take away Rong Siâs innate physical attractiveness, he really was a tad emotionally deficient.  Li Erqin felt that one would hardly hear him speak more than a few sentences in a single day.  If he could use his eyes to express his opinion on any situation, then his eyes would be all that he would utilise to express himself.
That night, Su Zi and Li Erqin had their first ever girlsâ night of bonding and sharing of their heartâs secrets before returning to the hostel.  Thus, the next time Rong Si and Peng Zige were able to meet up with Su Zi was the following morning at breakfast.
Su Zi was a little ill at ease as she walked behind Li Erqin. When she spotted Peng Zige and Rong Si approaching from afar, she instinctively reached out and tugged on Li Erqinâs clothes. âHeâs heading over here.â
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Li Erqin : âI know.â
Su Zi: ââŠâŠâ
Just when Su Zi was trying to decide where she should cast her eyes, Rong Si appeared in front of them and in his usual manner said, âLetâs go then.â
âThe big cafeteria or the smaller cafeteria?â Li Erqin asked.
âSmall cafeteria.â Peng Zige piped in as per usual. âThe soy milk tastes better at the smaller cafeteria.â
It was just like their everyday routine; nothing had changed.  Su Zi had a brief moment of awkwardness before forgetting about the matter entirely. By the time breakfast was over and they had returned to class for lessons, she was back to ribbing Peng Zige.
In truth, was there really any difference?
Minodayz : Have I mentioned lately how much I adore this foursome!!! WellâŠ. I do!  Really glad that SZ didnât play out the angst and the group is just that awesome to move past the moment. Girl bonding time was just what our girls needed to really seal SZ into the group, along with dotty PZG.  RS..what can I say â I think he did so well with CJ and then with SZ, yet I think he handled SZ well. I guess we can just await more adventures with our awesome foursome! A tad concern that our LEQ will be âconfession shyâ now when it comes to RSâŠhmmmâŠ..