Desk mate, your persona has crumbled.

Xu Mo asked for a large bag and put the two packets of fried noodles into his backpack.

It's a 15-minute walk; if I walk back, the fried noodles will definitely get cold.

So Xu Mo chose to run back.

That's the downside of summer; you start sweating as soon as you run around.

When Xu Mo got home, his clothes were already soaked with sweat.

As soon as the door was opened, a figure rushed towards them.

"Woof!"

(happy!)

Fu Gui'er stood at the door, rubbing against Xu Mo incessantly.

Xu Mo reached out and stroked the dog's head, then called out towards the living room.

"Mom! I'm home!"

Fang Yi heard the sound and hummed in response without looking up.

Then she saw a plate of fried noodles placed in front of her.

"Here! This is for you."

Xu Mo put the fried noodles on the sofa and glanced at his father.

Comrade Xu Changcheng was looking at the fried noodles in his hand, and the meaning in his eyes was very clear.

What about mine?

"No way! At 45, you should be taking better care of your figure. Look at your belly!"

Xu Mo put down the fried noodles and gestured to Old Xu, "You're not allowed to eat! Has Fugui gone for a walk yet?"

Now that Xu Mo is going to school, the task of walking the dog naturally falls to Old Xu.

"Go on a walk! Go take a shower! Look at all that sweat!"

Old Xu looked disgusted.

"Hey! Taking a shower is fine, but there's something else I need to do before that."

As Xu Mo spoke, he took out a plate of fried noodles from his schoolbag.

"I need to have my midnight snack with my mom first."

Fang Yi looked at the father and son, smiled and shook her head.

Then I had a late-night snack with Xu Mo in front of Lao Xu.

The aroma of the fried noodles tempted Old Xu so much that he kept glancing at his wife.

In the end, Ms. Fang spoiled him and lied that she couldn't eat anymore, giving half of the fried noodles to Mr. Xu.

Xu Mo didn't say anything about it, but he just couldn't stand seeing couples showing affection. Kuku and his wife finished their fried noodles in one bite.

"I'm going to take a shower!"

After saying that, Xu Mo ran back to his room.

Song Shuyan pushed open the door, and warm light poured down from the entryway.

In the living room, Yang Muyun, the mother, was arranging the flowers on the coffee table.

Hearing the sound, Yang Muyun looked up and saw her daughter had returned. A gentle smile appeared on her face: "Yanyan's back?"

"Yes, I'm back."

Song Shuyan's voice was still very soft, but it seemed a little lighter than usual.

After changing her shoes, the girl went straight to her mother: "Mom, I've made a friend."

Just like Lao Song's reaction, Yang Muyun also showed a surprised expression when she heard the news.

And what followed closely was joy.

"real?"

Seeing her mother's delighted expression, Song Shuyan nodded gently: "Yes, his name is Xu Mo."

"Xu Mo?"

Yang Muyun repeated the name.

How did you two meet?

Song Shuyan spoke slowly: "He's my new deskmate, we just changed him today."

Hearing this, Yang Muyun couldn't help but recall the scene of her daughter telling her sadly that she was sitting alone again after they changed seats.

But at this moment, the daughter's eyes were shining.

She was very happy.

"Mom, Xu Mo isn't afraid of me. He even knows I'm afraid of socializing and don't dare to speak, so he communicates with me using sticky notes."

Upon hearing Song Shuyan's words, Yang Muyun's eyes lit up: "Post-it notes? You guys were writing notes in class?"

Upon hearing this, Song Shuyan shook his head repeatedly, his movements becoming even more pronounced:

"No! Xu Mo said that writing notes in class is not allowed."

Yang Muyun smiled and looked up at Song Jianghuai standing to the side.

"Did you hear what our daughter said?"

Song Jianghuai smiled slightly: "What's so special about that? That boy, Xu Mo, even walked her to the school gate today! Otherwise, do you think I would have come back so early today?"

"Oh?"

Yang Muyun then realized that her husband and daughter had returned home at different times today.

"It seems Yan Yan is getting along very well with this new friend!"

"Um!"

Song Shuyan nodded vigorously, her affirmative response more clear than any of her previous actions.

At home, Song Shuyan seemed to have opened up a floodgate of words. Although her speaking speed was still slow, her words flowed like a gentle stream.

"Xu Mo and I ate at the cafeteria together, and he even helped me order food."

At this point, Song Shuyan extended his hand:

"He told me what dishes were available, and I could just point to whichever one I wanted to eat."

"I got to eat my favorite dish."

"He treated me to lunch, so I treated him to dinner in the evening. But Xu Mo said it's not good to treat friends to dinner too often."

She diligently repeated the social rules Xu Mo had taught her, her expression focused and earnest, as if she were learning a completely new subject.

While Song Shuyan was speaking, Song Jianghuai and Yang Muyun listened quietly.

They knew Song Shuyan all too well.

They clearly saw the changes that had occurred in their daughter.

This was the first time she had shared her friends with them.

This naive yet earnest attitude, this eagerness to share, is something we haven't seen in the past decade or so.

Song Jianghuai looked at his wife, and the two exchanged a glance.

The instinctive wariness towards the strange boy was eventually overshadowed by the vibrant joy before my eyes.

At least for now, Xu Mo's appearance is a good thing for Song Shuyan's social anxiety.

With such a friend around, perhaps my daughter's personality can change.

However, at this moment, Song Jianghuai heard some bad news.

"Xu Mo also lives here."

The old father's radar went off instantly.

"Um?"

Song Jianghuai and Yang Muyun both looked at Song Shuyan.

This is quite a lot of information.

Under her parents' watchful eyes, Song Shuyan nodded.

"Yeah! I ran into him yesterday. He was walking his dog, a husky."

"I was afraid of him yesterday, but I'm not afraid today."

With that, Song Shuyan's sharing seemed to have come to an end.

The excitement of confiding reached its peak, followed by the need for private space.

Song Shuyan, clutching her schoolbag, said softly, "I'm going to my room."

The girl didn't linger and went straight to her room.

The door closed gently behind me, shutting out all outside noise.

The familiar tranquility enveloped her instantly.

It's completely safe now.

Song Shuyan breathed a long sigh of relief.

Although Xu Mo's appearance today opened a crack in her world, allowing sunlight and fresh air to flood in and enabling her to experience so many "firsts".

But in the end, even with Xu Mo, Song Shuyan couldn't completely relax when interacting with people.

She still needs to constantly expend mental energy to cope with that underlying tension.

Only here, in this little world filled with books and tranquility, is the place where she can truly relax.

Song Shuyan placed his schoolbag on the chair next to his desk.

The girl's face still showed no obvious emotion.

But in her mind, the flamboyant handwriting on sticky notes and the boy's face as he shielded her from the crowds at the school gate flashed uncontrollably through her mind.

A smile involuntarily appeared on Song Shuyan's face.

She made friends!