After the breakup, I was taken in by a group of trendy young women.

Lin Ye sized up Shen Qing.

The black T-shirt was soaked by the rain and clung to his body. He had endured pressure he shouldn't have had to bear.

Her waist was excessively thin, contrasting sharply with the fullness of her upper and lower body.

This girl's features are beyond what the word "pretty" can describe; even the models on GG magazine aren't as pretty as her.

"I have no objection."

Lin Ye picked up a piece of pork belly with slightly charred edges.

"As long as she's willing to squeeze in with us, that's fine."

Shen Qing was clearly taken aback.

She looked at Lin Ye, then at Bai Xiaojing, her eyes red-rimmed, her lips moved but she didn't say anything.

"What are you standing there for?"

Bai Xiaojing reached out and grabbed Shen Qing's sleeve, pulling her into the shed.

"Come in and get out of the rain, let's eat something together. You look good standing there in the rain, don't you?"

Shen Qing was pulled into the shed by her. Her backpack slipped off her shoulder, and she bent down to catch it, her movements a little clumsy.

Hua Tui moved half a body length to the side to make room for her.

When Shen Qing sat down, the plastic stool made a slight creaking sound.

"Thanks,"

She said, her voice even softer than before, "Thank you, brother."

Lin Ye waved his hand without saying a word.

The tattooed man picked up two pieces of pork belly from the iron plate and put them into the empty bowl in front of Shen Qing, placing his chopsticks on the rim of the bowl.

"eat."

Shen Qing looked at the bowl of meat and swallowed.

Then she picked up her chopsticks and started eating.

They ate very quickly.

The chopsticks were almost constantly shoveling rice.

The fat from the pork belly smeared on the corners of her mouth, but she didn't bother to wipe it off and picked up another piece.

Green Hair was so engrossed in watching that he forgot to touch his chopsticks.

Pink Hair silently pushed her skewer of grilled chicken wings in front of Shen Qing.

Qi Liuhai took out an unopened pack of tissues from the cat backpack, tore it open, and placed one tissue next to Shen Qing.

After finishing her second bowl of rice, Shen Qing slowed down her pace a little.

She looked up and realized everyone was staring at her. Her face flushed instantly, burning from her neck to her ears.

"I'm sorry,"

She put down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"I haven't eaten much for two days."

"Two days?"

The tattooed arm's eyebrows stood up.

"You should have come to find us sooner, you son of a bitch."

"I'm afraid of causing you trouble."

Shen Qing lowered her head, her voice muffled in her throat.

"You guys have it tough too."

Bai Xiaojing didn't say anything.

She took the empty bowl in front of Shen Qing, filled it with rice, and placed it in Shen Qing's hand.

"Eat. Ask for more if you're still hungry."

Shen Qing held the bowl of rice, her eyes reddening again.

Lin Ye leaned back in his plastic chair, holding a beer glass, watching Shen Qing eat.

"What are you thinking about?"

Bai Xiaojing's voice suddenly rang in my ear.

Lin Ye turned his head and almost bumped noses with her.

The girl had come over at some point, kneeling on the plastic stool, one hand supporting herself on the table, leaning against it from the side.

The scent of strawberry shampoo mixed with the aroma of barbecue cumin filled his nostrils, and her blond hair brushed against his neck, tickling him.

"It's nothing," he said.

"That's a lie."

Bai Xiaojing tilted her head.

"The way you looked at Shen Qing just now was like a cat looking at a fish."

"Is there?"

"Yes. It's that kind of feeling, like you want to swallow it whole."

Lin Ye didn't reply.

He picked up his beer glass and took a sip.

Bai Xiaojing leaned close to his ear, her breath warm against his earlobe, carrying the scent of mint and beer mixed together.

"elder brother."

She deliberately lowered her voice, her tone ambiguous, as if she were pouring a spoonful of honey into his ear.

"My Daoming is very smooth."

Lin Ye stopped holding the skewers.

He turned to look at Bai Xiaojing.

She didn't back down after saying that. The neckline of her dress drooped down a bit because of her sideways movement, revealing the black camisole strap underneath.

Then she laughed.

He leaned back in his chair, laughing so hard his shoulders were shaking.

"Blonde hair!"

Huatui shouted from across the table, slamming his chopsticks on the table.

"What did you just say?!"

"What are you saying?"

Bai Xiaojing pretended to be innocent, but she couldn't stop smiling.

"You fucking!"

The woman with the flower-like leg blushed bright red, whether from anger or embarrassment, it was hard to tell. The rose tattoo on her leg trembled slightly as she slammed her hand on the table.

"That's the joke we were telling! You're bringing it up with me?!"

"What joke?"

Green Hair looked completely bewildered, still holding the milk tea cup in his mouth.

"Don't ask!"

Flower Leg reached out to cover Green Hair's mouth, but his arm wasn't long enough and Green Hair dodged it.

"What joke?"

The pink-haired girl also came over, her eyes gleaming with gossip.

"Is it that one! The one that's really slippery?"

"That's enough!"

Hua Tui lay sprawled on the table, his face buried in his arms, his ears as red as iron pincers in a hot coal fire.

I couldn't stand the tattooed arms anymore.

She stubbed out her cigarette in the empty beer can and tapped the table with her chopsticks.

"Here's the thing. We were scrolling through short videos the other day and saw a joke. It was about a woman saying to a man, 'I am Daoming Scratch,' but the man didn't understand. The woman said it again, but the man still didn't understand."

She paused for a moment, then pointed with her chopsticks at Bai Xiaojing and the woman with the flowery legs lying on the table.

"Then we started guessing what the reaction would be if we told this joke to a guy. The guy with the tattoo said she wouldn't dare to try it, while the guy with blond hair said she would."

"so!"

Lin Ye really understood. Hopefully, next time he'll understand a math problem instantly.

"so,"

The tattooed man placed his chopsticks on the table, leaned back in his chair, and crossed his legs.

Bai Xiaojing slammed her hand on the table.

"Brother, I understand!"

"You fucking said that to his face!"

Hua Tui lifted her face from her arms, the redness on her face still lingering.

"What does that prove?" Green Hair still didn't understand.

"prove,"

The tattooed man lit another cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled a perfect smoke ring.

"My brother is a bit of a closet pervert."

Bai Xiaojing leaned against Lin Ye, resting her head on his shoulder, looking up at him with her eyes full of laughter.

Hua Tui straightened up, the blush spreading from her cheeks to her ears, but her expression had changed from shyness to something else—the kind of happy feeling that came from doing something naughty with her sisters, which was embarrassing but also very funny.

Green Hair finally realized what was happening, exclaimed "Ah!", and then he and Pink Hair hugged each other and laughed on the plastic stool.

Shen Qing held the bowl, looking blankly at the group of people.

Even though she didn't understand what was funny, she laughed along.

Bai Xiaojing stood up and walked to the barbecue stall owner.

"Boss, twenty skewers of kidneys, please."

"Okay!"

Lin Ye: "You want more kidneys? Can you even eat that?"

"It's not for me."

"to whom?"

"you."

Bai Xiaojing tilted her head to look at him, her eyebrows slightly raised.

"Brother, you should take good care of yourself."

With a self-righteous tone, he waved his hand and included everyone at the table.

"There are more of us!"

The tattooed arm choked on a mouthful of smoke.

The man with the tattoo almost knocked over the beer glass.

The green-haired and pink-haired people laughed at the same time, making the sound of a kettle boiling.

The woman with bangs covered the cat's ears, and her own ears turned red.

Shen Qing held her bowl, looked at Lin Ye, and continued eating with her head down.

It's still raining.

The plastic canopy of the barbecue stall rattled and banged as it was smashed. The kidneys on the hot plate sizzled and dripped oil. The owner flipped them over with a spatula, sprinkled some cumin on them, and the smoke rose up, turning into a golden cloud of mist under the light bulb.