The scene outside was more put together than Gu Wei had expected.
Song Wei and the others had done a good job of separating the two before they started throwing fists.
Although, Shi Yi hadn't escaped one, with the tiny bruise forming on his cheek.
The moment they'd stepped through the shop doors, Gu Wei and Zhai Mei had spotted the group a few paces away on the street.
They had divided into two teams it seemed, Xu Ai and Ling Jie on Shi Yi's, and Song Wei and He Sheng on Ha Xing's.
Ling Jie was indeed recording the contents of the ongoing fight on her phone, while Xu Ai had her arms around Shi Yi in a stronghold.
Song Wei and He Sheng were also doing the same, the only difference being Song Wei's methodic pat on Ha Xing.
Shi Yi and Ha Xing may have forgone throwing fists, but their words did the deed for them, and their voices could be heard from where Gu Wei stood.
"You pervert! Come near me again and you'll see what I'll do!"
"See what? All you're doing is shout in my ear, and all I did was-all I did was…! You little… blaming others for your drunken state. Have you no shame at all?"
"Shame? SHAME?! Ji Shi Yi! You're even worse than real perverts… Way, way worse! Blaming me for your actions, you're the one without shame!"
From a few feet away, Gu Wei was having a headache just watching the spectacle.
He dared not assume what Song Wei and the lot must be going through.
Shoving his hands in his pockets as the cold outside sunk in, Gu Wei saw that Zhai Mei was settling in by the wall, her back leaning against it as she attentively watched the verbal dissing.
She might not be able to hear their words or read them from this far, but she could read their body language, and sometimes, that spoke even more than any characters a person could say.
Zhai Mei had her arms around herself and Gu Wei joined her in her pose, asking if she was cold.
They had left their jackets inside, and Gu Wei was okay with his bubbly warmth.
Shaking her head, Zhai Mei stretched out the long sleeve of her sweatshirt, emphasising that she was okay.
Gu Wei faced forward and watched the spectacle absentmindedly, thinking of his first fated encounter with Zhai Mei.
The process he'd went through after that first glimpse, trying to remember who she was and then acting like a jerk afterward.
Gu Wei mused about how different this, leaning against the wall and watching the group in silence, was from the previous one with steamed buns.
A smile stretched his lips as the wind brushed his face, swaying his fringe from side to side.
Then the woman he had mistaken for Zhai Mei too.
Gu Wei wondered if he should share the peculiar encounter with Zhai Mei… And embarrass himself?
The girl would laugh at him, but Gu Wei would get to see the satisfying motion of her shoulders again.
A tap on his arm pulled Gu Wei out of his thoughts.
Zhai Mei tapped her head, 'I just remembered, I should return the scarf today. That's why I brought it along.'
It was Gu Wei's turn to shake his head this time. 'No need, keep it. It's yours now.'
Zhai Mei pursed her lips, 'Are you sure? Don't go back on your words. I like that scarf.'
Shifting slightly so he was now turned towards her, Gu Wei replied, 'Then keep it, I don't mind and I won't go back on my words. Promise.'
Satisfied with his answer, Zhai Mei watched the others for a second then inquired.
'What're they saying?' Gu Wei looked back briefly in answer, then teased.
'Some very indiscreet words. Sure you want to know?'
'Yes… so?'
Zhai Mei motioned impatiently, and Gu Wei tapped his chin in a thoughtful gesture, finally conceding.
'Master said the pervert was perverted…'
Gu Wei was referring to Shi Yi, and the sentence itself was bordering on perversion with the way he'd phrased it.
Zhai Mei scrunched up her nose at the icky sentence, then widened her eyes as she saw through his shameless teasing.
'And?' Gu Wei took a chance and pointed at Zhai Mei. 'How old are you?'
The smack on his arm landed unexpectedly and Gu Wei yelped, rubbing the area and moving sneakily away from Zhai Mei.
Her arms were crossed in a defensive pose as she tried to conjure her best glare but her lips kept twitching in the form of a smile.
Gu Wei copied her pose with a laugh, almost earning another smack before he stopped.
Reclaiming his place and position by the wall, Gu Wei did his job and recounted the back-and-forth argument.
Zhai Mei blinked, 'What did Ge do? I mean, he did something to cause the fight, what was it?'
Gu Wei sighed and rested his head on the brick wall behind him.
'That… Honestly, I don't know. I never know.'
And it was true, Gu Wei had never been privy to the true contents of the fight, or any fight really.
Ha Xing had never, not once in his life, said exactly what Shi Yi had done to provoke him.
He was always shouting and calling the latter a pervert but had never exposed the actions behind the pervert-ness.
Before, Gu Wei had hoped Ha Xing would tell him sometime, or Shi Yi would put aside teasing him for a day, and have a real conversation with Gu Wei.
But now, with more than a decade having passed, Gu Wei's interest had shriveled, died, and he would cover his ears if one of them miraculously chose to tell him.
Zhai Mei watched the boy's figure for a second.
'The three of you must be good friends.'
Surprisingly, Gu Wei chuckled wryly. 'Yes… We are.'
With how Gu Wei had conveyed the signs so wearily, Zhai Mei knew the answer was more complicated than a single yes, but she didn't pry.
It was none of her business, and Gu Wei would tell her when he was ready. Ready?
What do you mean when he's ready Zhai Mei? She chided herself. They weren't even friends.
Trying to change the subject, Zhai Mei tugged at Gu Wei's sweater. 'How about we-'
However, she was caught off by the approach of Song Wei.
"Wei Wei-ah, I was just about to call you guys out. I think we should head home now. It's getting cold and Master Ha Xing can't stand anything Shi Yi related at the moment."
Gu Wei straightened, frowning at Song Wei's words.
"We're leaving? Right now?" Song Wei nodded in affirmation.
"I know, I know. I'm happy too. I can't wait to ditch everyone and go home. This day has been a disaster."
Gu Wei opened his mouth to tell Song Wei that actually, he was feeling the opposite.
As peculiar as it might seem, Gu Wei did not want to go home, and he glanced at Zhai Mei as the thought crossed his mind.
Instead of saying anything, Gu Wei shut his mouth and nodded instead.
He offered to get the group's things as the others walked over, and Song Wei thanked him in advance.
Gu Wei grabbed their coats and bags, including Zhai Mei's scarf, which he carefully placed in his other empty arm instead.
He didn't want it mixed or tarnished by the junk of clothes in his right arm.
As he left the shop, he made sure to inform Grandma Fei of their departure, and she insisted on packing a bowl of noodles for each of them.
Gu Wei managed to convince her to pack a single bowl instead, which he gave to Zhai Mei, along with her separate jacket and scarf.
She smiled in thanks and raised her hand in question at the packed food.
Gu Wei glanced at the group, who were busy planning individual and joined rides for everyone and placed a finger on his lips.
Zhai Mei nodded in understanding and mimicked zipping her mouth shut.
Gu Wei grinned. Zhai Mei grinned right back.
The taxis arrived and Gu Wei supported an unsteady Ha Xing into the car, with a short hug from Song Wei and a promise to call him sometime.
The others were saying their goodbyes and Ling Jie was hugging Zhai Mei to herself.
Song Wei joined in, and before Xu Ai could feel left out or grumble about 'overly displays of affection', Song Wei pulled her in too.
The bundle of three people stood there for a while, the bulky figure moving up and down as they breathed as one.
Gu Wei had wanted to say a final farewell to Zhai Mei, but watching them now, it would be rude to try anything.
Even He Sheng was already seated in the other car with his seat belt on, so Gu Wei got in the car too.
Gu Wei was about to tell the driver to move when the door opened and Shi Yi forcefully scooted him over and sat.
"What're you doing here? What about your ride?" Gu Wei said, glancing at Ha Xing, who had miraculously dozed off.
Shi Yi avoided Gu Wei's piercing gaze and cleared his throat. "It left... you can drop me off, I'm on the way."
Fed up with everything, Gu Wei clenched his jaw and stared intently at Shi Yi for a moment before exhaling sharply.
"Unbelievable."
Gu Wei shook his head, "What if he wakes up?"
Shi Yi's gaze strayed to Ha Xing briefly, "If he wakes up… Then he'll see my pretty face."
The words were sarcastic, but not a single amount of sarcasm was in Shi Yi's tone, almost like an automatic response.
Gu Wei was not going to pry further. He had made a promise to himself long ago to wash his hands of anything XingYi related.
But that didn't mean he wasn't annoyed. Gu Wei was angry with the two, with their stupid feelings, their stupid fights, and their stupid watchfulness over each other.
If they had just managed to act like human beings during the reunion, then it wouldn't have ended so soon.
All of them had barely finished their noodles before they started their shenanigans, and Zhai Mei had deserved a better reunion than the one she'd got.
Gu Wei ignored Shi Yi and took one last look through the window.
Zhai Mei and the others had dispersed, Ling Jie was holding Zhai Mei's hands and saying something.
But. Zhai Mei seemed distracted, head turning left and right in search of something.
Her gaze snagged on the car Gu Wei was in and her head stopped its frantic searching.
Gu Wei was wondering if the glass was tinted when their eyes met, and Zhai Mei tugged one of her hands from Ling Jie for a timid wave.
Gu Wei waved back, dropping his hands when the car started to move.
Zhai Mei grew smaller and smaller in her brown coat, red scarf, and a small peek of her bright crimson jumpsuit through the edge of the coat.
Her pigtailed figure shrank from view as the car turned a corner and Gu Wei leaned into the car, resting his head as the warm feeling of Zhai Mei's presence slowly faded.
Leaving Gu Wei cold and freezing and longing for her warmth again.