It Was Not a Murder Chapter 4

My school is located in Xianlin University Town in the eastern part of the city. If you want to go to the city center, the most convenient route is to take the subway line 2. Every weekend, the subway is always crowded with college students who have nowhere to vent their excess hormones. Among them, half of them are male groups that are noisy all the way. From my observation, ordinary citizens tend to stay away from them.

However, today's situation was a little special. Looking around, the carriage was full of young couples. They were whispering to each other, sharing private topics, just like the stupid couple in the study room.

I guess it’s because it’s Christmas Eve.

Every year at this time, the deserted streets in late winter are transformed into a bustling city. The glass windows along the street are hung with flashing lights, reflecting the toys and gift boxes in the windows. All kinds of Christmas music flow out from the shops and mix together to form a shameless melody. Couples who usually hide in every corner of the university town are infected and go to the city center in pairs to find a rendezvous place like wild cats in spring.

I felt a sharp pain in my heart, looked away, and lowered my head to play with my phone.

As a goal-oriented striver like me, I certainly don't envy those men and women who are addicted to relationships. I must just be regretting not changing to a quiet study room and continuing to read.

I was fooled by sympathy and wanted to go to the NKNF event site to see it. It was not like I would waste an afternoon of study time. I decided to go to the foreign language bookstore to buy a teaching reference book after arriving at the station and then go back directly.

After arriving at the station, I was swept out of the subway exit by the crowd. From a distance, I saw the glowing tree that Max mentioned. In fact, I should have guessed it long ago - a glowing Christmas tree. To be precise, it was a cone-shaped lamp post in the shape of a Christmas tree, located in the center of the square. The tree was crowded with people taking pictures. I didn't see Max in the crowd, but I unexpectedly saw the girl I had always thought about.

She was wearing a beige camel-hair coat, her long hair cascading down her shoulders, and she was carrying a backpack. I rubbed my eyes and took a closer look. It was indeed Olivia. She was straightening her back, looking around with a pitiful look on her face. The neon lights of the Christmas tree cast a halo on her slender figure, making her look like an angel who had descended on holy night but lost her way on the busy streets.

I couldn't help but fall into self-doubt. I must have seen it wrong, it could be a similar person, or an ingenious phantom imagined by my lonely heart lost in the romantic atmosphere.

But now that I think about it, I did see her name on the registration form.

Next to Olivia was a short-haired little girl, not even as tall as her shoulders. She had a round face and was dressed quite cutely, wearing a white cashmere sweater, a cardigan, a striped scarf, and a knee-length navy blue wool skirt.

The two of them should have come together. When she pulled Olivia's sleeve, Olivia smiled and lowered his head, and talked to her briefly for a few words, with an intimate attitude. Judging from the age difference, it was a stretch to call them friends. Could it be that they were the children of a relative?

When I came to my senses, the two of them were right in front of me, and I realized that I had walked too close. The short-haired girl looked at me first, and then Olivia looked at me. My mind went blank.

"Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with?" Olivia asked, tilting his neck slightly.

I nodded stiffly, "Are you waiting for someone?"

As soon as I said it, I regretted it. What are you talking about? It sounded like a pick-up line.

"I've made an appointment with a friend." There was a hint of wariness in her eyes, as if she didn't recognize me.

That's right, we only met once, and that was a few months ago. I was confused and wanted to say something more beautiful, but I couldn't find the words.

I put my hand in my trouser pocket, trying to find the event flyer Max gave me to prove my purpose, but then I remembered that I had thrown it away a long time ago.

The short-haired girl stared at my hands as I was rummaging through my pockets, her expression alert. "Hey, do you want to call the police?"

I quickly waved my hands and explained, "Don't get me wrong, we've seen it before, in a KTV in the city center, 'pay 50 yuan, get unlimited food and drinks.'"

Olivia's expression changed slightly, and he narrowed his eyes, as if trying to catch fragments of memory from my face. "Yes, you are... it seems to be that time..."

"We talked about Max together."

"Yes, yes... I'm sorry, you're not at school and I didn't recognize you." Olivia apologized repeatedly, her cheeks slightly flushed, not sure if it was because of shyness or the temperature.

"Know him?" the short-haired girl asked puzzledly.

"College classmate." Olivia turned around and introduced me, "This is my cousin Su Ying."

"Hello." I tried to say hello.

The girl named Su Ying nodded slightly. Her hair was short, straight, black, and her face was childish. She was probably a junior high school student. I don't know if it was because of the bad first impression, but the alert look on her face still didn't fade away.

"We are here to participate in animal protection activities," Olivia said, "Are you here too?"

"'No shelter, no feeding', right?"

"Yes, that's it --- NKNF." She put her hand on her chest, and breathed a sigh of relief, exhaling a cute air like a comic dialogue box, "We came early. Others haven't arrived yet, and I thought we had the wrong meeting place."

We waited for quite a while under the tree. Not only did those who had agreed not to come, but even the organizers were slow to show up.
 
The longer I stood there, the colder it got. The weather was getting gloomier, and it was probably going to snow soon.

Su Ying gathered the hem of her scarf, "What a quiet event."

"There's a high chance of traffic jams at this time, so everyone might be late," Olivia consoled, "The registration form is filled up two pages."

I didn't want to say it out loud, so I just agreed with her guess, "More and more people have no sense of time."

It seems that Olivia knows nothing about the boycott campaign that everyone has secretly launched. Is she also someone like Max who is excluded from the mainstream social circle? But as far as I know, she is popular, especially among boys.

It was already 3:25 when Max arrived.

He was dressed like an off-roader, carrying a bulging backpack on his back and a dirty woven bag in his hand, which he dragged along the way, making a constant clanging sound.

Carrying so many things, it was naturally difficult to walk in the festival crowd. He squeezed through the gaps between people, even couples holding hands. Many people glared at him, but he didn't even raise his head, just kept walking. As soon as he squeezed out of the subway entrance, he collapsed on the curb.

"I really want to pretend I don't know you." I was stunned.

"Let's go and help." Olivia said worriedly.

We hurriedly unloaded the backpack from Max. He took out a bottle of mineral water from the bag, gulped it down, and surprisingly quickly regained his spirits. Then, he unceremoniously instructed us to move the things to the southwest corner of the square and set up the exhibition stand.

The result after the work was done was surprisingly quite realistic. The booth was set up with a folding table, covered with a red tablecloth, and a fluffy cat on the table. An X-shaped display stand stood beside it, with the eye-catching blue words "NKNF Protection Action" printed on it, and a few cute cat paw prints around the edge of the words. Although the meaning is unclear, it is quite rare for amateurs. I couldn't help but glance at Max. I thought he was only good at bragging, but I didn't expect him to be surprisingly strong in action.

Max looked at the booth with satisfaction. It took him a while to notice us and he sighed, "There are fewer people than expected."

Be content, we should be thankful that we can come here.

He stared at me. "Aren't you two here together? I remember your friend was very active when he signed up."

"I have diarrhea and haven't gotten out of bed for two days." I lied.

"What a pity." Max believed it easily, then looked at the other two people, thoughtfully.

"Why are there still primary school students?" he asked.

Su Ying glared at him fiercely. Olivia touched her head and explained, "This is my cousin, she is already in junior high school."

"It doesn't matter if they are elementary school students or middle school students. This is not a summer camp. I only need people who can work."

"What you can do, I can do too," Su Ying said.

"You sound quite arrogant. Let me ask you a question. 40 bakers can bake 20 pies in two hours. How many hours does it take for two bakers to bake 10 pies?"

"Hey, how can you test a child like this? I couldn't even remember a series of numbers." I defended her.

"I made it very clear, 40 bakers..."

"Twenty hours." Su Ying interrupted him.

Max's expression was a mixture of surprise and unwillingness, and it seemed that this was the correct answer.

"That's too easy. Let's change it." He said hurriedly, "If you happen to see an argument between an urban management officer who is enforcing the law and a street vendor who is forced to occupy the road to make a living, whose side will you stand on?"

Su Ying thought for a moment, "I refuse to answer malicious questions."

"I can't tell, but he's quite mature." Max made his judgment based on some unknown principle. "By the way, I stand on the side of the vendor. No matter how cute cats are or how boring wild birds are, I stand with the wild birds."

"Do you think that's the correct answer?" Su Ying turned her head.

"Tsk, you are just a child after all. Not all questions in the world have standard answers." Max looked triumphant and stuffed a silver badge into her hand. "But congratulations on becoming the first member of NKNF."

Su Ying spread out her palm and looked at the badge, as confused as the little girl in a fairy tale who received an unknown potion from a witch.

It was a poorly made badge with a cat's face and a bright red cross on it, and it seemed more like a prohibition on cats than a prohibition on feeding feral cats.

Max also distributed the same badge to me, which seemed to be custom-made. "Pin it on your shirt pocket like this." I thanked him politely and secretly put it in my pocket, determined never to wear this thing.

Olivia fiddled with it for a long time and finally succeeded in attaching the badge to the shoulder strap of her backpack. Max waited for her to raise her head again and took a deep breath. "I hereby declare that the NKNF operation has officially begun. Our goal is to promote the concept of "don't feed if you don't want to feed" to the world. To do this, we need your efforts."

"What exactly do you do?" Olivia asked.

"That's a good question. As for today's mission, you will bring your sister with you to man the booth. Explain to passersby the harm of carelessly feeding feral cats, and then ask them to donate."

Olivia nodded nervously, and I doubted whether she could speak to a stranger.

"I'll stay at the booth too," I suggested.

"No," Max said, "You are responsible for handing out flyers at Exit 3 of the subway station."

"Why?"

I had already thought of a dozen topics suitable for chatting with young girls, just waiting for the opportunity to be alone with Olivia. Now all of them were ruined.

"We printed so many flyers, wouldn't it be a shame if we didn't hand them out? There are two subway exits in the square, you and I will guard one each. No one can escape, everyone who comes out has to take the flyers, listen to the introduction of NFNK's philosophy, and then come to this booth to donate."

"Wait," I protested, "I've never done anything like this."

"What's the big deal? Just a few words. It's not that difficult. I sold Valentine's Day roses on the street when I was in the fifth grade of elementary school." Max boasted.
  
"Come on." Olivia also encouraged.

I nodded helplessly.

"Don't worry, just distribute this stack of flyers. You can rest however you want after that." He said as he handed me a thick stack of flyers.

Just like that, I was holding a heavy bunch of flyers in my hands, standing among the crowd at the subway entrance, feeling like a duckling that was driven into the reed marsh to fend for itself right after it hatched from its eggshell.

During the summer vacation of my senior year in high school, many of my peers took odd jobs, calling it a way to experience society, but in fact, they were mostly used as cheap labor to distribute flyers or sell hamburgers. I was somewhat disdainful of their behavior, thinking that it would be better to read more books with the extra time. I didn't expect that I would fall into the same situation, and I didn't even get paid.

Never mind, as long as I hand out this stack of flyers, I'll have a chance to chat with Olivia. While I was cheering myself up, I was thinking: Who should I talk to?

There were so many people, like a mass of crucian carp fry in a fish pond, but they all passed me by indifferently. I examined the weapon in my hand, and there was only a stack of suspicious leaflets.

Fortunately, there was a fellow traveler not far away. A shabby young man was also handing out flyers at the subway entrance, selling health products. Like a defensive player under the basket, he saw the right moment, half blocked the way of pedestrians with his body, and at the same time stuffed the flyers into their hands at the most convenient angle. At the end, he did not forget to remind them, "You can get free eggs on the 15th floor of the office building."

The flyer in his hand quickly became thinner at a speed visible to the naked eye and disappeared into the trash can more than ten meters away.

I tried to imitate him, but it didn't go well.

"Hello, please learn about the NFNK ecological protection action!" I handed out the flyer. The passers-by were extremely alert and refused to take it. "Is this a religious organization?" "No, it just calls on everyone not to feed wild cats casually, because... too many wild cats will destroy the balance of the ecological chain. You can go to the booth for details." "No, I have something urgent to do." They waved their hands and quickly fled.

It's not that I don't understand - people will naturally be wary of things they have never heard of.

A middle-aged woman with a kind face listened to the introduction and asked questions about cats, but she also became angry because of this.

"I have been feeding four or five stray cats in the community. So, is that a sin?"

"It's a good thing to be loving to small animals. But from a macro perspective, wild cats are harmful to the balance of the ecological chain..." I explained awkwardly.

"I was kind enough to feed the cat, but you turned your mouth and made me the bad guy. Isn't it unfair to me?"

"Yes, yes, you are right."

She left swearing, and was then stopped by a man handing out health product flyers. She listened carefully to the instructions for getting the eggs, and then turned into an office building nearby. I looked at her from behind and breathed a sigh of relief.

Probably because he had completed his target of recruiting people for today, the shabby man put away the flyer and walked towards me while rubbing his hands to keep warm.

"It's really cold. You shouldn't take outdoor work in the middle of winter."

I nodded in agreement.

"Do you have a cigarette?"

I shook my head to indicate that I don't smoke.

The man said "tsk", pointed at the flyer in my hand and asked, "Can I have one?"

"please!"

He looked at it for a while. "PSA?"

"I guess so."

"How much is it per day?"

"No money, spontaneous."

"How stupid." He crumpled the flyer into a ball and threw it into the trash can.

It's really stupid.

Something faintly touched my cheek. I looked up and saw tiny snowflakes falling from the black sky above the square.

There was a commotion among the crowd, many people looked up at the sky, and no one paid any attention to me.

I sighed, puffs of smoke came out of my mouth, and glanced at my watch. It was five o'clock. The past two hours had been as long as a novice marathon, and I had only handed out a few flyers.

I went to the trash can on the side of the road and tried to stuff all the flyers in it.

"Paper is considered recyclable and should be thrown in the red area."

I stopped and saw the blue side of the trash can in front of me, which was marked "non-recyclable". I turned around and found that the little girl named Su Ying was staring at me.

My face flushed. "Who said to throw it away? I just wanted to throw away the garbage."

I reached into my coat pocket and luckily found a supermarket receipt. I pretended to throw it into the trash can.

"That's also considered burnable garbage."

I recovered from the shock of the accident and put on an adult and erudite attitude, "You know what? In fact, when we deal with garbage, we don't separate them into categories. It doesn't matter which bin you throw it in."

But she kept insisting, "It's because of people like you that garbage sorting can't be promoted, right?"

I was speechless, snorted to show my displeasure, and stopped answering, continuing to hand out flyers to passers-by. I thought she would leave tactfully, but she actually sat down on the stone guardrail next to her and continued talking to me from behind:

"Are you and your sister in the same class at school?"

"No, the majors are different."

"So, do you see each other often?"

"This is the second time today."

"I see. We're not even acquaintances."

Although I don't want to admit it, it is true.

"So in order to get closer to you," she nodded, "you resorted to such despicable means."

I felt my face concave into a strange shape out of shock. "Despicable means? What are you talking about?"

"My sister told me that she was invited at the entrance of the cafeteria. There was a man with strange behavior, blocking the exit and chatting up everyone who passed by. Everyone kept a distance from him. She wanted to go around him like everyone else, but the man stuffed a flyer into her hand. After she fled back to the dormitory, she found out that it was a public welfare flyer promoting ecological protection, and she felt very guilty. The next day, the man appeared in the cafeteria again, and she took the initiative to sign up."
 
It turned out that Max had also gone to the cafeteria to publicize it. So no one informed Olivia about the boycott because no one knew she had signed up.

"But I find it strange. How can someone be so childish when he is already in college? He keeps talking about 'natural ecology', but he is not a primary school student!"

In fact, before I met Max, I didn’t believe that such a person really existed.

"Now that I think about it, it was actually a very clever way to flirt with someone. For my sister, a direct invitation would have been a no-go. But using an excuse like protecting the environment would give her an opportunity."

It sounds logical, and for a moment, I actually doubted whether Max was thinking this way.

"So, this whole thing is just a scam, right?"

I recalled the stupid way Max made an impassioned speech in English class. "It's definitely a misunderstanding. I can't guarantee others, but that guy is definitely serious. He is a genuine idealist. He even went to the official UN account to call for peace."

"Well, explain why there are so many people on the so-called registration form, but only you two boys are actually here?"

"The reasons are somewhat complicated..."

If I want to explain it clearly, I'm afraid I have to explain how this childish boycott was initiated. This is closely related to Max's actions. The reason why he is hated must be explained clearly. It's endless. Moreover, a detailed explanation will inevitably involve Jack. I have always been reluctant to speak ill of my friends.

"It's no use trying to hide it. Your desire to get close to my sister is written all over your face."

I rubbed my face subconsciously, thinking I should have covered it up well.

"My sister is too naive. I explained my doubts to her. But she still didn't believe me and told me not to think so badly of others. But wait, I will expose you."

Without giving me time to explain, she jumped lightly from the stone railing, left without looking back, and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Times have really changed. Are children nowadays so precocious? When I think back to my junior high school years, I had to muster up the courage to even chat with girls in my class, not to mention talking to adults.

If we allow her misunderstanding to continue, Max and I will be in a very difficult position.

I used my frozen fingers to pull my phone out of my pocket, intending to consult Max about countermeasures. As I scrolled through the address book list, he came to me.

"This is trouble," he said.

I nodded as well. I didn't expect that Su Ying had also harassed him. "You heard about it too?"

"Yes! We received so many donations."

"Donation?"

"Yeah, I didn't expect there would be so many people donating. They're surrounding us in three layers. Should we end it early?"

"Who said that? It doesn't matter how much money we received. The point is that the girl misunderstood us..."

"Keep your voice down," Max looked around, looking like a frightened bird, "it will be troublesome if someone hears us."

"Look at you making such a fuss. How much can it be? Three or four hundred?"

He covered his mouth with his right hand and whispered the specific number into my ear. I was so scared that I stood there, and the flyers in my hand fell apart and were swept into the air by the wind like white flying birds.

The snow is getting heavier.

The sky darkened rapidly. The street lit up brilliantly, and in the light, snowflakes swept across the sky. The road surface, the eaves, and the vehicles were all white. As soon as the traffic light changed, the crowd coming out of Xinjiekou and the crowd heading towards 1912 Bar Street, half of them holding umbrellas, met in front of us, and the number was huge.

Since we were very hungry, we decided to finish our meal before leaving. Unfortunately, everyone had the same idea at this time, and the decent restaurants were lined up. We dragged our heavy luggage and moved hard on the swampy streets, changing from one full restaurant to another. We finally found an empty seat in a Korean restaurant.

The restaurant is not very spacious, with about ten dining tables and three tatami tables where people need to sit cross-legged.

The heat and aroma were very appetizing. The waitress, wearing a long apron, led us into the dining table and gave us two menus.

We didn't even bother to brush off the snow on our clothes, and started ordering dishes. We first ordered various types of meat: pork belly, marbled beef, sauced steak, thick beef tongue, seasoned beef diaphragm... We also ordered stone pot bibimbap, seafood kimchi pancakes, army hot pot, etc.

She spent a long time writing the menu, and before leaving, she reminded me, "There are so many people tonight, and since you ordered a lot, the food might be a little slow to be served."

The so-called slowness was that it took 20 minutes for someone to bring the charcoal and 30 minutes to set up the grill. I sipped my barley tea while staring intently at the first plate of meat that had just been served.

Olivia cut the steak into small pieces, sprinkled pepper and cumin on each piece, and turned it over and over. The discolored meat made a sizzling sound and an attractive burnt aroma. My stomach growled, and Su Ying's eyes were glued to the baking tray. The smell of the meat made us forget our dignity as human beings. We picked up the meat without hesitation and put it into our mouths before it was cooked.

"Not to your taste?" Olivia asked worriedly.

I thought she was worried about me, but when I paid attention to her gaze, I found that she was looking at Max.

Max completely ignored the barbecue on the plate and just focused on operating his mobile phone.

"I want to count the total amount of donations raised again," he said without looking up.

I remembered that outrageous amount of money, which was almost equivalent to my living expenses for half a year. I couldn't help but look at Olivia.

I'm afraid it was all because of her that such an outrageous amount of money was raised.

In between handing out flyers, I would occasionally look at the booth from afar. There were always a lot of people around, just like a rush to buy at a promotion. When dismantling the booth, many passers-by opened their eyes wide when they saw Olivia, and then turned around as if nothing had happened. Indeed, in the eyes of single men, she was really eye-catching, not to mention that it was the romantic Christmas.
 
"Thanks to your hard work." I sighed.

Olivia quickly waved his hands to deny it, "Don't laugh at me, it's all Max's credit."

I asked in confusion, "Isn't he in charge of handing out flyers?"

Olivia lowered his eyes to the table, "There were a lot of people around the booth. When there were so many people, I became nervous and couldn't say anything. Thanks to Max, he felt it in time and took on the role of explaining to everyone."

This guy actually took the opportunity to stop distributing flyers.

"He keeps talking to others." Su Ying said.

Indeed, if it were him, it would probably turn out to be the other way around, and he would not be allowed to leave until he finished listening.

I turned my gaze to Max, "Hey, when someone praises you, raise your head a little."

He raised his head, his face determined, "Let's return all the money."

The three of us were stunned. Su Ying's chopsticks stopped at her mouth. Olivia's delicate face froze, staring at Max like a puppet.

"Why? It took so much effort to raise the money." She asked as if muttering to herself.

Max scratched his head, "The problem is, with so much money, I don't know what to do with it..."

An incredible feeling of powerlessness came over me, and I asked weakly, "Didn't you think about this problem from the beginning?"

"Of course I thought about it," Max said defensively, "but I thought I could only get a few dozen yuan at most, which I was going to use to reimburse my printing costs. After all, the printing costs are used for publicity, so it can't be considered as misappropriation of donations, right?"

"It seems that the operating funds of general charitable organizations are also paid from donations." Olivia said.

"Yes, I didn't expect that the fundraising would exceed the target."

I pressed my fingers against my aching temple. "Even if you say so, how can I return it? No one writes their names on banknotes and coins."

"I'm just thinking about it..." Max bit his thumbnail and thought hard for a moment, "How about setting up another stall next week, stating the reason, putting up a sign, and letting them take it back themselves?"

"Are you serious? Let's not talk about whether they will come again. The fake claimants will take all the money in a flash."

The atmosphere fell into an awkward silence. My temples hurt even more. Speaking of which, such illegal fundraising would not be considered fraud, right? I remember reading in the newspaper that the amount of money filed for fraud cases seemed to be 3,000 yuan. What should I do? It's far more than that. If I had known earlier, I would not have gotten involved in this muddy water, and would have bought a reference book and returned to school.

"There's no need to go through so much trouble. Why don't we just donate it?" Su Ying suddenly suggested.

Our eyes were focused on her.

"Since it's a donation for the protection of wild birds," she said, "how about donating to a specialized animal protection organization? There are public accounts online, so you can just transfer the money to them."

Right, isn't it simple? It seems that excessive hunger has caused my brain to malfunction. I nodded repeatedly. Olivia also nodded repeatedly.

"That won't do." Max shook his head firmly.

"Why?" I cried out in despair.

"It's a good idea. But donating to animal protection organizations is definitely not an option," he explained. "If they do it, the money will either be pocketed by themselves or used for boring things like stopping cars to save dogs."

This person may have some prejudice against animal protection organizations.

"Can you guarantee that they won't do that?" Max asked back.

I was speechless, but then an idea came to me: "Why not use the money to buy some birds online and release them into the wild? The purpose of this activity is to protect birds anyway."

"That won't work. The buying and selling activities will provide funds to interest groups and will encourage poaching," said Max.

I became impatient and said, "This is not allowed, that is not allowed. You are the one who caused this mess, so you should find a way to solve it yourself!"

"I'm just thinking about this, right?" Max stared at the barbecued meat on the iron plate that was gradually burning without anyone watching over it, and suddenly slapped his forehead, "Yes, that's right... there is a wonderful use for it."

He muttered excitedly, calculated something on his phone, and rubbed his hands again and again, "Not bad, it's feasible."

"What ideas have you come up with?"

I regretted it after I asked. Because Max excitedly raised his voice and shouted out the solution. His high pitch is comparable to Luciano Pavarotti. People at the neighboring tables cast surprised glances: a couple on the right whispered, and an uncle drinking beer on the left sprayed half the table. From the back table came the curious questioning of a child and the scolding of a young mother: "This is not something children should care about!"

Olivia's face turned red. Even Su Ying turned away, pretending not to hear.

Only Max didn't care about other people's reactions at all. He just kept smiling foolishly and kept saying "Really? That's a unique idea, right?" to seek our approval.

After the meal, the restaurant kitchen seemed to have recovered. The waiter served kimchi pancakes, bibimbap, army hot pot and other staples. I looked at the bubbles rolling in the hot pot and had no appetite at all. I ate too much meat at once and it was too greasy.

The two girls put down their chopsticks like me. It was just as the waiter said at the beginning, we ordered too much, and the meat and vegetables were piled up like a mountain.

Only Max was full of energy. Perhaps because his heart knot had been untied, he ate with great enthusiasm: he wrapped two strips of pork belly in a whole leaf of lettuce, stuffed it in his mouth with wide open mouth, and chewed it in a few bites. In a blink of an eye, he cleared out a pot of bibimbap, picked up the bowl, and drank the accompanying soybean paste soup. The dishes on the table were dwindling. Just looking at this scene, I felt the undigested food stuck in my throat.

While Olivia was in the bathroom, her cousin whispered to me, "I misunderstood. You have no ill intentions. I was overthinking it."

The problem I was worried about was solved automatically. I was delighted, but also a little bit unbelievable, "Why did you suddenly believe it?"

She pointed at Max, who was paying no attention to our conversation. "That guy seems to be just a simple idiot."
 
Although he apologized, his words were really merciless.

"It's hard to imagine how someone so stupid could have the intention to deceive others."

However, looking at the way he wolfed down the food, it was hard for me not to nod in agreement.

When I came out of the restaurant, the snow had stopped and the cold was even worse. People were breathing out white air in the night, and the snow under their feet was "squeaking".

Olivia was going to take her cousin home, I was going back to school, and Max was going to return the folding table he had borrowed. We were all going to different destinations.

Before leaving, Max reminded: "I will notify you by text message of the time of the next event."

Why is it based on our tacit participation? I glanced at Olivia. She didn't nod, but she didn't object either.