SM Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Let’s Do It

“Shihao, long time no see.”

The official opening was on Saturday. Although no one was specifically notified, those who were truly close didn’t need to be.

Besides the people from their store, the first wave to arrive were Ran Cai and Wei Wang.

Ran Cai, with roses in one hand and a gift in the other, immediately hugged Zhu Shihao and handed her the flowers.

Zhu Shihao hesitated for a moment, her eyes on the vibrant red roses, “Did you buy the wrong flowers?”

Wei Wang laughed upon hearing this, “I told you, she insisted that roses express love more intensely.”

She punched him on the shoulder without mercy, and Ran Cai smiled contentedly at his exaggerated cry of pain, making a heart shape towards her friend with her thumb and forefinger, “Shihao, darling, congratulations on your grand opening.”

She returned a smile: “Thank you, Ran Xiaocai.”

Ran Cai chuckled twice, “I have to go inside and have a look around. Remember to give me a discount if I like something.”

Waving for Shasha to come over, Zhu Shihao handed her the things and asked her to take them upstairs.

“Sure, I’ll give you a discount.” She paused and looked at the men, “I’ll give you discounts too.”

They politely declined, “Thank you, we can’t wear them.”

Since it was all women’s clothing and there were already customers inside, Wei Wang and Hao Hao naturally didn’t squeeze in. They just looked around and asked her, “Where’s Xu Ge? Hasn’t he arrived yet?”

Zhu Shihao was about to speak when she saw a familiar figure not far away, and changed her words, “He’s here.”

She went up to greet him, “Aunt Ting.”

Xu Ting strode forward, leaving her son behind, and took Zhu Shihao’s hand with a beaming smile, “Shihao, it’s been so long. Have you lost weight? Aunt Ting has missed you so much. I brought you a gift.”

“Where’s my gift?” She thought for a moment, then instantly changed her face and shouted at the man who was slowly walking behind, “Tan Zhi Xu, are your legs broken that you’re walking so slowly?”

Tan Zhi Xu still walked slowly and calmly, making Xu Ting’s heart burn with anger. Considering the grand opening, she could only hold back while standing at the door, glaring at him fiercely.

These glares were nothing to Tan Zhi Xu. He even stopped in front of them, first handing her three larger paper bags in a concise manner.

“Mine.”

She glanced inside. The three bags contained more than just three items. Before she could say anything, she heard his lazy voice, and a small bag appeared before her, along with a few more words.

“This is from our Aunt Ting. She’s a bit stingy, so there’s only one item.”

Zhu Shihao: “…”

Our Aunt Ting?

The last sentence was unnecessary.

Sure enough, Xu Ting was furious when she heard it, “Get lost, get lost. You’re so generous, so generous. From now on, Shihao will call me Mom, and you’ll call me Aunt Ting.”

Only then did Tan Zhi Xu look up and glance at Zhu Shihao before neatly refusing, “No way.”

If Zhu Shihao was already calling her Mom, of course he had to be a filial son.

Unaware of his ulterior motives, Xu Ting only thought that he was being intermittently crazy and continuously rebellious. She slapped him, an action she had done thousands of times, so skilled that raising her hand was a conditioned reflex.

Too lazy to say more to him, as it only made herself angry. She was now very focused on maintaining her health.

She grabbed the bag and shoved it into Zhu Shihao’s hand, “I bought it near Donghu. It’s a new style, very suitable for young girls like you.”

Zhu Shihao didn’t refuse. Accepting such kindness was a form of respect.

A soft, childish voice came from afar. They followed the sound and saw Jia Jia breaking free from her mother’s hand and running towards her.

Zhu Suiyi followed behind, pouting, “She’s so excited now, but she took forever to get out of bed when I called her this morning. Your love is a lie.”

Jia Jia turned her head to glare at her, “You’re lying. Grandma said that children need to sleep more to grow taller.” She hugged Zhu Shihao’s leg and explained earnestly, “I super love Auntie.”

She was incredibly cute, at least enough to make Xu Ting beside her adore her.

Zhu Shihao patted her head, “Auntie loves you too.”

Tan Zhi Xu secretly raised an eyebrow, turned his head, and reminded Xu Ting, “Aunt Ting, didn’t you have an appointment with my dad?”

Zhu Suiyi, Yu Jianmin: “…”

What kind of address is this?

If they didn’t know this was a proper family, they would have thought there was some story behind it.

Xu Ting gritted her teeth, trying to maintain a smile as she explained to the others, “I’ve been quite busy lately. Your Uncle Tan and I have some work to do later, so we have to leave first. Shihao, next time Aunt Ting will come and have a good look around.”

When Xu Ting left, she didn’t even glance at Tan Zhi Xu, except for a loud snort as she passed him.

Zhu Suiyi gave a thumbs up, “Zhi Xu, you’re really good at making Aunt Ting angry.”

Tan Zhi Xu shrugged, not answering. He took the things from Zhu Shihao’s hand and asked, “Where should I put these?”

“Ah? Oh, take them to the room upstairs. I’ll take you there.” She turned to Zhu Suiyi, “Feel free to look around.”

Zhu Suiyi glanced at her, stuffed the gift into her hand, and walked straight inside, “You don’t need to tell me.”

The two of them went upstairs. As she led the way, she asked, “Is it okay for Aunt Ting to go out on her own?”

“What’s not okay? She and my dad have been all over the place doing business, she’s very capable. Uncle Liu is waiting outside.”

Tan Zhi Xu had a lot of trust for his parents who gave up their stable jobs to start their own business when they reached middle age.

For a strong woman like Xu Ting, it would be the greatest irony to treat her like someone who knows nothing.

The store was quite busy with the opening, with many curious and interested people. Besides the two socially awkward ones hiding upstairs in the studio, the rest were downstairs joining in the fun and helping out.

As he entered the working space, Tan Zhi Xu saw a bouquet of red roses placed beside the door.

His expression, which had been unchanging all morning, finally changed as his gaze lingered. However, his tone was still level. “Where did those come from?”

Zhu Shihao followed his gaze and looked at the roses, “Ran Cai gave them to me.”

After thinking about this person, Tan Zhi Xu asked, “Was her previous partner a boyfriend or a girlfriend?”

Zhu Shihao: “??”

She looked at him in disbelief, “Are you kidding me?”

She realized that not long ago, she had drunk with her after she had lost her relationship with a scumbag, she seemed pretty sincere, unlike pretending.

“Oh, I remember now.” Tan Zhi Xu returned to his usual casualness, his words still carrying a bit of insinuation, “Can’t help it, the consequences of love letters.”

After saying that, he acted as if he was in his own home, placed the things aside, and took a walk around.

Zhu Shihao: “…”

Both the previous question and the subsequent explanation were so presumptuous.

He stopped in front of the window, from here you could see the passing pedestrians below, and you could get a glimpse of the liveliness at the store entrance.

The sun was very good today, shining through the glass windows, and even the tiles were covered with a layer of gold. The wind coming in through the gaps in the window caused the curtains to sway slightly, stirring up tiny specks of dust, making it seem as if the sunlight and air were flowing.

Stealing a glance at Zhu Shihao, she was standing there quietly.

But some people, simply standing there, are beautiful enough.

Tapping the glass with his fingertip, he said casually.

“I ordered a recliner for you. It should arrive in a couple of days. Someone will deliver it to you then.”

To tell the truth, she did have this idea about this vacant space, along with this small table by the window, and had already made arrangements for it.

Zhu Shihao opened her eyes wide in astonishment, “I already ordered one.”

He said calmly, as if it was a matter of course, “I canceled it.”

“I can’t cancel it.”

Tan Zhi Xu turned to face her, looked down at her, his gaze falling on her lips, which looked even more vibrant with lipstick, and pressed his hand on her head.

“Then find another place to put it.” He said, turning to walk out.

Zhu Shihao tidied her hair and followed behind him, “Can’t you cancel it?”

“What do you think?” He didn’t turn his head, stopped at the staircase, tilted his head and raised his chin, “Hurry up.”

His was probably custom-made, and there might not be a refund policy.

She habitually passed him and went down the stairs first, “Alright, I’ll think about where to put it.”

Ever since she had fallen down the stairs next to him in junior high and ended up with a cast, Tan Zhi Xu had always walked behind or beside her, so he could quickly grab her if needed.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“If I had said so earlier, you would have only said no.”

Of course, she didn’t want it. It wasn’t some cheap trinket. How could she accept gifts so easily? What she wanted was never Tan Zhi Xu’s gifts or money.

Downstairs, Zhu Shihao noticed that there were even more people than before and was a little puzzled.

Qingqing squeezed over to explain, “They say there are handsome men and beautiful women in the shop, and even the helpers are very handsome.” Then she cautiously glanced at the man who had come down with the boss, winking and whispering, “Oh, now the most handsome one is down.”

“Go help out.” She gently pushed Qingqing’s forehead.

Zhu Shihao looked around and discovered that Ran Cai and Zhu Suiyi, who had said they wanted to choose clothes, were both cosplaying as shop assistants. If helpers meant Wei Wang and the others pouring water, handing out candy, and giving compliments, then they were indeed good-looking.

Her heart warmed. Wasn’t she always happy?

Zhu Shihao turned her head to look at the man beside her and said somewhat teasingly, “Do you want to go and attract customers? You’re the most handsome.”

Her eyes, filled with gentle yet sparkling laughter, made Tan Zhi Xu’s eyes also flash with tenderness. A smile played on his lips as he lowered his voice, only loud enough for the two of them to hear, yet not hiding his flirtatiousness.

“Thank you for your discerning eyes, but no thanks. I’ll only focus on satisfying my VIP.”

At every stage of his life, he had an attractive face and a unique temperament. He was rich and talented, yet unrelated to words like frivolous and flirtatious, and was the type that couldn’t be judged by appearance alone.

But what she liked was this kind of Tan Zhi Xu. Asking herself honestly, if she wasn’t too clear about what kind of person he was, Zhu Shihao would never have so decisively said “let’s do it.”

After many years, she was finally brave, but the necessary premise was that Tan Zhi Xu was a very good and clean person.

She arched her eyebrow slightly, also whispering, “Then continue to study and improve.”

After saying that, she quickly slipped away.

Leaving Tan Zhi Xu to chuckle in place. Zhu Shihao, on the surface, was easy to talk to, but occasionally she was stubborn and tough-mouthed.

Her family background taught her to restrain her temper and be kind to others, but all her little quirks and temperaments were directed at him. She was usually very well-behaved, but when she wanted to make someone angry, that mouth of hers was a weapon.

As it approached noon, there were fewer people. Several people discussed going out to eat, but Zhu Suiyi directly refused, saying that she would be taking Jia Jia out to play in the afternoon, so the two sides parted ways there.

Zhu Shihao didn’t insist after hearing that. She knew that Jia Jia had to learn to dance on Sundays, and as long as conditions permitted on Saturdays, she would definitely take her out to play.

Jia Jia, who had said “I super love Auntie” not long ago, happily said “bye-bye” to a group of uncles and aunts and bounced away without looking back.

The location was booked by Wei Wang, nearby. They said twelve o’clock, and they planned to leave around eleven forty, and it’s only a dozen or twenty minutes walk away.

A group of people stood outside the store, and Ran Cai shouted inside, “Shihao, are you coming?”

Zhu Shihao was busy explaining a few things to Shasha and the others, saying that she didn’t know if she would come in the afternoon, and asked them to work hard, promising to give everyone red envelopes at the end of the year.

Picking up her bag, she pushed Tan Zhi Xu, who was leaning lazily against the wall, outside, and replied, “Coming.”

However, as soon as she stepped out the door, out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone standing ten meters away.

Her steps paused, and the hand that was pushing him unconsciously dropped.

Sensing something, Tan Zhi Xu turned his head back. The smile on her face had faded, leaving only an excessive calm.

Clearly, this wasn’t right.

He frowned and asked, “What’s wrong?”

The others also sensed something and looked in the direction of Zhu Shihao’s gaze, then silently withdrew their gazes and focused on Tan Zhi Xu, who was still unaware of anything and was looking at Zhu Shihao. They looked at each other, not daring to speak out to remind him.

Zhu Shihao took two steps forward, slightly ahead of him, and raised a smile at just the right angle again. Facing the woman who was walking over, she greeted her somewhat politely.

“Long time no see, Su Yuewei.”

Only then did Tan Zhi Xu slowly look up, looking at the woman approaching.

“Shihao, long time no see. I heard that you’re opening today, so I came without saying hello. I hope you don’t mind.”

These words seemed to be said to Zhu Shihao, but everyone could clearly see that except for her name, Su Yuewei’s focal point was always Tan Zhi Xu.

Her intention was as clear as day, and she didn’t even try to hide it.

The men didn’t feel good to speak, but Ran Cai didn’t hold back at all, “Knowing that it’s strange to come without an invitation, why did you still come?”

Wei Wang silently gave her a thumbs up from behind, indicating that this sister was truly brave.

Ran Cai curled her lip in disdain. Although they weren’t in the same university back then, she had heard how this woman had repeatedly used Zhu Shihao to quarrel with Tan Zhi Xu.

Zhu Shihao glanced at her, signaling her to be calm.

“No, thank you for coming.”

The decency between adults is sometimes really insincere.

She maintained her politeness, but she really didn’t want to say much to her, and for a time, the scene was a bit strangely silent.

Tan Zhi Xu poked her shoulder, “Are we leaving or not?”

Zhu Shihao was silent for a moment, “Let’s go.”

The group was about to leave when they heard the woman’s voice.

“Zhi Xu.”

The group stopped again, watching the three people without moving.

Tan Zhi Xu was annoyed by the gaze and scratched his hair, just about to speak when

An even more familiar voice came from a distance: “Luckily, I made it in time.”

Even Su Yuewei was forgotten. The group turned their heads in disbelief, following the sound.

“No way, is he crazy? He dares to come too?”

The man with a baseball cap and mask strode over, the bag he was carrying swinging from side to side. From the tone of his voice, you could feel his excitement, “My darling Shihao!”