SM Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Saying Yes Immediately

“Tan Zhi Xu, you’re being unreasonable…”

Of course, there was no way she would stay over. Knowing she had to go home, he didn’t drink too much; both of them were well within their limits.

“I’ll go back myself, it’s late.”

Tan Zhi Xu changed his shoes without looking up. “Stop talking nonsense and hurry up.”

The wind was strong at night. She was wearing her own coat, but he insisted on wrapping another one around her, which indeed made her much warmer. Zhu Shihao followed beside him, her hair tucked inside the coat, with only a few stray strands flying in the wind near her ears.

The slightly itchy feeling as the ends of her hair brushed against her cheek made her reach up to tuck the stray strands behind her ear. She raised her eyes, unabashedly watching the man who was half a step ahead of her.

He had grabbed a jacket on his way out. With his hands in his pockets, the outfit seemed a little thin for late November, but he still stood tall and straight, his shoulders broad, just as he had shielded her countless times on windy nights.

The lights in the residential area weren’t bright late at night. From her perspective, the lines of his jaw were firm and distinct, yet softened slightly by the dim yellow light, seeming to make even him appear gentler.

Perhaps her gaze was too focused, or perhaps he knew her too well; he could feel her eyes on him without turning around.

“Cold?”

Zhu Shihao shook her head, then remembered he couldn’t see it. “No, I’m not cold.”

They stood outside for two minutes before the car arrived. Zhu Shihao’s place wasn’t too far or too close; even with a fast drive, it would take about twenty minutes in the late night.

When they arrived at Ruili, Tan Zhi Xu asked the driver to wait outside. He got out of the car, knowing there was no way he would feel at ease unless he personally walked her to her door in the middle of the night.

Knowing this, Zhu Shihao didn’t decline.

He walked her to her door.

“Double-lock the door. Tomorrow—no, today—it’s best if you get up, have breakfast, and then take a nap. I’ll order you food to arrive at 9:00 AM.”

It was already past 2:00 AM; by the time she washed up, got ready, and went to bed, it would be at least 3:00 AM. How could she possibly get up at 9:00 AM for breakfast?

Zhu Shihao’s eyes widened, and she thanked him for his kindness. “You’re really nice, but that’s not necessary.”

The person in front of her acted as if he didn’t hear her refusal and gave her a second option: “Or 8:30 AM?”

“…9:00 AM.”

Tan Zhi Xu chuckled softly. “Don’t forget this afternoon. I’ll pick you up for lunch. What do you want to eat?”

“Okay, I haven’t forgotten.” She nodded lightly, then shook her head. “Anything is fine; there’s nothing I particularly want.”

Tan Zhi Xu nodded. “Alright, I’ll decide. Go in, lock the door.”

Zhu Shihao agreed and closed the door, double-locking it.

She counted silently in her head, and after about three seconds, there were two knocks on the door. She knew it was to tell her he had left.

“Okay, good night,” she whispered softly, even though he couldn’t hear her.

The phone rang, and the room was only dimly lit by light filtering through the curtains.

Zhu Shihao reached out from under the covers, her sleeve riding up to reveal a length of fair, delicate forearm. She fumbled around on the bedside table before finally grabbing her phone, pressing it to her ear, and pulling her arm back under the covers.

“Hello?”

“Is this Miss Zhu? Your breakfast has arrived; please come pick it up when it’s convenient for you.”

She pulled the phone away and glanced at it; 9:00 AM, right on time.

“Please leave it at the door, thank you.”

After hanging up, Zhu Shihao wasn’t in a hurry to get up. She stayed under the covers for a few more minutes before sitting up and stretching. Slowly gathering her senses, she got up to wash her face and change her clothes.

It was cold, so she didn’t waste any time. She quickly laid out the breakfast and took a photo to send to Tan Zhi Xu on WeChat.

Tan Zhi Xu, who was reviewing emails, heard the notification and picked up his phone, a smile forming on his lips as he looked at it.

Zhi Xu: 【Up already? How long did you laze around?】

Shihao: 【Not too long.】

Zhi Xu: 【Okay, I have some things to do here, looking at emails. You can go back to sleep after breakfast. I’ll pick you up for lunch.】

She replied with “Okay” and put her phone down. The food was well-insulated and tasted great. She replied to two messages from the factory side, confirming the style of buttons for the coats, and then told Sasha to keep an eye on it.

The good thing about ordering food was that she didn’t have to wash the dishes. She just had to pack everything up, and she could comfortably curl up on the sofa.

At home, apart from the bed, she spent most of her time on the sofa, so she had spent a fortune buying a wide, soft one, all to lie on comfortably.

This “fortune” was relative to her.

She rejected Tan Zhi Xu’s kind offer to customize it, earning a scoff of disapproval.

She had originally thought she was awake, but with the heating on and a blanket wrapped around her, she grew sleepy again while watching a show, and she drifted off to sleep to the sound of the projection.

When she woke up again, it was to the familiar sound of her phone ringing.

She reached out and grabbed it.

“Zhi Xu.”

The voice on the other end paused briefly. “Stop sleeping and get up to open the door.”

She sat up, slipped on her slippers, and rubbed her eyes. “Okay.”

She opened the door to see him standing right in front of her, both of them still holding their phones to their ears.

Tan Zhi Xu raised his eyebrows. “That was fast. You were sleeping on the sofa again?”

She mumbled an “Mm-hmm” and said, “Make yourself at home; I’m going to wash up and change.”

Tan Zhi Xu didn’t stand on ceremony; he knew how to take care of himself. He changed his shoes and walked over to the sofa, where everything was a mess. One corner of the blanket was hanging off the edge, and there was a visible indentation on the pillow.

“Wait, what are we eating?”

He turned around at the sound of her voice to see her poking her head out from the crack in the bedroom door.

“Don’t worry about it; just wear whatever.”

“Okay, wait for me.”

Before her last words had even faded, the door closed again. Tan Zhi Xu started cleaning up the mess on the sofa, unconcerned, turning off the projector, folding the blanket, and patting the pillow into shape.

As soon as he sat down, he felt the sofa sinking. He chuckled; only she would like a sofa this soft.

Washing her face and changing clothes only took a few minutes. When Zhu Shihao came out, she found him leaning back against the headrest, opening his eyes as she emerged, his face still showing a trace of weariness.

“What did you do last night? Didn’t you sleep? Did you pull an all-nighter?”

Tan Zhi Xu pinched the bridge of his nose and stood up. “No, I went to bed at 3:30 AM and was woken up at 7:00 AM.”

Zhu Shihao’s eyebrows furrowed. “Oh, then take a nap. Sleep for a bit.”

He reached out and ruffled her hair. “No need. Let’s go eat.”

She smoothed her hair, wrinkled her nose, and followed him without further prompting.

After lunch, as she settled into the passenger seat, she suddenly remembered to ask, “Why didn’t you bring my car over?”

It had been so long that Tan Zhi Xu looked at her amused. “You still remember?”

“You can drive it back yourself tomorrow.”

Zhu Shihao thought for a moment. “So, you’re going to spend the whole weekend running around for me?”

Tan Zhi Xu merely looked ahead, correcting her lightly. “Yesterday, Wei Wang was the one who called you to come, and before that, you had rejected me. And tomorrow, the one who wanted you to come along was my mom, your Aunt Ting. You agreed to her, not me.”

She couldn’t help but feel that his tone was slightly strange when he said the first sentence.

Zhu Shihao turned her head to look at him suspiciously.

“What?”

“Am I imagining things, or are you being sarcastic?”

He readily admitted, “If you’re referring to you rejecting me and agreeing to Wei Wang, then yes, I am.”

How unreasonable!

Zhu Shihao was momentarily speechless, then said with a straight face, “You’re being unreasonable.”

If it weren’t for him, even if Wei Wang blew up her phone, she still wouldn’t have gone if she didn’t want to. She would have just blocked him and complained.

Of course, Wei Wang wouldn’t dare to do that.

Her earnestness made him want to laugh. His throat tickled, and he smirked. “Oh, maybe I am.”

What did he mean “maybe”? He definitely was.

She harrumphed and didn’t reply.

The curve of Tan Zhi Xu’s lips deepened.

When they arrived at their destination, Tan Zhi Xu got out of the car and walked around the hood to open the door for her.

The purpose of their trip was to buy a birthday gift for Xu Ting. Zhu Shihao examined the various styles and patterns.

“It wouldn’t have mattered if I hadn’t come.”

The sales associates who worked in these stores were usually quite fashionable.

Tan Zhi Xu followed her, scoffing. “You could pick out a burlap sack, and she’d praise it as a timeless vintage classic. Whatever I choose, she can find fault with it; no matter how satisfied others are with my choice, she’ll still say I didn’t put my heart into it.”

Thinking about it, that was exactly what Aunt Ting would say.

She became even more earnest. “Don’t worry, I’ll choose carefully.”

Zhu Shihao was renowned for her good taste, knowing what to buy and how to coordinate outfits. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to run her online store so successfully. Specializing in women’s clothing, she handled everything from design to pattern making to finding factories, all with her own team. Coupled with fair prices, her business naturally did well, and she had achieved financial independence early on.

Tan Zhi Xu looked at her. They hadn’t been apart for more than twenty years. No matter how her features had changed as she grew up, they were all familiar to him. Only the slight baby fat of the past had transformed into the exquisite lines of her current face.

The little girl, the teenager, had grown into a beautiful woman who could captivate countless people.

Entrusting the task of choosing a gift to Zhu Shihao, he aimlessly thought about random things.

“How about this one?”

He looked up, his gaze first landing on her face before shifting to the shawl she had picked out. He nodded. “Good.”

Having made her selection, the two went to the cashier to pay. He took out his card but said, “Bring me the one on the right, first one.”

“Certainly, one moment please.”

Zhu Shihao hesitated. “That one isn’t suitable for Aunt Ting. Is it for your cousin?”

“Am I crazy?” He glanced at her lightly. “Am I very close to her? Would I spend that kind of money?”

“Then…”

Just then, the sales associate brought it over. This one was more youthful, the colors fresher, and the pattern simpler, but the colors and patterns were coordinated perfectly, exquisite but not overly complex or heavy.

Tan Zhi Xu raised his chin. “Do you like it?”

It was indeed pretty, and considering the price, it was hard not to like it.

But it was really expensive.

Tan Zhi Xu saw the reason for her hesitation and didn’t wait for her to answer. He said directly, “Together.”

Zhu Shihao opened her mouth, but he cut her off before she could speak. “Don’t say anything.”

After they got into the car, seeing that she still looked troubled, he sighed silently. “Just take it. Wear it with my mom sometime; she’ll definitely be happy.”

Since it had come to this, there was no point in saying anything more.

Zhu Shihao laughed. “Then my mom will definitely have something to say.”

He smiled faintly. “Next time, let’s get something for Aunt Liu and Sister Yi too.”

She smiled but didn’t say anything. They were too expensive; her mom and her sister wouldn’t want them.

They didn’t have dinner together; Tan Zhi Xu had things to take care of, and he had to finalize a proposal tonight because he was going to his cousin’s wedding tomorrow.

After dropping her off outside her neighborhood, he rolled down the car window. “Have dinner, go to bed early, you need to get up early tomorrow.”

Xu Ting had mentioned this to her a few days ago, and Zhu Shihao nodded.

“Go on in; I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, drive carefully.”

Tan Zhi Xu nodded, raised his chin to signal her to go in, and only drove away when she had completely disappeared from sight.