SM Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Playing Along

“Laws and morals can’t accuse us of anything…” Zhu Shihao never thought that one day, she would find Tan Zhi Xu strange for being too honest.

“Have you given up meat and switched to vegetarian?”

She lay on the bed, reaching out to tug at his sleeve.

Tan Zhi Xu, looking at his phone, spared her a glance, “Giving you a break.”

Rolling over, Zhu Shihao leaned next to him, touching his head, “Don’t worry, don’t worry, I wasn’t scared.”

His heart paused, he put down his phone, turned to look at her, without saying a word.

“Okay, I admit, I was a little upset at the time, just a little bit, okay?” She emphasized the almost non-existent distance on her fingertip, “But I know you didn’t mean it, so I’m all better.”

His heart softened, and Tan Zhi Xu pulled her into his arms, “How can you still be so easily coaxed?”

It was the same when she was little, a piece of candy could make her smile.

“It’s not that, it’s just that I’m very reasonable,” she didn’t quite agree.

Zhu Shihao is the most effective weapon against Tan Zhi Xu, and Tan Zhi Xu is also the best at coaxing Zhu Shihao.

From the moment the quietly sitting Tan Zhi Xu finally agreed to crawl forward because of her crying, from the moment the little hand patted his hand and he stopped crying and smiled, it seemed to be destined.

Tan Zhi Xu hugged her, pinching the soft flesh on her arm absently, “When I get busy in a few days, I’ll order meals for you.”

Zhu Shihao understood what he meant, defending herself, “Even if you don’t order them, I’ll still eat properly.”

Hearing this, he scoffed coldly, expressing his distrust completely.

Zhu Shihao: “…”

She decided to change the subject, “Zhi Xu, let’s play some games.”

He glanced at her, but didn’t refuse, “Alright.”

Her hand groped around beside her, then she rolled over to look, searching everywhere, even under the pillow, but she couldn’t find it. She stared blankly at him, “Zhi Xu, my phone is gone.”

Tan Zhi Xu asked her casually, “Does the phone on my leg look like yours?”

Who was it that played for a while, found it boring, and turned around and tossed the phone on his leg, then came to bother him?

She glanced at it, picked up the phone, and seemed to remember, her voice still righteous, “Don’t be fierce with me.”

Tan Zhi Xu: “…”

The two of them sat cross-legged on the bed, and opened the game only to find Wei Wang online.

“Shall we ask him to join us?”

He said indifferently, “Whatever.”

After the three of them joined up, they opened voice chat. Wei Wang asked, “Yo, I was wondering what was so rare, that I could get a personal invitation from Brother Xu, so our good sister is here.”

Zhu Shihao, “It’s almost eleven o’clock, don’t you have work tomorrow?”

“Don’t remind me it’s Monday tomorrow! I have to get off after two more rounds with you guys.” Wei Wang immediately slumped his face, his Sunday night anxiety acting up, and then asked, “Brother Xu, why aren’t you talking? Are you online?”

Only then did Zhu Shihao remember something, her eyes widening in horror, and she quickly stopped him from turning on his mic.

“Don’t turn on your mic, what if our voices mix together?”

Tan Zhi Xu scoffed, thinking that she was just feeling guilty, “Haven’t we ever played games together at night before?”

That seemed to make sense, and she released her hand that was pressing against him.

Tan Zhi Xu turned on the team voice chat, lazily saying, “What’s up?”

Wei Wang said, “Nothing, I just remembered that Su Yuewei sent me a WeChat message last night, asking me where you were.”

Zhu Shihao’s movement of checking her bag froze for a second, but she continued to check it as if nothing had happened.

The voice continued to talk about that person in her ear.

“This question really stumped me. I told her to ask you directly, how would I know?”

Moreover, why didn’t she ask Tan Zhi Xu directly, or if she had asked, why did she still have to ask him? Thinking about it, she would know that even if he knew, he couldn’t say, right?

After breaking up for so many years, Su Yuewei was still like this, it was really something.

Tan Zhi Xu didn’t react much, not even lifting his eyelids, “Matchmaking.”

“Oh, okay.” Wei Wang silently ended the topic.

Tan Zhi Xu lifted his eyelids and glanced at her, “Are you cold?”

No one answered, and she realized, “Are you asking me?”

“Who else would I be asking?”

Zhu Shihao shook her head, “The heating is pretty good, I’m not cold.”

Wei Wang’s voice came from the phone, “Ah? Are you two secretly drinking again? Are you at Brother Xu’s house? Then don’t forget to send her back later, Brother Xu, it’s not safe to be out too late.”

“I don’t need you to tell me,” Tan Zhi Xu replied coolly.

Wei Wang laughed a few times, “That’s right, I don’t need to remind you.”

Tan Zhi Xu knew how to take care of Zhu Shihao much better than any of them.

Zhu Shihao listened, not saying anything, her thoughts gradually drifting away, feeling somewhat dazed.

At eleven or twelve o’clock at night, even if they were alone in the house, no one would think that anything would happen between them.

On the one hand, it declared that her worry just now was really unnecessary, on the other hand, a familiar sourness surged into her heart, soaking her, making her heartbeat slow down, creating a sense of powerlessness.

It seemed that no one thought that there could be any other relationship between them.

The year-end ceremony was considered a relatively large event for the platform, and the store started to get busy. The few people in the shop on the first floor were a little overwhelmed, Zhu Shihao had no choice but to work as a part-time errand girl for two days, things upstairs and downstairs were mixed together, and she and Shasha were exhausted.

Tan Zhi Xu was very dissatisfied, telling her to raise the salary if she couldn’t find anyone.

To this, she glanced at him, “Young master, don’t just open your mouth and say whatever comes to mind.”

Fortunately, a young woman came to apply the next day, she was twenty-five years old, her child was four years old and could adapt to kindergarten, so she was finally freed, but unfortunately she was out of touch with society and didn’t have a high degree, so it was too difficult to find a job.

After being silent for a while, Zhu Shihao saw that she was dressed properly and cleanly, and her face also had a kind smile, so she told her to stay.

She originally said that she would let her see the work situation and come back tomorrow, but Wen Jie shook her head and refused, taking the initiative to propose to get off work with Lin Yun and Shasha.

The glass door was pushed open, and a tall and upright man stood at the door, his eyes indifferent, “Shihao.”

She turned her head.

She didn’t say anything more, just told Shasha to lock the door properly, and told the three of them not to be too late getting off work.

Tan Zhi Xu said in the afternoon that he would pick her up, she had already taken her things down, quickly grabbed her coat and bag, and went to the door.

He reached out and took her coat, lifting it up to make it easier for her to put her arms through, and then straightened her collar, taking her bag.

“Zip it up.”

She mumbled “Mhm, mhm.”

Seeing the man open the door, two figures, one tall and one short, walked away side by side.

In Wen Jie’s eyes, there was something that was hard to describe, whether it was memory or envy, “Is that the boss’s boyfriend?”

Shasha, who was checking the goods on the computer, “Ah”ed, and then realized what she was talking about, explaining, “No, they’re childhood friends, they grew up together, their relationship is like siblings, very good.”

But, it didn’t seem like it.

Wen Jie was thoughtful, but she understood that as a newly hired clerk, she shouldn’t gossip about other people’s business, especially the boss’s.

“Are you cold?”

Actually, she was a little, anyway, her hands were freezing since she came out.

Zhu Shihao didn’t say she was cold, nor did she say she wasn’t cold, giving an intermediate answer, “So-so.”

Tan Zhi Xu lowered his eyes and glanced at her, caught her right hand, interlaced his fingers with hers, and put it into his coat pocket.

Looking at his actions, she endured it, but still couldn’t help but evaluate, “You’re really bold.”

His laughter seemed to dismiss the words, except that the hand holding hers in his pocket tightened slightly, there was no other reaction.

After a while, Zhu Shihao asked again, “Aren’t you afraid of being seen? It’s hard to explain.”

“You’re only showing your eyes, how familiar are the people on this street, that they can recognize you with a fleeting glance?” He asked her in return.

That was true, she had only moved here for less than a week, and didn’t know many people.

“But you’re showing your face.”

Tan Zhi Xu glanced at her, looking indifferent, and said unhurriedly, “Then you can say that I’m his girlfriend, or his wife, either is fine.”

Zhu Shihao: “…”

Sitting in the car, she remembered that she hadn’t asked yet, “Where are we going? What are we eating?”

Even while driving, he still looked nonchalant, the hand resting on the steering wheel, every movement revealing his unique casualness.

“Going home, making it ourselves.”

“Are you making it, or am I making it?”

“Either is fine, I can make it, the taste will be a little worse, and you can rest for a while,” he answered her carelessly.

Zhu Shihao laughed, “Actually, your cooking skills are not bad, but fortunately, I’m not too tired, we hired a new person today, I showed her around, she’s quite efficient.”

It seemed that there was an unfamiliar face in the store, but it didn’t matter, they were all trivial matters, he was more concerned about another thing.

“Can you relax a bit now?”

When speaking to him, she also looked straight ahead, the traffic flowing past her eyes, coming closer and going further away, the sounds of people and cars, she was in such a noisy place, but all of this could not compare to the warmth and sense of belonging that the person next to her brought to her.

She turned to the side, leaning against the backrest, looking at him.

Sensing her movement, Tan Zhi Xu raised his eyebrows, “Hm?”

The corners of Zhu Shihao’s mouth were smiling, “Zhi Xu, let’s go play during New Year’s Day.” Her voice contained a small excitement, you could feel her anticipation. Tan Zhi Xu didn’t answer her with a yes or no, but directly asked her, “Where do you want to go?”

She did want to go out and play, but if she really had to say a destination now, it seemed that she really couldn’t say it.

She was still thinking, excluding, thinking, when the person next to her chuckled, extending his right arm and patting the top of her head, “There are still a few days, you can think about it.”

Back at Deep Serenity, there was a bag at the door.

“Did you have someone deliver the ingredients?”

Tan Zhi Xu didn’t turn his head, pressing his fingerprint, “Or did Santa Claus send it?”

Zhu Shihao: “…”

The two of them changed their clothes, Zhu Shihao found a hair tie to tie up her hair, and came out to see that Tan Zhi Xu was already sorting out the ingredients.

“I’ll help you wash the vegetables.”

Tan Zhi Xu didn’t refuse, just telling her, “Turn the water temperature up a bit, don’t be lazy.”

Zhu Shihao washed her hands again, and took over the work, “Ah, it’s not like I’m self-harming, why would I use cold water when there’s hot water?”

“Just reminding you, be careful these few days.”

The action of washing the vegetables had a momentary pause, and then continued, “I was even thinking of congratulating you again tonight on getting a vegetarian meal package, but I didn’t even have time.”

The store was busy for the past two days, and there weren’t enough people, she and Lin Yun looked after the store until ten o’clock before getting off work, and went back to her own place, so today could be considered a reunion after a short separation.

“How would I not know? It’s about these two days, seeing that lazy look of yours, not wanting to move, I knew it.” He started to marinate the ribs.

She pouted inwardly, without speaking.

Tan Zhi Xu saw her little actions, his deep eyebrows softening.

The kitchen fell silent for a moment, only the sound of water flowing, occasionally accompanied by the sound of chopping vegetables and taking things, the two of them doing their own things. The heating wafted over, making the atmosphere even warmer.

After washing the vegetables, it seemed that there was nothing for her to do, so she didn’t leave, just leaning against the glass door, watching him do things in an orderly manner. She had to admit, a handsome person was even more handsome when holding a spatula.

“Go sit outside.”

Zhu Shihao leaned lazily, not moving, “You’re right, I really don’t want to move much these days.”

Pouring the sliced potato shreds into the pot, Tan Zhi Xu lightly mocked, “Problematic.”

If it wouldn’t seem too much, perhaps she should lie on his back and hug his waist at this time, or simply lift his arm and slip into his arms, shrinking into his embrace.

Unfortunately, this kind of “simple” intimacy was not applicable to their relationship.

Even if they were extremely intimate on the bed, they still couldn’t hug and kiss in the crowds.

It really seemed like there was no digestive activity after dinner in winter, a walk wasn’t much of a walk, and other things didn’t seem to make any sense.

The two of them stayed in the living room, one sitting on the sofa reading the latest information, the other sitting on the carpet drawing design drafts, actually just drawing for fun, there was no urgent need at the moment.

Her phone rang, and she put down her pen and picked up her phone, opening WeChat.

Su Yuewei: [Shihao, have you eaten?]

Her heart was filled with irritability, it was already after eight or nine o’clock, if she was any later, she should just ask her “Are you asleep?”. These past few days, her messages were regular, even more punctual than Tan Zhi Xu.

She didn’t want to reply, but it didn’t matter, she could still continue on her own.

Sure enough, her hand rang again.

Su Yuewei: [Zhi Xu seems to be quite busy at work recently, I don’t dare to bother him too much, so I can only ask you, is he doing well? Is he very tired?]

The irritability in her heart dissipated, replaced by a complex mood that she couldn’t explain.

She turned her phone face down, turned to look at Tan Zhi Xu, “Are you busy with work lately?”

He used his knuckles to push up his glasses, slowly glancing at her, and then looked back at the screen, “Mhm, it’s all thanks to my colleagues fighting to be better than me.”

Not hearing her speak for a long time, Tan Zhi Xu moved his eyes to look at her, asking, “What’s wrong?”

“…Nothing, just asking casually.” She turned her head back as if nothing had happened.

Seeing her continue to draw, Tan Zhi Xu didn’t pay any attention, looking at the news about the competitor’s press conference.

Zhu Shihao pinched the pen, gradually slowing down, and finally stopped, blotting a spot of ink on the draft. Her eyelids drooped, her long and curled thick eyelashes becoming the most natural cover at this moment, hiding all the strong emotions in her eyes.

So, did the two of them still have contact?

That’s right, she had seen Tan Zhi Xu go to Su Yuewei after their breakup, grabbing her arm and asking her, “Do you really have to be this exchange student?”, After getting Su Yuewei’s affirmative answer, he stared at her steadily for a few seconds, said “Okay”, and turned around and left.

They watched his back walk away, merging into the crowd.

After a while, Su Yuewei seemed to suddenly discover her as if unintentionally, “Oh, Zhi Xu, how did you forget her here?”

Her expression was extremely surprised, but Zhu Shihao clearly saw ten points of sarcasm in her eyes.

But she didn’t care about Su Yuewei’s sarcasm towards her, thinking about Tan Zhi Xu’s heavy expression, she stared at this girl, staring until her smile fell and her expression became stiff and ugly, before silently turning around and leaving.

That was the first time, and the only time, that Tan Zhi Xu had left her behind and walked away himself.

Zhu Shihao walked slowly in another direction, her mouth was too bitter, she wanted to buy a cup of milk tea with normal sugar.

Suddenly, she was no longer in the mood to draw anything, she put down her pen, picked up her water cup and took a sip, only to find that the water temperature was already a little cool, she calmly put down the cup, quietly looked at it for two seconds, and sat up.

Tan Zhi Xu saw her movement, and looked over, “What’s wrong?”

She didn’t look back at him, just holding the water cup and walking to the edge of the carpet, putting on her slippers, as usual, “It’s a little cold, I want to drink something warmer.”

Tan Zhi Xu watched her go to get water, got up and picked up the blanket that was folded to the side, putting it next to her legs.

Pouring the water in the cup into the kitchen, she turned to get new water, looking at the clear water flowing, her heart was still a mess.

She clearly knew that Tan Zhi Xu had truly liked Su Yuewei, and also knew that she shouldn’t care, she had no position to care, but facing their interactions again, she still couldn’t suppress the sourness and sadness.

Just like in the beginning, she felt that she was like a mushroom growing in a dark corner, saying words of blessing, smiling on her face, but actually being sour and jealous to the point of rotting.

This made her infinitely self-loathing, so even if she knew that Su Yuewei was not friendly to her, she silently accepted it, without saying a word to Tan Zhi Xu.

Wasn’t her existence already annoying enough?

Su Yuewei was also very clear about this, so she was very smart, a few words would make her pull away from Tan Zhi Xu.

Until the warm water poured onto her hand, she startled, she finally woke up, fortunately, although she hadn’t let go, she was holding it in a way to receive the water, otherwise there would definitely be broken pieces all over the floor now.

Looking at the full cup of water, she carefully picked it up, bent over and took a sip.

Seeing her come over, Tan Zhi Xu clicked his tongue lightly, “You’re really slow.”

Zhu Shihao sat down in her original place, not wanting to talk to him very much right now, but he hadn’t offended her, so she had to use the action of drinking water to stay silent.

Something was placed on her shoulders, she looked down, it was her usual blanket.

“Didn’t you say it was a little cold, put it on, do you want to turn the temperature up?”

Zhu Shihao freed a hand, pulling the blanket, slowly shaking her head, “No need, it’s not that cold, putting on the blanket and drinking hot water is almost enough.”

“Don’t catch a cold.”

As he said that, Tan Zhi Xu reacted, sitting up straight, bent over and hooked her chin, looking into her eyes, seeing her gaze slowly move away.

His tone was calm, but very certain, “You have a problem, say it, what’s wrong?”

After being silent for a while, Zhu Shihao maintained her composure, “Nothing.”

The person looking down at her issued a breath of air through his nostrils, “Look at me when you talk.”

Continuing to be silent for a while, she put down the water cup, slowly looking up at him.

“You’re being so obedient?” Tan Zhi Xu sneered, exposing her, “Zhu Shihao, you’re being too calm.”

Zhu Shihao: “…”

She had nothing to say.

Pulling her arm, he pressed her down next to him, glancing at the blanket that was about to fall off because of the sudden change of position, Tan Zhi Xu pulled the two sides towards the middle.

Lifting her face, he asked again, “Say it, why are you suddenly unhappy?”

Almost the same words, but this time, his voice was a little gentler, not too obvious, but enough for Zhu Shihao to notice his tenderness and concern.

She thought about it, and then opened her lips.

“Su Yuewei is always sending me messages, I don’t want to reply, I feel a little annoyed.”

He almost didn’t think, and gave an answer as soon as she finished speaking, “Then don’t reply, no one can ask you to reply, you’re not someone’s boss. Shihao, if you don’t want to bother with her, then delete her.”

It was a good way to get rid of the root of the problem, but Zhu Shihao didn’t want to delete her, she thought self-destructively, if one day the two of them got back together, Su Yuewei would definitely notify her as quickly as possible, and she wanted to know as soon as possible.

She couldn’t say the reason, so she just shook her head.

Tan Zhi Xu touched her head, without telling her what to do, he had always thought that whatever she wanted to do was fine, she didn’t need others to make decisions for her.

“You decide for yourself, don’t make things difficult for yourself. What else? If it’s just this, you might be annoyed, but it’s not enough to be this unhappy.”

Zhu Shihao stared straight into his eyes, seeming to want to see something, after getting nothing, she remembered that she hadn’t said anything yet.

“Zhi Xu, Su Yuewei is back, isn’t it a little bad for us to be like this right now?”

Tan Zhi Xu’s hand stiffened, even the relaxed posture of his back straightened a little.

Even the flow of air slowed down, in the silence, Zhu Shihao saw his stiffness clearly, her hand pulling the blanket, her fingertips moving.

“I…”

Tan Zhi Xu came back to his senses, interrupting the words that she was about to say, “What’s bad about it? We’re not married and don’t have a partner, laws and morals can’t accuse us of anything.”

“Shihao, what’s between us has nothing to do with Su Yuewei.”

But, but…

That question came to her lips again, “Do you still like her?”, “Will you get back together with her?”, But once she thought about the scene of the two of them sending messages and calling each other, she couldn’t say a word.

If Tan Zhi Xu hesitated when facing these two questions, if his answer after hesitating was affirmative, then what should she do? Pack up and move out overnight?

After a long while, she suddenly laughed, reaching up and wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Zhi Xu, if one day you fall in love, you must tell me.” She pressed her face to the side of his neck, her voice soft, her body and words completely opposite, “You know, I will never let myself become a destructive third party.”

There was a limit to deceiving yourself, this was her bottom line.

Tan Zhi Xu pressed down on the blanket that was about to slip from her shoulder, took the opportunity to hug her, his chin resting on the side of her head, the deep and cold look in his eyes completely invisible.

His low voice was in her ear.

“Mhm, I know, it won’t happen.”

“Shihao, I won’t let you be like that.”

His Zhu Shihao was the best girl in the world, how could he have the heart to let her become someone that the world despised?

It wouldn’t happen, Zhu Shihao was his, always would be, from the time they were babies lying on the same bed, they had always been together.

Emotions came quickly, and they made up just as quickly.

Leaning against the back of the sofa, a pillow was placed behind Zhu Shihao’s waist, one hand hugging her, the other sliding on the tablet, continuing to look at various parameters.

After playing with her phone for a while, a video call came, and Tan Zhi Xu glanced at it.

“It’s Suiyi.”

Zhu Shihao got up from his arms, looked at herself, reached out and grabbed the blanket, putting it back on.

He raised his eyebrows, “What’s up?”

Zhu Shihao moved a little to the side, getting a little further away from him, and sat back down on the carpet, straightening her hair.

“It’s normal for me to be here at this time, but it’s not very normal to be wearing pajamas, right?”

Feeling it wasn’t safe enough, she patted his leg, “Give me the pillow.”

Wordlessly, he handed her the pillow after holding her for a second, “The call’s been hung up while you were doing all that.”

“It was hung up, but Suiyi will call again.”

As soon as the last word was said, the phone rang again.

She gave him a proud look, indicating that she hadn’t been wrong.

The corners of Tan Zhi Xu’s mouth curved up.

“Zhu Shihao, what are you doing? Tell me, where did you go?”

Two big faces were squeezed onto the small phone screen, making Zhu Shihao feel like she was being squeezed, and she reflexively leaned her neck back.

“Can you two keep a reasonable distance from the camera.”

Jia Jia was being pushed back by her mom, her mouth and hands were flapping around.

Zhu Shihao was speechless, “I’m drinking and playing games at Zhi Xu’s, what are you doing?” As she said that, she casually picked up a water cup and shook it in front of the camera.

Tan Zhi Xu, who wasn’t in the camera, heard her say whatever came to her, the raised eyebrows having a few points of surprise.

Pushing her daughter away, Zhu Suiyi occupied the entire screen, clapping her hands, greatly praising, “Wow wow wow, Zhu Shihao, you can now drink alcohol with a 500ml water cup, congratulations, your drinking skills are superb.”

Zhu Shihao: “…”

Slowly looking at the ceramic cup.

“It’s just holding wine, I’m not drinking it all.”

The words had already been said, she could only continue.

Fortunately, Jia Jia saw that the two adults kept not saying the real purpose, and was anxiously pushing forward with all her might, her two little hands pushing her mother.

Being pushed, Zhu Shihao simply couldn’t bear to watch, “What does Jia Jia want to do?”

“Mom, let me, I want to find Auntie.”

Zhu Suiyi was childish to the extreme, not moving at all, looking at her with her nostrils, “Do you have a phone? You want to find her, but in reality it’s Mom who’s finding her, give me some logic.”

Zhu Shihao: “…”

She remembered that Zhu Suiyi was this childish when she was young, how could she still be this childish even after twenty years.

Jia Jia was about to cry anxiously, and you could still hear Yu Jianmin’s helpless voice, “Let her, if she starts crying, she won’t sleep for a long time, wasn’t the video call made to make her sleep peacefully?”

It seemed that was right, Zhu Suiyi touched her nose, giving her daughter half of the position, mumbling, “Who can’t cry, I can cry too.”

Jia Jia came over as she wished, her eyelids were still red, “Auntie, is my new dress ready? We have a performance next week at kindergarten.”

So that was the matter.

“Don’t worry, Auntie will finish it right away, you’ll be able to see it this weekend, okay?”

Zhu Suiyi pouted, “Okay, you can rest assured, you can go to sleep now. Mom, of course, can still not sleep.”

A small dispute arose over there, and finally Zhu Suiyi was just about to roll her eyes, “Being a mom is really hard for me, I’m not talking to you, I’m going to do hard labor now.”

Before the last word was even finished, the phone interface returned to the chat box.

Zhu Shihao turned her head seriously, “Zhi Xu, she’s really childish and impolite.”

Tan Zhi Xu waved at her, smiling lightly, “So Sister Yi is willing to let you be the older sister.”

When they were in fifth grade of elementary school, Zhu Suiyi was a sophomore in high school, but she could be willing to call Zhu Shihao “Sister” for half a semester because Zhu’s parents said that she wasn’t as composed as her younger sister, Zhu Shihao called her name was also the compromise after being forced to by her at that time.

Even if Zhu’s grandparents said that they weren’t respecting their elders later, the two of them still called each other by their names, and now everyone was used to it.

Zhu Shihao: “…”

Early Saturday morning, Zhu Suiyi sent her a message, asking her to go “zero-dollar shopping” in the afternoon.

When she saw the message, it was already eleven o’clock.

While replying to Tan Zhi Xu, she called her.

Zhu Suiyi still played her part steadily, “Yo, Jia Jia, come over quickly, Lazy Pig is awake, hum a few times and say hello to her.”

Zhu Shihao was speechless, she really didn’t let go of even a four-year-old girl.

“Why get up so early on such a great weekend when you’re not working.”

Zhu Suiyi sighed quietly, her face solemn, “I really miss the days when I wasn’t a mom, I also wanted to sleep in, but this little brat wakes up every day at seven-thirty on the dot, I’m really impressed, why doesn’t she sleep when she doesn’t have kindergarten on the weekend!”

Jia Jia was already used to this, approaching the phone and asking her obediently, “Auntie, did you get up and eat? If you didn’t, I’ll have Mom buy some and bring it over.”

“You two have such a good relationship.” Zhu Suiyi rolled her eyes, and then urged her sister, “Alright, hurry up and pack up, I’ll come pick you up to eat casserole later.”

As soon as she hung up, before she could put her phone down, another call came.

She walked towards the cloakroom holding her phone, “Zhi Xu.”

“Did you get up? Calling Sister Yi?”

That was to say that she had a date with Zhu Suiyi, and was afraid that she would suddenly attack, so she returned to her own home after eating dinner yesterday.

“Mhm, she’ll come pick me up later, we’re eating casserole for lunch, and going shopping in the afternoon. What about you, what are you doing today?”

Picking out a casual outfit to change into, she picked up a short down jacket, preparing to put on makeup.

Tan Zhi Xu was boredly picking a movie, in the short span of three or four weeks, he had gotten used to the feeling of having someone sitting next to him, and now sitting alone on the large sofa, he only felt listless.

“I don’t know, you’re not keeping me company.”

She pressed speakerphone, “Logically speaking, isn’t it that I’m not keeping you company? Isn’t it that I’m being summoned?”

The corners of his lips curved up, in his lazy voice, you could vaguely hear a meaningful tone, “Then come over tonight? Or it’s fine if I go over.”

The lightly raised tone was like a small hook, enticing her to take the bait, her heart feeling like it was being swept by delicate feathers, leaving a spreading itch.

“Serving?”

Her wording was very much her style, vaguely stating her intentions.

Tan Zhi Xu’s eyebrows twitched slightly, from his nonchalant tone, you could inexplicably hear a meaningful tone, “If you want to say serving, you can, I’ll serve you.”

You could even chat like this over the phone, even more shameless than she had thought.

She changed the subject, “We’ll see, if you’re free tonight.”

Hearing this, he scoffed, “What can you possibly have to do at night? You can only have my business to do.”

The hand holding the eyebrow pencil paused for a moment, and then lightly drew the tail of her eyebrow, “You’re very confident, and also very domineering.”

“Shouldn’t I be?” Tan Zhi Xu chuckled lightly, “Send a message when you’re done shopping, never mind, just call me directly, I’ll pick you up then.”

She softly “Mhm”ed, the two of them said a few more words before hanging up the phone.

After putting on her makeup, she tidied up the living room, and just happened to receive a call from Zhu Suiyi, telling her to come out. The three of them ate casserole, the taste was unexpectedly good, and she subconsciously said that she would bring Tan Zhi Xu to try it someday.

Zhu Suiyi scooped a spoonful of scrambled eggs with tomatoes for Jia Jia, complaining rudely, “He’s such a good rich second generation, and you keep bringing him to eat roadside barbecue, fly restaurants.”

Zhu Shihao thought about it, and it seemed to be true.

She could eat whatever she wanted, as long as it wasn’t inherently bad, Tan Zhi Xu would accompany her, never being a killjoy. He had even accompanied her to buy roast duck in the vegetable market, and starch sausages in front of elementary schools.

It seemed that she wanted to refute it, but for a time, she couldn’t think of how to refute it.

After eating, the two adults and one child went to Jinxi, what Zhu Suiyi called “zero-dollar shopping” was actually going to “Otherself.”

As soon as she entered the store, she very easily and happily flung away her daughter’s small hand, “You’re free, find a place to stay by yourself, don’t make trouble, or I’ll beat you.”

On Jia Jia’s small face, a speechless expression clearly appeared, she even pursed her lips, and turned around to hug Zhu Shihao’s leg carrying her small backpack.

“Auntie, is my new dress here?”

Zhu Shihao held her hand, asking Shasha to go to her work area to help her take it down.

The two of them, one big and one small, sat in the rest area, helping Jia Jia take off her bag, and took out her water cup and biscuits, the Zhu Suiyi over there looking very satisfied, “Finally, there’s a proper store to look at clothes.”

“This is so much better, I was just saying that you should have gotten a store a long time ago, not waiting for Jinxi, you could also have it over in Huacai, I told you to take it and use it, but you didn’t want it.”

Lin Yun’s eyes widened, looking at her boss and her boss’s sister.

So, this store was her boss’s own? Also, Huacai?

Zhu Shihao helplessly,