SM Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Tit for Tat “I just want to help her, so what?”…

Chapter 28 Tit for Tat “I just want to help her, so what?”…

The room was a little warm. Standing in front of her, Tan Zhi Xu took off his coat and held it out to her.

“Aren’t you cold going outside?” He lowered his eyes and glanced at her bare ankles.

Zhu Shihao took his coat and gently shook her head, “Not cold, I’m wearing fleece-lined leggings underneath.”

If there weren’t other people around, she might have lifted her skirt to show him to prove it.

Taking off his suit and draping it over his arm, wearing only a white shirt, he took off his tie, unbuttoned a button, and didn’t say anything more to her. He took back his coat, pointed to the hanger over there, and strode over.

Zhu Shihao couldn’t help but let her gaze fall on the pair of deep-colored cufflinks, and unconsciously pursed her lips.

Recognizing her clothes at a glance, Tan Zhi Xu slowly took a hanger, put on the suit, then the coat, hung it next to hers, wrapped his tie around his finger, and stuffed it directly into her bag.

Standing in front of the group again, Hao Hao asked him, “Boss, are you still working overtime on the weekend?”

Tan Zhi Xu gave him a look, calm and unruffled, yet inexplicably unsettling, and casually replied, “For the money.”

That made sense, it was the motivation to work.

But your “for the money” is different from my “for the money.”

Thinking of this person’s money, Hao Hao sighed: “I’m so jealous, I’m going to separate.”

Feng Zan, who had returned from outside, saw the people standing on the side as soon as he entered the door, put on a smile, and walked over: “Zhi Xu is here, why aren’t you guys sitting down, just standing here?”

They looked up at the sound, and Tan Zhi Xu nodded to him, looking tired and lazy: “Happy birthday.”

“Thank you, I think almost everyone is here, let’s sit down and get ready to eat.” After chatting for a few words, seeing that Tan Zhi Xu wasn’t very interested, he said to the others.

Walking to the middle, he said it again. Amidst the classmates’ chatter and laughter, Tan Zhi Xu took the lead, his arm brushing against hers, and his voice drilled into her ear.

“Let’s go.”

Zhu Shihao softly “Mm” and followed him, half a step behind him.

Even with this casual appearance, he still attracted many gazes, both open and secret. Tan Zhi Xu didn’t care at all, just casually stopped at a certain position by the table, and then pulled out a chair.

He didn’t move or say anything, just waited for her to come closer and nodded his chin at her.

When she sat down, Zhu Shihao habitually smoothed the skirt under her buttocks, so as not to get wrinkles from sitting in an uneven position for too long.

In her sight, her movements, coupled with her slender, straight back, made her curves even more prominent. Tan Zhi Xu secretly raised his eyebrows and pulled out the chair next to her to sit down.

Ran Cai naturally followed her and sat on the other side. The two of them leaned closer from time to time, whispering to each other. She always spoke with rich emotions, often making her laugh.

Tan Zhi Xu would occasionally glance at her lightly, but most of the time he was listening to Wei Wang and the others talk, leaning lazily on the back of the chair, and would also respond with a few words.

Wei Wang and the others on the other side were also talking.

“But, don’t come.” Tan Zhi Xu sneered, “Even if you talk until the sky falls, I won’t go out, and of course, I won’t open the door for you.”

Under the cover of the tablecloth, he changed the position of his long legs, spreading them wide, and the leg closest to her was almost touching her leg.

This action was too domineering, completely invading her space.

Zhu Shihao turned her head and glanced at him, just in time to hear his words, and instantly understood that he was talking about his birthday.

When Wei Wang saw her turn her head, he thought she had heard their conversation, and hurriedly said, “Good sister, please persuade him, how can you not celebrate such a good day? It’s only once a year!”

Zhu Shihao certainly wouldn’t persuade him. This matter all depended on what the person involved thought. If he was willing to celebrate, he would celebrate. If he wasn’t willing, didn’t he still have her to accompany him? Anyway, Tan Zhi Xu wouldn’t be alone.

Before she could express her opinion, the man sitting in the middle let out a mocking laugh.

“Which day isn’t once a year? February 29th is only once every four years, why don’t I see the people of Earth celebrating together?”

Wei Wang choked and couldn’t speak. Just as he looked at Zhu Shihao, he heard a cool warning in his ear.

“Alright, don’t treat Zhu Shihao as a tool.”

Knowing that he couldn’t say anything more, this time he was really powerless. Wei Wang exchanged a look with Hao Hao, and could only accept that the persuasion had failed.

There were many people paying attention to them, and some of them knew Tan Zhi Xu’s birthday. Fang Xiaoyan sat opposite him, looked at him, and frowned, glancing at Zhu Shihao next to him, and lowered her head to look at her phone.

Feng Zan stood up and said a few words of thanks to everyone for their kind attention, and drank a glass of wine.

Everyone gave him face and raised their glasses for a sip. Ran Cai leaned over and whispered, “It doesn’t seem like it’s been too long since we last saw him, how has he changed so much?”

Zhu Shihao agreed in her heart, patting the hand that was pulling her arm: “Didn’t they say a scholar who has been away three days must be looked at with new eyes? It’s normal.”

Normal was normal, but not getting used to it was also really not getting used to it. She suddenly remembered that she seemed to have seen in her Moments two months ago that the class monitor had made a big profit.

There was a subtle feeling, and this feeling became more and more obvious in the following time. After dinner, everyone returned to the front hall, Feng Zan called the DJ over, and soon music sounded, the rhythm was strong enough that the atmosphere followed intensely, and the wine was filling the air, becoming more and more intense.

The sofa was already a battleground for drinking, and the other small area was occupied by ladies chatting and calm gentlemen.

Zhu Shihao and the others sat on the long table on the side. Unlike the atmosphere over there, they were even playing Fight the Landlord. The losers had to drink a cup of wine. Now on the field were Wei Wang, Hao Hao, and Zhu Shihao, who happened to be sitting in three directions.

Ran Cai was a rookie, but her voice was loud: “Take it, be the landlord, let those two drink a cross-cupped wine.”

The latter sentence was a bit attractive. Zhu Shihao looked at the cards in her hand and felt that she had a chance to win this time. She hesitated for a short two seconds and nodded firmly: “Take it.”

Tan Zhi Xu, who had come in from outside after answering a phone call, saw Ran Cai seriously giving advice before he even got close. He sat down next to Zhu Shihao, glanced at it, and didn’t say anything.

As expected, this battle ended quickly, Hao Hao tossed out two hands with multiple cards in a row, and finished a pair by pair.

Zhu Shihao and her dog-headed strategist looked at each other.

“Don’t look, haven’t you realized yet that you don’t necessarily win if you don’t listen to Ran Cai,” Wei Wang said with a smile, pouring her wine, and ridiculed, “You’re bound to lose if you listen to her.”

Knowing how much she weighed, Ran Cai sniffed and was too guilty to refute.

She was willing to bet and concede defeat.

Picking up her glass, Zhu Shihao happily finished it in a few gulps.

The back of this chair was very low, at the position below the waist, and it was not comfortable to lean against. Tan Zhi Xu put his forearm on the edge of the table and asked her, “How many cups have you had?”

She paused and honestly held up four fingers.

“Amazing, so while I went out to make a phone call, you just lost, huh.” Tan Zhi Xu tugged at the corner of his mouth, looking at her with a flat expression. The first two words were full of “appreciation.”

Zhu Shihao glared at him, ignoring his mockery, and raised her chin at her card partners: “Continue.”

Seeing her like this, Tan Zhi Xu chuckled.

In the chatting group, Fang Xiaoyan was absent-mindedly chatting with these people, her eyes intentionally or unintentionally sweeping towards the door. She finally waited for the tall man to come in, and her eyes lit up, only to see him walking unhesitatingly to Zhu Shihao and sitting down next to her.

After chatting with them for a few more words, she said, “Are they playing cards? I’ll go take a look.”

Zhou Shishi, who had the best relationship with her,Hold her arm and accompanied her.

“Are you playing Fight the Landlord?” Fang Xiaoyan asked with a smile.

She stood at the corner of the table, between Wei Wang and Tan Zhi Xu.

Wei Wang didn’t even lift her head: “Can’t you tell?”

It was a long table, and they were sitting on one side. The other side was clearly empty, but the two of them didn’t move, just standing there.

After watching them play two rounds of cards, Fang Xiaoyan lost some patience: “Tan Zhi Xu, I remember that your birthday is the day after tomorrow, right? How are you planning to celebrate it?”

The day after tomorrow, indeed it was the day after tomorrow.

Feng Zan’s birthday was specially changed to be celebrated on the weekend, but she could accurately say Tan Zhi Xu’s birthday, which could only mean that she had been remembering his birthday from the beginning.

She paused in her heart, her mind messed up for a moment, and then felt that it wasn’t too surprising, just that it had become more direct.

She and Fang Xiaoyan didn’t have any conflicts in high school, it was just that the two of them were equally excellent and inevitably compared, and they also had their own circles, and didn’t interact much.

However, as for Tan Zhi Xu, she should have ideas.

It wasn’t impossible to understand, after all, handsome young men were sought after by beautiful ladies, she herself wasn’t immune, and there were many people secretly Peep at her and the man next to her, whether they were expressing it directly or vaguely.

As for directness, who could be more direct than her?

A familiar aura came closer, and a large hand with distinct joints appeared in front of her. He bent her fingers and picked up the smallest card on the edge and threw it into the pile of cards, and then tapped her head.

“You still don’t want it? Are you keeping it as a family heirloom?”

The strength was very light, and had no effect other than to inform her of his existence.

Ran Cai supported her face with great interest, appreciating Fang Xiaoyan’s slightly stiff smile, and how the distortion on her face after embarrassment was revealed little by little, uncontrollably.

Zhu Shihao came back to her senses: “The big king hasn’t come out yet.”

Tan Zhi Xu chuckled, raised his hand, unbuttoned the cufflinks of his sleeves, and rolled them up slightly: “If you don’t play it, of course he won’t play it.”

Wei Wang dropped the big king, using the facts to prove his words.

“Tan Zhi…”

As if only now remembering that someone had asked him a question, Tan Zhi Xu interrupted her with a cold tone: “I’m not celebrating.”

When he said these words, he was still looking down at the cards in Zhu Shihao’s hand, casually pressing the arm that was close to Zhu Shihao on the back of the chair behind her waist, and tapping the table with the other hand.

This posture seemed to encircle Zhu Shihao halfway in his arms, intimate and domineering. Fang Xiaoyan even saw that the legs of the two people under the table were so close that they would brush against each other with a slight movement.

However, it seemed that only she and Zhou Shishi thought it was too much, and the others didn’t feel it at all.

“Why aren’t you celebrating? Everyone can have fun together.” She continued jokingly.

“I don’t really want to have fun.”

Tan Zhi Xu’s tone was indifferent, and the meaning of rejection and not wanting to say more was obvious.

“Don’t.” The hand tapping on the table was raised, holding down Zhu Shihao who was trying to dangerously play three twos with a ten, “He still has at least seven or eight cards in his hand, don’t rush.”

Listening to him and not playing the card, Zhu Shihao asked, “What if he has a straight?”

Tan Zhi Xu glanced at her and chuckled: “Miss, remember the cards. Five and six are broken, and you’re holding the last J. Where can you have a straight of more than five cards now? The biggest cards are all in your hands.”

Hao Hao was incredulous: “No way, good sister, you have three twos? Are you holding them so tightly!”

Zhu Shihao blinked and nodded.

With one hand ending, she finally ended her losing streak. Ran Cai was even more excited than her.

Wei Wang and Hao Hao not only didn’t drink the cross-cupped wine, but also exchanged winks, aiming at the man with an indifferent face.

The two of them picked up their glasses and invited Tan Zhi Xu: “Brother Xu, let’s have a drink, the three of us haven’t even clinked glasses tonight.”

It wouldn’t be him if he could be persuaded like this.

With a raise of his eyebrows, the hand that was originally on the back of Zhu Shihao’s chair was withdrawn, and instead pressed on the empty side of her chair, looking leisurely at the two of them.

“Okay, you guys drink this cup first and then talk to me.”

Alright, two cups in a row.

Wei Wang and the others began to hurt each other, childishly insisting on pouring the wine to the brim of the glass for the other person. Ran Cai turned her head and looked at the seven-tenths full glass in Tan Zhi Xu’s hand, completely not understanding what they were doing.

The three of them clinked glasses. The two people opposite spilled the wine on their hands and began to complain that the other person poured too much.

Tan Zhi Xu curled the corners of his lips, looked down at the wine glass, raised it and drank it all in one gulp. The casual movement added a bit of unrestrainedness, and the usually indifferent person inexplicably seemed a bit rascal-like.

Looking at him, Zhu Shihao couldn’t help but smile along with his good mood.

The two people standing on the other side were both stunned for a moment. The embarrassment Fang Xiaoyan felt from being perfunctorily treated and ignored was mostly gone, and calmness returned to her face.

It was impossible to let Zhu Shihao give her a seat, and she couldn’t bring herself to pull a chair to Tan Zhi Xu’s other side. Fang Xiaoyan thought for a while, and finally pulled Zhou Shishi to the opposite side, and the two of them were next to Hao Hao, so she happened to sit opposite Tan Zhi Xu, with a table less than a meter wide separating them.

After playing a few more rounds, this time Hao Hao, who was the landlord, had to drink four cups in a row, and was suffering unspeakable misery: “Although I won’t get drunk, but there’s no game experience, is there? Good sister is the landlord, the landlord wins, doesn’t take the landlord, the peasants win. What’s the difference between this and a pre-set victory or defeat? Brother Xu, can you please stop talking!”

Tan Zhi Xu raised his eyelids, indifferently: “Why didn’t you say there was no game experience before when you bullied her?”

“We won with skill, how can that be called bullying!” Hao Hao said plausibly, righteously refuting.

Unable to bear this crime, Wei Wang also agreed: “That’s right, we won fairly, good sister is relying entirely on off-site guidance.”

Tan Zhi Xu was still calm and composed, with not the slightest intention of admitting his fault, and looked calmly: “So what?”

“So Brother Xu, it’s wrong for you to be so biased!”

The person who was accused of being biased had no intention of refuting at all, and glanced at the person next to him, seeing that she was innocently listening to their accusations as if she was an outsider.

But he was too familiar. With just one glance, Tan Zhi Xu could capture the slyness in her eyes.

He lifted her chin slightly, her eyes hiding a smile, and the corners of her mouth were smiling.

“I just want to help her, so what.”

“What is being biased? Who can scold her once or touch her once?”