SM Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Playing Along

Spending the New Year together is great, except for the evenings.

By night, everyone stopped playing mahjong. After all, the four parents were in their fifties and went back to their rooms before eleven.

Close to twelve o’clock, Tan Zhi Xu, who had finished showering, sent her a message.

Tan Zhi Xu: [I’m coming down now.]

She replied quickly.

Shihao: [Okay.]

Tan Zhi Xu curled his lips, feeling extremely happy. He put on the casual clothes he had worn during the day, secretly pocketed the “tool” he had taken the opportunity to retrieve from the car during the day, and prepared to head downstairs.

Zhu Shihao estimated the time and stood by the door. Just as she was about to quietly open it, she heard hushed voices outside. They were soft and unclear, but one thing was obvious: there wasn’t just one person outside.

Dare she move?

Of course, she didn’t dare.

Tan Zhi Xu was also quite speechless. He was only two steps away when he heard his mother’s voice from behind.

“What are you doing?”

He had to admit, even he jumped a little at that moment.

His brain whirred, and he felt the sharp corner of something in his right pocket. He pulled out a thick red envelope. “Oh, I remembered I haven’t given Shihao a red envelope yet. I came to give it to her.”

Xu Ting lowered her voice to scold him. “Are you sick? It’s almost twelve o’clock, why do you have to give it now?”

Tan Zhi Xu remained calm, his tone indifferent. His reasoning was surprisingly convincing. “It’s precisely because it’s almost twelve o’clock. It’ll be the second day of the New Year soon, so I have to give it now.”

Xu Ting choked, unable to find a counterargument, until she accidentally spotted the cartoon pattern on the red envelope. Only then did she find a reason to continue scolding him.

“You’re so old, you’re earning your own money, and you’re still using our red envelopes? Aren’t you embarrassed? If you’re going to give a borrowed gift, at least change the packaging.”

He glanced at the red envelope. Now it was his turn to be speechless.

Tan Zhi Xu: “…”

He decided to change the subject, looking calmly at his mother. “Do you realize you’re almost sixty? Staying up late will turn you into a wrinkled old woman. By then, Dad will still be a handsome old man.”

Xu Ting felt stifled. “…You’re talking nonsense. Your dad isn’t asleep either, and he’s uglier than me!”

The more she talked, the angrier she got. She didn’t want to go downstairs for fruit anymore. Turning around to return to her room, she pushed the door open slightly. “Hurry up and give it to her and get lost!”

She rolled her eyes and slammed the door shut.

Not rushing, he waited for a moment to make sure Xu Ting wouldn’t come out, then gently knocked on Zhu Shihao’s door.

Zhu Shihao cracked the door open, peeking out cautiously.

Tan Zhi Xu reached out and tapped the top of her head. “It’s clear.”

Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief, patting her chest. “Did you anger Aunt Ting away?”

Tan Zhi Xu pushed the door open and walked in. Zhu Shihao peeked her head out again to look around before closing the door.

He placed the red envelope on the bedside table. “Here you go.”

“Huh?”

He explained simply, “I said I came to give you a red envelope, and she said I was embarrassing myself by giving a borrowed gift.”

Tilting her head to look at him, Zhu Shihao smiled and hugged his waist. “You were wronged, how pitiful. You already gave me one, and there was a New Year’s gift too.”

He lowered his eyes, his chin resting on the top of her head.

“Well, it just happened to be in my right pocket, and I forgot to take it out. It gave me a good excuse.” He chuckled, remembering something. “I didn’t dare move my left hand in my pocket.”

Zhu Shihao asked, puzzled, “Why?”

As she asked, she reached in without ceremony, feeling several thin squares. She pinched one and pulled it out.

“Because they’re all condoms.”

Immediately stuffing it back in, Zhu Shihao righteously refused him. “I think we should just forget about it. Let’s be good and not get caught again.”

Tan Zhi Xu didn’t move, and after a long moment, he slowly lifted her face, expressionless. “What did you say?”

“Zhi Xu, Zhi Xu.”

She felt a little apologetic, but not much. Safety was important.

Zhu Shihao stood on tiptoe to kiss him and call his name.

After a moment of staring at each other, he scratched his head in defeat. “Fine.”

If he couldn’t have her, he could only kiss her forcefully, capturing the fair skin that was hard to see in this light, and bit her gently before letting her go, lovingly kissing away the tears that welled in the corners of her red eyes.

“You’re tormenting me.”

He wasn’t the only one being tormented, Zhu Shihao pouted aggrievedly.

Tan Zhi Xu gave her one last kiss on her lips. “Go to sleep. If I don’t leave now, I won’t be able to.”

The Zhu family stayed for a total of four nights, and when Zhu Shihao left, the tools in Tan Zhi Xu’s bedside table were exactly the same as when they arrived, untouched.

But it was fine, at least when she looked around, she could always find the person she wanted to see, and often, that person was right by her side.

Zhu Suiyi’s family came back on the fifth day of the New Year, as they both had to go back to work.

That night, the two families had dinner together at the Zhu’s, and, not surprisingly, they heard Liu Ruoyin talking about Zhu Shihao’s love life, urging her to find someone.

Zhu Suiyi spoke up for her sister, “Mom, Shihao is old enough. She knows what she’s doing. You and Dad shouldn’t get so anxious.”

Zhu Yingqing, who was playing chess with Tan Meng by the window, quickly looked up to state his position. “I’m not anxious at all. I’m not in a hurry.”

Liu Ruoyin glared at him, annoyed. He wasn’t helping, only making things worse.

“It’s different being a dad,” Xu Ting laughed heartily, comforting her friend. “What’s the rush? Look at Tan Zhi Xu, I’ve been urging him for two years, and what good has it done? I say, don’t interfere. They’ll worry about their own things.”

Those were her words, but as a mother, it was hard not to worry.

Her older daughter had her own family, leaving only Shihao. They were here now, but what about when they were gone? Would she be able to take care of herself?

“She’s almost twenty-seven, why hasn’t she been in a relationship? I’m not rushing her to get married, but she could at least try dating, right?” Liu Ruoyin fretted, thinking about her single, solitary younger daughter.

She should at least try to figure out if she wants to get married or not.

Zhu Suiyi disagreed. She had a different viewpoint from her mother. She thought her younger sister was fine on her own. Otherwise, with Zhu Shihao’s subtle nature, her reluctance to talk much, and her tendency to do things herself when she couldn’t communicate, she’d have to worry about her being taken advantage of.

Therefore, her advice wasn’t very sincere. “She’ll date someone when she meets someone she likes. Don’t push her. What if she already likes someone? You’ll just mess things up.”

Liu Ruoyin rolled her eyes at her. “Do you think she does?”

Jia Jia chimed in nonsensically, “Auntie is pretty, not afraid.”

This made Xu Ting laugh non-stop, thinking that the Zhu family was much more lively than hers.

The living room and the dining table weren’t far apart, and the group wasn’t speaking quietly, so Tan Zhi Xu and Zhu Shihao heard them very clearly.

Tan Zhi Xu casually glanced at the person next to him. Her expression didn’t change much, as if she hadn’t heard. But at that moment, he inexplicably felt that this was an attitude of neither acknowledging nor denying anything.

Suddenly, he remembered that love letter, that person.

After the failed attempt to find out the truth during the Truth or Dare game, he originally planned to let it go. He told himself that it was just something that happened eight or nine years ago. Anyway, he was the only one who had been by her side all these years.

No one could replace him, no one could match his weight in Zhu Shihao’s heart.

But unexpectedly, his self-persuasion wasn’t very successful. He was still easily awakened in his heart, that feeling of calculating.

He just cared so much.

They had a get-together on the seventh day of the New Year, a group of friends insisting on squeezing in one last gathering before going back to work. It was the same old routine; they basically had one every year before starting work.

Zhu Shihao also returned to her own home for the first time in a while, and Tan Zhi Xu came to pick her up that evening.

She opened the car door and got in. “Do you have to work tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Tan Zhi Xu stepped on the gas pedal after she fastened her seatbelt.

Zhu Shihao turned slightly towards him, looking at him. “The boss is so punctual too.”

“If I’m not punctual, how can I earn money to give you New Year’s money and buy you gifts?” he answered casually.

She pursed her lips and hummed softly. “Don’t even try.”

Tan Zhi Xu arched his lips. “Coming back to my place tonight?”

It was a question, but it also seemed like a statement.

“Are you asking for my opinion?” She pondered for a moment, not answering but asking another question.

Focusing on driving, he didn’t even move his eyes, his tone was calm. “Yes, but you can only choose to be with me. As for the place, either my place or your place. Outside isn’t an option.”

She was too familiar with this type of multiple choice question. Without much thought, she gave her answer.

“Your place it is.”

After a moment of silence, she looked down at a message that popped up in their group chat.

“Do you know who’s going to be there?”

“I don’t know, probably the same people as usual.”

This gathering was usually quite complete, with almost all their good friends attending.

The venue was still Li Chennan’s place. When they arrived, they headed towards their usual corner. Before they could even get there, her phone vibrated.

Ran Cai: [OMG, Shihao, my darling.]

Ran Cai: [Can you imagine what kind of “Asura field” this is going to be?!]

As if on cue, she emerged from the crowd, a clear view unfolding before her.

She immediately spotted the two women sitting together at the end. Even in the dim lighting, it didn’t stop her from recognizing who they were.

Without showing any emotion, she subtly scanned the man protecting her as they moved through the crowd, slowly replying to the message.

Zhu Shihao: [Already saw them. It’s about to get even more Asura right now.]

Ran Cai looked at her phone, raised her head, and waved.

At that moment, everyone at the table, every single one of them, all raised their heads to look over. Just right, to avoid her getting bumped around. Tan Zhi Xu’s hand, which had been resting on her shoulder to guide her through the crowd, hadn’t had time to withdraw.

As they got closer, sure enough, even though Tan Zhi Xu had already lowered his hand, the expressions of Su Yuewei and Qiu Ying were even more forced, even more unsightly.

“Here, here.” Ran Cai waved.

Zhu Shihao walked towards her, sitting down in the empty seat next to her.

Su Yuewei put on a smile, saying to Tan Zhi Xu, who was behind her: “Zhi Xu, there’s a seat over here.”

Of course, she was talking about the seat next to her.

Tan Zhi Xu didn’t even give her a glance, heading straight for Zhu Shihao and bumping his back against Yang Xu, who was still wearing his black-framed glasses and baseball cap in the bar.

“Move.”

Yang Xu shrugged, moving a little to the other side. “Zhi Xu, what’s it like, having two ex-girlfriends gathered together, the atmosphere is harmonious.”

Wei Wang gave him a thumbs up. “Awesome!”

Of course, he wasn’t saying that to Tan Zhi Xu, but to Yang Xu, the brave warrior.

Tan Zhi Xu glanced at him faintly, fiddling with the bottles on the table, choosing one, and pouring a glass into a clean glass. “None of my business.”

Saying that, he handed the glass to Zhu Shihao. “This one.”

She took it, and before she could speak, Qiu Ying, who was two or three people away, asked her brother in alarm, “Ex-girlfriend? Then why did you bring her here?”

Yang Xu made a “heh” sound, shaking his head disapprovingly. His words carried a hint of mockery. “That’s a funny thing to say. Isn’t this ex-girlfriend the one your brother brought?”

Zhang Zi Ang looked embarrassed, trying to smooth things over. “It’s lively today, everyone wanted to join in the fun.”

That was indeed the case. Qiu Ying had tagged along to one New Year’s gathering last year, and she had been talking about it incessantly since before this New Year.

As for Su Yuewei, she had suddenly contacted him a few days ago. After chatting for a few sentences, she mentioned that she often saw photos of his gatherings on his Moments in previous years and asked if she could join this year.

He wasn’t stupid; after a quick thought, he understood Su Yuewei’s intention in contacting him. Originally, he didn’t want to agree, because just thinking about his sister’s reaction gave him a headache, but he couldn’t resist being swayed by a few words and agreed.

Qiu Ying glared fiercely at the woman beside her, exaggeratingly moving closer to her brother. “Who wants to join in the fun with her.”

Su Yuewei, after learning that this spoiled younger sister was actually Tan Zhi Xu’s ex-girlfriend, couldn’t force a smile either. Especially after being pointed at and scolded, she gave her a disgusted look, but mindful of her reputation, she didn’t say anything.

For a moment, the two women looked at each other with dislike, wishing they could switch places.

Yang Xu spread his hands, looking very regretful. “Oh dear, you were just sisters, getting along so well, how did the ship of friendship sink so quickly?”

When it came to being sarcastic, he was a master.

Zhu Shihao reached over Tan Zhi Xu, extending her hand from behind him to tap Yang Xu, restraining her laughter. “Be careful, or you’ll get flamed online.”

Yang Xu reluctantly said, “Fine, I guess.”

“You…”

Qiu Ying glared at them, wanting to say something more, but was interrupted by the man’s cold gaze and tone.

“The two of you, either shut up or leave.”

Tan Zhi Xu suppressed the irritation in his heart. Not saying “get lost” was already him being very lenient, very polite.

Zhu Shihao tugged on his sleeve, breaking the silence. “What are you drinking?”