SM Chapter 68

Chapter 68: Moon Book Red Rope “Not bad, your physical fitness and willpower…”

The next day, Zhu Shihao was still woken up.

Of course, it was to be called up for breakfast. On this matter, Tan Zhi Xu, as always, did not let up.

It was the last week of work before the New Year, and Zhu Shihao got up very swiftly. Tan Zhi Xu raised his eyebrows slightly: “Not bad, your physical fitness and willpower have improved.”

Her movements faltered for a moment. Then, Zhu Shihao slowly looked up, each word deliberate: “What is your standard for ‘physical fitness’?”

“Mm, what you’re thinking.”

Zhu Shihao glanced at him as she passed, snorted, and headed to the bathroom without looking back.

You dare to admit it.

Tan Zhi Xu faintly curled his lips. What wouldn’t he dare to admit?

Sitting at the dining table, she finally had time to look at her phone. There was a little red dot on WeChat. Zhu Suiyi’s name made her fingertip pause, hovering uncertainly over the screen.

Remembering their conversation last night, her fingertip slowly tapped the screen.

Suiyi: [Although I’m a little unhappy knowing that person is Zhi Xu, I still have to admit that as your older sister, I trust him.]

Suiyi: [Seeing that he’s done pretty well all these years, friendly reminder.]

Suiyi: [To convince Mom, my suggestion is, don’t say too much about how much you love Zhi Xu, but tell her you both love each other very much, that Zhi Xu loves you, and that no one will treat you better, or know how to take care of you better, than him.]

Bet that for Mom, her daughter’s mutual love and happiness outweigh everything.

Suiyi: [As for Dad, my opinion is to leave it to him.]

Zhu Yingqing and Zhu Shihao were very similar in temperament, gentle and easy to get along with, one refined and the other well-mannered, both representing the most typical image of the Zhu family.

Don’t let his silence that day fool you into thinking he couldn’t accept it. In fact, the most rational and least emotional people in their family are those two. This is also the Zhu family’s typical characteristic.

Four messages in a row, a long dialogue occupying most of the screen, Zhu Suiyi’s haughty expression almost broadcasting across the distance.

However, Zhu Shihao pursed her lips and smiled.

“What’s wrong?” The man across from her put a shrimp dumpling on her plate.

Sending back an “I love you” emoji, Zhu Shihao put down her phone, picked up the shrimp dumpling, and said, “Suiyi, she’s pretty reliable sometimes.”

Tan Zhi Xu glanced at her lightly, without comment.

Among the three children from the Zhu and Tan families, the oldest, Zhu Suiyi, had the most unrestrained personality and the most bizarre ideas.

But it was undeniable that she was also a very level-headed and reliable person. Otherwise, when the parents from both families were busy, they wouldn’t have entrusted the responsibility of taking care of the kids, even with one-t0-two responsibilities, to Zhu Suiyi, who hadn’t even graduated from elementary school.

It was only when facing her family, especially when interacting with Zhu Shihao and her sister, that she relaxed and often seemed nonsensical and quirky.

However, as soon as Tan Zhi Xu thought about how she had cut Zhu Shihao’s eyelashes and made her cry for a long time, how she had secretly taken Zhu Shihao to KFC in winter to polish off three ice creams and a glass of iced cola, how she had clung to Zhu Shihao at the start of her sophomore year, begging her to help with her English homework…

Tan Zhi Xu found it difficult to completely trust her.

There was no doubt that Zhu Suiyi loved and protected her sister very much, but her irrational ideas from time to time really wronged Zhu Shihao a lot!

At this moment, Zhu Shihao was immersed in a strong sisterly affection, happily biting into the shrimp dumpling, not noticing Tan Zhi Xu’s expression.

Yang Xu’s message came again on the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month. He said that he would be landing tomorrow. This year there was no thirtieth day, which meant it was the third day before the New Year.

Wei Wang: [Didn’t you say you’d be back the day after tomorrow?]

Hao Hao: [Yeah, why aren’t you punctual?]

Everyone chattered, the core message being: why are you back early?

Although they usually talked and joked like this, Yang Xu, who had been struggling in the entertainment industry for so many years, still keenly sensed a hint of something wrong.

Yang Xu: [I feel like something’s up.]

Yang Xu: [Did you guys do something to betray me?]

The lively group suddenly fell silent.

Then Zhu Shihao popped up.

Shihao: [Like??]

Yang Xu: [Did you sell my photos?]

The lit-up screen couldn’t reflect everyone’s eye rolls, but they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Chennan: […How much could they sell for?]

Hao Hao: [Come on, do we need to sell your photos?]

They’re all over the internet, okay?

Wei Wang chuckled twice, with malicious intent.

Wei Wang: [Not really, it depends on what kind of photos they are. The ones in Xu Ge and Shihao Jie’s hands should be pretty gimmicky.]

Yang Xu: [“Hehe.JPG”]

Yang Xu: [Xu Yan’s coming too, mind?]

What was there to mind? Zhu Shihao’s eyes lit up. Before she could even reply, a cold snort came from beside her. She raised her face and met Tan Zhi Xu’s indifferent gaze.

She blinked, retracted her finger, smiled at him, and put on a deliberately well-behaved expression.

Anyway, even if she didn’t reply, someone else would.

Sure enough.

Ran Cai: [Okay, okay, okay, come, come, come, don’t mind, don’t mind.]

Zhu Shihao glanced at it, suppressing the smile at the corner of her mouth.

Yang Xu: […]

Wei Wang: […]

Li Chennan: […]

Breaking the formation was Hao Hao, who spoke the others’ minds.

Hao Hao: [You didn’t say a word when Yang Xu said so much, but as soon as Xu Yan was mentioned, you popped up and acted like a repeater. I find this very painful.]

The person being denounced justified herself.

Ran Cai: [Currently facing pressure to get married, very busy, my eyes can only capture keywords.]

Hao Hao: […Cow.]

Originally, they wanted to sympathize with Yang Xu, but now they thought she deserved more sympathy.

Yang Xu: [Okay, okay, okay, I’ll tell him now, tell him not to come.]

Of course, it was a joke. The previous guilty conscience was also taken over smoothly. A group of people tacitly waited for the day they met to see the show.

Zhu Shihao then realized a problem. She turned to look at the man beside her, who still looked imposing even in light-colored home clothes.

“Speaking of which, Yang Xu seems to be the last to know.”

After all, even both families knew.

Tan Zhi Xu could only give a faint “Mm” in response, looking down at his laptop with glasses on. His fingertips occasionally tapped the keyboard when he was thinking. It was hard to tell from this reaction if he was listening carefully.

Zhu Shihao didn’t mind and continued, “He won’t cry when the time comes, will he?”

Hearing this, Tan Zhi Xu finally looked up from the screen, looking at the person sitting on the carpet in front of him, and answering more seriously.

“No, he’ll only cry abstractly.”

The kind where he would have to make the sound effects himself.

As he spoke, he frowned, his face showing visible disgust.

Zhu Shihao turned halfway and leaned on his lap, her smiling face filled with a hint of mischief: “If he’s going to cry, Zhi Xu, let’s record it.”

She was so adorable that she dissolved the irritation and fatigue from his overtime work. Tan Zhi Xu curved his lips: “Okay.”

As long as she wanted it, nothing was bad.

Of course, it had to be proper content. Improper things were enough if he looked at them; she was only allowed to look at him.

The time they agreed to meet was still the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month because Yang Xu said he was going to turn off his phone and sleep for a day. So, the appointment wasn’t even for dinner, but directly for the night show.

The location was “Nan Feng.”

Zhu Shihao and Tan Zhi Xu had dinner and wandered around for a while before coming directly. Li Chennan raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw them, “So early?”

The dim light didn’t show the light makeup on her face, but her beauty was still prominent in the blur of the place.

“Mm, we didn’t go home. We just came here after work and dinner.”

Calling someone to bring wine, Li Chennan sat down next to Tan Zhi Xu: “If I had known, I should have mooched a big meal.”

Tan Zhi Xu twirled his tie around his finger, his eyebrows drooping: “You’re embarrassed to be a third wheel on a romantic night?”

Li Chennan chuckled, teasing: “That doesn’t sound like something you would say.”

Ran Cai didn’t know where she popped out from, sitting down on the other side of Zhu Shihao, her butt barely touching the seat: “Speaking of which, haven’t you figured it out yet? Our Xu Ge’s possessiveness is off the charts.”

“Are you here so early too?” Li Chennan stopped the waiter, personally picking up a wine glass. “Want ice?”

“A little less. I originally wanted to ask Shihao what time she was leaving, but she said she was almost here, so I just went out. It’s not peaceful at home these days anyway.” Ran Cai shrugged.

They all heard that her parents were urging her to get married, oh, it should be urging her to go on blind dates.

As a man, I have to say, related to social stereotypes, the pressure faced in this area is much smaller.

Li Chennan poured her a glass of wine and put it in front of her: “Sympathy, blessings.”

Being very familiar with each other, Ran Cai casually said, “Thanks,” and sent a message in the group: “Why aren’t you all here yet?”

Ran Cai: [Waiting, just missing you guys @Wei Wang@Hao Hao@Yang Xu]

Wei Wang responded very quickly, as if his eyes were always on his phone and his phone was always in his hand.

Wei Wang: [Xu Ge and Hao Jie are here? I’m innocent, don’t lie to me.]

Ran Cai pouted, raised her phone and simply took a picture and sent it to the group. It was blurry, but you could tell who it was.

Hao Hao cooperated, sending an apologetic emoji.

Hao Hao: [Your subject is guilty of ten thousand deaths for making the Emperor and Empress wait so long.]

Seeing the words “Empress,” Ran Cai’s eyes widened. Wei Wang was already spraying in the group.

Wei Wang: [Take it back, take it back, what are you sending!]

The next second, a message showed that one had been withdrawn.

Just as the few people were gossiping about whether they had been discovered or not, Yang Xu suddenly popped up.

Yang Xu: [What did you withdraw again?] Did you see it?

Ran Cai hesitated, and tentatively said.

Ran Cai: [Hao Hao sent a picture of you picking your nose.]

Yang Xu: [???]

Yang Xu: [Bullshit, I never pick my nose.]

Ran Cai: [Then your nostrils are very… Oh?]

Yang Xu: [Goodbye, driving, very busy.]

Ran Cai breathed out, put down her phone, and took a big gulp: “Looks like he didn’t see it.”

Zhu Shihao said helplessly, “So you don’t want him to see it.”

Ran Cai put down her glass, “Hey,” disapprovingly, and looked at her seriously: “It’s not that I don’t want him to. It’s that we want to give him a surprise.”

“Besides, it’s not too bad. He wasn’t the last one to know. Isn’t that better than Teacher Liu and them…”

Before she finished speaking, a voice came from beside her.

“He was. My parents, my sister, Zhi Xu’s parents all know.” Zhu Shihao’s voice was gentle, a smile on her lips.

“They, they…” Ran Cai turned her head to stare at her, her eyes bright, “Know? When did this happen?”

Remembering the scene of being exposed because of a traffic violation, Zhu Shihao pursed her lips a little unnaturally, her face showing a calm look.

“It was on Little New Year’s Day.”

She would remember this day forever.

Deliberately skipping how the problem was discovered, it seemed like a normal situation to be discovered.

Ran Cai didn’t pay attention to the minor details of the process, she just breathed a sigh of relief, and even her shoulders relaxed slightly, her whole person exuding an aura of “relief.”

“Finally, you don’t know, every time I run into Teacher Liu and Teacher Zhu at school, I can’t help but feel guilty. Can you understand? It’s still that guilt of facing a teacher. If I wasn’t afraid of being too obvious, I would really detour!”

Zhu Shihao paused, raised her hand to pat her head: “You’ve worked hard, you’ve worked hard.”

Ran Cai immediately hugged Zhu Shihao’s arm, put her head on her shoulder, and exaggeratedly performed “Wuwuwu.”

After about half a minute, she got up neatly, and even helped pat the place she had leaned against, her tone teasing: “Okay, okay, I know when to stop. If I lean any further, I’m afraid Xu Ge will treat me as a rival in love.”

“Not…really?”

Zhu Shihao opened her mouth wanting to deny it, but as soon as she said the second word, she remembered Tan Zhi Xu asking her before if Ran Cai liked men or women. She suddenly became uncertain.

Hearing the increasingly softer tone, and the question mark at the end.

Ran Cai and her stared at each other, speechless.

After a moment, she looked at the indifferent and lazy man in disbelief over Zhu Shihao: “No way, Xu Ge, you wouldn’t actually suspect me, would you?”

Li Chennan felt it was outrageous and looked at him.

Faced with their shocked gazes, Tan Zhi Xu was unmoved, calm and composed, not even lifting his eyelids, let alone looking at her.

“Shouldn’t you reflect on yourself first on this issue?”