“Dad, Qian Qian can only help you up to here.”
Jiang Zhi couldn’t remember how she walked out of the hospital.
Ever since she met Lin Shuwan, she felt completely lost, as if her soul had been taken away.
She wasn’t ready to face Lin Shuwan yet…
To say that they would never meet again wasn’t very realistic. But Jiang Zhi truly didn’t know how to explain.
“Hi hi! Long time no see!”
“This is my daughter, she’s six years old and came from the future. Qian Qian, call her sister!”
“What? You want to know how Qian Qian came here?”
They all say she came from the future, of course, she was born from future me and my husband!
How the hell could she say that aloud!
Jiang Zhi fell apart.
Ever since she became a girl, her originally plain and planned life seemed to have turned into nothing but accidents.
By the way, why did Lin Shuwan come to get a blood test?
Is she sick?
Jiang Zhi naturally worried. She opened Lin Shuwan’s WeChat, considering whether to ask about her health.
The last time they chatted was still a while ago.
“Eh, never mind.”
In the end, Jiang Zhi put her phone away.
Under the blazing sun, even the wind felt dry. When would this cursed weather end?
She was so hot she couldn’t take it anymore and bought an ice pop from a small vendor by the roadside.
Licking the ice pop with her little pink tongue, it felt refreshingly cool!
Jiang Zhi felt her heart calm down as well.
Good news, the physical examination went smoothly; now she just had to wait for the hospital to send her the certificate.
With the certificate, her and Qian Qian’s identities would be resolved.
Standing by the roadside, Jiang Zhi observed the flow of cars, planning to hail a taxi.
She forgot to charge the little electric scooter yesterday.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t want to spend extra money on a ride!
A single ride costs over ten bucks, enough for several meals.
“Hello, miss! Do you have time right now?”
“What?”
Jiang Zhi looked blankly at the man who appeared out of nowhere.
She stepped back a half-step, feeling a bit scared.
The man was really strange; it was so hot outside that even running naked would feel warm, yet he was dressed in long sleeves and trousers, wearing a mask and hat, completely covered up.
“Is there something?”
The man smiled brightly, “We’re from the ‘Challenge the Impossible’ production team and want to invite you…”
“I’m not available.”
Jiang Zhi lost interest halfway through.
What kind of show? It just sounded bothersome and was delaying her from getting a taxi.
The man’s smile froze.
But he quickly adjusted, not willing to give up, and said, “We just want to…”
“Ugh, you’re so annoying!”
Jiang Zhi bit hard into her ice pop and said, “I already said I’m not available, so go find someone else!”
The man: “…”
He cleared his throat, looked around as if he was on guard against something, then took off his mask and hat, revealing a handsome face.
He winked at Jiang Zhi, “Miss, look, can we go now?”
A chill ran down Jiang Zhi’s spine.
Is this still Zaoc City? Why does it feel like she’s in Chengdu?
She hurriedly took several steps back and stammered, “Are you gay? But I’m a girl, are you guys not even letting girls go?”
“Ah?”
The man clearly didn’t understand: “No, miss, you misunderstood, I…”
“Ah! My taxi is here!”
Before he could explain, a taxi suddenly appeared at the distance, and Jiang Zhi’s eyes brightened as if she had seen a savior.
She hailed the cab, opened the door, and got in quickly.
“Driver, hurry up, there’s a gay outside!”
Her urgent voice came through the partially rolled down window, and the taxi sped away, leaving the man in disarray in the wind.
“Ha!”
Laughter erupted among the crowd.
A man wearing a director’s hat wiped his sweat and asked his assistant beside him, “Did you record that?”
“Yes, recorded.”
“Then send this part for editing first. Mr. Xu, are you okay? Makeup artist, hurry to touch up Mr. Xu’s makeup!”
——————
“Hu…”
Outside the Flower Language Coffee Shop, Jiang Zhi got out of the taxi and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She almost got entangled with a gay.
It wasn’t her fault for being sensitive; it was because she used to be so pretty, a typical gay-magnet, which had left her traumatized.
She still remembered when she was in elementary school.
A friend of hers was really close, the type that wouldn’t even separate in the bathroom.
Jiang Zhi thought they had a pure friendship.
Until one day, during class, the friend reached into her pants.
Jiang Zhi was dumbfounded at that moment.
What do you mean, bro? Are you serious about those playful remarks we say to each other, like “you’re so gay”? Just who took it seriously?!
From then on, Jiang Zhi didn’t dare to joke around lightly anymore.
Except online, of course.
Jiang Zhi was a typical cyber social butterfly.
She had joked around like this with Simai Lu, as she knew they were both straight. What gay person would exchange LSP experiences in the dead of night?
Ugh…
The more she thought about it, the more nauseating it felt.
She shook her head and pushed open the door of the Flower Language Coffee Shop, the chilly air-conditioning immediately assaulted her like a pack of wolves.
Jiang Zhi felt like her whole body and mind were purified.
Air conditioning was truly the greatest invention of the 21st century. Speaking of which, her home’s air conditioning still needed repair—maybe she should take this chance to buy a new one?
“Mom!”
The little girl’s voice interrupted her thoughts. Jiang Zhi smiled and opened her arms as her daughter skillfully ran into her embrace.
Qian Qian fidgeted in Jiang Zhi’s arms, “Mom, I missed you so much!”
“Mom missed you too.”
Jiang Zhi could now refer to herself as “Mom” without any awkwardness; she could only say she had been desensitized by this little girl.
“I’m back, how did things go?”
Jiang Ruyan approached them, hands on her hips, smiling as she looked at the mother-daughter pair.
“It’s done…”
Mentioning this made Jiang Zhi a bit embarrassed.
She certainly couldn’t tell Jiang Ruyan the real reason she went to the hospital, so she made up an excuse—she had a hemorrhoid flare-up.
Then she realized that excuse was too flimsy.
Jiang Zhi cleared her throat and changed the topic. She looked around and noticed there were quite a few customers today, “Need any help, Sister Jiang?”
“No need, you weren’t scheduled to work today.”
Jiang Ruyan glanced at her watch, “I was just about to close the shop soon.”
“What?”
Jiang Zhi was dumbfounded.
Close the shop? With such good business, they were closing?!
And it was still the middle of the day, were they really closing now?
Jiang Zhi asked her confusion, “Sister Jiang, closing so early today?”
“Ha! You really are ignorant!”
Jiang Ruyan’s tone raised a few octaves, “Do you know what day it is today? It’s the opening day of the ‘Fearless Contract’ San Francisco Invitational!”
“This important day, I obviously can’t miss it!”
Jiang Zhi was even more confused.
“Could it be that, Xiao Zhi, you play so well but you don’t know about this?”
Jiang Zhi forced a couple of laughs, “I’m not really interested in those things…”
While she was indeed good at gaming, she truly didn’t keep up with the related esports competitions.
She only knew that the CN Division seemed pretty strong.
Conversely, Jiang Ruyan watching the competition was unexpected to her; Sister Jiang played so skillfully, yet she was still a competitive fan.
Moreover, Jiang Ruyan’s appearance…
Jiang Zhi found it hard to imagine a graceful, dominant woman screaming in the audience.
But when she cursed people, she was indeed fierce, every curse word rolling off her tongue, which perfectly matched her image of an esports fan.
“It’s okay if you’re not interested, you’ll become interested after watching more.”
Jiang Ruyan was getting excited, stepping forward to hook Jiang Zhi’s arm and whispering in her ear, “How about I introduce you to it?”
For them competitive fans, nothing was more fulfilling than pulling a friend into the fandom!
“Hehe, forget it.”
Jiang Zhi expressionlessly pushed her away.
What does watching a competition have to do with you flirting with someone? Good thing she had developed a resistance to temptation over the past few days; otherwise, she surely couldn’t handle blushing every day.
Besides, she hadn’t written anything yet today.
If watching a competition delayed her from writing… cough cough, from writing for her lovely readers, that would be a loss.
But Qian Qian suddenly patted her leg, saying, “Mom, Qian Qian wants to watch the competition too.”
Fearless Contract… competition…
Although she didn’t know what this was, it seemed to relate to Dad’s work.
She remembered Mom saying before, that Dad used to be really strong in competitions.
“Look, look! Qian Qian understands a lot!”
Jiang Ruyan silently gave Qian Qian a thumbs-up, knowing it was worth it for this little girl to have her make milk tea!
“Huh?”
Jiang Zhi looked at her daughter in disbelief, “Qian Qian, do you know what a competition is?”
“Mom, I’m six years old now…”
“Ah.”
Jiang Zhi covered her mouth to hide her embarrassment, “What I meant was, why are you suddenly interested in this?”
At your age, what else could you possibly understand besides ‘Boonie Bears’?
But Qian Qian didn’t respond.
She just tugged at Jiang Zhi’s hand, swaying back and forth, and coquettishly said, “Let’s watch, let’s watch, let’s watch…!”
“Mom, just promise Qian Qian, okay? Qian Qian will give you a kiss!”
Saying this, the little girl tried hard to stand on her tiptoes, wanting to give her mom a big kiss.
Jiang Zhi held her forehead.
Did you think being cute would work?
Well, it actually could!
She sighed, thinking Qian Qian was just being curious, “First, let’s agree that we’ll only watch for a little while, got it?”
“Oh yeah!”
Qian Qian and Jiang Ruyan said in unison.
The little girl wasn’t big, but she was very clever. She thought, “Dad, Qian Qian can only help you up to here.”
