55. Do you like me?
Not tasty.
Not tasty at all.
Jiang Zhi expressionlessly cut the steak on her plate, the tip of the knife scraping against the porcelain, producing a faint scratching sound. She chewed the steak slowly, finding it as tasteless as chewing wax, her thoughts long since flown past the floor-to-ceiling windows of the private room to the beef noodle shop across the street.
Seven yuan for a bowl, eight yuan for an extra portion of beef.
Isn’t this noodle shop too cheap and practical? I’ve saved this, sisters rush over, remember to check in!
— Jiang Zhi was already bored to madness.
She glanced at the two little buddies beside her. Since they entered, this pair of good friends had been chattering non-stop, seemingly discussing a recent popular animated series… How long have they known each other?
The world of children is indeed innocent enough to be enviable.
She retracted her gaze and mechanically cut another piece of steak, but as she lifted her eyes, they collided directly with Xu You’s gaze.
The man looked as if he had been caught red-handed, his skin, whiter than the woman’s, instantly flushed red. He hurriedly averted his eyes, chuckling awkwardly, “This, this steak is quite good, huh…”
“Yeah, it’s pretty good.”
“How did you guys get here?”
“Rode a bike.”
“Oh, I drove here. It’s too hot to go out without a car.”
Jiang Zhi: …
What a machine.
Aren’t we both wondering who is the man and who is the woman?
Honestly, can you stop peeking at me?
With your innocent Xiao Chunan looks, are you still thinking about pursuing me?
It’s been half an hour since the dishes were served, and Xu You hadn’t managed to say half a sentence. Jiang Zhi was too lazy to take the initiative to engage. The entire private room was filled with the children’s laughter and the crisp sound of knife and fork clashing.
After holding it in for so long, he could only produce this kind of awkward conversation.
Jiang Zhi finally understood.
First, Xu You indeed wanted to pursue her. As a fellow man who has liked the same person, she could tell.
Second, he had zero experience in pursuing girls.
Why aren’t you talking, big brother? You called me over, didn’t you want to pursue me? You gotta put in some effort, man!
With a face like yours, why are you so innocent?
Wasn’t he quite chatty when he asked for my WeChat at the amusement park? Did someone take over your body, man?
Jiang Zhi was also in disbelief. She had prepared herself for various ways to respond to Xu You’s advances, yet he was completely mute, making her seem somewhat self-indulgent.
But this was also good.
If this meal could be finished quietly, she could be liberated. If Xu You asked her out again, she would simply let Su Yan take Qian Qian out instead.
Isn’t it normal for a dad to take his daughter out!?
To be fair, didn’t that guy say she was not doing anything?
Damn it, let him take care of Qian Qian for a day and see. By then, he would have to ask me to help him with the kid!
(ﾒ ﾟ皿ﾟ)ﾒ.
Just when Jiang Zhi thought this meal would continue in this unspoken atmosphere…
Xu You finally spoke.
“Um… Sister Jiang, can I call you that?” He put down his knife and fork, tentatively asking.
“Sure.” Jiang Zhi also put her knife and fork down. She really couldn’t chew this steak anymore. She missed her fried rice with eggs; Qian Qian must want to eat it too… Dinner will be fried rice with eggs then.
Speaking of which, there was actually a day when someone called her sister.
Hmm? Sister?
Jiang Zhi suddenly thought of something, blinking her beautiful peach blossom eyes and correcting him, “You got it wrong, I’m only twenty-two.”
She felt Xu You must have misunderstood; the whole mother thing indeed easily led people to misjudge her age, but it was also because of this that many men who tried to flirt with her were deterred.
In the past half month, the only person who dared to pursue her after knowing she had a child was Xu You.
Xu You was quite a character!
On the other side, hearing Jiang Zhi’s words, Xu You froze for a moment and stammered, “I know you’re twenty-two. What I meant was, I’m only twenty-one this year…”
“Twenty-one?!”
Okay, misunderstanding cleared up.
She thought Xu You just had a youthful face, but didn’t expect he was that young, so calling her sister was indeed fine.
Wait, how did he know I’m twenty-two?
Jiang Zhi frowned, feeling something was off.
“Sister Jiang.”
Before she could sort out her thoughts, Xu You suddenly spoke again, his voice low, almost as if talking to himself, “Where, where is your husband?”
This question was quite abrupt.
But Jiang Zhi understood his little concern, inevitably sighing in her heart, thinking, you’re invincible, man. So you originally wanted to pursue me without knowing anything? Impressive, you’re quite bold.
In a sense, he was brave.
“I…”
“Dad is working!”
As soon as she heard her beloved dad’s matter, the little girl immediately diverted her attention and interrupted, “Uncle, let me tell you. My dad is a very famous person!”
Xu You’s face stiffened: “Huh?”
Jiang Zhi was overjoyed inside.
Nice, good shot, way to go, the daughter of a professional player sure knows how to catch timing!
Truth is a sharp knife. Hearing it from a child’s mouth has a greater impact than if she personally told Xu You. It causes more damage, especially with a critical strike.
“You, your dad is that amazing,” Xu You forced a very reluctant smile and spoke gently to Qian Qian.
“Of course! My dad is super awesome!”
Qian Qian raised her little nose proudly, boasting about her dad like a treasure: “Dad is handsome, treats me well, and loves mom…”
The last sentence was unnecessary!
If Su Yan were here, he would probably be so happy he could cry… Jiang Zhi felt a bit uncomfortable hearing that. Why is the guy rated so highly? Mother is awesome too!
In any case, Qian Qian’s innocent boasting noticeably delivered a serious blow to Xu You.
“So, you live so happily.”
“What?”
His voice was low, and Jiang Zhi didn’t hear clearly.
In the next moment, Xu You suddenly raised his voice: “Jiang Zhi, actually I…”
“Stop!”
Jiang Zhi abruptly raised her palm in front of Xu You and rubbed her temples with her other hand, inexplicably feeling a headache.
What the hell is happening?
Are you going to confess?
Isn’t this too soon?
Weren’t we just discussing my husband… um, Qian Qian’s dad?
After discussing this, you want to confess to me? Are you serious?
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Qian Qian was still happily playing with Lele, completely oblivious to their conversation. Jiang Zhi took a deep breath, got up, and walked to the corner of the private room, beckoning Xu You over with a finger.
The two stood facing each other in the corner.
“Xu You.”
She felt the need to say something, raised her eyebrows, and got straight to the point: “Do you like me?”
Xu You was silent for a moment: “Yes…”
“Were you just about to confess to me?”
“Yes…”
I’m **.
Jiang Zhi cursed herself.
No other meaning, just venting the emotional turmoil of whether it was anger or sadness inside her.
She actually had a day where she would say these two sentences to a man!
But the situation had developed to this unexpected point, and some things had to be clarified.
Flirting and confessing are two different things. If flirting doesn’t develop into a confession, then Jiang Zhi could just laugh it off; if you don’t have those intentions, that’s best; if you do, keep it to yourself.
But a confession is different.
In her view, a hot-headed confession from someone like Xu You was a form of moral coercion.
You don’t even know if the person you like likes you back, nor their relationship status. You don’t even know the person well, and you impulsively confess without thinking; how is the person you like supposed to respond?
Jiang Zhi didn’t want to be a heartbreaker, and she felt puzzled: “Are we… that familiar?”
From her perspective, she and Xu You hadn’t exchanged more than three sentences. To her, Xu You was simply the uncle of her daughter’s friend. How did it jump straight to the confession stage?
Forget everything else; they hadn’t even been eating for an hour! Confessing so soon is too hasty, right?!
Are young people nowadays so bold in love and hate?
But she’s only one year older than him! There’s already a generation gap!
And besides, I’m technically a married woman! Aren’t you afraid I’d just go find my husband to deal with you?
Xu You hesitated: “I…”
“Ding ding ding——”
“…I’ll take a call.”
Xu You cast Jiang Zhi a slightly apologetic glance and then took his phone and left the private room. His steps were hurried. Rather than leaving, it looked more like he was running away to Jiang Zhi.
“What a pity…”
Jiang Zhi slumped back into her seat, a wave of fatigue washing over her.
She remembered she had brought her daughter to see her friend, right? Right? How did things develop to this point?
Sigh, being beautiful is also a sin.
While waiting for Xu You to return, she turned her attention to the two little kids. Seeing their empty plates, her maternal instinct surged forth.
Her half-month of motherhood had trained her to be a competent mother; six-year-olds are quite capable, just wait and see!
“Su Ziqian!”
Jiang Zhi said sternly, “How come you’ve only eaten this much? If you don’t eat lunch, you’ll complain about being hungry at night!”
“Lele.”
Turning to look at Xu Leyang, she instantly switched to a gentle mode, her eyes curving into crescent moons: “Why have you eaten so little? A young man has to eat well to grow tall!”
Qian Qian: ???
“Okay.”
Xu Leyang obediently nodded and scooped the baked rice into his mouth. Suddenly halfway through, he looked up, his dark grape-like eyes staring straight at Jiang Zhi: “Sister, did my uncle cause you trouble?”
“No.”
Jiang Zhi casually picked up her knife and fork, gesturing over the already cold steak: “Why do you say that?”
“It’s nothing.” Lele shook his head.
At this age, kids seem to always have endless topics to chat about, and the two little ones kept discussing while eating. Jiang Zhi pretended to scroll through her phone but secretly tuned in with her ears.
“Qian Qian, is your dad very famous?”
“Of course! My dad is a big star!”
The little girl puffed her nose up high, full of pride: “Many people like my dad; there were hundreds of thousands of people applauding for him before, isn’t that awesome!”
Cut.
Jiang Zhi wanted to retch.
What the heck, he’s just a lousy gamer. Although he does have a lot of fans, yes, and a lot of people did applaud for him… Fine, let’s pretend she didn’t say that; everyone, say with me: Su Ge is amazing.
“Big star…”
Xu Leyang kept repeating this term, and as he did, he began to chuckle: “My uncle is also a big star.”
