Chapter 128 The Suspicious Trio

"Heh heh, so vain!"

Today is a good day, arguing will affect your mood. She rolled her eyes at him and pinched Coal Ball's cheek. "Do you know Gu Xun? Why are you staring at him?"

Upon hearing this, the child shuddered, as if startled by what had just been said, and bit his head so hard it resembled a rattle drum. "No, I've never seen him before. I was just a little curious why he always wears a mask."

The boy paused in his act of rinsing the cup, turned his head and stared at the child with an unreadable expression, then finally chuckled and said, "Where did this kid come from? He's so dark-skinned!"

The child immediately lowered his head, clearly hurt. Little Jiang An couldn't sit still any longer and tugged at the boy's arm, "You weird brother, don't bully Coal Ball."

"Strange brother?" the boy said teasingly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Wearing a mask while eating, isn't that weird?" At such a young age, he already asks such a sharp question. No wonder he's the younger brother of the King of Sharp Tongues.

"Compatibility and inclusiveness have always been key points advocated by reform and opening up. So, little Jiang'an, wearing a mask is my personal choice. I didn't force anyone to do it, nor did I do anything offensive. It's just a little special. Shouldn't you take advantage of the Jiang family's strengths and be more tolerant of me?"

Suddenly, a huge accusation was leveled against Jiang An, leaving him in a dilemma. At his older brother's prompting, he quickly apologized, and the matter was considered closed. However, he couldn't understand why, when his older brother was clearly the one who made the mistake first, he was the one who apologized last.

Perhaps sensing her younger brother's grievances, she filled his bowl with a generous amount of food after the dishes were served.

With such delicious food in front of him, everything else had to take a backseat. Jiang An ate with gusto, completely forgetting about how Gu Xun had led him into a dead end with his words.

As expected of Jiangcheng's top-tier restaurant, the dishes served are top-notch, and the taste is a deliciousness that cannot be replicated at home.

"Wow, the roasted pigeon is so delicious! I really want to know the recipe so I can make it at home."

A single pigeon costs as much as half a month's salary for an average worker. It's not just a little expensive, it's far too expensive. The secret recipe is nowhere to be found, but that doesn't stop him from complaining. However, he never expected that he would be proven wrong so quickly.

Feng Jingling put down her chopsticks and smiled, "It's not impossible, Little Butterfly. If you really want it, I'll talk to the manager."

"Oh, big brother, are you telling the truth?"

"Yunxia, ​​you don't know that the Lihua Hotel is owned by the Feng family, do you?"

Upon hearing this, the girl paused for a moment, then tugged at the corner of her mouth, "I... I really don't know, big brother. Never mind, the reason why a recipe is called a secret recipe is because it is kept secret. Don't make things difficult for the chef. I'll go home and study it carefully, and make a unique roasted pigeon tomorrow."

Upon hearing about roast pigeon, Jiang An recalled the notorious thief Grey Pigeon who stole money when the business first opened. Not holding a grudge, he vividly recounted the story to Gu Xun.

"I never imagined that the sensational case that rocked Jiangcheng a few years ago was solved by Yunxia. Let me toast you."

Jiang Chao's lips moved slightly as he caught sight of the girl pouring juice. He swallowed his retort, but his eyes remained fixed on the smiling boy with hostility, as if the other party were a big bad wolf.

After a delightful meal, they called the waiter to pack up the leftovers. By mentioning Young Master Feng's name, they received a 30% discount. Yunxia, ​​who had just spent a fortune, said she would have to tighten her belt for the next few months.

Outside the Lihua Hotel, at the entrance of an alley.

"Hey, isn't that a lump of coal? Why hasn't it left yet?"

A few minutes ago, Coal Ball left in Uncle Zhang's car, while Gu Xun said he wanted to drive around the area. So the group parted ways at the intersection ahead, but what was going on in the distance?

Coal Ball tugged at the boy's arm, a soft, sweet smile on her face, her mouth opening and closing. Even if you couldn't hear her, you could tell she was being coquettish and cute.

Uncle Zhang stood to the side, carrying the boy's backpack with great respect, while the boy's hand... was stroking Coal Ball's head.

It's common knowledge that only close friends can touch a man's head. If the boy were Bai Ye, it would all make sense, but it's Gu Xun, the one who claimed to be seeing a coal ball for the first time!

"Hey, what are you doing?" Jiang Chao grabbed the girl and asked, puzzled.

"Of course I'll ask and find out."

"Hehe, if you wanted to say it, you already did at the dinner party. Why bother coming up here and making a fool of yourself? Come home with me and study. Final exams are in a few days."

Yunxia understood all the big principles, but she was still angry that Meiqiu and Gu Xun had kept it from her. In fact, they had been friends for several years.

"Sister, An'an remembers you saying that everyone has secrets they don't want others to know, and I think Meiqiu is no exception. He's a very good person. He saved up everything Baiye gave him, and then..."

"And then I'll give it to you, right?"

Speaking of this, it's strange that Coal Ball is exceptionally good to An An. Whether it's freshly harvested seasonal fruit or imported chocolate, he saves them all up and gives them to Jiang An on a chosen day.

She poked his cheek and said helplessly, "You always help your friends out of trouble. Oh well, whatever the relationship is between the three of them, let's go home!"

Jiang Chao deliberately lagged behind, glanced at the three people at the end of the alley, smiled contemptuously, and strode after them.

Back home, Aunt Wu rushed to the supermarket to help. The group brought out textbooks and test papers and frantically studied. Among them, little Jiang An fell asleep after reading for a short while. He was woken up by his older brother pulling his ear, then rubbed his eyes and continued reading.

"Brother, what if I get the lowest score on the test?" Jiang An asked, holding his books.

"Hmph, the slippers in the house need to be washed."

The subtext was clear to everyone present. The child pursed his lips and continued to struggle with the difficult concepts. His master, the husky, was barely able to keep himself safe and had no intention of helping him.

Two weeks later, the group went to the school to pick up their report cards.

"Wow, after studying at home for so long, my overall score is still three points lower than yours. Yunxia, ​​you're really amazing." The young boy exclaimed as he looked at his report card.

The difference between the two lies in English. Yunxia, ​​who had passed the CET-6 (College English Test Band 6), considered junior high school English to be like a preschool dialogue book, with simple question-and-answer format and extremely basic grammar.

"Language skills are a matter of talent. Apart from English, which language do I excel at more than you?"

Rongcheng is known as the "Magic City," so its English proficiency is much higher than that of Jiangcheng. Li Chen never expected to lose in this subject. He sighed, "Well, that's true. But how did you practice your spoken English? It sounds even more standard than the teacher's."

"Oh, watching TV? Search for a foreign movie and read along. It's easy to learn. By the way, it's almost Chinese New Year. Are you and Aunt Liu planning to go back to Rongcheng?"

Upon hearing this, the young boy lowered his eyes and shook his head, saying, "No, my mother and I have settled in Jiangcheng, and we'll spend the New Year here."

More than a month ago, Liu Yunjuan packed her bags and returned to Rongcheng. When she returned to Jiangcheng again, her eyes were full of exhaustion. She hugged her son and cried all night, saying that from now on, the two of them would live together.

Li Chen was smart from a young age. One day, while his mother was out, he used his birthday to open the safe and found a divorce certificate, a property division agreement, and a thick stack of photos of his father's infidelity.