Chapter 4

Chapter 4

This Weibo post was finally deleted thanks to Shu Yao’s self-reliance and private message to the blogger.

After watching the back-and-forth conversation between her and Shen Ye, Zhao Tiantian sat cross-legged on the carpet and laughed a little crazily.

Shu Yao raised his hand and closed her chin: "Is it so funny?"

Zhao Tiantian took a sip of water, her face still red: “This really fits my stereotype of Chen Ye.”

"What stereotype?"

Zhao Tiantian raised three fingers and folded them down one by one: "One word, drag. Two words, hold a grudge. Three words, I'll take you."

Shu Yao almost choked on his saliva: "What... is difficult?"

"The man I am not worthy of, in short, the man I am not worthy of."

“…”Oh, she was just thinking too dirty.

Zhao Tiantian scrolled up the log and found only these four sentences, so she nudged her with her elbow: "Hey? You two haven't talked in the past seven years?"

"After chatting with me, I can still ask such a question?"

"Too."

Zhao Tiantian shrugged, and the phone in her hand suddenly lit up.

Happy Life: [Yaoyao, your aunt just told me that the other party said you were constantly playing with your phone during the blind date and were very rude. You're almost 26, not a child anymore. You should think about your future. We're doing this for your own good. We hope you can have a stable life.]

Angered by the seemingly gentle but actually strong words, Zhao Tiantian's temper flared up. She typed a bunch of offensive words before she remembered that this was not her phone.

Zhao Tiantian stared at Shu Yao blankly: "This...your mother?"

Shu Yao took the phone and looked at it. After a moment of silence, his fingers moved on the keyboard for a while, but in the end he didn't make a single move and turned off the phone.

"It's not even 26 yet, why are you rushing for it so urgently?" Zhao Tiantian asked in surprise.

"My mom says it takes time to commit to a relationship, right? If you date for a year or two and then get married, you'll be almost thirty."

"So what are you going to do? You can't just keep not replying to your mother, right?"

Shu Yao couldn't think of any solution and could only escape in the end.

She walked to the cabinet and took out a bottle of red wine that Zhao Tiantian bought during the New Year. Without any sentimentality, she poured it directly into a full glass of water.

Originally, Shu Yao didn't like alcohol, simply because she didn't like the bitter taste, but now she wanted to try the so-called "getting drunk to relieve all worries" feeling.

The red wine burned from his throat all the way to his stomach. Shu Yao felt as if there was a fire hidden in his body. As the alcohol slowly took effect on him, some wild and imaginative ideas that he would never think about in normal times also flooded into his mind.

She leaned on Zhao Tiantian's shoulder and muttered softly, "I think I should just find a man and have a fake marriage with him."

Zhao Tiantian: "Why fake a marriage? Wouldn't a real marriage be good?"

"What's good about it?" Shu Yao, who had always kept his pessimism about marriage to himself, now expressed it jokingly, "Can you quickly identify a suspect after death?"

Zhao Tiantian turned around and faced her: "If you don't change your mindset, what if you meet someone you like later?"

Shu Yao blushed slightly and shook his head: "I won't meet him."

"Don't be so sure. Haven't you met that... Zhou Beichuan before? Although I thought you were a modern-day Wang Baochuan back then."

Shu Yao twitched the corner of his mouth and did not respond to Zhou Beichuan's topic. Instead, this reminded him of another thing: "Tiantian, when we were in high school, were there any rumors that Chen Ye and I were together?"

"Chen Ye?" Zhao Tiantian looked as if she had heard a joke. "How is that possible? Besides Xu Zhaoli and I, does anyone else know that you and Chen Ye know each other? And at that time, everyone knew that you and Zhou Beichuan were a couple."

Logically speaking, this is indeed the case.

Then why did Liu Yang think she was with Chen Ye?

Shu Yao was puzzled.

Before she could figure it out, someone patted her arm. Zhao Tiantian asked, "Hey, if you really want to find someone to marry, what kind of person would you be looking for?"

"It's a fake marriage."

"Oh, fake marriage, what's that like?"

"She needs to be smart enough to cooperate with the acting, talk less because I don't like noisy people, and have an independent personality. She shouldn't interfere with each other in daily life. Her conditions can't be too bad, otherwise my mother won't agree."

Zhao Tiantian's face was filled with shock, and she blurted out: "Your father has a crush on Chen Ye?"

Shu Yao: “……?”

"Doesn't he fit every one of those criteria? And look, you two are already considered a couple online, and neither of you has clarified. Isn't that perfect?"

To be fair, whether in terms of IQ, personality or family background, Shen Ye is an extremely suitable candidate. Most importantly, she also has some understanding of his character.

but……

"I told him I wanted to get married, and he married me?" Shu Yao laughed helplessly. "A normal man only wants a wife and children. Who wants a fake marriage?"

"That's right." Zhao Tiantian curled her lips. "And if he wants to compete with his brother, I'm afraid marriage can only be a stepping stone for him."

Shu Yao sighed helplessly.

Happy families are all alike; unhappy families always have all kinds of misfortunes.

Seeing Shu Yao so down, Zhao Tiantian rolled her eyes and patted her shoulder: "How about this, let's go take the dog for a walk? Dogs are the best healers of human moods!"

Shu Yao laughed: "Where did the dog come from?"

"Isn't walking people's dogs a trend online lately?" Zhao Tiantian opened a certain audio app. "We can help others walk their dogs, too."

Shu Yao is a person who likes dogs very much, but because he feels that he is not good at taking care of one, he has not had the courage to raise a little life in recent years.

but……

"Isn't this a scam?" Shu Yao became wary. "Like maybe using a dog to lure a female college student into their home, or maybe it's a human trafficker? The risk is too great."

"There may be some people who try to take advantage of the situation, but most people are sincere. We can meet outside the complex, where there are security guards around."

Shu Yao thought about it and finally nodded: "How do I find it?"

"Just wait, I'll send a message, and there will definitely be kind people who will come!"

Shu Yao leaned over and saw that she had searched, then selected a video with good data on the local interface and replied in the comment section:

Tiantian Tian: [I'm a graduate student, honest and reliable, based in Fuchuan. I live with my roommate and can help walk the dog!]

Shu Yao originally thought it was a bit ridiculous, but unexpectedly, some dog owners actually started posting cute photos of their dogs under her comment.

There are different varieties and sizes.

Shu Yao flipped through the pages and his eyes lit up when he saw a small white dog with brown ears and eyes.

She pointed to the phone screen: "This is it."

Zhao Tiantian took a closer look and was filled with questions: "There are so many cute dogs, why don't you choose one?"

Shu Yao said, "Although there are a lot of them, they are mostly large dogs. What do you think, with our physical strength, if we take a large dog with us, will we walk the dog, or will the dog walk us?"

Zhao Tiantian: "That makes sense!"

"Besides, I think it's cuter than the others."

Zhao Tiantian:?

How come some people put on such a strong mother filter at first sight!

*

On the second floor of the "Goodbye" bar.

Xu Zhaoli looked at the familiar avatar that replied to him and fell into deep thought.

He has been busy with his wedding recently, and his Samoyed dog at home has been destroying the house every day. He was bored, so he posted a video and jokingly said he would find someone to help walk the dog.

But why did Zhao Tiantian comment on him?

I even used my own photo as my profile picture, fearing he wouldn't recognize me.

"Big data is outrageous. They actually pushed me to Zhao Tiantian! Zhao Tiantian is such an idiot. Can't she see that this is my account? And she even commented on it. If Zhao Meier sees this, I won't be able to enter the bedroom again!"

Xu Zhaoli started cursing and was about to delete the comment.

Suddenly, a voice came from the side: "Wait."

Xu Zhaoli's fingers suddenly stopped, "What?"

Shen Ye took the phone and looked at it for a while, then took out his own phone and downloaded a certain audio.

Xu Zhaoli:?

"What are you doing?"

"I've been very busy lately, and I just need it."

"Are you looking for Zhao Tiantian?"

"Old classmate, I feel more at ease."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Zhaoli saw Chen Ye post a photo under Zhao Tiantian's comment.

"I'm not saying this, but hiring someone to walk your dog is actually quite risky. Zhao Tiantian has never had a dog before, right? Lack of experience can easily lead to problems, so I thought about it and decided not to hire someone."

"She does."

Thinking that the "she" Chen Ye was talking about was Zhao Tiantian, Xu Zhaoli didn't say anything else. After all, they hadn't been in contact for so many years, and it was very likely that Zhao Tiantian had raised a dog in recent years.

And even if Chen Ye posted the picture, it might not work.

Xu Zhaoli looked at the little dog and said, "I'm not trying to displease you. Look at other people's dogs. They're all like little princesses, attracting everyone's attention. What does your little dog rely on?"

As he spoke, a small red dot popped up at the bottom of Shen Ye’s phone screen.

Tiantian: [Hello, is this weekend available? ]

Xu Zhaoli:?

Chen Ye returned the phone to him, stood up and turned back, pulling the corner of his mouth:

"Depend on the other person's blindness."

Xu Zhaoli, who was once favored by Zhao Tiantian: Why do I feel like I was scolded?

As friends for so many years, Xu Zhaoli knows him very well. In the past six months of raising the puppy, no matter how busy he was, he never entrusted the dog to anyone else when he brought it to the company.

How could I suddenly trust Zhao Tiantian, who I hadn't contacted for several years?

Thinking about Chen Ye's recent abnormal behavior, he felt that his mind was a mess. After he sorted it out with great effort, it finally became clearer.

"etc--"

Xu Zhaoli blocked Chen Ye's way, staring at him seriously, squinting his eyes, as if seeing through everything, "Tell me, are you hiding something selfish?"

Shen Ye smiled: "What do you think?"

"Damn it! I guessed it right!" Xu Zhaoli put his hands on his hips, furious. "Actually, I saw it then! I thought! You never came out when I asked you to play games, but every time Zhao Tiantian asked me out, you came out as soon as she called me! So that's how it is... I thought you were an assist, but it turns out I'm the assist?"

Shen Ye did not deny it.

Xu Zhaoli stroked his chest and calmed down: "Were you attracted to her at that time?"

Shen Ye: “Yeah.”

"That's absolutely amazing! How could you possibly be attracted to Zhao Tiantian?! Won't it be awkward for me to be stuck in the middle from now on?"

Shen Ye: "...?"

"Xu Zhaoli." Chen Ye asked seriously, "Have you taken an IQ test?"

"No, why would I do that?" Xu Zhaoli rolled his eyes.

"Go ahead and do it. There's no hope of breaking the record—" Chen Ye patted his shoulder and said leisurely:

"The lowest record. Let's take a chance."

*

The time agreed upon by both parties is from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.

For the sake of comfort, Shu Yao still wore the gray sportswear.

As the taxi got closer to the entrance of the community, the prices of the vehicles passing by became higher and higher.

"You have good taste, right? The price of housing in this area must be six figures per square meter, right? I can see that not only do rich people not show off their wealth, but even rich dogs don't show off their wealth either."

Zhao Tiantian sighed through the car window and nudged Shu Yao with her elbow, "Remember to smile. We should show that we are students. Oh no, even though you are not a student anymore, we should still show our politeness and friendliness."

Shu Yao looked at her, his lips slightly curved, and he pulled out a perfect business smile.

However, this smile froze completely when he got out of the car and saw the person standing at the entrance of the community.

Chen Ye was also wearing that gray sportswear, as if he had traveled through time from the subway a few days ago, except that there was a cute little dog beside him.

"Shen Ye?!"

Zhao Tiantian's face was filled with surprise, but she couldn't help but be familiar with him. "What a coincidence! We haven't seen each other in years, right? I didn't expect to walk your dog."

Chen Ye was as indifferent as he was seven years ago: "It's quite a coincidence."

Shu Yao's gaze lingered on his gray sportswear for a moment.

no.

As a corporate slave, she doesn't do much exercise on weekdays, so it's okay that she only prepared one set of sportswear, but what's wrong with him?

Shu Yao curled his lips, his eyes full of sincerity and curiosity:

"You rich people, do you only buy one set of sportswear in your lifetime?"