Chapter 69: A mouth full of words...

"Show off, show off! Every spring, they're all like they're in heat, all they do is show off."

Tao Qian was chowing down on the clumped fried noodles Tao Siyun had packed for him while he frantically liked posts on his social media, looking completely mad. He grumbled, "It's just Valentine's Day, and I don't know what these people are showing off."

“…”

"Hey, here comes another show-off. I thought Xu Ji was single."

"?"

Tao Siyun's heart suddenly tightened, and he refreshed his circle of friends. Sure enough, he saw the "hand-holding photo" that Xu Ji had just posted, and the two words "brother" below were almost liked immediately.

Xu Ji took the initiative to take the photo before getting off the car, and the shooting angle was of course according to his request.

The man's hand, wearing a black watch, interlocked with hers. The veins on the back of his hand bulged as he pressed forward, looking extremely aggressive. She could barely hold back, and the edges of his nails had already turned white...

Fortunately, she didn't wear nail polish or have a manicure, so her brother didn't recognize that it was her hand at all.

Tao Siyun stole a glance at Tao Qian and couldn't help but say, "If you're capable, go get one too. Then you can show off."

After that, he sent a WeChat message to Xu Ji: [Why didn’t you block my brother? ]

She couldn't even give a like.

Tao Qian snorted softly and cursed all those who showed off their affection today: "Those who show off their affection will die quickly."

Tao Siyun ruthlessly exposed him: "You are just jealous."

"How can you talk like that, girl? I'm jealous? Am I jealous? Who am I jealous of?"

"Yeah, everyone who's spending Valentine's Day with their significant other today."

Tao Qian: "..."

The next second, Xu Ji sent two words: [Forgot]

Tao Siyun replied doubtfully: [You didn't forget on purpose, did you?]

Xu Ji: [Yeah, I forgot.]

“…”

"An An, come here and help mommy see if this is okay."

"Oh, here it comes."

Qin Shu hummed softly as she sat in the living room arranging flowers. She divided the large bunch of Belize roses her husband had given her into several vases.

"The crystal vase will be placed in the living room, and this blue and white ceramic vase will be placed on the dining table. What do you think? And this one is a little small, it can only hold three roses..." Qin Shu looked around, a little undecided.

This small, multifaceted, square-mouthed vase with a slightly rough texture and a weird, asymmetrical shape is quite old. If I remember correctly, she probably made it casually in pottery class when she was in fourth or fifth grade.

There were cartoon character portraits painted on the bottle, representing their family of four, with the four big words "I love my family" written crookedly on it. The painting skills were very immature. At that time, Tao Qian seemed to have laughed at her, saying that her painting felt a bit like Picasso's.

The implication is that it is particularly abstract.

More than a decade later, Tao Siyun suddenly remembered that she seemed to have not yet avenged this grudge, and Tao Qian had just cursed her, so she deliberately said, "Then put it in brother's room, so that he won't be sour all the time today, as if no one loves him."

"Well, that's a good idea." Qin Shu whispered, "Take it to his room later." After saying that, he suddenly saw her ears and said, "Huh?" "Did you get your ears pierced today?"

Tao Siyun almost forgot about it and felt a little embarrassed, so he subconsciously reached out to touch it.

"Hey, don't touch me, don't touch me. You never wanted to get your ears pierced before, so why are you willing to do it today?"

"Well... I saw a beautiful pair of stud earrings and liked them so I bought them."

Qin Shu touched her face and smiled indulgently: "You are such a willful child."

After finishing his meal, Tao Qian started to book a flight back to Shanghai West on his mobile phone.

Xu Ji was also leaving the day after tomorrow, so Tao Siyun said, "Brother, can I go back with you this time?"

Tao Qian was about to pay, but when he heard her words, he stopped and looked away from the phone screen, looking very confused.

"School doesn't start until half a month later. Why are you going back so early?"

"That's right, An An, your brother has to go back to work, so you should spend the Lantern Festival at home before leaving."

Tao Siyun was anxious: "No way."

The Lantern Festival was on the 26th, and Xu Ji's birthday happened to be the next day. He had to go back to his own home in the evening, so she planned to celebrate his birthday in advance.

"What's wrong?"

Tao Daiming, Qin Shu and Tao Qian all looked at her.

Tao Siyun suddenly remembered that Zhao Yiran had sent her a WeChat message two days ago asking when she could report to the company after the Chinese New Year so that she could inform the HR department in advance. She had said at the time that she might have to wait until after school started. Now was a good opportunity, so she didn't even need to make an excuse: "I met an older female student when I was studying in France. We agreed last year that I would intern at her company after the Chinese New Year. It's a listed company, and it's very difficult to get an offer. It's not good to be late..."

"Oh, so I see. I've already made the arrangements, so it's really hard to put it off any longer. Okay then." Tao Daiming felt that work was more important, so he said to Tao Qian, "Then let's book your sister's ticket as well."

Tao Qian scoffed lightly: "You won't graduate until next year, why are you in such a hurry now? You will be tired when you work in the future. Why are you so proactive?"

Tao Siyun said in a very innocent and expectant tone, "I'll get used to it first and gain some experience, so I don't end up being a complete newbie in the workplace when I graduate."

"Well, adapt well, learn how to be a qualified 'social animal', strive to earn money to support the family as soon as possible, and help me share the burden."

“…”

***

After taking a shower, Tao Siyun came out of the bathroom and found his phone, which was charging on the bedside table, ringing endlessly.

She clicked on the screen and saw that Li Huan had sent her countless emojis in the past half hour, and WeChat group messages were popping up one after another.

Jiang Zhen: [Congratulations @Xu Ji]

Ji Yao: [Congratulations @Xu Ji]

Cao Wenzheng: [Congratulations @Xu Ji]

Li Huan: [Congratulations @Tao Siyun]

"Peppa Pig, you are worthy of me" withdrew a message.

Jiang Zhen: [???]

Ji Yao: [[Witty]]

Cao Wenzheng: [[Great!]]

Li Huan: [[Shy] Sorry, I accidentally forgot to maintain formation~]

Li Huan: [Congratulations @Xu Ji]

Ji Yao: [Oh, by the way, Mengmeng said she misses her dad. When will you come to see your son? @许霁]

Jiang Zhen: [[Puppy sticks out tongue and winks] I'm calling you, reply @Xu Ji]

Cao Wenzheng: [. @Xu Ji]

Li Huan: [%￥&#……@Xu Ji]

…

Tao Siyun took a deep breath and subconsciously opened his circle of friends.

Sure enough, during the time she was showering, almost all of their mutual friends liked Xu Jifa’s Moments…

Miss Li sent an "I know" emoji and commented very officially: Congratulations [Rose]

Except for Jiang Zhen, Cao Wenzhen and a few others, everyone else was guessing who she was in the comment section.

Xu Ji didn't reply to anyone.

But two minutes ago I sent her a message telling her to be careful not to get her ears wet.

While other people in the WeChat group were chatting animatedly, the two protagonists of the incident didn't even say a word for a long time.

Is this reasonable?

This is simply outrageous!

Li Huan didn't have the courage to "harass" Xu Ji directly like Ji Yao did, so he simply made a voice call to Tao Siyun.

After a few rings, Tao Siyun finally picked up the phone tremblingly: "Um, I just got out of the shower..."

Li Huan let out an "Oh!" sound, then suddenly changed his tone the next second. He shouted angrily, "I knew Xu Ji was a quiet person who would do great things. Sure enough, a school beauty like me was plucked away by him without a sound, right under his nose."

Li Huan wailed, "You told him to pick it, so go ahead. We @ed him in the group chat for ages, but he didn't even say a word! How despicable!"

Tao Siyun covered his face and corrected himself, "It's not silent..."

At this point, she had nothing to hide. "Huanhuan... Actually... Xu Ji rented a house right across from me, and my brother was his landlord..."

“???”

"They are schoolmates... My brother still doesn't know about our relationship, nor does he know that we were high school classmates..."

After a long silence, Li Huan finally sighed without any emotion and said to her, "Tao Siyun, you're done."

“…”

A few seconds later, Li Huan said again: "Xu Ji is finished too."

Tao Siyun took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes in despair.

"I know……"

Unexpectedly, Li Huan suddenly became excited and asked, "If your brother knew, would he break his legs?"

"……have no idea."

"Okay, eh, right, that, um... I'm just curious, it's just..." Li Huan muttered for a long time before finally speaking with a chuckle: "Well, I just want to ask, what is it like to be pursued by someone like Xu Ji? And, isn't he charging 'six figures' a night? What's it like, is it worth the price?"

“…”

Tao Siyun was a little overwhelmed after hearing her words. He lay on the pillow and didn't want to talk.

Is this scale really negotiable?!

But at the same time, she couldn't help but think of the few minutes when Xu Ji held her in the car when he sent her back...

Just a hug.

Tao Siyun never knew that just a hug could make her have countless fantasies and expectations in an instant.

Xu Ji used a nearly perfect answer to solve the confusion she had when she was young. At that moment, Tao Siyun suddenly began to understand what Bian Chengzi had said to her...

Seeing that she didn't say anything for a long time, Li Huan couldn't help but urge her: "Hey, please, please, please satisfy my curiosity, I really want to know!"

Why are you still asking?

Tao Siyun was almost too embarrassed to respond to her. His ears, hidden by his hair, turned slightly red. After a long while, he stammered, "How should I know..."

Li Huan said "Ah" in a puzzled tone, then he reacted and said with a sly smile: "Hey, why don't you try it? You will know after trying it~"

What are you trying?

Li Huan has been a top student since he was a child. He is a scholar who has been hanging around in a certain station for many years, and an intellectual who has been immersed in romance and pure love novels. He has seen all kinds of big scenes.

Whenever she opens her mouth, she is always in a state of talking. Tonight, Tao Siyun was once again shocked by her surprisingly bold remarks.

She was speechless for a moment and didn't know what to say.

"Well, if you're free, let's talk tomorrow. It's already past eleven o'clock and I'm going to bed. Good night." After saying that, she quickly pressed the hang-up button.

"call……"