Chapter Forty-Five

"Why should I stand up for her and she turn around and scold me?! It's clearly..." Qian Hao picked up a stick and whipped the grass next to him, venting his anger and dissatisfaction, "I didn't do it on purpose." As he was scolding, he suddenly thought of his uncle, Zhou Qinian, the man who was exceptionally perfect in his memory.

Every time they met, Zhou Qinian and Hua Rong would buy him lots of delicious food. His uncle was very handsome, with an indescribable charm, the kind of masculinity that people their age would admire. His aunt was very beautiful, just like the urban beauties portrayed in TV dramas. But every time, his mother would get very angry, and after meeting, she would hide in her room and cry secretly.

He didn't quite understand this contradictory emotion before, but after his mother's outburst today, he seems to have figured it out.

So, Qian Hao made a decision.

He was going to Ming'an City to find Zhou Mo. He wanted to find out about Zhou Qinian's situation and also to resolve his mother's emotional distress.

Boys at this age tend to act on impulse and do things on a whim.

Zhou Yun asked her neighbor to take care of Qian Hao's meals for the next few days. She and Qian Zhiwei never expected that Qian Hao would have the audacity to not go home and instead go to Ming'an.

Little did he know that his son, Qian Hao, was sitting in another carriage on the way to Ming'an.

Every day we spend together is one less day we have left.

Zhou Mo has been staying at home lately. Every time Yu Xi comes back, he sees Zhou Mo and the lights on in the house waiting for him.

Since they started talking about equivalent exchange that day, neither of them has continued the conversation.

Yu Xi didn't ask. Regardless of whether Zhou Mo was making excuses or being sincere, based on that sentence alone, Yu Xi had no more doubts about asking further.

Zhou Mo didn't say that she needed more time to implement the plan. Before everything was foolproof, she didn't want to give Yu Xi too much hope. If it failed, it would be another blow to Yu Xi. She had finally managed to persuade Yu Xi to her side, so she had to be extremely cautious.

The afternoon before she left, which was Friday, Zhou Mo received a text message from He Ru.

When her phone rang with a text message, Zhou Mo thought it was a reminder from her mobile carrier that she didn't have enough credit. When she picked it up and saw it was He Ru, she was a little surprised, but out of politeness, she still agreed to meet with He Ru.

The meeting place changed again this time; it was at the zoo.

Zhou Mo found it strange, but this wasn't a very private place. It was just visiting the zoo with people she didn't know well, and it felt very odd no matter how she thought about it.

This strange feeling persisted until I met He Ru.

He Ru was wearing a white casual outfit today, and her hair, which wasn't styled as carefully as before, fell smoothly down, making her look young and well-behaved.

"haven't seen you for a long time."

He Ru looked over, her eyes lighting up.

Zhou Mo was dressed in a light blue jumpsuit, looking neat and playful. Her high ponytail swayed slightly as she walked, the upward curve resembling a breeze that dispelled the heat around He Ru.

"Is something the matter?" Compared to He Ru's enthusiasm, Zhou Mo appeared quite calm.

He Ru: "You're leaving, I'd like to see you off."

"I appreciate your kind offer, but if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now." Zhou Mo really didn't want to get involved with He Ru. They were on different paths, and besides, she had overheard his conversation with Yu Xi at the factory that day.

Zhou Mo is not a slow-witted person.

She had a general idea of ​​how He Ru felt about her, which was why she couldn't give He Ru any hope or illusions.

"Since you're already here, are you leaving so soon?"

He Ru stood there, head bowed, looking somewhat forlorn.

Zhou Mo showed no mercy. "I am very grateful for what you did before. I thank you on behalf of Yu Xi. However, I hope my life can be a little more peaceful."

“I envy Ah-Xi for having a family like yours.”

Zhou Mo: "Yu Xi treats you like an older brother who is as important as family."

Hearing this, He Ru smiled enigmatically, "Don't you really want to go to the zoo with me? There are pandas, they're very cute."

"No, thank you."

Zhou Mo's repeated rejections silenced He Ru, who always had a smile on her face. The two stood at the entrance of the bustling zoo for quite some time before He Ru finally spoke, "Then let's leave it at that. I'm sorry you had to come all this way for nothing."

"I won't see you off. You won't think I'm being ungentlemanly, will you?"

Zhou Mo shook her head and said thank you again.

As for what they were thanking for in that "thank you," they knew perfectly well.

After He Ru left, Zhou Mo found a shady spot to sit. Adhering to the traditional virtue of "since I'm already here," Zhou Mo decided to do something like what a mischievous parent would do.

She called Yu Xi's homeroom teacher and asked Yu Xi for a leave of absence.

Yu Xi was confused and thought something had happened to Zhou Mo, so he rushed to the zoo. He saw Zhou Mo leisurely sitting with her legs crossed. When she saw him coming, she happily waved to him.

"here."

"Didn't you say you had something to do?"

"Going to the zoo, isn't that something to do?" Zhou Mo waved the two zoo tickets in her hand.

Seeing that Zhou Mo was really alright, Yu Xi's anxiety slowly subsided. He discovered that Zhou Mo was even more unpredictable than him, always coming up with something on a whim. He pulled out a ticket and walked silently toward the zoo's ticket gate.

Zhou Mo chuckled to herself, following behind Yu Xi with her hands behind her back.

The zoo is very large. Zhou Mo last visited several years ago. The zoo was renovated after the earthquake and many new areas were added. Their first stop was the vulture's habitat. Several robust vultures stood on bare branches, some sleeping, and some showing off their arm spans to the visitors.

"Its head is really bald."

"After all, it's called Vulture."

Zhou Mo observed Yu Xi intently. Yu Xi watched very carefully. He himself probably didn't even realize that when he saw these animals, he would unconsciously open his mouth slightly, his eyes filled with surprise and delight.

He's like a little kid.

As Zhou Mo was thinking this, the real children around her were frightened by the vulture's appearance and cried, their deafening cries making the already sweltering heat even more unbearable.

Yu Xi pulled Zhou Mo away from the range of the sonic attack.

Yu Xi's fingertips were slightly cool, which just soothed the restlessness in Zhou Mo's heart.

She's an obedient child; Yu Xi won't be scared and cry like that child just now.

What are you thinking about?

"You like animals so much, why don't you take some pictures?" Zhou Mo noticed that there weren't any photos in the house, and she had never seen Yu Xi take out her phone to take pictures.

Yu Xi shook her head. "It's enough to have seen it with my own eyes."

Don't you like taking pictures?

"It's not a matter of liking or disliking, I just find it troublesome."

"You really don't hate me?"

"I don't dislike it."

Zhou Mo immediately wrapped her arms around Yu Xi's neck, and Yu Xi bent down to accommodate Zhou Mo's height. When Yu Xi looked up, Zhou Mo had already raised her phone, and the screen reflected their faces. Yu Xi subconsciously avoided the camera. "Yu Xi, smile at the camera."

Yu Xi looked at Zhou Mo and smiled subconsciously.

The shutter clicked, and the phone screen froze at that moment.

"Look at the camera, not at me."

Zhou Mo looked at the photo. In the photo, Yu Xi's profile was mostly visible, with a gentle smile on his lips. Zhou Mo, on the other hand, looked confidently at the camera and made a playful wink.

"Great shot, take another one."

"No, I don't want it."

"Didn't you say you didn't dislike it?"

"I didn't say I liked it."

"Not disliking it means liking it. It's not easy to have this opportunity, so let's take a picture. I'm leaving tomorrow, what will you do if you miss me? I bet you won't take the initiative to video call me."

"Take a photo or upload a video, it's your choice."

Zhou Mo had a shameless look on her face.

Yu Xi had no choice but to comply and take a few more photos.

After succeeding, Zhou Mo was like a fox that had just found a chicken leg. "The video still needs to be made. If you don't make it for me, then I'll have to make it for you."

"You scoundrel." Yu Xi reached out and pinched Zhou Mo's nose.

He wasn't very strong; Zhou Mo only felt an itch on the tip of her nose. "I'm the head of the household; I need to maintain some authority."

"Yes, head of the household."

Zhou Mo and Yu Xi passed by a bird forest. A net covered the forest, trapping a patch of sky for the birds inside. They had space to fly, but no real freedom.

Yu Xi paused, and bird calls echoed from the bird forest from time to time. Occasionally, a few streaks of red could be seen swirling in the azure sky before plunging down and disappearing into the lush greenery.

"Let's go."

Zhou Mo followed behind Yu Xi. They saw the red pandas taking a walk and were scrambling to eat apples, following the zookeeper.

"Humans are probably the animals that dislike eating apples the most."

"Why?"

"Because apples are a bland fruit, they have no unique characteristics at all."

A couple in front of Zhou Mo were discussing the characteristics of apples. She overheard them and thought they made some sense. She didn't seem to crave apples at any moment. Apples were such a common fruit that she would overlook them.

"Yu Xi, do you like apples?"

"Um."

"Hmm?" Zhou Mo was quite surprised to hear Yu Xi say that she liked to eat apples. "But you've never said that before, nor have you ever bought any apples on your own initiative."

“You don’t eat them. You never buy apples. You don’t like them.”

"It's not that I don't like it, it's just that I subconsciously reject it, reject this fruit that's everywhere, reject this fruit that I find uninteresting just by looking at it."

Looking at Yu Xi, Zhou Mo realized for the first time that she didn't know Yu Xi well enough. All that so-called understanding was just playing mind games. To truly understand someone, you need to start with their preferences: food, colors, style…

They've lived together for so long, and she still didn't know Yu Xi liked apples.

What should she say? Should she say that she doesn't pay enough attention to Yu Xi, or that Yu Xi is too good at hiding her feelings?

I'll buy you a basketful later.

"Can the big apple and the small apple be brought together?"

"Okay, I'll give you one basket each of the large, medium, and small sizes."

"That's so extravagant."

"Absolutely! The head of the household has to cater to his family's needs!"

Zhou Mo and Yu Xi were chatting and laughing when Yu Xi suddenly said she was thirsty and wanted to drink water. Zhou Mo was waiting in line to watch the monkey show, so she asked Yu Xi to bring her a bottle as well.

After parting ways with Zhou Mo, Yu Xi did not go to the store, but instead turned into a pavilion where a man was standing with his back to Yu Xi.

"elder brother."