Chapter 9

Tang Jindong was somewhat taken aback: "What woman who put her arm around my arm? What woman? You're talking nonsense, I don't understand."

Xiao Ming patiently explained, "Wen Hui was waiting for you downstairs at your company today when she saw you walking downstairs with another girl, arm in arm. Do you understand?"

Tang Jindong suddenly realized and said, "Oh, I was wondering why she wasn't answering her phone and why Green Bubble was deleted. I was just about to go find her. My bad, my bad!"

I told her on the phone last night that my uncle and cousin were visiting our area today and invited us to dinner. We talked for a bit late, and she was probably sleepy and confused, so she didn't hear me clearly and just mumbled "uh-huh." I assumed she understood and agreed to come out for dinner.

I was too busy during the day and didn't have time to talk to Wenhui. Then my cousin asked for my company's address, saying she wanted to see where I work. After that, she waited for me to get off work, and then we went out together.

"I'm blind, I didn't see Wenhui. My uncle just asked me why Wenhui didn't come for dinner, and I don't know what to say. You need to call Wenhui right now and tell her to answer my call!"

Xiao Ming was speechless for a while, then dialed Wen Hui's number and yelled at her, "You coward, answer Tang Jindong's call! Look at the mess you've made!"

After waiting for about ten minutes, she called again, thankfully the line wasn't busy: "Have you talked it out yet?"

Wen Hui was a little embarrassed, and said softly, "I'm sorry, Xiaoming, I made you worry for nothing. To be honest, it was a misunderstanding. He's coming to pick me up later, and I have to rush out. I'll hang up now and talk to you again when I get back."

Xiao Ming rolled his eyes: "No, I know everything. You don't need to tell me anymore. Hurry up and get ready to leave."

After hanging up the phone, Xiaoming checked the time; it was almost nine o'clock. He breathed a sigh of relief and was about to leave when he was called back.

"Xiao Ming."

I turned my head and saw, wow, what a dazzlingly handsome guy.

"Jiang Lan".

Jiang Lan felt a sense of relief and even a little happy.

Thank goodness, she still recognized him and remembered his name. He had been watching her make a phone call for almost half an hour, feeling both nervous and uneasy.

"Come play ball, are you done?"

Xiao Ming nodded: "Yeah, it's over. I'm going home now."

Jiang Lan gritted her teeth and spoke quickly, "I just finished playing ball with my friends. Want to grab something to eat together?"

Xiaoming is in a good mood right now, and since he feels a little awkward being rejected face-to-face, unlike when he rejected someone online where there was no psychological burden, he'll go ahead with it.

They randomly picked a dessert shop, ordered, and sat facing each other.

Today, Xiaoming was wearing a black shirt with a large floral knot and jeans, with his shoulder-length short hair draped over his shoulders. He was leaning lazily against the back of his chair, staring at Jiang Lan.

Jiang Lan was dressed in a casual suit, a light blue shirt and black trousers, with her hair combed back, revealing a prominent widow's peak on her forehead.

He must have showered in the venue; he had a faint, slightly damp scent about him. Someone like that seems out of place in a dessert shop; he should be in a coffee shop.

Xiao Ming thought to himself.

Jiang Lan felt her ears burning from Xiao Ming's intense gaze, so she lowered her head, clenched her fist to cover her mouth, and coughed lightly.

Xiao Ming chuckled and said to him, "You should often feel this kind of gaze, why are you still embarrassed?"

Jiang Lan felt even more uncomfortable after hearing this: "Other people's attention is far less noticeable than yours."

The shop assistant served the dessert, and back at the counter, she whispered to her colleague, "That couple in the corner are so good-looking and have such great style. The man is handsome and the woman is cool."

"I noticed it too. Quite a few customers were peeking, and some were even taking pictures without my knowledge."

Jiang Lan and Xiao Ming noticed this too, and they both stood up. Jiang Lan said to her, "You take the drink, I'll carry the bag."

Xiao Ming nodded, followed Jiang Lan, and walked out through the glass door she had pushed open, carrying two drinks.

The two walked and drank. The drinks they ordered tonight were a bit too sweet, and Xiaoming couldn't drink any more after drinking only half of them. When he saw the trash can, he casually threw the trash in.

"Give me the bag."

Jiang Lan had her own bag slung over her shoulder, Xiao Ming's large shoulder bag hanging from her arm, and a drink in her other hand.

When he saw Xiaoming reach for the bag, his arm instinctively pulled back. He knew that carrying his girlfriend's bag was a boyfriend's privilege.

Xiao Ming raised an eyebrow at him, and Jiang Lan shoved the drink in her hand into hers: "I think this drink tastes pretty good, you should try it."

Xiao Ming was almost amused by him. He grabbed the bag strap, took the bag and slung it over his shoulder, then stuffed the drink back into his hand: "I'm full, I can't drink anymore."

He turned and walked toward the parking lot.

Jiang Lan hurriedly followed and walked alongside Xiao Ming, turning to the side and saying to her with her head down, "Let's go see a movie together."

"It's too late, I need to go home."

"Then I'll take you home."

Xiao Ming laughed out loud: "Brother, I rode my motorcycle home."

Even though she knew Jiang Lan was joking, she still felt a little tingly when she heard the word "brother," and she was even more reluctant to part with her now.

“It’s okay, you give me a ride, I’ll sit behind you. When you get there, I’ll take a taxi back.” Jiang Lan kept in mind Liu Zhen’s theory of opportunity in dating: even if there’s no opportunity, you have to create one.

Xiao Ming was speechless: "I knew you had a lot of fancy moves in PUBG, but I didn't expect you to have just as many in real life."

After connecting with the big shot for several months, Xiaoming recognized her voice so well that he immediately knew it was Jiang Lan at the dessert shop.

Jiang Lan raised her hand and touched her nose: "You knew? I was afraid you'd delete me if you found out my teammate was you, so I didn't dare tell you."

"You recognized me as soon as we started talking on the phone?" Xiaoming was a little surprised, since they hadn't exchanged more than a few words back then.

"Um."

It must be said that Jiang Lan's concerns were unnecessary.

It is said that prejudice in people's hearts is a mountain. Xiaoming's prejudice against Jiang Lan lies in the fact that she has seen too many so-called high-quality men's chaotic private lives, as well as the coincidences that she considered to be fake when she first chatted with Jiang Lan about having an affair.

Now that he realizes that the coincidence of his mockery was actually a misunderstanding, Xiaoming is a little embarrassed. Besides, it was indeed a coincidence that the two of them became friends in the game; you could even say it was fate. Why would Xiaoming delete him?

"Alright, take me back."

Jiang Lan felt a surge of joy upon hearing this, and walked over to the motorcycle, reaching out to take Xiao Ming's bag: "You ride the bike, I'll carry the bag."

Xiao Ming didn't hesitate. He took out a knitted cardigan from his bag, put it on, and handed the bag back to him: "It's a bit windy when we're riding the bike. If you're cold, just stay behind me and I'll block out some of the wind."

Jiang Lan felt a sweet warmth in her heart upon hearing this and nodded in agreement.

The two straddled the bike, put on their helmets, and Xiaoming turned on the throttle and rode towards their residence.

Jiang Lan sat in the back seat and carefully put her hands on Xiao Ming's shoulders. Xiao Ming turned his head and said loudly to him, "It's okay, hold on to my waist, don't fall off."

Four long legs were placed on the footrest, making the already small car seem even smaller. The rear seat space was limited, and Jiang Lan held onto Xiao Ming's shoulders, the two of them close together. He smelled the wind carrying the girl's fragrance brushing against his cheeks and felt like he was about to float away.

It felt like I had only ridden a short distance before arriving at the entrance of the residential area.

Xiao Ming turned to look at him: "We've arrived, get off the bus."

"So fast?" Jiang Lan didn't want to get out of the car, so she kept her feet on the ground and sat motionless in the back seat.

"I've been riding for half an hour, and you're saying it's fast? Did you fall asleep in the back?"

Not daring to look at Xiaoming's expression, Jiang Lan dawdled and refused to get out of the car. "Get in, I'll take you downstairs."

Liu Zhen's downstairs strategy is easier to implement downstairs.

Okay, let's see what other tricks he's up to.

Xiao Ming parked the car in the parking shed and let the other man follow him downstairs.

Taking the bag from Jiang Lan's hand, and seeing that he hadn't managed to get anything out of it for a while, Xiao Ming waved to the somewhat stunned Jiang Lan: "I'm home. You can go back now. Be careful. Goodbye!" After saying that, he turned and went inside.

After getting off the bus, Jiang Lan's brain was essentially frozen. He wanted to hold Xiao Ming's hand, but the instructions in his head wouldn't come out. His hand could only move a few fingers, but he just couldn't stretch it out.

In the end, he could only wave goodbye to Xiaoming in frustration and walk out, looking back every few steps.

Frustrated all the way home, Jiang Lan collapsed on the sofa, only to realize that she hadn't taken the opportunity to make plans with Xiao Ming for the weekend.

Covering my face and wailing, what's going on? Does liking someone really turn you into an idiot in front of that person?

He reflected on his performance today, which was truly appalling. He rolled over and knelt on the sofa, burying his face in the cushions. He had originally wanted to find Liu Zhen, but now he had to give up the idea. He would be laughed at by Liu Zhen, and it was too embarrassing.

While Xiaoming was blow-drying his hair, he received a PUBG Mobile invitation from Jiang Lan and readily replied, "Okay."

After having breakfast on the weekend, Xiaoming went online as scheduled.

After playing a few duo matches, Jiang Lan asked her:

"Xiaoming, is it okay to play in a four-player squad? My friend said he wants to play with me."

"Sure, but I'm not very good at this, so you need to tell them beforehand, and please don't call my name in the voice chat."

"I told them, and they said it's just for fun, and we shouldn't take winning or losing too seriously." Jiang Lan paused, a little puzzled: "Is your name really Xiaoming?"

"My name is Zhou Xiaoming, that's what it says on my ID card." Xiaoming was used to people's questions about her name. Her brother's name is Zhou Zaiming, and hers is Zhou Xiaoming, which is perfectly normal. It's just that her catchy name has been turned into a joke in textbooks.

Jiang Lan sighed silently for a while, thinking the name was incredibly cute.

Although he guessed that Jiang Lan's friends were probably streamers and other top players, Xiao Ming couldn't help but feel a little happy when he saw that they were actually there. Teaming up with these top players to play PUBG was so exciting!

The pros were showing off their skills, while Xiaoming, afraid of being ridiculed for holding them back, played it safe all the way.

When her teammates gave instructions, she would just respond with "uh-huh" and "yeah," mainly playing the role of an obedient person.

Jiang Lan always followed her around, which led to teammates and viewers jokingly calling her "carrying a girl to win PUBG."

The live chat was filled with comments like, "Streamer, get eliminated quickly so we can cheer on the top spender and the girl who's been on the leaderboard."

Although Xiaoming had the streamer's live broadcast on her phone, she didn't dare to watch it at all. So, without knowing the details, she accepted the title of "Top Sponsor Carrying Girl". By the time she saw the live broadcast clips a few days later, it was too late to refute it.

We played until 2 PM, when my teammates said they needed to have lunch and then logged off.

Jiang Lan sent another message, inviting her out for dinner.

Xiao Ming replied, "I have an online class later, I don't have time, maybe next time."

Seeing the rejection message reappear in the chat box, Jiang Lan remained calm. At least this online class was a new reason, and it shouldn't be Xiao Ming's excuse for rejecting him.

Recently, he paid to learn a lot about dating online. The instructors said that it is normal for the pursuit process to progress slowly, and he needs to keep a calm mindset.

Xiaoming's company is about to develop a new business, and she is also involved in it. The company has never dealt with this business before, and the team has no relevant experience, so the boss specially bought online courses for all relevant team members to attend.

Everything learned is for oneself, and besides, it doesn't cost any money, so no one in the company complains about having to work overtime on weekends to learn.

There aren't many courses, and Xiaoming wants to finish them this weekend.

After finishing his classes on Sunday evening, Xiaoming felt stuffy and lightheaded, whether from catching a cold or contracting the flu.

After taking the medicine, she went to bed early, turned off the lights, and went to sleep, but she remained in a light sleep state and could hear any noise.

My phone kept ringing, and before I knew it, the video call ringtone suddenly went off.

Xiao Ming reached for his phone, strained his eyes, and tapped the button a few times before finally succeeding: "Hello."

"Xiaoming, are you home? Are you free right now?"

Xiao Ming's mind was a mess; he couldn't match the voice on the phone with the person for a long time.

Who are you?

"I am Jiang Lan, are you sick?"

"Oh, Jiang Lan. I'm not feeling well. Call me again tomorrow if you need anything. Bye~"

After hanging up the phone, she felt a little more awake. She got up to drink some water and go to the bathroom. She then took out a thicker blanket from the closet and placed it by the bed, worried that she might get cold if she developed a fever at night.

I lay back in bed, just as I was drifting off to sleep, when there was a knock at the door.