22. Why is he here?!

"They said that when you were little, your mom made you practice piano at home, but the neighbors complained. In the end, she had to take you with her and go door to door with small gifts to greet everyone."

"..."

"Eat up." Mu Jia tried her best to suppress her laughter, her chopsticks never stopping. "My grandma always says that you shouldn't always eat takeout, and that people should eat more hot food. When your stomach is warm, your heart will be warm too, so eating something hot will make you feel better."

After finishing my meal, I went downstairs to take out the trash.

As I walked to the entrance of the residential area, I could see several cats gathered around the gate from afar.

Mu Jia slowed down and looked closely. She saw a colorful cat toy hanging on a pointed corner at the top of the openwork black metal door.

The toy was tied with a string and hung down from the top of the door, at a height that a kitten could just reach with its paw outstretched.

Several cats excitedly crowded under the door, reaching out their paws to grab the toy, and weren't particularly afraid when someone approached.

A kitten with a cow pattern suddenly looked away from its toy, glanced at Mu Jia from a distance, and then walked towards her.

Although it was a stray cat that no one had adopted, it was quite clean and tidy.

Mu Jia squatted down and stroked the black and white cat's head. "What's your name?"

The black and white cat ignored her question and just kept rubbing against the trash bag in her hand.

She thought for a moment, then stroked the kitten's fur. "How about this? Next time I come, I'll bring you cat food, okay, Mimi?"

"Your name is Mimi! Then it's settled, Mimi. Come on, shake hands!"

As the surroundings gradually quieted down, Mu Jia came to her senses and realized that Chu Chiyi was still standing behind her.

She squatted down and looked up at him. Although the boy's face still didn't show any extra expression, he didn't seem to have any disgust or impatience.

She looked at him and suddenly said, "Chu Chiyi, I've discovered that you're actually a bit like a cat."

The boy didn't reply, but the fleeting surprise in his eyes didn't escape her notice.

Mu Jia grew bolder and bolder, pointing to a tabby cat crouching in the nearby green belt, and said with a smirk, "You look like that one."

Not at all friendly.

The next second, as if to deliberately refute the label she had silently put on it in her mind, the tabby cat, which had just been elegant and proud, and had been coldly watching the black and white cat get close to Mu Jia, suddenly lunged in front of her and started rolling and tearing at the black and white cat in front of her.

"Oh dear!" Mu Jia was completely taken aback and was startled. After realizing what was happening, she wanted to step forward to break up the fight, but then realized that she seemed to have absolutely no experience in separating cats. Therefore, she didn't dare to act rashly and could only jump up and down anxiously from the side, "What are you doing? Don't bully our Mimi!"

"Hey! Chu Chiyi, what are you laughing at? Help me out!"

Suddenly, the boy crouched down and covered the back of her hand before the tabby cat could swat its paw across.

Mu Jia looked down. If it weren't for his action, she probably wouldn't have been able to avoid several rabies shots...

Chu Chiyi moved his hand away: "If you can't fight, don't try to break up fights for others."

Mu Jia was still shaken. She thanked him sweetly on the surface, but couldn't help but think to herself, "Yes, yes, you're the only one who can fight!"

As the two walked out of the residential area, Mu Jia noticed that there was a 400-meter track with a red plastic track right next to the residential area. Her gaze lingered for a moment, and she couldn't help but think that this place would be very suitable for practicing the 800-meter and 1000-meter runs that are tested at the end of each semester in school physical education class.

He glanced at the boy next to him again, but given his professional-level performance in the men's 3000-meter and marathon events at school sports meets, he probably wouldn't need to use his skills...

At that time, she never imagined that she would use the playground ten years later, even though she hadn't used it ten years ago.

Mu Jia was running on the playground, and she could already taste a faint metallic taste of blood in her mouth, but she held her breath and forced herself to maintain her original speed.

Footsteps approached from behind. She hadn't had much time to work out while abroad, and was in the recovery phase, so she wasn't moving fast. She consciously moved to the side to make way for others.

Unexpectedly, the other person slowed down beside her.

She turned her head, saw who it was, and couldn't help but be surprised.

"Why did you suddenly decide to go for a run?" Chu Chiyi remained relatively still with her, his breathing almost imperceptible.

"What, you think you're the only one who can run? Can't I exercise so I can live a little longer?"

"Mind your own business!"

The two ran more than half a lap. Mu Jia was starting to feel heavy and her breathing was getting a little difficult, but when she glanced at the person next to her, he was still as relaxed as ever.

He deliberately controlled his speed, giving her the illusion that their speeds could match.

She bit her lip beneath the mask.

Just then, Chu Chiyi spoke again, disrupting her already turbulent emotions caused by exercise.

Mu Jia was currently out of breath and had no extra breath to reply.

"Try to relax your shoulders a little, lower them, and try to swing your arms a little wider."

"Breathe as deeply as possible, and don't breathe through your mouth or chest."

Mu Jia finally couldn't take it anymore and was about to explode and tell him to mind his own business, but Chu Chiyi seemed to know her threshold precisely and shut up first.

Then, he suddenly took half a step forward, and with a flick of his finger, removed the mask from her face.

Mu Jia was caught off guard and only felt her breathing suddenly become smooth for a second.

Then, her moist, soft lips brushed against his fingers.

The two of them were stunned for a moment.

He said, "Don't wear a mask when running."

She glared at him, "I'm afraid of getting sunburned!"

“There’s nothing wrong with getting a little sun exposure,” he said, glancing at her. “Besides, you’re not dark-skinned.”

Mu Jia rolled her eyes and replied, "Do you need to tell me!"

After running a little more lap, Mu Jia noticed that her breathing and heart rate were getting faster and faster, and she felt that the people around her were in her way.

The aroma of breakfast wafted from not far away, and she suddenly slowed down. "Chu Chiyi, I'm hungry."

What would you like to eat?

"The brown sugar fried cake from the breakfast shop at the entrance of the community."

"good."

"Then can you go buy it for me now?" She raised her hand and glanced at her iWatch. "Grandma Chang said that store stops operating after 7:30."

After seeing Chu Chiyi off, Mu Jia slowed down and walked quickly toward the restroom in the southeast corner of the playground.

Perhaps because she had been running for too long, she suddenly felt nauseous again.

Five minutes later, Mu Jia came out of the restroom and stepped straight out of the playground exit.

Walking slowly across the pedestrian crossing outside the playground, she tried to calm her breathing. Suddenly, her gaze was drawn to a car parked a few steps away on the sidewalk.

She frowned slightly, stared intently at the license plate, and the moment she saw it clearly, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

What the hell?! How did he get here?!

The next second, she lowered her head, turned around, and tried to slip away, but suddenly heard the sound of a car door opening and closing not far away.

Fortunately, Lu Siming did not notice her. When Mu Jia turned back, she could only see the man's back as he strode into the neighboring residential area.

What's he doing here? Is he looking for Chu Chiyi?

Did Chu Chiyi know he was coming beforehand? If she did, why did she have the leisure to bother her while she was running?

Seeing that Lu Siming had already reached the entrance of the residential area, in a flash, Mu Jia gritted her teeth, quickly adjusted her expression, and jogged a few steps forward, "Brother!"

Lu Siming turned around, his face quickly filled with surprise: "Jiajia? You... what are you doing here?"

A few minutes later, Mu Jia dragged Lu Siming downstairs to the breakfast shop for breakfast.

While waiting for the food to be served, she secretly sent a message to Chu Chiyi under the table.

Just as she expected, Lu Siming launched a surprise attack today.

She was still shaken, thankful that she had acted decisively, and tried to buy time so that Chu Chiyi could destroy all traces of her existence in the house.

During this time, she also had to deal with Lu Siming's various questions, such as, "Why did you suddenly decide to come here for a run?"

“I live too close to the sea, and the sea breeze has been too strong in the mornings lately. I found a playground nearby, which wasn’t far, so I came here.”

Lu Siming, unsuspecting, stuffed the fried dough stick into his mouth and said, "Running around and exercising is a good thing."

“Yes.” Mu Jia nodded in agreement, pretending to be nonchalant, while deliberately chewing slowly in small bites.

After finishing her meal and stepping outside, the wind made Mu Jia shiver.

But the coat she had been wearing was the one Chu Chiyi had left her before he left. She had just taken it off discreetly before it would attract Lu Siming's attention, and now she didn't dare wear it again, so she could only carefully curl it up and hug it to her chest.

At this moment, Lu Siming suddenly spoke up, "Why aren't you wearing your clothes? Aren't you cold?"

“Uh…” Her heart skipped a beat. “I just finished running and I’m a little hot.”

Lu Siming stared at the clothes in her arms and examined them.

Mu Jia's heart began to pound again. He often hung out with Chu Chiyi, and it was hard to guarantee that he wouldn't notice something amiss from this outfit.

She felt a little uneasy under Lu Siming's gaze. Just as she was about to say something to divert his attention, she suddenly heard him say, "If you're not wearing it, can I borrow it? I'm a little cold."

"..." Mu Jia was speechless for a moment, then refused without hesitation, "No way! Who told you to be so vain? You went out in this temperature wearing just a shirt..."

"Is your dress made of gold? How stingy!"

Seeing that the two were almost at the entrance of Chu Chiyi's residential area, Mu Jia had no time to delay, but he guessed that Chu Chiyi should have finished packing by now.

She had no desire to get entangled with Lu Siming any longer, afraid that staying with him too long would expose her secret. "Alright, brother. You should go in now. I'll head back now if there's nothing else."

It actually stopped here.

Tomorrow will be even more exciting!