Pei Xi hesitated for a few seconds, holding her phone, before seeing Pei Zhi send another message, "What time are you coming back tomorrow? Do you need me to pick you up?"
She hesitated for a moment, then decided to ignore the previous messages and replied, "I'll be there at 10 a.m. tomorrow. No need to pick me up. I'll go back to school by myself in the afternoon."
After replying and turning off his phone, Pei Xi suddenly felt a guilty conscience.
If Pei Zhi knew that she was eating hot pot with Jiang Cheng, it would definitely be another world war.
Therefore, the best approach is to remain silent.
She held her phone in her hand and unconsciously glanced at Jiang Cheng several times.
Jiang Cheng looked up at her and asked, "What's wrong?"
Pei Xi clenched his fingers and answered truthfully, "My brother said... I shouldn't talk to you."
Jiang Cheng was taken aback, his hand holding the chopsticks paused, but then he heard Pei Xi chuckle.
She leaned forward slightly, looked at him, blinked her long eyelashes, and a hint of mischief appeared in her bright eyes. "But I didn't tell him, so could you keep it a secret too?"
Jiang Cheng unconsciously clenched his chopsticks, his Adam's apple bobbed twice, and then he said, "...Okay."
Then he saw Pei Xi breathe a sigh of relief, slump his shoulders, and give him a smile.
Jiang Cheng lowered his brows slightly, his eyes darkening.
The meal was eaten very quickly, and by the end, almost all the plates on the table were empty.
Pei Xi doesn't like to waste food, so he ate a lot and his stomach was quite full.
The two got up and walked to the bar by the door.
Just as Pei Xi was about to pay the bill, Jiang Cheng stopped her, shook his head, and said, "I already paid."
Pei Xi stopped in his tracks, a surprised expression on his face. "When?"
Then it dawned on him: "You said you were going to the restroom, but you actually came to pay the bill?"
Jiang Cheng nodded.
He couldn't very well let Pei Xi invite him.
"How can that be? I promised to treat you." Pei Xi frowned. She was the one who insisted on coming to eat this hot pot, and she knew how hard Jiang Cheng worked to earn money.
Pei Xi's tone was somewhat anxious, "How could I let you..."
Jiang Cheng suddenly interrupted her: "I still have enough money to treat you to a meal."
Pei Xi looked up at him. His face was expressionless, but his eyes held a hint of helplessness and an unreadable emotion.
She suddenly paused, startled.
She instantly understood something.
She knew Jiang Cheng was short of money, but she never expected that the more he was short of money, the less likely he would accept her invitation to treat him.
Because everyone has self-esteem.
Pei Xi realized that he had overlooked this problem.
So she smiled and said in a relaxed tone, "Okay, it's a give-and-take situation. I'll treat you next time."
Jiang Cheng nodded. "Okay."
The two stepped outside and found it was already quite dark and rather cold.
Fortunately, Pei Xi was dressed warmly, and the moment she stepped out, she subconsciously zipped up her coat.
I glanced at Jiang Cheng out of the corner of my eye. He was wearing a thin shirt jacket, which was open, and his back was still straight, as if he didn't feel cold at all.
Pei Xi secretly admired his excellent physical condition.
The food street wasn't far from the hotel, and the two arrived at the hotel in just a few minutes. The lobby was empty, and there was no one at the elevator entrance, so the two went straight up the elevator.
Pei Xi got off the elevator on the tenth floor and waved goodbye to Jiang Cheng.
The elevator doors slowly closed, and Jiang Cheng stood inside, watching Pei Xi gradually disappear into the ever-shrinking gap.
With a soft clang, the elevator began to move smoothly, accompanied by the sound of metal cables rubbing together.
In the confined space, one's senses are amplified. Jiang Cheng smelled the spicy and scorching aroma of the hot pot restaurant clinging to his body.
He cracked his knuckles, his eyes deep and unfathomable.
He remembered what Pei Xi had said when they were in the store.
How could he tell Pei Xi that Pei Zhi was actually right?
She was naive and had no suspicion of him, while he shamelessly went along with it.
Because rejecting her advances seemed a hundred times harder than he had imagined.
When those eyes looked at him with a smile, he seemed unable to refuse whatever she said.
He felt that after so many years of making a living in society, he had developed a mature and profound temperament, and could hide his emotions well and deal with any situation with ease.
But now he realizes that he's not that great at all.
He can also lose control, be tempted, and be unable to suppress his own desires.
Jiang Cheng closed his eyes tightly.
The elevator dinged, and he slowly exhaled, his brows furrowed as he stepped out.
The hotel corridor was carpeted, so it made little noise when you stepped on it. Jiang Cheng walked to the room near the end of the corridor and was about to take out his room card to open the door when someone suddenly spoke up: "Hello."
Jiang Cheng paused, noticing a person standing in front of the window.
He didn't have much of an impression of his face, but the flashy logos all over his body were all too familiar.
Jiang Cheng frowned, his expression showing some impatience.
Gao Jialiang looked at him, her tone tinged with annoyance, and asked, "Where did you go just now?"
He took a step closer to Jiang Cheng and continued speaking to himself, "You came back with Pei Xi just now, right? I saw you."
Jiang Cheng raised an eyebrow, his tone indifferent: "What's it to you?"
Gao Jialiang looked at him with that familiar contempt.
He clenched his fists, took a few deep breaths to suppress his anger, and mocked Jiang Cheng, "I heard you and Pei Zhi don't get along? We're both men, I know what you're thinking."
"He won over his sister, got a girlfriend, and got Pei Zhi under his thumb. A win-win situation."
A moment of silence fell over the corridor.
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