Pei Xi paused, holding the straw, and after a couple of seconds, said incredulously, "...Don't tell me you forgot your money."
"I put my money in my backpack." Pei Zhi scratched his head with a bitter expression. "Backpack..."
Pei Xi recalled the scene of her accurately throwing the schoolbag onto the blond-haired boy's head.
The schoolbag is still in Grandma's dessert shop.
"..." She reached into her pocket, pulled out a wad of change, counted it, and said, "I only have fifty yuan on me."
The two of them glanced at the skewer on the table simultaneously; these things were definitely worth far more than fifty yuan.
Pei Xi took a sip of steam to calm herself, and looked at Pei Zhi, murmuring, "Brother, we just came out of the police station, are you going to take me in again?"
"How...how could this be!" Pei Zhi pondered for a moment, "If it really doesn't work, you can sit here and wait for me. I'll go home and get the money."
After saying that, Pei Zhi glanced at the surrounding environment and saw several shirtless, drunk men. He immediately rejected the idea.
It would take more than half an hour to go there and back, and he couldn't leave Pei Xi here alone.
Pei Zhi stopped a passing waiter and asked in a consultative tone, "Excuse me, can I pay on credit? I'll leave the watch here as collateral, and I'll come back to pay you when I get the money."
The young man frowned upon hearing this, and said with a troubled tone, "I'm just an employee; this is something our boss has to decide."
"Where is your boss?" Pei Zhi asked.
The deliveryman shook his head. "The boss isn't here today."
Pei Zhi: "..."
Just then, a clear, cold voice suddenly broke in from the side: "What's wrong?"
Pei Zhi was startled and looked up. Jiang Cheng had already returned at some point.
The young man pointed at Pei Zhi and looked at Jiang Cheng, saying, "They don't have money to pay the bill."
Pei Zhi blushed slightly and retorted, "...I forgot to bring it!"
Jiang Cheng glanced at him, his face expressionless. His gaze seemed to sweep across Pei Xi's face before quickly looking away. He then asked, "How much in total?"
"One hundred and forty-seven." The young man picked up the printing slip on the table and glanced at it.
Jiang Cheng nodded. "Okay, I'll settle it in a bit. Let them go."
The waiter paused for a moment, then looked at Pei Zhi and the other person's school uniforms and guessed that they probably knew each other. He nodded, said nothing, and went inside to get busy.
Only the two siblings and Jiang Cheng remained at the table. Pei Zhi's eyes widened the moment Jiang Cheng said he would pay the bill. It took her a while to recover before she looked at Jiang Cheng and said with a forced smile, "I will pay you back tomorrow."
Jiang Cheng's expression remained noncommittal. "Whatever."
Pei Zhi felt inexplicably angry at his appearance, but since he had received a gift, he said in a somewhat harsh tone, "Don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who likes to take advantage of others."
"I already said, it's up to you." Jiang Cheng looked at him, his brows furrowing slightly. "It doesn't matter if you embarrass yourself, but don't drag others down with you."
“You…” Pei Zhi was furious when she heard his lecturing and questioning tone again. She was about to retort when Pei Xi interrupted her. She stood up, grabbed Pei Zhi’s arm, and said to Jiang Cheng, “Thank you for earlier. I’ll have my brother pay you back on Monday.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Cheng's expression softened slightly, as if he had heard something he didn't like. His tone became even colder: "No need, it's not much money."
After saying that, he ignored their reactions, walked straight to the motorcycle, put on his helmet, started the engine, and drove away.
Pei Xi stood there watching the motorcycle gradually disappear into the distance, a strange feeling suddenly rising in his heart.
One hundred and forty-seven yuan is not a small amount.
He probably doesn't even earn that much in one night.
"Let's go." Pei Zhi picked up Pei Xi's schoolbag and pulled her away. As they walked, Pei Xi looked up at Pei Zhi and said, "Brother, don't forget to give it to him on Monday."
"Of course I know," Pei Zhi snorted. "I won't owe anyone a favor."
Pei Xi looked at Pei Zhi's annoyed profile and a sense of doubt arose in his heart.
She hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, "Brother, why do you hate Jiang Cheng?"
Pei Zhi paused for a moment, then remained silent for a few seconds before speaking: "If you hate someone, you just hate them. Do you need a reason?"
Pei Xi sensed the concealment in his words and, observing his expression, asked, "Did you dislike him the moment you saw him?"
“I just felt that he was arrogant.” Pei Zhi hesitated for a few seconds before finally answering, as if he was starting to feel indignant when he thought of that scene. “On the first day of school after the class division in the second year of high school, during PE class, he walked past me and I asked him if he wanted to play ball together, but he ignored me completely.”
Pei Xi was hearing this for the first time, so it was quite novel. Pei Zhi had always been generous in making friends and had excellent interpersonal relationships, and this was the first time he had ever heard of someone giving him such a cold shoulder.
She said "Oh," indicating understanding, and then asked, "Just because of that?"
"Just because of this!" Pei Zhi emphasized, his face even more furious.
What he didn't say was, God knows how hurt he was at that moment. For a warm and friendly basketball boy, his self-esteem was severely damaged!
Nobody will understand!
“...Maybe he didn’t hear me?” Pei Xi asked hesitantly.
"He's not deaf!"
Pei Zhi shouted, grabbing Pei Xi's shoulder and covering her head with his large hand, ruffling her hair in frustration. "Pei Xi, why are you always taking his side? Are you implying I'm being petty? Let me tell you, you don't understand him. He's the epitome of arrogance!"
“...I just feel like he’s not such a bad person.” Pei Xi said carefully, “...If it weren’t for him, we would have almost dined and dashed today.”
"You can't judge a book by its cover. Didn't you hear him insult and mock me? Maybe that's why he helped me!" Pei Zhiyue became more and more agitated. "In short, you're not allowed to side with him!"
Pei Xi raised her hand and shook her head, blinking her big eyes at him expectantly, "I'm not on his side."
Pei Zhi continued to emphasize, "I'm your older brother!"
Pei Xi: "Okay, okay."
Pei Zhi snorted coldly: "Perfunctory!"
Pei Xi looked completely innocent: "How could that be?"
Pei Zhi: "Ha!"
Pei Xi said seriously, "Pei Zhi, that's enough."
“...Oh.” Pei Zhi immediately composed himself.
Pei Xi smiled at his aggrieved expression and reached out to take his arm.
The streetlights stretched their shadows long, and the two shadows merged together as they walked home.
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