Chapter 13 Who are you seducing?
The atmosphere in the car suddenly became strange, and there was a vague sense of awkwardness in the air...
Xu Ji's last sentence just now seemed to reveal something inadvertently. After that, Tao Siyun said nothing and pressed the red hang-up button on the phone screen without hesitation.
Jiang Zhen was humming a song and looked very happy.
He knew Tao Siyun didn't want to pay attention to him right now, but he couldn't help but act cheaply and provoke her with all sorts of nonsense: "Hey Tao Siyun, the housing prices in your neighborhood are quite expensive, right? Why do all the people I know like to live there? They're all rich!"
"..." Tao Siyun looked out the window and said absentmindedly, "My parents bought it a long time ago. It was okay then, not as exaggerated as it is now."
"Oh, uncle and auntie have good vision. They knew to invest in real estate so early. They are very far-sighted."
"My father is an architect. Our community was developed by his company, and they have internal discounts."
"No wonder." Jiang Zhen said with a playful smile: "This can be considered an acquaintance. When we get married and buy a wedding house in the future, can we enjoy the acquaintance discount through uncle's introduction? Don't be polite. We are classmates. If you can give me a 50% discount, that's fine. Hahahaha."
Tao Siyun: "..."
It’s 50% off, why don’t you just go grab it???
***
The hotel Cao Wenzhen booked was not very close, and it took more than an hour to get there, even when the traffic was smooth and there was no traffic jam.
The three of them went upstairs to the private room and pushed the door open. Those who had arrived earlier had already had three rounds of tea and several pots of boiling water had been added.
There were more than a dozen people sitting at the table, including Xiang Yipeng, and next to her was a man she didn't know.
At this time, a person who was closer to her stood up suddenly, smiling enthusiastically: "Hey, campus beauty, I haven't seen you for many years. You are getting more and more beautiful. Come, come and sit here with me."
Tao Siyun: "..."
The only people she knew at the table were a few of her classmates from her freshman year of high school. The rest looked unfamiliar to her. This person should be someone she got along well with after she switched to the liberal arts class and became close to Jiang Zhen and the others.
Li Huan was sitting opposite her and had already reserved a seat for her. Seeing someone so ignorant as to dare to cut in, he immediately called her over: "Si Yun, ignore him and come and sit here."
Tao Siyun walked around half the table to the opposite seat in everyone's gaze, feeling a little embarrassed.
The young man who had been so enthusiastic just now immediately fell in disappointment, wailing in dissatisfaction: "Class monitor, you have deprived me of my only chance to get close to the school beauty!!!"
"Dexing, do people recognize you?" Cao Wenzheng rolled his eyes at him, then attentively turned the only fruit plate on the table in front of Tao Siyun, "Classmate Tao, do you still remember me? Cao Wenzheng, when we were in the first year of high school..."
Jiang Zhen tutted and couldn't help but interrupt him, "Hey, Fatty Cao, it was you who insisted on showing off by playing basketball in front of the teaching building, and ended up hitting Tao Siyun. Not only did she lose her ability to walk properly for half a month, but Xu Ji also took the blame for you and got scolded. And now you have the nerve to ask people if they remember you."
"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean it. Eat some fruit~"
"It's okay." Tao Siyun had a very deep impression of Cao Wenzhen. His appearance had not changed much over the years. He seemed to be a little thinner than when he was in high school.
Jiang Zhen had Ji Yao briefly greet everyone at the table. After the introductions, he pulled up a nearby chair and sat down. "I'm saying, you guys came so early, and all you do is sit here and eat sunflower seeds and brag. Have you ordered yet?"
"No, I'm just waiting for you to come and order together."
Cao Wenzheng spit out the sunflower seed shells in his mouth and yelled, "Where's Lao Xu? He's the only one missing. He's working overtime on Saturday. I'm starving. Let's order first."
Just as he finished speaking, the door of the box was pushed open from the outside, and the waitress holding the menu led Xu Ji in.
Jiang Zhen tilted his head to look at the door, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. "Oh my god! You're dressed up like this on a Saturday. Are you going to work overtime or go on a blind date? Who are you trying to seduce?"
Everyone: “…”
Ji Yao grumbled to Jiang Zhen in a low voice: "Well, it's okay that Shanshan is late, but he was the only one who acted like this in the end."
“…”
On a day off, everyone dressed casually, whatever was comfortable for them, but Xu Ji showed up in formal attire?!
Tao Siyun stared at Xu Ji's white shirt in a daze.
However, Li Huan interpreted her look in a different way.
Li Huan held the glass and pretended to drink water, whispering to Tao Siyun: "Don't say it, Xu Ji looks quite decent in this outfit. They say that men in suits are most likely to arouse desire. Could he be trying to seduce you? Hmm..."
Tao Siyun was shy and was always teased by Li Huan. It was nothing at first, but now there were people around whom she didn't know. She was afraid that Li Huan would say some nonsense again, so she quickly picked two grapes and stuffed them into Li Huan's mouth to stop his chattering mouth.
Xu Ji walked over, casually draped the black suit jacket hanging on his arm over the back of the chair, pulled out the chair that the two men had left for him in the middle, and sat down.
Cao Wenzheng servilely poured him a glass of water, then leaned over eagerly and asked mysteriously, "Hey, Lao Xu, were you ordered by some rich woman tonight? Wearing a suit and tie, and being so abstinent?"
His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for everyone in the box to hear clearly.
Xu Ji lazily leaned back in his chair, his hand pausing to loosen his tie, his eyelids drooping as he glanced at him expressionlessly, "Fuck you, you want me to sell my body for a five-figure salary? You're dreaming."
After saying that, he slowly unbuttoned the collar of his shirt and continued to unbutton his cufflinks.
The person nearby, who was watching the fun, immediately chimed in with a snarky comment: "If five figures aren't enough, then how about six figures?"
"Six figures? Who are you looking down on?" Jiang Zhen banged his chopsticks against the bowl. "Just based on Xu Ji's face, I'm not exaggerating. If he goes into the adult entertainment industry, he can at least double his income. There are so many people waiting in line to bid higher. Do you understand the market?"
Ji Yao had been watching the show with his head propped up, looking very happy. After hearing this, he suddenly asked Jiang Zhen curiously, "It seems like you know a lot. You've been to all those messy places a lot, right? You even know the 'market price'."
Jiang Zhen: “…”
Cao Wenzheng burst into laughter, pounding the table crazily, and said to Ji Yao through Xu Ji and Jiang Zhen: "No, no, no, please don't misunderstand me. I can absolutely testify to this. Jiang Zhen, male, has loved women since childhood, hahahahahaha."
Now all the boys at the next table started to make a fuss.
Xu Ji curled the corners of his lips, casually folded the cuffs of his shirt, pushed them above his arms, and began to look at the menu carefully.
Li Huan swallowed the grapes in his mouth and continued to chat with Tao Siyun in a low voice, "How about Xu Ji and I switch seats and you two can sit next to each other. He's worth six figures a night! Even if you can't sleep together now, you're still making a profit by sitting together for the time being!!! You're a bastard who doesn't take advantage of a good opportunity!" As he said that, he was about to stand up.
Tao Siyun was shocked and immediately grabbed her tightly with quick eyes and hands: "What are you doing?!" There was someone else sitting next to her, and Li Huan's sudden action scared her so much that her heart almost jumped out.
"Hey, just kidding. I just want to go to the bathroom. Do you want to go?"
“…No.”
"Then can you let me get up? Please, I won't dare to do it again."
Tao Siyun narrowed his eyes and glared at her harmlessly, then slowly loosened his hand. "I will never sit with you next time."
"Yeah, next time you sit next to Xu Ji~"
“…”
Xu Ji ordered a few dishes, told the waiter not to put cilantro in them, and then handed the menu to Cao Wenzhen.
Tao Siyun held the glass and took a few sips of warm water. He turned his eyes away calmly and looked diagonally across the room.
When she was in the first year of high school, she was isolated for a period of time by Xiang Yipeng's small group because of her status as a transfer student. Although it was not serious enough to leave any psychological trauma in her heart, she has never had a good impression of this person.
Later, when students were divided into arts and science classes, the small groups were broken up and everyone went to new groups. She and Xiang Yipeng were assigned to different classes. After they had their own friends and circles, they had even less interaction.
I have the impression that they rarely met at school, and it seemed like they never even spoke to each other.
Tao Siyun had been stared at by someone he disliked since he entered the room. He felt a little puzzled, so he simply put down the cup in his hand, put on a polite smile on his face, looked at her openly, and asked directly: "Why are you staring at me? What's the matter?"
Xiang Yipeng's face froze, and she was visibly stunned for two seconds. Then she forced a smile awkwardly and asked about her recent situation in the tone of an old friend who hadn't seen her for a long time: "Tao Siyun, what do you do now? I heard you went abroad after college?"
"Well, I'm still in graduate school and won't graduate until next year."
"Oh, I studied accounting in college and now I work in a bank," Xiang Yipeng curled her lips. "What about you? What's your major now?"
“I’ve been studying design.”
"I remember you were a music major. Why didn't you apply to a music school?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the originally noisy box suddenly became quiet, and the people who were chatting animatedly at the table all looked in their direction.
Tao Siyun said calmly, "After my hand got injured, I didn't want to play the violin anymore."
"oh."
At this moment, someone at the table asked a soul-searching question: "Princess Peacock, why do I remember that you seemed to be an art exam candidate as well? At that time, you even posted on your Moments that you were going to take leave to go to another province for training."
"Well, it's hard to find a job in the arts. Luckily, my parents didn't agree to my taking the art exams, otherwise I'd be working as a dance teacher at a training center or something." Xiang Yipeng stretched out her nail-covered hand and gently stroked her carefully permed and dyed hair. "The art industry doesn't have much social status. It's just a place to make a living while you're young. Everyone will change careers in a few years."
“…”
After everyone at the table chatted for a while, Jiang Zhen called the waiter to start serving the dishes.
"Look, the guy sitting next to Xiang Yipeng is Zhang Qi, the one I mentioned to you before. He was the runner-up in Class 6. He and Xu Ji participated in several competitions together, and after Xu Ji gave up her chance to be admitted, he went to Shanghai University. He's been Xiang Yipeng's bootlicker since high school, and now he's one of her backup guys."
The boy took good care of Xiang Yipeng while they were eating, peeling shrimp for her and picking fish bones for her. Tao Siyun glanced over and said lightly, "I've never seen him before, I don't know him."
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