Chapter 75 I think Tao Siyun is...
Tao Siyun wore a pair of navy blue corduroy overalls. The two red straps on the back crossed each other, forming a symbol with special meaning.
The white thick-knit sweater has a great texture and feels particularly fluffy and soft. I put my palms through the soft sweater through the middle of the straps, feeling bold and reckless despite warnings.
This disguised form of confinement has no deterrent effect at all.
Instead, it reminded Xu Ji of the penalties for premature love posted on the school bulletin board in high school.
He paused in the midst of the kiss.
Tao Siyun was made breathless and almost unconscious by him. He looked at him with blurred eyes, not knowing what he was going to do.
The man's face had an indescribable emotion. He lifted the shoulder strap of her overalls with his index finger, rubbing it back and forth with his fingertips, carefully feeling the texture of the fabric, and then suddenly pulled it off her shoulder somewhat roughly.
It seems like he is trying to feel proud of himself for being unable to do anything during his student days.
While Tao Siyun was still not reacting, he continued to kiss her.
This was a kiss that Xu Ji had longed for in his dreams. He had once wanted to get it before the snow fell.
It was Tao Siyun who took the initiative first, so he hugged her and kissed her deeply.
…
Just when the two were fully immersed in it, there was a sudden loud "bang" at the door, and then something fell to the ground.
The living room is bright.
The fruit fell to the ground, rolling awkwardly from one end to the other.
Tao Siyun was frightened and trembled, and accidentally bit Xu Ji.
Xu Ji groaned in pain, quickly pressed the back of Tao Siyun's head and held her tightly in his arms, gently comforting her: "It's okay, don't be afraid."
Tao Qian stared at the scene in disbelief. His scalp went numb with shock, and he felt petrified. His eyelids twitched, "What are you two doing?"
"Let me go!"
…
For three full minutes, the living room was completely silent. The air seemed frozen, and the awkwardness was almost suffocating.
The two people who interrupted their kiss leaned against the wall with their backs, as if they were standing in punishment.
Tao Qian stared at Xu Ji expressionlessly, the look in his eyes being no different from the way he looked at a street thug.
"Starting next month, your rent will be tripled. Transfer it directly to me." After saying that, he shifted his gaze to the right, looking at Tao Siyun without any emotion, and announced coldly, "Your pocket money is gone."
Tao Siyun: "..."
Xu Ji: “…”
Qiao Ying: “…”
"Come with me."
“…” Tao Siyun didn’t know what her brother was going to do, and nervously tugged at Xu Ji’s sleeve.
Tao Qian passed by them and paused. His next words were obviously addressed to Tao Siyun, "Only one person can come."
“…”
The two men went to the south balcony one after another and closed the glass door.
Tao Siyun originally wanted to go back to his room, but Qiao Ying was still there, and it would be impolite to leave others alone in the living room.
This was already their third meeting. They weren't strangers, but they were certainly unfamiliar with each other...
Being seen in such a socially embarrassing moment by someone he wasn't even familiar with, who might very well be his future sister-in-law, Tao Siyun wanted to disappear right away. He didn't have the courage to ask her to sit anywhere, let alone say polite words like "I'll get you a glass of water."
Qiao Ying noticed her embarrassment and took the initiative to come over and said, "Just call me sister."
Tao Siyun's brain was no longer able to think. With her hands behind her back, she obediently called out "Sister" to Qiao Ying, who was taller than her.
Qiao Ying straightened the crooked strap on her shoulder.
Tao Siyun's body froze.
It's so embarrassing.
If only I could lose my memory...
She couldn't even recall what happened a second time.
Qiao Ying glanced at the fruits rolling everywhere and broke the awkwardness. "Want to pick them up with me?"
"……good."
***
Tao Qian frowned and looked at Xu Ji for a long time with the eyes of a criminal, and finally asked the question that concerned him most at this moment -
"When did you get together? How long have you been dating?"
"...one and a half months."
When Tao Siyun returned to Beijing for winter break...
Tao Qian suddenly thought of something, "Which high school did you go to?"
"Huxi No. 1 Middle School."
Huxi No. 1 Middle School...
Two days before the Chinese New Year, the family of four went to take a family photo.
Qin Shu is a very caring mother. When the brother and sister were young, their family bought a DV and a film camera to record their daily life anytime and anywhere.
Tao Siyun's growth album contains photos of her at different ages, from when she was just learning to speak to when she learned to walk, going to kindergarten, elementary school, junior high school, high school, and college... but the only thing missing is a high school graduation photo.
When Qin Shu mentioned it casually that day, Tao Siyun felt particularly regretful.
One of the most embarrassing things about transfer students is the issue of identity "recognition".
When she was in the west of Shanghai, because she did not have a student record, she felt that she had never truly integrated into the class during those two years, and was even ostracized by some of her classmates. Later, when she registered for the college entrance examination, she went to the Peking University Affiliated High School where she still had a student record to take an ID photo. She didn't recognize anyone, and looking at the unfamiliar faces made her feel even worse.
In a sense, Tao Siyun felt that he was neither a student of Shanghai West No. 1 Middle School nor a student of Peking University High School.
It feels like no one wants me, and I am not recognized or accepted anywhere.
Tao Siyun looked at Tao Qian's old high school graduation photo with envy on his face, and said in a disappointed tone: "Let's not talk about Huxi No. 1 Middle School. I have never attended a class at the affiliated middle school. If I really took a photo with teachers and classmates I didn't know, wouldn't it be very strange? Not only would it seem particularly redundant in the eyes of others, but I would also feel that I didn't belong..."
Tao Siyun had complicated emotions because he had never attended classes in the affiliated middle school, but ended up getting a high school diploma from the "Jingfu University Affiliated Middle School".
Whether it is the graduation photo she doesn’t have or the “transplanted” graduation certificate, it seems to represent the incompleteness of her high school years.
The eighteen-year growth line seemed to be broken.
"Huxi No. 1 Middle School..."
Tao Qian sneered and gritted his teeth. No wonder!
In this way, all those messy and seemingly unrelated coincidences before can be explained...
Everything has a traceable path.
Out of trust in Xu Ji, he told him the password to his house last time. Now that he thinks about it, it’s like inviting a wolf into the house!
After more than half a year of getting along, Tao Qian had already regarded Xu Ji as his own. He would invite him to have dinner together every weekend. But he didn't expect that Xu Ji and Tao Siyun had secretly developed to this point behind his back, right under his nose!
Do you think he's a fool?!
If he hadn't happened to see them today, who knows how long these two would have kept it a secret from him!
Tao Qian grabbed his hair in annoyance. The scene he saw after entering the door could not be erased from his mind.
Xu Ji had a good attitude and was very aware of the need to "turn herself in." She honestly confessed everything to him, "We've known each other since high school. We were desk mates in our freshman year. I didn't know she lived across the street when we rented the apartment. It was pure coincidence."
Tao Qian looked him up and down with a cold gaze, not sure whether he believed it or not. Then he asked the last question seriously, "You haven't made any unforgivable mistakes of principle, have you?"
“…”
Xu Ji hesitated for a moment, "What exactly do you mean?"
Tao Qian's face darkened instantly. He took a deep breath and asked calmly, "Besides what I just saw, have you done anything else?"
“It’s not too late yet.”
"Then I arrived just in time!"
Tao Qian felt that he needed to smoke a cigarette to calm down, but after groping for a long time, he realized that he didn't have a lighter with him.
Xu Ji took it out of his pocket and handed it over with great tact.
It's quite sensible to say it or not.
Tao Qian lit a cigarette with the lighter in Xu Ji's hand, but the next second, his eyes suddenly froze, as if he had found some evidence, "You drove my car?"
“…”
This lighter is very unique, exactly the same as the one the staff found in his car during the last car wash. He didn't think much about it at the time and thought that Tao Daiming had casually put it in his car.
I didn’t expect that it was Xu Ji who dropped it!
Xu Ji didn't look at all bewildered after being caught. Without Tao Qian asking a second time, he told the truth: "The last time I went to the airport..."
"Wait! Was it last month when she drove over and said she was going to pick me up?"
Xu Ji suddenly wanted to laugh, but after seeing Tao Qian's expression, he held back his laughter. "Well, she went to the airport to pick you up, and I just took her car."
“…”
Tao Qian had an urge to burn his palm with a cigarette butt.
"After all this time, you're the 'designated driver' she was talking about, right?"
Designated driver is true, but...
"I didn't take any money."
That girl said she was going to the airport to pick him up, but she was actually using him as a cover to send her boyfriend off! She even provided a designated driver!
"I think Tao Siyun needs a good scolding!"
…
The temperature outside was around ten degrees Celsius. The two men stood on the balcony and enjoyed the cold wind for a long time. They only went in after the smell of cigarettes on their bodies had completely dissipated.
After washing his hands, Tao Qian and Qiao Ying prepared the ingredients for the hot pot.
Seeing the workers coming, Qiao Ying took off her apron, made room, and leaned over the counter. She asked curiously, "Where's your sister's boyfriend? You just chased him away like that? That's a bit rude."
Tao Qian turned his back to her, the faucet turned on full blast, holding a fresh tomato in his hand, rubbing it vigorously, washing it, placing it on the cutting board, and with a flick of the knife, split it in half. The depression in his heart finally subsided a lot, and he breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm going to get the induction cooker from the opposite door."
“…”
Qiao Ying scoffed, "What are you trying to do?"
I just gave someone a rude warning one second ago, and I don't know how I had the nerve to ask someone to borrow my pot to eat the next second...
Is it possible to treat each case separately?
Tao Qian knew what she was thinking, and he chopped the tomato into pieces with the kitchen knife.
"That's my induction cooker. The appliances across the street, from the TV, refrigerator, and washing machine to the desk lamp, kettle, and hair dryer, are all bought with my own money."
“…”
Promising.
***
Tao Siyun hid in his room and shut himself in. Half an hour later, there was a knock on the door.
"It's time to eat, hurry up."
The person on the bed didn't react at all.
"It's just a relationship, what's there to be embarrassed about? Are you planning to starve yourself to death? Come out now."
Tao Qian turned his head to look at Xu Ji and said unhappily, "Your boyfriend is here too."
“…”
Tao Qian pinched his eyebrows, a little speechless, "I didn't see anything just now, okay."
After a few minutes, the bedroom door finally opened.
During the meal, Tao Qian and Tao Siyun sat together, while Xu Ji and Qiao Ying, two people who did not know each other, were arranged to sit opposite them.
The tomato soup base is fresh and rich, bubbling after boiling.
Tao Siyun lowered his head, too embarrassed to look up. He stirred the seasoning bowl in circles with the chopsticks in his hand without reaching into the pot.
The three of us looked at each other, and the four people at the dinner table were all embarrassed.
Tao Qian took it upon himself, using a small slotted spoon to fish out the cooked ingredients for her. "Don't you have hands? Just scoop out what you want to eat."
“…”
Tao Siyun didn't want to pay attention to him. After finishing his meal, he continued to stir the seasoning in the bowl.
"Tsk, next time I'll pay attention and ring the doorbell first."
Tao Siyun finally raised his head, "Didn't you say you didn't see it?"
Tao Qian scooped the cooked beef into her bowl and said in a very fake tone, "Well, I didn't see it. I'm blind."
Qiao Ying: “…”
Xu Ji: “…”
Tao Siyun finally managed to save a little bit of face.
After dinner, Tao Qian cleaned the kitchen while Tao Siyun patiently made her favorite "strawberry sandwich".
“Don’t eat mangoes?”
Tao Siyun paused as he was applying the cream and said unnaturally, "Someone is allergic to mangoes."
"..." Tao Qian glanced at her and said sourly, "I'm also quite allergic to your boyfriend."
I didn’t know it before, but men are really difficult to deal with when it comes to taste, each one is more awkward than the other.
What a coincidence, she happened to encounter all of them today.
"Please don't be so hypocritical, he really is allergic to mangoes."
Tao Qian didn't say anything. After wiping his hands, he walked over and ate the strawberries that Tao Siyun had just prepared and put on the plate.
"I'm really allergic to your boyfriend too."
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