Chapter 9 How can someone be so good at acting cute?
The leaves on the trees lining the road were drooping at the edges from the sun. A summer breeze carrying heat swept by, and the branches rustled as they collided.
Apart from the occasional passing car, there were hardly any people on the road.
The sunlight outside the window, filtered through the thick glass, was reduced by more than half, casting warm yellow shadows on the books, more like an embellishment.
Ji Jingyu lowered his dark eyes, his attention not on the book in front of him, and he didn't turn a single page for a long time. The corner of the page was even curled up slightly from the unconscious movements of his thumb and forefinger.
Jiang Sui and Su Yinian's relationship is a secret, so it's impossible for Jiang Sui to post such a message on her WeChat Moments in a big way.
But she still posted it anyway.
Jiang Sui must have set it to "partially visible".
Ji Jingyu thought.
So, has he already been categorized into a specific group of people by her...?
Suddenly, a small, fluffy ball fell from the sky and landed on Ji Jingyu's book with a "plop," disrupting his thoughts.
He looked up and met the "perpetrator's" big, round eyes, who was staring at him with an innocent expression.
Ji Jingyu picked up a toy ball, tossed it upwards, caught it, and tossed it again...
The "perpetrator's" little head nodded up and down with his movements.
After playing like this for a while, the fair and strong hand suddenly tightened, enveloping the small ball.
Ji Jingyu placed the small ball aside, a faint smile appearing on his face. He tapped the table with his well-defined fingers and said, "Get down."
The tadpole perched on top of the bookshelf seemed to understand his command. After meowing, it nimbly leaped onto the table and then unceremoniously lay down on Ji Jingyu's books, spreading itself out like a cat pancake, revealing its soft and round little belly.
It looked like it wanted to be touched.
After a while, seeing that its owner had not met its needs, the tadpole meowed again, rubbing its little head against the pages of the book below, as if urging or being affectionate.
Ji Jingyu's gaze swept over the crumpled paper. Instead of taking the tadpole away, she finally gave in to its wishes and gently rubbed its little belly.
He had been playing with the tadpoles for a short while when his phone, which was lying to the side, suddenly flashed.
[Three friends: Brother Ji, are you free right now? [Cat peeking out.gif]]
A complex expression crossed Ji Jingyu's face.
Yesterday I would call him by his name properly, but now I always call him "Brother Ji" with a sarcastic tone.
Jiang Deyu deserves a lot of credit for this. Ji Jingyu suddenly regretted lending him the homework, thinking that he should have been beaten up by Uncle Jiang and made to run all over the neighborhood.
Ji Jingyu continued petting the cat with one hand, while grabbing her phone with the other and replying to Jiang Sui's message with one hand: "When you're free, tell me."
[Three close friends: [Image]]
Ji Jingyu clicked on the picture and found that it was full of kitten snacks.
[Three friends: What flavor does the tadpole like?]
No need, the tadpoles have snacks.
Whether at home or in Grandma's shop, there's always a special place to store tadpole snacks.
Jiang Sui replied quickly, "[This is what I promised Tadpole, Brother Ji, just tell me. [Cat clasping hands.gif]]"
"Why are you so good at acting cute, hmm?" Ji Jingyu's voice was very soft, almost a murmur.
The tadpole tilted its head slightly to look at him, seemingly trying to determine if its owner had given a new command.
Ji Jingyu chuckled lightly, "This is none of your business."
He zoomed in on the photo and circled several snacks that the tadpoles liked.
[Four friends: Okay, thanks, Brother Ji. I'll come to your house to find you guys later.]
"Let's do it later, Tadpole and I are both at Grandma's shop."
In just a few words, Jiang Sui's nickname changed again.
In fact, he sensed something was wrong from the very first sentence Jiang Sui said to Ji Jingyu.
He remembered clearly that when he added Jiang Sui as a friend yesterday, her nickname was still "Friend".
After thinking for a moment, Ji Jingyu exited the chat with Jiang Sui and asked Xia Fan and Jiang Deyu separately if they had added Jiang Sui as a friend.
After receiving an affirmative answer, Ji Jingyu's originally calm face clearly showed ripples of emotion.
Is Jiang Sui recording the number of her friends in Xunning, or the total number of all her friends?
wrong.
It shouldn't just be Xun Ning's, otherwise when he added Jiang Sui as a friend, her nickname wouldn't be "friend".
But how could she only have one friend in all her life?
—
The bookstore door was opened from the outside, bringing a wave of heat.
The antique bronze bell hanging on the door then emitted a melodious and clear sound.
Grandma Ji instinctively went to greet the guest, only to see that the person who came in was Jiang Sui.
She was a little surprised, "Sui Sui, what brings you here?"
"I came to see you and also to look for Brother Ji."
Jiang Sui put the things in her hand on the table, and her eyes were immediately drawn to the store's furnishings.
The used bookstore has two floors.
The first floor features rows of tall bookshelves packed tightly together, with books neatly arranged and categorized. Ladders are thoughtfully provided for customers to easily access books on the upper shelves.
So despite having a lot of things, it didn't feel crowded or messy at all.
Going up the wooden stairs leads to the second floor of the bookstore, where long tables and benches are set up, serving as a reading area.
Once customers find a book they like, they can either pay and take it home directly, or go to the second floor to read it.
Time seems to have stood still in this small space, and every old book you see tells a little story.
However, perhaps because school is about to start, there were no customers in the store.
"Oh dear, your face is all red from the sun, you must be so hot." Grandma Ji hurriedly stood up from her chair, pulled Jiang Sui in front of the fan, and grabbed a few tissues to wipe her sweat.
Jiang Sui shook her head. "It's alright."
She wasn't lying.
Compared to Licheng, Xunning's summer is really mild, and Grandma Ji's bookstore is not far from the bus stop. It's just that Jiang Sui has thin skin, and she ran a few steps, so she looks particularly disheveled.
She pushed one of the bags in front of Grandma Ji, saying, "This is fruit that Teacher Su asked me to bring for you."
—
She and Su Yinian were about to go home after shopping when Su Yinian received a message from the head of the grade, telling her to come to the school as soon as possible.
"Could it be related to that person from yesterday?"
Jiang Sui's expression was rather unpleasant, as if she were about to rush to the school and start a fight if Su Yinian nodded.
If Ji Jingyu hadn't suddenly appeared yesterday, she would have rushed down long ago.
But then she thought about it again and couldn't help but feel grateful that Ji Jingyu was there at the time.
Otherwise, if she rushes down, she will definitely reveal her identity and mess up her mother's life, causing irreparable consequences.
In a way, Ji Jingyu was her savior.
Hearing Jiang Sui ask this, a hint of embarrassment flashed in Su Yinian's eyes. She denied it, saying, "It has nothing to do with yesterday's matter. It's a work-related issue."
After a two-second silence, she truthfully explained the situation from yesterday to Jiang Sui.
When the head of her grade was asked to set her up on blind dates with other people, Jiang Sui frowned and snorted, "Why are these people so idle?"
“I’ve already made it clear to them that I don’t need blind dates, and they won’t do it again.”
Su Yinian glanced at the still sulking girl, coughed lightly, and emphasized, "But don't overthink it. I'm not doing this because of your father. I just prefer living alone."
Jiang Sui, who hadn't even had time to think further: "..."
Jiang Sui actually sensed a hint of an attempt to cover up the truth in her words.
However, she knew in her heart that pretending not to know anything was the best answer at this time.
If Su Yinian goes back to school, Jiang Sui will have to go home alone.
Looking at Jiang Sui, who had just arrived, she was a little worried. "Will you be okay going back alone?"
"I want to visit Grandma Ji's used bookstore."
Jiang Sui thought that she could also give the tadpole snacks to Ji Jingyu while she was at it.
Actually, when she heard Ji Jingyu say that she wasn't home, she actually breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Ji He was gentle throughout and spoke softly to them, Jiang Sui was still a little intimidated by her.
She's probably not the only one who feels this way.
Jiang Sui keenly sensed that the atmosphere in the room had changed drastically the moment Ji He entered.
Even the usually carefree Jiang Deyu couldn't help but sit up straight.
Grandma Ji.
Ji He.
Ji Jingyu.
It might be a coincidence that the family members share the same surname, but she didn't see any adult male belongings in Ji Jingyu's living room, so where was his father?
However, despite her curiosity, this was Ji Jingyu's private matter, and Jiang Sui would not ask or inquire about it.
Unless Ji Jingyu tells her himself.
Upon hearing that Jiang Sui was going to visit Grandma Ji, Su Yinian readily agreed, "That's fine too. You can go back with Xiao Jing then."
—
When Grandma Ji saw the fruit Jiang Sui brought over, her first reaction was to refuse it.
"I'm so happy you're coming to visit, why would I buy fruit?"
Jiang Sui had already prepared her explanation on the way here: "This was bought by Teacher Su. I'm just running errands. If you really don't want it, you can talk to her yourself."
"You little rascal." Grandma Ji smiled. "Xiao Jing is upstairs. Go go play with him. There's air conditioning upstairs."
Grandma Ji is getting old, and she feels cold staying in an air-conditioned room all day. She prefers the breeze from an electric fan.
"Okay, I'm going up now."
When Jiang Sui went up to the second floor, she discovered that there was a separate small room upstairs, which was probably prepared by Grandma Ji specifically for Ji Jingyu.
The door wasn't completely closed.
Just as Jiang Sui was about to knock on the door, she saw a large, hairy face squeeze out from the crack in the door.
"Meow."
The next second, the whole cat squeezed out from the crack in the door and circled around Jiang Sui's feet.
"Did you smell the snacks? Your little nose is so sensitive!" Jiang Sui squatted down and untied the knot on the bag. "Here, they're all yours."
To everyone's surprise, the tadpole only glanced at Jiang Sui before looking away, continuing to circle around her, meowing and occasionally patting her shoes with its small, claw-less paws.
Jiang Sui looked at it in confusion, "Don't you like it? But Brother Ji said these are all things you like."
The two, a person and a cat, tilting their heads to face each other, create a strangely cute and comical scene.
"It's asking for a hug."
Ji Jingyu also came out at some point.
His tall and slender figure leaned against the door frame, his posture relaxed and casual.
A pair of dark eyes looked down at them, the corners of the eyes slightly upturned, unlike their usual aloofness, instead showing a touch of alluring gentleness.
It was as if the scene had been reenacted.
The man and the cat stared wide-eyed, turning their heads to look at him in unison, making Ji Jingyu feel absurdly as if he were a cat toy.
"It wants you to hold it." Ji Jingyu repeated herself, afraid that Jiang Sui hadn't heard her clearly.
"So that's how it is."
Jiang Sui suddenly realized what was happening and quickly rectified the situation by reaching out and picking up the tadpole.
The little guy felt heavy in her arms, but Jiang Sui didn't feel it was heavy at all. She lowered her head and kissed the tadpole on the forehead, and the tadpole snuggled into her arms affectionately.
For a moment, it was hard to tell who its owner was.
Ji Jingyu bent down to pick up the bag Jiang Sui had placed on the ground and asked her, "Why did you come here?"
"The bus just happens to be going that way."
Then, Jiang Sui lowered her voice a few decibels, as if she were sharing a pleasant little secret with Ji Jingyu, "Mom said I can go back with you."
Only in front of Ji Jingyu could she call Su Yinian "Mom" without any reservations.
My mother was worried about me going home alone.
And she cares about me a lot.
Ji Jingyu nodded, "Okay, but I might be going back later."
"It's okay, I'll wait for you."
Jiang Sui didn't mind. Grandma Ji had so many books; any one of them would be enough for her to pass the time, not to mention the tadpoles to play with.
From an angle where Jiang Sui couldn't see, Ji Jingyu curled his thin lips into a smile.
"Go in."
Ji Jingyu is tall and slender. When he leans against the door, he has a nonchalant and lazy air about him, but when he walks, he is upright and has an outstanding demeanor.
Watching his retreating figure, Jiang Sui couldn't resist teasing him.
She quickened her pace to catch up with him, carrying the tadpole, but as soon as she raised the tadpole's front paws, Ji Jingyu, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, said in a calm voice, "Don't be naughty."
It's unclear whether they're talking about cats or people.
But the results were good.
Both people and cats have become well-behaved.
A note from the author:
Tadpole: ??? ?? This isn't for me, it's a snack I bought for myself!
Xiao Ji's Diary: She said she wanted to go home with me.
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