0077 Cigarettes and alcohol, please (Screenshot)
"Young Master Tan, it's been a long time. What have you been up to lately?" The man smoking a cigarette asked Tantai Qing as he pushed the door open and entered.
Tantai Qing sat down, took a sip of the tea poured by the waiter, and before he could speak, Song Yuchang next to him answered for him: "With such a beautiful woman by my side, I have no time to deal with you idle people."
Apart from Song Yuchang, none of the people present knew that Tantai Qing had a boyfriend, and they kept asking him questions.
"What's going on? Whose celestial beauty is this? How could she catch your eye..."
As everyone knows, Tantai Qing is famously self-disciplined and especially dislikes associating with the pampered young ladies in the entertainment circle. Over time, people have joked that he has high standards and only seeks out celestial beauties as his partners.
Upon hearing this, Tantai Qing shook his head and smiled, "There's no need for that."
"No, seriously, who is it that's worth you hiding like this?" Qin Zilu took a drag of his cigarette and said as he exhaled smoke.
Song Yuchang thought he was being gossipy, "You wouldn't know him anyway."
How am I supposed to know you if you don't tell me?
The group of people managed to joke around for several rounds.
Song Yuchang glanced at Tantai Qing and teased, "Next time you go out, bring Jiang Jifan's ID card with you and show it to everyone you meet..."
"Jiang Jifan?" Qin Zilu stopped smoking, already holding the cigarette to her lips, upon hearing this. "Could it be the one I know?"
When Qin Zilu learned from Tantai Qing that the other person was from the same university as him, he looked at him with disbelief and asked, "How did you end up with her?"
Tantai Qing frowned upon hearing this; he disliked such a statement.
"I was the one who pursued her," he explained.
This left Qin Zilu even more astonished. Seeing his expression, everyone urged him to share his "story," not wanting to miss out on the drama.
Qin Zilu stubbed out his cigarette, leaned back, and said casually, "Your girlfriend was quite famous at our school back then."
Everyone pressed him to tell them how he became famous.
He didn't say it explicitly, but smiled ambiguously: "They're all quite famous."
Everyone present was shrewd; seeing his behavior, some immediately speculated whether it was a problem with his private life.
Tantai Qing's eyebrows had been furrowed ever since he started speaking, almost completely knotted together, and his complexion was visibly unwell.
"Hey, Taiqing, your girlfriend isn't studying art, is she?" someone suddenly asked.
Upon hearing this, the group exchanged knowing glances and burst into laughter.
Although it's not nice to say it like that, in their eyes, art students are the epitome of "chaotic private lives".
Song Yuchang clicked his tongue, annoyed, and said, "What did an art student do to you?"
Seeing his anger, the others were puzzled and laughed at him, "What's your hurry? We didn't mention your Miss Xiang..."
Xiang Nannan is a violin student, what they call an "art student".
Song Yuchang choked, afraid they would press the issue further, so he cursed "Get lost!" and then fell silent.
“She’s in a regular major.” After a long silence, Tantai Qing finally spoke, solemnly saying, “We are in a serious relationship.”
Then, lowering his eyelids, he glanced at them with a slightly darkened gaze and said coldly, "Please stop making such ridiculous speculations."
Seeing the slight anger on his face, it was clear that he cared deeply about the "she" he mentioned, so everyone wisely stopped the conversation, not daring to truly provoke him.
Midway through, someone asked Tantai Qing why he wasn't smoking anymore.
"I've quit," he said calmly.
Qin Zilu laughed at him: "You've been smoking for years, why are you suddenly getting into this health stuff?"
"What do you know? You have to give up something to gain something." Song Yuchang glanced at him and teased, "Otherwise, how do you think girlfriends come about?"
"That's going too far." Qin Zilu lowered his head, lit another cigarette, flicked off the ash, and raised an eyebrow incredulously. "Jiang Jifan is someone who drinks and smokes in private. How can he have the nerve to ask you to quit smoking?"
Tantai Qing paused, remembering that she had said she didn't like men who smoked. She didn't say a word, but pursed her lips.
Seeing that he remained silent, Qin Zilu understood what was going on and was about to speak again, but was interrupted.
"Zu Lu, do you have some kind of grudge against her?" Tantai Qing stared at him intently and asked directly.
"It's not really a holiday, I just wanted to remind you a couple of things as a brother."
Tantai Qing understood his unspoken meaning, but did not want to accept his "good intentions." She looked at him firmly and said, word by word, "I think she is very good."
Qin Zilu shrugged upon hearing this and said with an indifferent smile, "If you think it's good, then just pretend you didn't hear what I said."
"Let's not talk about this anymore, let's drink." He poured him a glass of wine himself, trying to ease the slightly awkward atmosphere between them.
Then he raised his glass to him and said with a smile, "You can't smoke, but you can drink, right?"
"Click".
Jiang Jifan turned around at the sound and saw Tantai Qing, wearing a black overcoat, push open the door and enter. He glanced at the wall clock and asked in surprise, "Why are you back so soon?"
"We had a meal and chatted briefly."
He stopped in front of her. She was wearing a mustard green long-sleeved tracksuit, her hair neatly tied in a bun, and her forehead was slightly damp, clearly from exercising.
Jiang Jifan frowned slightly when she smelled the strong smell of smoke coming from him.
Tantai Qing quickly explained, "They were the ones smoking; I was sitting next to them."
Her eyebrows relaxed, she tightened the screwdriver on her water glass, looked at him with a half-smile, and said in a playful tone, "Mr. Dan, why are you being so obedient?"
His earnest adherence to the rules was just like that of a high school student who listened to the teacher.
Tantai Qing looked at her thoughtfully. He couldn't imagine that she was the kind of person Qin Zilu had described, someone who also smoked.
Because her resistance to the smell of smoke really didn't seem like an act.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Jifan asked, puzzled, when he saw him staring at him silently.
"It's nothing." Tantai Qing shook her head.
If he wanted to know whether Qin Zilu's words were true or not, he could simply have someone investigate. However, he didn't want to destroy the trust between them in this way.
He chose to believe her and was willing to wait until the day she told him herself.
Afraid that she would notice something, Tantai Qing smiled and said softly, "You smell of smoke. I'll go take a shower first."
"What about this coat?" Jiang Jifan asked him, tilting his head as he picked it up with two fingers with a look of disdain.
"No, thank you," he replied decisively.
Just like when I promised her I would quit smoking.
Author's Note: Due to pricing issues, chapters with too many words were expensive, so sometimes a chapter was split into two chapters for payment. Starting today, this will no longer be done. It's dragging out the plot too much. I feel like I've written over seventy chapters and still haven't reached the part I wanted to write. From now on, I'll only write as much as I want. Those who find the price too high can choose to purchase chapters selectively, according to their means.
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