0109 Romantic Debts (Two Chapters Combined)
It was already evening when I got home.
"Have you eaten?" Tantai Qing had just finished taking a shower and came out.
Jiang Jifan said he had eaten outside with Xiang Nannan.
Seeing the bags she was carrying, and remembering the message he had just received on his phone, he casually asked, "What did you and Nannan buy?"
"I bought shoes and clothes." She put the bags on the ground, changed her shoes in the entryway, then remembered something and turned back to look at him, saying, "Oh right, I used your card."
"I saw it." Tantai Qing stepped forward and helped her put the bag away.
"Why did you only buy so little?"
There were only a few bags, and they were very light, which was quite different from Xiang Nannan's usual shopping habits.
Jiang Jifan changed his shoes and went to wash his hands first. Hearing this, he glanced at him and joked, "What, you think it's not enough?"
"Then I'll refresh it dozens more times next time."
He handed her a tissue to wipe her hands, smiled nonchalantly, and joked, "You've spent so much time with Nan Nan, yet you haven't learned her essence."
Tantai Qingcai wasn't afraid of her spending his money; he was only afraid that she wouldn't spend his money.
"It's a bit difficult, it might take some more time." Jiang Jifan threw the used paper towels he had used to wipe his hands into the trash can, raising an eyebrow and smiling.
Around 10 o'clock, Jiang Jifan came out after taking a shower, just as his phone rang.
"Jifan, can you help me see whose phone it is?"
She picked it up casually and glanced at it, only to see the words "Xianzhi" written on the note.
Tantai Qing paused slightly after hearing her read out the name.
After waiting for a long time, just when Jiang Jifan thought he would choose not to answer the call, he saw him walk over, stand beside him, and answer the call.
"Hello."
"Taiqing." He had the phone on speakerphone, and the other person's gentle voice slowly came through.
Jiang Jifan listened quietly to their conversation, just like an observer, while applying skincare products.
Tantai Qing didn't deliberately avoid her. As if it were a casual greeting, he asked, "Xianzhi, is there something you need so late?"
Qiao Xianzhi chuckled very softly, "Tai Qing, I'm back in China."
"I've been dealing with some issues these past few days and haven't had a chance to contact you."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Jifan unconsciously slowed down her eye cream application, inexplicably recalling what Xiang Nannan had said to her earlier that day.
"It's been a long time since we last met. How about we grab a bite to eat together sometime when it's convenient for you?"
She pursed her lips, which she had just applied lip balm to, and glanced at him sideways.
Tantai Qing remained calm and composed, seemingly not paying any attention to her conversation with Qiao Xianzhi. When she saw Qiao Xianzhi looking at her, she tapped her lips with her finger.
Jiang Jifan instantly understood his implication, but pretended not to understand and continued combing her hair.
Tantai Qing leaned down, pinched her chin, and lowered his head to press his lips to her moist, pink lips.
"Tai Qing?" After a long while, not hearing his response, Qiao Xian called out in confusion.
Jiang Jifan thought to himself, "He really doesn't take people seriously."
A moment later, the man pulled away from her lips and licked the lip balm off his own.
It smells like rose.
"I'm sorry." He straightened up and took the comb from her hand, combing her hair as he replied, "I've been quite busy lately and haven't had any free time."
There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone.
Just when the two thought she had hung up the phone, they heard her softly say, "It's okay."
“I’ve already decided to go back to China to develop my career, so we’ll have plenty of opportunities in the future.”
As if knowing he was not available at the moment, she took her leave first: "It's getting late, you should get some rest."
Goodnight, Tai Ching.
The call ended.
"Ji Fan, don't you have anything you want to ask me?"
Tantai Qing had already prepared to answer some of her questions, but seeing her completely unmoved, he found it rather strange.
"What do you want to ask?" Jiang Jifan got up from the dressing table, took out the clothes she would wear to work tomorrow, and hung them up.
He embraced her from behind, chuckled softly, and said in a clear, gentle voice, "You're making me a little flustered."
She hung up the clothes, turned around, pushed him away, sat down on the edge of the bed, looked up at him, and said, "Do you think I'm being too calm?"
Tantai Qing nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
If it were anyone else in this situation, they would probably have pressed for answers long ago.
Jiang Jifan stared intently at him. "I ran into her today when I was shopping with Nan Nan."
He never expected it to be for this reason.
As clever as he was, he immediately realized that she must have heard about him and Qiao Xianzhi from Xiang Nannan.
"What did Nannan say to you?"
She lifted the covers and lay down on the bed, feigning a sigh, "She said you two are childhood sweethearts, a match made in heaven."
“This doesn’t sound like something Yu Yu would say.” Tantai Qing lay down beside her, propping his head up as he looked at her.
"If you don't believe me, that's fine." Jiang Jifan turned his back to him and said in a resentful tone, "Actually, don't be fooled by my calm demeanor. I've secretly cried many times without your noticing."
"Really?" He leaned closer to look at her face. "Let me see, are your eyes swollen?"
She pretended to be annoyed and raised her arm to cover her eyes, but the corners of her mouth involuntarily curved up.
The moment Tantai Qing caught the smile on her lips, he couldn't help but chuckle softly, as if his composure had been broken.
Jiang Jifan knew that his poor acting skills had already been discovered, so he simply stopped pretending. He turned back to look at him, pinched his lips, and said fiercely, "It's all your fault for having so many romantic entanglements. How dare you laugh?"
“Ji Fan, I don’t know what Nan Nan said to you.” He took her hand away and said seriously, “I haven’t contacted her for a long time.”
Qiao Xianzhi grew up with them since childhood. Their families were of similar social standing, and they got along quite well. The year she graduated from high school, she took the initiative to confess to Tantai Qing the feelings she had kept hidden in her heart for many years.
To be honest, Tantai Qing only had feelings for her as a friend at the time. However, because he was young and immature, and with both sets of parents strongly advocating for their marriage, he, still a young man, decided to try what people called "love".
And so, he and Qiao Xianzhi ended up together in a rather haphazard way.
However, this happy period didn't last long. Later, Tantai Qing rejected Qiao Xianzhi's suggestion to go to New York to study together and went to Oxford University alone.
The already weak bond between the two became even weaker.
After dating for a year, Tantai Qing began to question what people meant by "love".
Everyone said he and Qiao Xianzhi were a perfect match, but only he knew that he couldn't feel any attraction to her at all.
When she first realized this fact, Tantai Qing gave herself some time to learn from other couples in love and try to get "closer" to her heart.
Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, he found that he still couldn't give her the kind of love she wanted.
All he knew was that continuing like this was a waste of time for both of them.
So on their one-year anniversary, when she flew from New York to Oxford to see him, Tantai Qing broke up with her.
The reason is that he cannot accept a long-distance relationship.
Yes, Tantai Qing could only use such a clumsy excuse to cover up the fact that he had never liked her.
He blamed himself for everything, but he never revealed the truth that was most embarrassing for her.
Later, no matter how she tried to persuade him to stay, even offering to give up her studies in New York to attend the same university as him, Tantai Qing refused.
"I'm sorry, Xianzhi, if you insist on doing this, I'm afraid we won't even be able to be friends anymore."
In the end, Qiao Xianzhi compromised.
Even someone as proud as her couldn't bring herself to cling desperately to a man who was about to give up on her.
Jiang Jifan was speechless after hearing this.
She actually felt sorry for Qiao Xianzhi.
"Let me guess, she came back to China this time probably to try and get back together with you?" She propped her head up like he did.
According to him, they hadn't been in contact for a long time, and Qiao Xianzhi had invited him out as soon as she returned to the country, plus she had just overheard their conversation.
Although she didn't want to use this kind of thinking to speculate about someone of the same sex, the other person's behavior was really suspicious.
Tantai Qing didn't know the other person's true thoughts, so she didn't want to make any hasty conclusions. She simply said, "Perhaps she still considers me a friend."
After all, when they broke up, he said he would still consider her a friend.
Since he trusted the other party's character so much, Jiang Jifan couldn't say anything more.
Remembering her earlier hint of rejection, she touched his lips with her fingertip and murmured, "Your lips are a little dry."
Tantai Qingxin understood immediately, and moved closer, his warm breath spraying onto her face.
"Okay, then I'd like to trouble Ji Fan to moisturize it for me."
Jiang Jifan smiled knowingly and snuggled into his arms the next second.
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