Mother Ji watched Lu Huainan, who had no idea what to do with his hands, get out of the car. “That girl. Her classmate’s here, and she still hasn’t come out.”
Lu Huainan hurried to explain, “No, Auntie. I just got here and haven’t messaged her yet.”
Mother Ji patted the dog on the head. “Go find your sister.”
The Golden Retriever immediately grabbed its toy and went looking for Ji Zhaoxi.
“Kiddo, your uncle and I can’t play host today. We have something urgent to take care of later. Come over another time, and your uncle will cook for you.” Mother Ji smiled.
Lu Huainan’s face turned bright red. Nervously, he said, “It’s all right, Auntie. I came over so suddenly, after all.”
“Uh… Young Lu, right? Are you Xixi’s high school classmate?” Mother Ji asked.
Lu Huainan hesitated, then nodded. “Auntie, we went to the same high school, and now we’re graduate students under the same advisor.”
Mother Ji’s eyes lit up. “You’re graduate school classmates?”
Very nice. Very nice indeed.
“Lu Huainan!”
An out-of-breath voice came from not far away. Mother Ji and Lu Huainan both turned to look.
Lu Huainan gazed at her face and greeted her softly. “Ji Zhaoxi.”
Seeing that the two really did know each other, Mother Ji said to Ji Zhaoxi, “Xixi, make sure you take good care of your classmate.”
Ji Zhaoxi was so hot she could barely stand it. She nodded.
She was going to die of heat!
That stupid dog had run so fast she couldn’t catch up.
“Lu Huainan, why did you bring so many toys for Stinky Dog?” Ji Zhaoxi exclaimed in shock when she saw the huge basket of toys.
The Golden Retriever wagged its tail and climbed straight into the basket.
Lu Huainan coughed awkwardly. “I happened to buy too many, so I brought them all over.”
“Thank you! Stinky Dog will definitely be happy.” Ji Zhaoxi rubbed the dog’s head. “Come on, say thank you to Big Brother.”
Stinky Dog lazily barked twice.
“Woof, woof!”
Lu Huainan’s face grew even redder. He stared blankly at Ji Zhaoxi’s profile, so nervous he could hardly breathe. “I’ll carry it inside.”
Ji Zhaoxi rolled up her sleeves. “It’s fine. I can carry it.”
Lu Huainan hurriedly said, “It’s all right. I can do it myself.”
Ji Zhaoxi looked at him disapprovingly. “How can I let you do that? You already went through all the trouble of bringing it here.”
“It wasn’t any trouble. I drove here…” Lu Huainan tried to explain.
Before he could finish, Ji Zhaoxi had already hoisted the entire basket of dog toys onto her shoulder.
The Golden Retriever hopped around behind her.
Ji Zhaoxi glanced at Lu Huainan, who was still standing there in a daze, and called out, “Come on, Lu Huainan!”
“Woof, woof!” The Golden Retriever barked happily twice.
I’m following!
Lu Huainan gritted his teeth. “There’s also a bear. I’ll get it from the car.”
Ji Zhaoxi stared at him blankly. “A bear?”
But Stinky Dog didn’t seem to like bears…
Then, in the next second, she watched Lu Huainan struggle to pull a bear out of the car—a bear nearly as tall as he was.
She knew this bear very well, too. Apart from the giant size, she owned every other size.
Lu Huainan tried his best to ignore the eager light in Ji Zhaoxi’s eyes and forced himself to remain calm. “If you don’t mind, you can have it.”
“I don’t mind! I love it!” Ji Zhaoxi was overjoyed.
“Wasn’t this size sold out? Lu Huainan, how did you manage to get one?”
Lu Huainan carried the giant bear toward Ji Zhaoxi’s house, his ears burning red. He answered quietly, “I had someone ship it over from overseas.”
The giant bear had originally been used for display at the store. At first, the store had refused to sell it no matter what, but he had asked someone to negotiate with them for a long time.
“Thank you, Lu Huainan.”
Ji Zhaoxi didn’t know what else to say. Looking at Lu Huainan’s face, flushed red from the sun, she asked softly, “How much was it?”
The moment he heard Ji Zhaoxi bring up money again, Lu Huainan fell silent.
Holding the toy, Ji Zhaoxi hesitated. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just that friends can talk about money too, can’t they?”
She knew the bear couldn’t have been cheap. Even the smallest bear from this brand cost a fortune. Her father had even said that she had been completely brainwashed by consumerism, and that the bears she bought were no different from the ones sold in ordinary toy stores except for the brand.
Hearing this, Lu Huainan felt both angry and heartsick. “You worked so hard during last night’s livestream battle. Didn’t you say you were going to take good care of your money?”
Then what was she doing now? Just because she had earned a little more money yesterday, she was already starting to waste it today?
Seeing Lu Huainan’s accusatory expression, Ji Zhaoxi was even more confused. In silence, she led him inside.
She often felt as if she couldn’t understand what Lu Huainan was saying.
At last, they reached the living room, and the heat clinging to their bodies quickly dissipated. Ji Zhaoxi silently carried the giant bear into her bedroom and removed the protective bag covering it.
Lu Huainan sat stiffly on the sofa and drank some water. Had he been too harsh just now? Had she been upset?
But that really was what he had thought. She had shouted herself hoarse while soliciting votes yesterday, and after the livestream, she had still needed to thank all the big sisters one by one.
The money she earned was hard-earned, yet today she wanted to waste it…
The Golden Retriever had already run itself tired and was sprawled on the bed in the living room, fast asleep.
There were beds for it all over the house.
Ji Zhaoxi went downstairs and brought Lu Huainan some drinks and fruit. Their eyes met, and she tentatively grabbed several bags of snacks for him as well.
She had no idea how to entertain guests…
“Eat,” Ji Zhaoxi said awkwardly.
Lu Huainan nodded. “Oh. Okay.”
The two of them sat on the sofa, eating snacks awkwardly.
Ji Zhaoxi hesitantly pointed at the table. “There’s fruit.”
Lu Huainan took a slice of watermelon. “Thank you.”
Then the two of them quietly gnawed on their watermelon.
After they finished, Ji Zhaoxi asked softly, “Do you want some ice cream?”
Lu Huainan answered stiffly, “I’ll have some if you do.”
So Ji Zhaoxi went to get ice cream, and the two of them sat obediently on the sofa eating it.
She had originally planned to play with Ji Xinxin, but it was already fast asleep, snoring loudly.
Ji Zhaoxi felt unbearably awkward. If only her mother were here—the atmosphere definitely wouldn’t have gone cold.
“I’m not good at entertaining guests. Lu Huainan, are you having fun right now…?”
Lu Huainan kept his head lowered, his ears burning fiercely. He stammered, “It’s all right. I’m having a pretty good time.”
Ji Zhaoxi suddenly wanted to wake Stinky Dog up. Without it, she genuinely had no idea what to say to Lu Huainan.
Ji Zhaoxi’s coat was still lying on the sofa, and Lu Huainan had no idea where to put his hands or feet.
The atmosphere grew awkward.
“Have some fruit.” Ji Zhaoxi gave an awkward laugh and continued trying to entertain Lu Huainan.
Lu Huainan nodded and silently ate the fruit from the platter.
“Stinky Dog is asleep, so you don’t have to play with it anymore.” Ji Zhaoxi scratched her head.
Lu Huainan gave a quiet response. “It’s fine. I can play with you instead.”
“With me?” Ji Zhaoxi hesitated. “But I can’t play right now. My mom punished me by making me trim the trees in the garden.”
It was because Stinky Dog had framed her for smashing her mother’s flowerpot.
Lu Huainan stood up, his face red, and said earnestly, “Then let’s go trim them now.”
Ji Zhaoxi stood up too and said awkwardly, “Wouldn’t that be inappropriate? It’s rude to make a guest work.”
The two exchanged a silent glance.
Then, wearing straw hats and cooling arm sleeves and armed with two pairs of professional pruning shears, they obediently went off to trim the trees in the garden.
Ji Xinxin sleepily glanced at them before turning over comfortably.
