“My beloved Brother Zhi~”
Jiang Zhi’s eyes stared through Xue Baoyi as though he was invisible. “The clothes.”
Jiang Wei’er wiggled the shopping bag which hung from her finger. “Here.”
As soon as Jiang Zhi received the package, he turned around and shut the door in their faces.
“…”
The duo outside his unit was left dumbfounded.
Inside, Zhou Xufang, who by now had completely decimated the entire box of marshmallows, asked, “Who was it?”
“They were delivering clothes.”
She looked over to the bag that presumably contained clothes that Jiang Zhi had ordered. Her fingers affectionately caressed the marshmallow box before she finally stood up from the sofa.
“It’s getting late now. I have to go home now.”
“I’ll send you back,” said Jiang Zhi as the tip of his ears glowed red-hot.
Zhou Xufang didn’t even stop to think before turning him down. “No need for that. It’s freezing outside, you’ll catch a cold if you do that.”
“I insist.”
His words sounded unyielding. Still, everything about him now, from his pale-white face to his rosy eyes made him appear much less intimidating than during the daytime when he assumed the role of Director.
Zhou Xufang was still very concerned about his health. Placing the empty marshmallow box down on the table, she stubbornly rejected Jiang Zhi. “I will go home by myself.”
‘How defiant!’
Jiang Zhi’s expression darkened and his lips became stiff. Staring into her eyes, he dramatically flung the bag of clothes onto the sofa beside her.
“Change into these clothes before you leave.” Of course, he sounded pretty pissed when he said that.
‘Did I make him angry again?’
Zhou Xufang was unsure of what to do for a while before picking up the clothes and heading for the bathroom.
Jiang Wei’er now preferred girly outfits with warm tones. The clothes she had brought over consisted of a white knitted one-piece dress that was paired with a pink jacket. Coincidentally, pink was Zhou Xufang’s favorite color. She touched the sleeve of the pink jacket, feeling its material. If she wasn’t a professional runner, Zhou Xufang probably would have filled her closet with pink clothes.
“You like it?” What a funny character Jiang Zhi was. It wasn’t even a minute ago that he was burning up with rage, but his anger had, for some reason, fizzled out after seeing her cute reaction to the clothes Jiang Wei’er had delivered. Going through a roller-coaster ride of emotions was so not him, he thought.
Zhou Xufang touched the collar of her jacket, and with a genuine expression, she nodded happily. “Yeah, I really like the color pink.”
She liked milk, marshmallows, and the color pink. That was the default taste of a young girl. So why on earth did she act like such a weirdo every time he saw her?
‘If she liked those so much…’
He dug out a massive bag of marshmallows from a cupboard and picked every smaller bag that was of the color pink. Soon, he filled up a bag with these marshmallows which he plopped beside Zhou Xufang’s feet. “Bring this back home with you. Come tell me when you’ve run out.”
Again, the corners of his mouth were curved upward.
“Okay.” Zhou Xufang, feeling euphoric, whipped out her phone and transferred 10 grand into Jiang Zhi’s account on the spot.
“…”
Earning cash her way was no walk in the park. She should learn how to save her money before taking up so many part-time jobs.
Jiang Zhi chose not to accept her money, and he sat on the sofa with his arms crossed. “Remember to bring an umbrella with you.”
“Okay.”
Zhou Xufang, holding on to the bag full of marshmallows, stopped in front of the door and turned back to wave goodbye at Jiang Zhi. “See you later.”
Jiang Zhi remained seated on the sofa.
Click.
Jiang Zhi shot up from his seat and walked toward her the moment she turned the door’s handle.
Zhou Xufang had not even stepped out from the door when Jiang Wei’er entered her view. Doubt began to fill her mind.
Jiang Wei’er was working as Fang Lixiang’s assistant, so this wasn’t their first time seeing each other. In fact, she was fairly well-acquainted with Zhou Xufang. With a smile, she greeted her like she would an old pal. “I’m Jiang Zhi’s aunt.”
Jiang Wei’er had yet to reveal her true identity at her workplace, but Zhou Xufang wasn’t particularly interested in her. She nodded silently and did not ask for any further information about her.
Standing beside Wei’er was Xue Baoyi, who had suddenly decided to pay Jiang Zhi a visit on a whim. In a devil-may-care manner, he asked Zhou Xufang, “Do ya’ remember who I am?”
Zhou Xufang, who was clueless in social situations, instinctively reached around to pull the hood of her jacket over her head. Too bad her hand grabbed empty air and she was reminded that not all jackets came with hoods. The only thing she could do now was to lower her gaze to hide away from Xue Baoyi’s eyes.
“You were a customer at my screen protector stall,” she replied.
She had also seen his picture on the internet. He was holding a female celebrity in that picture which Fang Lixiang had shown her when she called him a scummy man.
Xue “scummy man” Baoyi acted as if they had known each other since forever, and with a beaming smile, he introduced himself. “Nice ta’ meet you, I’m Jiang Zhi’s childhood frie-”
“What exactly are you two up to?”
“…”
Xue Baoyi, whose introduction had been abruptly interrupted, went silent.
Jiang Zhi, still crossing his arms, leaned against the doorframe. The black sweater he was wearing made his pale complexion stand out even more, and with eyes that could kill, he added, “Get in or piss off.”
Xue Baoyi rolled his eyes.
He was no fool. Clearly, Jiang Zhi was trying to protect his girl from prying eyes.
“The rain has stopped. You should hurry home now.”
Jiang Zhi’s gaze shot past Xue Baoyi as he spoke to Zhou Xufang.
The way he spoke wasn’t what you’d describe as “gentle”, but it was softer than usual and at a much slower pace too.
Zhou Xufang mumbled a response and left immediately after.
Xue Baoyi watched her leave before walking through Jiang Zhi’s door. “Brother Zhi, you-”
“When did I say you could step on my carpet? Get off it! God, you’re filthy.” Jiang Zhi, feeling disgusted, dragged his frail body over to search for 2 pairs of disposable slippers as well as a dry towel. His face was nowhere near what he looked like from before, it almost looked as though he was going to murder someone that night. “Dry yourselves off before coming in.”
“…”
There were already water stains on the carpet before they had come in, meaning someone had clearly stepped on it, and it sure didn’t take Einstein to figure out who that “someone” was. The contrast in how they were being treated was the root of how one would usually get emotionally hurt.
Xue Baoyi’s heart sank as he stared at Jiang Zhi with a sullen look. “Brother Zhi, have you forgotten who I am to you? I’m your best bud, your brother from another mother, Big Bro Baoyi.”
Jiang Zhi shot him a glare. “Retard.”
“…”
Xue Baoyi lost the will to keep up the cringe-inducing act.
‘I guess it’s time to sever ties with this heartless brother.’