Chapter 21

Xiao Wang packed up his things with a heavy heart to go home, planning to talk to them again on Monday; he still had to go and put on a brave face since he had been caught by another teacher.

He sighed, wondering why the two of them didn't know how to learn from Jiang Xiangnan and Su Cheng?

Look at them, they were never alone together at school, let alone holding hands.

At the school gate, Cheng Yu and the others watched, dumbfounded, as their boss was caught by a teacher and had his photo taken; they felt a twinge of heartache for him instantly.

Hadn't he just been messing around with that girl a moment ago?

To think he actually got caught.

How pitiful.

Cheng Yu looked at the person beside him, and Zhang Zhuang immediately held the sign even higher.

Zhao Jiu pulled Su Li out, and seeing the high-held sign, his hand trembled twice; Su Li took a deep breath.

The two of them walked over quickly.

"Boss!" Cheng Yu called out happily, but Zhao Jiu pressed the sign down in one motion, his hand that was pressing the sign trembling.

Seeing this, Zhang Zhuang hurriedly shouldered the crushed sign and rushed toward the car behind.

They had said that this was a terrible idea of Cheng Yu's.

Yu Qi folded the sign again and brought it into the car with him.

Cheng Yu watched the two people running fast and realized, a beat too late, that he was done for.

He was hesitating over whether to get into the car behind when he suddenly noticed that the two people who had just wanted to slaughter him had suddenly lost their temper.

Cheng Yu: "???"

Su Li wanted to open the car door, only to find her hand being tugged; she looked down and saw a hand with distinct knuckles holding hers—when had they started holding hands?

Zhao Jiu was also stunned; he lowered his eyes to see his own hand firmly holding Su Li's, and because of the force, the soft pink of her fingernails was particularly obvious.

He let go, and Su Li pulled away naturally.

Zhao Jiu pursed his lips slightly, suddenly feeling that his palm felt strange, tingly and numb.

He squeezed his hand into a fist.

It wasn't as if he hadn't held hands with Su Li before...

Zhao Jiu paused slightly; having been together for ten years, it seemed they hadn't really held hands much?

Su Li was always standing by his side, so there was no need for him to hold her hand; she would just appear naturally.

Cheng Yu: "???"

He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he suddenly felt his existence was a bit redundant.

Su Li opened the car door, Zhao Jiu sat in, and Su Li walked around to the other side to get in.

Cheng Yu realized he was supposed to go sit in the car behind.

The car window rolled down, Zhao Jiu leaned against the seat with his legs crossed, and squeezed his knuckles with one hand: "Get in."

Cheng Yu nimbly sat in the passenger seat.

The driver started the car, Cheng Yu kept his hands properly on his knees, and Zhao Jiu's cold gaze fell over: "Whose terrible idea was this?"

Cheng Yu took the initiative to admit: "Wasn't your phone confiscated? I couldn't contact you, and I was afraid you wouldn't see us, so I thought this would make it easier for you to find us."

Zhao Jiu: "..."

Su Li looked at Cheng Yu in the passenger seat, who was shivering while also looking aggrieved; it was no wonder that in the future, President Cheng would cast aside his old face to shove this only son into their executive office, just begging them to make him a bit sharper, even though Zhao Jiu later sent him back.

Su Li: "We need to buy a phone first, and also get a replacement SIM card."

Cheng Yu nodded: "Got it! I'll tell the other two."

He lowered his head and typed to the two in the back.

The two cars drove out slowly, taking over an hour to reach the mobile phone store.

Zhao Jiu picked out a new phone, and the clerk looked at Zhao Jiu in surprise, then at Su Li—hadn't they just been here?

Su Li had wanted to stop Gouzi just now; he had entered the same shop, but he walked too fast, and she hadn't managed to stop him.

She smiled at the clerk: "Lost it."

The clerk understood and nodded.

After they came out, they went to the service center to replace the SIM card, and after the clerk helped him install it.

Because of the traffic congestion, by the time everything was finished, it was already nearly seven in the evening.

"Boss, where are we going? Home? Or should we eat first? I'm hungry," Cheng Yu said.

Zhao Jiu and Su Li turned back to look at the three students, each of them looking at them with eager eyes, not knowing where to go next.

"Let me see what's good to eat nearby," Su Li took out her phone to search for nearby shops.

"Hot pot, barbecue, or should we go to a restaurant?" Su Li said, looking at the shops popping up on her phone; with a group of boys, they probably wouldn't be full without eating meat.

Zhao Jiu lifted his backpack strap with one hand, feeling like he had three kids who had shown up on his doorstep; he glanced at the shop name on Su Li's phone, saw a familiar one, and said: "Yu Qi, did your family's Hot Pot Restaurant open up over here?"

Yu Qi took out his phone and searched: "Seems like it, and it's right on the street behind us."

Zhao Jiu said to the group of kids: "Let's eat hot pot."

The three in the back nodded in unison, then walked toward the back, and Yu Qi called the manager to ask him to save a table.

Zhao Jiu downloaded his usual software while walking, and Su Li gently tugged his sleeve with one hand, keeping an eye on his feet to prevent Gouzi from tripping.

Cheng Yu watched the meticulously cared-for Zhao Jiu; although he knew Zhao Jiu was delicate, this was just too delicate.

It made the three of them look a bit pitiful, like orphans with no one to care for them.

At this moment, inside the Hot Pot Restaurant.

Xu Lian was saying excitedly: "I ate at this Hot Pot Restaurant once while I was out during winter break last year; the taste was good, I didn't expect it to have opened over here."

Su Cheng felt helpless: "Isn't hot pot all about the same?"

"It's different!" Xu Lian said.

"Brother, why are you here?" A harsh voice came, and Su Cheng and the others looked up.

They saw Jiang Jiawei standing by their table with several students from Shengde.

Seeing Jiang Xiangnan and his group, Jiang Jiawei was startled for a moment, then immediately put on a well-behaved smile.

"Jiawei, is this your brother?" A girl behind him wearing a Shengde uniform looked at Jiang Xiangnan and was slightly stunned; he actually looked quite good?

And he was wearing a No. 1 High School uniform, so his grades were probably good too.

Seeing the amazement in their eyes, Su Cheng felt a surge of pride.

Jiang Xiangnan's face, however, was a bit dark, his pitch-black eyes sweeping over the group in front of him.

"Get lost." Jiang Xiangnan spat out the words. Jiang Jiawei's expression turned ugly in an instant, but he immediately adjusted his face, remaining gentle.

The two Shengde girls hadn't expected him to have such a bad temper and hurriedly tugged at Jiang Jiawei's clothes.

"Let's go, let's go eat, I'm starving."

A boy on the side also said, "Yeah, let's go. You treat him like a brother, but he doesn't acknowledge you."

Jiang Jiawei smiled: "Don't say that. He is my brother after all. If Uncle Jiang hadn't saved my mother and me back then, we both would have died in the hospital."

"Brother, come home to visit when you have time; Mom and Dad miss you."

Hu Xiao noticed Jiang Xiangnan's face growing darker and darker, terrified that he might beat the person up right there in the Hot Pot Restaurant.

"Are you sure there's still a place for me at home if I go back?" Jiang Xiangnan said mockingly.

Jiang Jiawei's expression changed slightly again, but remembering his mother's instructions, he smiled once more: "Brother, I really haven't coveted your position."

This one was far worse than Zhao Jiu.

Besides, if Zhao Jiu hadn't transferred to No. 1 High School, he wouldn't have come home this week to try his luck.

"My brother has a bad temper; he scared you all." They said as they walked, as if they hadn't even taken them seriously.

Su Cheng gave him a faint look. Someone who had been painstakingly shoved in by Jiang Xiangnan's stepmother actually came all the way here to provoke them?

Xu Lian said: "Doesn't he usually not come back? Why is he back today?"

Su Cheng felt a pang of heartache: "He's probably here to cause trouble for Jiang Xiangnan."

Bringing a few Shengde students along to show off his connections?

Jiang Xiangnan picked up his water glass, lowered his eyes to look at the drink inside, and said nothing.

"By the way, did Zhao Jiu really transfer to No. 1 High School?" A girl looked around as they walked.

Jiang Jiawei smiled, his words carrying a hint of pride: "Yeah. Cheng Yu said so himself."

The girl said: "I wonder if they'll come here to eat today. This restaurant is a chain owned by Yu Qi's family."

Jiang Jiawei: "You all know, Zhao Jiu doesn't like being followed, we're just trying our luck."

The group nodded, and one girl said: "I heard from Wang Qiyun that Zhao Jiu is secretly dating a girl from No. 1 High School. I don't know if it's true."

At school, there were many who had a crush on Zhao Jiu, but few dared to approach him. For one, he only hung out with Cheng Yu and a few others and was never seen being close with any girls. For another, everyone knew his standards for a girlfriend must be very high.

But they hadn't expected him to suddenly transfer to No. 1 High School, and for a girl at that.

They had to see this with their own eyes before they would give up.

Just then, a group of students entered the door. The manager hurried over and led them toward the second floor.

"Yu Ge."

Su Cheng and the others were just thinking about whether to leave early when Jiang Jiawei suddenly passed by them again. They were stunned for a moment, and when they looked in the direction he was heading, their expressions all turned ugly.

They saw Zhao Jiu and Su Li being surrounded by those Shengde students from the school gate, and Jiang Jiawei was leaning in toward them with a smile on his face.

The one leading the group was clearly stunned for a moment, as if he didn't recognize Jiang Jiawei at all.

Yu Qi was indeed stunned; he didn't recognize the person who had run over. But seeing the school uniform, he still nodded politely.

"Enjoy your meal."

Zhao Jiu didn't even lift his head as he continued walking; he was starting to log back into those apps. That was the trouble with a new phone.

Su Li followed Zhao Jiu, not noticing that Su Cheng and the others were there; she just wanted to eat quickly now.

The manager smiled as he came over: "Students, this way."

"So he really did transfer?" The few from Shengde looked at the uniform he was wearing.

Jiang Jiawei returned and said: "Zhao Jiu transferred suddenly, they have things to catch up on, so they won't be eating with us."

The few nodded, feeling dejected, and then followed the waiter to their own table.

Hu Xiao and the others listened to their conversation in shock. That hypocrite Jiang Jiawei was actually being so fawning toward that group?

Su Cheng immediately looked at Jiang Xiangnan and found him to be very calm, as if he had known from the start what Jiang Jiawei's purpose in coming back was.

Did he know about that Zhao Jiu's background?

The manager brought Su Li and the others to the second floor and handed over the menu. Yu Qi checked off what he wanted to eat, and the menu was passed around. Cheng Yu excitedly ordered a pile and handed it to Su Li: "For you."

Su Li took it and checked off everything she and Zhao Jiu liked to eat.

Cheng Yu glanced at the menu, then at Su Li. How long had it been, and she already knew his preferences?

"Boss, you and this..."

"Su Li." Su Li added.

"Why do you and Su Li have to stay at No. 1 High School? Wouldn't it be better to transfer to Shengde together?" Cheng Yu said. Look at him at No. 1 High School—his phone was confiscated, and he got photographed by teachers while trying to date; they were simply a pair of star-crossed lovers.

Zhao Jiu opened a bottle of Sprite with one hand: "I have things to do at No. 1 High School."

Su Li nodded. They were wearing the No. 1 High School uniforms, so they could only stay at No. 1 High School.

The three didn't understand what a high school student could have to do besides studying.

Su Li picked up a bottle of iced orange juice. As soon as her hand touched the ice-cold bottle, she immediately pulled it back.

Wait, did she forget something?

Was her period due in these next few days?

She remembered that it seemed to be when her period came that she gave in to her family.

After Su Li helped them unscrew the orange juice, she poured a glass for each of them.

Cheng Yu held the orange juice and said, "Thank you, Li Li."

Zhao Jiu was disgusted by him: "Can you call her properly?"

Cheng Yu: "..."

Forgotten your best friend now that you have a new flame?

After Su Li poured for the other two, she put down the orange juice; Zhao Jiu was stunned for a moment, she wasn't drinking any herself?

"Could you give me a cup of hot water?" Su Li said to the waiter who came in.

Zhao Jiu, whose hand had just touched the iced Sprite, immediately turned his head to look at her upon hearing this.

The waiter went out and brought her a pot of hot water; after Su Li poured some for herself, she held the hot water and listened to them chat.

She felt it was coming soon and had to be careful; back in High School, it used to hurt quite badly.

Zhao Jiu looked at her holding the hot water, leaned against his chair, and pursed his lips; she seemed perfectly fine during the day.

He picked up his phone: "I'm going out for a bit."

Su Li: "Hm?"

Cheng Yu and the others didn't take it to heart and continued talking about things from their childhood; Su Li listened quietly, hearing that Zhao Jiu was chased by a dog when he was little and even cried.

Her mouth opened slightly, Gouzi could actually whimper and cry!

She suddenly really wanted to see little Zhao Jiu crying and throwing himself into an adult's arms!!

Zhao Jiu went out and saw a waitress; the waitress knew this table was specifically mentioned by the manager, so she hurried over and said: "Student, do you need anything?"

Zhao Jiu asked her for something; the waitress was stunned for a moment, then recalled the hot water just sent in, and immediately understood.

Five minutes later, just as Su Li was listening intently, her phone rang.

Zhao Jiu?

"Zhao Jiu, what's wrong?" Su Li felt it was strange; why would he call her for no reason?

"Su Li, come out." Zhao Jiu leaned against the wall, holding the phone in one hand and pressing the other against his pocket, terrified that the item would fall out.

Su Li was confused: "Zhao Jiu is calling me to go out for a second."

Cheng Yu: "Huh? Why is he calling you and not us?"

Su Li also felt it was strange; she walked out, and Zhao Jiu, standing at the doorway, pulled her wrist.

Su Li: "Hm? What's wrong?"

Zhao Jiu placed a thin packet into her hand, frowned, and said: "If you're not feeling well, don't stay with them."

Su Li looked at the item in her hand, then looked at the somewhat serious boss, and was stunned.