Chapter 32

Zhao Jiu was slightly lost in thought.

Su Li noticed he was motionless and spoke up: "Boss, how about I do it?"

Gouzi had been single for thirty years, and she was afraid his technique wasn't good and he would tangle the hair behind her.

Zhao Jiu came back to his senses and continued to fasten the necklace for her; the clasp at the back was tiny, and as Zhao Jiu lightly flicked the switch with his fingertips and just got it open, preparing to fasten the other end, it snapped back shut.

Boss Zhao, who considered his fingers nimble, fell silent for a moment, then continued to flick the switch, but before the other end could be brought over, it snapped back again.

Zhao Jiu casually pulled the necklace a bit closer to his side.

Su Li's eyes widened, one hand covering her neck, her body subconsciously leaning backward, and when her feet stumbled, she crashed directly into Zhao Jiu; Zhao Jiu was stunned, and by the time he reacted, his right hand was already supporting her waist.

Zhao Jiu froze for a moment, lowering his eyes; the girl was leaning against him, her head brushing against his chin, fuzzy and ticklish.

He could even smell the scent of the shampoo Su Li used.

Faint, and a little fragrant.

His heart suddenly felt itchy.

Zhao Jiu realized something was wrong with him; the fingertip holding the necklace tightened slightly, and the hand resting on Su Li's waist felt a bit awkward—it didn't feel right to let go, nor did it feel right to keep it there.

Su Li stood steady, rubbing her poor neck.

The boss deserves to be single!

Is this putting on a necklace?

This is murder!

Seeing that she had steadied herself, Zhao Jiu finally let go, his palm seemingly still retaining the sensation of her waist.

Zhao Jiu squeezed his hand, brought the necklace forward a bit, and carefully fastened it again; this time, he finally succeeded.

He let go and said, "Done."

Su Li let out a sigh of relief and stepped outward: "Thank you for your hard work, Boss."

Zhao Jiu finished fastening it: "Mm."

After the Midterm Exam, had he been a bit too relaxed?

Going back to work through some exercise books and keeping himself busy should make things normal again.

He strode toward the exit.

Su Li watched the boss walk out of the mall in confusion, quickly chased after him, tugged on his sleeve, and said: "Boss, what are you going out for?"

"There's no problem buying the gift you're giving Chen Xue here."

Given Zhao Jiu's family background, a birthday gift for a classmate couldn't possibly be too cheap, otherwise, it would imply he didn't value the person.

Zhao Jiu's footsteps paused; he had forgotten, he was just thinking about going out to catch some wind and calm down.

Zhao Jiu walked back and asked: "What should I buy?"

Su Li led him deeper into the mall: "Chen Xue complained to Liu Jiajia a few days ago that her tablet was broken."

Zhao Jiu had one hand in his pocket: "Then I'll give a tablet."

Su Li nodded; Zhao Jiu giving this wouldn't be a mistake. The two entered a store, Su Li picked out the latest model, Zhao Jiu took out his card to pay, and they left as soon as they finished buying it.

At this hour, there were quite a lot of people in the mall; Su Li stood by the roadside, watching the people coming and going, wondering what would be better for her to give.

She walked slowly, looking at the shops on both sides, but nothing seemed quite right.

Zhao Jiu followed behind, and seeing her lost in thought, he was just about to say she could buy a bouquet of flowers.

Just then, a child ran by holding some food, and seeing they were about to bump into Su Li, Zhao Jiu strode over, preparing to scoop Su Li up, but just as his hand reached out, Su Li had already moved out of the way for the child herself.

She looked at the hand Gouzi had extended: "Hm?"

Why did he reach out?

Zhao Jiu withdrew his hand and clenched it: "It's nothing."

Su Li didn't think too much about it and continued picking out items, while Zhao Jiu's gaze rested on Su Li as she looked at the shops everywhere.

At this moment, Su Li suddenly turned back and grabbed Zhao Jiu's sleeve with one hand.

Zhao Jiu: "Hm?"

Su Li said: "There are quite a lot of people, let's not get separated."

Gouzi seemed to be spacing out at every turn today; if she lost him, she would have to look for him later, so it was better to hold on to him.

Zhao Jiu looked down at his sleeve; that hand was slender and fair, the same one he had held unconsciously at the school gate last time.

Su Li pulled Zhao Jiu around for a while, then suddenly saw a store selling plush toys; she immediately let go of Zhao Jiu's sleeve and walked inside.

For a young girl, these were hard to go wrong with.

She picked out a duck and a bear, and asked: "Which one is cuter?"

Zhao Jiu shifted his gaze from his sleeve, looked up, and examined the two toys: "The bear."

That bear had a silly smile, and it looked a little bit like Su Li.

Su Li looked at the two toys again; it seemed the bear was cuter.

"Then I'll buy it." Su Li put the duck back in its original place and took the bear to pay.

After a while, Su Li came out holding the bear, walking behind Zhao Jiu.

It was only eight o'clock in the evening now; if they returned to school and traffic was good, they should arrive before nine. She would give them a day off today and let them sleep early tonight.

After Su Li estimated the time, she walked toward Zhao Jiu's car while lowering her head to smooth the fur on the doll's head; the texture was truly good. After starting work, she hadn't had time to look at these things and had forgotten how cute they were, and touching them was even stress-relieving.

Zhao Jiu turned his head and watched her carefully combing the doll's fur; her whole demeanor seemed to soften quite a bit.

She was actually very meticulous about this.

The two got into the car, drove all the way back to school, and then returned to their respective dorms.

After Su Li put away the things she was going to give Chen Xue tomorrow, she went to take a shower; when she came out, she picked up her phone, preparing to check the messages on it today, not knowing if the grades were out yet.

There were 99+ messages in the group chat.

She tapped to open it, and inside, everyone was already howling about their own scores.

She hurriedly sat up straight; they were out. Although she felt she hadn't done too poorly, she was still very nervous about seeing the results.

Su Li scrolled up through the chat history, saw a file, took a deep breath, and carefully tapped it; the file downloaded slowly, then suddenly opened.

Su Li saw her own and Zhao Jiu's scores at a single glance.

Gouzi really pulled up the score with the combined science subjects!

She scrolled up again, completely excited.

Over there, Zhao Jiu came out after showering and saw Su Li's name displayed on his phone.

He answered: "Hmm?"

Su Li said excitedly: "Boss! Have you seen the grade report in the group?"

Zhao Jiu was drying his hair with one hand: "Not yet."

Su Li: "Then I'll forward it to you."

Zhao Jiu could feel her happiness through the phone; he tapped the file Su Li sent him—three files—and he tapped one at random.

He looked at Su Li's scores and smiled faintly; no wonder she was so happy, it far exceeded expectations.

Even if the Chinese exam didn't go well, they were still very likely to be securely in the top one hundred.