Chapter 292: Are you stupid? Aren't you cold?

Deng Xiwen smiled as she entered the door and said: "I've come here uninvited; I hope I'm not disturbing you?"

"Not at all, not at all. Usually, I'm the only one at home. A few days ago, I was telling Lianxing that I should invite you and Mr. Gu to visit our home when you have time," Shen Jingjing responded warmly.

This was Deng Xiwen's first time visiting the Shen home. This apartment had been snapped up by someone before it even opened for sale, and its location was better than theirs, and it was larger.

She looked around casually and couldn't help but praise: "This house is really nice. No wonder Lianxing also felt that this house was better than ours."

Shen Jingjing smiled, invited her to sit in the living room, and went to brew a pot of flower tea herself.

"The tea is something I brought from Shengang. Please have a taste."

Deng Xiwen reached out to take the teacup Shen Jingjing handed her, then smiled slightly: "Don't be so formal. I see we are the same age, so you can just call me Xiwen."

"Lianxing told me when she went back from here a few days ago, instructing me to come over and talk to you when I have time, and take you out for a walk. We live as neighbors, and Lianxing and A-Ci are good friends, so we should visit each other more often."

Shen Jingjing nodded slightly, her gaze involuntarily drawn to Deng Xiwen's natural, noble temperament.

But her nobility was very peaceful and didn't make people feel distant. Just as her daughter had said, this Mrs. Gu had a very good personality, and even though it was their first meeting, she didn't make her feel pressured.

The two chatted for a while. Deng Xiwen glanced at the time, looked at Shen Jingjing, and extended an invitation: "Let's go out for a stroll in a while. It just so happens that I have an appointment with a few of my sales associates to check out the brand's new arrivals. You can also see if there's anything you like. The weather is about to warm up, so you should add some new clothes for yourself. In the afternoon, we'll go for afternoon tea. Afternoon tea in this kind of weather is very pleasant, much more comfortable than staying at home."

Shen Jingjing naturally wouldn't refuse. The other party was the first friend she had made since coming to Longcheng, and since the other party had extended such an active and warm invitation, she naturally had to go.

"Okay, then I'll go upstairs to change into an outfit and tidy up."

Returning upstairs, Shen Jingjing opened her wardrobe. Inside were new clothes her daughter had added for her, but she hadn't had much opportunity to wear them, and many still had the tags on.

Although her knowledge of brands wasn't quite enough, she still had a talent for self-expression through aesthetics.

So when she changed into a carefully selected outfit, paired with the makeup she had applied, as well as accessories and a handbag, and walked down from upstairs again, Deng Xiwen was instantly stunned by the Shen Jingjing in front of her.

This was like a completely different person from the Shen Jingjing who had been sitting there drinking tea with her just a moment ago.

"Jingjing, you're so beautiful!"

Deng Xiwen praised her sincerely.

Shen Jingjing smiled with some embarrassment: "It's been a long time since I've made myself look this formal; I still feel a bit awkward."

"Looking at you like this, A-Ci really looks like you. No wonder I thought this little girl was truly beautiful the first time I saw her. Today, I finally know the source is here with you."

As she spoke, she stepped forward and warmly took her arm: "Let's go, I've already had the driver wait outside."

At 5:00 PM, Shen Xing was the first to finish the paper for the last subject. After checking it once more to confirm there were no errors, he handed it in ahead of time.

Jiang Ran looked up in surprise to see him hand in his paper and walk out of the classroom with his schoolbag on his back. She frowned slightly.

After hesitating for a moment, she also got up to hand in her exam paper.

"Shen Xing!"

At the stairwell, Shen Xing was about to go downstairs when he heard Jiang Ran calling him.

Looking back, Jiang Ran ran over in small steps and asked, looking at him: "Why did you hand in your paper half an hour early?"

Shen Xing asked back: "Didn't you also hand in your paper early?"

"I felt that something was wrong with you, so I wanted to come out and see what you were actually going to do."

"Something is wrong with me?" Shen Xing blinked his eyes innocently: "What could be wrong with me? I finished answering, finished checking, so I handed it in. Sitting there is just zoning out anyway."

Jiang Ran looked him over with suspicion: "What did Shi Jingming want with you this morning?"

She knew Shi Jingming very well; this person was extremely unreliable, and it was possible he wanted Shen Xing to do something with him.

Shen Xing didn't hide it either and said honestly: "He said he wanted to take me to play billiards."

"Play billiards?"

"Yeah."

"So that's it?"

"What else?"

Jiang Ran was silent, but her gaze remained fixed on Shen Xing.

Finally, seeing that Shen Xing wasn't lying, she nodded: "Fine. I thought there was some progress on the bicycle matter. Remember to tell me if there's any news; after all, I accompanied you to report it to the police."

"I know."

Jiang Ran added hurriedly: "Also, Shi Jingming isn't a bad person, but sometimes he's really unreliable and has a lot of crazy ideas. Don't listen to everything he says."

Shen Xing was slightly stunned. He hadn't felt that way about this; in fact, it was quite the opposite. In the days he had known Shi Jingming, he felt that some things had actually made him feel particularly at ease because of him.

He's quite reliable!

But Jiang Ran definitely knew Shi Jingming better than he did, so Shen Xing didn't refute this.

"Then do you want to come with us to play billiards?" Shen Xing invited her casually.

Jiang Ran shook her head: "I won't go to play billiards. Just don't hide anything from me."

Shen Xing didn't force her either. Girls really wouldn't be too interested in places like billiard halls.

The two walked together to the school gate before parting ways. Jiang Ran went to the bus stop to take the bus, while Shen Xing waited on the side of the road for Shi Jingming to come out.

It wasn't until the 5:30 bell rang and a large group of Second Middle School students surged out of the teaching building that Shen Xing saw Shi Jingming in the sea of people.

"Why are you outside? Did you hand in your paper early?"

Shi Jingming walked up to Shen Xing and looked at him with some surprise.

Shen Xing nodded, only to hear Shi Jingming say with a speechless expression: "Then why didn't you tell me earlier? I would have handed in my paper early too. How long have you been waiting? Are you stupid, standing outside waiting? Aren't you cold?"

"Why are you so long-winded? If you know I'm cold, why don't we leave quickly?" Shen Xing said helplessly.

Shi Jingming looked at his little ears, which were frozen red, and suddenly reached out a finger to flick his earlobe.

"Ah!"

Shen Xing cried out in pain, the sound surprisingly crisp and soft.

"What are you doing!" Shen Xing looked at Shi Jingming with annoyance, rubbing his ear lightly: "It hurts."

"I was checking to see if your ears had frozen off. Your ears aren't frozen hard, but your mouth is quite hard!"

As he spoke, he waved his large hand and put his arm around Shen Xing's shoulder: "Let's go. My treat today. I'll teach you how to play billiards!"

The two rode their bicycles to a billiard hall on the side of the road not far from the school. This wasn't Shen Xing's first time entering a billiard hall; back in Shengang, when he went to internet cafes to play games, the one he frequented also had a few billiard tables.

It was just that this was his first time coming to a billiard hall specifically for playing billiards.

As soon as the door opened, before he could even walk in, he was choked by the smell of smoke rushing toward him, causing him to cough violently.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 293 =====