Chapter 37: Just Can’t Learn, Can You?

Ji Huailuo had absolutely no idea he’d already been sold out.

He kept glancing at the clock on the wall, growing more impatient by the second. “Does that brat have no sense of rules anymore? It’s already seven and she’s still not back.”

“It’s only seven,” said Sister Li. “Still early.”

“My Father and her Mother aren’t home, so she’s my responsibility now,” Ji Huailuo said seriously. “And my curfew for her is before seven!”

“…Then why don’t you give her a call?”

“Ah Cong too,” Ji Huailuo muttered as he dialed. “Maybe because he doesn’t have a sister, now he’s trying to steal mine.”

Before the call even connected, a ringtone sounded at the front door.

Sister Li smiled. “See? She’s back.”

Ji Huailuo stood up, ready to lay into her with the tone of a proper elder: “Do you have any sense of—”

Xu Zhiqiao ran up to him, thumping her feet on the ground, and gave a deep bow. “Big Brother, I’m sorry!”

“……”

Okay… that was a bit… much?

It was just a few minutes late.

Ji Huailuo scratched his head. “What are you—”

“Big Brother,” Xu Zhiqiao said, still bowing, handing him the shopping bag in her hand. “Zhou Cong said he likes you. This is a gift from him.”

“……”

Xu Zhiqiao looked up. “I was traumatized.”

“……”

But clearly, Ji Huailuo was even more traumatized—completely turned to stone.

Xu Zhiqiao sneakily shoved the bag into his hands, then bolted upstairs while he was still processing the scene.

A beat later, a furious roar erupted downstairs. Xu Zhiqiao’s neck shrank back, and she quickly locked her bedroom door.

“Fucking Zhou Cong!” Ji Huailuo was livid. “I knew it! Every time he looks at me, there’s something wrong with his eyes!”

Sister Li: “……”

Ji Huailuo paced furiously in the living room. After a moment, he spun around, hand on hip, and called Zhou Cong.

As soon as the line connected, he sneered, “I heard from my sister that you like me?”

Zhou Cong: “……”

“She also said,” Ji Huailuo continued, “you’ve gone 22 years without a girlfriend because you’ve been waiting for me?”

“……” Zhou Cong’s face turned pitch black. He gritted out each word, “Fuck. Off. You. Idiot.”

Ji Huailuo gave another mocking laugh, dangling the two pink shopping bags in front of him. “A gift for me? A pink watch? You think I wear makeup?!”

Zhou Cong clenched his jaw. “They’re for your sister.”

“Ohhh~” Ji Huailuo dragged out his voice. “So in order to get to me, you’re starting by buttering up my sister? You really leave no tactic unused!”

Zhou Cong: “……”

Ji Huailuo declared, “Starting today, I’m cutting all ties with you! I’m a man you’ll never get!”

“……”

Let it all burn.

—

Xu Zhiqiao’s phone was full of missed calls and video chat requests.

All from Zhou Cong.

When it became clear she wouldn’t pick up, he started texting.

[Xu Zhiqiao, are you part dog or what?]
[Xu Zhiqiao, you bit my arm and drew blood!]
[You cursed me, bit me, and now you dare slander me?!]
[Stay away from that idiot Big Brother of yours before he contaminates you.]
[Careful—you might end up inheriting him one day.]

Xu Zhiqiao deleted them all with one tap.

A knock sounded at her door. Ji Huailuo stood outside with the shopping bag, his expression rebellious and aloof.

“This is for you,” he said. “Take it. Just because your Big Brother hates him doesn’t mean you should feel guilty.”

“……” Xu Zhiqiao blinked. “You turned him down?”

Ji Huailuo scoffed, “I’m a real man. I’m not like that freak.”

Xu Zhiqiao nearly burst out laughing.

In a moment so tense and serious—she actually wanted to laugh.

“Big Brother,” she said seriously, “let’s not let Zhou Cong appear again, okay? What if he falls even deeper…”

Ji Huailuo’s eyelid twitched. “As much as I hate to admit it, your Big Brother can’t beat him. Other people fight on adrenaline—he fights with tactics. He’s ruthless enough to scare me.”

Xu Zhiqiao asked, “Big Brother, do you actually like him?”

“Bullshit!!” Ji Huailuo exploded. “I’m a man, a real man!! From this moment on, Zhou Cong will never set foot in the Ji Family again! I said it, and I mean it!”

Xu Zhiqiao let out a breath, careful not to show it. “Then I’ll support Big Brother fully. I’ll block him, and I won’t let him come anywhere near me again!”

“……” Ji Huailuo felt something was off. “That’s a bit extreme. You guys can still talk or whatever…”

Xu Zhiqiao: “But what if I get swayed by his sweet talk and betray you?”

“……”

Valid point.

That girl really was easy to sway.

Zhou Cong, that dog, clearly wanted to go through her to get to him.

—

Late that night, Ji Huailuo solemnly posted an announcement in the group chat.

He had cut ties with Zhou Cong.

Then he left the group.

Right after that, Xu Zhiqiao left too—to show support for her Big Brother.

The rest of the group was left utterly confused.

Zhou Cong walked out of the bathroom, casually draped in a bathrobe, towel in hand, drying his hair.

His phone buzzed relentlessly like a ticking time bomb.

He glanced at it.

And froze.

The group chat had over 99+ messages. He didn’t bother reading them and went straight to Xu Zhiqiao’s private chat.

[You’ve got a death wish, don’t you?]

The next moment, a notification popped up:

[You must pass a friend verification to chat with this user. You are not friends yet. Blah blah blah.]

“……”

Zhou Cong’s lashes lowered, and a shadow gathered beneath his eyes.

The group chat kept blowing up. Zhen Chuang and Hua Qingyang were calling nonstop, trying to figure out what happened.

Zhou Cong slowly looked up and turned off his phone.

Very well, then.

Xu Zhiqiao.

You really don’t learn, do you?

—

On the day of the school performance, Xu Zhiqiao warned Ji Huailuo at least a dozen times not to bring that Andy Lau support banner.

Her three dormmates were all curious about her new hairstyle, buzzing around asking about the price, the name of the salon, and where it was located.

“Perms are so hit-or-miss. Yours turned out amazing.”

“What was the name of the place again?”

Xu Zhiqiao thought for a moment. “It was in English… I think it was called clouds.”

“That name sounds familiar,” said Song Siting, who kept up with fashion news. “Is it the one on Hongshen Road? White walls, black tiles, doesn’t even look like a salon?”

Xu Zhiqiao nodded.

Song Siting clapped her hands. “Then it’s definitely that one.”

Zou Qi asked, “You’ve been there?”

“Me? No way. I saw it in a fashion magazine,” Song Siting said. “They don’t accept walk-ins or non-members. And it’s not just a regular hair salon. Their clientele are celebrities and high-society ladies. Styling is just one of the services they offer.”

Xu Zhiqiao: “……”

“How much did you pay for this hairstyle?” asked Song Siting.

Xu Zhiqiao had already lost her confidence. “Two hundred.”

“I paid 380 at ‘Yujian’ just to touch up my color,” said Song Siting. “Two hundred wouldn’t even cover the tip to open the door there.”

“……”

Xu Zhiqiao’s ears burned with shame.

And to think she had the audacity to hand them two hundred yuan and ask if she could bring her classmates next time.

Did she… unknowingly owe Zhou Cong money again?