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A group of people drove three cars. Apart from Ji Huailuo’s car, Zhou Cong’s car, and Hua Qingyang’s car, the remaining car had Zhen Chuang and his girlfriend.
That meant only Zhou Cong’s car was the least occupied. Xu Zhiqiao moved over, and each car now had three people.
The three cars stopped in sequence by the roadside, their hazard lights flashing.
Xu Zhiqiao’s face turned red, her rationality lost: “My friend is here, where else can I go? Otherwise, you roll over, and I’ll drive! Are you sick?”
She was obviously furious, blabbering on with a string of words.
Ji Huailuo crossed his arms, sneering coldly: “Get out of the car.”
The two people in the back seat clung to the backrests, staring like two huskies.
Before she could finish her rant, the window was suddenly knocked twice from the outside.
Zhou Cong stood with one hand in his pocket, his eyelids lowered as he looked at her without emotion, saying three words: “Stop procrastinating.”
“…”
Xu Zhiqiao struggled, “Isn’t there space? I’ll sit in the co-driver’s seat.”
Ji Huailuo: “I’m not in the mood. You can’t sit there.”
Xu Zhiqiao gritted her teeth: “I hope you never develop any subtlety in your life!”
“…” Ji Huailuo was speechless. “You don’t even know how to curse. Hurry up and go.”
At this point, Ji Huailuo turned his gaze to the window, his expression becoming strangely odd. “She wants to sit in the co-driver’s seat.”
Xu Zhiqiao: “I don’t!!”
Zhou Cong: “Let her play rock-paper-scissors with Miss Ye. Whoever wins, gets to sit.”
“……”
Silence.
The suspicious glint in Ji Huailuo’s eyes vanished, and his expression returned to normal.
“Take care of her,” Ji Huailuo casually remarked, “At least Miss Ye knows how to behave.”
Zhou Cong placed his hands in his pockets, his back radiating coldness, walking back with a regal, aloof air.
Xu Zhiqiao felt like crying but had no tears.
Ji Huailuo and Hua Qingyang’s car started up again, a cloud of dust rising as the two cars drove off ahead.
Xu Zhiqiao went straight to the back seat.
Before she could even touch the door handle, the man’s sharp gaze swept over her: “Co-driver.”
“…No need,” Xu Zhiqiao said awkwardly, “I’ll sit in the back with Sister.”
The smile at the corner of Zhou Cong’s lips held a trace of mockery: “What are you afraid of? Your big brother Zhou Cong isn’t going to make you sit there. I’m open and generous. Are you feeling guilty?”
“……” Xu Zhiqiao bowed her head. “Anyway, I’m not sitting in the front.”
Ye Shuanglu was the woman Zhou Old Master had chosen for him. If she sat in the front, and Xu Zhiqiao sat in the back… what would that look like?
Zhou Cong’s pupils dimmed slightly as he looked at her for a few seconds, then suddenly sneered: “Do as you wish.”
Xu Zhiqiao sat on the other side, obediently greeting Ye Shuanglu.
“You’re so cute, Miss,” Ye Shuanglu moved over a seat to sit beside her. “How old are you?”
“Almost 19 next year.”
“What a good age,” Ye Shuanglu smiled. “I remember that time. It was the happiest age.”
“Sister, you’re not too far from that age now.”
Ye Shuanglu pressed her lips together and smiled: “Once you enter society, it’s different. You have to start thinking about benefits, responsibilities…”
Zhou Cong frowned: “Change the topic.”
“……” The tone was domineering and direct, causing Ye Shuanglu to pause before smiling gently. “Is it too heavy?”
Xu Zhiqiao: “It’s fine.”
“Has Miss found a boyfriend yet?” Ye Shuanglu asked kindly, “Do you have any boys pursuing you?”
Before Xu Zhiqiao could answer, Ji Huailuo’s cold voice rang out again: “Change the topic.”
“……”
The atmosphere fell into silence.
Twice now, he had ordered her to change the topic. What was the difference between that and telling her to shut up?
Xu Zhiqiao once again wanted to punch Ji Huailuo for pushing her into this car.
The car stopped for a while.
Ye Shuanglu: “I like your hairstyle. Where did you do it?”
Zhou Cong: “Change.”
“……”
Silence again.
Ye Shuanglu wasn’t discouraged: “It seems like Mr. Ji cares a lot about…”
Zhou Cong: “Change!”
Xu Zhiqiao was fed up: “Drive your car, can you be quiet?”
“……”
Silence continued.
Through the car window, they could already see the shadow of Chixia Mountain in the distance.
The car turned a corner, entering a bumpy road section.
Zhou Cong’s voice lightly rolled from his throat: “Can you be a little gentler with the driver?”
Xu Zhiqiao: “Can you be more polite?”
“……” Zhou Cong pursed his lips. “Sorry, Miss Ye. I apologize for my lack of manners.”
Ye Shuanglu: “……”
Xu Zhiqiao didn’t want to respond and turned her face to look out the window.
It was early autumn. Chixia Mountain was in the suburbs. The evening mist hung thick in the air, with lantern-like red persimmons hanging from the branches of the trees.
Although they called it a horse ranch, it was more of a resort, just a particularly luxurious one.
To protect the mountain wilderness and forest, the car stopped at the entrance. Beyond that, there was a small European-style villa.
Someone had prepared a grill under the wooden corridor, smoke rising lazily as the sunset’s golden hue started to fade behind Chixia Mountain.
“Today’s late,” Hua Qingyang said. “Let’s rest for now and go horseback riding tomorrow.”
Qu Xiuxiu dragged Xu Zhiqiao to pick persimmons. After avoiding the crowd, she whispered, “Which one is having an affair?”
“……” Xu Zhiqiao looked up. “I want the reddest one.”
Qu Xiuxiu: “Stop playing dumb!”
“I can climb trees,” Xu Zhiqiao wrapped her arms around the persimmon tree trunk. “Which one do you want?”
Qu Xiuxiu: “…Don’t fall.”
Leaving Wei Long in the crowd, Xu Zhiqiao was still worried about him. She picked a few persimmons and returned.
Wei Long, careless in personality, was actually quite similar to Ji Huailuo, but when facing real rich kids, he always felt out of place.
Even though the others had made an effort to greet him, the topics they discussed were ones Wei Long couldn’t join.
When Xu Zhiqiao came back, Wei Long sighed in relief, quickly taking the persimmons basket from her.
Xu Zhiqiao whispered, “If you’re not feeling well, we can go back tomorrow.”
“No,” Wei Long said. “The brothers are taking care of me.”
Ji Huailuo glanced over and clicked his tongue. “Ah Cong, did you see that? What an ingrate. She has old friends, but now she doesn’t even need her brother.”
Zhou Cong lowered his eyes, slowly turning the grill.
“Hey,” Ji Huailuo poked him. “Have you gone mute? I don’t even recognize you being this polite.”
Zhou Cong’s eyelids twitched: “Be a polite person.”
Nearby, Ye Shuanglu’s expression was complicated: “I’m a bit hungry. Can I take the one that’s just been grilled?”
Ji Huailuo: “Take it, take it, no need to be polite.”
Before Ye Shuanglu’s hand could touch the skewer—
“Xu Zhiqiao.” Zhou Cong’s cold voice rang out.
Xu Zhiqiao turned around: “?”
Zhou Cong lowered his eyes again, not even looking at her: “Your brother called you to eat.”
Ji Huailuo paused. “Ah, yes, everyone come over, why are you all so unenthusiastic about eating?”
Two wooden tables were placed on the lawn, little colorful lights twinkling one by one.
Ye Shuanglu watched helplessly as the skewer she was about to get was taken away by Zhou Cong and placed on the grill.
Then, the skewer was handed to Xu Zhiqiao.
Zhou Cong’s left hand continued working on the grill, his gaze still on the grill. His expression…
Was expressionless.
His voice, magnetic with a hint of ice: “Stop thinking about playing. Do some work, and take this over to eat.”
Xu Zhiqiao: “……”