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The Ji family’s villa had a sunken entrance, and Xu Zhiqiao loved sitting on the steps of the foyer, leisurely taking off her shoes, changing them, and then wiping the shoes with a wet wipe.
Sister Li coaxed, “Leave them here, I’ll clean them for you.”
“No need,” Xu Zhiqiao smiled, “I’ll just sit here and relax for a while.”
Sitting in the foyer and wiping shoes wasn’t the main thing; she had simply gotten used to spending a few minutes unwinding when she came home.
“Eat something first,” Sister Li persuaded, “Huailuo specially called to tell me to prepare something more sumptuous…”
Xu Zhiqiao understood perfectly well: “Sister Li, I won’t complain to Uncle.”
“……”
Ji Shou’s way of educating Ji Huailuo was always strict; the ultimate weapons being cutting off food, money, and even legs. It was no wonder that even though Ji Huailuo had already graduated from university, he could still be threatened.
Ji Huailuo had been raised by Sister Li, and there was no doubt that she would speak up for him.
Xu Zhiqiao, who had long since occupied the nest, was also willing to give in to him. When Ji Huailuo had her take the blame, she would obediently carry it.
“By the way,” Sister Li awkwardly changed the topic, “How come it was Young Master Zhou who sent you back?”
Xu Zhiqiao replied, “Big Brother asked him to.”
“I see,” Sister Li sighed, “That’s really not like him.”
Xu Zhiqiao casually added, “Maybe he’s afraid I’ll complain.”
“……” Realizing she misunderstood, Sister Li smiled, “I meant Young Master Zhou. It’s not like him to send someone back.”
Xu Zhiqiao’s plan to sit quietly and relax was likely going to be ruined. Seeing Sister Li so enthusiastic, she simply placed her shoes in the shoe cabinet and stood up, “Keep talking, it’s just the right time for me to eat.”
The room was brightly lit with ceiling track lights. Several small, delicate dishes were arranged around a pot of warm porridge. On the left, there were two or three kinds of desserts, while on the right, a plate of soft, flowing lava buns sat.
It was rare for someone in this house to listen to her, so Sister Li was especially attentive, serving her food and chattering away.
“You know, Young Master Zhou has a cleanliness obsession. Huailuo and the others, his childhood friends, all know about it. Whenever they go out together, none of them dare to sit in his car,” Sister Li said. “They’re all afraid of leaving a hair behind and getting into trouble with him.”
Xu Zhiqiao stopped mid-bite, looking up dumbfounded.
That’s it.
Not only did she sit in Zhou Cong’s car today, but when she got out, she also kicked his car door in retaliation.
The glaring grey-white shoe print was still there.
“Sister Li,” Xu Zhiqiao asked hesitantly, “Does he… have a strong sense of revenge?”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she suddenly recalled the moment when he almost strangled Jiang Bin with a necktie.
“Who would dare to offend him?” Sister Li, not noticing Xu Zhiqiao’s daze, continued, “Young Master Zhou has been under the care of Old Master Zhou since birth. The old man even went to the battlefield. Young Master Zhou’s character is just like his—strict and decisive.”
At this point, Sister Li recalled something amusing: “I heard that Old Master Zhou really doesn’t like the current trends. He believes that men should be masculine, decisive, and act with force…”
Xu Zhiqiao’s eyebrows twitched.
Decisive?
Act with force?
Well, he certainly practices what he preaches.
He started off by wanting to have a talk with her.
“To cultivate this kind of character,” Sister Li continued, “Old Master Zhou specifically made Young Master Zhou practice it. For example, he made him pick his favorite pet out of a hundred animals within a set time. If he didn’t make a choice in time, he’d lose them all.”
Xu Zhiqiao asked, “What if he picked one he didn’t like? What if he regrets it?”
“I heard it’s to teach him to make quick decisions and not waste time on hesitation,” Sister Li spoke more excitedly. “And in their family, there’s no room for mistakes. There’s no such thing as regret.”
Xu Zhiqiao slowly took a sip of the porridge.
Sister Li added, “Young Master Zhou was thrown into the company at ten years old. Many decisions were left to him. One year, a decision he made almost toppled the entire Zhou family. But Old Master Zhou wasn’t afraid. Right in front of the Zhou family elders, he told him, if you want to accomplish great things, you have to learn to bear failure.”
“…” Xu Zhiqiao choked a bit, feeling like Sister Li was starting to get a bit theatrical with her storytelling.
Sure enough, Sister Li wiped her eyes and spoke in a sympathetic tone: “Because of that incident, your big brother was even scolded by Old Master Zhou.”
Xu Zhiqiao was left with a confused expression.
What does this have to do with Ji Huailuo?
“Because after that, Young Master Zhou became more meticulous and serious,” Sister Li sighed. “Old Master Zhou scolded your big brother, saying that your brother’s failures could support a whole brick factory, and that the only thing he managed to build was a thick skin, which was the only thing that served any purpose.”
“……”
..
With sympathy for Ji Huailuo, Xu Zhiqiao returned to the second floor.
Ji Shou and Xu Shu’s bedroom was on the first floor. The second floor had a living room with excellent natural lighting in the center, with Xu Zhiqiao and Ji Huailuo’s bedrooms on either side.
Before bed, Xu Zhiqiao received a message from Xu Shu, reminding her not to stay up too late, not to eat too much, or her stomach would hurt, and that she needed to go back home with Ji Huailuo and not run around.
Xu Zhiqiao responded with a cheerful hug emoji.
After finishing her chat with Xu Shu, Xu Zhiqiao exited the conversation window and saw a new friend request in her contacts.
The profile picture was a silver-gray headset, and the name was just two letters: ZC.
Even someone as slow as Xu Zhiqiao knew exactly who it was.
With Zhou Cong’s personality, he wouldn’t hesitate to force his self-introduction right into her face.
Xu Zhiqiao ignored it.
If she had clicked “reject,” it would have meant acknowledging that she saw the friend request.
….
The next day, Xu Zhiqiao woke up according to her biological clock. After washing up and heading downstairs, she happened to bump into Ji Huailuo, who had just come home.
The living room smelled of alcohol, and Sister Li was busy opening the windows and turning on the ventilation system, muttering, “Why did he drink so much? If Mr. Zhou finds out, he’s going to be angry.”
“Don’t mention him,” Ji Huailuo said impatiently. “I’m going upstairs to sleep for a while.”
“Okay.”
Xu Zhiqiao quickly moved aside to make way for him.
As he passed by her, Ji Huailuo swept his gaze across her. “I want to raise a dog.”
“…Oh.”
“This is my house.”
“…Mm.”
“Are you a block of wood?”
“……” Feeling a bit rejected, Xu Zhiqiao paused and then said, “I’ll leave when school starts. You can raise whatever you want, no need to worry about me, Brother…” Brother.
For some reason, after calling him “Brother” the first time, Zhou Cong’s words suddenly flashed in her mind.
Perhaps the title “Big Brother” was indeed very clingy.
So, Xu Zhiqiao quickly stopped herself, swallowing back the “Big.”
Ji Huailuo gripped the railing, waiting for two seconds, his eyes red from staying up late. “What do you mean ‘Brother’?”
“It’s nothing,” Xu Zhiqiao quickly said, “Brother, you should go upstairs and get some rest.”
“……”
Brother?
Ji Huailuo, still muddled by alcohol, felt something was off.
Brother?
It felt like the dog was missing its tail.
Something was missing.
He couldn’t think clearly.
Mumbling about sleeping, Ji Huailuo didn’t linger and took one step at a time up the stairs.
“By the way…” He didn’t turn around, groggily rattling off a string of numbers, “This is Zhou Cong’s phone number. You should add him, otherwise, he’ll come over as a guest today.”
“……”