Chapter 66: Something's Very Wrong |
Shen Siyuan sized up the girl before him and said with a smile, "It's fine, I just got here too."
Perhaps it was because of Doudou that he felt a bit more friendly.
"My name is Jiang Taozhi, you can call me Peach…"
As Jiang Taozhi spoke, she plopped down right beside him. Grandma Su hurriedly got up and moved to the other side, otherwise she would have sat right on top of her.
After Shen Siyuan introduced himself, Jiang Taozhi said, "To apologize, let me treat you to some cake."
"Sure," Shen Siyuan said with a smile.
Shen Siyuan's response made Jiang Taozhi freeze for a moment. She was just being polite, not expecting that Shen Siyuan would actually accept.
But this actually increased her favorable impression of him. She found him straightforward and genuine, not like other guys who tried to maintain a certain image in front of her, saying one thing and meaning another, which came off as hypocritical.
Don't be fooled by Jiang Taozhi's usually silly and simple appearance. The fact that she could get into Qiantang University, one of the top three in the country, meant there was no way she was stupid.
However, this also cultivated her mild-mannered personality, one that disliked competing.
This kind of personality would be at a great disadvantage after entering the workforce, which was why she became friends with Ruan Hongzhuang.
Ruan Hongzhuang's personality was the exact opposite of hers—strong-willed and highly capable.
Under her wing, anyone who wanted to harm Jiang Taozhi would have to get past Ruan Hongzhuang first.
"Here's your Cheesecake."
Jiang Taozhi opened the bag and first handed the cake she bought for Ruan Hongzhuang to her.
Ruan Hongzhuang reached out to take it. It was only then that Jiang Taozhi seemed to remember and took the initiative to introduce her, "I haven't introduced you yet, this is my old…"
"Old friend. We've known each other since university."
Ruan Hongzhuang cut Jiang Taozhi off.
Jiang Taozhi gave her a slightly surprised look, but one glance from Ruan Hongzhuang scared her into silence. She immediately went along with her, saying, "Right, my old friend, Ruan Hongzhuang.
I've known her since university, we've always been best friends."
"I see.
It shows," Shen Siyuan said.
Both of them knew that Shen Siyuan meant bringing a friend along to a Blind Date.
But neither of them explained. Instead, Jiang Taozhi had already opened the Tiramisu in her hands.
Then, she revealed a slightly embarrassed expression. It turned out the piece of Tiramisu was missing a corner, clearly having been touched.
"Sorry, I just had a little taste."
Jiang Taozhi made a Korean pinching gesture.
Beside them, Ruan Hongzhuang let out a soft chuckle, pulled out a napkin, and handed it to her.
"Wipe the corner of your mouth."
Only then did Jiang Taozhi realize.
Her cheeks flushed red as she said unhappily, "You're only telling me now?"
"Who told you to sneak a bite?"
"Because it was just so delicious, and I only had one bite," Jiang Taozhi said with a charmingly naive air.
"If you put it that way, then I really must have this cake today. It'd be a shame to miss out."
Hearing this, Jiang Taozhi nodded repeatedly.
"Let me tell you, it's really good. Your office isn't far from here, they should be able to deliver."
Shen Siyuan's words eased Jiang Taozhi's embarrassment.
Jiang Taozhi got up, first asking the coffee shop's Service Worker for a clean spoon, then used it to divide the cake in half.
She then placed her half on the box lid and pushed the other half toward Shen Siyuan.
"Have a taste, it's really delicious."
Her subtle actions greatly increased Shen Siyuan's favorable impression of her.
This was a girl who really knew how to be considerate of others' feelings.
Shen Siyuan didn't stand on ceremony either.
He took the spoon, had a small bite, and the taste was indeed quite good.
"It's good, right?"
Jiang Taozhi, who had been staring at him intently, looked a bit smug, as if sharing in the glory.
"It is really good. It actually reminds me of another cake shop in Binhai."
"You're not talking about Deer Carrying Grass, are you?" Jiang Taozhi said.
"You know it?" Shen Siyuan asked in surprise.
"Of course! Deer Carrying Grass was the earliest cake shop in Binhai.
I used to eat it all the time when I was little. It's a pity it's so small-scale; after all these years, there are still only a few branches in all of Binhai…"
As the two chatted, Ruan Hongzhuang sat to the side sipping her coffee, listening quietly, not touching her Cheesecake.
Only after they had finished with that topic did she speak up, "Is it really that good?"
"Of course, it's really delicious."
Hearing this, Jiang Taozhi immediately began to enthusiastically recommend it to her.
"Then can I have a taste?"
"Of course you can," Jiang Taozhi said without a second thought.
Then, under Jiang Taozhi's utterly shocked gaze, Ruan Hongzhuang calmly took the spoon from Shen Siyuan's hand, scooped a bit from the half of the Tiramisu in front of him, and put it in her mouth.
"Thank you. The taste is indeed quite good."
Ruan Hongzhuang lightly pressed her lips together and handed the spoon back to Shen Siyuan.
Although Ruan Hongzhuang used Shen Siyuan's spoon to eat the cake, her lips never actually touched the spoon itself.
"Right?" Shen Siyuan responded with a smile.
He didn't find Ruan Hongzhuang's action abrupt at all; on the contrary, he thought she was very magnanimous and open.
Alright, it was mainly because she was beautiful. If she were ugly, it would have been rude and frivolous. People are just that hypocritical.
But Jiang Taozhi was already too stunned to speak. She looked at the cake in front of her, then at the one in front of Shen Siyuan, feeling like she was in a dream.
She knew that Ruan Hongzhuang was an extremely picky person. Normally, Ruan Hongzhuang would look with disdain at anything she herself had eaten, yet now she was taking the initiative to eat something from a stranger.
Although her lips hadn't touched the spoon, Shen Siyuan had just put that very spoon directly into his mouth.
Jiang Taozhi had questions stuck in her throat, but now wasn't the time to ask, and she was itching with curiosity.
Little did she know, there was a mouthpiece right next to her.
Grandma Su said with a smile, "Ruan Ruan must really like you.
This has never happened before."
If Ruan Hongzhuang and Jiang Taozhi hadn't been there, he would have had to be polite about it one way or another.
Still, Shen Siyuan gave her a look.
Grandma Su continued, "Don't mind that our Ruan Ruan is already twenty-eight this year.
She's never been in a relationship, she's a very simple person…"
Grandma Su worked hard to promote her Granddaughter, calling her "my Hongzhuang" before, but now directly using her nickname "Ruan Ruan" to try and close the distance with Shen Siyuan.
What is Binhai most famous for?
Anyone who has been to Binhai knows: seafood stalls.
Especially along the coastal highway, besides hotels, it's all seafood stalls. At night, it gets especially lively, packed with tourists.
But the locals generally don't eat there. The prices are high, and the quality of the seafood isn't great.
So, the three of them chose not to eat at the seafood stalls, opting for hot pot instead.
"You're acting very strange today.
Do you like him?"
Jiang Taozhi, who had deliberately fallen a bit behind, tugged on Ruan Hongzhuang's sleeve and gestured forward with her chin.
Hearing this, Ruan Hongzhuang shook her head, her expression calm as she said, "Of course not."
Jiang Taozhi: →_→
But Jiang Taozhi looked skeptical.
Just as Ruan Hongzhuang understood her, she understood Ruan Hongzhuang just as well.
Don't be fooled by Ruan Hongzhuang's calm exterior; in her eyes, she was just being stubborn.
"Did you two know each other before?" Jiang Taozhi asked again."No."
"Liar.
If you didn't know each other, why would he pick Listening to the Sea Tide, your favorite place to eat?"
In truth, Ruan Hongzhuang found it strange herself. Just now, when they were discussing what to eat for dinner, Shen Siyuan had suggested Listening to the Sea Tide right off the bat.
Could this be telepathy?