Early in the morning on the fourth day of Chinese New Year, Qiao Jing Jing was woken up by Yu Tu's phone call.
"It's snowing outside."
Qiao Jing Jing was annoyed. "Why did you wake me up?"
Even if the voice that said this sentence was pleasant, like it was reciting poetry, it still could not be forgiven!
"Huh?" The tone over there was turned up slightly. "I thought you would already be awake, because I used to arrive at your home at nine o'clock. It is half past eight now. Isn't that how your biological clock runs?"
A geek who is self-disciplined is really scary...
"My biological clock changes according to the situation. We chatted on the phone until two o'clock yesterday!"
"Then I'm really sorry. I'll know for next time." There was a chuckle. It did not sound like he was really apologetic. "You continue to sleep. I'll go downstairs to sweep the snow. What time should I pick you up in the afternoon?"
"Two o'clock."
"Classmate?"
"Yes!" Just come as a classmate. She did not want to tell her parents that she was currently dating someone; it would be very bothersome.
There was a lengthy sigh over on the other side.
"Why did you sigh?" Classmate Qiao who refused to acknowledge their relationship in front of others did not feel guilty at all.
"I am thinking, when can I go to your house to sweep the snow?"
"......"
He wasn't playing fair!
After hanging up the phone, Qiao Jing Jing wanted to continue sleeping, but her mind was affected by Yu Tu's words and she could no longer sleep. She got up, brushed her teeth, and washed her face. She stood at the window and looked at the snow-covered landscape in the courtyard. Imagining Yu Tu working hard without complaint while shoveling snow downstairs, she happily went downstairs to eat breakfast.
Mr. and Mrs. Qiao were very surprised to see her. "You hung out with your classmates until so late yesterday. Why are you up so early?"
Mr. Qiao said critically, "You also came back very late."
Qiao Jing Jing was rather calm. "I haven't seen the classmates for a long time."
After scooping a bowl of porridge for her, Mr. Qiao asked, "You'll be going back to Shanghai today, right? What time are you leaving?"
"Two o'clock." Hearing her parents mention this, Qiao Jing Jing eyes glinted and she said with a serious voice, "Oh, by the way, I'll be driving back to Shanghai myself."
"What?" Mr. and Mrs. Qiao were shocked. "Absolutely not!"
Qiao Jing Jing: "......"
Although this was a tactic to scare them, taking one step back today for two steps forward tomorrow, their reaction was too exaggerated, right?
She had a proper driver's license, okay? When she participated in travel-type variety show, she had driven. At that time, her parking skills were even praised sky high.
"What about your driver? Why doesn't he come to pick you up?" Mrs. Qiao asked.
Qiao Jing Jing randomly made up a reason. "His scheduled flight was canceled and he could not buy a ticket at the last minute."
"Then let your younger (male) cousin take you, or I will drive you. Anyway, you can't drive yourself." Mr. Qiao's stance was very firm.
"No, that is too troublesome. I can drive back by myself," Qiao Jing Jing intentionally argued.
"You've only touched the steering wheels how many times? Moreover, it's snowing outside. No means no." Mr. Qiao's temper was also rising.
After arguing for a while, Qiao Jing Jing, "feeling aggrieved", lowered her head and ate her porridge. She pretended to play with her mobile phone, looking unwilling to compromise. After a few minutes, feeling that the timing was about right, she looked up and happily said to her parents, "No need to trouble my cousin, because I just saw in the class group chat that there's a classmate who will also be going back to Shanghai. I'll have him drive me! He is an old hand at driving!"
Thus, when the classmate who "was on his way back to Shanghai" appeared at the doorway of Qiao Jing Jing's house, he was greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Qiao's very warm smiles.
If they had not previously agreed to temporarily not to tell the parents, Yu Tu practically suspected that he had easily gotten their approval.
Mrs. Qiao was especially friendly and complained that Qiao Jing Jing didn't let the boy come into the house to have tea. Then she began to ask incessantly, "Are you Jing Jing's senior high school classmate?"
"Yes, Auntie."
"Are you working in Shanghai?"
"Yes."
"What do your work do?"
"I work at the Aerospace Research Institute."
"Building rockets and satellites. Pretty good, pretty good."
The more Mrs. Qiao asked, the more enthusiastic she became, and it looked like she wouldn't stop asking. Qiao Jing Jing couldn't help feeling glad that she had dragged her luggage along to open the door. Otherwise, her mother could be asking for at least half an hour.
She quickly stuffed the luggage and car key to Yu Tu, pulled open the car door, and urged, "Getting in the car now. Dad and Mom, we are going. My classmate still has thing to do back in Shanghai."
"Okay, be careful on the road."
The car drove away under the enthusiastic gazes of Mr. and Mrs. Qiao. Yu Tu asked Qiao Jing Jing, "How did you tell your parents?"
Why were they not suspicious at all and even looked grateful?
"Reverse psychology ~" Of course, there was also her acting skills that were especially subtle and especially chill!
Qiao Jing Jing, who was not even a member of the class chat group, proudly described the process of battling wits with her parents. After she was done talking, she waited for Yu Tu to praise her, but she saw that he was deep in thought.
Qiao Jing Jing: "... What kind of expression is that?"
Yu Tu said: "Nothing, I was just remembering how you deceived me into going to repair the purifier."
Qiao Jing Jing: "......"
"While I was at it, I realized that the person who will be together with you most of the time in the future is me. So I feel that I should be mentally prepared."
Miss Qiao's tricks and wicked ideas were endless and acting skills were also good, so Yu Tu felt that his life in the future would probably be full of ... surprises?
"You're very unwilling about that?"
"How is the possible?" Yu Tu denied immediately.
But your expression looked very reluctant, Teacher Yu ~
However, after fantasizing about it for a while, Qiao Jing Jing started to look forward to the future. The sense of accomplishment from deceiving Yu Tu was much higher than that of deceiving her mom and dad. Just thinking of it made her eager to give it a try.
She cried in high spirits, "I will work hard on it."
Yu Tu: "... No need to work too hard."
"Humph. Are you afraid?"
Yu Tu raised his eyebrows. "No, I wouldn't say it's as bad as that. You give it a try and we'll see."
Very confident~
Qiao Jing Jing became quiet, propping up her chin with one hand, her eyes flashing, as if she really was thinking about how to trick him. Yu Tu could not help laughing.
At this time, his mobile phone rang twice, but it was not convenient for Yu Tu, who was driving to look, so he said to Qiao Jing Jing, "Please help me take a look."
"Oh." Qiao Jing Jing took his phone. "A person called Zhai Liang sent you a WeChat voice message."
"That is I'm So Panicked. Have a listen to see what he has to say."
"Oh, it's I'm so Panicked." No wonder the name sounded so familiar. She must have heard it before while playing games.
Qiao Jing Jing clicked open the voice message. A familiar male voice radiant with joy was immediately heard: "Old Yu, let me tell you a piece of good news. I met a girl here who's especially beautiful and also has all wonderful virtues you would want in a wife. So very suitable for me. One month! I will successfully court her. Hehe, I am going to find myself a girlfriend earlier than you."
Qiao Jing Jing couldn't help laughing. "His speaking style is about the same as in the game. Do you want me to help you reply?"
"Sure. Wish him success." Yu Tu warned, "Don't scare him."
"How would I scare him?" Qiao Jing Jing protested, and then pressed the voice key: "He said that he wishes you success. Also, he said that he found himself a girlfriend earlier than you."
She released her finger. The message was sent.
Yu Tu was helpless. Sure enough, it was absolutely impossible for Qiao Jing Jing not to take any opportunity to scare people. Furthermore, when did he say the second half?
After Qiao Jing Jing sent the voice message, she fixed her attention on WeChat to wait for I'm So Panicked's response. In the end, one minute, two minutes... five minutes passed, yet there was still completely no response in WeChat.
She turned her head and looked at Yu Tu. "Why isn't he saying anything?"
Yu Tu sympathized with his friend for a few seconds and said implicitly, "Probably his core processor was burned."
Qiao Jing Jing regrettably commented, "That's a little too fragile..."
Before she finished talking, Zhai Liang's video chat request suddenly popped up on the mobile phone's screen. Qiao Jing Jing thought about it and then pressed the answer key. Zhai Liang's disheveled, large head immediately appeared in the video.
His voice was a little excited. "Cotton?!!!!"
Qiao Jing Jing gave him a little wave of the hand. "Hello, I'm So Panicked."
"Damn, you really are Qiao Jing Jing."
"......"
It was like she had instantly recovered the feeling of chatting with I'm So Panicked when they were playing games. Qiao Jing Jing smiled and said, "An unexpected, nice surprise?"
Zhai Liang was a little confused. "No. Are you with Yu Tu now?"
"Yes, he is driving, so he is not available to talk to you."
"Hold on, I still need to calm down a bit more." Zhai Liang said, "Oh, by the way, if I get disconnected, don't be surprised. It's because the phone is burned. It fell into my late night meal just now. Then I just wiped it and started a video chat with you, so there is a risk of it burning out at any time."
"... Why don't you turn it off and let it dry for a while?"
"No!" Zhai Liang was obstinate.
He decided to seize this moment before the phone crashed. "Turn the phone around and let me see Yu Tu's face. Is his face showing that he's happy as a lark?"
Qiao Jing Jing turned the phone around and let him see the mister who was driving the car. "It seems like there is not much change."
Zhai Liang carefully studied Yu Tu through the camera lens and said confidently, "Yes, there is. You have not lived together with him before. His expression now is already a typhoon level pleased as punch."
Typhoon level?
Qiao Jing Jing couldn't help being stirred into seriousness, so she also carefully observed Yu Tu and finally concluded, "Then he must have a bit of facial paralysis."
Yu Tu: "......"
These two people... Luckily, Zhai Liang had already gone to the United States. Otherwise the two of them together would give him a deathly headache.
Zhai Liang lost interest in the facially paralyzed Yu Tu. "I don't want to look at him, don't want to look at him. Turn it back around."
Qiao Jing Jing turned it back.
This time, Zhai Liang carefully sized Qiao Jing Jing up and sighed, "I didn't expect that you and Yu Tu really were senior high school classmates. Don't find it strange that I am so surprised. It is because of Yu Tu's usual behavior is... ai ~~~"
He shook his head and looked as if he wanted to say something but was hesitating.
Suddenly Yu Tu had a bad feeling.
Qiao Jing Jing asked, "How is he usually?"
Zhai Liang gave a mischievous laughter and, with a crafty look, said, "Usually, when he passes by your billboard on the street, he won't even lift his eyes once for a look."
Qiao Jing Jing looked askance at Yu Tu and lengthened the vowel. "Ohhh, really?"
"Really, really." In the screen, Zhai Liang nodded frantically. "Also, remember there was a period of time when the game had a campaign, and as the game ambassador, you gave out arcana (铭文 is a number of stat-boosting seals that players may equip) to the players? The advertisement pop-up window was so beautiful that even I wanted to look a few more times at it. However, he always just took the arcana and then immediately shut down the window. His expression did not change at all. His hands was so quick. I was sitting next to him!"
Yu Tu could not tolerate this anymore and warned him, "Zhai Liang."
Zhai Liang ignored him. The more he said, the more excited he became. "Furthermore, last time didn't he go to your home to repair the air purifier? When he came home, I asked him what you look like . He went so far as to say that you 'can be seen everywhere on the street'. It left a deep impression on me!"
Qiao Jing Jing quietly turned to look at the driver.
She can overlook the stuff in front, but... "can be seen everywhere on the street"?
"Don't listen to him talking nonsense." Yu Tu was watching the front while driving the car. He said solemnly, "I meant your advertisements are everywhere on the street, so you can be seen everywhere. This just proves that every time I passed by your advertisements, I also looked at them. Otherwise how would I know that they are everywhere on the street?"
Qiao Jing Jing blinked.
Zhai Liang almost burst out in angry curses. But that person's logic was impeccable. Even with his high IQ, he couldn't find any holes in it. He can only accuse Yu Tu angrily, "Do you have no sense of shame?"
Yu Tu said, "Staying alive is more important."
Qiao Jing Jing could not help laughing. She simply wanted to beat him.
"Look at him. Cocky or not?" Zhai Liang complained. "
Very cocky.
However, this was the Teacher Yu in her impression.
Teacher Yu had never been a proper and serious person.
"With such fast ability to react and his desire for survival, it's such a waste that he stayed single for so many years... Hey, hey, hey, Cotton, don't look at him! Look at me! I'm the one risking the chance of having my phone fizz out to chat with you."
"Okay, okay." Qiao Jing Jing quickly turned her attention back to him.
A smile emerged on Yu Tu's lips.
Zhai Liang had recovered from the initial surprise and was much more casual, chatting with Qiao Jing Jing while eating his late-night snack. "Why did both of you have to wait for me to arrive in United States before you started dating. I won't even get to witness it live."
Qiao Jing Jing said, "You ask him."
Oh, no, that wasn't good. That made her look like she had no say or power. She quickly saved face and said very seriously, "Am I so easy to court?"
Zhai Liang agreed. "That is true. Before I left, there was a short period of time that Yu Tu was in very low spirits. It looked like your torment of him was not light."
... Who tormented whom? ...
Qiao Jing Jing seriously pondered, should she take the blame for this? But what she was actually more curious about was, "In what way was he 'in low spirits'?"
Yu Tu coughed. "Zhai Liang, why are you still not asleep? Isn't it the middle of the night in the United States?"
Zhai Liang waved his hand. "I stayed up late to do a project before so my time zones are all messed up again. I can stay up until dawn. You, don't interrupt."
Yu Tu was exactly there to interrupt. "What is the brand of your mobile phone?"
Zhai Liang mentioned a brand: "Why, you want to change your phone?"
Yu Tu said, "If you chat for a few more minutes and still hasn't short circuited, I will consider it."
Zhai Liang finally cooled down a little from his excitement and began to feel bad about his phone. "Okay, okay, I will give you some face. Cotton—I'll still call you that—add me in WeChat. Later when my phone is confirmed okay, I will tell you more in depth revelations."
"Okay, hold on, I'll use his WeChat to send you my contact card."
"Wah, she's using your WeChat so casually. Yu Tu, do you have any bottom line?" Zhai Liang ridiculed Yu Tu and ended the video call.
After Qiao Jing Jing sent her WeChat account to Zhai Liang, she changed back to her own mobile phone. After adding Zhai Liang's account, they chatted for a while again. Zhai Liang's mobile phone still had not burned out yet.
Zhai Liang was in high spirits and suggested, "Come on, let's play a game together to try."
He seemed to have a zeal in him that would not give up until he burned out his phone.
Qiao Jing Jing readily went with the flow.
Familiar background sounds floated about in the car. Yu Tu diverted his attention to show his care. "Gaming with Zhai Liang? There may be lag in the US network. His skill was only half-baked to start with, and now at most it'll be 20%-baked."
Qiao Jing Jing giggled. "Are you holding a grudge?"
To belittle the guy like this.
"Holding what grudge? Did he manage to get the better of me?"
Seeing the smugness on his face, Qiao Jing Jing snorted, "That may not be true. I still remember everything he said. The Mr. Yu who couldn't spare a glance and who could see Qiao Jing Jing everywhere."
Yu Tu: "......"
Yu Tu: "Focus on your playing."