After Jiang Yumo hung up the phone, she thought about Ning Zhiyu’s frantic behavior on the call and still couldn’t help but laugh.
When Duan Ye brought the cut fruits out and saw this scene, he casually asked, “Who called?”
He had heard her talking in the kitchen, so she must have been on the phone.
“It was Zhiyu who called,” Jiang Yumo took the plate he handed over. On the plate was cut pieces of honeydew melon and grapefruit. She took a piece of grapefruit and held it to his lips. “Zhou Ji is going back today, and she took him to the train station. But after they arrived at the station, she was persuaded and agreed to come along. I checked their train schedule, and they should be arriving around 5 p.m.”
Duan Ye didn’t find it surprising at all after hearing that.
Indeed, this was something Zhou Ji would do.
But it was unexpected that Ning Zhiyu was actually persuaded…
Only someone as naïve as Zhou Ji wouldn’t be sure how deep her feelings for him really were.
“This is trouble,” Duan Ye took a bite of the grapefruit. “He’s going to pester me again.”
Jiang Yumo was still puzzled about the meaning of Duan Ye’s words.
Half an hour later, Duan Ye’s phone vibrated.
Jiang Yumo wanted to lean over and see, but she felt that in a relationship, it was appropriate to give each other some space and privacy, so she refrained.
However, Duan Ye directly moved the phone over to her side, indicating for her to look. “Take a look.”
Jiang Yumo couldn’t help but chuckle, “Aren’t you afraid it’s a dangerous message?”
“There’s no possibility of that.”
Jiang Yumo lit up the screen. It was actually a message from Zhou Ji. She opened it and read:
[Help! World-level emergency!!!]
She was blinded by all those exclamation marks and turned to Duan Ye, “It seems like Zhou Ji has an urgent matter and wants to find you. Look, he’s using exclamation marks like they’re free.”
Duan Ye calmly removed the threads from the grapefruit as he replied without lifting his eyelids, “No need to pay attention.”
“…” Jiang Yumo nodded.
Little did she know, less than a minute later, Zhou Ji sent another message : [Lao Duan, my keys are at your place. Please do me a favor and find a cleaning auntie.]
Jiang Yumo couldn’t help but feel delighted at once, “So, he’s doing all this for this matter? He actually asked you to find am auntie to clean? How dirty can his room be??”
Duan Ye pondered for a moment and spoke fairly for his friend, “It’s not that dirty, really not. He’s probably worried that Ning Zhuyu would find it unpleasant.”
Jiang Yumo rested her cheek on her hand, “Will he still send messages?”
Duan Ye nodded, “That’s why I said he’s bothering me again.”
In the next ten minutes, Duan Ye’s phone hardly stayed quiet, as it was flooded with short messages from Zhou Ji—
[Lao Duan? Brother? Can you really treat me like this? I know you’ve definitely seen the messages.]
[How about this, for the next month, I’ll treat you to breakfast every day!!]
[Man, I’m bleeding money here!! Breakfast for a month costs at least a hundred yuan!]
[Fine! I’ll give it. Aside from breakfast, how about I also buy you a bottle of iced tea every afternoon? Is that fine? I can’t give in anymore. Do you know how hard it is for me to earn some money?!]
Jiang Yumo started to feel a bit sympathetic, “How about we just help him hire a cleaning lady?”
Duan Ye tapped the table and whispered, “Let’s wait a bit longer.”
As expected, a minute later, Duan Ye’s phone rang.
After hesitating for a moment, Duan Ye picked up the phone and told her, “I’m going out to take the call.”
He was afraid Zhou Ji might say something irrelevant. That was Zhou Ji’s strong suit.
Jiang Yumo suppressed a smile, “Go ahead, go ahead. I’m definitely not eavesdropping on your conversation.”
Holding the phone, Duan Ye walked out of the room and stood in the hallway. He answered the call leisurely, holding the phone a bit away from his ear. On the other end, Zhou Ji’s irritated voice came through, “Damn it, Lao Duan, you’re really heartless when you’re in love! I’m in this situation and you’re still hesitating? Fine, I’ll pull out the big move. I’ll be your best man in the future, alright? And in addition to that, I’ll triple the gift money!”
Everyone knew that married people couldn’t be best men.
At least that’s how it was in the customs of Ningcheng.
Zhou Ji was basically giving the biggest blessing and concession. He was blessing Duan Ye to get married before him, and that was a tremendous concession!
Duan Ye chuckled, “Sure.”
He finally gave in.
Zhou Ji continued to grumble on the other end, “Just you wait! You heartless, truly heartless!”
Duan Ye had no interest in listening to his complaints any longer, so he simply hung up the phone. Returning to the room, he helplessly told Jiang Yumo, “He’s so annoying.”
Jiang Yumo smiled non-stop, “Alright, alright. He’s also having a tough time. Hurry and find an auntie to clean his place.”
Before Zhou Ji left, he left the keys with Duan Ye.
It was easy to find an auntie on this side, and the price was reasonable. Duan Ye brought back an auntie in less than twenty minutes. The auntie was efficient and skilled, clearly adept at household chores. In about an hour, she thoroughly cleaned Zhou Ji’s small and not-so-dirty single room, leaving the floor tiles spotless.
Jiang Yumo was always considerate. After Duan Ye settled the payment with the auntie, she gave the auntie a bottle of orange juice as thanks.
The auntie happily accepted, “If you have more work in the future, you can find me. Here’s my business card.”
Jiang Yumo took the business card and was quite impressed. She thought the auntie was amazing!
She actually had a business card!
Duan Ye embraced her and seeing her still looking at the business card, he chuckled, “What’s up?”
“I always feel like this auntie is someone important,” Jiang Yumo said. “She might become a legendary figure in the household industry in the future. So, I want to keep this business card.”
If it was only Zhou Ji returning, Jiang Yumo and Duan Ye wouldn’t have made such preparations.
After all, there was no need to fuss too much about a light bulb.
But Zhou Ji brought Ning Zhiyu back, so they had to take it seriously. Around four in the afternoon, when the sunlight weren’t as strong, Duan Ye took Jiang Yumo out to buy groceries. After discussing it, they decided to have hotpot at the rental house. During the Golden Week, everywhere would be crowded, including restaurants. It was better to just eat at home.
Around seven in the evening.
Zhou Ji’s rental house seemed crowded, with four people gathered around a table, cooking hotpot. The house wasn’t that bad; opening the door provided good ventilation, and the fragrance of the hotpot base ingredients was strong in the room.
“Why?” Zhou Ji held his chopsticks and asked, somewhat speechless.
Hadn’t his room just been cleaned? Why were they eating hotpot in his place?
Then, didn’t he invite the auntie for nothing?
Jiang Yumo replied, “I don’t like the smell of hotpot in the room where I sleep.”
Zhou Ji : “…”
“So, I like it then?” Zhou Ji was exasperated, “I’m someone who loves cleanliness so much. Do you think I can handle it?”
Jiang Yumo gently elongated her tone, “Really?”
Only then did Zhou Ji realize that, given how henpecked Lao Duan was with his wife, there was no way he could have hidden Zhou Ji’s previous request from Jiang Yumo.
Zhou Ji took another look at Ning Zhiyu who’s eating vegetables next to him. He could only endure it and changed his tone, saying, “Alright, alright, if you want to eat here, then eat here. Tomorrow we can have barbecue, it’s fine. After all, you’re my Sister-in-law.”
Ning Zhiyu chuckled on the side.
Being so clever, she naturally saw through everything. The four of them chatted and ate hotpot together, savoring the long-lost taste. It would be even more perfect if the other four friends were here as well. In this situation, Zhou Ji naturally wanted to tease the other four a bit, taking crazy photos to flood the group chat. This action sparked public outrage.
Zhao Zheng : [Boss Zhou, I’ve learned a few skills in the army. While I might not beat Brother Duan, I’d have no problem dealing with you. Get ready to be taken down when I’m back during winter break.]
Yan Qing : [I support!! Beat him up!!]
Guo Shichao : [Life seems pretty good, Boss Zhou. Do you need me to remind you that you still owe me money?]
Sun Mengting : [Zhou Ji, your arms are perfect for an IV drip~]
…
They enjoyed the hotpot until 8 o’clock.
Ning Zhiyu and Jiang Yumo had already put down their chopsticks. The weather was a bit hot, and they didn’t have much appetite. They didn’t need to worry about the food on the table since boys of Duan Ye and Zhou Ji’s age had hearty appetites. As expected, in the end, almost everything was gone except for a few vegetables.
Duan Ye was always considerate.
Under his influence, Zhou Ji had also developed this good habit.
The two of them never even thought about having Ning Zhiyu and Jiang Yumo clean up. After all, tasks like washing dishes were meant for them, the guys!
Night fell.
Ning Zhiyu felt a headache thinking about the plans for the night. She whispered, “Yumo, you’re more familiar with this place. Would you accompany me to buy something?”
Zhou Ji hurriedly chimed in upon hearing that, “What are we buying? I’ll go with you later.”
As a result, Jiang Yumo witnessed the rich range of emotions on Ning Zhiyu’s face.
Irritation, embarrassment, and a hint of reproach.
“I don’t need you to accompany me! Just go wash your dishes!”
Zhou Ji could only return to the kitchen with a dejected expression. After Jiang Yumo explained things to Duan Ye, she accompanied Ning Zhiyu out. Even though she had only arrived a few days ago, she went shopping with Duan Ye every day, so she was quite familiar with the area. At least, she knew the way to the supermarket very well.
The two girls walked hand in hand down the stairs and onto the street.
Ning Zhiyu continued to complain about Zhou Ji, “I really don’t know what to say about him. If he wanted me to come, he could have told me earlier. But no, he waited until I got to the station to mention it. I didn’t have time to prepare anything; I just brought a bag! I’ve never met someone like him before. I want to strangle him!”
She seemed angry, but as she talked, she ended up laughing helplessly.
“Ever since he escaped from the airport, I’ve felt that I won’t be surprised by anything he does in the future,” Jiang Yumo said calmly, “Zhiyu, you’re the one who should be used to it. As soon as he obediently promised to you to come back, you should have been on guard. After all, with his personality, if he hasn’t bothered or annoyed you all this time, it means he’s preparing to cause trouble!”
Ning Zhiyu found Jiang Yumo’s words reasonable, “You’re right. I was careless. The one who’s lost in the situation is me.”
Two girls are discussing this matter. Inside a rented house, two boys are busy cleaning up the mess and doing dishes, discussing an important matter themselves.
Zhou Ji felt inexplicably embarrassed, “Should I take the initiative to mention it, and book a hotel room for her?”
“Whatever,” Duan Ye replied in a flat tone, “Just as long as it doesn’t involve us.”
By ‘us,’ he meant him and Jiang Yumo.
The meaning is quite clear: Zhou Ji can arrange for Ning Zhiyu to stay in a hotel, that’s fine, but if Jiang Yumo gets involved, then Zhou Ji won’t just be facing a beating.
Zhou Ji : “…”
Darn it.
Who would have thought that Master Duan had such deep scheming.
Master Duan’s intentions were clear : no matter how Zhou Ji and Ning Zhiyu arrange things, Jiang Yumo must stay at Master Duan’s place.
Does Zhou Ji want Ning Zhiyu to stay in a hotel? She’s his girlfriend, and he wants to stay with her too.
Zhou Ji : “Okay. Then I won’t bring up the hotel stay.”
Sometimes he would be timid in front of Ning Zhiyu.
Afraid of rejection, and also afraid of her dislike, he would subconsciously avoid the option he was most eager for, “Not staying in a hotel is fine too, or…”
It can only be said that Duan Ye truly is his best friend. When Zhou Ji mentioned ‘or,’ Duan Ye understood his meaning. He replied in a casual tone, “She won’t come to sleep in your bed. I’ll say it again, don’t involve us.”
The ‘she’ in Duan Ye’s words most of the time referred to Jiang Yumo.
Of course, Duan Yewouldn’t allow her to sleep in Zhou Ji’s bed.
Zhou Ji realized this, gritted his teeth, and scrubbed the pan even harder. “I also won’t let my girlfriend sleep in your bed, in your room!”
At first, he hadn’t fully grasped the situation, but now that Duan Ye brought it up, he also felt uneasy.
If the two girls were to sleep together, it would undoubtedly be in one of these two rooms.
Sleeping in his room, Lao Duan’s jealousy would not spare him, he would get beaten up.
But sleeping in Lao Duan’s room… Damn! He wouldn’t agree to that either!!
Duan Ye : “Then there’s nothing to discuss.”