Chapter 246: You Like Her, Don’t You?

Half an hour later.

A sleek black BMW pulled up in front of Xiaolang Vermicelli Shop.

Once the car came to a stop,

Ye Na walked over to the backseat, opened the door, and got in first.

Seeing this,

Miss Jiang turned around and gave a warm smile to the young man and woman behind her.

“Wenwen, I’ve got something to do this afternoon, so I’ll head off first.”

“Be careful on your way back.”

Then her gaze shifted to the young man beside them.

She lifted her head, locked eyes with him, and said in a rather stern tone,

“Little Tao! I’m entrusting Wenwen’s safety to you for now.”

“Make sure she gets home safely!”

“Or else, I’ll be coming for you!”

“And another thing! Don’t even think about making a move on her!”

“Got it?!”

The young man didn’t look too pleased.

“Relax, you nagging aunt.”

???

“Say that again if you dare!”

“I’ve still got a score to settle today. Let go of me! I’m going to duel this brat to the death!”

…

Watching Jiang Ning get pulled into the car by Ye Na,

Tao Tao couldn’t help but smile faintly.

Then,

As the car slowly disappeared from view,

He glanced at the girl beside him, who was smiling sweetly, and said after a pause,

“Let’s find a place to sit for a bit.”

“Okay.”

A short while later.

In a quiet little café by the street,

The two of them found a cozy corner and sat down.

“One caramel macchiato, full sugar…”

After ordering, Tao Tao turned his gaze to Qi Wen.

She gave a sweet smile.

“Latte, half sugar, thank you.”

Once the waiter left,

Qi Wen smiled and asked,

“Didn’t expect it—you’ve got a sweet tooth.”

“Yeah, someone once said sweet things are good for your mood.”

“Seriously?”

“Probably… not true?”

Hearing that,

Qi Wen’s eyes curved into little crescent moons as she laughed.

Just then,

The waiter brought over their two cups of coffee.

“Thanks…”

Once he walked away,

The two of them slipped into an easy conversation, going back and forth.

Like old friends who knew each other well.

They talked about their days at Jiangzhou Middle School, then about the study environment at Ningzhou No. 14 Middle School.

From future plans, the conversation drifted to recent happenings.

Naturally, the topic turned to a certain someone.

“You’re saying she caught a cicada just to prove that Ye Na was afraid of bugs, and then played with it in her hand?”

“Yup, even the teacher was stunned by what she did…”

At that point,

A strange silence suddenly fell between them.

Then,

Qi Wen let out a small sigh, picked up her spoon, and stirred her coffee while murmuring softly,

“She likes to mess around.”

“Clever and quirky.”

“A little neurotic.”

“Carefree and blunt.”

“Totally clueless about emotions.”

“She’s really pretty, but doesn’t like getting too close to guys.”

“Sometimes I wonder if there’s a boy living inside her heart.”

Though she didn’t say the name, Tao Tao knew exactly who “she” referred to.

Thinking about her behavior just before she left,

He couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I agree.”

“I’ve never met a girl with a personality as weird as hers.”

“She is weird,” Qi Wen nodded, then lifted her head and stared intently at Tao Tao.

“So, you like her, don’t you?”

Tao Tao didn’t seem surprised that Qi Wen asked that.

He even reached up to touch his face and smiled.

“Was it that obvious?”

“I thought I was doing a pretty good job hiding it.”

To that,

Miss Qi simply picked up her teacup and gently blew away the foam on top.

“You hide it well.”

“But you should know, instincts are hard to control.”

“Whenever she speaks, you can’t help but look at her.”

Is that true?

Tao Tao narrowed his eyes, thinking back to what had just happened at the vermicelli shop.

It did seem like that was the case.

“So, are you planning to tell her?”

However,

Qi Wen let out a soft sigh and set her coffee cup down.

“As long as you don’t admit it, it doesn’t matter even if I tell her.”

That’s right.

In the eyes of Qi Wen, Tao Tao, and even many of their other friends,

Jiang was just that emotionally dense.

If someone confessed to her directly,

She’d probably run faster than a rabbit.

But if you slowly warmed her up like boiling a frog in warm water…

………

Meanwhile,

Inside the BMW heading out of town, a similar conversation was taking place.

“Jiang Ning! I think he might like you.”

“Who?”

Miss Jiang was busy fiddling with the divider in the backseat.

This kind of divider had a latch that could easily trap passengers’ arms,

So it was replaced by a different design a few years later.

Miss Jiang had only heard about it before and never seen one in person.

Naturally, she was very curious.

“Tao Tao.”

“Huh?”

Miss Jiang paused for a moment,

Then let out a few carefree chuckles.

“No way.”

“That guy likes the quiet, fair-skinned, delicate type of girl.”

“Me? I’ve got shoulders broad enough to race horses on? Ha, not a chance.”

“Really?” Ye Na didn’t sound too sure about her earlier guess.

She let out a frustrated huff,

Then slumped back in her seat, gazing out the window with a hint of melancholy.

“I thought that after all these days of chatting, when I finally saw him again, he’d be a little warmer to me.”

“But now I realize…”

“He’s still the same.”

“He even treats Qi Wen better than he treats me.”

At the mention of “Qi Wen”…

Miss Jiang immediately perked up.

She frowned and stared at Little Ye sitting beside her.

“You’re saying he treats Qi Wen better than he treats you?”

“Yeah, didn’t you notice?”

Did she say that?

Miss Jiang tried hard to recall how things had gone during the meal.

It seemed like…

Maybe…

Every time she spoke,

Little Tao’s eyes would sneak a glance in her direction.

Shifty and suspicious.

Could it be…

This guy really has a thing for Little Qi?

No, no, no…

She suddenly remembered that this dinner had been Little Qi’s idea in the first place.

If that’s the case…

Then the two of them might be mutually in—

In love, my ass!

Jealousy surged inside Miss Jiang. Without another word, she whipped out her phone.

She tapped on a number and pressed call.

“Jiang Ning, you…” Ye Na asked, confused.

Only to be met with a fierce glare from Miss Jiang.

“What!”

“Never seen someone do a surprise check-in?!”

???

Ye Na stared blankly at the human firecracker that was Jiang Ning, her brain struggling to keep up.

Just then,

The call connected.

“What’s going on? Did you lose something?”

“Is Wenwen with you?”

The sound of flowing water on the other end made Tao Tao instinctively glance at the sweet girl sitting across from him.

Maybe she picked up on his hesitation.

The voice on the phone suddenly shouted,

“Put Wenwen on the phone!”

Tao Tao froze for a moment.

Then handed the phone to Qi Wen.

She looked just as puzzled, but still took the call.

“Mm, just talking about something personal.”

“Hehehe, nothing to do with you.”

“Aiya, I know, I know, don’t worry.”

“I’ll be heading back soon.”

“Yeah, I’ll call you from the house phone when I get home.”

…

A moment later.

“You two must be… really close, huh?”

Qi Wen smiled as she handed the phone back to Tao Tao.

He took it,

Glanced down at the now-ended call screen,

And smiled faintly.

“The way you are right now reminds me of a good friend.”

“In some ways, you two are actually a bit alike…”

But Tao Tao didn’t seem inclined to elaborate further.

He simply added quietly,

“And, you’re both girls…”

Then,

In a voice only he could hear, he murmured softly to himself,

“Thankfully, you’re both girls…”

(End of Chapter)