He paused. “It’s not the girl who gave me the note. It’s someone else… Um, a bit older than me.”
As soon as he said this, both Tao Peach and Mother Tao were stunned.
Such a sudden confession.
Tao Tao reacted first and let out several “wows.” “A senior?”
“A bit older than a senior.” Tao Zhi said tactfully.
“Huh?” Tao Peach was a little confused.
Mother Tao thought for a moment.
Older than a senior…
“Is it someone you met while doing part-time work?” she asked.
“Mm, something like that.” Tao Zhi said softly.
It was someone he met while working as Fu Zheng’s little sidekick.
“A student’s older sister or something?” Tao Tao immediately guessed. “Is that it?”
“Something like that.” Tao Zhi answered vaguely.
His roommate’s older brother was no different from a student’s older sister.
“From the way you’re hesitating, it looks promising.” Tao Tao nudged him with her elbow.
“Tao Peach, you’re only fourteen.” Tao Zhi was a bit puzzled. “How do you know so much?”
“Of course I do!” Tao Tao was quite proud.
She was a famous love expert at school.
Though she hadn’t dated herself, her little friends had, and they always came to her for advice as their strategist!
She had already handled several couples’ romances.
Tao Tao felt like a mature adult now. Especially when Tao Zhi suddenly looked down to send a message, she said confidently, “You’re definitely texting her right now.”
The caught Tao Zhi: “…”
Fu Si Heng had just sent him a photo of the school building, asking if this was where little Tao Zhi had studied.
Tao Zhi thought the “little friend” nickname was so childish.
He was nineteen already; such a term wasn’t really appropriate.
Tao Zhi didn’t answer Fu Si Heng directly and just typed: 【The school building is locked. You can’t get in.】
Fu Si Heng: 【That’s too bad.】
Fu Si Heng: 【What’s little friend having for lunch?】
Tao Zhi: “…”
Tao Zhi: 【Why do you keep calling me little friend today?】
Fu Si Heng: 【Maybe because I’m at your school right now, so I keep imagining you as a high schooler.】
Fu Si Heng: 【You must have looked even younger back then.】
Sixteen or seventeen, an even greener little peach than now.
Fu Si Heng: 【A green, crisp peach.】
Fu Si Heng: 【Too bad I never saw it.】
Tao Zhi: 【O~O】
Fu Si Heng: 【What’s wrong?】
Tao Zhi: 【Sorry, Fu Ge. I misunderstood you. My bad.】
Tao Zhi felt a bit ashamed: 【I thought you were teasing me on purpose again.】
Fu Si Heng: 【Teasing about what?】
Tao Zhi: 【Like that stuff about innocent college girls.】
Fu Si Heng: 【.】
Fu Si Heng: 【Looks like the impression I left on you really is bad.】
Tao Zhi thought for a moment.
Tao Zhi: 【A bit wicked.】
A bit, but not too much.
Within the range Tao Zhi could accept.
Though he had really been angry at his behavior at first, now he felt it wasn’t so bad, not that serious.
Tao Zhi was a kind-hearted, soft college student who remembered the good and not the bad.
Thinking carefully, most of the time with Fu Si Heng had been happy.
When Fu Si Heng wasn’t being wicked, he was steady and reliable.
The “little friend” nickname sounded a bit awkward, but he was indeed much younger than Fu Si Heng.
In front of Fu Si Heng, he wasn’t the big brother at home, not the older sibling figure, not the hardworking roommate, and didn’t need to care for anyone’s emotions or coax others. Being a bit willful was fine; Fu Si Heng even seemed to like his willful side…
He was a strange person.
Tao Zhi thought.
Fu Si Heng was a bit of a strange person.
“Bro, you definitely like her.” Tao Tao had been staring at Tao Zhi for a while and stated the fact very maturely.
Tao Zhi: “…”
“You’re a kid yourself. What do you know?” Tao Zhi pursed his lips, avoiding Tao Peach’s gaze, tilting his head aside, only to meet Mother Tao’s curious eyes.
“Mom, if I dated someone older, would you agree?” Tao Zhi asked quietly after a two-second pause.
What he really wanted to ask was, if I dated an older man, would you agree?
But right now… in this situation, it wasn’t good to ask that.
After all, Mom was still hospitalized.
He’d ask later.
For now, Tao Zhi could only selectively conceal some facts.
Mother Tao thought for a moment.
“How much older?” she asked.
Tao Zhi: “Ten years older.”
?
Ten years!
The number shocked her.
Mother Tao opened her mouth.
“That’s quite a bit older!” She was a little puzzled about how Tao Zhi knew someone so much older, but suddenly remembered what Tao Peach had said earlier and confirmed with him. “It really is a student’s older sister?”
“No.” Tao Zhi hesitated before speaking. “It’s someone I met at another part-time job.”
Mother Tao: “Another part-time job?”
“Mm…” Tao Zhi paused for a few seconds before saying, “Besides tutoring, I’ve also been doing cross-dressing modeling.”
Mother Tao: “…Huh?”
Tao Tao: “Huh?”
Mother and daughter wore the same expression as they both froze.
“Mm… Isn’t it weird?” Tao Zhi felt a bit uneasy too.
“I-it’s okay, I guess.” Mother Tao snapped out of her brief daze quickly. “Like the women’s clothes sold on Taobao and in live streams?”
Mother Tao tried to imagine it and found it strange. “Would people really buy if a guy’s modeling women’s clothes?”
“I don’t know…” Tao Zhi answered honestly.
He didn’t know the sales figures, but those videos had indeed gone viral.
Tao Zhi: “Probably, yeah.”
Otherwise, Rong Huai wouldn’t have hired him.
“Oh…” Mother Tao responded with a slightly hesitant expression.
She thought some more.
It was still a bit strange.
She couldn’t imagine Tao Zhi in women’s clothes.
But… it wasn’t a big deal, right?
She only asked, “Is modeling hard? Do you have to sell clothes in front of the camera all the time? Are you tired?”
“No.” Tao Zhi said, “I just need to take photos.”
Mother Tao: “Oh…”
Mother Tao paused.
As long as it wasn’t hard, that was fine.
That was all she cared about.
And.
“Do you really like that person?” After saying this, without waiting for Tao Zhi’s answer, she added, “If you like them, then it’s fine.”
“The part-time job too.” Though she found it a bit odd, she had seen how tense Tao Zhi had been earlier.
Mother Tao said warmly, “If you like doing it, then do it. Just don’t overwork yourself and take care of your health.”
After speaking, she still felt a little uneasy.
She thought someone that age was a bit too old for Tao Zhi, but if he liked them… it should be okay, right?
After hesitating for a while, Mother Tao added, “As long as you like them, Mom supports you, but…”
“Little Zhi, be a good kid with the right values. Don’t… get involved with someone else’s marriage.”
Tao Zhi: “?”
Now, the one stunned was Tao Zhi.
“If you like them and they’re single, then you can be together.”
Thinking of the large age gap, Mother Tao still had a faint bad premonition.
She felt age probably wasn’t her biggest issue.
It was strange.
She didn’t know where the feeling came from, but it wouldn’t go away.
Mother Tao warned him, “Got it?”
Tao Zhi: “…”
“Mom.” Tao Zhi stuttered, “H-he’s single, really.”
