Chapter 70: The Note Part 2

“It must’ve been tough this time, right? I know Fu Zheng’s a handful. Make his brother compensate you properly—have him take you shopping for gifts or something. Don’t hold back; he’s got money. Spend it freely.”

“No, no.” Tao Zhi hurriedly denied it. “It wasn’t tough at all.”

He wasn’t just being polite; he truly hadn’t found it tiring.

The nurses handled most things. He just had to check in on Fu Zheng and deal with his occasional whims.

And it wasn’t for very long each day—just an hour.

Really not exhausting.

“Don’t be modest.” Xu Yujia saw right through it. “It’s not like I haven’t taken care of Fu Zheng before. I get it—he’s full of antics and pretty childish too. Sigh, thanks for putting up with him.”

“Have his brother buy you gifts,” Xu Yujia reminded him.

Tao Zhi didn’t know how to respond. He looked up helplessly at Fu Si Heng.

Fu Si Heng’s lips curved up slightly, clearly very satisfied with his mom’s words.

He took over the conversation. “Got it.”

“Mm-hmm, that’s settled then.” Xu Yujia wrapped up. “I’ll hang up now. See you at year’s end, Mian Mian.”

“Okay, Auntie, goodbye,” Tao Zhi said farewell.

“Want to go shopping for gifts?” Fu Si Heng asked him after the call ended.

Tao Zhi refused. “…No need.”

“Alright. Let me know anytime if you need anything.” The car slowly entered the school grounds and headed toward the parking lot.

“Actually, what my mom said makes a lot of sense,” Fu Si Heng said suddenly.

“Hm?” Tao Zhi didn’t catch his meaning.

“Fu Zheng’s really childish,” Fu Si Heng explained. “A childish little punk who has no clue about romance.”

“He’s not worthy until he grows up.”

Tao Zhi: “…”

“I’m different,” Fu Si Heng continued, contrasting himself with Fu Zheng while highlighting his own strengths. “Mature and steady. Ever heard the saying that older guys know how to truly cherish someone?”

Tao Zhi: “…?”

“Hm? Got nothing to say?” When Tao Zhi stayed silent, Fu Si Heng glanced at him.

“Are you… pitching yourself to me?” Tao Zhi was utterly speechless.

“Yeah, you could say that.” Fu Si Heng let out a soft laugh from his throat. “But seriously, you should consider me.”

“I’m not considering it,” Tao Zhi shot back.

“Not me, so Fu Zheng instead?” Fu Si Heng persuaded. “You two aren’t a good match.”

Yeah.

Tao Zhi agreed with that.

But…

“I’m not picking between you two,” Tao Zhi muttered softly.

“Then who?” Fu Si Heng followed up.

Tao Zhi thought it over but came up blank.

He didn’t know.

After stewing for several minutes, all he came up with was, “I’m straight.”

Here we go again.

Fu Si Heng feigned nonchalance and let a half-minute pass.

He wasn’t as rattled by the word “straight” anymore.

On top of that, he could casually ask a question he’d always wanted to: “So, what kind of girls do you like?”

Tao Zhi thought about it again.

Nothing came to mind.

He’d never really considered it before. His mind was a complete blank when it came to ideal types—no outline, nothing.

Tao Zhi fell into a momentary daze.

Fu Si Heng chuckled.

His mood inexplicably lifted.

–

And that good mood lingered for several days.

Though Tao Zhi insisted he was straight, he had no preferred type and no particular girl who caught his eye. Plus, with Fu Zheng discharged from the hospital, Tao Zhi no longer visited him every day. Everything seemed to return to normal.

A normal that involved just him and Tao Zhi.

On Thursday afternoon, Tao Zhi borrowed Fu Si Heng’s computer to work on a group assignment PPT.

He had snagged a great spot that day.

A single seat by the window, perfectly quiet surroundings as everyone focused on their own tasks.

Tao Zhi concentrated on his work. Just as he neared completion, he received a message from Fu Si Heng.

Fu Si Heng: 【Heading to the library now.】

Tao Zhi: 【O-O】

Tao Zhi: 【Okay.】

Tao Zhi needed to head over to Fu Si Heng’s place that day.

For his part-time gig—the owner of a little dog had to go on a sudden business trip and hoped Tao Zhi could help walk it for the next few days at double the usual rate.

Tao Zhi checked his schedule and figured he had time, so he agreed.

Fu Si Heng was coming to pick him up.

Tao Zhi sent his reply, packed up his things, and prepared to leave.

Suddenly, the girl sitting across from him slipped a small note over secretly.

“?

Tao Zhi froze and looked up. The girl across from him smiled at him and gestured for him to read it.

Puzzled, Tao Zhi unfolded it.

The contents were nothing like what he’d imagined, leaving him quite surprised.

He’d thought maybe his typing had been too loud or he’d made some noise, and she was reminding him. But no—it turned out the girl wanted to get to know him.

She said she’d noticed him for a long time and wanted to add him on WeChat.

Tao Zhi stared at the note in a daze for a good while. When he snapped out of it, he first looked at the girl.

She was a very cute girl,

with a round face and her hair in a ponytail. Noticing his gaze, she smiled at him.

Tao Zhi looked back at the note.

For some reason, Fu Si Heng’s question from a few days ago suddenly popped into his head.

What kind of girls do you like?

There’d been no outline back then, but now one began to take shape.

Girls like the club president—decisive, strong sense of justice, caring and kind-hearted. Or his high school front-desk seatmate, bespectacled and seeming cool and aloof. Or this one right here, cute and petite.

An outline formed, but it still didn’t quite feel right.

The silhouettes of those girls in his mind slowly faded away again.

Tao Zhi thought about it very seriously because he needed to give the girl a proper response.

But the conclusion he reached was that he had no preferred type.

Though Tao Zhi had never dated, he’d interacted with plenty of girls.

Classmates, friends, people from clubs, part-time acquaintances—tons of them, all sorts of types.

Yet… he’d never felt his heart race for any of them.

Liking someone was supposed to make your heart race, right?

Tao Zhi pondered the note in his hand for a good while longer.

When he finally looked up, intending to turn her down, a warm palm suddenly covered the top of his head.

Tao Zhi looked up.

“Not leaving yet?” Fu Si Heng ruffled Tao Zhi’s hair as he looked down at him. He noticed the note in Tao Zhi’s hand. “What’s this?”