“Let’s go,” Fu Zheng said expressionlessly to Tao Zhi, tossing aside the bagel in his hand.
“Oh!” Tao Zhi struggled to swallow down the mouthful of sandwich.
It seemed Fu Zheng wanted him to ride in his car.
Perhaps he had instructions to give him in a bit.
Realizing this, Tao Zhi hurried to catch up with Fu Zheng’s stride, not forgetting to say goodbye to Fu Siheng: “Brother Fu, see you in a bit!”
Fu Siheng hummed in acknowledgment.
…
*So damn irritating.*
Fu Zheng’s pace quickened even further, and when he got into the car, he slammed the door shut with a deliberate, loud bang.
Tao Zhi was puzzled by his behavior, but chose not to ask.
He didn’t have the luxury to worry about Fu Zheng right now anyway.
Having eaten too quickly just now, he was a little choked up. Once Fu Zheng unlocked the car doors, Tao Zhi hopped into the front passenger seat, grabbing a bottle of water from inside the car to wash it down.
Finally, he felt alive again.
Tao Zhi let out a long breath of relief, leaning back against the seat and obediently fastening his seatbelt.
They were the first to set off.
Only as the car merged onto the road did Tao Zhi see Wei Yu and the others coming out through the car window.
Tao Zhi turned his head back around, stealing a glance at Fu Zheng while he was at it.
Fu Zheng’s atmosphere was noticeably chilly. Not wanting to provoke him, Tao Zhi kept quiet and didn’t speak.
After leaving Fu Zheng in silence for about five minutes, it was ultimately Fu Zheng who couldn’t hold it in any longer.
He spoke up stiffly, “Where did you go yesterday?”
“Huh?” Tao Zhi looked up.
“Last night? Didn’t you tell me to go find Fu Siheng? I was with him the entire time.”
“…”
His grip on the steering wheel tightening, Fu Zheng said expressionlessly, “I’m asking where the two of you went.”
After Tao Zhi left last night, the more Fu Zheng thought about it, the more restless and irritated he became. He had finally managed to convince himself to go check if Tao Zhi was obediently slacking off, only to find him nowhere.
Not being able to find him was one thing, but he couldn’t even find Fu Siheng either.
What on earth were those two doing?
Fu Zheng had been so infuriated that he couldn’t fall asleep the entire night, yet he felt that searching all over the place for Tao Zhi was beneath him, so he held it in until now.
His fingers gripped the steering wheel with such force that it looked as though he wanted to tear it right off.
“Were you slacking off?” What came out of his mouth was completely different from what he was actually thinking. “Claiming you’re listening to me, but in reality, you just hid in your room doing nothing, even pretending not to hear someone knocking on your door.”
“I didn’t!”
What a massive accusation to pin on him!
Tao Zhi couldn’t bear the blame and hastily denied it, “I’m not that kind of person! I worked really hard. I went to soak in the hot springs with Fu Siheng.”
“?!”
“What?!” Shocked, Fu Zheng whipped his head around to stare at him!
“You—!”
“Watch the road, watch the road!” Tao Zhi was nearly scared to death.
“What happened? Explain properly,” Fu Zheng gritted his teeth, on the verge of exploding.
“Don’t get so worked up! Let me explain slowly—I didn’t blow my cover,” Tao Zhi clarified the most critical issue first. “Fu Siheng did take me to the hot springs yesterday, but we didn’t soak together. He waited outside while I soaked inside. Rest assured, I didn’t blow my cover.”
Tao Zhi placed heavy emphasis on that last sentence to bolster his own momentum.
Because strictly speaking, Fu Zheng wasn’t entirely wrong either.
He really hadn’t spent much time with Fu Siheng yesterday, let alone seduced him. Strictly counted, the only time they spent alone together was on the walk back and forth, totaling less than half an hour. Fu Zheng suspecting him of slacking off… wasn’t technically inaccurate.
“I will definitely work hard today!” Having finished his explanation, Tao Zhi immediately pledged his loyalty to Fu Zheng.
Fu Zheng: “…”
Fu Zheng was still trying to soothe his nearly bursting heart.
He had almost been scared to death by Tao Zhi.
“If you wanted to soak in the hot springs, why didn’t you tell me?” Once he regained a bit of calm, his temper grew even worse. “Are you really that eager to fool around?”
Couldn’t he wait even one night?
“It’s not that I wanted to fool around; your brother was the one who suggested taking me,” Tao Zhi defended himself. “Fu Zheng, please don’t be mad.”
“I’m not mad,” Fu Zheng refused to admit it.
“Oh,” Tao Zhi nodded obediently.
“Besides soaking in the hot springs, what else did you do?” Fu Zheng continued interrogating him.
Tao Zhi thought about it.
…He thought and thought.
He couldn’t think of anything.
He felt guilty for a split second.
Racking his brain, he offered, “We talked.”
He wasn’t lying; they really did exchange a line or two.
“And then we agreed to… Ah, right! Fu Zheng, do I not have a ski suit?”
Tao Zhi was no longer the completely naive, simple-minded college student he had been at the start of the semester.
After matching wits… no, spending several months living with Fu Zheng, he had developed a few little tricks of his own.
Pretending to casually change the subject to avoid questions that were hard to answer.
It wasn’t very clever.
It was only because Fu Zheng couldn’t be bothered to nitpick with him.
“Do I need you to remind me? I already prepared one for you ages ago,” Fu Zheng scoffed coldly, feeling somewhat looked down upon by an idiot.
He wanted to steer the conversation back, but Tao Zhi didn’t give him the chance.
“Wow,” Tao Zhi chimed in immediately.
His eyes went wide, sparkling bright: “Fu Zheng, you’re amazing!”
“You’re the best roommate in the entire world. To think you even thought of that—thank you so, so much!”
Fu Zheng: “…”
“Cut the flattery.” Fu Zheng didn’t buy it in the slightest.
Especially when Tao Zhi spoke in that sweet tone—it inexplicably made him feel awkward and annoyed.
Who knew if he acted like this in front of Fu Siheng too?
Irritating as hell.
“Oh,” Tao Zhi went quiet and behaved again.
Fu Zheng shot him a sideways glance.
“Before getting out of the car later, change into your ski gear.” In the end, Fu Zheng didn’t hold it against him and went along with the change of subject, dropping the matter of last night.
“Okay,” Tao Zhi glanced toward the back seat. “Change in the car?”
“Or would you prefer to go change in the hotel’s women’s locker room?” Fu Zheng asked expressionlessly.
Ha… haha.
Oh right.
He forgot.
Tao Zhi sheepishly rubbed his ear. “Got it.”
Fu Zheng scoffed.
He really couldn’t stand this idiot.
Not wanting to deal with him any further, Fu Zheng drove in silence all the way to the ski resort.
Upon reaching their destination, he stepped out of the car, leaving Tao Zhi inside to change clothes.
A purplish-pink ski suit along with a set of quick-drying base layers. Tao Zhi put them on one by one. Before getting out, he made sure to press down his wig carefully beneath his beanie.
Once he ensured there were no issues, he opened the car door.
Fu Zheng was standing not far away, propping up his snowboard while waiting for the others. Tao Zhi walked over and waited alongside him.
About ten minutes later, the rest of the group arrived.
When they gathered, Tao Zhi was by far the most polite, greeting everyone one by one: Brother Wei Yu, Sister Xinyuan, Brother Gu, Brother Xie, Sister Shao, Sister Shu, and finally, Brother Fu.
When calling out to Fu Siheng, he seemed to deliberately soften his voice, making it sound soft and sweet, just like a little pastry.
Fu Zheng turned his head away.
“The clothes suit you,” Fu Siheng said, casting his gaze down at Tao Zhi.
Tao Zhi smiled at him.
He beamed exceptionally bright, his eyes curving into little crescent moons.
Fu Siheng was also dressed in ski attire today.
The dark blue shell jacket accentuated his crisp shoulder line and tall, upright frame. Compared to his usual formal suits, it added a touch of youthful vigor today, making him look far more approachable.
