"It might rain in a bit, so there are umbrellas for our customers by the door. You can take one just in case," the shop assistant said, pointing to the umbrella stand next to the door.
Fang Bai looked in the direction the shop assistant pointed and praised, "You guys are so thoughtful."
The shop assistant smiled and said, "Please take your time browsing. We'll take good care of Beibei."
After thanking him, Fang Bai and Ji Yuning walked out of the store.
The clouds grew heavier, and the gaps from before seemed to have closed up again. The light disappeared, and the oppressive air made it so stifling that one had to breathe carefully.
Except for Fang Bai.
She walked side by side with Ji Yuning on the sidewalk, letting the wind blow across her face, but it couldn't blow away her slightly happy mood.
Fang Bai felt that this was the most harmonious afternoon she had spent with Ji Yuning since she transmigrated into the book.
Although it was because of a cat.
Fang Bai hummed a song unintentionally.
As the song reached Ji Yuning's ears, she felt as if she had returned to three years ago, to the days when she pestered Fang Bai to play with her.
“…”
The two shopped in the mall for only half an hour. Fang Bai could tell that Ji Yuning was thinking about Bei Bei, so she was very efficient when buying things. Ji Yuning was in charge of telling him what she wanted to buy, and Fang Bai was in charge of picking out what she liked. They bought whatever they liked in no time.
The two carried large and small bags down to the first floor, only to find that the first floor was filled with several groups of people.
I looked outside.
It's raining.
The rain wasn't too heavy, so Fang Bai decided to walk back with Ji Yuning under an umbrella.
The umbrella was in Fang Bai's hand. Upon hearing this, Ji Yuning silently took the bag from Fang Bai's hand.
Upon reaching the mall entrance, Fang Bai opened his umbrella, turned to Ji Yuning, and said, "Let's go."
Ji Yuning crawled under the umbrella.
Ji Yuning never imagined that she would one day share an umbrella with Fang Bai. As they walked, she tried her best to smooth out the awkwardness in her heart. With her head down, she didn't notice that Fang Bai had tilted most of the umbrella towards her.
As the rain intensified, the two quickened their pace in unison and returned to the pet hospital in five minutes.
As soon as they entered, Fang Bai closed his umbrella and asked Ji Yuning, "Are you wet?"
Seeing that Ji Yuning's temples were a little damp, Fang Bai took out a tissue from the paper package and pretended to wipe Ji Yuning's face.
But Ji Yuning dodged it.
Fang Bai's hand froze in mid-air, and the words of concern stuck in his throat.
Ji Yuning lifted her eyelids slightly, took the paper from Fang Bai's hand, and said in a low voice, "I can do it myself."
Fang Bai snapped out of his daze and smiled faintly, "Okay."
After saying that, Fang Bai took out another piece of paper and turned around to wipe her clothes.
Seeing Fang Bai's shoulder, which was mostly soaked, Ji Yuning clenched her fists, crumpling the paper in her hand into a ball.
Author's Note:
Xiao Ji's Diary:
On [date], Aunt Fang and I had a baby!
Fang Bai: ?
Beibei: Meow~
Chapter 22
The water droplets on Ji Yuning's temples were from the umbrella that had dripped onto her face. She wiped them away gently with a tissue. Ji Yuning glanced around the store and noticed the trash can next to the sofa.
Ji Yuning had just taken a step toward the trash can when Fang Bai's voice suddenly rang out from inside the house.
"ah!"
Ji Yuning turned her head to look.
Fang Bai took Bei Bei from the shop assistant, held her in his arms, and stroked her body.
Caught off guard by a dark figure approaching from the side, Fang Bai turned Bei Bei's face toward Ji Yuning, his eyes shimmering with tears: "Xiao Ning, Bei Bei is actually a white cat. I thought it was gray."
Ji Yuning knew that Beibei was white, so she wasn't too surprised. She simply took the cat from Fang Bai's arms and said in a low voice, "Dry it off first."
Fang Bai paused for a moment, realizing that Ji Yuning was probably concerned about her, and smiled gently: "No, if I wipe with toilet paper, my clothes will be covered in crumpled pieces of paper."
Ji Yuning pursed her lips, looked up and asked the shop assistant, "Excuse me, do you have a hairdryer? My aunt's hair got wet."
The shop assistant noticed that Fang Bai's clothes were mostly wet and immediately nodded, "Yes, please follow me."
But before leaving, the shop assistant asked in surprise, "You two aren't sisters?"
Fang Bai said softly, "Yes, he is my friend's child."
Shop assistant: "You two have a really good relationship! Like family."
Fang Bai subconsciously wanted to look at Ji Yuning, only to find that Ji Yuning had already carried the cat and walked towards the sofa.
Ji Yuning was wearing a simple white T-shirt and light blue jeans today.
The clothes were all picked out for her by Fang Bai last time. Wearing them, she had the energy and spirit that a teenager should have, and she looked very youthful and beautiful. It's just that her back view was too indifferent.
I don't know if it was because of what the shop assistant said, or because of her.
Fang Bai lowered his eyes and let out a silent, forced smile.
My hair was half-dry, and my clothes dried along with it.
The rain outside started to subside, and gradually stopped after twenty minutes.
In the span of twenty minutes, Fang Bai, at the recommendation of the shop assistant, bought several hospital packages to make it easier to take Bei Bei for check-ups later.
After Fang Bai placed the order without hesitation, the shop assistant thought Fang Bai was even more beautiful than when she entered the store.
When Fang Bai left, the shop assistant waved goodbye with great reluctance.
Once the car was on the road, Ji Yuning was still in the passenger seat, while Beibei was placed in the back seat.
After the rain, the dark clouds that had covered the sky all morning finally disappeared, revealing a clear blue sky to everyone.
Ji Yuning rode in Fang Bai's car a few times and noticed that Fang Bai rarely spoke while driving; all her attention was focused on the car moving to the left and right and the road signs ahead.
Fang Bai didn't speak, and Ji Yuning wouldn't take the initiative to talk to her, so the forty-minute drive home was completely silent.
However, as they were about to arrive home, listening to Beibei's constant barking in the back seat, Ji Yuning crossed her fingers on her lap and said in a muffled voice, "Those package deals seem very affordable, but there are a few items that are unnecessary or even useless. They're not as worthwhile as she claims."
The person next to him suddenly spoke, so Fang Bai slowed down the car, turned his head to look at Ji Yuning, and said, "Are you trying to say that I wasted money?"
Ji Yuning looked out the window: "...I just did some analysis."
Fang Bai let out a soft chuckle, and it was clear that she was in a good mood.
"Excellent analysis, great."
Ji Yuning's gaze froze; she hadn't expected to receive praise from Fang Bai.
“But I thought of that too.” Fang Baiche turned into the small road home and said slowly, “Part of the reason I bought it was because the shop assistant was a nice person and spoke nicely. Plus, we were sheltering from the rain in the shop, so spending a little money would make us look less disheveled.”
“…”
The people around him fell silent.
Even Beibei in the back seat fell silent.
Fang Bai looked to his side and saw Ji Yuning's well-defined profile.
Fang Bai raised an eyebrow. "What are you thinking about?"
Ji Yuning turned her head and met Fang Bai's gaze for two seconds as Fang Bai turned back to face her.
Fang Bai said gently, "Tell me your true thoughts after you heard me say those things."
"..." Ji Yuning's eyelashes trembled.
Fang Bai coaxed, "Didn't you just tell me you spent the money wrong? Why are you afraid to say it now?"
Provocation tactic.
Ji Yuning lowered her eyes, her voice as calm as water: "...The shop assistant is nice to you and speaks nicely because she is a service worker, that's her job. But if you buy multiple package items, it will only make people think you're stupid and have too much money."
The car fell silent.
The car drove into the yard and quickly into the garage.
She stopped, and Fang Bai unbuckled her seatbelt. She asked, "Is that what you're thinking?"
Contrary to Ji Yuning's expectations, Fang Bai was not enraged; in fact, he even had a smile on his lips.
Ji Yuning: "..."
She didn't say anything.
"You actually said it when I told you to, humph." Fang Bai clicked his tongue, but seemed to be angered by Ji Yuning's blunt words, and couldn't help but let out a soft hum.
Fang Bai felt a bit cold, so he covered his arms with his hands and used his palms to warm himself. "You are looking at things from the perspective of the stakeholders, and you deal with those issues rationally, while I am the opposite of you and am more emotional. You also said that there are only a few projects that I don't need. When I bought the package, I didn't want those useless items, but rather that big piece of chicken leg meat."
Fang Bai recalled what Ji Yuning had just said and smiled slightly, saying, "However, in business, rationality is more important."
Ji Yuning's lips tightened, and the indifference between her brows faded considerably.
Feeling increasingly cold, Fang Bai didn't want to stay in the car for another second.
Fang Bai coughed lightly, abandoning his intention to teach Ji Yuning a lesson ahead of time. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Now that I'm rich and naive, I'm going to take Beibei home. As for you, the capable ones will have to do more work. You'll have to take care of those things in the trunk."
After Fang Bai finished speaking, he got out of the car, opened the back door, picked up the bag containing Bei Bei, and turned to leave.
Ji Yuning sat in her seat, watching Fang Bai's figure walk further and further away through the rearview mirror until it disappeared from the mirror.
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