How Did You Know I Like White?

In the corridor, Wang Jun instinctively reached for his cigarettes, but remembering this was a hospital, he pulled his hand back.

"Little Chu Brother, your dad's state of mind is pretty important right now. You... try not to argue with him so much. Just treat it like you're humoring him."

Wang Jun had happened to hear the two arguing inside when he came back from the restroom. He had lingered in the corridor for a while, and when Tang Zhi Chu turned around, the two came face-to-face. They then moved aside to talk.

"You know what he's like. If I don't say anything, he just gets even angrier. By the way, have any of those distant relatives come?" Tang Zhi Chu asked.

Wang Jun hesitated before answering. "Auntie Yao came by once. The others said they'd find a time to come together."

Tang Zhi Chu nodded. Auntie Yao, as Wang Jun called her, was Tang Zhi Chu's younger paternal aunt. Tang Mao De's branch of the family had four siblings, two women and two men.

Tang Mao De had a bad temper, drank heavily, and gambled sometimes. He used to borrow money from them all the time, so over the years, they had gradually grown more distant.

Tang Zhi Chu wasn't surprised by that.

"Brother Jun, I'll have to trouble you for a while. If one extra person at the shop isn't enough, hire two. The old man forced me to go, so I don't have a choice. If any relatives come, give me a call."

Wang Jun nodded and said seriously, "Sure. We're family, no need to stand on ceremony. Go take care of your business. I've got things covered here."

Tang Zhi Chu left. There was no point in staying, and it would only make both sides feel worse.

Only after Tang Zhi Chu left did Wang Jun turn and enter the hospital room.

The moment he entered, he saw Tang Mao De holding a bowl and gulping down soup. Wang Jun froze.

Tang Mao De refusing to eat wasn't him throwing a tantrum. It was simply what this illness did—it severely affected his appetite. Wang Jun had long gotten used to it and merely took every chance he could to get him to eat a little.

Seeing him drink bowl after bowl like this was extremely rare.

Well damn, Little Chu Brother really had a way with him.

Hearing the sound, Tang Mao De set down his bowl. When he saw Wang Jun, his eyes widened. "That little bastard left?"

Wang Jun nodded.

"Damn it, that little bastard hasn't taken the bait in ages. He caught me completely off guard. Now that I've thought it over, I should've called him an old virgin. And he said I was getting worked up? I'm pissed to death. Is there any more soup?"

Wang Jun said, "Huh? Ah, I'll call them and have some delivered right away!"

Inside the villa, it was exactly noon.

In the second-floor lounge area, the three female guests had gathered together.

Three gifts sat on the table, all in boxes, though they varied in size.

The three gift boxes were different colors: teal, white, and blue.

Chen Si Yang noticed the blue one first—or rather, it caught her attention the most. Just as she reached out to take it, Zhou Yun suddenly said, "I like blue better. But can we open these?"

Since someone had said it outright, Chen Si Yang naturally withdrew her hand. Yet once she did, regret washed over her. Was it really so hard to say the words I like it too?

Jiang Lan made no move, merely saying, "We should be able to open them."

The moment Zhou Yun heard Jiang Lan say that, she picked up the blue box and opened it by herself.

Chen Si Yang looked at Zhou Yun with a hint of envy. It wasn't because Zhou Yun had gotten the blue box, but because she thought Zhou Yun's personality was nice—she didn't have to worry so much about everyone else's feelings.

"Wow, perfume!" Zhou Yun exclaimed.

Zhou Yun didn't smell the perfume right away. Instead, she looked at Chen Si Yang and Jiang Lan. "Let's open the other two as well."

All three gifts were unboxed.

The blue box contained perfume. The teal box held something resembling a trophy, while the white box contained a hat—a beret.

Zhou Yun's eyes flickered. She glanced at Chen Si Yang several times before finally saying, "Then I'll still choose the blue box, okay?"

Jiang Lan hesitated briefly before turning to Chen Si Yang. "Yang Yang, which one do you want?"

In truth, everyone was guessing who each gift belonged to.

Why had Zhou Yun snatched the blue one?

Because according to the publicly available information people could find, Chen Si Yang's favorite color was blue.

As for the gifts themselves, they offered no clues.

Who would a trophy be for? Chen Si Yang, obviously. And the hat? Of the three girls, only Chen Si Yang wore hats every day.

Perfume? Wouldn't that naturally go in a blue box?

The one who could express himself so directly through the box was most likely Yang Jia Xing.

That was why Zhou Yun had grabbed the blue box. She couldn't drag someone onto a singing competition stage, but surely she could compete with a female celebrity for a boyfriend?

As for the white and teal boxes, they had nothing to do with Zhou Yun.

Chen Si Yang had noticed the blue box first as well, but she hadn't been thinking of Yang Jia Xing.

Chen Si Yang felt that even if Tang Zhi Chu was introverted, he would have to make it clear through the gift or its packaging that it was for her, right? Otherwise, those two days of texting each other would have been for nothing.

But once the three gifts were revealed, Chen Si Yang hesitated again. They all seemed to be meant for her.

That meant the blue box might not necessarily have been Tang Zhi Chu's, which gave Chen Si Yang a small sense of relief.

Actually, Chen Si Yang didn't like blue. When she had discussed that topic before, it had only been to cooperate with the company's publicity campaign.

Their girl group was called the Planet Girl Group. Chen Si Yang's public image was someone who never fought or competed, gentle as water, so the company had branded her Mercury Girl. That was how she had passively become someone who liked blue.

But no one else knew that. Judging solely from the boxes, the blue one was indeed the most obvious.

After seeing the gifts, though, she felt that such obviousness was too superficial. It didn't seem like Tang Zhi Chu's style.

That meant she could only choose between the other two gifts.

The trophy and the hat—one was for everyday outfits, while the other symbolized wishes for career success. Which would she choose? Or rather, which one was Tang Zhi Chu's gift?

In the end, Chen Si Yang gritted her teeth and chose the white box—the hat. She wanted to take a gamble.

Wanhua Plaza was packed with people coming and going.

It was precisely because there were so many people that no one noticed several suspicious figures circling around the same spot.

Looking closely, some of them even seemed to be holding filming equipment.

It wasn't unusual. Places like this were full of influencers. Some even livestreamed themselves dancing.

Tang Zhi Chu was watching a girl livestreaming. As if no one else existed around her, she smiled sweetly at the phone filming her. Whenever the mood struck, she would step back a few paces and dance a bit.

As she waved her arms and swayed her hips, her fair waist flashed in and out of sight.

"What are you doing!"

A figure suddenly stepped in front of him. Tang Zhi Chu instinctively reached out to push her aside, but stopped halfway when he realized who it was.

"Whoa, why are you so pretty today?"

Chen Si Yang was still wearing a hat, but her outfit was more vibrant today.

She wore a plaid overshirt over a white T-shirt. It looked casual, the sort of outfit young people seemed to wear, but on Chen Si Yang, it looked especially good.

Chen Si Yang glanced back at the female streamer, then turned and stared at Tang Zhi Chu. "Is she pretty?"

Tang Zhi Chu smiled awkwardly. "I've been waiting for over an hour. I got a little bored."

Hearing that, Chen Si Yang's tone immediately softened. "Then have you eaten?"

Tang Zhi Chu asked in return, "Have you?"

"I'm asking you. You answer first."

Tang Zhi Chu thought for a moment, then said, "If I say I ate, and you didn't, would you say you ate too?"

Chen Si Yang froze, then fell silent.

Tang Zhi Chu stepped closer and nudged Chen Si Yang with his elbow. "Don't worry. You won't go hungry today. The movie's about to start."

"A movie?"

"Yeah. The last time I watched a movie with a girl was when my Aunt took me. I figured that since you're a public figure, you probably don't get many chances like this. So we might as well watch a movie properly together."

Chen Si Yang gave a soft hum, then walked side by side with Tang Zhi Chu.

After a long while, just as they were about to enter the mall, Chen Si Yang suddenly asked, "How did you know I like white?"