Zhang Zhaomu stood there, stunned.
Is Chen Zhenzhen... confessing her feelings?
No, I told you to stop being so indecisive, but aren't you being a bit too blunt?
Standing there on the street, completely unprepared, with an attitude of utter recklessness, he threw a straight ball at me?
Zhang Zhaomu didn't know how to describe his feelings at that moment; in fact, his mind was completely blank.
The first time in my life I was confessed to was by my best friend.
That good friend who had been with him almost every day since junior high, with whom he could talk about anything, and for a long time he never even considered him a girl.
He stood there, bewildered and frozen in place.
"Pfft—" Chen Zhenzhen suddenly burst out laughing, " Zhang Zaowan, you look so silly right now."
"What? I didn't say I wanted you to do anything, I was just telling you my thoughts."
Zhang Zhaomu's voice was hoarse. "You... you let me catch my breath..."
"I didn't get enough sleep last night, and I'm still a bit groggy... So, I treat you like a brother, but you want to sleep with me?"
"Get lost!" Chen Zhenzhen punched Zhang Zhaomu: "Everything you say sounds filthy coming from your mouth! Will you die if you don't ruin the atmosphere?"
"Yes." Zhang Zhaomu reflexively used lame words to cover up his inner panic. "I'm the kind of person who gets so cringeworthy watching romance movies that I dig a hole through the cinema with my toes and fall into a mobile phone shop downstairs, then play a game of King of Glory on a demo phone and dominate the battlefield..."
"So, Chen Zhen, you know me... I wouldn't even talk about love, not even if I were a dog..."
He glanced at Chen Zhenzhen cautiously and whispered, "Of course... I didn't mean to reject you... Actually, I'm feeling incredibly happy right now, after all, having someone as youthful-looking as you..." Chen Zhenzhen rolled her eyes and interrupted him, "Alright, you can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth."
"If you don't have those feelings for me, then so be it. It's not like I didn't expect it. Why put so much pressure on yourself?"
Sure enough, Qianqian knew Zhang Zhaomu better than I did... She kept saying that Zhang Zhaomu definitely liked her, and that he only started studying hard because he liked her. At the time, it felt quite sweet to hear that.
But after carefully reviewing the situation last night, I finally woke up from the pink atmosphere that Qianqian had painted for me. From the day I met Zhang Zhaomu, I have always had only one attitude towards love: to avoid it at all costs.
This guy practically has a fear of relationships, and Chen Zhenzhen knows the root cause of it.
How can someone who grows up surrounded by the ugliest aspects of love possibly still have hope for it?
But... even though I understand that, I'm still a little disappointed.
How could one not hope for mutual affection...?
She suppressed the jumble of thoughts in her mind and continued, "I'm telling you this not to force you to be with me, but just to explain my recent unusual behavior and to let you know that if I see you behaving intimately with other girls in the future, I will still be jealous and angry!"
"This is reasonable and justified! I no longer want to hide it!"
"As for you... just continue being yourself. When you realize your friendship has soured too, then..."
She paused, her pretty face slightly flushed. "Let's talk again."
Zhang Zhaomu was surprised that Chen Zhenzhen would say such a thing.
But then again, it makes perfect sense... This is the Chen Zhenzhen I know, someone who can't keep things to herself and says whatever comes to mind.
On the contrary, her hesitant and timid behavior last night was unlike her usual self.
"Then," he hesitated for a moment, "What if my friendship never changes?"
"Then let's not let it spoil." Chen Zhenzhen rolled her eyes. "It's not like I necessarily want to be in a relationship with you. For me, it would be great if we could stay best friends like before."
Zhang Zhaomu suddenly blurted out, "Then wouldn't your confession have been for nothing?"
"Heh." Chen Zhenzhen sneered, "How could that be? Didn't you ask me last night why I was being so nosy?"
"Now that I've said I've fallen for you, when I get jealous, will you still think I'm being nosy?"
Zhang Zhaomu:
That makes perfect sense; he couldn't refute it.
"Alright, that's enough." Chen Zhenzhen looked relaxed. "Let's go, the Little Mute must be getting impatient."
The two started walking again.
Zhang Zhaomu remained silent the whole way, still not fully processing his good friend's sudden confession... although he had had a vague suspicion that Chen Zhenzhen might like him.
I thought I'd deal with it later, so I didn't think about it any further. I never expected this day to come so soon.
However... since Chen Zhenzhen said there's no need to feel pressured, then it seems there's nothing for me to worry about.
As the saying goes, there's always a way out; just let things take their course.
Anyway, I never intended to date or anything like that. As long as our friendship doesn't turn sour, isn't Chen Zhen still my best friend?
With this in mind, Zhang Zhaomu completely adjusted her mindset.
Nothing happened!
"What are you thinking about?" Chen Zhenzhen suddenly broke the silence. "Are you still dwelling on what happened earlier?"
"Hmm." Zhang Zhaomu nodded. "I was thinking, since you like me, you shouldn't call me Zhang Zaowan anymore."
"What do you mean?" Chen Zhenzhen was taken aback and frowned.
"Not intimate enough." Zhang Zhaomu chuckled. "How about you just call me 'Dad'?"
Chen Zhenzhen: "?"
She was actually worried that his relationship with her would become awkward because of his confession.
In hindsight, we overestimated this guy's bottom line.
She kicked him, shouting, "I'm your father!"
"Stop it! Stop it!" Zhang Zhaomu dodged awkwardly, "The rice noodles are going to spill!"
"You violent maniac, instead of looking for the cause within yourself, you're blaming me!" Zhang Zhaomu took a couple of steps, turned back, and gave me the middle finger. "Fine, Dad's used to it. A leaky little cotton-padded jacket is still a cotton-padded jacket, there's nothing I can do about it."
"Say that again!" Chen Zhenzhen quickened her pace to catch up.
Do you believe I can't catch you?
"I believe your mother!"
They arrived at the hotel, playfully bickering. Xiang Qing had already checked out and was sitting in the hotel lobby.
"Good morning, Little Mute." Zhang Zhaomu greeted him with a smile, placing the rice noodles on the table in the lobby. "I specially brought you breakfast, from Liu's!"
"Don't use the breakfast I bought to do favors!" Chen Zhenzhen muttered in dissatisfaction, then looked at Xiang Qing and asked with concern, " Little Mute, why do you look a little pale?"
Xiang Qing glanced at Zhang Zhaomu furtively, then lowered her head. "No... it's nothing."
It's just a little bit dead.
Thinking about what happened last night, Xiang Qing wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground.
Why would I call Zhang Zhaomu to the hotel so late, and why would I be wearing only my underwear and trying to open the door for him?!
Fortunately, Zhang Zhaomu is a gentleman; otherwise, he would have been completely exposed!
How am I supposed to get along with him then... it'll be so awkward!
Furthermore, even though he was so tired, he kept pestering him not to leave, and even suggested that he sleep in the hotel...
If Zhang Zhaomu isn't a paper tiger...
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Alcohol may taste good, but it's not a good thing!
"What are you daydreaming about? Are you still drunk?" Zhang Zhaomu took out the rice noodles and placed them in front of Xiang Qing.
"She's awake! She's been awake for a while!" Xiang Qing shuddered.
"Huh? You're admitting you got drunk last night?" Zhang Zhaomu teased. "I thought you were going to keep saying you have an unbeatable alcohol tolerance."
" Zhang Zhaomu, please stop laughing at me... I'll never do it again..." Xiang Qing said pitifully.
"It's good that you've learned your lesson." Zhang Zhaomu nodded with satisfaction.
Chen Zhenzhen glanced at the two of them, her brows gradually furrowing.
"Wait... I feel like I've missed something." She said in a low voice, " Zhang Zaowan, after you took me home yesterday... you didn't go to see the Little Mute again, did you?"
"She was almost drunk last night and messaged me. I was worried she'd run away, so I sent her some hangover remedies." Zhang Zhaomu paused, then added, "Nothing else!"
In the past, Zhang Zhaomu wouldn't have bothered explaining these things, but considering that Chen Zhenzhen had just confessed her feelings and said she had a legitimate reason to be jealous...
Although I have a clear conscience, it's better to avoid trouble.
"Really?" Chen Zhenzhen looked at Xiang Qing.
"Yes." Xiang Qing nodded, " Zhang Zhaomu is a good person! He won't do anything to me."
She dared not mention that she had opened the door wearing only her underwear, nor did she dare mention that she had asked Zhang Zhaomu to watch a horror movie with her... It was too scandalous to say it out loud.
"He's not a good person," Chen Zhenzhen retorted.
" Zhenzhen, don't say that about Zhang Zhaomu... He's a very good person," Xiang Qing said earnestly.
Chen Zhenzhen:
With that kind of personality, even if she were tricked into having five children, she'd probably still think the other person was a good person.
She sighed and said, "Anyway, call me next time something like this happens. As a fellow woman, it'll be easier for me to handle it."
"Okay~" Xiang Qing nodded obediently. "I'll call both of you, you're both my good friends!"
"Eat your noodles, eat your noodles, they won't taste good later." Zhang Zhaomu interrupted their conversation, "There's no such thing as 'later,' I won't drink anymore!"
"That's true," Chen Zhenzhen agreed. "We're not some down-on-his-luck old man who needs to numb ourselves with alcohol."
"Ahem, Chen Zhen, don't say hurtful things like that in public," Zhang Zhaomu reminded him. "Otherwise, you might get beaten up."
"It's okay, you can take a beating."
What does this have to do with me?
"As my best friend, wouldn't you help me if I got beaten up?"
"I can help take a picture of it, to use as your embarrassing history..." Seeing Chen Zhenzhen about to explode, Zhang Zhaomu quickly changed the subject. "No, I mean, as evidence to sue the other party!"
Chen Zhenzhen: "Hehe! Do you still want to split the compensation in half?"
Zhang Zhaomu considered it for a moment. "Give me 30%, that's fine. I'm not greedy."