Hearing the reply, there came Shu Yi's laughter from the other end of the phone.
"Are you free this afternoon? Let's have a meal together."
Jiang Zhirou glanced at Chi Yu.
Chi Yu folded his arms across his chest, looking as if he was waiting to see how she would reply.
"Sure. I'm free today. Send me the address and time on my phone."
Shu Yi on the other end of the phone seemed a bit surprised that she would agree so readily.
"Okay. See you then."
Shu Yi's voice was obviously more upbeat than before, and the joy was palpable.
After Jiang Zhirou hung up the phone, Chi Yu's voice, full of jealousy, rang out.
"How come I didn't know you were so free?"
Looking at Chi Yu like this, Jiang Zhirou couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Is it that funny?"
Chi Yu's face was darker than coal.
Jiang Zhirou laughed even louder.
It was the first time Chi Yu didn't know what to do with her. Furious, his eyes suddenly caught sight of the half - eaten egg custard in her bowl. He reached out and took the bowl away directly.
"Hey hey hey." Jiang Zhirou reached out to stop him. "I'm not full yet. Why did you take it away? You're so stingy."
Chi Yu held the bowl above his head. Jiang Zhirou was wearing slippers and was less than 1.7 meters tall. She jumped and grabbed for it but couldn't reach the bowl.
"It's just a meal. The great Professor Chi isn't so stingy, is he?"
Since being tough didn't work, Jiang Zhirou tried to be soft and started flattering him.
But Chi Yu wasn't swayed by either.
He looked down at the woman.
"Yes, I'm just this stingy. So what?"
Jiang Zhirou rarely saw this childish side of Chi Yu. Unconsciously, the image of the young boy from her childhood emerged in her mind.
That older brother whose name she couldn't remember was also this stingy.
She really hoped that God would be kind to her and give her a chance to see him again before she left the imperial capital.
After all, he was the only friend in her long yet short life, apart from Si Moshen.
She wondered how he was doing now, what he looked like, and whether he was still as taciturn as he was in childhood, keeping his thoughts to himself all day.
If she really got to see him again, at least she could say a proper goodbye instead of disappearing suddenly like before.
Chi Yu saw the woman in front of him suddenly staring blankly at him without saying a word. He waved his hand in front of her eyes.
"What? Dazzled by your man's handsome face?"
Chi Yu's voice interrupted Jiang Zhirou's train of thought.
She came back to her senses abruptly. Hearing Chi Yu's unashamed self - praise, her eyes curved into a smile.
"Yes, I'm dazzled by my man's handsome face. I'm so lucky. I've captured such a rare beauty. It seems God really loves me."
As she spoke, Jiang Zhirou threw herself into the man's arms, wrapped her arms around his waist, and looked up at him.
Facing her like this, Chi Yu's heart skipped a beat.
Taking advantage of his momentary daze, Jiang Zhirou suddenly stepped on a stool and snatched the bowl from his hand.
"I got it!"
The woman's happy voice rang in his ears.
Chi Yu came back to his senses, looking at her with indulgence in his eyes.
"Childish."
"I'm just childish. You're so smart. If I wasn't a bit childish, how could your intelligence be shown?"
Jiang Zhirou said without hesitation.
Looking at the lively girl in front of him, Chi Yu's smile deepened.
"Remember to forward the address to me later."
"What? Are you going to eavesdrop nearby?"
Jiang Zhirou asked him with a smile.
Chi Yu reached out and gently tapped the tip of her nose, joking with her, "Yes, I'm going to keep an eye on you so you won't be snatched away by other men."
"Professor Chi lacks confidence so much?"
"I really don't have much confidence when it comes to you."
Chi Yu said this jokingly.
But hearing this, Jiang Zhirou felt a bit bitter in her heart.
He was such an outstanding person. Why was he so insecure?
She was curious about what he had been through before.
That's why he had become like this.
Always hiding his deepest emotions and vulnerabilities, putting on a bright - smiling mask.
"Chi Yu."
Jiang Zhirou suddenly called out.
Chi Yu was stunned for a moment. The smile on his face faded a bit. "Why are you suddenly so serious?"
"Do you trust me?"
She asked him.
"Of course I trust you."
Chi Yu answered without any hesitation, as if he was afraid that if he answered a second later, she would start to doubt.
"Then let me handle it myself. Trust that I also have the ability to solve problems."
Chi Yu didn't say a word.
Jiang Zhirou knew that he was worried about her.
But this kind of worry was too much.
One step further, it would turn into a cage named worry but actually surveillance.
Everyone was an independent individual and needed their own independent space.
She knew that Chi Yu had been blaming himself all these years.
Blaming himself for running away to a foreign country back then, for not being able to protect Chen Qingmian well, which gave Chen Yu'an the chance to send her to Mexico and let her go through such a thing.
But these things weren't his fault.
Yet he had been blaming himself.
"Chi Yu, if you always stay in one place, maybe one day I'll suddenly leave you behind."
Jiang Zhirou said this with a big smile.
Chi Yu was stunned for two seconds.
He quickly understood what she meant.
"Got it." Chi Yu's voice no longer had the anxiety from before.
"I'll wait for you at home."
Jiang Zhirou nodded with a smile. Mimicking the way he used to rub her head, she reached out and ruffled the man's hair.
"Will you teach me physics when you have time later?"
As she ruffled his hair, she spoke softly.
"Why do you keep changing your mind?"
Chi Yu thought her thinking was changing too fast. One moment she was talking about one thing, and the next moment it was completely different.
She was really becoming more and more like she was in childhood.
"I just want to learn. Teach me, okay? Then we'll have more topics in common."
"It doesn't matter if we don't have topics in common. We'll always find something to talk about."
Chi Yu didn't quite agree with her statement that they needed to learn physics to have common topics.
But Jiang Zhirou seemed not to hear him. "Teach me, okay?"
Unable to resist her, Chi Yu said, "Okay, okay, okay. I'll teach you. I'll teach you whatever you want to learn, as long as you don't get snatched away by others."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Zhirou suddenly withdrew her hand and gave him a big kiss on the lips. "I don't want anyone but you."
Before Chi Yu could react, she had already run towards the bedroom.
After a while, he reached out and touched his lips. It seemed that the taste of the egg custard still lingered there...
The time Shu Yi had arranged with her was 6 p.m., the rush hour after work.
The restaurant was a bit far from here, about half an hour's drive.
Jiang Zhirou left an hour early.
When she was almost at the restaurant, she suddenly received a call from Lu Wenxi.
"Mianbao, where are you?"
"I'm on my way to the restaurant."
"That's perfect! I haven't eaten yet. Let's go together."