Jiang Qihuai discovered that Tao Zhi’s skin had grown considerably thicker on WeChat.

He leaned back into his chair, lowered his eyes and stared at the lines of text on his phone. Even through the screen, he could imagine the expression on that daring little face of hers right now.

Jiang Qihuai felt that he really couldn’t keep indulging her like this.

His fingertips pinched the edge of his phone, spinning it around once before grabbing it again. After a few seconds’ pause, he typed: 【Only photos?】

Tao Zhi replied instantly: 【?】

Jiang Qihuai continued: 【No in-person ones?】

Tao Zhi: 【??】

Jiang Qihuai typed unhurriedly: 【I’ll come over after work tonight.】

【ZhiZhi Grape】: ???

【ZhiZhi Grape】: Bro, I’m at home right now, please just let me off this time.

Jiang Qihuai processed for a moment that her “home” here probably meant the old Tao family house.

He glanced at her reply, whose tone was full of “admitting defeat and pleading for mercy,” placed his phone on the desk, and continued with the meeting.

Tao Zhi had originally just been thinking about teasing Jiang Qihuai a bit, waiting for him to either respond sarcastically or stay silent so she could rib him further. She hadn’t expected him to directly follow the limit she’d thrown out and then break right through it. The preserved plum candy in her mouth almost choked her.

She threw her phone onto the bed, fastened the lid on the small box of candies she was holding in her arms and set it aside, then rolled over to lie flat on the bed, contemplating going to pick Jiang Qihuai up after work on Monday to see him.

For some things, compared to discussing them over WeChat, she preferred to tell him face-to-face.

As it turned out, the planned thing couldn’t be carried out. Not only was Jiang Qihuai busy, but Tao Zhi herself also became consistently busy.

The cover photos for 《Singo》 were even more painstaking than she had imagined.

Whether it was because he had benefited from some of Jiang Qihuai’s influence or not, the Permed Hair guy’s attitude was finally not so annoying anymore. Tao Zhi cooperated with him relatively pleasantly. She selected several photos with different angles and poses, combining the March issue’s theme with the cover model’s makeup, hair, and temperament, and tried all kinds of post-processing, but she always felt something was missing.

Commercial magazine cover photos are different from others. The photos Tao Zhi submitted to international photography competitions and exhibitions focused on content and technique, on the vividness and the instant captured by the photo itself. What commercial magazines require is an intense impact that captures the eye at first glance, possessing an aggressive tension powerful enough to make all other magazines of the same type placed beside it instantly seem dull.

The two of them, each busy with their own things, went nearly a week without seeing each other.

On Thursday evening, Tao Zhi finally adjusted the post-processing to her most satisfactory effect and sent out all the final images.

She pushed her chair back, raised her arms high in a big stretch, yawned, then slumped in the chair zoning out for a while before picking up her phone to check the time.

Jiang Qihuai had been working overtime every day recently. Tao Zhi saw from Lin Suyan’s WeChat’s “Moments” posts, where he ranted daily about financial workers having a life worse than dogs, and even screenshot them to show Jiang Qihuai. Laborer Jiang replied that he couldn’t see them on his end.

He had probably blocked all his colleagues, leaders, and bosses, but only forgot about Tao Zhi, the boss’s family member.

Seeing it was still early, Tao Zhi sat in her seat spinning circles in a daze for a while, then slowly grabbed her car keys and headed out.

The evening rush hour had already started. By the time Tao Zhi inched along the snake-like line of traffic to Ruisheng’s office building, an hour had passed. She parked in the underground lot, thought it was still early, and pulled out her phone intending to send Jiang Qihuai a message.

But when she looked up, she happened to see him coming out of the elevator ahead.

Tao Zhi made a sound of surprise and lightly pressed the horn twice.

Jiang Qihuai turned his head, saw her car, and the small head she had poked out the window looking at him.

He walked over from a distance, reached the car window, raised his hand, and used a single index finger to press against her forehead, pushing her head back into the car: “Why are you here?”

“How come you’re getting off work so early?” Tao Zhi said.

Jiang Qihuai glanced at her but didn’t speak.

Tao Zhi smiled at him: “Oh, did you miss me? Planning to get off work early to find me?”

Jiang Qihuai’s figure noticeably paused for an instant, but his face showed no expression at all. After a moment, he said, “Should I drive?”

“No need,” Tao Zhi said, completely undistracted by his clumsy attempt to change the subject. She pressed on, “You see, the moment you missed me, I came to find you. Is this what they call being on the same wavelength?”

Jiang Qihuai let out a soft laugh, walked around the front of the car, got into the passenger seat, pulled the seatbelt over and buckled it, watching her start the car.

Tao Zhi’s driving skills weren’t exactly great.

It wasn’t that she was inexperienced, but the way she drove made people feel it was very unsteady. She always liked to play heavy metal rock music, and listening to it, she couldn’t help but sway along with it. It was one thing for her person to sway, but her hands swayed too, and along with them, the steering wheel.

Fu Xiling once rode in her car for an hour and dry-heaved for ten minutes after getting out.

Jiang Qihuai, however, seemed like someone who had seen the world. Even if Tao Zhi drove the car in a serpentine pattern, he remained utterly calm and unruffled. He didn’t even ask where they were going, just sat there obediently, letting her beep-beep her way forward.

Tao Zhi swung the steering wheel onto the elevated highway. The traffic was lined up, crawling forward slowly and regularly. She tilted her head: “How come you’re not asking me where I’m taking you?”

Jiang Qihuai lifted his eyes and said flatly, “You can’t exactly sell me.”

“…”

Tao Zhi was suddenly a little amazed by his perceptiveness.

She stopped behind the car in front of her, trapped in the traffic jam, turned her head, blinked a couple of times, looked at him and called out: “Boyfriend.”

Hearing this form of address, Jiang Qihuai lifted his head.

“Meeting the parents?” Tao Zhi continued.

Jiang Qihuai looked at her, his expression still unrippled, as if he hadn’t reacted much, only his eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly.

He subconsciously licked his lips and asked very slowly: “Right now?”

Tao Zhi nodded and said: “Just now. I was originally thinking I should discuss it with you first, ask for your thoughts, and then give my dad a heads-up to set a date.”

Tao Zhi paused, then continued: “But I suddenly felt it wasn’t necessary. It’s just family meeting for a meal, I don’t want to make it so formal.”

Jiang Qihuai’s heart felt as if it had been lightly plucked.

“I haven’t prepared anything,” he said quietly.

Tao Zhi thought it made sense to bring something, at least some fruit or the like, so she nodded: “Then let’s stop by the supermarket on the way to buy some things.”

The car drove to the area of the old Tao house. Jiang Qihuai had tutored there for half a year in high school and was also very familiar with this area.

The two went to the nearest large supermarket first, parked the car, and went upstairs.

The three-story supermarket had everything from fresh produce, snacks, daily necessities, and so on. Jiang Qihuai pushed the cart behind her, watching as Tao Zhi, using “buying some things for the first visit” as a reason, frantically threw snacks into the shopping cart.

She threw in more things like chocolate, jelly, and soft candies, preferred high-sugar yogurt, only took two bags of potato chips, and ate very little puffed snacks.

With the New Year approaching, the central shelves of the supermarket were neatly stacked with exquisitely packaged New Year’s gift boxes. Jiang Qihuai picked a few and placed them in the cart, thinking he would bring more formal gifts next time he visited.

Tao Zhi walked over holding a bag of caramel cookies, threw it into the cart, and stole a glance at his expression. She said quietly: “Is this too sudden?”

“Hm?” Jiang Qihuai’s gaze was still on the gift boxes on the shelf. “What’s sudden.”

“Well, I didn’t give you a heads-up in advance,” Tao Zhi said. “If you don’t really like it, or feel you need to prepare, next time is fine too. I just suddenly had a whim today, I actually hadn’t planned it originally.”

After she said this, Jiang Qihuai turned his head and looked at her: “That won’t do.”

Tao Zhi was stunned: “What won’t do?”

“A whim,” Jiang Qihuai lifted his eyelids, glanced at her, and said flatly, “Was it like that for me too?”

It took Tao Zhi a few seconds to understand the meaning of his words. She lifted her head and said very quickly: “Of course not. The whim I meant was about bringing you home today. If I were towards you—”

Halfway through her explanation, she saw the man’s silently curved lips and realized she was being teased.

Tao Zhi instantly shut her mouth, threw a big roll eye at him, couldn’t be bothered with him anymore, and strode forward with a wave of her hand.

Seeing he had teased her to the point of getting a little ruffled, Jiang Qihuai laughed softly and pushed the cart after her.

The two bought a full cart of things. While queuing to check out, Tao Zhi casually flipped through the items in the cart for a look. Her gaze drifted and landed on the items on the top two rows of the shelf beside them.

Having seen this thing dozens of times before while shopping in supermarkets, it had never meant anything, but somehow, this time, something was different. Tao Zhi felt inexplicably awkward.

She quickly, inexplicably guiltily, averted her gaze. Just as her head turned away, the top of her hair was suddenly lightly ruffled.

Tao Zhi instantly froze, as if caught red-handed doing something shameful. She unconsciously shrank her shoulders slightly.

Jiang Qihuai’s palm rested on her head, and his voice came from above: “I’m not ‘not really liking it.'”

“…”

What do you like! Don’t like things randomly! I wasn’t looking at anything!

Tao Zhi grew even more flustered.

Jiang Qihuai continued: “But I really haven’t prepared anything this time. I’ll have to make up for it next time I visit properly.”

Tao Zhi was taken aback for a moment, then looked up at him blankly, lifting her chin to see him from below.

Jiang Qihuai lowered his eyes, his tone even, his voice very low: “I’m very happy that Zhizhi is willing to take me back.”

When Tao Zhi brought Jiang Qihuai home, Tao Xiuping was in the living room following a video on TV doing swan arm exercises.

Both of their hands were full of bags as they entered, and they saw Tao Xiuping standing on a yoga mat with his back to the entryway, arms raised and stretched out, watching the TV in front of him.

A magnetic female voice from the television was calm and gentle: “Adjust your breathing, follow my rhythm, come, let’s chant together — 1234, 2234.”

Tao Xiuping took a deep breath: “12……34……”

Tao Zhi: “…”

Jiang Qihuai: “…”

Tao Zhi put the bags in her hands on the floor, walked over, tilted her head, and looked at him: “Dad, what are you doing?”

Hearing the sound, Tao Xiuping turned his head, somewhat surprised: “Oh, you’re back? I thought it was Xiao Fan.”

As he spoke, his gaze swept behind her and landed on Jiang Qihuai standing further back.

Tao Xiuping almost choked on his own saliva.

He was still standing on the yoga mat in a red-crowned crane-like pose on one leg, arms raised as if about to take flight. His already somewhat lacking balance was completely disrupted by the unexpected situation. Tao Xiuping’s other foot landed on the floor, and he nearly lost his balance.

But he adjusted his expression instantly.

After all, he was the gene provider for the legendary Tao School Beauty. Tao Xiuping had handsome features and, after years of battling in the business world, possessed a solemn, cold aura of authority when he kept a straight face without smiling.

He looked calmly at Jiang Qihuai and said in a deep voice, “Xiao Jiang is here?”

Jiang Qihuai nodded: “Sorry to disturb.”

The woman in the video on the TV was still stretching her arms, counting “1234.” Tao Xiuping didn’t turn it off, as if a man in his forties doing swan arm exercises at home for no reason was a completely normal and common occurrence.

He even looked at Jiang Qihuai as if nothing was wrong and asked him, pointing at the TV: “This, have you done it before?”

“No.” Jiang Qihuai said evenly.

Tao Zhi suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. She stepped forward: “Dad—”

Tao Xiuping looked over. Father and daughter didn’t speak, conducting several rounds of conversation with their eyes.

— Why did you bring him back suddenly without telling me?

— How was I supposed to know you’re always home alone doing this stuff?

— How was I supposed to know you’d bring him back today?

— You’d be better off just watching variety shows like you usually do.

Tao Xiuping turned his head, refusing to continue the eye-contact conversation with Tao Zhi.

Then, he waved at Jiang Qihuai and said, “It’s fine if you don’t know how. It’s simple, just follow the TV.”

He seemed determined not to be the only one embarrassed tonight, fully intent on dragging Jiang Qihuai, the source of this trouble, down with him. He looked at him with a kind expression and said, “Come, Uncle will teach you.”

Jiang Qihuai: “…”