Qi Ji was perplexed, wondering if she would ever meet the person she loves.
In the next private room, Xu Xiu and Shen Yin were questioning him.
"Jingrui, what feelings do you have for Qi Ji?"
Chang Zhiyuan also pricked up his ears, very curious about this question, as Xue Jingrui himself had said he understood.
"I don't know. I feel she's too young to marry me, it would be a loss for her. I just want to treat her well and spoil her."
"Brother, you're doomed, you're done for." Chang Zhiyuan mocked his misfortune.
"What does she see you as?" Chang Zhiyuan brought up the topic again.
"She calls me 'brother' every day."
Chang Zhiyuan felt envious, wondering when Shu Yi would sweetly call him 'brother' too.
"What, you mean you've been calling Xue Jingrui 'brother'?" Shu Yi couldn't believe it.
"Yes, I've always called him brother, from the day we got married until now, that's what I call him." Qi Ji nodded, her eyes as big as copper bells, blinking repeatedly to affirm what she said.
"So now he sees you as a younger sister, and you see him as a brother? Oh my, is there any romantic feelings between you two?" Even with all the novels Shu Yi had read over the years, she was at a loss regarding their relationship.
Qi Ji also wore a bewildered expression.
"Sister Shu Yi, Sister Shen Yin said you awakened her. Can you now awaken me too? I don't know what to do next." Qi Ji asked.
Shu Yi wanted to say that the relationship between Shen Yin and Xu Xiu was a bit different from that of Qi Ji and Xue Jingrui.
"Your relationships are different. Yin Yin and her husband do have Zhengzheng."
Xu Yunzheng was enjoying his meal when he heard his nickname and chimed in, "Where's Zhengzheng?"
"Sister Shu Yi, do you mean that I need to have a child for my relationship with Brother Jingrui to be like Sister Shen Yin's?"
Shu Yi was thrown into confusion. Oh dear, this was getting too complicated.
In the next private room.
"Brother, let me tell you, since she calls you 'brother', you have to make a move! You can't be so wooden."
"What move?"
"She calls you brother, meaning she's not resistant to you but trusts you instead. Now is the time to seize the opportunity. Look how fast Xiu and I were? I taught him." Chang Zhiyuan thumped his chest, boasting.
Upon hearing this, Xu Xiu looked puzzled. Really? He didn't remember Chang Zhiyuan teaching him. If his memory served, it was always his company's little assistant Xiao Li'er who advised him. Of course, it was also because of his own quick wit and thick skin that he won over Shen Yin. What did Chang Zhiyuan have to do with it?
"Ahem, you can take me as a successful case study, but a certain someone shouldn't flatter himself, since among the three of us, only one is single."
"What about me? When did I flatter myself? Can you say I never gave you advice?"
"If I have to say why my wife and I are so blissful today, the biggest contributor is Zhengzheng." Xu Xiu felt proud, his boastful tone making it obvious even to a fool.
After saying that, Xu Xiu suddenly missed Zhengzheng, not having seen the little one for a day, wondering if he was missed too.
"So, the key is that I need to have a child first for my relationship with her to progress?"
"Buddy, wake up. The question now is what you need to do to have a child."
"You're all wrong. My having Zhengzheng was an accident, an accident that others can't imitate. Jingrui's problem now is how to take his relationship with Qi Ji one step further. Having a child, can he decide that by himself? He can't give birth."
After Xu Xiu finished speaking, the three fell silent.
They started eating.
"What do you think they're discussing over there?" Chang Zhiyuan asked.
"Clothes, bags, jewelry, lipstick?"
In the other private room.
"Qi Ji, did you ever like someone before?" Shu Yi asked.
Qi Ji shook her head.
"Actually, apart from Xue Jingrui's poor eyesight before and being a bit wooden, he's quite alright in other aspects." Shen Yin chimed in.
"Do you like children?" Shu Yi asked again.
Qi Ji nodded. Of course she did. Babies were adorable, chubby and innocent. Treat them well and they'll treat you well too. Who didn't like them?
"If all else fails, have one." Shu Yi said solemnly.
"With who?" Qi Ji asked sincerely, as she truly liked babies.
"Xue Jingrui."
...
"How do you have one?"
Shu Yi held her head, feeling that Qi Ji was too naive.
In the other private room.
"Now, you should tell her you like her, not see her as a younger sister," Chang Zhiyuan spoke up.
"You could learn from me, be a bit thick-skinned. The first step is to sleep in the same room."
"On what pretext?"
"Jingrui, on this matter, Xiu and I can't help you anymore. Feelings are between you and her. We can only give you some strategies, but the actual implementation depends on you."
"Obviously with you two." Shen Yin didn't finish her sentence.
Shu Yi continued, "Have a physical relationship."
Qi Ji blushed, feeling a bit shy, and took a tactical sip of water.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the private room door.
Shen Yin looked at Shu Yi and asked, "Did you order something else?"
Shu Yi was also puzzled. She thought Shen Yin had ordered more dishes but Shen Yin was asking her, so she shook her head.
"Then who could it be?"
"Let me open the door." Qi Ji, who was closest to the door, stood up to open it.
Qi Ji opened it a crack but quickly closed it again.
Shu Yi: "Qi Ji, who is it? Why did you close the door again?"
Qi Ji turned around, looked at Shen Yin and Shu Yi, patted her chest and said, "It's Brother Jingrui and the others."
Shen Yin and Shu Yi looked at each other, then asked together, "The others?"
"Also Sister Shen Yin's husband and Chang Zhiyuan." Qi Ji was a bit startled. The two sisters had just told her about 'having a physical relationship', and they came so soon.
Outside, the three men didn't understand what had just happened. Was it an illusion? Did they see wrong in that split second when the door opened?
They knocked again.
Qi Ji quickly opened the door, then hurried back to her seat.
"How did they know we're here?" Shu Yi asked.
Shen Yin shook her head, "Not me, I didn't say where."
Qi Ji immediately shook her head, she hadn't said anything.
The three of them entered the private room one after another.
Xu Yunzheng looked up: "Dad, Dad."
Xu Xiu walked over to Xu Yunzheng and picked up Zhengzheng. "Dad, Zhengzheng hasn't eaten enough yet." Zhengzheng was reluctant to put down the chopsticks in his hand, as he had just been eating and playing around, not really eating enough.
Hearing this, Xu Xiu put Zhengzheng down and sat down next to him.
