When Zhang Peng's face lit up with joy as he took ten hundred-yuan bills from Xu Hao, Tian Jiajia turned and left in a hurry.
"Tian Jiajia!"
Zhang Peng stood up and shouted in surprise.
Tian Jiajia didn't respond, but walked even faster.
"What's wrong with her!"
Zhang Peng scratched his head, completely bewildered, then a loud bang sounded as someone slapped him heavily on the back.
He stumbled forward, turning his head in confusion.
"What are you still standing there for, are you stupid? Chase after her!"
Qin Tian glared at him speechlessly, his tone full of disappointment.
"Huh?"
"Huh your head, are you going or not? I'll hit you!"
"No, no, I'm going, I'm going, I'm going right now!"
Seeing Qin Tian raise his right hand high, Zhang Peng quickly nodded and hurried after her.
"Sigh, what an idiot!"
Qin Tian sighed.
"Indeed!"
Xu Hao nodded in agreement, then looked up at Qin Tian and asked, "So, how did that guy actually manage to get her?"
"Cough cough..."
Qin Tian cleared his throat awkwardly and shrugged, "Who knows!"
Xu Hao looked a little confused, glancing in the direction the two had gone and scratching his head. He felt something was off but couldn't quite pinpoint it.
"Tian Jiajia, your red envelope!"
Zhang Peng chased out of the internet cafe with the money, shouting at Tian Jiajia.
If Qin Tian had seen this, he would have probably given him a swift kick on the spot.
"Get lost!"
As expected, Tian Jiajia threw back a single word without looking back, and sped up again.
"Hey, hey, hey, why are you angry!"
Zhang Peng ran up quickly, his face sincere as he apologized, "I'm sorry about earlier, I had no choice. Thanks for playing along."
Tian Jiajia suddenly stopped.
Zhang Peng, continuing forward due to inertia for a couple of steps, also stopped and turned to look at her, full of confusion.
He vaguely saw that Tian Jiajia's eyes seemed to redden for a moment, and then she just stared at him with a cold expression, without a word.
"Are... are you okay?"
Zhang Peng asked cautiously.
He felt he must have seen wrong.
This was Tian Jiajia, the heroine who could match him in arguments and bickering, how could she cry over something like this?
No, he must have seen wrong.
However, for some reason, the silent Tian Jiajia in front of him made him incredibly uneasy.
Compared to this, he would rather Tian Jiajia scold him directly.
"I'm fine, what could be wrong with me!"
Tian Jiajia spoke calmly.
"Glad to hear it!"
Zhang Peng breathed a sigh of relief, handed her the money, and grinned, "Here, it's all yours, you made a fortune... Ah!"
Before he could finish speaking, he was unexpectedly kicked in the left calf.
The pain from a kick to the shinbone was quite intense.
"You're crazy, what are you doing!"
Zhang Peng glared at her angrily.
"Zhang Peng, you're the crazy one, you idiot, you moron, you go die!"
Tian Jiajia yelled at him furiously, then ran off, bypassing him.
Zhang Peng stood there stunned for a few seconds, then turned to look at the rapidly departing Tian Jiajia and muttered to himself, utterly confused.
"This crazy woman, why is she so angry! Didn't I apologize?"
"Tian Jiajia!"
He suddenly shouted again, making a move to chase after her.
However, the moment he took a step, a sharp pain shot up from his left shinbone.
"Hiss..."
Zhang Peng gasped in pain, raising his left leg in a clumsy, one-legged stance and gently pressing the painful spot, his face contorted in agony.
"What... what are you doing?"
Qin Tian, who had just walked out of the internet cafe, saw this scene and asked with a confused expression.
Zhang Peng glanced at him, quickly put his left leg down, stuffed the money in his pocket, and then replied in a feigned nonchalant tone, "Nothing!"
Qin Tian walked up to him, glanced at his pocket, then at his left calf.
"Where's Tian Jiajia?"
"She left too fast, I couldn't catch up!"
"I see!"
Qin Tian didn't expose him, instead patting his shoulder with a knowing look. "If you ever need advice, give me a call anytime. I know more about this than you do."
"Huh? What?"
Zhang Peng looked at him blankly.
"Sigh!"
Qin Tian sighed, his gaze and expression towards Zhang Peng were like looking at a hopeless, pitiable soul.
"Brother Tian, why are you looking at me like that?"
"It's nothing, I'm heading back now."
With that, Qin Tian left.
After watching him walk away, Zhang Peng furrowed his brow and scratched his head.
"What is all this about? Never mind, I'm going back to play games. Hiss... ow ow ow!!!"
...
...
On the way back, Qin Tian called Xia Nuannuan and told her about what had happened.
After listening, Xia Nuannuan was momentarily speechless.
"I thought about it too simply. Zhang Peng hasn't opened up at all; his mind is filled with games right now!"
Qin Tian said helplessly.
"What do we do now? Jiajia must be angry with him!"
Xia Nuannuan said with concern.
"Definitely. From the way Zhang Peng looked just now, it seems like he got kicked too!"
"Ah? Is it serious?"
"It shouldn't be a major problem, but getting kicked in the shinbone still hurts a lot. He deserves it. Why didn't I realize before that this guy has such low emotional intelligence!"
"Uh..."
"I thought they seemed to have a chance, so I wanted to give them a nudge. Now I hope it hasn't backfired."
Qin Tian rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache.
"It won't, don't worry. Actually, I think this isn't a bad thing."
Xia Nuannuan comforted him.
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"I wasn't there, so I don't know the exact situation, but based on what you've told me, at least Jiajia should now understand her own feelings, no matter what."
"Now that you say it... that does make some sense."
Qin Tian nodded in sudden realization.
"Honestly, why didn't you call me to go?"
Xia Nuannuan chided.
"I didn't even know where Tian Jiajia was. It was a sudden thought later on."
"I was so bored at home. You didn't even ask me to come to such an interesting event."
"Alright, my bad."
"Hmph!"
Xia Nuannuan huffed indignantly a couple of times before changing the subject. "By the way, Qin Tian, we're moving tomorrow."
"Really? Should I come help tomorrow?"
"Yes. And about filling out university applications, Teacher Li already mentioned in the class group that it starts tomorrow morning. The school's computer room has arranged our class's time for the afternoon, and Teacher Li asked us to go to the computer room at three o'clock tomorrow afternoon if we're available."
"Then I'll come help you move tomorrow morning, and we can go to school together in the afternoon to fill out applications?"
"Okay, it's a deal!"
"Mhm!"