Epiphanies of Rebirth Chapter 65 (Part 3)
Translated by Pure (ko-fi)
Chapter 65.3 Xiao Chi: Hmph.
Zhou Haitang laughed out loud, Lin Jingzhe probably didn't realize that the closer he was with someone, the worse his temper became. In front of strangers, his etiquette and smile were perfect and impeccable, and he was as calm as a reliable middle-aged man who had experienced the vicissitudes of life. But as soon as he was in front of familiar people, he immediately became a little trickster. Everyone must follow his idea, otherwise he would be unhappy immediately.
He was also very lazy. Lin Jingzhe would wait for others to clip him dishes and refused to wash his own clothes.
Gao Sheng took a piece of the cooked cabbage and put it in his sauce dish. He was riddled with concern, worried about what girl could bear such a temper.
Thinking of the person Lin Jingzhe called just now, he felt a little disappointed. After going to university, everyone lived separately. And now, Lin Jingzhe found another circle of friends, whom he could act just as self-willed as he was when facing them.
Who could make him relax like this? His girlfriend?
Thinking of this, Gao Sheng couldn't help lowering his eyelids and sighing. But when he raised his eyes in the next second, he almost jumped up from his seat.
"Mr– Mr– Mr— Xiao– Xiao!" Gao Sheng looked at the familiar handsome face in astonishment, "What brings you here?"
Xiao Chi hung the leather jacket hanging from his elbows on a seat. Before he could answer, Lin Jingzhe patted the seat beside him: "What are you doing standing here? Sit down."
Lin Jingzhe was a little nervous, but he still calmly said to Gao Sheng and Zhou Haitang, who were obviously very surprised, "We’re all familiar with one another? So there’s no need for introductions right?"
"Of course, of course! Hello Mr. Xiao." Gao Sheng understood immediately, and quickly expelled the unrealistic guess in his mind just now. Together with Zhou Haitang, he smiled and stood up to shake hands with Xiao Chi. Xiao Chi also stood up respectfully, "You don't need to be so polite. My full name is Xiao Chi, so you just call me by my name."
Zhou Haitang was not very familiar with Xiao Chi, but Gao Sheng had been scrambling in the Yan City industry for a while now. Even so, he had only seen Xiao Chi a few more times. The unattainable impression in his memory overlapped with the suddenly gentle figure in front of him. Though Gao Sheng was unsure of the reason for this change, he felt flattered. Though Xiao Chi had given his permission, Gao Sheng didn’t dare to act too rashly and changed his form of address respectfully, "Then excuse me for my rudeness, Brother Xiao. "
Lin Jingzhe couldn't help but inwardly sigh at this sight of polite but also alienating exchange. He hadn't planned whether to reveal his relationship with Xiao Chi to his childhood friends. After all, they grew up in a rather traditional household. It was difficult for Lin Jingzhe to be sure whether they could have a strong ability to accept their relationship. But at that moment just now, he was hit with a sudden impulse. He was desperate and aggrieved at the same time; Lin Jingzhe didn't want to hide this fact from them.
Xiao Chi was able to introduce him to his family regardless of everything, so couldn't he let him into his inner circle?
Others could refuse to accept it, but Gao Sheng and the others couldn't.
Lin Jingzhe lowered his head and didn't want to speak. The first thing Xiao Chi did when he sat down was to clip beef tenderloin from the hotpot and put it in Lin Jingzhe’s bowl.
"It’s not even cooked through yet!" Lin Jingzhe subconsciously began to act out as usual, "I just put that in!"
Xiao Chi was taken aback. Out of habit, he took the meat back and stuffed it in his mouth. After he chewed a few times, he said, "It's cooked through."
Lin Jingzhe refused to relent, "It’s not!"
Xiao Chi could only agree, "Then let’s let it cook for a bit longer."
Lin Jingzhe felt much better after playing around. However, when he raised his head, he was faced with his two friends' faces full of disbelief.
Lin Jingzhe: "..."
He bowed his head and silently ate the corn that Xiao Chi clipped for him soon after.
The purpose of their dinner this time was related to the advertisement of Gao Sheng Advertising. Zhou Haitang, who hadn't been seen in a long time, also came along to the meeting. Haitang Food Factory was not the only one that benefited from the success of <Legend of Jianghu>. Due to their creative ingenuity, Gao Sheng Advertising also received a good amount of attention. Domestic advertising industry was immature, and most of them relied on rigid repetitions and slogans. The inventiveness and shooting ability of Gao Sheng Advertising excited many potential customers. The success of Haitang Bean Paste highlighted the power of publicity to the long-sighted businessmen.
Cooperation intentions flew towards Gao Sheng like snowflakes, and several negotiations have been made in such a short period of time.
Gao Sheng talked to Lin Jingzhe about his achievements while Zhou Haitang also brought news. It was mainly about the few new apprentices his father had recently taken in. After Mother Zhou became more and more busy with the operation of the food factory, she went to her snack bar less and less frequently. The operation of the Sun Street’s snack bar was taken over by Father Zhou and Gao Sheng's father. I don't know what stimulated me recently. Probably caused by the rapid development of Haitang Food Factory, Father Zhou suddenly accepted a group of apprentices, and discussed with Gao Sheng's father about opening a branch store.
"My father and Uncle Gao are machismos, they don't want to be compared with their wives." Zhou Haitang saw the situation clearly, but he had no intention of stopping it. Although it was tiring to run a restaurant, there was nothing wrong about his father being able to have his own business and live a more fulfilling life.
Lin Jingzhe shared his sentiments. Compared with this news, he was more concerned about another news mentioned by Zhou Haitang.
"Teacher Hu is an auditor at the Teacher Education Institute? Who handled the procedures for her?"
Zhou Haitang shrugged. "No one knows. Teacher Hu has been running to the school every day for the past few months. She might have gotten familiar with the professors there. They seem to appreciate her and often give her tutoring."
After not going home for a while, there were always various changes in the family that exceeded his expectations. Lin Jingzhe could only digest this miraculous change silently.
Gao Sheng was really well versed now, quite different from the past. During this meal, even with a difficult opponent like Xiao Chi, there was no sense of awkwardness at all. The two chatted about commercials to IT, and by the end, they became closer. They even opened a few bottles of beer and continued to chat while drinking.
When they all went out, Xiao Chi reeked of alcohol. Lin Jingzhe took out the car keys from his pocket and said, "Let me drive."
Although there was no such rule that one must never drive after drinking, Xiao Chi still obediently agreed. While watching Lin Jingzhe walk to the parking lot to get Xiao Chi’s car, Gao Sheng had already come to accept it.
Xiao Chi hardly ate anything during this meal, and when he used his chopsticks, it was to pick up food for Lin Jingzhe.
Gao Sheng himself also clipped food for Lin Jingzhe. Knowing he liked winter melons, Zhou Haitang would also put a few in Lin Jingzhe's bowl.
The whole table coddled this little spoiled brat.
He and Zhou Haitang were fine, as they were used to taking care of him. What was strange was that Xiao Chi also took part in this. Maintaining his cold face and a calm attitude, his chopsticks quickly and accurately replenished Lin Jingzhe’s bowl every time.
During the whole meal, Gao Sheng felt something was off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
He was still contemplating this problem while standing outside. Due to the cold weather outside, Xiao Chi took the clothes hanging on his arms that he took off when he entered the restaurant just now and put them on his body.
It was a leather jacket, which was obviously not very cold-proof. After Xiao Chi put it on, he also needed to put on a down jacket.
Gao Sheng recognized the style with a familiar look. Isn't this what Lin Jingzhe bought for himself and Zhou Haitang and Deng Mai during the Chinese New Year last year.
Because they had a drink together, Gao Sheng was no longer shying away and immediately exclaimed, "Brother Xiao, you also have one?"
What? Xiao Chi looked at him with a confused expression. At first he thought Gao Sheng was talking about his down jacket, but then he realized that he was referring to his leather jacket.
Feeling happy at the thought of showing off, he replied, "Jingzhe gave it to me."
"We can tell." Gao Sheng and Zhou Haitang exchanged looks and smiled.
You can tell? You can tell that Jingzhe and I are a match made in heaven? Xiao Chi was pleased by this ‘compliment’, and a more obvious smile appeared on his face.
Gao Sheng was also quite happy. It just so happened that they had reached his car, so Gao Sheng opened the back door, and fished out a dark brown object.
"Man. I took this out a while ago and forgot to put it back." Gao Sheng said and threw his coat into the car. He then put on the leather coat and laughed, "Brother Xiao, you really look better in it than I do."
The shallow smile on Xiao Chi's face gradually froze. He stared at the jacket with a dazed expression.
Gao Sheng had yet to catch the change of his mood when Zhou Haitang also looked through the and also took out his own jacket and put it on his body.
The fabric was exactly the same, the color was exactly the same, and even the size seemed to be exactly the same. The only difference was that the one Xiao Chi was wearing was a bit more worn.
There was a vibration of the car motor behind him; Lin Jingzhe drove the car towards the crowd. When he opened the door and got out, he met Xiao Chi's calm eyes.
He sensed a strong danger from that sharp gaze. There was only a moment of confusion until Lin Jingzhe’s eyes fell on Gao Sheng and Zhou Haitang. The two were still joking around, carefree, completely different from his current petrified mood.
Zhou Haitang laughed loudly, "Sure enough, Mr. Xiao's figure is much better than ours!"
Much better – my *ss.
Shit.
A short parade of cusses flashed through Lin Jingzhe's mind. When Xiao Chi moved, he subconsciously chased after him——
"Wait!"
Xiao Chi didn't wait for him, and walked in another direction with a sullen face.
Lin Jingzhe chased after him and grabbed his arm, "Wait a minute, listen to my explanation..."
Xiao Chi looked at him expressionlessly. The grievance under his calm appearance almost bursted out from every pore of his body, drowning Lin Jingzhe in a cold sweat.
"That jacket... I..."
He didn't even know how to explain. It was Xiao Chi who inexplicably snatched the clothes back then, it wasn't his fault! But these words could not be said, otherwise Xiao Chi might cry in public.
Therefore, Lin Jingzhe could only play docile, coaxing him to get in the car and go home.
As the two pushed back and forth, Xiao Chi became more and more unhappy. It was obviously his own car, but he refused to sit in it. He shook off Lin Jingzhe’s hand and walked out of the parking lot.
Lin Jingzhe looked helpless, he had no choice but to go back and chase after him in Xiao Chi’s car. Gao Sheng remained in place, but was very confused, "What's the matter? Why did Mr. Xiao suddenly get angry?"
"Enough!" Lin Jingzhe didn’t bother to explain. He got in the car when he suddenly remembered something. Lin Jingzhe exited the car and quickly took off the two leather jackets on Zhou Haitang and Gao Sheng, then threw them into the passenger seat, and drove off.
Gao Sheng and Zhou Haitang, who were standing outside without their jackets stripped off and exposed to the wind: "..."
Not far away, Shi Nanxing, was hysterically laughing. He happened to see a familiar figure, so he parked nearby and witnessed the whole scene.
"What happened?" Looking at the two people who broke up in the distance, Qi Kai was puzzled, "Why did they make a fuss in public?"
Must be a dispute over the TOBR’s conditions. Although Shi Nanxing guessed this was probably the case, he didn't want to waste his breath explaining it to Qi Kai, so he pretended not to know, "Who knows, it might be some old grudge."
The corners of Qi Kai’s mouth twitched. He didn’t believe those bullsh*t rumors at all, afterall he had caught the two kissing a few days ago.
Under Shi Nanxing's gloating gaze, Lin Jingzhe drove the car away. When he caught up with Xiao Chi, who was walking silently on the sidewalk towards the directions of their house, Lin Jingzhe dragged him into the car without any explanation.
Sitting in the passenger seat, for the first time, Xiao Chi looked at him with a dissatisfied look, "What are you doing?"
Lin Jingzhe's head was throbbing and his forehead was sweating. He took out the wallet from his coat pocket and stuffed it into Xiao Chi's arms, "I'm taking you to buy clothes! I'll buy enough for you to wear for a lifetime!"
Xiao Chi: Hmph.
He stuffed Lin Jingzhe's thick wallet into his pocket, and then threw away the two leather jackets under his buttocks with an unhappy expression.
