The Guide to Faking Innocence to Win His Wife - Chapter 46

The noisy ringing of the phone spread through the empty stairwell. The high heels stepped onto the flat landing, and the ink-wash patterned long dress stopped accordingly.

“Hello?” Xie Zhiyi answered the phone.

“Zhiyi?” an excited and young voice rang out instantly.

“Why did you not tell me when you came back? If I had not gone to find Director Sun just now for something, I would not even know you were here!”

Xie Zhiyi skillfully made up a reason to brush it off. The world of adults was just like this; they were well aware of the lies, yet they would not expose each other.

The person’s excitement did not diminish in the slightest, and she added, “I still owe you a meal. Since you are back, how about this afternoon? How about that restaurant at the school entrance?”

“No need,” Xie Zhiyi instinctively wanted to refuse. Since she had chosen to resign, she wanted to completely settle all matters from before.

However, that person was determined to host the meal, and with a weakened tone, she began to play the pity card. “Do you have something to do? The last few times I invited you, you were busy. This time you finally came to the school. Besides, I was assigned to be a counselor this semester. I have to teach classes and lead the freshmen. I will probably be busy for a long time, and I do not know when I will have time to invite you to dinner.”

“A counselor?” Xie Zhiyi’s heart stirred, and she frowned slightly as she repeated the word.

“Yes, they said our department is short-handed and told us younger ones to do more work. It is so annoying.” That person’s tone was resentful. It seemed she was not very willing to take on this job.

Xie Zhiyi lowered her gaze, staring absently at the floor in front of her. The light spots on the ground shifted with the wind, reflecting a brief and hurried little drama on the tiles, just like the struggle in her heart.

That person was still pleading, “Zhiyi, if you have nothing to do this afternoon, please have a meal with me. If you had not helped me make the lesson plans last semester, I would probably have been scolded to death by the director. I originally said I would treat you when I was free, but it has been delayed until now. I think about treating you to dinner every day now. If I cannot treat you, I will have to think about it into the next semester.”

Xie Zhiyi slowly exhaled a breath and whispered her agreement. Then she added, “But it is not just me. There is another person.”

“Ah? Your partner?” That person spoke without thinking and immediately asked.

“No, my brother,” Xie Zhiyi said, not minding the question.

“Alright! Then I will call the owner now to reserve a private room. Where are you guys now? The office building? Walk over to the school entrance. I am here at the freshman reception area.”

“Okay,” Xie Zhiyi agreed quickly, and then suddenly changed the topic, saying, “We need to go to the car to get some things, so sorry to keep you waiting a bit longer.”

By making a detour to the parking lot before heading out, Jiang Zhongmu should have collected her things and gone to the dormitory, so they would not bump into each other again. The older woman thought this way.

Meanwhile, that person did not mind and said readily, “No problem at all!”

The phone was hung up. Xie Zhiqian, who stood nearby, had listened to the entire conversation. He did not express any dissatisfaction but merely raised his eyebrows and asked, “What are we getting?”

Xie Zhiyi had a serious expression and only said, “Getting water. I am thirsty.”

She had completely forgotten who had just been dragged into drinking tea by Director Sun at the academic affairs office.

She had only walked down four floors and she was already thirsty? Besides, it was not as if there was no water in the restaurant. If she could endure it a bit longer and walk over there, it would not take long at all. Why did she have to make such a detour?

Xie Zhiqian smiled. Although he had doubts, he did not expose her and only said, “Then let us go get it.”

Xie Zhiyi glanced at the person beside her and walked straight toward the parking lot.

The first day of school was always lively. The vast campus was packed with people, and even though it was almost lunchtime, it was still bustling. This was especially true at the freshman reception area, where some people always arrived late, hurriedly getting off vehicles while carrying their luggage.

The two siblings walked very slowly. Someone was intentionally stalling for time; they had even rested in the parking lot for a while, dawdling for half the day before finally being willing to come over.

Xie Zhiqian merely cooperated. Since Xie Zhiyi did not want to speak, he did not ask any further.

Thus, by the time they reached the freshman reception area, half an hour had already passed, and the phone was dialed once again.

“Zhiyi? Have you arrived? I have a freshman checking in here, so why do you guys not come find me first? This batch of little rascals this year is finally capable; they actually snatched a cool spot inside. Come over here to escape the sun.”

“Okay,” Xie Zhiyi agreed, and then led Xie Zhiqian inside with familiarity. After all, she had taught here for so many years, so she naturally knew where the different departments competed for the best spots each year.

Squeezing into the bustling crowd and bypassing several booths, Xie Zhiyi was about to continue inward when she collided into a pair of light amber eyes.

Xie Zhiyi was startled and instinctively stopped in her tracks.

The person she had tried by every possible means to avoid was standing right at the freshman reception area. Her slightly long hair fell loosely, unable to conceal the brightness in her eyes, which looked like polished and buffed amber, shining with a scorching light.

In fact, this kind of plot was very old-fashioned. Xie Zhiyi had always disdained such storylines when watching movies; the male and female leads would look at each other across a rushing crowd but refuse to walk closer. Every time, it made people feel annoyed and regretful. It was clearly just a distance of a few steps, so why did they have to stand frozen in place, pretending that thousands of mountains and rivers made it difficult to approach?

Perhaps because she had disdained it for too long, even God could not stand it and insisted on throwing her into such a scene to experience it once. It was impossible to move a single inch.

Whether it was taking a step forward or turning around to retreat, Xie Zhiyi could not make a choice. Her high heels seemed to be nailed into the concrete ground, making them difficult to pull out.

The wind lifted the ink-wash patterned hem of her dress, and the golden gauze of dusk spread out, rendering everything between heaven and earth. Everything became silent and soft, including the noisy human voices, which all became blurred, as withered leaves fell to the ground.

If this were a Japanese television drama or anime, perhaps a sad background music would have started playing.

That person did not move either. It was clear that the cool tent was right behind her, yet she took a step forward to stand under the bright sunlight, as if she were deeply afraid that Xie Zhiyi would not see her.

Across the mountain of people and sea of faces, those light amber eyes reflected only Xie Zhiyi’s silhouette. She curled the corners of her mouth and smiled, the dimples deep on her cheeks, as crafty as a little leopard that had been planning this for a long time. It was as if she were saying, “I caught you, Sister. You cannot escape.”

How could she possibly fail to recognize the other person’s footsteps? During those months in Jiang Town, Jiang Zhongmu had listened to her footsteps going up and down the stairs almost every day.

The young girl who used to lie prone on the surface of the desk would prick up her ears to count every lift and drop of her feet, bored and foolish, full of the raw greenness and ignorance of a youth encountering a first secret crush. The white orchid petals fell into her hair with the wind, rising and falling with the breathing of the older woman’s footsteps.

However, she knew well in her heart that Xie Zhiyi did not want to see her at this moment. Therefore, Jiang Zhongmu did not actively walk upstairs to expose her but chose to leave by heading downward instead. She just had not expected to bump into her again at this moment.

This really was not the little leopard’s deliberate action. After all, she believed she had caught the older woman’s tail, thinking to herself that there would be plenty of opportunities to meet soon, so there was absolutely no need to rush. She just needed to be like she was in Jiang Town, setting traps step by step, inviting the prey to step into the rope.

Thus, she just stood there quietly, her slender spine straight like bamboo, her brow and eyes carrying the spring breeze, full of childish smugness.

However, how could she possibly have thought that while she still considered herself the winner of this game of cat and mouse, she did not know that the prey was about to secretly run out of the playground? Meanwhile, she, this little cat, was still bursting with pride, pleasantly surprised by the coincidental meeting.

Xie Zhiyi’s heart trembled, and an inexplicable numbness surfaced at her fingertips, immediately spreading to her entire body. Perhaps she felt sad. Even though she was the older one, she always evaded, refusing the other person again and again, watching the other person approach her again and again, crossing thousands of mountains and rivers to reach her side.

Yet, a mature adult could only evade. Xie Zhiyi, you really are a very terrible adult. Extremely bad.

Xie Zhiyi turned her head away, avoiding the young girl’s excessively sincere gaze, not daring to look any longer.

“Zhiyi?” The person beside her felt astonished. Seeing that she did not move for a long time, he spoke up to ask.

“It is nothing,” Xie Zhiyi did not want to say more. She intentionally took a step closer to Xie Zhiqian, shortening the distance between them. From across the way, they looked almost glued together.

In the very next second, Jiang Zhongmu’s expression darkened, and her eyes narrowed slightly, like a leopard whose treasure was being coveted, issuing a warning.

Xie Zhiyi, however, took hold of his arm. With a blink of her eyelids, all emotions were concealed in the deepest place.

The nearby Xie Zhiqian trembled instantly and instinctively said, “Oh my god, what are you doing, my ancestor! Why are you acting so strangely today? Let go quickly. If your sister-in-law smells any perfume later and breaks my bones, what am I supposed to do?!”

Although they were biological siblings, their age difference was right there. When Xie Zhiyi was an infant, Xie Zhiqian was still willing to hold his younger sister, but after entering high school, he became completely unwilling and actively distanced himself from Xie Zhiyi. Therefore, although they had a good relationship on ordinary days, they did not have intimate actions like holding arms.

“Henpecked husband, just for a moment is fine,” Xie Zhiyi could not help but chide him.

Xie Zhiqian stiffened his arm, his expression extremely unnatural as he lowered his voice and said, “This is called being a good man. I will reluctantly let you hold it for a while. You must explain it to me clearly when we get back. And you said you did not want to see a student; only a ghost would believe you.”

“We will talk about it when we get back,” Xie Zhiyi only wanted to brush it off.

While the two were speaking, the person who had invited Xie Zhiyi to dinner had already spotted them. After giving a few instructions, she walked forward toward them.

She was a woman of roughly twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a round face and a slightly plump build, looking very kind. She stepped up and began to speak, “Why do you guys not come over? I have already reserved the private room. There are many parents of students today. Fortunately, the owner remembered that we are regular customers and specially moved a table for us.”

Xie Zhiyi nodded her head.

The three of them turned around and left, walking toward the school entrance.

The evening breeze blew her long curly hair. Xie Zhiyi turned her head as if unintentionally, the peripheral vision of her gaze falling behind her, but she quickly moved it away, so fast that it did not leave a single trace.

That young girl was still standing frozen in place, her wheat-colored skin burned bright red by the sun.

The silhouettes of Xie Zhiyi and the others vanished into the crowd, and the person Jiang Zhongmu was waiting for finally came over.

“Junior! Sorry to keep you waiting!” Zhang Qingdai ran over from the distance, sweat on her forehead. “I originally said I would come over after delivering the keys to them, but my roommates said they happened to have not eaten yet, so we came together,” she ran up to Jiang Zhongmu and explained, panting for breath. “Anyway, there is no one in your dormitory yet, so why do you not just come with us to eat? There is a chicken pot place at the school entrance that is absolute perfection. It is truly super delicious.”

Jiang Zhongmu delayed for half a minute before nodding her head slightly. However, her personality was just this silent and heavy; the person beside her could not detect anything wrong at all. Seeing her agree, the smile on her face grew even wider.

“Then shall we wait a bit longer? They are terribly slow. I urged them for a long time, but they are still dawdling.” Zhang Qingdai pushed all the blame onto her roommates, completely forgetting that she had just changed into a new dress and applied light makeup before heading out again.

Unfortunately, Jiang Zhongmu did not notice at all. She merely uttered a sound of agreement, turning her head to look in the direction of the school entrance again.

The red sun sank, and the evening breeze remained, but the silhouette of her old acquaintance was already nowhere to be seen.

“Junior, do you not apply sunscreen? Your arms are sunburned red. The ultraviolet rays here in Xunyang are very strong, so you still need to pay a bit of attention on ordinary days. Right, I still have a set of sunscreen over there. I will go back to the dormitory to get it for you later. We still have military training in a couple of days. If you do not apply sunscreen, you will directly turn into an African, okay?” Zhang Qingdai was very attentive, the smile on her face extremely thick.

“No need, thank you,” Jiang Zhongmu replied, casually moving a step to the side to widen the distance between them.

“Ah? Could it be that you intentionally maintain this skin tone? It really suits you quite well.”

“No,” Jiang Zhongmu shook her head. Before the other person could say more, she looked toward another direction and said, “Are those your roommates? They seem to be waving for us to go over.”

“Ah?!” Zhang Qingdai instantly turned around and said repeatedly, “Yes, yes, yes, it is them.”

The clamorous voices were vanished within the crowd. The red sun was dragged downward by the dusk, and another day turned its page.

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