Chapter 66
Qiao Dai was dressed casually today, seemingly to avoid being recognized by passersby. She wore the hood of her coat on her head, giving the appearance of an ordinary high school girl out for a stroll. No one could imagine that she was a popular contestant on a currently airing talent show.
With a raised eyebrow, Cheng Su glanced at Qiao Dai, his gaze falling on her hands. He asked with a slight frown, "What are you doing?"
Qiao Dai lowered her head to look at her own palm. She was holding a few beautifully shaped pebbles she had picked up in the grass. Upon hearing Cheng Su's question, she handed the small stones she had collected to him, holding them up in front of Cheng Su and cheerfully replied, "I'm picking up stones."
Qiao Dai's bright, shining eyes seemed to have a radiance flowing within them. Seeing her enthusiastic appearance, Cheng Su was clearly puzzled but also intrigued. He couldn't help but ask, "Why are you picking them up?"
"Forget already? I told you before, they're our otter babies."
Seemingly dissatisfied with Cheng Su's quick forgetting of the otter babies, Qiao Dai retracted her hand, which had been spread out, and put the beautiful pebbles into her own pocket. She said, "I'm looking for the number three family heirloom."
Qiao Dai's first family heirloom fell into the Pacific Ocean, and the second one was broken in half by Cheng Su. Although Qiao Dai didn't need the stones to help her open shells anymore, she still wanted to find a beloved little stone to keep with her because it was a habit of otters.
As soon as Qiao Dai finished speaking, Cheng Su's voice suddenly sounded, "Number three?"
The man's voice involuntarily raised a few degrees, adding a touch of oppression.
Number three?
Cheng Su immediately frowned, thinking about the half of the family heirloom in his house, unsure if it was number one or number two. He looked at Qiao Dai, feeling out of sorts. He couldn't help but take a deep breath, trying to make his tone sound a bit gentler, and forced himself to speak, "How many little babies do you actually have?"
Seemingly not expecting Cheng Su to ask like this, Qiao Dai was momentarily stunned before reacting. She solemnly extended her hand and started counting on her fingers, saying, "One, two, three. Just three. I haven't found the third one yet. The one I gave you is the second one."
Cheng Su took a deep breath, glanced at Qiao Dai, and quickly averted his gaze. It was unclear what he was thinking, and after a long while, he casually asked, "What about the first one?"
After finishing his question, Cheng Su seemed to feel that it wasn't accurate enough, so he added, "Did you give that one away too?"
Cheng Su appeared somewhat restless, occasionally stealing glances at Qiao Dai from the corner of his eye, as if trying to detect any clues from her expression that could help him speculate about the whereabouts of the so-called first family heirloom.
If Qiao Dai was looking for a new family heirloom, did that mean she no longer had the previous stones?
Considering that Qiao Dai often mentioned a certain Mr. Jiang, Cheng Su clicked his tongue inwardly. After all, Jiang Fengchi was a mentor on the show, and it was said that many trainees liked him. Jiang Fengchi had always wholeheartedly helped Qiao Dai, so it would be reasonable for her to give her little treasures to him.
"For example... Jiang Fengchi?"
Cheng Su subtly spoke this sentence, carefully observing the changes in Qiao Dai's expression. As soon as she heard him speak, she shook her head. She was about to say something when Cheng Su immediately followed up with another question, "Then it must be Lang Xing?"
Cheng Su raised an eyebrow.
Although Cheng Su knew that Qiao Dai met Sirius when he asked her to go to Galaxy headquarters to find her second partner, it was hard to imagine Sirius, who was rebellious by nature, agreeing to such a thing. Moreover, it was even more puzzling that Sirius, who disliked trouble, would take Qiao Dai to a bar for extracurricular tutoring.
Could it be that Qiao Dai and Sirius had met before, which was why Sirius treated her so differently?
"What's the connection with Lang Xing?"
This was all so confusing. What had gotten into Cheng Su today?
Qiao Dai looked a bit puzzled. She looked up at Cheng Su and saw that he was still going to continue questioning, so she quickly interrupted him and explained, "No!"
With that, Qiao Dai paused for a moment, seemingly confirming Cheng Su's reaction. After seeing him stop, she breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "The first one fell into the sea. I didn't give it to anyone."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Su was momentarily startled.
He looked down at Qiao Dai and was about to say something when he saw her looking up at him curiously, her head tilted, as she spoke thoughtfully, "Cheng Su, you're acting very strange today."
"Strange?"
A flicker passed through Cheng Su's eyes, as if he realized something. His jaw tightened slightly, wanting to interject and stop Qiao Dai from saying what she was about to say. But it was already too late because Qiao Dai's soft voice had already reached his ears, carrying a hint of dry heat in the afternoon air—
"It looks like you're jealous."
Qiao Dai spoke without hesitation. Her shining eyes, illuminated by the sunlight, looked at Cheng Su with confusion. Her thick and curly eyelashes trembled gently in the breeze.
Too late.
When Qiao Dai's words fell, the first four words that came to Cheng Su's mind were exactly those.
Then, all the restlessness and uneasiness that had been swirling in his heart disappeared completely in an instant. He suddenly realized where his previous discomfort had come from.
With that thought, Cheng Su unexpectedly felt a sense of relief.
There was no trace of displeasure at having his thoughts exposed. On the contrary, his tense body gradually relaxed. Cheng Su looked directly at Qiao Dai, nodded, and said seriously, enunciating each word, "Yes, I am jealous."
Cheng Su said it earnestly, without any hesitation. He looked at Qiao Dai calmly, not hiding his somewhat ridiculous behavior just now. Instead, he openly admitted that he was such a petty man, feeling jealous because of a small stone.
This time, Qiao Dai was left stunned in place.
"You, you..."
Qiao Dai was originally worried that her words just now would upset Cheng Su. After all, Cheng Su had such a strong ego, and it might seem like he lacked generosity if she said that he was jealous because of a small stone. She was thinking about how to handle the situation, but who would have thought that Cheng Su would openly admit it like this: Yes, he was jealous.
Qiao Dai looked at the man in front of her, who didn't seem to care at all and even had the audacity to tell her that he was jealous. She suddenly felt a little at a loss. She instinctively wanted to avoid Cheng Su's gaze and couldn't help but mutter softly, "No one does this."
Who would directly admit that they are jealous like this?
Qiao Dai could feel her face slightly heating up, her gaze involuntarily shifting towards Cheng Su's face. Every time she looked up, she could see Cheng Su's exaggeratedly smiling face, which made her blush and embarrassedly turn her head away.
"I'm just a jealous little miser like that."
Cheng Su took two steps closer to where Qiao Dai was standing and lowered his head to whisper softly in her ear, "So, don't give small stones to others anymore, or the jealous little miser will cry."
The man's voice was gentle, and the warm breath he exhaled brushed against Qiao Dai's earlobe, like a subtle electric current quickly surging through her body, causing a tingling sensation throughout.
"Ch-Cheng Su."
Cheng Su stood so close to Qiao Dai that even though their bodies didn't touch, he could feel the rising warmth emanating from the girl in front of him. It was warm, like the afternoon sun.
Qiao Dai's voice trembled lightly, and she could clearly feel Cheng Su's face, which was close to her head. It felt like if she just slightly turned her head, she would touch him. Nervously, she lowered her head, not daring to look at Cheng Su's face as he spoke next to her ear.
"I won't give it to anyone."
She had only given a small stone to Cheng Su.
Because it was a treasure that only they, as ocean people, could understand.
To ordinary people, it was just an ordinary stone, but only Cheng Su could understand how important it was.
Seeing Qiao Dai's reddened ears, Cheng Su straightened his body and took a few steps back, creating some distance between them to help her relax.
"By the way, I think I found a very interesting stone before."
Cheng Su's gaze briefly lingered on Qiao Dai's pocket, then moved to her face as he continued, "Do you want to consider it as a family heirloom number three?"
Qiao Dai, who was previously a bit disoriented, quickly snapped out of it when she heard Cheng Su's words. Her eyes lit up as she looked at Cheng Su, and she asked excitedly, "Really? Is it very special?"
When Qiao Dai used to live in the Pacific, she enjoyed collecting all kinds of small stones. Even now, after coming here, she couldn't change that habit. So when she heard Cheng Su mention an interesting stone, her curiosity was instantly piqued.
Cheng Su thought for a moment, nodded, and turned to walk towards his car parked outside the park. Qiao Dai followed closely behind him, like his little tail, her eyes fixed on Cheng Su as he took something out of the car.
"It's for you."
Qiao Dai looked down and saw a small stone in the shape of a seashell. She had never picked up a stone like this before, and she looked at it with wide eyes for a while, uncertainly asking, "Can you really give it to me?"
Although it was just an ordinary small stone, Qiao Dai really liked it.
"It's just a stone, as long as you don't mind."
Cheng Su nodded.
If someone had told him in the past that he would give a stone to someone he liked, he would have definitely told that person to get lost. But now, nothing seemed strange anymore, and even he himself was curious about how far he could go for Qiao Dai.
Excited, Qiao Dai asked curiously, "Cheng Su, where did you find it?"
Cheng Su glanced at Qiao Dai and casually said, "Just picked it up."
Upon hearing Cheng Su's words, Qiao Dai's expression became somewhat envious, and she muttered a bit regretfully, "Why can't I ever pick up such beautiful stones?"
Cheng Su: "In the ocean."
Indeed, he just picked it up casually, but it was in the ocean.
Qiao Dai: ...?
That's not casual at all!
Chapter 66
Qiao Dai was dressed casually today, seemingly to avoid being recognized by passersby. She wore the hood of her coat on her head, giving the appearance of an ordinary high school girl out for a stroll. No one could imagine that she was a popular contestant on a currently airing talent show.
With a raised eyebrow, Cheng Su glanced at Qiao Dai, his gaze falling on her hands. He asked with a slight frown, "What are you doing?"
Qiao Dai lowered her head to look at her own palm. She was holding a few beautifully shaped pebbles she had picked up in the grass. Upon hearing Cheng Su's question, she handed the small stones she had collected to him, holding them up in front of Cheng Su and cheerfully replied, "I'm picking up stones."
Qiao Dai's bright, shining eyes seemed to have a radiance flowing within them. Seeing her enthusiastic appearance, Cheng Su was clearly puzzled but also intrigued. He couldn't help but ask, "Why are you picking them up?"
"Forget already? I told you before, they're our otter babies."
Seemingly dissatisfied with Cheng Su's quick forgetting of the otter babies, Qiao Dai retracted her hand, which had been spread out, and put the beautiful pebbles into her own pocket. She said, "I'm looking for the number three family heirloom."
Qiao Dai's first family heirloom fell into the Pacific Ocean, and the second one was broken in half by Cheng Su. Although Qiao Dai didn't need the stones to help her open shells anymore, she still wanted to find a beloved little stone to keep with her because it was a habit of otters.
As soon as Qiao Dai finished speaking, Cheng Su's voice suddenly sounded, "Number three?"
The man's voice involuntarily raised a few degrees, adding a touch of oppression.
Number three?
Cheng Su immediately frowned, thinking about the half of the family heirloom in his house, unsure if it was number one or number two. He looked at Qiao Dai, feeling out of sorts. He couldn't help but take a deep breath, trying to make his tone sound a bit gentler, and forced himself to speak, "How many little babies do you actually have?"
Seemingly not expecting Cheng Su to ask like this, Qiao Dai was momentarily stunned before reacting. She solemnly extended her hand and started counting on her fingers, saying, "One, two, three. Just three. I haven't found the third one yet. The one I gave you is the second one."
Cheng Su took a deep breath, glanced at Qiao Dai, and quickly averted his gaze. It was unclear what he was thinking, and after a long while, he casually asked, "What about the first one?"
After finishing his question, Cheng Su seemed to feel that it wasn't accurate enough, so he added, "Did you give that one away too?"
Cheng Su appeared somewhat restless, occasionally stealing glances at Qiao Dai from the corner of his eye, as if trying to detect any clues from her expression that could help him speculate about the whereabouts of the so-called first family heirloom.
If Qiao Dai was looking for a new family heirloom, did that mean she no longer had the previous stones?
Considering that Qiao Dai often mentioned a certain Mr. Jiang, Cheng Su clicked his tongue inwardly. After all, Jiang Fengchi was a mentor on the show, and it was said that many trainees liked him. Jiang Fengchi had always wholeheartedly helped Qiao Dai, so it would be reasonable for her to give her little treasures to him.
"For example... Jiang Fengchi?"
Cheng Su subtly spoke this sentence, carefully observing the changes in Qiao Dai's expression. As soon as she heard him speak, she shook her head. She was about to say something when Cheng Su immediately followed up with another question, "Then it must be Lang Xing?"
Cheng Su raised an eyebrow.
Although Cheng Su knew that Qiao Dai met Sirius when he asked her to go to Galaxy headquarters to find her second partner, it was hard to imagine Sirius, who was rebellious by nature, agreeing to such a thing. Moreover, it was even more puzzling that Sirius, who disliked trouble, would take Qiao Dai to a bar for extracurricular tutoring.
Could it be that Qiao Dai and Sirius had met before, which was why Sirius treated her so differently?
"What's the connection with Lang Xing?"
This was all so confusing. What had gotten into Cheng Su today?
Qiao Dai looked a bit puzzled. She looked up at Cheng Su and saw that he was still going to continue questioning, so she quickly interrupted him and explained, "No!"
With that, Qiao Dai paused for a moment, seemingly confirming Cheng Su's reaction. After seeing him stop, she breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "The first one fell into the sea. I didn't give it to anyone."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Su was momentarily startled.
He looked down at Qiao Dai and was about to say something when he saw her looking up at him curiously, her head tilted, as she spoke thoughtfully, "Cheng Su, you're acting very strange today."
"Strange?"
A flicker passed through Cheng Su's eyes, as if he realized something. His jaw tightened slightly, wanting to interject and stop Qiao Dai from saying what she was about to say. But it was already too late because Qiao Dai's soft voice had already reached his ears, carrying a hint of dry heat in the afternoon air—
"It looks like you're jealous."
Qiao Dai spoke without hesitation. Her shining eyes, illuminated by the sunlight, looked at Cheng Su with confusion. Her thick and curly eyelashes trembled gently in the breeze.
Too late.
When Qiao Dai's words fell, the first four words that came to Cheng Su's mind were exactly those.
Then, all the restlessness and uneasiness that had been swirling in his heart disappeared completely in an instant. He suddenly realized where his previous discomfort had come from.
With that thought, Cheng Su unexpectedly felt a sense of relief.
There was no trace of displeasure at having his thoughts exposed. On the contrary, his tense body gradually relaxed. Cheng Su looked directly at Qiao Dai, nodded, and said seriously, enunciating each word, "Yes, I am jealous."
Cheng Su said it earnestly, without any hesitation. He looked at Qiao Dai calmly, not hiding his somewhat ridiculous behavior just now. Instead, he openly admitted that he was such a petty man, feeling jealous because of a small stone.
This time, Qiao Dai was left stunned in place.
"You, you..."
Qiao Dai was originally worried that her words just now would upset Cheng Su. After all, Cheng Su had such a strong ego, and it might seem like he lacked generosity if she said that he was jealous because of a small stone. She was thinking about how to handle the situation, but who would have thought that Cheng Su would openly admit it like this: Yes, he was jealous.
Qiao Dai looked at the man in front of her, who didn't seem to care at all and even had the audacity to tell her that he was jealous. She suddenly felt a little at a loss. She instinctively wanted to avoid Cheng Su's gaze and couldn't help but mutter softly, "No one does this."
Who would directly admit that they are jealous like this?
Qiao Dai could feel her face slightly heating up, her gaze involuntarily shifting towards Cheng Su's face. Every time she looked up, she could see Cheng Su's exaggeratedly smiling face, which made her blush and embarrassedly turn her head away.
"I'm just a jealous little miser like that."
Cheng Su took two steps closer to where Qiao Dai was standing and lowered his head to whisper softly in her ear, "So, don't give small stones to others anymore, or the jealous little miser will cry."
The man's voice was gentle, and the warm breath he exhaled brushed against Qiao Dai's earlobe, like a subtle electric current quickly surging through her body, causing a tingling sensation throughout.
"Ch-Cheng Su."
Cheng Su stood so close to Qiao Dai that even though their bodies didn't touch, he could feel the rising warmth emanating from the girl in front of him. It was warm, like the afternoon sun.
Qiao Dai's voice trembled lightly, and she could clearly feel Cheng Su's face, which was close to her head. It felt like if she just slightly turned her head, she would touch him. Nervously, she lowered her head, not daring to look at Cheng Su's face as he spoke next to her ear.
"I won't give it to anyone."
She had only given a small stone to Cheng Su.
Because it was a treasure that only they, as ocean people, could understand.
To ordinary people, it was just an ordinary stone, but only Cheng Su could understand how important it was.
Seeing Qiao Dai's reddened ears, Cheng Su straightened his body and took a few steps back, creating some distance between them to help her relax.
"By the way, I think I found a very interesting stone before."
Cheng Su's gaze briefly lingered on Qiao Dai's pocket, then moved to her face as he continued, "Do you want to consider it as a family heirloom number three?"
Qiao Dai, who was previously a bit disoriented, quickly snapped out of it when she heard Cheng Su's words. Her eyes lit up as she looked at Cheng Su, and she asked excitedly, "Really? Is it very special?"
When Qiao Dai used to live in the Pacific, she enjoyed collecting all kinds of small stones. Even now, after coming here, she couldn't change that habit. So when she heard Cheng Su mention an interesting stone, her curiosity was instantly piqued.
Cheng Su thought for a moment, nodded, and turned to walk towards his car parked outside the park. Qiao Dai followed closely behind him, like his little tail, her eyes fixed on Cheng Su as he took something out of the car.
"It's for you."
Qiao Dai looked down and saw a small stone in the shape of a seashell. She had never picked up a stone like this before, and she looked at it with wide eyes for a while, uncertainly asking, "Can you really give it to me?"
Although it was just an ordinary small stone, Qiao Dai really liked it.
"It's just a stone, as long as you don't mind."
Cheng Su nodded.
If someone had told him in the past that he would give a stone to someone he liked, he would have definitely told that person to get lost. But now, nothing seemed strange anymore, and even he himself was curious about how far he could go for Qiao Dai.
Excited, Qiao Dai asked curiously, "Cheng Su, where did you find it?"
Cheng Su glanced at Qiao Dai and casually said, "Just picked it up."
Upon hearing Cheng Su's words, Qiao Dai's expression became somewhat envious, and she muttered a bit regretfully, "Why can't I ever pick up such beautiful stones?"
Cheng Su: "In the ocean."
Indeed, he just picked it up casually, but it was in the ocean.
Qiao Dai: ...?
That's not casual at all!
