Jing Sicun’s eyes were still clouded with sleepiness.
After he finished speaking, he closed his eyes again.
There was a suspicious smile lingering at the corner of his mouth.
So infuriating.
Ke Ni wanted to yank Jing Sicun’s head off and kick it like a ball.
The scent of Jing Sicun’s unique herbal cologne filled the SUV.
The car was spacious, but still a closed environment—whatever you said could easily be overheard by Song Yi up front, who was driving.
Ke Ni didn’t want her drunken embarrassment to get out, nor did she want to give Song Yi any chance to dig deeper.
After glaring at Jing Sicun, she carefully glanced at the back of Song Yi’s head.
Since getting in the car, Song Yi had been on the phone with Dai Fanze, “kindly” comforting him to hang in there, saying reinforcements would soon arrive on the battlefield to help Dai Fanze fend off He Zhi’s anxiety attacks.
Song Yi was the type who could multitask.
While endlessly comforting someone on the phone, he still found time to pick up the pet leash on the passenger seat and glance at it: “Tuesday used the little vest as a chew toy again?”
Jing Sicun, eyes still closed, gave a muffled “Mm.”
Song Yi complained, “That guy’s really a little money-burner.”
Dai Fanze’s slow voice came through the speaker: “Is Jing Sicun coming too?”
Jing Sicun still didn’t open his eyes, just replied, “Mm.”
He Zhi nervously asked, “Is Tuesday coming as well? Will the hotel even allow pets?”
Dai Fanze reassured him, “Tuesday’s not coming. Would your Brother Jing be able to spare any attention for you at a time like this if he had to watch the dog? Don’t learn from your Brother Song, always getting startled over nothing. Learn from your Brother Dai and Brother Jing’s composure…”
His speech was slow, like a monk chanting sutras.
The “Tuesday” they kept mentioning seemed to be Jing Sicun’s dog.
Judging by the size of the vest under the leash, it was probably a big dog, like the Labrador Ke Ni’s family used to have.
Ke Ni felt a fresh wave of jealousy.
God really does play favorites.
All the good things seem to go to people like Jing Sicun.
So young, already living the dream with both a cat and a dog, plus an SUV to drive.
As the conversation went on, Jing Sicun’s eyes slowly opened again.
There were less than ten days left before the first recording of “Ultimate Brainpower,” and He Zhi’s nerves were at their peak.
On the phone, Dai Fanze’s slow, soothing voice tried to persuade He Zhi to rest, but He Zhi kept refusing.
Song Yi chimed in to stir things up: “There are five of us now—should we play a few rounds of games later?”
The SUV was filled with noisy chatter.
Ke Ni glanced at Jing Sicun and took advantage of the chaos to speak up: “Jing Sicun, about last time…”
Who could’ve guessed things would line up like this?
Hearing Song Yi mention playing games, He Zhi simply hung up the call for Dai Fanze.
Suddenly, the SUV went silent.
Song Yi muttered, “Ah Zhi’s been so moody lately,” then turned his head, “Ke Ni, you just said ‘about last time’? Which last time?”
Ke Ni was momentarily stuck.
Jing Sicun said, “The last time you ate Ke Ni’s breakfast.”
Song Yi was confused, “What do you mean?”
Jing Sicun lazily leaned back in his seat, “Did you pay her for eating her breakfast?”
Song Yi was shocked, “Huh? I thought you already paid her. Sorry, Ke Ni, I’ll transfer the money to you in a bit.”
Ke Ni shook her head, “No need…”
But Song Yi insisted, “How can I not? Last time we ate together, you even split the bill with us.”
Ke Ni didn’t care about the money; she just glanced at Jing Sicun, puzzled.
Was he helping her out now?
Jing Sicun was clearly closer to Song Yi and the others…
He didn’t seem to have any intention of revealing her family situation or drunken blunders from the phone call.
Can Jing Sicun be trusted?
Ke Ni had never really gone up against Jing Sicun before; you couldn’t judge someone’s true style in a competition or in life just from edited TV programs.
Claws.
Ke Ni really needed to talk to Jing Sicun.
She needed to apologize, say thank you, and also get Jing Sicun’s promise not to reveal her situation to the other contestants.
Song Yi didn’t make any more phone calls.
Whenever Song Yi seemed distracted, Ke Ni would sneak glances at Jing Sicun.
The roads on both sides were starting to look familiar; they were getting closer to the hotel, but she still hadn’t found a chance to speak to Jing Sicun.
Jing Sicun was genuinely tired.
Last night, Jing Sicun’s father had a mild fever, but after taking some medicine, his temperature returned to normal.
In the middle of the night, Jing Sicun heard his mother’s startled cry.
He jumped up and ran to his parents’ bedroom, only to find his father hunched over the side of the bed, vomiting all over the floor.
They went to the hospital—registration, waiting for tests, waiting for results, listening to the doctor’s diagnosis…
It was dawn before they finally got home.
Jing Sicun had planned to sleep in the grocery store for a bit, but ran into Song Yi and Ke Ni at the door.
Since getting in the car, Jing Sicun could feel Ke Ni’s burning gaze on him.
A few days ago, Ke Ni had said during a video call, “We need to talk. Let’s chat next time we meet.”
Jing Sicun more or less knew what Ke Ni wanted to say.
He didn’t bring it up, wanting to see how Ke Ni would react, and at the last minute agreed to go to the hotel with Song Yi.
Ke Ni reminded Jing Sicun of someone he’d met before.
It was years ago, when Jing Sicun had just picked up the barely-alive Tuesday.
Tuesday was a mixed-breed dog, a border collie and Samoyed mix, abandoned from a young age.
When Jing Sicun found him, he was shivering behind a trash can in a narrow alley.
Jing Sicun took the filthy, smelly puppy to the most reputable pet hospital.
The puppy was severely malnourished and had other illnesses—things didn’t look good.
He had to be hospitalized for observation and treatment.
The doctor said that if he could make it through five days, he’d have a chance at life.
The day the puppy was declared out of danger was a Tuesday, so Jing Sicun named him Tuesday.
The day Jing Sicun brought Tuesday home, he saw a girl in the pet hospital, crying her eyes out.
The vet said that girl’s Labrador had cancer and had reached the point where euthanasia was the only option.
The girl stayed with her dog through the whole thing, pressing her forehead to its head, stroking its fur, holding its paw.
Jing Sicun could only see half of her face and the tears rolling down from her jaw.
She sobbed, her back trembling…
The vet sighed, “Sigh, those parents are so irresponsible. Signed the papers and just left.”
By the time Jing Sicun finished the discharge paperwork for Tuesday, the girl’s parents had returned to pick up the Labrador’s remains.
The girl followed behind her parents with her head down, looking lost, and bumped into Jing Sicun, who was carrying Tuesday.
She didn’t look up, covering her mouth, crying so hard she could barely speak, but still forced herself to choke out, “I’m sorry…”
All Jing Sicun remembered was that the girl had beautiful eyes, red from crying.
When Ke Ni cried and accused him outside the grocery store, her eyes were just like that.
Her eyes were really beautiful.
Now, Ke Ni kept glancing at him with those eyes.
She thought she was being sneaky, but it was painfully obvious.
Not only Jing Sicun, even Song Yi up front had noticed.
Jing Sicun almost wanted to laugh.
Song Yi suddenly asked, “Ke Ni, why do you keep staring at Jing Sicun? Has a flower bloomed on his face?”
Ke Ni kept a straight face, “I’m looking out the window.”
Song Yi wasn’t fooled, “What’s there to see out your window? At least there are some flowers and plants on my side. Your side is all construction sites and fences—what’s there to look at?”
Ke Ni replied expressionlessly, “I like looking at construction sites.”
Song Yi was surprised, “What kind of hobby is that?”
Jing Sicun pressed down the brim of his cap, letting out a soft chuckle.
Ke Ni’s voice squeezed through her teeth, “Jing Sicun, what are you laughing at?”
Jing Sicun turned to look at Ke Ni, still smiling.
Ke Ni glared back at him, clearly unhappy.
Song Yi caught this scene in the rearview mirror: “What’s going on with you two? Are you hiding something from me? Why’s the atmosphere so weird?”
Ke Ni got a bit flustered.
Jing Sicun looked away, “We don’t get along. What could we possibly be hiding?”
Ke Ni started grinding her teeth.
The hotel’s parking lot was pretty big, but Song Yi had a careful side—afraid they’d have to walk too far, he parked the SUV right at the lobby entrance.
Song Yi told Ke Ni and Jing Sicun to go up and check on He Zhi first, and that he’d come up after parking the car.
Jing Sicun grabbed a book from the car, and as soon as Song Yi left, Ke Ni immediately asked, “What did you mean by that just now?”
Jing Sicun smiled, “Not getting along? Wasn’t that what you said?”
That was indeed what Ke Ni herself had said—she couldn’t argue.
In the speech she’d prepared, she hadn’t planned to become friends with Jing Sicun.
In fact, that morning, while brushing her teeth and talking to her reflection, the first line she’d planned to say was—
Jing Sicun, you’ve probably noticed I don’t like you.
Since you know, I won’t pretend anymore.
Back then, Ke Ni thought there was nothing wrong with that—at least she was being honest.
But now, she found it hard to say.
In the elevator going up, it was just Ke Ni and Jing Sicun—a perfect chance to talk.
Ke Ni hesitated, not saying anything for a long while.
Jing Sicun nodded toward the floor number, as if to remind her that if she didn’t speak now, they’d reach their floor soon.
Ke Ni thought:
Their relationship wasn’t really that bad, was it?
She just couldn’t stand Jing Sicun, that’s all.
Just like she couldn’t stand Feng Zi…
Actually, it wasn’t even that bad.
So she cleared her throat and declared, “Jing Sicun, our relationship is just average!”
Jing Sicun nodded, “Ah, thank you.”