Xia Mian did not know what kind of mindset Zhou Ran had when he said that, but it did not sound like sarcasm; it sounded more like he was intentionally joking to tease her.
She lowered her head, feeling a bit guilty for a moment.
Who would have thought that pretending to be a badass could be seen through!
"Pi Tao'er she..." Xia Mian pointed at Pi Tao'er inside the room.
The little girl was pouting right now, hugging her arms with her lips pursed and her little head drooping, feeling both angry and afraid of being blamed.
"She is fine, Lao Lu was just trying to scare her."
Zhou Ran glanced into the glass door and then looked at Xia Mian: "She has a underworld sister backing her up; where would Lao Lu get the guts to discipline her?"
Xia Mian: "..." Can we move past this already!
"Actually, I..."
The glass door was pushed open in a hurry, and Zhuang Zhong ran out from inside.
"Xia Mian, Xia Mian, what are your plans for tomorrow!"
Xia Mian's words were interrupted, and both of them looked up at Zhuang Zhong.
Zhou Ran did not react much, but his gaze flickered, staring straight at Zhuang Zhong.
She thought for a moment: "I want to Go Out to Sea to the island; I originally wanted to go this afternoon."
"Go Out to Sea?" Zhuang Zhong was a bit excited, "Going Out to Sea is great! At this time of year, the island is full of coconuts, and there are jet skis; it's so much fun!"
Zhuang Zhong thought for a moment and clapped his hands: "Oh, right, it just so happens that my dad knows a fishing team. They take their own boats to Go Out to Sea. You can play for as long as you want without waiting for a ferry. If you don't mind, we can set off tomorrow morning and even catch a sunrise at sea!"
Upon hearing "sunrise at sea," Xia Mian's eyes lit up.
"Really?"
"Of course it's real!"
As he spoke, Zhuang Zhong took out his mobile phone and made a gesture to call: "I'll call my dad right now and have him contact the boat!"
Zhou Ran stood to the side, arms crossed over his chest, tilting his head to look at Zhuang Zhong, suddenly feeling a bit like laughing.
He knew the fishing boat team Zhuang Zhong was talking about; they went out to sea at three in the morning and drifted out there. It would be a miracle if they didn't see the sunrise.
He watched as Zhuang Zhong held his mobile phone, reservedly brewing up his courage several times before shyly speaking to Xia Mian.
"How about... we add each other on WeChat? I'll contact you before we Go Out to Sea tomorrow!"
Zhou Ran paused, his gaze subconsciously shifting to Xia Mian.
The latter nodded readily: "Sure!"
He frowned, watching the two of them add each other on WeChat in front of him. With a "beep," the corners of Zhuang Zhong's mouth were about to stretch to his ears.
Zhou Ran's gaze darkened, his tongue pressing against the roof of his mouth repeatedly.
He wanted to tell Zhuang Zhong to forget about chatting and just wait here until dawn to send her out to sea.
But hindered by Xia Mian's presence, the words rolled around in his mouth before he swallowed them back down.
"Are you done?" Zhou Ran asked irritably, lifting his chin to gesture toward Pi Tao'er inside the room, "She's breaking out of prison."
Zhuang Zhong looked back.
That little ancestor was standing on tiptoes, reaching for the cashier counter, pulling down the strap of her little schoolbag, looking like she was about to put it on.
Zhuang Zhong panicked, opened the door, and rushed in: "Oh, ancestor! Wait here for your brother to come back!"
After saying that, he turned back to wave his mobile phone at Xia Mian.
"Let's chat later!"
Zhou Ran's brow furrowed even deeper.
What was there to chat about.
So eager.
To get from the "entanglement" to the homestay in the old building area, one had to cross two streets and walk through a snack street.
That road ran along the seaside, and even at night, it was bustling with traffic. Streetlights lit up all the way along the seaside, and the two of them walked slowly side by side.
Xia Mian lowered her head to look at her mobile phone, tapping the screen every now and then. Zhou Ran glanced back and saw the bright WeChat interface. The speed at which the other person was sending messages was fast. He just took a quick look and saw that the pug avatar of Zhuang Zhong was sticking its tongue out, asking Xia Mian about her hobbies.
Zhou Ran snorted in his heart.
Asking is useless; it's as if he actually has any.
An electric scooter on the side of the road flashed its lights and zipped past Xia Mian. A horn sounded suddenly behind her, and Xia Mian was startled, her mobile phone slipping from her hand, about to fall to the ground.
The moment he heard the sound, Zhou Ran moved with lightning speed to pull her to his side. He reached out to catch and grip it from below, actually managing to scoop up Xia Mian's mobile phone.
Xia Mian bumped into Zhou Ran's shoulder unexpectedly, and from the bridge of her nose to the tip of her nose, it hurt like crazy.
She hissed, raising her hand to cover her nose.
Zhou Ran actually had muscles, and they were quite firm; it made her nose ache.
Xia Mian's arm was still being gripped by him, and his fingertips were pressing tightly against the scabbed tattoo, making her let out a soft groan of pain.
"Hand," she said.
Zhou Ran looked down and only then saw the spot where he had grabbed the butterfly.
He let go and turned her arm over to look; fortunately, the scabbed area hadn't broken, it was just red.
The girl had fair skin, so it looked scary when it turned red.
He frowned, and the mobile phone clutched in his hand was still buzzing, which made him feel annoyed.
He didn't even need to look down to know it was that pug with its tongue out again.
Zhou Ran returned the mobile phone to Xia Mian: "Maybe next time you go out, you should just hang a sign around your neck."
"Huh?" Xia Mian was confused.
"Just write 'I am underworld' on it, so next time passersby will automatically make way for you."
Xia Mian understood this sentence; it was sarcasm.
Xia Mian took back her impression of Zhou Ran.
He wasn't just a bit lively; he was actually very good at annoying people.
She put away her mobile phone and muttered, her voice as small as could be.
"I only lied to a kid once, and you're going to hold it against me for a lifetime."
Zhou Ran was so angry he laughed.
She didn't watch where she was going and was still talking back under her breath.
"Watch the road."
Xia Mian rubbed her nose and followed silently behind Zhou Ran.
He looked back at the little tail behind him and moved his position nonchalantly, guiding Xia Mian to the inside.
The snack street was brightly lit, with stall carts crowded together, and the sound of hawking was everywhere.
Xia Mian looked around. A row of coconuts was displayed in front of a fresh juice stall cart, and she thought of what Zhuang Zhong said about "there are coconuts on the island."
No need to wait until she got to the island; they were here too.
She hadn't even had a fresh coconut yet.
Xia Mian said, "Wait for me a moment."
Zhou Ran stood where he was, watching as Xia Mian walked to the stall and stood for a while before coming back holding two coconuts.
The juice stall owner had chiseled a small hole for her and let her insert a straw to hold and drink.
She hugged one of them and handed it to Zhou Ran: "Hush money."
Zhou Ran raised his eyelids to look at her and asked: "What kind of mouth are you hushing?"
"The matter of lying to the kid," Xia Mian said, "Once you've taken the hush money, you can't mock me anymore."
When Zhou Ran heard this, he felt like laughing: "Where did this bossy big sister come from?"
Xia Mian shoved the coconut into his arms; it was heavy, and you could hear it sloshing when shaken.
"That's none of your business," Xia Mian said, "Anyway... just pretend it's a reward from the underworld."
Zhou Ran couldn't help but be amused: "Since it's called hush money, how can it also be a reward?"
Xia Mian was stunned.
She had no experience in this area.
She stammered for a few seconds and squeezed out: "Don't you know that if you eat someone's food, you'll be soft-mouthed?"
Zhou Ran looked at the coconut that had been forcibly shoved at him: "Does eating it forcibly count?"
"It counts."
He said "Oh" and weighed the coconut in his hand.
"According to you, someone has eaten so much of mine forcibly tonight, their mouth must be incredibly soft."
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