The next day, Ji Ciye witnessed what it truly meant to be shamelessly persistent.
That afternoon, their team had a basketball activity.
After it ended, Du Weiwei came to the court to give Zhou Xuyan something.
The guy who had handed Lin Wutong the song list last time and then asked for her contact info approached with a grin. "Du, you came."
"Yeah." Du Weiwei smiled in response.
After greeting her, the teammate glanced around and asked, "How come I don't see Lin today?"
They had all sung together before, so there was at least some connection.
Du Weiwei didn't think much of it and answered casually, "She's waiting for me at the school gate."
"I see." The guy continued, "We're just about to head out for a team dinner. Why don't we walk together?"
"Sure."
He was quite enthusiastic, and Du Weiwei didn't refuse. She took Zhou Xuyan's hand and asked with a bright smile, "Where are you guys eating later?"
Zhou Xuyan held her hand back and said with a smile, "Zhou's BBQ."
Another teammate called out from behind, "Boss, we're heading out."
Earlier, they had agreed to get BBQ together after finishing, but Ji Ciye had said he wasn't going because he didn't like the smell of the place.
Now the same person who'd said he wasn't going suddenly changed his mind.
"Never mind, I'll come along." Ji Ciye said as he picked up his bag from the ground and walked over.
The teammate was speechless.
He was tall with long legs, and even among the already tall team members, he stood out the most.
At the school gate, even though he was walking at the very back, Lin Wutong spotted the upright figure of the young man at a glance.
His skin was cool and pale, and the setting sun cast a faint layer of light gold over him.
His originally ink-black short hair was also lit up, gleaming with a golden sheen.
He looked altogether too dazzling.
The two exchanged a look through the crowd. For just one second, Lin Wutong then withdrew her gaze.
Du Weiwei spotted Lin Wutong too. She let go of Zhou Xuyan's arm and jogged over. "Tongtong, have you been waiting long?"
Lin Wutong smiled. "No, I just got here not long ago too."
They had agreed to go eat at the new hot pot place next to the school.
Du Weiwei needed to give Zhou Xuyan something first. She'd originally wanted Lin Wutong to come with her, but Lin Wutong said she needed to stop by the convenience store, so they temporarily split up and agreed to meet at the school gate.
Just then, the teammate who had asked about Lin Wutong earlier also walked over and greeted her enthusiastically, "Lin, we meet again."
Lin Wutong's gaze landed on him, and she smiled with a slight nod. "Yeah, hello."
Her voice was as obedient as ever. Though her smile was polite and carried a hint of distance, it didn't diminish her sweetness.
The guy who got a response immediately wanted to keep talking.
Ji Ciye reminded lazily from behind, "Let's go."
Zhou Xuyan gave Lin Wutong a nod in greeting, then asked Du Weiwei, "What are you two going to eat?"
Du Weiwei: "Hot pot. I heard it's newly opened—tastes good and the prices are reasonable."
"Alright, then message me when you're done."
After Zhou Xuyan said that, the group was about to split up.
Just before stepping away, the teammate who had greeted Lin Wutong refused to give up and pulled out his phone.
"Lin, would it be convenient to add each other's contact info?"
"We're all at the same school. If you ever need help with anything, just say the word."
He spoke politely and courteously, and with so many eyes on them.
Lin Wutong unhurriedly took out her phone.
When she opened the QR code, she could distinctly feel a gaze fall upon her.
Lin Wutong knew where that gaze came from.
She lowered her head and didn't look.
Yet inexplicably felt a bit guilty.
Ji Ciye watched the two people adding each other on WeChat, the corner of his lips tugging up almost imperceptibly.
His dark, deep eyes revealed no discernible emotion.
The group finally walked far away, and Du Weiwei no longer had to hold back her inner thoughts. "Tongtong, Zheng Xin couldn't possibly like you, could he?"
"Otherwise, why would he suddenly add your contact?"
No wonder he'd asked about Lin the junior the moment they met at the court earlier.
Before Lin Wutong could answer, her gossipy heart eagerly latched onto something else. "But I think Ji Ciye is interested in you too."
"Do you think he'd get jealous seeing another guy add you on WeChat?"
On the other side.
Zheng Xin was still basking in the joy of getting his goddess's contact info.
A teammate slung an arm over his shoulder and teased, "Zheng Xin, be honest—you like Lin the junior, don't you?"
"All that talk about helping out since you're at the same school—I think that's just your excuse."
Zheng Xin didn't deny it, admitting generously, "Yeah."
"I just don't know if she has a boyfriend."
The teammate with an arm on his shoulder turned his head toward Zhou Xuyan nearby. "Bro Zhou, do you know?"
"Isn't Du the junior good friends with Lin the junior?"
Zhou Xuyan and Du Weiwei didn't usually chat about such things, so he said he didn't know.
The guy then egged him on, teasing Zheng Xin, "Just ask her yourself. You'll know once you ask."
Zheng Xin chickened out at this point. "Forget it."
Asking such presumptuous questions right after adding her wouldn't be appropriate.
As they talked, the group had already arrived at the skewer restaurant.
They hadn't eaten long before Ji Ciye paid the bill and left first, leaving the others to finish off the table full of food.
After Ji Ciye left, Zheng Xin asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why do I feel like the boss seems a bit displeased with me?"
Another person: "I noticed that too."
Yet another: "Yeah, it was obvious."
Every word was a veiled jab at Zheng Xin, just short of directly saying he was thick-skinned.
Zhou Xuyan wore a smile, quietly grilling the meat on the plate, seeing through it all without saying a word.
After all, someone who normally didn't even live at school suddenly said that night he wanted to go back to school.
Then when they got to school, he said something came up at home and took a taxi by himself.
Heh, don't be too obvious.
Maybe the young master hadn't even gotten her WeChat yet, and someone else had beaten him to it—of course he'd have a problem with that.
In the blink of an eye, it was Wednesday.
After the trial lesson that day, Ji Mingfei set the time for six o'clock on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Sometimes she went out to play on weekends, and this was the biggest concession she'd made.
Xu Zhilin agreed and discussed it with Lin Wutong.
On Wednesday afternoon, when Lin Wutong arrived at the Ji residence, Xu Zhilin happened to be home.
Upon seeing her, her refined eyes, tempered by the passage of time, flickered with a trace of surprise.
She knew her own daughter better than anyone.
In the past, no matter how many tutors were hired, they'd all been driven away in one way or another.
Yet this girl before her looked so obedient, with a nature that seemed soft at a glance—she didn't know what Ji Mingfei was thinking.
Hopefully she wasn't secretly harboring some ill intent, wanting to bully this nice girl.
Lin Wutong guessed the other's identity and greeted politely, "Hello, Aunt Xu."
Xu Zhilin curved her lips into a proper smile. "Hello."
"You must be Lin Wutong?"
"Yes." Lin Wutong gave a slight nod, looking well-behaved.
Xu Zhilin still had a business banquet to attend later and wouldn't be staying home long, so she asked, "Have you had dinner yet? If not, I'll have Aunt Zhang make you something."
A slight smile curved at the corners of Lin Wutong's lips as she replied, "Thank you, Aunt Xu. I already ate at school."
Xu Zhilin hummed in acknowledgment and didn't say much more. "Mingfei is upstairs. Go find her."
The moment she finished speaking, the living room door was pushed open.
Warm yellow light glowed from the entryway, shining brightly onto the already radiant young man.
He was dressed in all black—black top and black pants—looking both cool and cocky.
Those dark, bewitching, alluring eyes paused for a brief moment when they landed on the girl standing in the living room.
Just for an instant, then he resumed his stride and walked inside.
"Ah Ye," Xu Zhilin looked over. "Perfect timing. Take your classmate Tongtong upstairs."
She added a reminder before finishing, "Keep an eye on things. Don't let your sister bully her."
Ji Ciye received the order and smiled almost imperceptibly. "Got it."
Lin Wutong: "…"
She could actually go up by herself.
Ji Ciye reached the stairs first. Seeing the girl behind him hadn't moved, he turned around and raised an eyebrow slightly. "Classmate Lin, not coming?"