Xu Qian bought her ticket and deliberately avoided meeting up with Qi Lei, waiting for the train alone.
But since she was also going to Ha City, they ended up in the same train car, sitting diagonally across from each other.
What could she do? They’d already waved goodbye, and he’d even walked away with a ridiculously cool silhouette. If they immediately sat together, wouldn’t that ruin the whole vibe?
“Immature Xu” had no choice but to tough it out, pretending not to see him and not speaking to Qi Lei the entire journey.
Moreover, she kept agonizing over the phone number issue.
Should she give Qi Lei her number?
Logically, since they’d made plans to meet, she probably should, right? But she hadn’t given it to him last time, and now she’d be giving it to him right after saying goodbye—wasn’t that too sudden?
Besides, he hadn’t even asked for it, so why should she offer?
And anyway, they were supposed to meet at Er Zhong—what did they need phone numbers for?
“Immature Xu” wrestled with this question the whole trip and ultimately decided against it.
If fate willed it, they’d meet at Er Zhong!
She managed to hold out, not speaking to Qi Lei until they got off the train.
But when exiting the station, it was Qi Lei who couldn’t resist anymore. He followed behind her and asked, “Where are you headed?”
Xu Qian immediately frowned. So immature! Hadn’t they agreed to meet at Er Zhong? Couldn’t he even make it past the station exit without breaking that?
She replied, “Going to Ha San Zhong.”
Qi Lei said, “Oh, okay then. Bye!”
He shoved a slip of paper with his home phone number into Xu Qian’s hand. “Remember—call during the day, not at night. My mom gets suspicious if she’s home.”
Then he turned and left, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
“Immature Xu” was left utterly bewildered. I didn’t ask for your number—are you crazy?
Classmate Immature Xu felt like crying. The difference was huge, okay?
If she gave Qi Lei her number, or if Qi Lei proactively asked for it, then next time, Qi Lei would be the one to call her, meaning he missed her.
But now that she held Qi Lei’s number, she’d have to be the one calling him, which would imply she missed him!
Why would I miss you!? It’s like I’m actively chasing after you—have you no shame?
And what did he mean about his mom getting suspicious? We’re just ordinary classmates, okay? The way Qi Lei said it made it sound like there was something going on between us even if there wasn’t!
Fuming, Immature Xu stamped her foot, but Qi Lei was already gone.
“Qi Lei, just you wait!”
Meanwhile, Qi Lei, heading straight for the underground mall, wore a slight smile as he reminisced about the journey’s little moments. It was pretty fun—so innocent!
When he reached the underground mall, he went directly to Zhou Tao’s wholesale spot.
He walked in with an utterly harmless, sunny grin. “Hey! Little Tao-jie!”
Zhou Tao, who was helping a customer, jumped. Why was this unlucky kid back? And why was his smile so creepy?
Her first instinct was to blurt out, “I’m not taking returns!”
Qi Lei said, “Returns? I’m here to restock!”
Pfft!!
Zhou Tao felt like she was coughing up blood right there in public, her eyes nearly popping out of her head.
“You? Restocking? Where’s the goods!?”
Qi Lei didn’t answer, noticing the shop was quite busy. “How about this—I’ll go check out some other shops first. I’ll treat Little Tao-jie to lunch at noon, and we can chat properly then.”
Zhou Tao’s first thought was: This again? Are you never going to stop?
She stopped Qi Lei just as he was about to leave. “No, no, no! Don’t go wandering around, and forget about lunch. Just say what you have to say. Where are the goods?”
“I really sold them!”
Qi Lei’s face was the picture of innocence, making Zhou Tao’s blood pressure spike for no reason. Acting! Keep acting!
Just a little wolf cub pretending to be a lamb?
Qi Lei continued, “Don’t worry, Sister Tao, this time it’s really for restocking. I won’t place an order with anyone else until we’ve settled on a price!”
After saying this, he left, leaving Zhou Tao in no mood to focus on her business properly before lunch.
For one thing, she was wondering if that unlucky kid had really sold all the goods already?
But it had only been three days! Over 1,000 pairs of socks!
Her wholesale outlet, as large as it was, only sold a little over 1,000 pairs a day.
Little did she know, it wasn’t three days for Qi Lei—it was two. He hadn’t set up his stall on the day he bought the goods.
For another thing, she was worried.
Worried that if the brat really was here to restock, he might be snatched up by another seller. After all, he was a big client.
She barely made it to noon when one of the shop assistants reminded her, “Sister Tao, that handsome guy invited you to lunch. Are you going?”
Zhou Tao glared at the assistant. “Eat? All you think about is eating! That kid is up to no good. Just wait and see—he’s probably scheming to haggle us down again!”
As she spoke, she grew even more indignant, recalling how Qi Lei had tricked her three days ago.
She gritted her small white teeth so hard they nearly shattered. “Trying to outsmart me, Zhou Tao? No way! This time, I won’t give him any chance to bargain!”
Just as she said this, Qi Lei actually returned.
And he really did intend to treat Zhou Tao to a meal.
Unfortunately, Zhou Tao was on high alert, determined not to fall for the brat’s tricks.
But even if she wasn’t fooled, she still had to eat.
Of course, it wasn’t anything formal. They just found a dumpling shop next to the underground mall, ordered two plates of pickled cabbage dumplings and two cold dishes.
Before they even sat down, Zhou Tao had already blocked all avenues.
“Let me make this clear upfront: whether you’re restocking or not, the price from last time is already the lowest. Not a single cent less.”
Then, with a pained expression, she added, “I’m not lying to you, sis. After you left last time, I regretted it. At that price, I wasn’t making any profit at all—it was purely to make a friend!”
“Let me tell you, if you’re restocking, you’ll have to cover the shipping cost for me, or I’ll be losing even more.”
Zhou Tao had come prepared, resolved not to budge on the price no matter what Qi Lei said.
There was no other way—this kid was tricky, and she had to be cautious.
In response, Qi Lei simply smiled faintly and didn’t engage.
While adding vinegar to Zhou Tao’s dipping sauce, he said, “Let’s not talk about that now. Let’s eat first. I haven’t even had breakfast yet!”
Hearing this, Zhou Tao felt a pang of sympathy.
Her own brother was about Qi Lei’s age. While this kid was hustling day and night to make a living, sometimes even skipping meals, her good-for-nothing brother was still wasting his days in the arcade!
She quickly said, “Alright then, let’s eat first. We can talk after we finish!”
Soon, the dumplings were served. Qi Lei indeed wolfed them down, making Zhou Tao almost too embarrassed to pick up her chopsticks.
Only after Qi Lei had taken the edge off his hunger and slowed down did they start chatting idly.
“Did you really sell all the goods from last time?”
Qi Lei, “Mhm.”
Zhou Tao didn’t believe him. “But that was over 1,000 pairs! You sold them all in three days?”
Qi Lei, “To be precise, it was two days.”
Zhou Tao, “…”
Yeah, keep bragging.
“What does your family actually do?”
Right now, this was what Zhou Tao was most curious about.
With such a large sales volume, and letting such a young kid take charge of restocking—it didn’t seem like an ordinary family.
This time, Qi Lei had no intention of hiding anything. “Sis, you’re overthinking it. I’m just from an ordinary family, working part-time during summer break to pay for school.”
“Bull!” Zhou Tao retorted in exasperation. “Keep spinning your tales!”
Qi Lei didn’t argue back. Having nearly finished eating, he wiped his mouth and straightened his posture.
“Sis, let me be straightforward. I came specifically to stock up on goods.”
Seeing he seemed serious, Zhou Tao immediately interjected, “Alright then, I’ll help you pick out the goods when we get back.”
Qi Lei responded, “No rush, we should discuss the terms first, right?”
Hearing this, Zhou Tao’s guard went up again.
“Haven’t I told you already? This is already the lowest price. I really can’t go any lower.”
Qi Lei nodded, “I know. I’ve surveyed the entire wholesale market this morning and checked the prices.”
“For large quantities like mine, the prices are similar to what Sister Tao offered. Any cheaper ones I wouldn’t dare take, afraid the quality might be compromised.”
Zhou Tao said smugly, “See? I didn’t lie to you. You wasted your time for nothing.”
Then she added provocatively, “Be decisive, young man. Don’t haggle over small change like us women do.”
“Mm.” Qi Lei nodded and pulled out an inventory list from his pocket that he had prepared the night before.
“Sis, take a look at this first.”
Zhou Tao took it, glanced at it, and her heart skipped a beat.
“Are you messing with me?!”
…
,
The event has ended. Thank you for every reader’s support.
Also, an update schedule preview: Before the official release, there will be two fixed updates daily, between 9-10 AM and 4-5 PM.
If there are extra updates, they will be posted between 9-10 PM.
After the official release, the schedule will depend on the situation.
Additionally, there are four updates today.