Chapter Seventeen

Tao Ran lowered his head and quickly wrote a few words on the paper before pushing it toward Qiao Ye. Upon seeing it, Qiao Ye leaned closer and saw that there were only three words written on it - class dismissed talk. Qiao Ye had never passed notes before, other than cheating, so he found it quite interesting. However, he was not so ignorant as to force others to play with him and stopped teasing Tao Ran when the teacher arrived. He obediently laid his head on the desk and pretended to sleep with his face turned away.

Actually, Tao Ran is very sensitive deep down and can distinguish between good and bad treatment. Qiao Ye's temper can explode easily but he handles things in a straightforward manner. If you don't step on his toes, you can at least coexist peacefully. Tao Ran was distracted while reading and thought about Li Zekun. There was a tightness in his chest from the pain. He had too many moments where he didn't understand this man, the way his tenderness and cruelty blended together and changed frequently. The money Li Zekun threw into his arms was difficult for Tao Ran to accept without feeling ashamed. Tao Ran could be open-minded about Li Zekun's familiarity, but he couldn't do something like a whore and take a bundle of money to sell himself. Even if asked by a classmate, he would have to grit his teeth and swallow the words.

Before class ended, Qiao Ye woke up. He leaned against the window and admired the scenery when he had nothing to do. The classroom was on the first floor, and the roses in the flowerbed outside were growing very tall, even higher than the window sill. After holding back for a while, Qiao Ye still wanted to speak to Tao Ran, "Are the roses beautiful?"

Tao Ran was looking at a math problem, and his mind was a complete mess: "Hmm?"

"What should we eat for lunch?"

"Do you have any pursuit in life, Uncle Qiao?" Tao Ran gave him a disdainful look and crossed out a mess of functions on the draft paper with force.

"Hey, then why don't you tell me, what is worth pursuing?" Qiao Ye laughed, and with a flick of his long legs he leaned back and propped the chair against the wall: "I happen to be pursuing something too."

Taoran furrowed his brow and thought for a moment, not quite sure.

Qiao Ye smirked proudly as he reached over to mess with Tao Ran's bangs. "You see, at least I have a clear goal, unlike you."

"Qiao Ye!" Swen's teacher raised his voice a little higher than usual, with no hint of intimidation: "Would you please go to bed and get some sleep? Someone is here to talk to you!"

"Look at him, only when he's messed up like this can we say he has no ambition." Qiao Ye also didn't really want to bully the homeroom teacher. He lowered his head and whispered to Tao Ran with a smile.

Tao Ran was a little angry and twisted Qiao Ye's arm fiercely with ease.

"His..." Qiao Ye's face changed suddenly, "Why are you acting like my elementary school classmate?" Later, that little girl was punished by Qiao Ye by having two fat and long caterpillars put in her school bag. To this day, she still has psychological trauma every time she opens her bag.

"Don't make a fuss, be good." Tao Ran comforted him, speaking in a tone as if to soothe a dog, "Didn't we say we are going to have lunch at noon?"

Qiao Ye didn't even realize it and still maintained a calm appearance, saying, "Yes, that's right!"

Tao Ran almost couldn't hold back his laughter and stopped paying attention to him.

Finally, after enduring until noon dismissal, Qiao Ye watched Tao Ran leisurely pack up his things and became a little impatient: "Hurry up, I overslept this morning and didn't have breakfast."

Tao Ran was a bit stunned and asked, "Why didn't you bring it to school to eat?"

"Am I not being disciplined?"

"Then do you think it's disciplined to sleep, talk, and cheat in class?" Tao Ran said bluntly without any politeness.

Qiao Ye blushed and said, "Doesn't everyone have some principles?!" In fact, he was just worried that the breakfast outside wasn't clean enough.

"Alright, alright, I understand. I, as a petty person, have gauged the heart of a gentleman." Tao Ran's rare display of embarrassment amused Qiao Ye.

"Quickly, what's for lunch!" Qiao Ye bared her sharp little tiger teeth aggressively.

"I'll accept whatever arrangements you make, I'm not picky."

Qiao Ye thought for a moment, then reached out and put his arm around Tao Ran's shoulder, saying "Let's go."

They hailed a taxi and went to a restaurant. Tao Ran was astonished when he learned that Uncle Qiao wanted to have a hotpot. It was September, and they were going to have Chongqing hotpot!

"Let's go, the air conditioning in the store is strong enough.", laughed Qiao Ye cheerfully.

"You're so annoying.", Tao Ran weakly complained.

"You said anything goes when it comes to food, right?" Qiao Ye said as he arrived and flirted with the familiar waitress, who blushed and gave him a dirty look before seating them in a private booth.

The hotpot here is very authentic. Qiao Ye directly ordered a spicy hotpot, saying that plain soup is boring to eat.

After taking a few bites, Tao Ran realized that the taste in his mouth was quite heavy and he loved it. Qiao Ye was very happy because they both loved spicy hotpot. They were kindred spirits! People who don't love hotpots don't understand the joys of life.

This meal was paid for by Qiao Ye, and the boys from the north were eager to grab the bill, as if they were about to start a fight. However, Tao Ran didn't try to grab the bill. He didn't want to spend Li Zekun's money, so he silently stood by and watched Qiao Ye's performance.

Qiao Ye enjoyed this meal very much. After lingering for a while, he suddenly realized why he always felt like something was missing. He then brought Tao Ran and ate three Aragandas balls before heading to class.

When Tao Ran leaned on his desk, he felt exhausted. There was still a lingering taste of rum in his mouth. He squinted his eyes and clicked his tongue, "I can't play like this anymore, it's bad for my stomach..."

Qiao Ye laughed and said, "Damn, ever since I switched over, only this lunch tasted a little more satisfying."

Tao Ran felt drowsy after eating his fill and foolishly smiled at him.

Qiao Ye suddenly became serious and lowered his voice to ask...

"What should we eat for lunch tomorrow?"