Chapter 027　 It's so easy to appease a kid.

  *

  They boarded the plane.

  It took off.

  The flight attendant finished the safety briefing.

  Su Xian took out her eye mask, ready to sleep for a while, but Li Chengshi looked over at her.

  "Hmm?"

  "You just said you wanted to switch to a bigger place. What kind of place are you looking for?"

  "I want to rent an Ikkodate (Japanese-style house/small villa), preferably a three-bedroom, two-living-room place with a terrace. One bedroom, one study, one guest room. I could watch the stars, do yoga, or just space out on the terrace."

  "That sounds nice, but isn't a guest room a bit of a waste? You don't have any friends there."

  "I make friends easily." That wasn't a boast.

  "Friends for a 'purely physical relationship'?" The phrase slipped out, and Li Chengshi regretted it immediately after saying it.

  Su Xian thought: I knew 'have a thorn in your heart' was too subtle. He really is judging me. Okay, let him judge, I don't mind.

  "I'm sorry, I..." Li Chengshi wanted to explain but couldn't find the right words.

  "It's okay. Your thoughts align with public morality. I'm the one with the problem."

  Not wanting to be stuck in an awkward silence, he decided to say something to make amends. "How much would a three-bedroom, two-living-room house with a terrace cost?"

  "It mainly depends on the location. If it's really too expensive, I can live further away."

  "Aren't you scared living in such a big house all by yourself?"

  "I've always lived alone in a three-bedroom, two-living-room place."

  "Oh right, I forgot you're rich."

  "Yes, little friend."

  He didn't say anything, just stared at her with an unfriendly look.

  Su Xian looked back at him. "Oh, sorry, I forgot you don't like being called little friend." She suddenly recalled two lines of a song: "Combing your hair into a grown-up style, wearing a handsome suit," and unconsciously started humming it.

  "You are so annoying!"

  "Because that's exactly what you look like now, ha ha ha!" Su Xian suddenly realized that while she had lost his affection, she had painlessly regained the fun of teasing a puppy. Wow.

  "I'm just trying to switch from a student look to a working adult look! It perfectly fits my age! I am an adult, okay?!"

  "Shh shh shh, quiet down, don't get excited. Be good, little bear." She raised her hand, then realized he had cut off that soft, fluffy curly hair, and put her hand down.

  "Don't call me little bear!" He lowered his voice, huffing with anger. "Su Xian, I am truly angry!"

  "Okay, okay." Su Xian stopped in time, pulling a Rukawa Kaede keychain out of her bag. "This is for you."

  The puppy took it, and as expected, his anger immediately vanished to who-knows-where. It's so easy to appease a kid.

  *

  "I bought this when I was in college. By the way, Li Chengshi, did you play basketball back in school?" He's tall enough, but clearly not the athletic type.

  "Of course." The concept of playing basketball is very broad.

  Su Xian sensed his hesitation and deliberately asked, "On the varsity team or the department team?"

  "...The dorm team."

  "Oh." She nodded, saying nothing more.

  "What does that repressed smile mean? Is not being keen on sports some kind of crime?" He was angry again. She really did give him anxiety when they talked.

  "I wasn't repressing a smile! You're completely wrong. Forget it, forget it. Why bother getting angry every time you talk to me? Let's both just be quiet."

  "No way! Not everyone likes the type who is muscle-bound and simple-minded like you do! Plenty of people like me too!"

  "Wait," Su Xian's eyes darted. "In Hokkaido, you told General Manager Liang you weren't dating because you were unpopular. That contradicts itself."

  "I was being modest!"

  "Alright."

  Li Chengshi was waiting for her to continue arguing, but he saw her pull out a magazine and start flipping through it. He got even angrier. He snatched the magazine and shoved it into the seat pocket in front of him. "If you're going to argue, argue seriously! It's so disrespectful to provoke someone and then act all chill yourself!"

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Su Xian couldn't help but chuckle. After a moment of laughter, she cleared her throat and said, "Fine, then let me refute your points. First, I don't like people who are muscle-bound and simple-minded. I like people who are smart and physically fit. Second, your belief that being muscle-bound means being simple-minded is a prejudice. My first serious boyfriend was on the university basketball team but also won a gold medal in the national Olympiad in mathematics."

  "If he was so excellent, why did you break up?" His tone carried a hint of sarcasm.

  "He's from Shandong. After graduation, he went back home, passed the civil service exam, and entered the local Finance Bureau. His parents felt we were no longer on the same level, and he couldn't stand up to his family, so we..."

  "It's not that he 'couldn't stand up to his family.' He simply didn't love you enough. He might have been muscle-bound and smart, but he had immature character and no sense of responsibility!"

  She actually agreed with that point, so she nodded. "You're absolutely right. Do you want to argue more?"

  Seeing her expression darken slightly, Li Chengshi regretted touching a painful subject. He quickly said, "No more arguing. You wanted to sleep, so go to sleep."

  Su Xian burst into a small laugh. "Done arguing so quickly? Little... You're really easy to satisfy."

  That word “little” annoyed him again, but she had already put on her eye mask, so he had to tolerate it.

  "When the meal comes, don't wake me up. Tell the flight attendant I don't want it."

  "I'm not looking after you!"

  The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, but after the initial fit of pique, he felt a strange sense of comfort. Indeed, this back-and-forth bickering was much less exhausting than maintaining politeness and distance.

  **

  The plane landed on schedule at Narita Airport.

  While waiting for the luggage, Su Xian received a WeChat message from Zhao Nanfeng telling her he was waiting at Exit A5.

  The two of them had four large suitcases. As soon as they stepped out of the hall, a blast of heat hit them—Tokyo's summer was truly brutal. Oh wait, this isn't Tokyo yet.

  Seeing them, Zhao Nanfeng got out of the car, waving and calling out, "Su Xian, over here!"

  It was a white, seven-seater commercial van with the words TOWA DESIGN on the body, the name of the office: Fenghe Sheji.

  Su Xian put her own suitcase into the trunk, and when Li Chengshi waited for her to move, she casually put his in too.

  "Thanks, Team Leader."

  "Chill."

  *

  Zhao Nanfeng had Su Xian sit in the front passenger seat and Li Chengshi in the second row.

  "Thank you, boss, for driving all this way to pick us up. You've worked hard," Su Xian turned to Li Chengshi.

  He immediately understood. "Thank you, boss."

  "I certainly wouldn't pick up a regular employee, but an ex-girlfriend? There's always some old flame lingering."

  "Hey, don't bring that up. You're a married man."

  "I'm just a married man, not a moral guardian."

  "Okay, you don't have to be, and whatever games you play have nothing to do with me. But I'm here to work for you, and it's best we don't interact outside of work. Today is an exception; we need the keys to the accommodation from you."

  Zhao Nanfeng smiled. "I'm kidding. The apartments use keypad locks. I just wanted to see you sooner."

  "You bastard!" Su Xian unceremoniously punched him on the arm.

  The car rocked slightly, and Zhao Nanfeng quickly steadied the steering wheel. "Careful, stop messing around."

  Li Chengshi said faintly from the back seat, "Team Leader, stop messing around. If you accidentally get too rough, who knows who will suffer."

  Su Xian sensed his hidden meaning, but realized he had a point and said nothing.

  *