CHAPTER 678: 424 BIG OOLONG: SO HIGH, LIFE HAS REACHED ITS PEAK (3 UPDATES)

Tang Wan’s pregnancy was temporarily kept a secret. Unaware, everyone went about their busy lives, and Shen Shuci tidied up the house before going to the company to report on project work. Passing by a maternity and baby store, she couldn’t help but take a longer look.

Although she had just become an aunt, she was still very happy about Tang Wan’s pregnancy and had already begun considering what gifts to give to the child.

As soon as her car stopped in front of the maternity and baby store, she caught a glimpse of someone speeding past on a motorcycle. In Beijing, the only person she knew who rode a motorcycle so conspicuously was...

Even though she also lived in Hexi, this was the first time Shen Shuci had encountered him. However, Jiang Chengsi seemed not to notice her car and sped off towards the west, most likely heading to the Huo Family.

Huo Family...

Thinking of a certain someone, Shen Shuci felt both embarrassed and annoyed.

...

The motorcycle rider was indeed Jiang Chengsi, but he did not intentionally ignore Shen Shuci; he was simply in a hurry. He and Huo Qinqi had arranged to meet at his place to practice martial arts at ten o’clock in the morning. However, an incident at the club the night before had kept him out until the wee hours, and to top it off, his brother had uncharacteristically turned off his alarm that morning.

Ever since Jiang Shiyi had returned to the country, Chengsi had been early to bed and early to rise.

He called to inquire, and Jiang Shiyi said as if it were the most natural thing, "As your brother, I care about you and didn’t want you to wake up early, so I let you sleep in a bit more."

By the time he got up, it was already nine forty. After quickly washing up, he rode straight to the Huo Family. That certain someone had a strong sense of punctuality; being late was definitely not an option.

Speeding on his motorcycle, he didn’t care less what Shen Shuci thought!

Upon arriving at the Huo Family, he was informed that Huo Qinqi was in the backyard, playing with cats and feeding horses.

When Jiang Chengsi reached the backyard, he walked up to Huo Qinqi and cleared his throat, "Ahem—Old Huo, I’m here."

Huo Qinqi glanced at his watch, "You’re late by 28 minutes and 34 seconds."

"There was a bit of trouble at my club last night. Remember those guys we saw yesterday? That brat from the Liang Family, do you recall?" Jiang Chengsi, fearing that Huo Qinqi would think he was deliberately late, immediately explained the situation.

"There was a fight, they even used wine bottles as weapons, someone got hurt, and the police were called. I went to handle it and didn’t get home until after two in the morning."

"The police showed up, and those kids were still cursing away. I wanted to kick each of them. It’s just them relying on their family’s money to strut around, thinking they are something special."

"..."

Jiang Chengsi talked at length, but Huo Qinqi just gave him a sidelong glance, "You now...look very much like a primary school student who is late for class and making up excuses."

"I’m telling the truth!"

"Does it change the fact that you’re late?"

"No."

"That means you’ve just wasted another 4 minutes and 13 seconds on pointless talk."

Jiang Chengsi took a deep breath:

You’re just a jerk doomed to be a perennially single old dog!

These thoughts, of course, Jiang Chengsi dared not say out loud; he still needed Huo Qinqi to teach him martial arts. Annoying him now meant he might end up being rubbed into the ground, "Old Huo, not only will you not get a date this way, but you’ll also lose friends."

"And what should I do?" Huo Qinqi put the cat he was holding down.

Huo Chichi scampered around Green Plum Forest until it found a nice sunny spot and contentedly fell asleep.

"At least try to speak a bit more gently, huh? If you had a girlfriend and she was late, would you talk to her like this?"

"No."

"Then you can’t talk to me like that either."

"You’re not my girlfriend."

"..."

Jiang Chengsi humphed and stopped talking: I’ll just wait and see how you manage to drive your future wife away.

"The green plums in your family’s garden are about to bloom. I wonder when Jiangjiang and Taotao will come back. We could bring them here to see the plum blossoms." Jiang Chengsi surveyed the Green Plum Forest, "It’s a pity you don’t have a partner; this garden would be nice for a date."

Huo Qinqi had just taken off his jacket and was getting ready to warm up. He gave Chengsi a look, "How can you tell if a girl is interested in you?"

"What did you say?" Jiang Chengsi looked at him with a smile, "Old Huo, are you seeking romantic advice from me?"

Is there a problem?

"Do you have someone in mind?"

The look from Huo Qinqi said: You’re asking too many questions.

"Well, I’m not exactly sure, but a girl probably has an interest in you if she doesn’t reject going out on a date with you or isn’t resistant to some intimate gestures."

Although Jiang Chengsi was an outsider in these matters, having mixed in society for so long, he had seen enough to be more experienced than Huo Qinqi.

"After all, if she’s not interested, she’d definitely feel like she’s encountered a hooligan if you get too close, and she might even slap you."

"However, young girls are definitely more shy and reserved, so they just might not show it that clearly..."

Members of the Huo Family standing on the side were already dumbfounded. One outsider was advising another outsider!

What’s this about sending flowers last time, and now what are they up to?

The Fourth Master won’t start causing trouble for their master, will he?

Jiang Chengsi is known for his unorthodox methods, and due to his job, Huo Qinqi is a stickler for rules – isn’t this like leading their master down into the gutter?

...

After leaving the company, Shen Shuci spent over half an hour in the baby store. She was completely clueless about these products. She didn’t even know that baby formula was divided into stages until today. After browsing for quite a while and buying nothing, she went to accompany the Shen Family elders for lunch at their hotel.

Knowing that Tang Wan was pregnant lifted her spirits, so she didn’t notice she had a tail.

Her every move today was reported back to the Liang Family.

Purchasing a pregnancy test couldn’t be confirmed, but she then visited a baby store...

It seemed, no matter how you looked at it, as if she had some news.

"Young master, should we continue to follow her?"

"No need, wait until my house arrest is over, then I’ll go and meet her myself," the man said, applying an ice pack to his face, growing more and more frustrated as he thought about being driven away by Jiang Chengsi after a fight and then being placed under house arrest at home—all because of that damn girl.

The other man nodded, preparing to leave.

"Wait a moment..."

"Do you have another order?"

"If she meets up with my father, you must tell me."

"Understood."

**

Shen Shuci was oblivious to all this. After dining with the Shen elders, she made a special trip to the Jiang Mansion and spent the afternoon with Tang Wan. The elderly lady insisted she stay for dinner, and Tang Wan’s strong plea resulted in an overnight stay.

Tang Wan wanted to sleep with Shen Shuci, so naturally, Jiang Jinsang had to spend another night alone, amusing Lord Wansui.

When Shen Shuci emerged from the bath, Tang Wan was propped up in bed reading a pregnancy and parenting book. They say the first child is raised by the book, and that couldn’t be truer.

"Auntie, your phone vibrated several times just now. I think someone’s looking for you."

"Is that so?" Shen Shuci picked up her phone and saw the message alert, her heart suddenly racing.

"Who’s trying to reach you so late at night?" Tang Wan, pen in hand, continued to scribble and highlight in her book.

"A colleague."

"I was worried you’d need time to adjust after returning to the country, but it looks like you get along well with your colleagues. Contacting you at this hour, it surely can’t be about work," Tang Wan said distractedly, her mind on the book, as she turned her head to tease, "Is it a male colleague?"

"Just a regular friend."

"Regular friends can develop into something more, you know. You should be aware that I’ve always supported you dating," Tang Wan said with a smile, then returned her attention to her parenting book.

As Shen Shuci opened the message, it was from Huo Qinqi:

[I am on leave recently and won’t be leaving Beijing.]

Shen Shuci frowned. What did his staying in Beijing have to do with her? This out-of-the-blue message—what did it mean?

She simply replied with a question mark emoji and immediately received another message:

[I am free these days. When do you have time?]

Shen Shuci held her phone, unsure how to reply. In the adult’s world, his words implied:

I want to ask you out!

Tang Wan, noticing Shen Shuci’s troubled expression, couldn’t help but chuckle. "What’s this colleague saying to make you look so distressed?"

She pretended to lean over to get a glance, and as Shen Shuci, uncertain about how to reply, decided to send a random emoji to brush it off, Tang Wan leaned closer, causing her to panic and hurriedly turn off her phone’s screen.

"What are you afraid of? I won’t peek. If I really wanted to see, I could have while you were showering," Tang Wan said in jest, not really trying to invade her privacy.

When Shen Shuci unlocked her phone again, she was completely taken aback.

In her rush, she had accidentally sent an emoji...

The emoji depicted a little figure sassily shaking its hips, accompanied by the text:

[Feeling so high, life has reached its climax.]

Shen Shuci was on the verge of collapse—too late to retract the message!

This was an emoji Ruan Mengxi often used; there was a small group chat between them. Ruan Mengxi had lots of emojis, and she found them amusing, so she’d saved some. Occasionally, they’d have fun exchanging these images privately, but she never expected to mistakenly send one out like this.

Huo Qinqi rarely used internet slang, but upon seeing this message, he went to Baidu to look up its meaning:

The gist was that she was very happy and excited at the moment.

So she was looking forward to going out with him that much.