Guo Ran reached into his pocket and pulled out two slips of paper. "I paid your Little Aunt's fine for her—two hundred. Then they docked two of my points, another two hundred. That's four hundred in total, hand it over. Whoa, we're even having Moutai today! This definitely wasn't prepared by that punk Qī Xīng. Brother He, you must have brought this, you shouldn't have spent so much."
"As long as everyone likes it. From what I gather, did you go on a blind date with Xifeng's little aunt today?"
"Don't even mention it. Let's just drink."
It seemed Guo Ran and Yang Tao already knew each other. I needed to step up my game; if the two of them ended up clicking, I'd be the one taking a massive loss.
After three rounds of drinks, the gathering broke up and everyone went home. The next day, He Wenjie woke up unusually early, took a cab to Yang Tao's building, bought two breakfast sets, and called Yang Tao. "Taozi, are you awake? Get dressed, I bought breakfast and I'm coming right up."
"You're downstairs? I just woke up."
"Then get ready and come over to my place to eat. I bought two portions."
"Okay."
Just as He Wenjie finished setting out the breakfast, Yang Tao walked in wearing loungewear. "Weren't we supposed to meet at IKEA? Why'd you make a special trip over here?"
He Wenjie glanced at Yang Tao. Naturally beautiful women were confident indeed; there wasn't a trace of makeup on her pretty face. Well, looking closely, there was even a bit of sleep in the corner of her eye. But that didn't matter—looks were everything.
Seeing He Wenjie staring straight at her, Yang Tao's cheeks turned slightly red, and she said, "Is there something on my face? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Um, is it possible I came a little too early? You haven't washed up yet, have you?"
Only then did Yang Tao seem to realize it. She quickly reached up to rub the corner of her eye and turned to go back and wash her face.
He Wenjie stepped forward to stop her, pressing her down into a chair. "It's fine, Taozi. A beauty of your level won't lose points over a tiny flaw like this. If you were too perfect, I'd actually be nervous sitting next to you."
"You certainly know how to talk. And I just noticed you've started calling me Taozi too."
"Oh? Who else calls you that besides me?"
"Lots of people. Good friends all call me that."
"That just means our relationship has reached the level of good friends. I had a sudden flash of inspiration when we were downstairs last time and started calling you that, and I just got used to it."
"Fine, I'll allow it for the sake of this breakfast."
"I'm honored. Here is your soy milk, Princess Taozi."
Chatting and laughing, the two of them quickly finished breakfast. Taozi said, "I won't help you clean up. I'll go back and get ready, and then we'll head out."
With that, Yang Tao stood up and left. Just as she opened the door to He Wenjie's apartment, she saw her mother, Ms. Xue Sumei, stepping out of the elevator.
Seeing Yang Tao walk out from across the hall in her pajamas, Xue Sumei was quite surprised. "Taozi? Am I losing my mind? Isn't your place right across the hall?"
Yang Tao instantly felt as if she had been caught in bed with someone, and said evasively, "Um, oh, right. There's a new neighbor across the hall, so I came over to take a look."
Xue Sumei gave Yang Tao a suspicious look and walked over as well. "Is that so? Well, then I'll take a look at your new neighbor too." With that, she made to push her way inside.
Yang Tao wanted to stop her, but it was clearly a wasted effort. She had no choice but to let Xue Sumei walk in.
He Wenjie was busy cleaning up the mess and, sensing someone walking up behind him, said without even turning his head, "Taozi, you got ready so fast! You didn't forget your keys, did you?"
Xue Sumei cleared her throat. He Wenjie turned around and froze for a second. "Hello, Auntie. My name is He Wenjie. You must be Taozi's mother."
Xue Sumei looked He Wenjie up and down. "The young man looks quite sharp. Let me guess, you're around one meter eighty?"
"One-eighty-three. You really have a good eye, Auntie."
"How old are you?"
Yang Tao still tried to interrupt their conversation. "Mom, why are you asking him all this? How impolite."
"It's fine, it's fine. Auntie, I'm thirty-two this year, originally from the Northeast, and currently living in Beijing. Before I quit, I worked in finance, and now I'm planning to open my own fitness club." Without even waiting for Xue Sumei to ask, He Wenjie spilled all his information at once. Meeting your prospective mother-in-law for the first time, you had to be proactive, right?
"Not bad, not bad. Every aspect matches our Taozi. What is your relationship?"
"I'm a newly moved-in neighbor and I'm not very familiar with the area yet. Today I wanted to ask Taozi to accompany me to the mall to buy some daily necessities."
"Asking our Taozi out shopping? Shopping is good, shopping is good. Young people need to interact more—how can you get any sparks if you don't hang out?"
"You're right, Auntie. We definitely need to interact more."
"Alright then, I won't disturb your shopping. Young man, when you have time, have Taozi bring you over to Auntie's place for dinner."
"Definitely, definitely. Thank you so much for your invitation, Auntie. I will definitely come by for a visit given the chance."
Seeing He Wenjie's attitude, Xue Sumei was very satisfied and left with a blushing Yang Tao.
What Xue Sumei and Yang Tao talked about when they got back, He Wenjie didn't know, but he was in a good mood. Running into Xue Sumei today could be considered an unexpected bonus.
Not long after, Xue Sumei came out of Yang Tao's apartment. He Wenjie, who had been keeping an eye on the situation, hurriedly stepped outside upon hearing the sound, insisting on seeing Xue Sumei downstairs.
In the elevator, Xue Sumei asked, "He..."
"He Wenjie, Auntie. Just call me Wenjie."
"Right, Wenjie. Tell Auntie the truth, do you like our Taozi?"
"I have a very favorable impression of Taozi. To be honest with you, Auntie, renting a place here was partly driven by the thought of having more contact with Taozi."
"How did the two of you meet?"
"I haven't been in Beijing for long, and I was staying at Taozi's hotel all that time. That's how we met."
"Staying at a hotel the whole time? That must have been pretty expensive."
"It's alright, it's all fate. If I hadn't stayed at Taozi's hotel, I wouldn't have had the chance to meet her, right?"
"You're a very down-to-earth young man, I like that. Taozi has quite a few suitors, so you'll have to work hard. But I like you, Auntie supports you."
"Thank you, Auntie. I'll work hard and strive to come visit soon."
After sending Xue Sumei off, He Wenjie waited for almost an hour before Yang Tao finally finished getting ready. "I saw you go downstairs with my mom. What did you two talk about?"
"Nothing much, I was just seeing Auntie off."
He Wenjie took Yang Tao's car to IKEA, and the two of them began their day-long shopping trip. From furniture and bedding to small kitchen utensils, they strolled around, laughing and chatting just like a newlywed couple.
At six in the evening, He Wenjie and Yang Tao collapsed onto the newly bought sofa, looking at the room filled to the brim with today's spoils, and instantly felt a sense of accomplishment.
Yang Tao: "I never expected us to buy so much stuff today."
"Yeah, it's been so long since I felt a moment this cozy. I really hope time could just freeze at this exact second."
"He Wenjie, you're so capable, why don't you have a girlfriend?"