Chapter 1741: Childhood Side Story (17): Unexpected Encounter, Childhood Friend, Unbreakable Intimacy
Chapter 1741: Childhood Side Story (17): Unexpected Encounter, Childhood Friend, Unbreakable Intimacy
The day after the welcoming party was a Monday. Jiang Ruan was busy with classes. In a short while, it would be the Mid-Autumn National Day holiday, and if she pieced her leave together, she could have a break of more than ten days.
During class, quite a few people were pondering how to extend their holidays even further.
Some planned to travel, while others planned to go home, each with their own arrangements.
The past couple of days, she had been busy with classes, and there seemed to be no overlap with Yan Chi. But the day for Little Juanmao from the Qi Family to come was fast approaching. Jiang Ruan had no classes in the afternoon. After finishing her morning classes, she went to the cafeteria with her roommates to eat, hurriedly washed her face, changed clothes after that, and got ready to go out.
"Your childhood friend is coming, you seem so excited," her roommate teased.
"You two grew up together, is there really no possibility? He’s handsome and takes such good care of you."
Jiang Ruan smiled in response to her roommate’s teasing, "I’ve said it, we’re just friends."
"There’s no pure friendship between men and women."
"He’s like a brother to me."
"You two aren’t related by blood."
...
Jiang Ruan couldn’t be bothered to explain to them, so she hurried out the door, heading straight to the high-speed rail station.
**
It was September, a peak tourist season in Nanjiang, with many people around. There was a shuttle bus from the school gate directly to the high-speed rail station. However, it took stops along the way, causing her to arrive over ten minutes late at the agreed location.
From a distance, she could see a person carrying a black suitcase, arms crossed, seemingly a bit impatient.
Born with natural curls, not exaggerated, his hair curled slightly at the ends, dressed in a white T-shirt and light blue jeans, with an outerwear draped over his arm. He was tall with long legs and had a fair complexion. Calling him handsome wouldn’t be an overstatement.
He inherited the handsomeness of Qi Zeyan and the allure of Ruan Mengxi. He gave off the feeling of warm sunshine in the cold days of the winter month, warm and radiant. At this moment, his hands were crossed with a lazy demeanor, indicating he’d been waiting for a long time.
Many people said he didn’t look like the son of Qi Zeyan.
After all, some people liked to style their hair into a slicked hairstyle and dressed in a flamboyant style, while he was the embodiment of a sunny, graceful youth.
This kind of sunny natural curl easily attracts favor from others.
A gentle look that made one feel like patting his head.
He was also exceptionally good in academics, quite different from Qi Zeyan. The only similar thing between this father and son seemed to be that...
They both loved collecting shoes.
"Sorry, there was a traffic jam!" Jiang Ruan apologized with a smile.
He didn’t respond and simply lifted his foot to walk towards the taxi stand. Jiang Ruan raised her eyebrows and resignedly carried his suitcase, "I really was stuck in traffic."
He seemed reluctant to talk to her, so she gritted her teeth and said, "Qi Lie!"
Qi Lie turned his head to look at her, turned around, and picked up his suitcase, "When have you ever picked me up on time? With your way, if you ever find a boyfriend, it might not last long."
"If he was my boyfriend, he would be more than willing to wait for me."
"Then not only does he have bad sight, but also poor judgment."
"You..."
"Hurry up and get a taxi to the hotel; it’s really scorching hot here."
Jiang Ruan bit her lip since having no excuse for being late.
The name Qi Lie was given by the old master of the Qi family, continuing from Qi Zeyan’s name. "Yan" means water, while "Lie" implies clarity and purity in water.
The old master hoped he would become Qi Family’s...
A refreshing existence!
Considering that his father was like murky water!
Under the old master’s personal guidance, Qi Lie didn’t disappoint and worked very hard.
The old master even said that Qi Zeyan’s biggest contribution was having such an accomplished great-grandson and adorable great-granddaughter, almost annoying Qi Zeyan to death.
**
Although Qi Lie said Jiang Ruan should cover all expenses for their stay, he had actually booked the hotel long ago, right near her school. After dropping off their luggage at the hotel, the two headed downtown.
"What are we eating tonight?" Qi Lie had been to Nanjiang a few times and had probably tried all the good things here.
"I found a really great restaurant. I’ll take you there tonight."
"As long as you’re treating."
They had been close since childhood. Qi Lie had a younger sister, about the same age as Jiang Ruan, and the three of them loved playing together since childhood. Their families even joked about arranging a child marriage for the two.
They also joked that Qi Lie and Jiang Ruan even had names that sounded like a couple’s.
None of them took the adults’ jokes seriously. Maybe they were too familiar, but there really weren’t any romantic feelings, just good relations that were basically the same as a sibling relationship.
Growing up together, there were bound to be squabbles, and the two had gotten into fights.
Besides...
Jiang Ruan still remembered that when they were young, Qi Lie tricked her into believing that having burdock burrs in her hair would look beautiful. But those burrs were spiky all over, and getting them in her hair made them very difficult to remove. Si Qingxiao directly said that if they couldn’t get them out, she’d have to cut some hair. Upon hearing about having her hair cut, Jiang Ruan cried almost to the point of fainting.