Shu Er thought the male protagonist was truly a tsundere.
He said, “Let’s talk about this later.” but his actions were quite honest, running all over town to find her the Green Tongue ice cream that had long been discontinued. Ning Meng had told her earlier that Green Tongue had stopped being produced nearly a year ago, and the one she held in her hand had a production date from a year ago, likely part of the last batch the factory ever made.
It probably wasn’t easy for Huo Chao to find this ice cream. No wonder he brought out his sports car today. She had known him for so long and had only ever seen him ride a bicycle—she had never once seen him drive a car.
With a rip, Shu Er tore open the Green Tongue’s packaging. A strong apple scent immediately hit her nose.
Shu Er’s eyes curved happily. She had been thinking about this icy green apple smell for so long!
Huo Chao also caught a whiff of the apple scent. While driving, he glanced at the Green Tongue in Shu Er’s hand. He sighed.
No wonder that factory went out of business. Why didn’t they make yellow tongue, red tongue, or blue tongue? Why did they insist on making green ones?
Sure, seeing a fresh green color in the middle of summer might make people feel refreshed, but the longer he looked at it, the more uncomfortable it made him feel.
Luckily, it was discontinued. From now on, aside from those who make it themselves, this thing would never be seen on the streets again.
Good riddance.
On the other side, Shu Rou stood in shock, watching as Shu Er got into Huo Chao’s car and sped off, leaving only a trail of exhaust behind.
Although Xiao Fen had already told her that her second sister was the girl from No. 1 Middle School who was in the limelight recently, Shu Rou was unwilling to believe it without seeing it for herself. Now that she had, she had no choice but to believe it.
How could her second sister, who grew up in the countryside, be so lucky!
She motioned to Xiao Fen, “Come on, let’s go into the store and check things out.”
Xiao Fen had the same thought. It felt like there was some juicy gossip coming.
When they arrived at the store, Ning Meng still looked bewildered, not quite understanding what had just happened. The Green Tongue was ready, but the person who wanted to eat it had been taken away.
She muttered to Jiang Xici, who was standing beside her, “God of learning, is there a refrigerator here where we can store the ice cream you made?”
Jiang Xici paused for two seconds before answering, “There is.”
Ning Meng let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good. Then put it in the refrigerator, and wait for Little Ear to come over and eat it when she’s free.”
Jiang Xici lowered his eyes, staring at the ice cream in his hand, and remained silent for a long time.
He thought to himself, she probably didn’t need this ice cream anymore.
The older employee who had teased Jiang Xici earlier came over and patted him on the shoulder. “Since you’re done, head home and rest early. I’ll take care of things here. You’re always busy with both work and school, so make sure to take care of yourself.”
Jiang Xici came back to his senses. “Thanks, Brother Zhang.”
“No need to be so polite.”
As Jiang Xici took off his apron and prepared to leave, Brother Zhang added a reminder, “Xiao Jiang, good things come to those who are quick. If you’re too slow, you’ll miss out.”
Jiang Xici lowered his long curled eyelashes. He wanted to say that he and Shu Er had nothing to do with each other and that he had no feelings for her.
But in the end, he remained silent.
He felt that he and she were never a good match, so there was no point in discussing whether to act quickly or slowly. He hadn’t really thought about it at all.
At this moment, Shu Rou took a few steps forward and took the initiative to say hello, “You two finished?”
Jiang Xici wasn’t much of a talker, and he wasn’t skilled at interacting with girls, so when he heard Shu Rou’s question, he merely nodded politely and headed toward the door without saying a word.
Ning Meng, also uncomfortable with overly friendly strangers, quickly followed Jiang Xici out.
Watching the two of them leave, Shu Rou clicked her tongue in annoyance.
What were they acting so arrogant for?
She had originally wanted to ask them about Shu Er, but since there wasn’t a chance now, she would just have to wait for the next opportunity.
Meanwhile, Shu Er was happily savoring the last bite of her Green Tongue. She looked at Huo Chao with wide eyes, “Brother, are there any more?”
She hadn’t eaten it much since growing up, and now she wanted to indulge a bit.
Huo Chao lied calmly, “No more.”
Earlier, he had found a wholesaler who had gone out of business. The owner had switched to a different line of work, and the remaining unsold popsicles had been saved for his own children to enjoy slowly. He just so happened to still have a full box of unopened green tongues, which Huo Chao had bought in its entirety.
Since it wasn’t convenient to carry the whole box, he had only brought one with him.
Shu Er pouted a little, feeling slightly disappointed, but since there weren’t any more, there was nothing she could do about it. She would never have guessed that one day, Huo Chao would lie to her because of the color of an ice cream.
Suddenly, Shu Er remembered that Jiang Xici had made her a green tongue too! So she could still have more after all.
It was as if Huo Chao had guessed what Shu Er was thinking. He raised an eyebrow and added, “That thing is full of artificial coloring. You’re not allowed to eat it anymore.”
Shu Er held up one finger and pleaded, “I only had one. Just one.”
“One is enough to taste it.”
Shu Er stubbornly insisted, “But I really like it.”
“Then have a red tongue instead.”
Red tongue? What’s that?
How come she has never heard of it before? Could it be something exclusive to this fictional world?
Shu Er’s interest was piqued, and she blinked her big eyes, staring at Huo Chao. “Brother, what does red tongue taste like?”
Huo Chao had just made it up, so even he didn’t know what flavor it would be. But since it was his creation, it could be whatever he wanted it to be.
“What flavor do you like?”
Shu Er exclaimed, “I like strawberry flavor!”
Huo Chao’s tone was nonchalant, “Then it’s strawberry-flavored.”
Shu Er: …
That’s so arbitrary!
“But aside from strawberry flavor, I also like peach flavor!”
Huo Chao glanced at the road in the rearview mirror and said, “It has that too.”
“Then when can I try it?”
“It will start to get colder and rainy tomorrow, so wait until the weather gets warmer.”
Shu Er wrinkled her nose, reluctantly agreeing, “Fine.” She realized that her period might be coming soon, so cutting back on cold food was probably for the best.
After all, frozen treats like popsicles are notorious for being part of the “cramps-inducing combo,” and from a health perspective, she should limit them.
Shu Er asked again, “Brother, does the red tongue have no pigment?”
Huo Chao was already planning to have the housekeeper make the red tongue from scratch with the freshest and safest ingredients, ensuring no artificial coloring at all.
“Yeah.”
“Oh.”
After a while, they arrived at Shu Er’s residence.
Huo Chao’s flashy car attracted some attention as Shu Er got out at the gate of her complex. This neighborhood was a bit old, built thirty years ago, and luxury cars were a rare sight here.
Shu Er didn’t mind the curious stares. She waved at Huo Chao and said goodbye before heading inside.
Just then, Aunt Zhang happened to come back from buying vegetables. She saw the whole scene and exclaimed, “Wow, impressive!”
Since they lived across from each other, they shared the same elevator to go upstairs.
Aunt Zhang chatted away, “Xiao Shu Er, did you get a new boyfriend?”
Shu Er replied politely yet distantly, “He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Oh, so a new suitor?”
Shu Er liked the word ‘suitor’.
“No, it’s the same one as last time.”
“The last one? The one who rode the bicycle?”
Shu Er nodded.
Aunt Zhang looked her up and down with a new perspective. No doubt, Shu Er was quite beautiful, which explained why such high-quality suitors were drawn to her.
The Shu family is truly blessed.
After returning home, Shu Rou hadn’t come back yet, so Shu Er went to her room and scrolled through Weibo for a while. As she scrolled, a thought suddenly occurred to her—perhaps she could search for some information about the female protagonist, Shu Er, on Baidu.
Shu Er should be in the second year of high school at another top school in the city. Given her background, she likely participated in many dance competitions or other events, so it wouldn’t be hard to find information about her online.
The book mentioned that Shu Er’s father was in politics, and her mother was a strong, business-savvy woman—a power couple. She also had a younger brother who is five years younger than her. With such a strong family background, Shu Er was able to quietly send the novel’s female supporting character to the mountainous area to dig coal.
There were photos of Shu Er’s father and mother online, as they were public figures, and plenty of pictures were available, even from their youth.
Shu Er carefully examined the photos and realized that her current appearance was about 70% similar to the female protagonist’s mother when she was young. A 70% resemblance was enough.
So her earlier guess was probably correct.
Even though Shu Er was only 18 years old in her previous life, she had experienced quite a lot. She had seen, felt, and gone through many things. Truth be told, her family background didn’t matter much to her anymore.
A good family background is nice, but she wouldn’t be disappointed with an average one either.
To be honest, she didn’t really want to return to the Shu family. While the Shu parents weren’t perfect, they have never mistreated her. The atmosphere in the Shu family was relaxed, better than in most households.
Seventeen years was a long time. So much could change, and while blood ties were important, they weren’t always everything. In those seventeen years, Shu Er had left an indelible mark on the hearts of her parents. If she returned now, she would face many practical issues, such as Shu Er still being part of the family and the challenge of rebuilding emotional connections with her biological parents.
But if she didn’t go back, wouldn’t she be letting Shu Er off too easily?
So, if she really was the Shu family’s child, even if she didn’t want to, she would return.
At night, Shu Er had a habit of pestering Huo Chao before bed, making her presence known.
It was already Tuesday night, and in just over two days, it would be her birthday.
She needed to remind Huo Chao not to forget about the luxury yacht he promised her.
[Xiao Er: Brother, don’t forget what you promised me.]
It didn’t take long for Huo Chao to reply.
[Brother: Red tongue? Got it.]
Shu Er: …
What does that have to do with anything?
