When Huo Chao left refreshed, and Shu Er returned to the classroom with her avocado-colored nails, she still couldn’t figure out if Huo Chao was jealous or simply upset about her pranking him.
It was mainly that sentence, “It suits me right now,” which made her overthink.
Green, suitable for him now? Did he mean that he had also been “cheated on”? And by her?
If that was the case, Shu Er could only sigh. They were the male protagonist and the female supporting character—why hurt each other?
After sitting down, Shu Er thought carefully. She guessed that the male protagonist might be thinking the same as her. Huo Chao, being so proud, would also worry about people misunderstanding that he had been a third party in someone’s relationship.
With that in mind, it made sense that he would say something so easily misunderstood.
As soon as Shu Er sat back down, Jiang Xici pushed his notebook toward her.
“I’ve carefully organized these notes…” Just then, Jiang Xici noticed Shu Er’s hands. He remembered that when she had left earlier, her nails were clean and neatly trimmed, with cute and pinkish little crescent moons visible.
But now, both of her hands were covered in grass-green nail polish. The color was lovely, but the application was imperfect, with some polish even smeared on her fingers.
Jiang Xici didn’t say much. He pulled a few tissues from his drawer, handed them to Shu Er, and said softly, “You should clean that up.”
Shu Er found him thoughtful and considerate. She thanked him and used the tissues to wipe off the nail polish that Huo Chao had accidentally smeared earlier.
In the past few days, Shu Er’s father and mother had been out of the city. Huo Chao found out that her mother would be returning to Beijing on Tuesday night.
Shu Er felt that Huo Chao had put in a lot of effort to help her return to the Shu family, so she decided to give him a gift as a reward.
But what to give was the question.
Something too expensive—she couldn’t afford it.
Something too cheap—it would be meaningless.
After all, she had troubled him for quite some time. If it were anyone else, they probably wouldn’t have tolerated her “princess syndrome” for so long.
With this in mind, Shu Er decided to personally choose a nice gift for him.
The original Shu Er used to live with her grandmother, and the two depended on each other a lot. Their bond was strong. Perhaps fearing that Shu Er wouldn’t adjust to life back in the big city, her grandmother gave her all of her savings before she passed away.
Her grandmother wasn’t wealthy, and her medical treatments had already taken up a lot of funds. There wasn’t much left, only around ten thousand yuan.
But this was more than enough for Shu Er to buy a decent gift.
After school on Monday, Shu Er, carrying her bank card, went alone to a pet shop.
Initially, she thought about buying Huo Chao a tortoise, a rabbit, or some other pet. But when she got to the pet shop and saw all the different kinds of dogs and cats, she was spoiled for choice.
That French bulldog is cute, and so is that British Shorthair.
That Samoyed is adorable, and so is that Ragdoll.
That Erha¹ looks silly, and so is that silly cat.
Shu Er rubbed her bank card, unable to make a decision. She wanted them all.
Just when she was struggling to decide which little cutie to buy as a gift for Huo Chao, she suddenly noticed a pig.
She pointed at the pig and asked, “What’s that?”
The enthusiastic clerk explained, “That’s a fragrant pig.” She picked up some fruit and said, “You can feed her if you’d like.”
Shu Er picked up a slice of melon and held it to the pig’s mouth.
The small fragrant pig happily crunched away, eating with great enthusiasm.
In her past life, Shu Er had raised a German Shepherd and a British Shorthair, but never a miniature pig. Although this time she was buying a pet as a gift, giving someone a miniature pig seemed quite unique.
Shu Er asked about the price, and it wasn’t expensive—only around 1,000 yuan. Without hesitation, she bought it and named the pig “Chao Chao.”
As she held Chao Chao, Shu Er thought that Huo Chao might, maybe, probably like this gift.
Even if he didn’t, he’d have to!
After all, it was a heartfelt gift from her!
Shu Er had never been to Huo Chao’s place before, so this was her first time taking the bus to find him. She had specially asked Xu Chen for Huo Chao’s address; Xu Chen, with his honest personality, would answer any question she asked.
By the time Shu Er arrived near Huo Chao’s house, it was almost 8 o’clock. She hadn’t had dinner yet and her stomach was growling with hunger.
Huo Chao’s neighborhood is completely different from hers. Her place is an old residential area where everyone could enter, but at Huo Chao’s, you needed a resident’s access card to get in.
Not knowing which building Huo Chao lived in, Shu Er obediently stood at the entrance, holding the piglet, Chao Chao, and sent Huo Chao a message on WeChat, asking him to come pick her up.
As soon as Shu Er saw Huo Chao in the distance, she enthusiastically waved at him, holding the piglet in one arm. The piglet let out a gurgling grunt.
She lowered her hand and gently patted Chao Chao’s head, saying, “Be good. With Huo Chao, you’ll live a life of luxury.”
When Huo Chao first heard that Shu Er had come to see him, he thought she might have something important to discuss. But as he approached and saw the little fragrant pig in her arms, he had a bad feeling.
What is the purpose of this pig?
As Shu Er saw Huo Chao coming closer, she walked toward him with Chao Chao in her arms.
Huo Chao instinctively took a few steps back.
Unaware of Huo Chao’s full-body resistance, Shu Er excitedly introduced, “Brother, this is the gift I’m giving you. I’ve already named her—she’s called Chao Chao.”
Huo Chao: …
At this point, Huo Chao was so worn out by Shu Er’s antics that he didn’t even have the energy to be angry.
He didn’t even bother to ask why the pig was named Chao Chao.
“Why are you giving me this?”
Shu Er bent slightly and sincerely said, “You’ve taken care of me so well these past few days. It’s just a small gift to show my gratitude. I hope you like it.”
Having seen Shu Er’s bratty behavior before, Huo Chao found her sudden use of such formal language quite jarring.
Shu Er patted Chao Chao’s head and enthusiastically continued, “This is a fragrant pig. I bathed her before coming, so she’s all clean now, and she’s had all her vaccinations.”
Huo Chao remained silent for nearly a minute before slowly saying, “Shu Er, I really must thank you.”
If one listened carefully, they could hear a hint of gritted teeth in his tone.
Shu Er smiled brightly. “No need to thank me, brother.”
Huo Chao: …
Shu Er blinked her beautiful eyes and eagerly asked, “Brother, do you like the gift?”
Huo Chao stared at her with a blank expression, giving a single, curt “mm.”
His face looked filled with bitterness, but deep down, he felt like he had been toyed with so much that, somehow, he found her wide-eyed smile a little cute.
When Huo Chao got home, the nanny happened to walk out of the kitchen, wiping her hands. She greeted him, “Second Master, there’s some fresh cantaloupe, would you like some… Oh my, whose piglet is this?”
Huo Chao, full of disdain, placed the piglet on the ground and dusted off his clothes. “She’s living here from now on.”
The nanny froze for a moment, then responded, “Ah, okay.”
After Huo Chao went to his room to change clothes, the nanny brought him a bowl of fresh fruit. The piglet followed behind her, trotting into his room happily.
Huo Chao lowered his gaze, staring expressionlessly at the little pig named Chao Chao, sitting at his feet.
Chao Chao’s eyes were fixed on something nearby.
Following the piglet’s gaze, Huo Chao glanced over at the fruit platter.
The platter was filled with various types of fruit.
Raising an eyebrow, Huo Chao asked, “You want some?”
The piglet let out a series of eager grunts, looking like it was absolutely desperate for a bite.
Huo Chao sighed, picked up a piece of cantaloupe using a small transparent fork, and held it near the piglet’s mouth.
Chao Chao excitedly rose up and chomped down on the fruit, chewing noisily and enjoying every bite.
Huo Chao let out a small laugh. “Didn’t expect you to be such a noisy eater. Did you pick that up from your first master?”
The little fragrant pig, who of course couldn’t answer, only hummed softly.
Huo Chao chuckled again. “Even that humming sounds like something you learned from her.”
He remembered how Shu Er would often hum and pout whenever her princess syndrome flared up. The little drama queen knew exactly how to act spoiled.
Chao Chao, clueless about human speech, naturally didn’t understand a thing Huo Chao said.
The piglet blinked her dark eyes, looking at him with a pleading expression, as if saying, “I want more.”
Huo Chao sighed.
How had it come to this—seeing a pig’s black eyes was now making him think of Shu Er’s bright, sparkling eyes, like juicy black grapes.
He really must be losing it.
The little fragrant pig, being well-behaved in its quest for food, placed her front paws on Huo Chao’s leg and tilted her head up.
Huo Chao pierced a grape and handed it to the little pig.
Once again, the piglet ate with visible delight.
Frowning slightly, Huo Chao asked, “You’ll eat anything, huh?”
Huo Chao took out his mobile phone and searched Baidu to see whether little fragrant pigs could eat fruits. He was worried that the pig might end up sick on its first day at his house because of his feeding.
If he actually killed the pig on its first day, Shu Er would throw a fit.
There were all kinds of answers online, but after skimming through the information, Huo Chao found that little fragrant pigs are not picky eaters. They could eat just about anything, so it was up to the owner to regulate their portions to avoid overfeeding.
Still, a pig is a pig, no matter how nice the name “fragrant pig” sounded. It would eat just about anything and enjoy it, but ideally, its diet should consist of vegetables like carrots and cucumbers. Fruits could also be part of its meals, so feeding Chao Chao fruits is fine.
Relieved with what he’d learned, Huo Chao gave Chao Chao another piece of cantaloupe.
The pig, busy enjoying its snack, remained well-behaved, munching away and not causing any trouble.
Huo Chao sighed. “You eat so well. Better than your previous owner.”
As for the previous owner, Shu Er wouldn’t touch anything too high in calories or too greasy.
She was picky, all for the sake of keeping her figure in shape.
Notes:
¹Erha – husky dog. ૮ ᴖﻌᴖა
