Master’s a Byoukidere and Needs Pampering! - Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Rounding off to a Date (Part 2)

It was almost 8 pm by the time Zhou Xufang reached home, meaning there was no point in setting up her stall at the night market under Bayi Bridge.

“You’ve dyed your hair,” Shuang Jiang noticed immediately after she entered the room.

“Yep.”

“Looks really nice.”

Zhou Xufang self-consciously ran her fingers through her hair. “I’ll wash it off later.” She had a special job that required her to appear as inconspicuous as possible in order to minimize the chances of being recognized.

It would be nice if Jiang Zhi got his hair dyed. No doubt, he would stand out even more. In fact, Zhou Xufang thought that he would be prettier than the diamond gems found on her marshmallow box.

A new line of words came rolling out at the bottom of the computer screen. “We no longer need to pay compensation for the botched mission. It was the other party who had breached the contract first.”

“Have you found out who this person was?” Zhou Xufang asked as she playfully shook the pink bunny slipper that was hanging on her foot. It wasn’t even a few seconds later that her mind had wandered off someplace else.

‘If Jiang Zhi gets his hair dyed, he’d be extra-extra handsome, I think…’

Seeing the absent-minded look on Xufang’s face, Shuang Jiang started communicating through an artificially-synthesized voice instead of typing on her keyboard. “I’ve done my investigation which led me to a man called Jin Song. All relevant information on this man should already be in your inbox.”

Zhou Xufang opened up the inbox on her second computer.

“Those men who interfered with our mission last night are also professional runners like you and I. They’ve made quite a name for themselves in the industry and are led by a man called Brother Qin. These runners operate under a company-like structure, so their logistics and confidentiality are kept to the highest standard. For now, I cannot infiltrate into their client database. Whether or not their client was indeed Jin Song, I cannot say for sure.”

The name of the company was called F.O.R. and it hadn’t even been 6 months since its establishment. In such a short amount of time, they were able to climb the ranks so drastically. Of course, this was owed to their ability to accept all types of requests as long as the price was right, which was a stark contrast to how Zhou Xufang worked.

Zhou Xufang knew a bit about them especially since they were business rivals.

“Did this Jin Song person harbor any grudges against Jiang Zhi?” asked Zhou Xufang.

“They were originally collaborating for a film but for some reason, talks between them broke down and the plan was scrapped.” The robotic voice stopped there. A line of extra-large words in bold then appeared on Zhou Xufang’s screen.

“FYI, JIN SONG LIKES MEN. ESPECIALLY BEAUTIFUL MEN.”

No wonder.

Jiang Zhi was precisely that. A man who belonged in the top 0.01% in terms of his beauty.

Speaking of Jiang Zhi, Zhou Xufang felt a little disheartened. “Jiang Zhi has started acting suspiciously around me.” She didn’t want to move away. If it was her from before, she’d pick someplace far far away from here to settle down. However, things were different now. If she chose to go that route, she would never be able to gaze upon Jiang Zhi’s perfect face ever again in her lifetime.

The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she felt. Clutching her head, she was so engrossed in her thoughts that she momentarily lost touch with Shuang Jiang.

“Did you expose anything about your identity to him?” Shuang Jiang questioned.

“I don’t know,” Zhou Xufang replied, adding, “Jiang Zhi’s really smart.” She had deliberately altered her voice and tried not to make eye contact with him, but it seemed that it wasn’t enough to hide her identity from the man.

She continued to hang her head in silence, the gunmetal blue hair of hers sagging downward from the pull of gravity, making her appear like an utterly defeated quail chick.

Shuang Jiang tried her best to cheer her up. “Ah Fang, you’re plenty smart yourself too.” That being said, her above-average IQ simply could not make up for her severely low EQ.

Zhou Xufang went into deep thought. Just what could she do to shake of Jiang Zhi’s suspicion!?

Ding!

Glancing over, she saw that it was a message from the boss of the porridge shop she worked at. She was asking if Zhou Xufang could help out with delivery tonight since they were pretty understaffed today.

It was a misty night and when combined with a heavy downpour, traffic would slow down almost to a complete halt. This meant that the number of delivery riders out working tonight would drop significantly.

Zhou Xufang typed out her reply to the boss: [Okay.]

After that was done, she contemplated for a while before deciding to send a smiley face over to Jiang Zhi.

Jiang Zhi: [.]

Jiang Zhi had picked up her habit of sending a full stop at the end of their conversation.

One letter at a time, she slowly typed out: [Are you hungry?]

The “typing” icon appeared at the top of her chat log, but Jiang Zhi’s message did not come through even after waiting for an eternity.

‘Hm, I must’ve asked an extremely weird question.’

Zhou Xufang rephrased her question and sent it to Jiang Zhi for the second time: [I’m out doing deliveries. Are you hungry?]

She placed her phone on the table. This way, it freed up both of her hands so she could type a bit faster. Zhou Xufang proceeded to send yet another text.

[I appreciate your gesture of kindness for offering the job to me today. I’d like to thank you.] After explaining her motive, she asked for the third time. [Are you hungry?]

This time, Jiang Zhi’s reply came immediately: [Yes.]

The corner of Zhou Xufang’s mouth curled up slightly. She wasn’t used to smiling, so it looked a little awkward. Still, she felt giddy inside after seeing Jiang Zhi’s reply. [Then, can I buy you some porridge for tonight?]

‘Is she asking me out on a date?’

Jiang Zhi’s palm started sweating profusely, causing him to almost lose his grip on his phone.

He picked up his coat and rose from his couch. [Where are you now? I’m coming over.]

[It’s pouring outside. I’ve ordered takeout and will send it over.] She didn’t forget to add: [I’ve already asked Ah Wan about your address.]

‘Takeout…’

‘Honestly, can she not pick a worse location for our first date? Oh right, she’s broke… fine, takeout it is.’

Jiang Zhi walked to his front door and started putting on his shoes after sending a reply: [No need to send it over. I’ll come to the shop myself.]

Xufang: [No. It’s freezing outside. Your body is weak. Don’t come out.]

How thoughtful of her.

Jiang Zhi kicked the shoes off his feet. He could no longer suppress his smile.

Jiang Zhi: [Fine.]

Xufang: [.]

Jiang Zhi: [Hurry up then.]

Xufang: [.]

Jiang Zhi: [I’m hungry]

Xufang: [.]