Shi Hai had no intention of playing along with this senior's prank. He discreetly pulled his hand away and took a big step back to create distance.
"What's with saying 'long time no see'? We just met at noon, didn't we?"
"How cold. Am I not affectionate enough towards you?"
When have you ever been affectionate...
Seeing Tian Shui trying to cling to him again, Shi Hai directly raised a hand to stop her.
"Senior, please don't. I'm a very shy person."
Shy, my foot! ×2
At this moment, Tian Shui and Jian Sichun's thoughts were in sync.
Even their disdainful looks came at the same time.
Shi Hai shrugged, spread his hands, and looked very innocent.
This is an honest statement from the bottom of my heart. As a poor guy who has been single since birth, how am I not shy?
But Tian Shui knew this man's defenses were strong. Being too intimate would only make him more wary, but doing nothing would make him forget her.
He's a very troublesome man.
They say a girl pursuing a guy is like a thin veil, but this doesn't apply to Shi Hai at all.
Tian Shui almost couldn't maintain her calm smile as she thought about the difficult process of winning this man's heart.
Since she couldn't hold his arm, she switched tactics. Tian Shui leaned her elbow on his shoulder, closing the distance again, and teased him casually.
"I didn't expect you to hook up with a new girl in just a few hours."
Actually, I'm the one being hooked...
Shi Hai didn't want to explain much and just stated the facts while lowering his shoulder a bit.
"She had something to discuss with me, and I have something to discuss with you, Senior, so we came here together."
"Oh? You have something to discuss with me? What is it?"
Feigning ignorance.
Shi Hai felt it was better to be direct, but Tian Shui didn't give him the chance, continuing to say, "I'm free tonight."
This was a blatant hint.
Or maybe she's just teasing me because Jian Sichun is here?
In any case, Shi Hai had no intention of responding directly.
However, Jian Sichun took the bait, forcefully stepping between them and spreading her arms to separate them.
"Senior! You're standing too close!"
"Oh, dear junior, what is your relationship with him?"
"Uh... we're friends!"
Jian Sichun secretly added "boyfriend and girlfriend" in her heart.
Tian Shui squinted her eyes, looked Jian Sichun up and down, then smiled "kindly."
"If I'm not mistaken, you're Jian Sichun, right?"
"Ah?! Senior, you know me?"
Jian Sichun never expected this prominent figure to know her.
In her memory, they shouldn't have met. How did she know her name? Tian Shui tilted her head, pushed her hair behind her ear, and elegantly responded with a deliberate move to show off her femininity.
"Hehe, after all, you're quite famous for being cute at school. Of course, I know you well."
This sentence seemed flattering but actually meant "I know you well," putting on a high-and-mighty attitude.
This made Jian Sichun feel she was already at a disadvantage.
Girl, muster your courage! You can't show weakness here! So what if she's Tian Shui?
Jian Sichun, while encouraging herself, quickly thought about how to respond.
Soon, she came up with a countermeasure. She shrank her shoulders, smiled timidly, and responded shyly.
"Thank you, Senior, for the compliment... But I'm far from your level. Someone as sexy and beautiful as you must have many men around you."
This response seemed to show weakness but actually implied, "You're the sexy type, I'm the cute type. We can't be compared," and also subtly suggested her muddy relationships with many men.
One round over, neither side backed down.
Then, the second round, initiated by Jian Sichun.
"Senior, I think someone as noble as you should be more reserved..."
Translated, it means, "You slut," a direct attack.
"Hehe, true, being too easy makes men get complacent."
Tian Shui retorted with "you're just an easy catch."
"By the way, what's your relationship with Shi Hai, Senior?" (Who are you to him?)
"Oh, can't you tell?" (What's it to you?) The conversation sparked, filled with electricity and increasingly tense.
And Shi Hai?
He had no idea what was happening.
This man couldn't even read the atmosphere, let alone understand the high-level duel between women.
He even thought these two seemed to get along well, making him feel out of place.
But Shi Hai didn't want to stand there like an idiot listening to their chatter, so he stepped in.
"Um, can you two chat later?"
Though Shi Hai didn't understand, his words successfully stopped them, calming them down.
Continuing to be confrontational wouldn't be meaningful.
Seeing both of them looking at him, Shi Hai brought the topic back to the love letter.
"Senior, stop pretending. You took the letter, right?"
"Hmm? What letter?"
Tian Shui initially thought the love letter was from Jian Sichun, but seeing her clueless expression, she ruled that out.
Since that was the case, Tian Shui stopped pretending and took out the letter from behind her.
She held it between two fingers and waved it in front of Shi Hai.
"Yo, you care so much about this love letter?"
"Love letter?!"
Jian Sichun was genuinely shocked.
It was already troubling enough that Tian Shui was inexplicably seducing her man, but now there was someone else stabbing her in the back with a love letter?
When did Shi Hai become so sought after?
Jian Sichun couldn't understand but hurriedly asked.
"You got a love letter?! Who sent it?"
"I don't know... I was just about to find out."
Shi Hai took the letter from Tian Shui and asked her.
"Senior, you haven't read it, right?"
"I wouldn't stoop to the low act of 'peeking.' That's why I'm here waiting for you to retrieve it, isn't it?"
"True."
If you weren't going to read it, why take it? Just give it back then... He held back his complaint.
But Shi Hai still believed her, as the letter indeed showed no signs of being opened.
Actually, Tian Shui took the letter out of instinct.
Not reading it was a rational restraint because she knew Shi Hai hated such invasions of privacy.
So even though she was curious about the contents and the sender, she held back.
After all, angering him over a small matter would be counterproductive.
Tian Shui understood that their relationship was not yet strong enough for him to forgive her overstepping.
Shi Hai was about to move to a corner to read the letter.
"I'll just go over there and check..."
But before he could take a step, he was held down on both shoulders by the two girls.
"Read it here."
"Read it right here!"
"..."
Seeing their "kind" smiles, Shi Hai broke out in a cold sweat.
This time, he could clearly feel their unyielding determination.
Thinking, "It's no big deal, just a bit embarrassing at most," Shi Hai decided to read the letter on the spot.
Suddenly, the room fell silent, with only the sound of Shi Hai opening the envelope.
Under their watchful eyes, even Shi Hai became nervous.
And he could distinctly feel their grip on his shoulders tightening, their fingers digging into his collarbone, practically "holding" him.
Under the inexplicable pressure, Shi Hai swallowed and unfolded the letter.
The letter contained no words of affection, no time or place for a meeting, not even a signature.
There was only a cryptic warning.
"Do not get involved with any woman who shows obvious interest in you."
Shi Hai fell silent.
Tian Shui and Jian Sichun's expressions changed dramatically.
<+>
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