Free Web NovelChapter 2105: Chapter 2306: Who Is Liang Xiaohan’s Cousin???
Seeing Zhang Danlin asking him, Hao Jian first paused in surprise, then touched his head and said, "It’s nothing, just suddenly saw a mouse scurrying out and running into that house over there, so I went over to block it."
Upon hearing the word "mouse," Zhang Danlin’s expression changed slightly. Most girls are terrified of mice, which are fluffy and scary little creatures that can be cute but also frightening. Zhang Danlin, as a girl, is no exception. Even though she usually acts carefree, she still can’t shake her girlish sentiments.
Noting Zhang Danlin’s change in expression, Hao Jian felt a moment of joy in his heart and continued, "Lately, this place has been overrun by mice. One or two appear from time to time, and I don’t know where their nest is. You kill one, and another pops up—it’s an endless mouse infestation. I’m definitely going to talk to the landlord about this when he gets back this afternoon. Otherwise, living with mice day in, day out makes me feel so uneasy."
Zhang Danlin, hearing about the serious mouse problem here, instinctively looked down and scanned the area. If a mouse suddenly appeared and ran from her side, she would definitely be scared.
Seeing Zhang Danlin’s unnatural demeanor, Hao Jian chuckled to himself, believing she bought into his beautiful lie. He secretly praised his own quick wit—if he hadn’t reacted quickly to get Liang Xiaohan out the door, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
With that thought, a smile appeared on his face, and he said to Zhang Danlin, "Come on, I’m hungry. Let’s eat first, we can talk after."
Zhang Danlin nodded and agreed. She wasn’t resistant to being here, but since Hao Jian mentioned the mouse problem, she felt a sense of fear, worried a mouse might suddenly jump out, which would be terrifying for her. So, leaving here felt like a relief.
The two quickly went out, and Hao Jian reached out and closed the door. Inside the elevator, he sent Liang Xiaohan a message saying he had already left. Liang Xiaohan replied with a big knife emoji. He saw it, didn’t reply, and locked his phone.
After that, he took Zhang Danlin downstairs to a nearby restaurant, ordered a few dishes, and they started eating.
While eating, Zhang Danlin seemed preoccupied, distracted while eating, with her eyes and mind wandering elsewhere. Seeing this, Hao Jian tapped her head with his chopsticks and said, "Eating without focus, there’s something wrong with your head. What are you thinking about? Don’t even find your food tasty."
Though Hao Jian didn’t hit hard, it startled Zhang Danlin out of her daydream. She touched the spot where he had tapped, looked at him with a face of grievance, and said, "That didn’t hurt! I wasn’t thinking about anything."
"It didn’t hurt, huh." Since he wasn’t the one being hit,, of course it wouldn’t hurt. He added, "You claim you weren’t thinking about anything, but look at how you were just now, so out of it."
Maybe because she was called out, Zhang Danlin felt a bit embarrassed and didn’t reply to Hao Jian. Her cheeks reddened, and she lowered her head, focusing on getting more food into her bowl and eating.
Seeing her like this made Hao Jian even more amused, and he suppressed his laughter. His demeanor made Zhang Danlin even shyer. However, she isn’t excessively shy or introverted. After being shy for a moment, she suddenly looked up and stared seriously at Hao Jian.
"Hao Jian, what’s the deal with Liang Xiaohan’s cousin?" Zhang Danlin suddenly asked, nearly making Hao Jian spit out his food in surprise.
Hao Jian looked at her in shock. Last time she asked, he had dodged the question, not expecting she’d bring it up again now. He thought she had forgotten. But it seems she hadn’t forgotten at all, and her contemplative stance earlier was clearly about this.
Her mind had been wrestling with whether to admit her curiosity. The answer was obvious. After struggling with the decision internally for a long time, she finally decided to ask, leading to this scene.
Hao Jian stared at her blankly, unsure how to respond. Telling the truth would reveal his identity, which was unacceptable, and while he’s skilled at lying, her unexpected question left his brain in a whirl; he couldn’t come up with a proper story.
He was dumbfounded, staring blankly at Zhang Danlin, unable to speak, his hand holding the chopsticks frozen, as if he was suddenly immobilized.
Seeing this, Zhang Danlin suddenly realized something, then looked down somewhat disappointed, saying, "Never mind, if you don’t want to talk about it, just forget it. Pretend I never asked."
After speaking, she focused on eating her meal seriously. From Hao Jian’s reaction to her question, she realized Liang Xiaohan wasn’t speaking without cause—something must be going on. Otherwise, Hao Jian wouldn’t react this way; if there was nothing, he’d appear calm.
She’s not a fool. Seeing Hao Jian’s reaction, she could guess some things and knew he wouldn’t talk. So instead of sitting awkwardly, it was better not to ask.
As a result of the sudden topic change, they had nothing more to say, both bowing their heads to eat without raising them until the meal was finished, and only then did they slowly look up.
"Well, I’ve got something to do, so I’ll head back first. Let’s talk about the rest over the phone," Zhang Danlin suddenly suggested.
Hao Jian nodded and said, "Alright, you head back first then. See you on Monday."
Zhang Danlin responded with an "Mm," and said, "See you on Monday."
Then she hastily packed her things into her bag and hurried off. It was obvious she was very flustered now, and equally anxious. Ever since she accidentally asked that question, she found it hard to face Hao Jian properly, feeling that even making eye contact with him was extremely awkward.
She walked quickly, exiting the restaurant in no time, and then hailed a cab by the roadside, disappearing from Hao Jian’s sight. He knew, of course, that Zhang Danlin had been living alone lately, with no one at home, and no one messaging or calling her just now, so how could there suddenly be something up?
It was obvious that because of that question, she felt uncomfortable staying with him any longer, and as the atmosphere was a bit awkward, she hurriedly found an excuse to leave. Watching where she disappeared into the distance, Hao Jian helplessly shook his head, sighed, and thought to himself, Oh Liang Xiaohan, you fancy yourself a smart girl, but how could you make such a huge blunder at a time like this?
With a face full of resignation, he went to pay for the meal and then slowly made his way home. Using his key to open the door, he found Liang Xiaohan sitting on the sofa with her arms crossed, looking as if she had been waiting for him for a long time.
"Does it take that long to have a meal? What else did you do?" Liang Xiaohan asked, arms crossed, with a questioning look on her face.
Hao Jian instinctively glanced at his watch; only an hour had passed. Isn’t it normal for a meal to take an hour? Including the walking time and waiting for the meal to be served, it takes time as well. He rolled his eyes at Liang Xiaohan, then poured himself a glass of water and took a sip, saying, "It’s all because you told her things you shouldn’t have."
Liang Xiaohan looked at him with a questioning face and said, "What did I say that I shouldn’t have?"
Hao Jian replied directly, "Why did you tell her about your cousin’s thing yesterday? It made her come to ask me, and I didn’t know how to answer."
Liang Xiaohan immediately laughed and said, "Then just tell her the truth, what are you afraid of?"
Upon seeing Liang Xiaohan’s gleeful expression, Hao Jian felt an urge to hit her, rolling his eyes again and saying, "Tell her? Why don’t you go and tell her yourself!"
Liang Xiaohan had initially been serious and questioning, but after hearing him say that, she couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Seeing her laugh, Hao Jian said, "Laugh! Keep laughing!"
Liang Xiaohan tried several times to hold back her laughter, but the more she tried, the more she wanted to laugh, so she simply laughed out loud. But when Hao Jian reproached her, she immediately got up and went back to the bedroom, laughing loudly as she closed the door, making Hao Jian look rather annoyed.
With a loud "bang!", Liang Xiaohan shut the door, but her laughter could still be heard from inside from time to time. She didn’t even know why she found it so funny, just seeing Hao Jian’s suffering expression made her want to laugh uncontrollably.
Hao Jian shook his head helplessly.
A "ding!" rang out; at that moment, the phone buzzed, and when he checked it, it was a message from Zhang Danlin.
"I’m home," Zhang Danlin said.
Checking the time, it had been about twenty minutes since Zhang Danlin got into the car, and it was about the time she should get home.
Hao Jian opened the chat window and replied, "Got it. You got up pretty early today. Get some rest; there’s class again tomorrow."
Initially, he was about to press send, but halfway through, he retracted his hand.
Deleting the message, he only typed a single character, "Mm," and sent it.
