Chapter Thirty-Two: Refusal

  The knife blade knocks on the chopping board, and the rhythm emits a "dang dang" sound.

  Potatoes are first cut into slices and then cut into shreds.

  Simply stir-fried some potato shreds, An Yi carried the dishes to the dining hall.

  He picked up a steamed bun and put it in the small rice bowl under the table, An Yi was slightly stunned, shook his head with a bitter smile.

  The dog has been sent away for some time, but An Yi can't help feeling a bit unadapted.

  This feeling, when his parents had just passed away, An Yi had also experienced it before.

  In short, it's just instinctual to think there are other family members at home...

  Pinched his brow, An Yi hastily filled up his empty stomach.

  The mobile phone ringtone suddenly rang out, An Yi was stunned for a moment, and put down the bowl and chopsticks in his hand.

  An Yi's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he glanced at the incoming call display on his phone.

  A familiar number, and after a simple recollection, An Yi remembered that the owner of this number was a girl named Xiao Xiaoxiao.

  Thinking of that silly girl, a faint smile involuntarily floated onto An Yi's cheeks. But this faint smile didn't last long on An Yi's face...

  His eyelids drooped slightly, and An Yi's eyes flickered.

  As for that girl called Xiao Xiaoxiao, An Yi did not deny that he indeed had some good feelings towards her. However...

  Just like deliberately sending a dog away, when facing that eerie death game, An Yi felt that he was really not suitable for excessive 'contact' with others.

  Even... in An Yi's view, he didn't even have the qualifications to do so!

  What if one day I die, wouldn't that be a disaster for others?

  An Yi thought for a moment and was about to press the reject button on his phone.

  Just as his fingers were about to touch, An Yi hesitated for a moment.

  Ostrich-style evasion of responsibility, obvious procrastination and may not make the other party understand.

  After a moment of contemplation, An Yi walked into the kitchen and began to chop lightly on the cutting board with a knife.

  No ingredients in sight, the chef's knife was chopping out a rhythmic beat on the cutting board. At the same time, An Yi answered the phone.

  "Hello. Who is it?" An Yi had just picked up the phone and asked politely, accompanied by the sound of a knife chopping lightly, with a hint of impatience in his tone.

  "It's me, Xiao Xiaoxiao." The girl's voice on the phone was hesitant.

  "Oh. Anything?" An Yi lightly responded without stopping his actions.

  "Are you busy?" The girl's hesitant voice was tinged with a hint of apology.

  "An Yi said, pausing suddenly, and a brick head inexplicably appeared beside him, saying: "Don't mess around, it'll be ready soon, you go wait quietly first.""

  "Sorry about that, I wasn't talking to you just now." An Yi turned his head and politely apologized into the phone.

  "It's okay, it's okay." The girl replied hastily on the phone, and even An Yi could imagine her shaking her head foolishly.

  A faint smile spread across An Yi's face as he thought of the other person's silly expression, but it was quickly replaced by a stern look.

  A brief silence fell, and An Yi still didn't stop her movements. In fact, she was waiting for the other person's inquiry.

  The girl on the other end of the phone couldn't help but ask hesitantly: "Is there a guest at home?"

  "Yes, my girlfriend is here." An Yi responded naturally.

  The other party fell silent instantly, and even the slightest sound could not be heard.

  An Yi let out a sigh of relief, his face slightly gloomy at the same time.

  He slightly shook his head, dispelling the thoughts that shouldn't be there. An Yi pretended to ask casually: "By the way, did you find me for something?"

  "Huh? Oh, nothing, just asking about the dog, how often does it take a bath." The girl seemed unprepared and came up with an excuse on the spot to cover something up.

  "Oh. How long has it been since you took a bath......" An Yi didn't expose the other person, and pretended to pause thoughtfully: "You think about this yourself, according to the northern weather, in summer and autumn, take baths more frequently, in winter and spring, it's not necessary to be so troublesome."

  "Ah, oh, thank you." The girl's voice was tinged with a hint of despair.

  "If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up?" An Yi asked tentatively.

  "Ah, oh, okay, thank you." The girl replied dully.

  Put down his phone, An Yi let out a inexplicable sigh, walked back to the dinner table and sat down, picking up his bowl and chopsticks again.

  ……

  Near An Yi's home, on a street side, in a simple community park, two girls sat on a bench.

  One of the girls was wearing an oversized sweater, with a lovely and cute face, but her cheek expression seemed a bit silly.

  Another girl was wearing a black single-shoulder suspender vest, with bright eyes, although also quite pretty, but always gave people a medieval elf-like feeling.

  "Hehe..." The quirky girl gently pushed the slightly dazed girl.

  "Ah?" Xiao Xiao was taken aback for a moment: "Ye Zi sister, is there something going on?"

  "Something's up? Heh." The quirky girl playfully poked Xiao Si's soft ribs: "You've already hung up the phone, but you're still holding it and spacing out. Is something going on with you or is something going on with me?"

  "Ah, oh." Xiao Xiao laughed foolishly and was stunned for a moment: "I, I..."

  "What are you doing? What do you want to do?" Ye Zi suddenly poked Xiao Xixi's forehead.

  "What can I do?" Xiao Xiao sighed dejectedly and lowered her eyelids: "You also heard what he said just now..."

  "I heard that." Ye Zibei abruptly interrupted Xiao Xiaoxiao's words, and glared at her with annoyance: "I'm asking you what do you want to do?"

  "What can I do, he already has a girlfriend." Xiao Xiao forced a smile: "Sorry to trouble you, Ye Zi sister, thanks for accompanying me here."

  "Alright, alright! What's with you accompanying me here? I'm the one who had to come and help you out in the first place! Who told you to be so naive all the time, I was worried someone would cheat you!" Ye Zi shook his head speechlessly: "I didn't ask you that, I just asked what you want to do. Do you really like him?"

  "I, I..." Xiao Xiaoxiao bit her lip and suddenly sighed: "But he already has a girlfriend."

  Having a girlfriend is just having a girlfriend, at worst it's just stealing someone's girlfriend, what's the big deal. Ye Zi disdainfully curled her lip.

  "Ah?" Xiao Xiao jumped in fright and shook her head vigorously: "That's no good. Really no good..."

  Ye Zi silently rubbed her forehead, remained silent for a while, then suddenly stretched out her hand towards Xiao Xiaoxiao: "Give me your phone."

  "Give you a cell phone?" Xiao Xiao was taken aback for a moment, her face changed: "Ye Zi sister... forget it, she already has a girlfriend."

  "Whatever? You're just going to let him get away with kissing you for free? I haven't even kissed your little mouth yet, how can someone else kiss it for free? It's too easy for him... Whatever, whatever, I won't tease you anymore." Seeing Xiao Xiaoxiao stubbornly putting her phone away, Ye Zi had a gloomy face: "He doesn't have a girlfriend."

  "He doesn't have a girlfriend? Ye Zi Jie you lied to me again." Xiao Xiao smiled wryly, continuing to hide her phone in her bosom.

  "How could I possibly cheat you!" Ye Zi glared at Xiao Xiaoxiao with a fierce gaze.

  "How could you possibly deceive me... from young to old, you always deceive me." Xiao Xiao smiled like a little sheep with her head down, but still couldn't help but mutter in grievance.

  Ye Zǐ's mouth twitched a few times, and even the dimples on the right side of her face twitched along with it.

  "Alright, alright, that was in the past, this time I really didn't deceive you." Ye Zi waved her hand.

  "Oh." Xiao Xi smiled weakly and responded with a soft voice, but her slightly raised eyelids were full of "I don't believe you" expression.

  Ye Zi opened her small mouth and finally stood up with a sullen expression, then squatted down in front of Xiao Xiaoxiao.

  "Really! I didn't lie to you this time!" Ye Zi stretched out her right hand, first raising one finger: "Firstly, did you hear a girl's voice on the phone just now? I certainly didn't!"

  "It seems like it doesn't exist. But... " Xiao Xiaoxiao thought for a moment and responded, but still shook her head: "However, maybe the other person's girlfriend didn't say..."

  Xiao Xiao didn't finish her sentence when Ye Zi cut her off with a wave of her hand.

  She lifted her second finger again, and Ye Zi suddenly said out of the blue: "I asked you before, if you saw any women's shoes or anything like that when we went to his house last time. You said no, right?"

  Xiao Xiao nodded foolishly, but her face was full of confusion, clearly unable to understand what Ye Zi wanted to express.

  "This settles it! There's no sign of a woman, which means he must be single. Even the parents probably don't live here, otherwise there should be signs of his mother's life. Of course, if there were any feminine traces, you could also tell by the style of the items being either too old-fashioned or too youthful." Ye Zi explained patiently.

  Xiao Xiao blinked and tilted her head to look at Ye Zi for a while before saying: "What are you talking about?"

  Ye Ziyu lightly patted her forehead: "This shows that he doesn't have a girlfriend, or his relationship with his girlfriend isn't close to a certain degree. Hmm..."

  Seeing Xiao Xiao's 'I don't understand' face, Ye Zi sighed: "Under normal circumstances, the relationship between boyfriend and girlfriend is not at a certain level, it is impossible to go to each other's home. Cough, you are not in a normal situation! Only you would foolishly go to a strange boy's house, and not be afraid of being cheated."

  "Why can't we go to his house?" Xiao Xiao asked with a curious face.

  "I'm going! Intimate! Girl, going to a boy's home, do you know what that means? That's sending sheep into the tiger's mouth!" Ye Zi hummed in annoyance: "The relationship between two people has reached the level of 'pa pa' before they can go to each other's homes! Understand? Pa pa pa! You should understand this much at least?"

  "Pa pa pa?" Xiao laughed foolishly and repeated it again, her small face suddenly turning red.

  "Got it? The fact that there's no sign of a girl's life at his place only means he doesn't have a girlfriend, or he and his girlfriend aren't intimate enough!" Ye Zi emphasized once again.

  "But, but... maybe it was because their relationship wasn't like that before, but now it is..." Xiao Xiaoxiao hung her head in despair.

  "Listen to me, there's a third point!" Ye Zi pinched Xiao Xiaoxiao's chin and forcibly lifted her small face: "This point is also the most important one! That is, if he has a girlfriend, why would he give the dog to an outsider? This is too ridiculous, right? If it's temporarily inconvenient to raise it, just put it with his girlfriend first!"

  Xiao Xiao's face showed a faint, almost imperceptible joy, but immediately darkened again: "Maybe, maybe his girlfriend doesn't like dogs?"

  "Please! You told me before, that when the dog gets sick, he rushes over to take care of it, which means the dog is very important in his eyes. A person who loves dogs so much, how can they be with someone who dislikes dogs? A person who loves dogs absolutely cannot tolerate someone who dislikes dogs! Two people with completely opposite views are impossible to be together, at most one extreme and one neutral can be together. And..." Ye Zilang suddenly snatched the phone from Xiao Xiaoxiao's hand.

  "Let's just try and see if he has a girlfriend or not!" Before Xiao Xiao could react, Ye Zi made a silencing gesture and had already dialed the phone.