“I think you’d be better off going back to your family plantation and spreading fertilizer.” An Zi Yan rejected him without mercy. Zhou Ge was just about to complain when An Zi Yan continued, “Do you know how much money it takes to open a hotel? Your parents aren’t idiots. They’re not going to hand you money just so you can burn it.”
“Exactly.” Mai Ding stood and struck the pose of a wise elder, pointing at Zhou Ge and An Zi Yan in turn. “You young people these days. You have money and spend it recklessly without knowing how to save. Hopeless.” An Zi Yan stared at the finger pointing at him. “Do you believe I’ll break that finger?” Mai Ding immediately withdrew it and shook his head. “Still refusing to listen to good advice. You young people these days. Why don’t you listen to my idea instead? Xiao Ge, I guarantee you’ll make a fortune.”
“So what’s your idea?” Zhou Ge asked.
“Open a lottery shop. When there’s nothing to do, you can scratch scratch cards yourself and check lottery numbers. What a relaxing life.”
“You just want somewhere you can come get free lottery tickets whenever you feel like it.” Zhou Ge exposed Mai Ding’s true motive with perfect accuracy. Mai Ding refused to admit it and kept shaking his head. “You young people these days. Someone gives you advice and you suspect his intentions.” Zhou Ge stopped paying attention to him and turned back to An Zi Yan. “Then what do you suggest?”
“Clean out that filthy brain of yours first, then think for yourself.”
“Once I’ve decided, can you help me judge whether it’s workable?”
“Fine. Now you can leave.”
“There’s no rush. We can leave after dinner.” Zhou Ge picked up the remote and started changing channels. Mai Ding suddenly realized Ellen had not said a single word since entering. When he looked around the living room, he discovered she was nowhere to be seen.
“Ellen?”
“You called me?” Ellen’s voice came from the bathroom. The door opened a moment later and she stepped out barefoot in a bathrobe, releasing a comfortable sigh. “Where’s the hair dryer?”
“You two perverts really have made yourselves at home! An Zi Yan.” Mai Ding leaned closer to An Zi Yan and lowered his voice. “Kick them out.”
“Let them do whatever they want.” An Zi Yan actually did not care. Had Buddha enlightened him today and made him suddenly realize that he and Zhou Ge shared some profound friendship? Impossible. What was he plotting? Mai Ding could not figure it out no matter how hard he thought. While Sherlock Mai was still investigating, Zhou Ge lifted his chin toward him. “My baby likes beef. It’s getting late. Hurry up and go buy groceries.”
“I’m not your servant!”
“I know. But as Yan’s friend, I should be allowed to boss his servant around a little.”
“If you want to eat, go buy it yourself.”
“Go.” The moment An Zi Yan said that, Mai Ding’s mouth almost fell off his face. Why was An Zi Yan treating Zhou Ge well? He was supposed to treat Mai Ding well! Who was Zhou Ge? An animal. And who was Mai Ding? An Zi Yan’s darling. Mai Ding truly had no shame.
“I’m not going.” Maybe he had eaten something difficult to digest that morning, because today he had actually started getting jealous of Zhou Ge. Still wrapped in the bathrobe, Ellen spread her hands. “Your married life really isn’t going smoothly. Embarrassing your husband in front of guests is a serious blow to a man’s pride.” Mai Ding must have been a blade of grass growing on top of a wall in his previous life, because he had always been ridiculously easy to persuade. Ellen was right. Maintaining a marriage required great care. In private, the two of them did not need to worry so much, but in front of outsiders, they should at least give each other enough face and show mutual respect. Mai Ding glanced at An Zi Yan’s wounded expression, which existed entirely in his imagination, and immediately felt guilty. He grabbed his keys. “I’ll go right now.” Only after running down the stairs, breathing hard, did he suddenly come to his senses. Wait, that wasn’t right. An Zi Yan had never respected him, and he humiliated Mai Ding in public all the time. Who was protecting Mai Ding’s dignity as a man?! Weren’t fairness and equality supposed to matter now? Sigh. Forget it. He was already downstairs. He might as well buy the groceries.
By the time he carried a heavy bag of groceries home, there was another person in the apartment. Bai Xiao Si had also made herself completely at home. The moment she saw him, she said, “Mai Mai, I want something spicy.”
“Is nobody planning to help me?”
“You’re the master of the house.”
“I think all of you look more like the masters of this house!” Mai Ding carried the groceries into the kitchen and heard Zhou Ge outside saying, “When the time comes, have Uncle Fu help me gather information on shop locations and foot traffic too. He’s good at that kind of thing. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Uncle Fu in ages.” Mai Ding walked back out of the kitchen with his eyes wide. “You’ve met Uncle Fu?” Mai Ding had been with An Zi Yan for quite a while. He had heard Uncle Fu’s name plenty of times but had never once seen the man himself. He was almost starting to suspect An Zi Yan had multiple personalities and had invented an imaginary old man named Uncle Fu.
“Only once,” Zhou Ge answered.
“I’ve seen him four times.” Bai Xiao Si sounded almost proud, as though seeing Uncle Fu was rarer than seeing a ghost.
“W-what?!” Mai Ding stepped backward and looked at An Zi Yan. “Your sleazy friend and your ex-girlfriend have both met him. Why haven’t I?” An Zi Yan did not react much and calmly replied, “It’s more difficult for you to meet him.”
“Why?”
“He doesn’t meet people with very low intelligence.” Not slightly low. Not somewhat low. Very low!
“Who are you talking about?!”
“You.”
“Hmph. What’s so special about some stinky old man? I don’t even want to meet him.” What had Uncle Fu ever done to offend Mai Ding? He had somehow been called a stinky old man for no reason at all. Mai Ding stormed back into the kitchen. Not long afterward, Bai Xiao Si followed him in, with absolutely no intention of helping. She looked around curiously. “How does working at the company feel?”
“Pretty good. I’ve basically adjusted now.”
“Oh.”
“That reaction is way too flat. You could at least ask whether my coworkers bully me or something.”
“Isn’t that question unnecessary? How could my ex-husband possibly let anyone bully you?”
“I just pray he doesn’t bully me himself.”
“Look at your face. Do you really need to smile that much?”
“I’m not smiling.”