“Bro, why don’t you just use that song of yours?”
“No need…”
Perhaps the sun was too dazzling, making him a little drowsy.
Han Xiao leaned lazily against the sofa, stretching his legs.
The tips of his slippers swung comfortably, and his pajama pants were pulled by the movement, revealing his fair, slender ankles.
“That song isn’t quite suitable for me right now.”
“What’s not suitable about it?”
Jiang Ran asked, puzzled.
“…Not enough.”
Han Xiao pondered for a long time before giving this answer.
These two words were like a bolt from the blue, stunning Jiang Ran and making his head buzz.
What did that mean?
Didn’t you praise it incessantly before?
Is he just being petty?
That doesn’t make sense, are we enemies now if I don’t help?
Don’t think I’ll side with you just because we’re both girls, I’m a crazy fan of my brother!
Seeing Jiang Ran’s expression, Han Xiao chuckled lightly, without much explanation.
He simply pulled his legs back discreetly and looked at Xu Huo, “It’s not what you think, your brother understands.”
“Bro? Do you understand?”
Xu Huo lowered his head, subtly glancing at Han Xiao’s legs under the table.
They were quite nice.
Then, with a ‘whoosh,’ those slender legs retracted.
He looked up, just in time to catch Han Xiao’s gaze, which was like looking at a pervert.
Xu Huo rubbed the tip of his nose awkwardly and honestly said, “Pop, ancient style, andACG – these three circles are different. The latter two might sound very good, but when it comes to status, even combined, they’re not enough to hold a candle to pop music…”
It sounded unreasonable, but it was the truth.
The situation was already very bad.
“Luzhou Moon” was indeed a good song, but it was definitely not enough for Han Xiao to turn the tide…
“So what are you planning to sing?”
Xu Huo pressed.
“Fairy Tale.”
Xu Huo nodded.
Although it wasn’t the one he knew, it was still a popular song in today’s world.
The difficulty wasn’t very high.
For the preliminary round, it wouldn’t be too outstanding, but there wouldn’t be any surprises either.
He purely wanted to impress them with his vocal timbre…
It’s a bonus if a singer is talented enough to write original songs, but in the end, a good voice is what matters most.
“…Are you confident?”
“Are you kidding? Her little tricks are all smoke and mirrors in the face of true skill! After all, I was the first in my term. A skinny camel is still bigger than a horse.”
Han Xiao angrily picked up a cup and poured some water to drink.
His peripheral vision inadvertently caught Xu Huo feeding Tai Ge right in front of him.
Damn it, don’t feed my little cat in front of me!
Tai Ge didn’t want to fawn over other men either, but Han Xiao was heartless, only caring about his own fever and leaving only two meals’ worth for himself, which nearly starved the little cat.
Now, seeing Xu Huo holding cat food, he quickly squeezed out of the sofa’s gap, stretched lazily on the floor with his little paws pressed down, and then scurried over to Xu Huo’s leg, rubbing against it.
“Meowwa~”
“What’s its name?”
“Tai Ge.”
“Quite imposing.”
“Meow, meow.”
Though its meows were not imposing at all.
“It’s hungry,” Han Xiao translated.
“I know. It’s not easy for it to eat all the cat food in the bowl. It was already licking the bowl. I’ve never seen such a pitiful one…”
Xu Huo said, then squatted down and poured a little cat food from the bag into the bowl.
The chubby cat arched its big head and hunched over, munching away with huffing sounds.
“You’re so busy, why don’t you buy an automatic feeder?”
“I’ve bought them all, but they don’t work. For the kind where you press it and it dispenses one piece, Tai Ge just eats continuously, always getting a round belly. And the kind that dispenses at set times can’t keep up with how fast he gets hungry. Every time he meows from hunger, I still have to feed him manually.”
“Meow~”
The chubby cat was arguing for itself, “How dare you badmouth me in front of outsiders? The little cat was just hungry, what’s wrong with that? Being well-fed and plump, being able to eat is a blessing.”
Having eaten its fill and feeling thirsty, it didn’t go to the water dispenser.
Instead, it wagged its big tail, jumped onto the table, hooked its front paws on the edge of the fish tank, and leaned in to lap at the water inside.
Xu Huo gave a thumbs up, “Impressive! Your cat even drinks fish soup.”
Han Xiao ignored his ‘teasing’ and walked over, picking up the chubby cat by the scruff of its neck and placing it in front of the water dispenser.
“Jiang Ran, could you please pour it some milk? It’s on the coffee table.”
“It drinks milk?”
“Yeah.”
“That amazing?”
Jiang Ran cupped her hand, poured a little milk into her palm, then squatted down and offered it to the cat.
Tai Ge licked it, its slightly rough little tongue tickling the girl’s palm, making her giggle with delight.
Han Xiao lowered her voice, looked at Xu Huo, and asked, “What were you staring at my legs for earlier?”
His honesty, ironically, made Han Xiao a bit embarrassed.
It seemed she could never get the upper hand with him.
Of course, it wasn’t a crucial part of her body anyway.
Taking advantage of Jiang Ran’s inattention, Han Xiao stepped on his foot as a warning, and that was that.
But standing next to him, even the light seemed to dim a bit.
She wondered how he grew so tall.
And the most interesting thing was, based on their height difference, Han Xiao estimated that if he stood without bending, she would just need to stand on tiptoes to kiss him.
Or, to think differently, cut off his feet, then she wouldn’t need to tip-toe.
No, no, what was she thinking?
Soon, the sweet scent of rock sugar and pear soup wafted from the kitchen.
Xu Huo walked over and poked it with chopsticks…
“Want some pear?”
“No, it’s mushy and disgusting.”
“Then just drink the water.”
Xu Huo took a bowl from the cupboard and served himself a portion of the rock sugar and pear soup.
“It’s getting late now, so we’ll head back first. If there’s anything else, just find Sister Qin…”
“Hmm, thank you for your trouble today.”
“Just consider it returning the favor to Grandma Qin.”
Han Xiao frowned, “Didn’t we already pay it back? That time with Qin Yi’an…”
“Then let’s just say we treated them to crabs.”
“You did it willingly, what do you need to pay back? If I owe you a favor, I owe you a favor. I’m not afraid to play fair. If you need any help in the future, just say so. As long as it’s within my ability, I’ll consider it carefully!”
“…Not ‘go all out’?”
Xu Huo looked helpless.
But Han Xiao felt that this guy was definitely doing it on purpose.
Before, a simple glance was enough for them to understand each other, but now he was playing dumb.
“Just watch me pinch you.”
So she pinched him.
Seeing Xu Huo’s embarrassed look, Han Xiao’s mood improved considerably.
Why would someone always talk about ‘favors’?
Was he so afraid of being associated with her?
Even if they weren’t friends now, they were at least acquaintances, or people who knew each other, right?
“…Please disappear from my sight with the least amount of friction.”
“What does that mean?”
“Get lost.”
“Rude!”
Suddenly, a knock on the door sounded. Xu Huo asked, “Is that your Sister Qin back?”
Han Xiao looked bewildered, “It shouldn’t be… she has a key.”
Xu Huo breathed a sigh of relief, “Good thing I brought Ranran along, otherwise it would have been hard to explain.”
Han Xiao instinctively frowned.
This person again, was she really that unlikable?
The one who should be worried about explaining things was clearly herself.
She put down the bowl and spoon, scurried to open the door, and her previously good mood instantly soured upon seeing the person.
“Why are you here?”
“…Xiaoxiao, about the show that day… it was all a misunderstanding.”