"Goddess Sister, rest assured, martial artists are the most loyal! As long as I have a breath left, I absolutely won't let Xia Qingyu be bullied!" Shi Xingwu vowed, patting his chest.
"Oh really? Then I'm relieved~" Xia Qingtian placed a hand on Shi Xingwu's shoulder and said, "Let's go, call Miao Tong, I'll treat you to dessert~"
"Let me treat. I said I was out with the Goddess and Goddess Sister this time. My dad gave me all his savings from three years of hiding, saying that as a boy out in the world, one should be generous."
"Alright then, today we'll trouble the generous boy to treat!"
"Heh heh, no problem, no problem~"
...
Miao Tong really didn't know what he was working so hard for, unable to even sleep properly, only to be dragged out to eat such sugary things.
Resentment...
After dessert came savory, and after savory came sweet.
Miao Tong started to doubt his life.
And, is it really necessary to have so many people following them?
Not just people from the Miao family, but others too.
Miao Tong ate while casting sideways glances at Xia Qingtian.
He noticed that Xia Qingtian seemed completely oblivious.
With so many people following, did Xia Qingtian really not notice at all?
"It seems like someone is following us..." Shi Xingwu looked around and then lowered his voice, saying to Xia Qingtian and Miao Tong, "Did you notice?"
"It's fine, let them follow. They've been tailing us for two days," Xia Qingtian said casually.
"You know?" Miao Tong was a bit surprised.
"I've been around in the entertainment industry, you know?" Xia Qingtian rolled her eyes at Miao Tong. Besides, she had that useless system.
If any real danger was approaching, the system would notify her. Although it was still useless, she had already discovered that.
Since this system was bound to her, it wouldn't easily leave.
If her host died, the system would suffer a great loss, so regarding matters of life safety, Xia Qingtian felt the system could distinguish between being full for one meal and being full for all meals.
Xia Qingtian was indifferent, but Shi Xingwu frowned, sensing that things were not simple.
"Are we being too flashy?" Shi Xingwu asked. "Why are they targeting us?"
"I don't know, but it's definitely not related to us. The followers have ulterior motives," Xia Qingtian said, looking at Shi Xingwu. "You need to remember, anyone who does something that makes you uncomfortable is at fault, don't look for problems within yourself."
Young people nowadays are easily bound by morality, which in turn tolerates those without it.
This isn't to say young people should do as they please, but at least they should distinguish between right and wrong. If it's not your fault, there's no need to admit it.
"Maybe... not necessarily..." Miao Tong, knowing that the followers included people from the Miao family, chuckled a little guiltily and said, "What if they just want to know something?"
"Don't you have a mouth? Can't you ask?" Xia Qingtian retorted.
"What if they ask and the other party doesn't want to talk?" Miao Tong asked. "Besides, the purpose of following isn't necessarily malicious, what if it's for a good cause?"
"If the other party doesn't want to talk, and you insist on asking, unwilling to give up until you get an answer, and even resorting to following, think about it, really think about it," Xia Qingtian said to Miao Tong. "Do you still think you're reasonable? Do you still think you're righteous? Even the judiciary hasn't ruled them guilty, so why should you be the judge? Are you that amazing, are you some kind of comrade founding the nation?"
"..." Miao Tong didn't reply, only awkwardly took a large gulp of his drink.
"Then what do we do?" Shi Xingwu asked.
"Since we're not doing anything illicit, if they like following us so much, let them," Xia Qingtian's lips curved into a mischievous smile. "I'll have to trouble you two to accompany me shopping today!"
"What's so troublesome about shopping?" Shi Xingwu chuckled.
Two or three hours later, Shi Xingwu could no longer laugh.
Do women install small motors when they shop and transform into perpetual motion machines?
This... don't they get tired?
"This one is nice, do you have other colors?" Xia Qingtian picked up a fountain pen and asked.
"Yes, please wait a moment." The sales assistant immediately brought out the same style of fountain pen. "This is a new model released this year, with an 18k gold nib, smooth ink flow and excellent elasticity. The pen tip is inlaid with agate, the design is exquisite, the pen body is coated with rare lacquer, and it won't fade with sweaty hands. The design of the pen barrel also conforms to ergonomic grip methods. There are currently three colors released: rose gold, and black and white."
"I'll take one of each of these three colors, please wrap them up." Xia Qingtian felt the grip of the pen and nodded.
"Certainly, that will be thirty thousand in total. For purchases over thirty thousand, we will give you an S-grade gift, which you can choose from this row behind our counter," the sales assistant explained.
Xia Qingtian glanced at the gifts divided into different grades and turned to Shi Xingwu, "Choose one you like."
"Ah? I choose?" Shi Xingwu thought it was a free gift anyway. After looking around, he spotted a pair of boxing gloves. "That one, my boxing gloves are old and need replacing."
"Then take that pair of boxing gloves, wrap them all up." Xia Qingtian took out her card and paid, marking the end of this shopping trip. The three of them returned to the hotel.
All other items were sent back to the hotel in advance, only the boxing gloves were held by Shi Xingwu, who was holding them with great affection.
"As expected of high-grade boxing gloves gifted by a high-grade fountain pen, this feel!" Shi Xingwu's eyes lit up. "They're much better than my previous pair."
Xia Qingtian was also happy to see him like them.
Miao Tong, on the other hand, poked Xia Qingtian with his fingertip. "Only they get gifts? What about me?"
Xia Qingtian heard him and turned around, looking at Miao Tong with a smile that wasn't quite a smile. "Little Uncle, what did you say just now? I didn't hear clearly~"
"..." Miao Tong had only been taking advantage of his辈分 (seniority) verbally. Now that Xia Qingtian brought it up, he felt too embarrassed to ask for a gift from a junior.
He had intended to brush it off and forget about it, not wanting any gifts.
However, he heard Xia Qingtian continue slowly, "When we get back, I'll report to Uncle that you had people following us."
"Me!" Miao Tong immediately objected, "I didn't..."
"Don't explain to me. You organize your words and go explain to Uncle," Xia Qingtian snorted and turned her head away.
"I! Didn't! I..." Miao Tong's scalp tingled at the thought of Xia Shang's standard expression. Seeing that Xia Qingtian was unyielding, Miao Tong felt wronged and muttered, "It wasn't just my people following... others were following too..."
When Xia Qingtian heard Miao Tong say this, she immediately had a clearer understanding.
The people following her were not just from the Miao family, but also from other forces, and the Tang family was excluded.
Otherwise, Miao Tong wouldn't have spoken in this tone. He would have refuted and dragged the Tang family into the conversation to criticize them repeatedly.
So... besides the Miao family... who else could it be?