Qin Tian cut a large slice of cake for each of them.
"Nuannuan, I'm so sorry. I've been in the hospital all these days and haven't prepared a gift for you."
Tian Jiajia apologized.
"It's okay, it's not important,"
Xia Nuannuan quickly waved her hand with a smile.
"How about this, next weekend, I'll come to your school to see you and treat you to a meal."
Tian Jiajia suggested.
"Sure, call me before you come."
"Okay, okay!"
"Tian Jiajia, then invite me too, I'll go with you!"
Zhang Peng said with a laugh.
"What are you joining in for?"
Tian Jiajia gave him a glare, not kindly.
"What do you mean, 'joining in'? If you're going to see Xia Nuannuan, can't I go see Brother Tian and play some games?"
"You only care about playing games. How could Qin Tian possibly have time to play games with you?"
"How do you know Brother Tian doesn't have time? Brother Tian, listen to what she's saying."
Zhang Peng looked towards Qin Tian.
Qin Tian smiled and said meaningfully, "Zhang Peng, Tian Jiajia is right. Don't just focus on playing games. It's time you considered other more important things. Now is the perfect time!"
Hearing this, Xia Nuannuan cast a mischievous glance at Tian Jiajia beside her.
Tian Jiajia's face blushed slightly, and she lowered her head, taking another bite of cake.
"More important things? What is it?"
Zhang Peng asked, perplexed.
"Figure it out yourself!"
Qin Tian rolled his eyes in exasperation.
Tian Jiajia gripped her fork tightly and stabbed it into the cake with force, her face stern.
Xia Nuannuan, seeing her huffy expression and then looking at the oblivious Zhang Peng, felt anxious for both of them.
It would be such a pity to miss this great opportunity.
"What is it? Studying? That's not necessary. I finally got into university, and I want to have fun for a couple of years first!"
Zhang Peng asked, utterly confused, shoveling cake into his mouth.
"You eat so much sugar, and yet your brain hasn't gotten any smarter!"
Qin Tian sighed.
"What the heck, Brother Tian, are you mocking me?"
"Not at all, just stating facts."
"Damn, you're being cryptic. I can't be bothered with you."
After they finished the cake and chatted for a while, Xia Nuannuan made an excuse about going downstairs to buy water and asked Tian Jiajia to go with her.
As they left, she winked at Qin Tian.
Qin Tian instantly understood and nodded slightly to show he got it.
Then, the two girls walked out of the ward together.
Qin Tian looked at Zhang Peng, who was engrossed in playing Temple Run on his phone, his expression utterly focused.
"Zhang Peng, stop playing and let me ask you something."
"Huh? What is it? Ask away!"
"Are you and Tian Jiajia going to continue like this?"
"Continue like what?"
Zhang Peng still didn't look up, fully focused on the game.
"Are you really that low in emotional intelligence, or are you deliberately playing dumb? If you keep this up, and Tian Jiajia gets pursued by other guys at school, don't regret it!"
Qin Tian's tone became a bit more serious.
Hearing this, Zhang Peng's gaming stopped immediately, and he looked up at Qin Tian with a complex expression.
"I knew it. Even if you're slow, you wouldn't be this oblivious!"
Seeing his expression, Qin Tian understood everything.
Without a doubt, this guy was deliberately playing dumb.
Zhang Peng put down his phone and scratched his head, looking annoyed.
"I honestly never thought about it that way before. I just felt she was different from other girls – straightforward and simple. Although I always lost when we argued, looking back, I didn't feel that angry. Instead, I found it quite amusing."
"Later, when we pretended to be a couple to fool Brother Hao, she suddenly got angry for no reason. I had some suspicions afterward, but I didn't dare to confirm them, and I wasn't sure about my own feelings either. It was just very messy."
"Brother Tian, think about it. If I confessed without thinking it through clearly and got rejected, it would be embarrassing. Not to mention the embarrassment, we're all friends. Wouldn't it be awkward to see each other again?"
After hearing his heartfelt confession, Qin Tian could understand.
If he were Zhang Peng, he might have made the same choice.
There was no way around it; their original mode of interaction was already quite peculiar, making it difficult to change.
"So, are you planning to keep pretending?"
Qin Tian asked earnestly.
"Of course, I know this is a good opportunity, and if I say the word, I'll probably win her over. But, I really don't want to say it now."
Zhang Peng replied with a serious expression.
Qin Tian was slightly stunned, then nodded in realization, "I think I understand your thoughts. I shouldn't have meddled."
It was clear that Zhang Peng didn't want to take advantage of his injury, nor did he want Tian Jiajia to agree to his confession out of guilt.
"Of course, not having the courage to say it is also a reason."
Zhang Peng grinned and said.
"I understand now. If you had said so earlier, I wouldn't have butted in."
Qin Tian looked at him with a mixture of amusement and helplessness.
"This is a bit embarrassing."
Zhang Peng said sheepishly with a smile.
"When your Uncle Zhang mocks people, why don't you ever feel embarrassed?"
Qin Tian rolled his eyes.
"That's a different matter!"
"Alright, alright. It's enough that you know what you're doing. This is your business, you handle it!"
"Don't say that, Brother Tian. I'm a rookie in love, you still have to give me some advice."
Zhang Peng said with a playful grin.
"Can't your college roommates give you advice?"
"What good advice could they give? They're even worse off than me. They're all single dogs, and they didn't have any girls like them in high school. If I ask them for help, I'm afraid I'll be single for life."
"Oh, Uncle Zhang, why do I feel like you're being a bit boastful?"
Qin Tian couldn't help but tease him.
"No, no."
Uncle Zhang waved his hand, feigning a calm demeanor and said, "What's there to be boastful about? Who doesn't have a pretty girl who likes them? I'm different from them."
"Heh! I advise you to keep a low profile, or you might get hit."
"Are you kidding me? Am I afraid of those single dogs?"
"Come on, you're still a single dog yourself right now, don't insult yourself too."
"Oh, right, right, right. I misspoke, I misspoke. We'll talk about this later."
At the same time.
Xia Nuannuan, who had gone downstairs, was also chatting with Tian Jiajia about the matter.
"What do I do? Your Young Master Zhang has been treating me like a maid these past few days, not considering me as a potential romantic partner at all."
Tian Jiajia said with a dark expression.
In front of her best friend, she no longer hid her feelings and frankly admitted her affection for Zhang Peng.
"Young Master Zhang? Pfft!"
Xia Nuannuan couldn't help but be amused, then quickly raised her hand to cover her mouth, forcing herself to stifle her laughter.
"Isn't that right? Uncle Zhang, Young Master Zhang. Anyway, I've been serving him like a mistress these past few days."
"Are you upset?"
"Not really!"
Tian Jiajia shook her head and said with a wry smile, "Compared to his injury, these are minor things. It's just that I feel a bit... how should I put it!"
"Uncomfortable?"
Xia Nuannuan used a Northern dialect to summarize.
"Yes, that's the feeling."
Tian Jiajia nodded emphatically.