The two were engrossed in their game until they noticed Qin Tian sitting beside them.
“Master, you’re here!” Xu Hao greeted with a smile.
“Mm,” Qin Tian replied with a smile, opening his laptop and asking casually, “Why were you giving them red envelopes? Did you make a bet with Zhang Peng?”
Xu Hao’s fingers continued to tap on the keyboard and move the mouse as he replied in a low, helpless tone, “Yeah, I bet this guy couldn’t find a girlfriend. He said he’d give them red envelopes if he brought one, but this guy actually brought one. That girl is truly… ahem!”
He cleared his throat and didn’t continue. Qin Tian, however, understood what he meant – that Tian Jiajia’s judgment was a bit off. In terms of looks alone, Tian Jiajia was considered beautiful among the girls. As for Zhang Peng, in a few more years, after his acne cleared up, with some improvements to his fashion sense and hairstyle, he should look much better.
“Tian Ge, you’re here, hurry up and log in, hurry up!” Zhang Peng, oblivious to their conversation and almost forgetting his fake girlfriend beside him, only had eyes for the game and excitedly urged Qin Tian to log in quickly.
“Logging in, stop rushing!” Qin Tian rolled his eyes speechlessly. It was no wonder Xu Hao was skeptical; this guy deserved to be single. With such a good opportunity, if he had played the part more professionally, he might have even managed to make it real.
“Master, do you know that girl?” Xu Hao turned and asked.
Qin Tian nodded slightly, “Of course, why?”
“Are they… really a couple?” Xu Hao asked seriously again.
Qin Tian paused, then replied with a light laugh, “I only know they used to be like a bickering couple, always fighting when they met. You know Zhang Peng’s mouth, he never lost an argument, but with Tian Jiajia, they were pretty evenly matched!”
“Is that so!” Xu Hao nodded in realization, then pouted, “Bickering couple… then it seems it must be true. Tsk, I can’t believe Zhang Peng found a girlfriend, it’s just not fair.”
Qin Tian’s lips twitched slightly, struggling to suppress a smile.
They played at the internet cafe until six o’clock, and Tian Jiajia was preparing to go home for dinner.
“Wait, wait a moment.” Zhang Peng called out to her, then turned to Xu Hao, “Brother Hao, where’s that red envelope you promised? Hurry up!”
“I already told you I didn’t prepare it. Come back tomorrow with your girlfriend, and I promise to give it to you. I keep my word, alright?” Xu Hao said irritably.
“No need for formalities, just give us the cash, it’s all the same,” Zhang Peng grinned. The longer it took, the more likely they were to be exposed, so he wanted to get the red envelope first.
“Damn, you can’t wait a day?”
“Can’t wait, hurry up.”
“Tsk, fine, fine, here you go!” Xu Hao pulled out his wallet with a dark expression, counted out four hundred-yuan bills, and handed them over, saying, “Here, two hundred each, take it!”
Tian Jiajia’s eyes lit up, and she looked at Zhang Peng expectantly. Zhang Peng flashed his signature cheeky smile and said with a laugh, “Brother Hao, you’re a big boss now, a few orders easily get you more commission than this. Don’t be so stingy, give us a bigger red envelope!”
“Two hundred isn’t enough?”
“No, no, no, it doesn’t befit your status as a big boss, Brother Hao.”
Qin Tian, sitting at the very back and watching the spectacle, suddenly remembered Xia Nuannuan’s earlier attempt to play matchmaker for the two. A hint of a playful smile flickered across his handsome face.
“I think, Brother Hao, it’s not that you’re unwilling, but that you’re doubting their relationship, right?” Qin Tian interjected suddenly.
The three pairs of eyes looked at him in surprise. Zhang Peng and Tian Jiajia thought Qin Tian was going to expose them and desperately signaled him.
“Master is right, I am a bit suspicious of you guys,” Xu Hao nodded, looking at the two with suspicion. “You came at noon, and it’s been half a day, you’ve barely said two sentences to each other, right? You don’t seem like a couple at all. Zhang Peng, be honest, you didn’t find someone to act for the red envelope, did you?”
Zhang Peng and Tian Jiajia’s expressions shifted at his words.
“How could that be, Brother Hao, what are you thinking? Would I do that?” Zhang Peng denied, forcing composure. Tian Jiajia didn’t know what to say and could only nod in agreement with a dry laugh, having already given up on the red envelope.
“I think you can prove yourselves, for example, by doing something intimate like boyfriend and girlfriend, maybe a kiss!” Qin Tian suggested, rubbing his chin with his finger.
“No!” Tian Jiajia exclaimed, her eyes wide, and refused without hesitation. Xu Hao frowned slightly, his gaze becoming more questioning as he scanned their faces.
“Tian Ge, what are you talking about? We haven’t been together for long, she’d be too shy!” Zhang Peng said, trying to salvage the situation while sending Qin Tian a pleading look.
“Yes, yes, I, I definitely don’t want to!” Tian Jiajia nodded vigorously in agreement, her eyes filled with confusion and a hint of panic as she looked at Qin Tian. She was completely bewildered, not understanding why Qin Tian would say something like that.
“Then how about a hug? A hug would also be proof, and Brother Hao, being generous, can give five hundred each, how about that?” Qin Tian asked, looking at Xu Hao. He knew the two wouldn’t actually kiss for the red envelope. However, a hug would give him a rough idea of whether there was any possibility between them. In his past life, until he was reborn, Zhang Peng, like him, was still a single dog. Tian Jiajia was a good girl, and if there was a real possibility between them, he wouldn’t mind giving them a little push from behind to help them turn fake into real.
“Okay, no problem, we’ll do as Master suggests,” Xu Hao agreed immediately. Tian Jiajia and Zhang Peng looked at each other in stunned silence.
“No, no, no.” Tian Jiajia instinctively took two steps back, shaking her head like a rattle, and was about to blurt out the truth. Then, an astonishing scene unfolded. In the shocked gazes of Qin Tian and Xu Hao, Zhang Peng actually spread his arms and hugged Tian Jiajia. Tian Jiajia’s eyes widened, her mind momentarily freezing.
“Just cooperate, and I’ll give you both red envelopes,” Zhang Peng whispered in Tian Jiajia’s ear. Tian Jiajia snapped back to reality, her entire face flushing red. She instinctively tried to push Zhang Peng away.
“Please, please, don’t let him know it’s fake, it’ll be too embarrassing,” Zhang Peng pleaded urgently. Tian Jiajia’s face grew even redder, she gritted her teeth in a mixture of shame and anger, but she stopped struggling with as much force. At that moment, she wasn’t doing it for the red envelope. It was Zhang Peng’s earnest tone that evoked an inexplicable feeling in her. He always annoyed her, he was such an irritating person, what was happening now!