Into the Night, Jiao Jiao Gets Kissed by a Business Tycoon
Chapter 176: [Extra] Do you want WeChat or to transfer money?

Chapter 176: Chapter 176: [Extra] Do you want WeChat or to transfer money?

Near the end of the meal, Jiang Yurou excused herself to use the restroom. Upon her return, ready to settle the bill, she was informed that it had already been taken care of.

Jiang Yurou looked toward Zhou Ming, who was already standing at the entrance, then walked over to him, "Didn’t I say it was my treat? Why did you pay the bill?"

"This time let’s just leave it, I’ve never let a girl pay for my meal before."

Jiang Yurou pouted, "How can that be okay? I told you I would treat. Give me your WeChat and I’ll transfer the money to you."

Zhou Ming suddenly looked at Jiang Yurou, his eyes reflecting a complex mix of emotions, "Do you want my WeChat, or do you want to transfer the money?"

"Can’t I want both?"

"No, you have to choose one."

After thinking it over, Jiang Yurou responded, "Let’s add each other on WeChat then."

Once they were connected on WeChat, there would be plenty of opportunities to invite each other to meals in the future, thought Jiang Yurou.

However, she suddenly regretted ordering so much food. If it had been Tan Bo, Jiang Yurou certainly wouldn’t have minded because he was wealthy. But this was Zhou Ming, and he didn’t come from as affluent a background as Tan Bo, so every cent was hard-earned for him.

She wondered how many phones Zhou Ming would need to fix, and how many times he’d need to drive for hire to earn back the cost of tonight’s dinner.

Zhou Ming’s WeChat ID was his phone number. So by adding Zhou Ming on WeChat, she had indirectly obtained his phone number.

Jiang Yurou checked his Moments, expecting them to be as empty as Tan Bo’s and Cheng Yi’s, but to her surprise, he had posted quite a few things.

However, after scrolling through a few posts, Jiang Yurou found they were much like nothing at all, primarily just advertisements.

Disappointed, she exited Zhou Ming’s Moments, then added a note for him: Zhou Ming.

There were no buses or metro services at this time, so Zhou Ming walked Jiang Yurou to the roadside and hailed a taxi for her. Then he said, "Send me a message when you get home, just to let me know you’re safe."

"You seem pretty concerned about me, for someone who says he doesn’t like me," said Jiang Yurou, her mouth curving up in a slight, teasing smile. Her eyes held a hint of challenge, as if to say, "Look, your feelings are showing, and you can barely hide them anymore!"

Zhou Ming exhaled, shaking his head wordlessly: "You’ve been out with me for so long, and now it’s late. If something were to happen to you on your way, your family would definitely come looking for me first. So, I need to be sure that you’re..."

Before Zhou Ming could finish speaking, Jiang Yurou put her hand up to his lips, gesturing for him to be quiet, "Okay, that’s enough, I understand."

After saying that, Jiang Yurou got into the taxi. She then blew a kiss to Zhou Ming, "I’m off, see you tomorrow."

Watching the taxi drive off, Zhou Ming remained standing there for a while. Finally, he touched the corner of his mouth, which was slightly turned up, his eyes sparkling with an unusual brightness.

He laughed and shook his head, then turned and started walking in the direction of his home.

When he reached the decrepit apartment building where he lived, Zhou Ming fished out the keys from underneath a flower vase and quietly opened the door. His careful movements still woke up someone inside.

Just inside the doorway was a small bed. A little girl slowly lifted her head to look at the door. Rubbing her drowsy eyes, she appeared confused, "Brother... you’re back?"

Seeing that his sister had been awakened by his arrival, Zhou Ming felt a twinge of guilt. After closing the door, he walked to the bedside, gently touched her tender face and spoke softly, "I’m sorry, Lezhi, I woke you up."

Zhou Lezhi blinked and shook her head, "It’s okay, brother."

Zhou Ming gently stroked her head, then asked, "Did you eat something tonight?"

Lezhi obediently nodded, "Mm-hmm, I finished all the food you left, and I even washed the dishes."

Actually, Zhou Ming had told Zhou Lezhi many times to leave the dishes for him to wash when he got back, but every time he came home, the bowls and utensils were clean and neatly arranged in the cabinet.

Sometimes Zhou Ming even wondered, with such an obedient sister, why the heavens still wouldn’t spare her...

"Lezhi is so good. Did you take your medicine on time too?"

"I ate," Lezhi’s soft voice turned Zhou Ming’s heart into a puddle of mush.

"Good, now go to sleep. Your brother will watch you until you fall asleep," Zhou Ming tucked Lezhi’s hand under the covers.

Zhou Lezhi lay in bed, but her eyes remained fixed on Zhou Ming, and after a while, her voice slowly rose. "Brother, did something happy happen to you today?"

Zhou Ming hadn’t expected his sister to be still awake. He paused for a moment before smiling and asking, "Why do you ask that?"

"Because you didn’t smoke when you came home today. Usually, you go out to the balcony and smoke a cigarette. And Brother... you’ve been smiling the whole time."

Zhou Ming touched his face and sighed with a smile, "It seems you’ve noticed, yes, your brother is indeed quite happy today."

"Then can you talk about it with Lezhi?"

Zhou Ming replied, "Of course, how about I tell you when you’ve recovered from your illness, okay?"

Lezhi showed a pure smile, "Okay, then I must get well soon, so you can tell me about the things that make you happy."

Looking into his sister’s clear eyes, Zhou Ming suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart, "Mhm, you definitely can."

Zhou Ming stroked Lezhi’s head over and over until he heard her soft breathing. Only then did he withdraw his hand and walked into the inner room.

As soon as he went in, his phone buzzed with a WeChat notification. Sitting on his bed, Zhou Ming fished out his mobile and saw an unfamiliar profile picture.

[Beach Running Rabbit]: Reporting in, I’ve arrived home safe and sound!

Zhou Ming’s lips curled up unconsciously as he read the message and then began to reply.

[.]: Good.

[Beach Running Rabbit]: Can’t you say one more word?

[.]: Good.

[Beach Running Rabbit]: ...

After waiting for a while, Jiang Yurou sent no more messages, so Zhou Ming thought she wouldn’t send any more and went to the bathroom to shower.

Upon returning and checking his phone, he saw that Jiang Yurou had sent three messages ten minutes earlier.

[Beach Running Rabbit]: What should I do, I kind of can’t seem to fall asleep.

[Beach Running Rabbit]: What are you doing? Can I video call you?

[Beach Running Rabbit]: Are you there? Fallen asleep?

After reading the messages, Zhou Ming typed a response.

[.]: No, I was showering just now.

[Beach Running Rabbit]: Oh oh oh, I thought you had fallen asleep. So can I make a video call?

[.]: No, my sister is sleeping.

Jiang Yurou hadn’t expected Zhou Ming to have a sister and was about to ask more, but then she saw Zhou Ming had shared an audio clip of counting sheep.

[.]: Listen to this if you can’t sleep, I’m going to sleep now.

Staring at the message, Jiang Yurou didn’t know what to say at first, so she just lay in bed, listening to the song. Surprisingly, sleepiness quickly came over her, and before long she drifted off into a deep slumber.