Chapter 43: The Kite

"Sweet Potato Big Brother, Sweet Potato Big Brother~"

"What is it?"

"Big Sister just took one more sip than me."

Doudou pointed at Yin Xingyue, looking indignant and thoroughly displeased.

Yin Xingyue felt a little embarrassed by Doudou's gesture.

Shen Siyuan wore a wry expression; he never expected Doudou to argue with her good friend and big sister over such a trivial matter.

The story was simple: Shen Siyuan had been too lazy to go downstairs for dinner, so he simply cooked himself a bowl of instant noodles.

Though instant noodles lacked nutritional value, they smelled wonderful, holding an immense attraction for a young child like Doudou.

While ghosts could not consume physical food, they could feed on aromas, so Shen Siyuan had allowed them to "eat" first.

He never anticipated that Doudou would come running to tell on Yin Xingyue just because the older ghost had inhaled one more breath of the scent. Shen Siyuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

In the end, Shen Siyuan could only turn on his computer and play cartoons to dismiss her.

Prompted by Doudou's remark, Yin Xingyue felt too awkward to stay by Shen Siyuan's side any longer and hurried over to watch television with Doudou.

Just as Shen Siyuan was eating his noodles, he received a text message from Jiang Tingyu.

"Did you get back to Binhai?"

Seeing this text, Shen Siyuan could not help but smile.

The mere fact that she sent this message meant she had hesitated repeatedly before finally lowering her own persistence and bottom line.

Moreover, she didn't really care about whether Shen Siyuan had returned to Binhai; what she actually wanted to ask was how his blind date had gone.

Yet, being too shy to ask directly, she had opted for a roundabout strategy.

Since she didn't ask outright, Shen Siyuan chose to play dumb and replied directly: "Just got back."

"Then do you want to go out for dinner together? I'm all alone and quite bored."

The moment Shen Siyuan sent his reply, Jiang Tingyu's message flashed back instantly.

Shen Siyuan snapped a photo of his instant noodles and sent it over.

"You're just eating that? Come out, and I'll treat you to a big meal."

"Forget it, I'm almost finished eating."

"Oh, is that so? Well, another time then," Jiang Tingyu said.

Shen Siyuan replied with an OK sticker.

Sensing a response, Jiang Tingyu immediately continued: "You're so nice, able to go home whenever you want. If I want to go home, taking a train won't do; I have to take a plane, and the ticket prices are ridiculously expensive. I can't afford to go back."

"Distance creates beauty. Whenever I go home too often, my parents get annoyed with me," Shen Siyuan replied.

"Ah, is that so? I almost forgot to ask, how was the blind date? Did you find anyone to your liking?" Jiang Tingyu asked, feigning casualness.

Shen Siyuan couldn't even be bothered to call her bluff. Had she forgotten? Didn't she initiate contact precisely to ask this question?

"Not bad."

Shen Siyuan intentionally gave an ambiguous answer.

"Your answer is so perfunctory. (Aggrieved.jpg)"

"Do you think I'm very annoying?" Jiang Tingyu added immediately.

"Not at all. She was all right, but just not suited for me. That's why I incurred my mom's displeasure and got chased back here," Shen Siyuan said, deciding not to string her along any further.

Jiang Tingyu instantly replied with a laughing-out-loud sticker.

Then she pressed on: "Was your blind date pretty?"

She wasn't really asking if Shen Siyuan's blind date was pretty; she was asking if the woman was prettier than her. Women were always like this, fond of comparing everything.

Sure enough, when Shen Siyuan replied, "She's quite pretty,"

she immediately followed up by asking if the girl was prettier than her.

In truth, the fact that she could ask such a question indicated that she had already begun to care about Shen Siyuan's opinion.

So Shen Siyuan answered: "Not as pretty as you."

When a woman asks you whether she or someone else is prettier, you must never spout nonsense about different styles and everyone having their own unique beauty. Directly telling her that she is the prettiest is the only correct answer.

True to form, Jiang Tingyu immediately sent a sticker of herself happily pounding the floor.

Following that, she sent Shen Siyuan a mirror selfie. She was wearing a tight wetsuit on her upper body, her wet hair pinned up high, exposing her slender neck and narrow, rounded shoulders. She looked like a lotus emerging from the water—gorgeous and stunning.

"I just got off work, you know."

While Shen Siyuan was zooming in on the photo and examining it closely, another message arrived from her.

"You have to work on a Sunday?"

"Right, rest days are actually when we're at our busiest. Weekdays are much more relaxed, so we take turns resting."

Hearing this, Shen Siyuan understood; she worked at an aquarium, where holidays brought the largest crowds.

"Were you in a show today?" Shen Siyuan asked, knowing the answer.

"Yes! I invited you, but you wouldn't come. (Sad.jpg)"

"Next time for sure."

"Then next week. I'll treat you to a big meal then," Jiang Tingyu said.

Shen Siyuan thought for a moment and replied: "I should have time next week."

Saying this left him a little room to maneuver; if he truly couldn't make it, he could claim a temporary emergency.

He didn't refuse outright because the two of them had only just met, and their sunk cost was still very low. Consecutive rejections would cause Jiang Tingyu to simply give up.

However, from Jiang Tingyu's perspective, such a response meant Shen Siyuan had agreed.

She immediately sent an OK sticker and followed up with: "Then I'll wait for you."

"Alright, go eat your dinner. My noodles are getting soggy," Shen Siyuan proactively ended the conversation.

When pursuing a girl, one must never be overly servile—especially with a girl who already had a favorable impression of you. You must especially avoid appearing too overly enthusiastic.

A girl was much like a kite in the sky; pull the string too tight and it would snap, leave it too slack and it would plummet.

In short, one needed to maintain a balanced tension so that the girl would retain her fresh curiosity about you and desire to learn more on her own initiative.

Though Doudou was watching cartoons, she had been keeping an eye on Shen Siyuan all along. Seeing him finish his noodles in just a few bites, she let out a heavy sigh.

Hearing her, Yin Xingyue asked with a hint of curiosity, "Doudou, what's wrong?"

"Sweet Potato Big Brother is having such a good time, eating so many instant noodles all at once," Doudou said, her tone brimming with envy.

Yin Xingyue could not quite grasp Doudou's mindset. What was there to envy about eating instant noodles? Back when she was alive, she used to eat them constantly, sometimes having them for all three meals of the day.

"My mom said instant noodles are unhealthy and wouldn't let me eat them. But they obviously smell so good, how could they be bad things?" Doudou said, looking puzzled.

Yin Xingyue was slightly amused by her.

"Things that smell good don't necessarily mean they're good things. Just like people who look pretty aren't necessarily good people..."

Yin Xingyue's voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, because these were all lessons learned from her own bitter experience.

At that moment, Shen Siyuan finished tidying up his bowl and chopsticks, walked over, and called out, "Stop watching cartoons, come over here."

Hearing this, Doudou was the first to sprint over to Shen Siyuan. Lifting her chin, she asked, "Sweet Potato Big Brother, are you going to eat instant noodles again?"

"Who's eating instant noodles? I'm going to teach you something."

Shen Siyuan glanced at the flickering blue flame hovering above her head and pulled out the [Wind-Embracing Slumber].

The [Wind-Embracing Slumber] possessed a calming and soothing effect; it should be somewhat useful for them.

"Follow my movements and do as I do." Shen Siyuan assumed a posture of embracing the universe.

"Oh! So Sweet Potato Big Brother wants to play a game with us!"

Doudou happily began jumping and spinning around in circles.

It seemed she was completely incapable of learning this [Wind-Embracing Slumber]; she was simply too high-spirited and flighty.