After Being Targeted By A Sweet Girl With Big Eyes - Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Summer Night

The group rushed forward, greeting her warmly, pulling her out and patting Jiang Ruyi’s shoulder. “Ruyi, aren’t you going to introduce us to this person?”

Jiang Ruyi glanced at Fu Tian, unsure how to introduce her. Fu Tian smoothly took over: “Hello, I’m Fu Tian. I’m just here visiting Ruyi lately.”

“We’re all friends, all friends! Don’t be nervous!”

Ma Fengyuan and Yin Huayi had won the dice roll in the group chat, so they were taking Jiang Ruyi’s car back first. The remaining five slowly lined up to wait for the next car.

Ma Fengyuan waved at them. “Sorry, sisters! Your Brother Ma’s luck has just been too good lately… Ah, yes, yes, no shame! Why should I be ashamed in front of you? We’re heading back now, bye-bye!”

And so, Fu Tian sat in the passenger seat, holding the dog, listening to the trio chat idly.

Yin Huayi provided emotional support to Jiang Ruyi: “Wow, you’re so handsome, Sister! The way you drive is truly dashing! I’m so lucky to be riding in your car.”

Jiang Ruyi couldn’t suppress the smile on her face. Ma Fengyuan leaned his head over the center console to tease Fu Tian’s small dog. “What breed is your little dog? So tiny, so cute! What a little guy.”

“Ah, she’s a Chihuahua.”

“Huh? This is a Chihuahua? My impression of Chihuahuas is that they have huge eyes and a really ferocious temper. Your baby is so cute! What’s her name?” Yin Huayi also leaned in to join the fun.

“Hmm, she’s called Tuotuo (拖拖 – ‘Draggy’). Her personality is very good, even a little bit prone to procrastination, so we call her Tuotuo.” The small dog was used to “traveling” with Fu Tian and showed no signs of distress from the flight; she was very well-behaved.

“So the ‘Tuo’ is for dilatory! How cute! Her fur looks a little longer than a normal Chihuahua’s.”

Seeing Ma Fengyuan constantly teasing Tuotuo, Fu Tian offered, “Do you want to hold her? She’s very well-behaved.”

“Of course!” The moment he took her, Ma Fengyuan’s voice automatically became higher-pitched. Sure enough, no one, regardless of gender or age, could resist a cute, furry creature.

He held her easily with one hand, mentally muttering that she felt like a hot dog sausage. “Hey, doesn’t her coloring look like Wei Ning’s dog? What was its name? I can’t recall it right now.”

He looked at Yin Huayi, trying to prompt her, but the name was on the tip of her tongue, yet she couldn’t say it. It was so close to being blurted out!

Jiang Ruyi scoffed, “Idiots. It’s called Mo Shui.” She turned to Fu Tian and said, “Wei Ning has a black Shiba Inu, and its coloring is exactly like your little dog’s.”

“Ah, right, right! Mo Shui (墨水 – Ink)! I remember! She does calligraphy, so she named it Mo Shui. She also has a curly-haired cat named Xie Yi .”

Ma Fengyuan laughed brightly and continued chatting with Fu Tian. “She hasn’t arrived yet. She drove here this time just to bring her two kids. And I’m telling you, when the others found out, they asked her to bring their pets along! Oh my god, she was the only one driving at first, but then there were too many kids, so they voted Xiong Hui out. He’s driving the cats, Wei Ning is driving the dogs, and Liu Pinglan is driving alone. I won’t tell you why yet. You’ll definitely scold her when you find out.”

“Nonsense. I have a great temper. Don’t ruin my reputation,” Jiang Ruyi glared at Ma Fengyuan in the rearview mirror.

Tuotuo hadn’t even warmed up in Ma Fengyuan’s hands before Yin Huayi took her. “Cute, cute! I don’t even want to talk about the pet-raising environment in Beijing. The little ones look forward to coming to Aunt Jiang’s place every year to run around.”

The airport was still some distance from Jiang Ruyi’s ranch. The group finally reached the property as the last rays of the sunset faded. Jiang Ruyi suddenly slapped the steering wheel hard, wailing, “Aaaah!”

Everyone was startled and turned to her, asking in unison, “What’s wrong?”

“I planned to take Fu Tian for a spin in the city and get something good to eat! I completely forgot because of all of you!” She smacked her thigh in frustration. “Is it too late to call them and ask them to bring back an order? I’ve been thinking about that stuff since last night!”

“You’re pathetic,” Ma Fengyuan scoffed. “You’ve only been home a few days and you’re already tired of the home cooking? Too late. There’s no car behind us. Just wait for the next wave.”

“No!” Jiang Ruyi was so anxious she almost jumped up. If she weren’t holding the steering wheel, she might have raised both hands and feet in protest. “The food at home isn’t as good as the stuff outside with all the extra seasonings! I love that ‘junk food’!”

She grudgingly gave up as they approached the front gate.

…

Soon after, the entire group arrived at the ranch. The cars parked directly at the entrance, and the luggage was moved to the side house. Young people can be quite rowdy when they play, so staying in the side house was perfect. They could party as late as they wanted. The place was vast, and the old couple doted on them, letting them make noise.

The three drivers arrived, and a crowd rushed out to greet them. Jiang Ruyi stood with her arms crossed, staring at Liu Pinglan’s car. She wanted to see exactly what Liu Pinglan had done to earn her scorn.

The car door opened, and the air was immediately filled with the sound of cats meowing and dogs barking. The commotion was truly significant.

The parents of the pets all rushed toward Wei Ning and Xiong Hui’s cars to retrieve their furry children. Only Jiang Ruyi, holding Fu Tian’s little dog, remained by Liu Pinglan’s car. “Pingping, get out! Ma Fengyuan said you got something amazing. Let’s see if it’s a mule or a horse, show it off…”

Then, she watched as Liu Pinglan led an internet-famous small dog out of an airline crate. “Hey, isn’t that a Beagle? Wow, you must be really bored lately. That’s not much of anything.”

Liu Pinglan offered a weary smile. “Want me to give it to you?”

“Stop playing these lame tricks on me.”

…

The old couple smiled broadly at the throng of young faces surging in.

The shouts of “Grandma” and “Grandpa” rose and fell, warming their hearts.

“Oh, you’re all good children!” Granny Wang greeted them. “Since everyone’s here, come eat quickly. We’ll eat simply today, and tomorrow we’ll have a big meat feast!”

“Grandma, we just love your meat pies and salty milk tea. Everything here tastes great!” someone responded with a laugh. “Don’t worry, Ruyi won’t let us starve.”

“Yes, yes, let’s eat, let’s eat!”

The dining table wasn’t big enough, so everyone naturally sat cross-legged around the coffee table, watching TV and chatting. It was as lively as a New Year’s celebration.

Jiang Ruyi sat at the table with Fu Tian, eating slowly. Seeing that Fu Tian was quiet this afternoon, she whispered words of comfort: “These are all my childhood friends. Their character is beyond reproach. You don’t need to feel constrained. If you want to meet anyone, I’ll call them over. If anyone bothers you, I’ll make them go away.”

She didn’t lower her voice for the benefit of others. Everyone smiled and looked at Fu Tian, waiting for her reply.

Fu Tian smiled. “Everyone’s very nice. You all just enjoy yourselves; you don’t need to worry about me.”

Someone immediately teased, “Ruyi, you were hiding such a beautiful and kind friend! If you had introduced her to us earlier, you wouldn’t have to talk for yourself!”

“Listen to that tone! It’s exactly the same as when Qi Fei coaxes his girlfriend!”

Everyone knew Jiang Ruyi’s sexual orientation, but her aesthetic standards for past partners were rigid and unwavering. No one suspected anything romantic between her and Fu Tian.

They’re just friends, just friends.

Liang Cheng smiled and playfully provoked her, “Say some nice things to make your sisters happy. Maybe we’ll have a surprise for you.”

Jiang Ruyi raised an eyebrow. “That depends on how much your ‘surprise’ is worth. That will determine how nice my words are.”

“Oh, look at that attitude!” Liang Cheng playfully jabbed at her.

Xu Shuangying egged her on, “I know what it is! It’s a really good surprise, Ruyi, something you’ve always wanted.”

Jiang Ruyi frowned, thinking hard, but came up blank. There were very few things she wanted but hadn’t gotten. She secretly glanced at Fu Tian, was caught, and quickly averted her eyes, stubbornly saying, “I’m sorry, there’s nothing in this world that Jiang Ruyi wants and can’t get.”

“You really deserve a punch!”

If the elders weren’t present, someone would probably have jumped on her to “teach her a lesson.”

Liang Cheng offered a hint: “SHD.”

Jiang Ruyi shot up to her feet. “Is it the SHD Paris show piece! Is it? Is it?”

“Uh-huh, am I a good sister?”

She ran over to Liang Cheng and rubbed against her vigorously. This world just happened to coincide with the one where her company dissolved. Although Yan Yan Xin didn’t have a final stage performance, there were many, many financial issues to deal with. Jiang Ruyi had only casually seen a pair of pants that perfectly matched her aesthetic while scrolling on her phone that day.

She had only complained about it in the group chat, and Liang Cheng actually remembered! “Oh my god, Sister Liang, you’re my real sister! Who is Wang Rumeng? I don’t know her! I’m going to love you forever!”

…

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they slumped on the sofa for a while before slowly walking through the covered corridor toward the side house.

Jiang Ruyi’s home was a three-villa compound connected by covered corridors, with a hint of European architectural romance. Her grandparents had fallen in love while traveling in Europe and had built the house to resemble the architecture there.

Jiang Ruyi planned to stay and chat with them for a while, so she instructed Fu Tian, “You go back to your room and rest first. I’ll go talk to them for a bit. Call me if you need anything.”

“Okay.”

Fu Tian stood there, holding the little dog and smiling gently. Jiang Ruyi didn’t notice anything wrong, just that she suddenly felt a bit detached.

Everyone chose their preferred rooms. Jiang Ruyi helped move the luggage up. Although it didn’t match the environment, she thought it was really necessary to install an elevator. This group was truly idle; how long were they planning to stay, bringing so many suitcases?

At this moment, she completely failed to recall Fu Tian’s own record of bringing six suitcases alone.

Fu Tian finished washing up and looked out the window toward the side house. The moonlight was cool, and the lights were warm.

She saw Jiang Ruyi emerge, looking for Laifu (the cat) and Lion (the dog), and she immediately imagined what Jiang Ruyi would say.

She would probably stand with her hands on her hips, proudly and disdainfully saying, “As if no one else has cats and dogs! I have both!”

So cute.

She has so many friends. That’s wonderful.

Jiang Ruyi returned to the main hall with Lion (the cat). Without the elders or outsiders present, they completely relaxed. She sat next to Liang Cheng, listening to Liu Pinglan, who was pinching the Beagle’s tiny mouth, complaining to Yang Huaqi, who owned a Golden Retriever. Wei Ning was showing off her hairless Devon Rex to Xiong Hui. Ma Fengyuan and Xu Shuangying were engaged in a verbal brawl, with Yin Huayi and Ke Ziyu eagerly fueling the fire. Gao Fang was showing off a new high score screenshot from his mobile game.

Jiang Ruyi thought: Ah, my friends are so noisy. I wonder what Fu Tian is doing?