Chapter 8

You’re South South, little cutie: @Uncle, are you coming to Grandma’s for dinner tonight?

Ti Nanyi had probably already faced some form of punishment from her mother, as she had started to appear more often in the family group chat recently. However, she was now much more obedient in her messages, even using fewer stickers.

The Ti family lived in Xuan City, with Ti Xiao’s elder brother and parents living close by. Ti Xiao, however, had moved to a different district after graduation for the convenience of his work. This was also more convenient for Ti Nanyi, who was attending school nearby.

The winter nights came early, and the sky had already darkened outside. Ti Xiao quickly tidied himself up, added some cat food and water for Xiao Hulu, and rushed to his parents’ house.

“Xiao Xiao,” After dinner, Ti Nanyi went into another room to do her homework. The family’s dinner conversation shifted to Ti Xiao.

The familiar, maternal voice calling “Xiao Xiao” made Ti Xiao shudder, almost tossing the peeled orange he was holding into the trash.

Here it came again.

“You’re already 23,” Ti Xiao’s mother said seriously. “You’re past the average marriage age, don’t you think it’s time to find a boyfriend?”

There are so many people who are past the average life expectancy, but they don’t… well…

Ti Xiao’s mother had married young and gave birth to his older brother when she was still quite young. Both sons had always been a source of worry-free joy to her, and as a result, she had remained in a cheerful and carefree state of mind.

Ti Xiao and his older brother, Ti Zhe, had nearly a 20-year age gap. Ti Zhe had enjoyed a life of privilege, while Ti Xiao, the youngest, was pampered by the entire family. This was why, when Ti Xiao came out to his family, there had been no opposition.

“That Aunt Wang who used to carry you when you were little, I think her son seems like a good match,” Ti Xiao’s mother continued.

“My company has a few good young men. They’re serious and responsible in their work, always striving to improve,” Ti Xiao’s sister-in-law added.

His older brother and father sat quietly watching TV, not saying a word, but the glint in their eyes clearly showed that they were secretly enjoying the spectacle.

If they could read minds, they would probably hear them laughing inwardly, eagerly awaiting the drama.

Ti Xiao silently peeled the orange, listening to his mother and sister-in-law continue their chatter. After a moment, he spat out the orange seed and said, “Actually, I do like someone.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Ti Nanyi dashed out of the room like a bolt of lightning, her curiosity ignited, leaving behind her homework and reference books.

“Who? Who? Has my uncle fallen for someone?”

With a single glance, Ti Xiao’s sister-in-law silenced Ti Nanyi, who immediately retreated like a scared quail into her grandmother’s embrace.

“What’s the person’s name? Do you have a photo? What do they do for a living? What’s their zodiac sign? I need to see if you’re compatible.” Ti Xiao’s mother, holding her little granddaughter, entered full interrogation mode.

Ti Xiao tossed the orange peel and wiped his hands calmly. He then pulled up the picture of the back view he had drawn a few days ago during his livestream and showed it to them. Several heads leaned in close.

“Just a drawing? No photo at all?” His brother and father also leaned in, sneaking glances. “What about the name? Age? Gender?”

“No, no, there’s nothing. Just this back view,” Ti Xiao replied, leaving out any mention of Xiao Yao.

There wasn’t even the faintest trace of a relationship yet. He didn’t want to make it public so soon—this was just a way to silence his mother and sister-in-law’s matchmaking attempts for the time being.

Especially that son of Aunt Wang, who was even shorter than him at 173 cm. How could they have fun together? Would he be sighing alone in some remote corner of the world?

“Wait a minute,” Ti Xiao was about to put his phone away when Ti Nanyi stopped him.

She pointed to the screen and said, “That coat… our English teacher has the same one.”

“Go away,” Ti Xiao swiped the screen off, “All you ever talk about is your English teacher. Did you pass the English test?”

Besides, could your English teacher possibly compare to Xiao Yao?

At that very moment, Xiao Yao, far away in the city, let out a big sneeze. He jostled his hand, ruining a perfectly good landscape painting.

Just after throwing the ruined paper away, his phone rang.

Lately, a bunch of worrying things had piled up since his return to the country, and now, every time he heard his phone ring, his heart would jump as if struck by an earthquake.

However, when he saw the name “Grandpa” on the screen, he breathed a sigh of relief, and his furrowed brows slowly relaxed.

The phone call lasted nearly 30 minutes, and it was only when his grandfather prepared to rest that Xiao Yao finally hung up. Reflecting on the conversation, he stepped out and knocked on Ti Xiao’s door.

No one answered.

Was Little Jiujiu not home?

He knocked again, but still no one responded. The motion-sensor lights flickered off and back on, leaving the empty hallway with only Xiao Yao’s shadow.

Xiao Yao stared at the door lock of Ti Xiao’s house and the couplet on the wall, observing it for a while before turning and heading back.

Forget it. Maybe he’s already asleep. He’ll come back tomorrow to discuss the dinner plans.

At this moment, sitting in the passenger seat, Ti Xiao would surely regret missing out if he knew what had just happened.

“How’s Nanyi been doing at noon lately?” At a red light, Ti Zhe stopped the car and asked.

Ti Xiao swallowed down the words about how his niece was always fanatically shipping comic characters and forcing CPs. He awkwardly gave a thumbs-up in her direction. “She’s doing well. She even helps me with trash collection now.”

“I see,” Ti Zhe nodded, then switched to a more gossip-like tone. “So who’s that person in the back view? Tell your big brother secretly, I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

“I’m not listening, I’m not listening. Ti Jijiji’s chanting,” Ti Xiao covered his ears. “When I was a kid, you didn’t let me off easy.”

That statement carried the pain and tears of Ti Xiao’s childhood. The age gap between them was large, and while others were tricked by their fathers, Ti Zhe specialized in tricking his younger brother. Every embarrassing incident from Ti Xiao’s childhood had been enthusiastically spread by Ti Zhe.

So, whenever his brother said something like, “Trust me, I promise,” Ti Xiao never believed him.

After bidding his brother farewell, Ti Xiao happily bounced back to his own place. Since his phone was out of data and he had to rely on Wi-Fi to stay connected, the moment he entered his home, the phone automatically connected to the Wi-Fi.

Then, a series of “ding dong” notifications startled Ti Xiao, nearly causing him to drop Xiao Hulu.

He glanced at his phone—oh no.

The red numbers on his Weibo notification were practically bursting out of the screen.

Looking closer, the user “pass by” had liked this post.

Scrolling further, every post of his was filled with likes from this user.

This user had liked every single post on Ti Xiao’s Weibo, without missing a single one. Ti Xiao had been using this Weibo account since he started posting his comic series, and now there were at least over a thousand posts.

Was this person really that bored to waste their life like this?

Ti Xiao checked the system time, counted the number of liked posts, and the time it took to flip through the pages of his phone.

With a rough calculation, he concluded that this person had pretty good hand speed. They were definitely a single dog with no girlfriend or boyfriend.

He clicked into “pass by’s” profile. There were no new updates—just that charming pumpkin illustration from the other day.

Ti Xiao rubbed Xiao Hulu’s little head and clicked on the profile picture, which featured a European castle. A strange surge of competitive spirit suddenly bubbled up inside him.

Very well.

You’ve successfully caught my attention.

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