"At that moment, I imagined, what if, when it was time to pay, that young guy at the counter belted out, ’Dear guest, your total is 298 yuan. Cash or card?’
With a voice like his, if a couple of classmates happened to be walking by outside just then, how could I possibly show my face?
Forget it, forget it. Young man, just get me the 68-yuan Tony!
Then that young guy got angry, rolled his eyes, and brought me a Tony who looked like he trained in combat sports..."
Little Cucumber, her mind already thoroughly on the same wavelength, understood instantly.
Moreover, the initial wave of laughter hadn’t even subsided when another one hit; she completely gave up resisting.
"Ha ha ha... You-you’re just teasing me on purpose! I-I don’t believe you... Ha ha ha..."
Han Lie was quite helpless and ran a hand through his hair again.
"My hairstyle can’t be faked, right?" he said. "Anyway, you should never go to that salon. They definitely weren’t doing legitimate haircuts before. Their staff training is still damnably stuck in the past!"
Xi Luting was laughing so hard she could barely stand, swaying back and forth before suddenly tumbling into Han Lie’s arms.
Whoa there! What stunt is she pulling? This really puts me in a tight spot. Little Cucumber just bragged to Ham Bro about how innocent and upright I am. Now, should I play innocent, or should I be upright?
After a full second of serious consideration, Han Lie chose to be upright.
His left hand supported the back of her head, and his right arm wrapped around her shoulders, afraid she might bump into something—come on, everyone, start chanting, "Han Lie is so caring!"
What if he had chosen to be innocent?
Heh heh, that’s a secret~~~
This time, Xi Luting laughed for a long while.
When she finally decided to get up, she felt completely limp and lacked any strength.
"You’re too funny! Your usual aloofness must be an act. You’re such a liar!~~~"
Xi Luting genuinely felt that Han Lie’s sense of humor resonated with her in a way no one her age ever had.
She couldn’t figure out why.
In reality, those were just the kind of mildly suggestive jokes that lecherous older guys of the future loved to tell! They were fresh, exciting, and had hidden depths.
The person telling them couldn’t be sleazy; their words and actions, especially, couldn’t be crass or vulgar. They had to be open and frank about it.
The more serious the delivery, the funnier the contrast.
It was early 2013, and Xi Luting hadn’t attended any of society’s drinking parties, which is why she found it all so novel.
Later on, men like Han Lie—outwardly repressed but inwardly desirous—would all have gone through the era of suggestive jokes with hidden meanings, the "driving the train" meta on live streams, and the explosion of crude short videos. Every last one of them would become fluent in lewd talk.
Unfortunately, when men in their thirties tried such things, no matter how seriously they acted, they would inevitably seem sleazy.
So, you see, reincarnators are all playing with cheats.
With a handsome eighteen-year-old face and a thoroughly worldly heart, reborn in a somewhat simpler era, one only needed to be a little mindful of decorum. Then, even roguish behavior could make girls find him interesting.
This wasn’t Han Lie’s victory; it was a perk of reincarnation.
However, Han Lie had indeed accurately gauged Xi Luting’s preferences—his discreet alter ego, Ham Bro, deserved significant credit for that.
"Tell me, is the haircut story real or fake?"
There was a hint of coquettishness in Xi Luting’s expression and tone.
Han Lie, however, didn’t answer directly.
"It has to be fake! How could it be so ridiculous?"
Han Lie just smiled without a word.
Real or fake, does it matter? The point is, I managed to tease her until she was happy. Who cares about how it happened? She does?!
Xi Luting clearly didn’t care.
She was even thrilled.
After resting enough, she affectionately used Han Lie’s knees for support to get up from that scoundrel of a man’s lap, patted her bottom, and turned towards the track.
"Fine, don’t tell me then! Let’s go, let’s finish today’s workout!"
And so, the two of them earnestly began running laps.
After Xi Luting ran five laps, covering 2,000 meters, she waited for Han Lie in the equipment area.
Only after Han Lie had completed 100 pull-ups on the horizontal bar did the invitation she had been anticipating for so long finally come from him.
"It’s Saturday already. Do you still need to do your review?"
Han Lie knew perfectly well what she was getting at but pretended to be clueless.
"A review isn’t necessary, but I do have a few other things. What’s up?"
Though it wasn’t the answer she expected, Xi Luting didn’t panic and replied naturally, "A new story-based escape room just opened near Hongkou Mall, and I’d really like to check it out..."
Listen up, everyone! Remember this!
When a girl sends out signals like that, she’s waiting for you to make the invitation.
When they say something hesitant and half-finished like that, just go for it. You can’t go wrong; it’s a surefire success every time.
However, just going along with her wishes like that won’t score you many points, though.
If you encounter a good girl, it’s about mutual affection and hitting it off instantly.
If you encounter a manipulative type or a seasoned player, you’ll instantly show your hand and be easily manipulated.
Although Xi Luting wasn’t a seasoned player, Han Lie had other plans.
So, with a teasing look, he glanced at her. "Fang Feifei would probably be happy to go with you, wouldn’t she?"
"She’s scared of escape rooms."
Xi Luting didn’t even flinch and immediately offered an excuse.
She had been quite close to Fang Feifei recently, which Han Lie undoubtedly knew, so she had already prepared an explanation for their relationship.
Han Lie didn’t even ask. Follow current novels on ɴovᴇl(ꜰ)ir(e).nᴇt
Xi Luting was taken aback, then frowned. "My relationship with her isn’t that close."
Han Lie casually spread his hands. "Well, our relationship isn’t that close either..."
Xi Luting stared, aghast, her eyes wide and her lips quivering with anger.
He was just telling me jokes and even put his arm around my shoulder, and now he’s so damn quick to distance himself?! Hmph! That scoundrel!
Han Lie acted as if he hadn’t seen her expression and casually retorted, "You’ve already coaxed away one of my meal tickets and caused such a stir with Pan Ge. Now you want to ask me out today? What exactly are you trying to do?"