Xia Wei"s father, who was listening in, got the shock of his life . "You"re considering marriage?"

　　Jiang Zhi Zhou replied, "Yes, we"ve already bought a house and will begin renovations on it in the next couple days . "

　　"This . . . " Didn"t you kind of need to ask for his blessing first or something?

　　Xia Wei"s mother gave him a pointed look . "Of course people dating at their age are in a hurry to marry . Why are you so shocked?"

　　Though Xia Wei"s father opened his mouth as though he still had something to say, her mother interrupted . "Are those your dishes burning? Had you better go back to the kitchen?"

　　Xia Wei"s father took a sniff . It did smell a little burnt . He hurried back to the kitchen .

　　After he left, Xia Wei"s mother continued . "Our family isn"t large, and Xia Wei is our precious only child . We love her very much . If she marries into your family and suffers an injustice under your care, we won"t take it lightly . "

　　"Auntie, rest a.s.sured, I"ll never let her be wronged . If any problems occur, we will discuss and solve them together . "

　　"That"s good . I hope you will keep to your promise . "

　　That concluded Xia Wei"s mother"s interrogation for the time being, but over in the kitchen, Xia Wei"s father was still in shock . He had raised his daughter to such an age, yet not a single word of consultation with him about her marriage? She had certainly brought back a seemingly-excellent man, but to casually a.s.sume to marry his daughter just like that? When he had courted Xia Wei"s mother, he had endured a five-way firing squad! How could he just let this go so easily?!

　　At that moment, Jiang Zhi Zhou came into the kitchen and took over the spatula in his hand .

　　"Uncle, let me help . You go take a break . " They could all smell something burning outside . If they left Xia Wei"s father alone in the kitchen, the noon meal might never happen .

　　Xia Wei"s father was naturally elated to have someone to help out with the cooking . He handed the spatula to Jiang Zhi Zhou and watched him cook .

　　His original impression of this tall and handsome man was that he wouldn"t be suitable for the kitchen, but Jiang Zhi Zhou"s work was delicate and skilled, able to bring out the feeling of a five-star hotel even in this small kitchen .

　　When the dish was plated, Xia Wei"s father picked up a pair of chopsticks and tasted it . His eyes lit up . "Amazing! This is better than what Xia Wei"s mother makes!"

　　He had originally been about to stir-fry the dish, but the burnt taste had been so well covered that you couldn"t even tell that it had once been burnt .

　　Of all the dishes set on the table, this dish was the first to vanish .

　　Xia Wei"s father harboured mixed feelings in his heart . At least when his daughter married, she would eat well .

　　After lunch, Xia Wei mother busied herself arranging a room for Jiang Zhi Zhou . There was only one, rarely used, guest room in the house . It had recently been used as storage, so she instructed Xia Wei and Jiang Zhi Zhou to go out and play around while she cleaned up .

　　Embarra.s.sed to make her so busy, Jiang Zhi Zhou suggested, "I can take a hotel room . Auntie, please don"t bother . "

　　"Oh, it"s no trouble, no trouble at all . You"ve come all this way, how could I let you stay in a hotel? You and Xia Wei go out and sight-see a little . Her high school isn"t too far from here, and you can go walk around there . "

　　Xia Wei had specifically excluded the school while planning their city tour, and had not expected her mother to make such a remark . When Jiang Zhi Zhou heard that, he said with a smile, "Indeed, I was interested in visiting Xia Wei"s alma mater . "

　　Xia Wei: " . . . "

　　Seriously?

　　"Great! Have Xia Wei show you the way . I"ll take care of the animals at home . "

　　"Thank you, Auntie . "

　　Xia Wei: " . . . "

　　They both got into the car . Sitting in the pa.s.senger seat, Xia Wei coughed, "There"s nothing to see at my old high school! It"s just a school . Why don"t we go somewhere else? I"ve made so many plans already!"

　　"It"s quite alright . It doesn"t take much time to drop by the school first . "

　　Xia Wei: " . . . "

　　She was silent for a moment, then asked, "Why are you so determined to go?"

　　"Nothing really . Just wanted to see the place you and Tao Yu fed cats . "

　　Xia Wei: " . . . "

　　She knew it! Although that love letter had long been burnt into ashes, he still remembered all about it!

　　There were still students around the school though it was Sat.u.r.day . Jiang Zhi Zhou parked the car outside the school and they walked in together . When the security guard at the gate questioned them, he let them in upon hearing that Xia Wei was an alumni coming back to visit .

　　The campus wasn"t large, and when walking around it felt like one could walk from one end to the other in just a few steps . "This is amazing . I studied here for junior high as well, and remember how when I first entered, I was in awe of how enormous the school was . But now it feels so small . " Walking along, Xia Wei explained as she went . "The area right here didn"t use to be so open . They had lots of sculptures on both sides . When I was in school, I thought that it was a long road, but even though it"s now a square, it feels so much smaller . I can see in my head how it used to be . "

　　Jiang Zhi Zhou looked at the building to the left and asked, "Did you ever have cla.s.ses in this building?"

　　"In high school . It wasn"t renovated yet while I was in junior high . " The school had changed a ton over the past few years . The only thing that had stayed the same was the knowledge pavilion, a school landmark .

　　When they got to the knowledge pavilion, there were plenty of stray cats lying about the bench . Xia Wei pointed to one, pleasantly surprised . "Look at that orange cat! Haha, doesn"t it look even fatter than our Tangerine?"

　　Jiang Zhi Zhou nodded in agreement . "Apparently there are still plenty of enthusiastic students at your school . "

　　"Hahaha, well, sure, I was one of them . "

　　"Tao Yu too . "

　　Xia Wei: " . . . "

　　Why must he bring up Tao Yu!

　　"This was your old hideout?" Jiang Zhi Zhou looked over at her . "You used to feed cats here together?"

　　" . . . " Xia Wei licked her dry lips and pointed at a little black cat . "Look, that cat"s watching you . Try petting it!"

　　Jiang Zhi Zhou: " . . . "

　　Although the conversation topic had been s.h.i.+fted a little clumsily, the little black cat she had pointed out was indeed watching him . He walked over and offered a hand . The black cat wasn"t afraid at all, rubbing its head affectionately against his palm . "Mao~"

　　Jiang Zhi Zhou was a little moved . . . Oh no, he had sprouted some feelings . If he brought yet another cat home, would Tangerine kill him?

　　"Xia Wei? What are you doing here?"

　　That sudden voice interrupted Jiang Zhi Zhou"s thoughts . He turned around . It was indeed Xia Wei"s old cla.s.smate, Tao Yu .