"Brother Shi Qian introduced you?" Xia Chuyi tilted her head and looked at Ou Lianlian, asking, "So you are?"
"My surname is Ou, and my name is Ou Lianlian. My family elders are acquainted with Brother Huo’s parents," said Ou Lianlian with a smile, lifting her chin slightly in a somewhat condescending manner, and continued, "You can call me Miss Ou."
Heh, is she implying that there’s a big class gap between us?
Her eyes curved into crescents as Xia Chuyi chuckled and said, "Hey, let’s just go with Mr. Ou, shall we? Calling someone ’miss’ is quite feudal!"
Implicitly, she was suggesting that Ou Lianlian was holding onto feudal remnants, which was unacceptable.
Ou Lianlian’s expression stiffened for a moment but quickly returned to normal as she smiled and said, "It’s just a title, how can it be considered feudal?"
"You probably don’t understand, people from big cities call each other that nowadays as a sign of politeness and respect."
Ou Lianlian said this with utmost ease and openness, as if to say, you country girl wouldn’t understand.
Seeing this, Xia Chuyi wasn’t upset and her smile grew wider, "Is that so? Then you should also address me as Miss Xia!"
The smile on Ou Lianlian’s face froze instantly.
"...Let’s just stick to comrade."
She certainly wasn’t keen on bestowing a country girl with such an honorific.
Xia Chuyi shrugged indifferently, signaling that she didn’t mind.
Taking over the conversation, she asked straightforwardly, "Alright, Mr. Ou, you know Brother Shi Qian, right?"
Hearing this, Ou Lianlian regained her characteristic smile and answered, "Yes, that’s right. Our families live in the same courtyard, we could be considered childhood friends."
Xia Chuyi gave Ou Lianlian a quick once-over.
Judging by age, Ou Lianlian should be about the same age as her, right?
"What did you say? Childhood friends?" she asked deliberately with a raised eyebrow and a feigned surprise.
Seeing her expression, Ou Lianlian felt she regained some dignity and nodded with a hint of arrogance, "That’s right."
Listening to Ou Lianlian’s words, Xia Chuyi shook her head and said, "Tsk tsk, you city folks really are strange."
"What do you mean by that?" Ou Lianlian’s face showed displeasure.
Xia Chuyi smiled and casually explained, "I didn’t mean anything, just that it’s strange, you know... When you were born, Brother Shi Qian must have already been in elementary school, right? When you started elementary school, Brother Shi Qian must have been an adult, right?"
"It’s weird that you could be childhood friends."
Isn’t it strange? There’s a three-year age gap, and Ou Lianlian and Uncle Liberation Army must be separated by at least two or three such gaps.
Clearly, Ou Lianlian was stretching, pasting the "childhood friends" label on herself and Huo Shiqian.
"You!" Ou Lianlian clearly understood the subtext in her words and was somewhat indignant.
Xia Chuyi merely continued to smile; she felt no obligation to soothe Ou Lianlian’s princess temper.
"Speaking of which, Brother Shi Qian is really something, isn’t he? Why is he introducing me everywhere? It’s quite embarrassing." Her eyes curved into a smile as she went on, "However, I’ve never once heard of Mr. Ou, you know."
"Brother Shi Qian told me that he doesn’t have any little sisters or ladies in his life."
"And even if there were, none of them would be as cute and pretty as me."
She tilted her head and continued, "So, it seems, Mr. Ou, you’re not really close with Brother Shi Qian at all, right?"
Meaning: Brother Shi Qian said, he’s not surrounded by women.
And even if he was, none as lovely and cute as her would catch his eye.
So, it left Ou Lianlian with two options, either admit she’s not really acquainted with Huo Shiqian, or concede that she’s not as pretty and adorable as Xia Chuyi, not capturing Huo Shiqian’s heart after all!