However, listening to her parents-in-law talking about making friends, a person came to Qiao Nan’s mind. That was no other than Li Yayan, whom she had met twice or thrice. She and Li Yayan were both women. Since Li Yayan was not courting her, did that mean that she wanted to be friends?
She had not taken the initiative to make friends, so it was interesting that someone else had tried to initiate a friendship.
Because she didn’t have any classes in the afternoon, Qiao Nan spent the rest of the day at home. Taking care of her children all the time? As a student, there was no way Qiao Nan would have so much free time. She had not carried all those books home for nothing. With an entire lifetime’s worth of experience, it was much easier for Qiao Nan to purchase the books that she needed now with a few simple clicks online.
Zhai Sheng’s salary was entirely in Qiao Nan’s hands and he didn’t limit Qiao Nan’s spending at all. However, to get her money’s worth of these terribly expensive books, Qiao Nan worked hard to read through them conscientiously. As such, while she was at home, Qiao Nan spent most of her time immersed in her books, apart from when the children were awake.
Professional nannies? While she was studying at home, it was usually her mother-in-law who poured her glasses of water!
Qiao Nan did not have much on her mind. It was either on her family or on her studies. The problem was that not everyone around her was that ‘simple’.
“Is your chauffeur not here yet?” This was Li Yayan’s nth encounter with Qiao Nan. Because she had been met with failures the previous times, Li Yayan had learned that she would have to understand Qiao Nan’s schedule if she wanted to make friends with her. Then, she would find the right time to strike after learning about Qiao Nan’s habits.
Qiao Nan shook her head and looked at her watch, feeling a little deflated. “We still have class in the afternoon and the last class in the morning ended slightly later.” Since this was an adult school and there were no boarding facilities, the food options in the canteen were rather limited. If one arrived just slightly late, there would only be rice left with no other dishes available.
Qiao Nan had chosen to eat in the school canteen not to save money, but to save time. But she knew that she wouldn’t be able to save too much time. As a mother to three children, Qiao Nan couldn’t afford to go hungry. Otherwise, she might be entirely out of energy to even carry her children once she got home.
Li Yayan smiled. “How coincidental! My class ended late too and I was thinking of going to get lunch somewhere. Do you want to head over together?”
Knowing that Qiao Nan had a full day of lessons today, Li Yayan had already made her plans. Whether Qiao Nan decided to eat in the canteen or head out for lunch, she would sit next to or in front of Qiao Nan for sure. Her efforts had finally paid off. She had not waited in vain today.
This time, Qiao Nan had not refused but laughed instead. “Alright.” Perhaps, it was because Qiao Nan was feeling a little bored that she felt no point in always rejecting Li Yayan, no matter the motive she had behind getting close to her. If she rejected Li Yayan again, Li Yayan would definitely try her luck again. In that case, it seemed preferable to let Li Yayan get her way so that she could see what Li Yayan was up to.
Having successfully invited Qiao Nan, Li Yayan let out a wide smile. “Oh right, what do you like to eat? Do you prefer Chinese food or western food? Or hot pot? A buffet?” In order to gain Qiao Nan’s favor, Li Yayan naturally tried to suit Qiao Nan’s taste.
Qiao Nan gave it some thought. “Let’s go for a buffet.” Actually, Qiao Nan preferred having hot pot to buffets. But she was not close to Li Yayan, and it was their first time having a meal together. Qiao Nan felt a little uneasy having hot pot with her, and neither did she like western cuisine. As such, a Chinese buffet seemed like her best option.
“How coincidental! I quite like buffets myself! There’s a place nearby that is quite good. I’ve been there several times alone. Shall I bring you to have a try?” Li Yayan asked, showing off her familiarity with the area.
Not only did Qiao Nan not refuse her enthusiasm, she even accepted it fully. Qiao Nan simply nodded in agreement to whatever Li Yayan said. In the end, Qiao Nan indeed saw a buffet restaurant not far away with Li Yayan leading the way. Given the crowd in the restaurant, it seemed as though the food there was pretty decent.
Li Yayan had kept her sight on Qiao Nan along the way and she had realized that Qiao Nan had remained calm and natural the whole time, without any hint of suspicion. Li Yayan couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. She hadn’t even been this anxious when she had been a student herself. Facing Qiao Nan made her feel even more nervous than taking an exam!
In order to gain Qiao Nan’s trust, Li Yayan had memorized Qiao Nan’s timetable and now knew Qiao Nan’s habits like the back of her hand after Wang Yang sent someone to check on her.
Initially, Li Yayan had intended on using this meal to get closer to Qiao Nan. Of course, since she had already done so much research, Li Yayan had also gotten a sense of all the restaurants in the vicinity of the school. Li Yayan dared not be even the slightest bit careless about which restaurant had better food, or which one suited Qiao Nan’s palate more. If she brought Qiao Nan to a lousy restaurant and Qiao Nan refused to lunch with her from then on, neither her in-laws nor Wang Yang would ever let her off.
Li Yayan knew that there were several items on this restaurant’s menu that Qiao Nan would like since she enjoyed eating spicy food. Since Qiao Nan had finally accepted her invitation, Li Yayan naturally brought Qiao Nan to this restaurant.
Since she had already paid for her own meal, Qiao Nan was not going to be embarrassed about it. Because she had to take care of her children while studying, Qiao Nan used up a lot of physical and mental capacity. As such, her appetite had grown drastically.
Li Yayan had only taken a little as courtesy, but in the blink of an eye, Qiao Nan had heaped a small mountain on her own plate! Li Yayan was dumbfounded. “Will you be able to finish everything?” What Li Yayan was more curious about was whether Qiao Nan was not afraid of gaining weight after eating so much.
“Is it a lot?” She glanced at the food on her plate. “It’s not a lot. I’m just too embarrassed to take a few plates at the same time. After I finish this plate, I’ll probably go for a second serving.” It wouldn’t be too late even if Li Yayan were to ask her that question after she had her third or fourth plate of food.
