It was already past seven in the evening when Chairman Zhang decided that she had sufficiently monopolized her granddaughter’s time, as well as Liu Jinfei’s. An ongoing night market was on the road back to where Savory Alley was, and so they decided to drop the two off at the entrance of the night market and bid goodbye to one another.
Shen Lingqing stood next to Liu Jinfei, watching as the car—where her grandmother was—took a turn and disappeared from their sight. She sighed and turned around, entering the night market, with Liu Jinfei tailing behind her.
“I’m sorry you have to spend your day off this way,” she told him, her eyes catching how the hawkers started to open their stalls one by one. The crowd began to fill the streets, waiting for them to open.
“Oh, no. I didn’t mind it at all. In fact, it’s been a while since I was out on a day off. Usually, I spend it sleeping in and waking up late in the afternoon.” Liu Jinfei waved at her apology. He then asked curiously, “By the way, have you been to a night market before?”
“Of course, I did. Did you just assume that I’m such a sheltered child that has no idea how life goes for other people?” Shen Lingqing’s brows drew together.
“Ah, it’s not what I mean, Director Shen.” Liu Jinfei was taken aback before looking at her worriedly. He berated himself inwardly for being so careless with his words.
“Heh. You worry too much.” Shen Lingqing shot him a smirk and then shook her head. “My mother makes sure that my siblings and I don’t miss out on things ordinary people experience.”
“I see…” Liu Jinfei bit his lip in an attempt to stop himself from offending her.
“Calm down, will you? Do you always need to worry about what I think? I’m not going to fire you over trivial things.”
What followed was a smile that bloomed on Liu Jinfei’s face, but it made Shen Lingqing snort, which was so unladylike for her. If Qiao Lian was there with them, Shen Lingqing was sure her assistant would shoot her an odd look.
“Then, we should check what the night market could offer us tonight. What do you say, Director Shen?” He offered towards her.
Shen Lingqing hummed and nodded her head in agreement. She didn’t think it was a bad idea. They were already here anyway.
“Sounds like a plan. The day isn’t over yet, anyway. You should enjoy the rest of your day off. I don’t have any cash with me, though.” ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
Shen Lingqing rarely brought cash or her card with her because, most of the time, Qiao Lian would arrange the things for her such as purchasing whatever she needed in times like this.
“Oh, then, let me pay for it,”—Liu Jinfei offered—”but you can pay up if you aren’t comfortable with me treating you tonight.”
“You have enough money to spend?” Shen Lingqing wasn’t expecting that Liu Jinfei would have enough money to waste, considering that he’d been earning his own keep and hadn’t been relying on the help of the Liu family for years.
Liu Jinfei brought Shen Lingqing to the stall where the stinky tofu was being sold. He ordered two orders and passed the first cup to Shen Lingqing. He had to bite his inner cheek to stop himself from laughing, seeing how she scrunched her nose in disgust.
He had already expected this reaction from her, given how heightened her sense of smell or taste was way better than an average person. However, it still amused him to know that Shen Lingqing wasn’t so different from other women he had met in the past.
Shen Lingqing held her cup and looked at the fried stinky tofu with pickled cabbage on the side and a few chili peppers on it. She looked at it as if she despised its very existence.
“What’s wrong, Director Shen? I thought you said you wanted to try some food here at the night market,” her companion asked with amusement, wondering how long it would take Shen Lingqing to take a bite of her share.
Shen Lingqing wanted to glare furiously at him, but she reined her anger. It wasn’t like he was the one who asked to accompany her in this night market. She sighed before she picked up one piece and dreaded placing it on her mouth.
It wasn’t the first time she ate something like this, but she already wanted to spit out the stinky tofu in her mouth. However, she couldn’t because the store owner was looking at her. She chewed it a little and swallowed it in one go.
Thankfully, Liu Jinfei handed her a bottle of water she could drink to wash off the strong taste that was left on her palate. Shen Lingqing almost halved the content before they reached the second stall.
“I don’t think I can eat more of this.” She then stealthily passed the cup she was holding to Liu Jinfei. There were just some foods she would rather not eat, especially if they had such distinct and bold tastes.
Liu Jinfei took the cup and finished the rest of her stinky tofu himself while waiting for the sweet pork sausages that were being grilled in front of them. It looked like corn dogs, but it was covered with sticky rice wrappers.
This time, Shen Lingqing willingly accepted her sweet pork sausage and ate it, while Liu Jinfei took a bite of his red bean cake. They sat at the tables and chairs set up next to the stall where they bought the sausages.
Liu Jinfei took this time to watch Shen Lingqing eat other foods he bought for her, the ones that were waiting for her to be eaten. Because they were an odd and eye-catching couple at the night market, the two had no idea they were catching the attention of the other attendees of the night market.
