Women would usually drop the idea of ordering liquor after hearing their boyfriends say that.
However, that was not the case for Wu Pingyang, who went on to order a bottle of liquor, nonetheless.
It was reasonably priced.
It was a 200-milliliter bottle of liquor that cost four hundred dollars.
An Xiaoning was extremely uncomfortable throughout the meal, for Wu Pingyang kept leaving her out of the conversation with Fan Shixin. To make matters worse, she polished off all the sauteed shrimps and chicken cubes that An Xiaoning had ordered instead of the vegetarian dishes that she had ordered herself.
Yet, Fan Shixin could not voice his thoughts since he was her boyfriend.
In conclusion, An Xiaoning did not enjoy herself at all.
She lost her appetite and gestured to Fan Shixin that they should leave after having eaten just a morsel of food. She then waited for him inside the car.
Fan Shixin nodded.
After An Xiaoning left, Wu Pingyang finally blurted all the words that she had been keeping to herself. “Just who is she? She didn’t say a word to me at all. She seems rather aloof.”
“Didn’t I already tell you that she’s my colleague?” Fan Shixin wiped his mouth and said, “Are you done eating yet?”
“No, you’re done?”
“I have to get going. I’ll go get the tab.”
She interjected, “Why are you getting the tab? Aren’t you guys going to go dutch?”
“It doesn’t matter who gets the tab. We’re not calculative with each other.” Fan Shixin then began walking toward the cashier counter.
Wu Pingyang was filled with disgruntlement. That woman is so beautiful. If they keep working with each other, something is definitely going to happen between them.
When Fan Shixin returned after getting the tab, she asked, “Is that woman married yet?”
“No.”
“She doesn’t look that young. She’s still unmarried?”
“She has a boyfriend,” said Fan Shixin, who thought that it would be appropriate to say that since An Xiaoning was considered to be Jin Qingyan’s girlfriend now that they had yet to marry each other again.
Wu Pingyang immediately felt relieved after hearing that An Xiaoning was attached.
“However, you must go on dutch when you dine with your friends next time, so that no one will be shortchanged. That’s better for everyone.”
“I already said we’re not that calculative with each other. She didn’t bring her credit card out with her today. She definitely wouldn’t have let me get the tab if she did.”
“Those are just excuses. Women nowadays are so full of excuses. They’ll simply say that they had forgotten to bring their cards or cash if they’re thinking of letting someone else get the tab.”
Fan Shixin was speechless.
He had no idea how to answer her at all.
They exited the restaurant to see that An Xiaoning was waiting for him in the car. Wu Pingyang then spoke to him for a long while before allowing him to leave.
An Xiaoning started the engine and turned the car around. She only removed her mask after leaving the vicinity of the restaurant.
“Young Madam, you barely ate anything just now. Shall we… get Auntie Chen to cook something for you later?”
“It’s alright, I’ll just have some snacks when we get home later. You must get some rest and catch up on sleep later. You’ve only slept for four hours last night.”
Fan Shixin expressed assent and said, “I feel…”
He paused in his speech, unsure of how he should continue.
“What do you feel?”
“I feel that my morals and values are very different from hers. Sometimes, I’m really speechless when it comes to the things that she says.”
“That’s why you must consider it carefully before getting married. Otherwise, you’d just be being irresponsible.”
“…”
To An Xiaoning’s surprise, Jin Qingyan was still at home and did not go to the office.
“Young Sir, didn’t you go to the office today?”
“Of course not. I waited at home for your return.”
An Xiaoning’s eyes lit up and she said teasingly, “Had I known earlier that you were at home, we would’ve just come back for lunch. We had lunch at a restaurant before coming home.”
“I know, I saw your location.”
“You definitely don’t know who we saw at the restaurant.”
“Who…”
An Xiaoning answered, “Pei Yi. He said that he’s here for a vacation by himself. I don’t think he’s that brazen to come here alone. Could it be that he had brought his bodyguards but they just didn’t tag along with him to the restaurant?”
Jin Qingyan answered, “We never know. He should have brought some bodyguards with him, given that he knows his life would be in danger once his identity is exposed.”
“Well, we can only turn a blind eye to this. I’ll just pretend that I didn’t see him today,” said An Xiaoning.
Jin Qingyan knew what her intentions were.
Noticing that Fan Shixin seemed to be a little listless, he asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
An Xiaoning answered on behalf of Fan Shixin, “It’s been hard on Shixin. I fainted after performing the ritual last night and he was the one who accompanied me throughout.”
Jin Qingyan asked, “You fainted? Why didn’t Shixin tell me?”
“I told him to keep it from you because I was afraid that you would be worried.” She then said to Fan Shixin, “Shixin, you may go back and get some rest. I’ll chat with your Young Sir.”
Fan Shixin nodded and said, “Okay.”
After he exited, An Xiaoning pulled Jin Qingyan upstairs excitedly.
As soon as she closed the door, she leaped onto him and wrapped her legs around his waist. “I didn’t want you to drive all the way to look for me at night. That’s why I told Shixin to keep it from you. Don’t get angry.”
Jin Qingyan’s initial displeasure vanished instantly.
He pulled her toward the bed and said, “You’re not to be so willful from now on. You can do your best, but you’re not allowed to sacrifice yourself when solving cases.”
“I understand. That’s why I must get enough rest before I can start working on the next case. The next case seems rather simple yet tricky at the same time. We already have sufficient evidence, but the police haven’t dared to nab the culprit.”
Jin Qingyan asked in puzzlement, “Why?”
“What other reason could there be? It’s because of the culprit’s powerful background.”
“If you were to intervene, wouldn’t you be offending the culprit’s entire family? Such culprits often have a powerful family behind them to back them up, just like Zong Jingyi’s case. It’s not that easy to punish the culprit even though there is concrete evidence.”
“We’ll talk about it when the problem comes. I don’t want to think about the case now. I’ll only think about you. Although it’s only been a few days and we even met once while I was there, I still missed you dearly. I feel like we’re still in the honeymoon period of our relationship.”
“Is that so?” he asked gleefully.
“Yes.”
“I want to kiss you but I can’t bring myself to.”
“Why?” An Xiaoning asked in puzzlement.
“Because you haven’t rinsed your mouth or brushed your teeth after eating.”
An Xiaoning hollered, “Jin Qingyan, how dare you scorn me!?!”
She then pinned Jin Qingyan onto the bed and began kissing him ferociously.
Being extremely germophobic, Jin Qingyan cringed in disgust.
An Xiaoning chuckled and stopped. “Let’s see if you dare to scorn me again.”
“I wouldn’t dare to… if I do it again, what’s going to happen if you decide to kiss me after eating poop? I’ll probably faint.”
