Chapter 4 Part 1
[T/N: This part is part 1/2 of ko-fi update! I will update another part soon~ Please enjoy ^^]
Qiao Yin was fine, but she was bombarded by her colleagues at the law firm.
Her colleagues were boisterous and even her partners, Lu Fei Teng and Chen Min Yi, were very concerned about her. Lu Fei Teng"s reaction was particularly dramatic. He waited at the law firm early Monday morning. When he saw Qiao Yin, he immediately rushed over to greet her. First, he stuffed her a bag of her favorite pan-fried meat bun, then handed her the preserved fish and meat. He then shook her hand with all his might, “Thank you, thank you, Xiao Qiao…”
Lu Fei Teng was always good, he"s just a little paranoid. He was convinced that if he hadn"t caught a cold cover the weekend, Qiao Yin wouldn"t have met such an incident, so he was very grateful to her. He knew she loved to eat, so he specially brought the preserved fish and meat from his hometown.
Qiao Yin blushed with shame towards his trepidation att.i.tude when she saw the fragrance pan-fried meat bun and attractive preserved fish and meat. She swallowed her saliva and felt that it was quite enjoyable. She really enjoyed the pan-fried meat bun. Before noon, she saw Chen Min Yi walked into her office wearing a pair of ten centimeters heels.
“Is this the material that will be used in tomorrow"s meeting?” Chen Min Yi picked up the thick material from the table and examined it from top to bottom. “All right, I"ll take care of it. You"ll rest well tonight.”
Qiao Yin covered her chest feeling flattered. Chen Min Yi was her college cla.s.smate. They had known each other for eleven years and she had never helped her take on any job before.
That"s why Qiao Yin left work on time for the first time. Happiness came too sudden, and she decided to go out and have a big meal as suggested by her best friend, Huang Ling. Unfortunately, Huang Ling was still on a business trip, if not Qiao Yin would call her out together. However, when she left home in the morning, she saw Xiao Yang returned home. At this time, she wondered if he would still be at home.
As she got into her car, Qiao Yin put the preserved fish and meat in place, turned on the air conditioning, and then took out her phone to text Xiao Yang. “Are you at home? Do you have time at night? I will treat you to a meal. – Qiao Yin”
She waited for five minutes and didn"t see his response. She thought he was either at work or sleeping. She decided to stop waiting and drive home instead. Unexpectedly, she received a reply from him after she parked the car. “Okay.”
A little while later, a new message came in, “I know who you are. You don"t have to add a name every time.”
Qiao Yin couldn"t help but laugh. It"s a habit she developed when she was a university student. Unless she was texting her family or close friends, each message would be accompanied by an ident.i.ty. Everyone said that it was a good habit, only Xiao Yang thought otherwise.
She was in a good mood, humming a tune when she was walking up the stairs. As soon as she arrived at her front door, she heard Xiao Yang opened the door. He stood in front of his door, wearing a sweatshirt and shorts. He was holding a toothbrush and a mouthwash cup in one hand. He must have just woken up. He looked at her with his most seductive eyes and with a hint of fatigue on his expressionless face, he said, “I"ll be ready soon.”
Qiao Yin waved her hand and took out her keys to open the door. “It"s okay. You can take your time to get ready. I"ll take a rest first.”
However, men were different from women, they always get ready very quickly. Qiao Yin had just put the preserved fish and meat into the fridge, and before she had time for a drink, she heard Xiao Yang knocking on her door.
They got into Qiao Yin"s car. As she pulled the car out of the parking s.p.a.ce, she confirmed with him, “Do you have any food that you can"t eat? Do you like spicy food?”
“Mmm.” His reply was very simple. He buckled up the seat belt and then shot a glance at her. “Seems like you are in good shape.”
“My colleagues are concern about me. I do not dare to be in bad shape.” She already drove the car out of the car park. She turned her head and smiled at him and shifted her attention back to the traffic situation. “Actually, the last time I went to America, my friend encountered a similar situation. At that time, I was really scared to death. I changed my air ticket and went home the next day. And then, I watched an American drama, ‘Criminal Minds". It"s about the crime rate in the United States, which was really scary. After thinking about it, I feel that it is much safer in our own country.”
As a Criminal Investigator, Xiao Yang had some understanding of the crime rate abroad. He began to nod quietly, “Our country is indeed relatively safer in proportion.” He paused for a moment and then talked about another topic. “Do you usually drive at this speed?”
“Hmm? Yeah. I"m easily sleepy when I drive, so I do not dare to drive fast.” She felt that he was not used to the speed. After she drove out of the neighborhood, she changed the gear and increase her speed. “Is it too slow?”
His face was still expressionless as his line of sight swept across an accessory that was for safety. “It"s fine. It"s just the speed that is most likely to cause tailgate and overtaking accidents.”
“Really? All I know is that the human violence index will rise on the road… Sigh… It seems that it is the safest time to take public transport.” She laughed when she heard it.
It was obviously a poisonous statement, but it became funny when it fell into Qiao Yin"s ear. She always thought Xiao Yang was merely innocent and quiet but she did not think that his mouth could be so nasty, and a pretty professional one.
“Only domestic public transports are relatively safe.” Xiao Yang was holding his chin with one hand and looking at the street outside the window. He corrected the situation by saying, “Since 2001 until now, China has had the least terrorist attacks in the world.”
“Of course. It"s China after all.” Qiao Yin felt a little proud. Soon after, she felt hungry and her brain floated with the food that she was going to eat later. “Have you ever been to the Gui Xiang Ren in the city center? Their crispy skin spicy fish and ginger chicken are good.” She was focusing on the road and did not realize that after she mentioned the shop name, he took a glance at her. She was still pondering over the signature dishes. “There is also their signature dish called the sweaty chicken. Sometimes when you go there a little bit late, you may not be able to eat it. The chicken is so tender and fresh. I wonder what kind of spices do they use to marinate it? It is so refreshing. When you finish the chicken, there"s also the tofu and greens that are soaked in the soup, it"s so tasty…”
When she talked about food, her big eyes were so bright like it was about to release a ray of light, and her face was full of expressions. The poker-faced Xiao Yang looked at her face with a squint, feeling that she had almost hung a sign on her neck, saying, “I am a foodie.”
“I"ve been there twice.” His tone was flat when he answered her. “The taste is good, but there are too few new products to keep their regular customers.”
In less than two minutes, the car stopped in front of Gui Xiang Ren Restaurant. They walked into the restaurant and soon a waiter arranged their table for them. However, after a few steps, Qiao Yin noticed a table by the window where her ex-boyfriend, Zheng Zi Hao, sat. His parents and current girlfriend, Xue Qing, were also at the same table.
Qiao Yin"s smile became stiff. She was about to ask the waiter to change their seat when she heard Zheng Zi Hao"s slightly surprised voice. “Qiao Yin?” He looked at Qiao Yin and then looked at Xiao Yang who was beside her. Apparently, he was surprised but he did not forget to greet him, smiling kindly, “Xiao Yang.”
Zheng Zi Hao and Qiao Yin had been seeing each other for four years, often visiting her home. Naturally, he knew about Xiao Yang, who was living opposite of Qiao Yin. Xiao Yang did not have a deep impression of him, but he remembered Qiao Yin had him as her boyfriend, so he nodded slightly in response. He took a looked at Xue Qing, and then thought of Qiao Yin"s drunken performance the night before yesterday, he sort of knew what had happened.
“Hi, what a coincidence.” Qiao Yin quickly responded, immediately put on a smile. She also nodded to Zheng Zi Hao"s parents who had turned around to look at her. “Uncle, auntie.” She then smiled at Xue Qing, “Xue Qing.”
Xue Qing smiled back and was somewhat embarra.s.sed. Zheng Zi Hao"s father only acknowledged once and there was nothing special about it. Only Zheng Zi Hao"s mother when saw Qiao Yin, she looked weird and smiled smugly. “Xiao Qiao? Aiya, what a coincidence! You come here with your friend to have a meal?” She stood up and told them to sit with them. “Come over here, let"s sit at the same table! Uncle and auntie didn"t have a chance to invite you to dinner before. We can make it up today.”
Qiao Yin realized the situation was not right. She quickly grinned and refused, “No need, auntie. I am treating a friend to a meal today, it would not be good.”
Zheng Zi Hao"s mother slapped her thigh and refused to let go, “Sigh… Xiao Qiao, aren"t you not giving auntie some face?”