Chapter 12
Seven o’clock in the evening was when Tian Xia Restaurant was the most packed. As he drove through the parking lot, Fang Cheng Ran looked all over for a parking spot.
Ahead of him, a man and woman were exiting their car. When he drove past them, his gaze was subconsciously drawn to them.
The man was quite tall; he had a white shirt on, and his unusually long black hair had a slight natural curl to it.
The woman next to him… who was she? She had a slim figure, and was wearing a black hat and a pair of sungla.s.ses. Her curled flaxen hair was very similar to Yang Wei. It felt like he’d seen her somewhere before… Song Jin?
“What’s up? Do you recognize them?” Papa Fang asked from the back seat.
Fang Cheng Ran withdrew his gaze and turned into an empty spot. “No. I thought it was a friend of mine, but it seems that I was mistaken.”
Papa Fang snorted coldly. “I thought it was your girlfriend.”
Fang Cheng Ran
laughed dryly. “Father, I feel like I’m nothing more than a frivolous playboy in your eyes.”
Papa Fang asked, astonished, “Don’t tell me you aren’t?”
Fang Cheng Ran fell silent. He’d gone through great trouble to invite them out for dinner tonight, so he didn’t want to turn the night into a drama on family ethics.
While Fang Cheng Ran and company exited the car, Qi Xiao Yan and Song Jin were on the elevator headed to the seventh floor. When the elevator doors opened, the tall hostess inquired about their private room reservation, before personally leading them inside.
Song Jin had already had her a.s.sistant order dishes in advance, so they didn’t have to wait long after they’d been seated before a waitress dressed in a qipao came in with their food. The sight of the bright red side dishes made her grimace slightly; she’d forgotten to tell her a.s.sistant not to order any particularly spicy dishes. She recalled that Qi Xiao Yan didn’t like to eat spicy things.
After the waitress left, Song
Song Jin looked at Qi Xiao Yan across from her with a somewhat apologetic expression. “I’m sorry. I had my a.s.sistant help me order, but she didn’t know that you can’t handle spicy food.”
Qi Xiao Yan eyed the salad in front of him and said, “It’s fine. In fact, I’ve actually eaten this chili pepper salad before.”
Song Jin’s eyes widened in surprise. “Chili pepper salad?” Which dish was this?
Qi Xiao Yan smirked slightly but remained silent.
He remembered that day, with its moderate wind, beautiful sun, and cloudless sky. He’d just finished writing a thesis, so he’d been in a very good mood. As a result, he’d sought out Yang Wei in order to talk with her about the venerable Goldbach. Aftwards, Yang Wei had server him a plate of chili pepper salad for dinner.
Qi Xiao Yan had glanced at the fiery chili peppers and pursed his lips. “What is this?”
Yang Wei had replied in a deadpan manner, “It’s chili pepper salad; are you not going to eat it?”
Qi Xiao Yan had remained silent
remained silent for a full three seconds before lifting his head to look at her. “What do you ordinarily use to make salad?”
“Chili peppers.”
“This chili pepper salad is…?”
“Normally I use twice as much chili pepper.” Yang Wei had promptly answered, as if it was both normal and expected.
Qi Xiao Yan: “…”
He’d unexpectedly felt unable to refute her words.
Yang Wei had carefully examined his grave expression as he gazed at the plate of chili peppers in front of him, before finally handing him a carrot as if it was an act of great mercy. “This is for you. Slice it and add it to your plate.”
Qi Xiao Yan had taken the carrot and stood up from his, but after taking a few steps toward the kitchen, he’d turned his back to ask Yang Wei, “Do you want an odd or even number?”
Yang Wei: “…”
She’d gripped her chopsticks tightly andgritted out, one word at a time, “I. Want. A. Rational. Number.”
Qi Xiao Yan had then turned back around and entered the kitchen. When he returned, the carrotreturned, the carrot slices had been arranged into the shape of π.
He recalled that this had occurred not too long before Yang Wei’s divorce suggestion. Could it have been because the π symbol he’d arranged hadn’t beautifully expressed the concept of pi?
Qi Xiao Yan felt that this thought was somewhat reasonable. After all, Yang was an art student; her sense of aesthetics was quite high. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have even glanced at him.
“What’re you thinking about?” When Song Jin saw Qi Xiao Yan staring spellbound at the side dishes on the table with a nearly invisible hanging from his lips, she couldn’t help but ask.
Qi Xiao Yan was brought back to the present by her words and shook his head, saying, “Nothing.”
Song Jin stared at him for a moment before smiling. “Next time, I’ll invite you over to eat at my house. I can make dishes that won’t lose out to top-tier restaurants.”
Qi Xiao Yan lifted his head to meet her gaze, but didn’t decline or accept her invite.