Under Jiang Shichu's gaze, she ultimately said nothing.

Qin Manshu clenched her hands. She didn't look at Jiang Shichu, but looked away. All the worries in her heart were buried deep inside, and she didn't tell anyone, including Jiang Shichu.

Jiang Shichu was somewhat disappointed, but he was already used to this kind of disappointment. He simply got up and did not make any further excessive movements.

As Jiang Shichu stood up, the oppressive feeling dissipated. Qin Manshu breathed a slight sigh of relief, but at the same time, she noticed Jiang Shichu's sudden silence. She smiled and said, "You rushed over here but haven't eaten yet, have you? You should eat quickly. I haven't touched anything, and I ordered quite a lot of dishes, but they've been sitting for a while. Otherwise, I'll have the hotel remake a batch and send it up."

"No."

Qin Manshu got up and opened the food box, taking out the dishes one by one, which were very well packaged. Jiang Shichu seemed to have forgotten Qin Manshu's deep-seated wariness just now. The two sat down to eat facing each other. This time, Qin Manshu was very attentive and got chopsticks for Jiang Shichu, served him rice, and placed it in front of him, saying with a smile, "Eat."

When Qin Manshu bent down to place the bowl and chopsticks filled with rice in front of him, Jiang Shichu seemed to sense something. He reached out and touched the corner of Qin Manshu's eye, and suddenly asked, "Have you been crying?"

"No, why would I cry?"

“Well, there’s nothing to be stubborn about because you cried after failing with Ji Shuli.” Jiang Shichu let go of her hand.

The two of them finished their meal in silence.

After finishing her meal, Qin Manshu called the driver and told him he could go home first, while she and the young master of the Jiang family left.

After getting into Jiang Shichu's car, Qin Manshu seemed to remember something and called her previous driver again, mentioning that she had a lot of groceries at her apartment and that she was leaving now. She asked the driver if he didn't mind taking the groceries and gave him the password to her apartment.

"What ingredients?"

"I was originally planning to cook for myself, and I even ordered some fresh seafood to be cleaned and put in the refrigerator. But now I don't need it anymore, and I thought it would be better to let someone else take it instead of letting it spoil," Qin Manshu said wearily. She unbuttoned two buttons on her shirt, opened the window to let in some fresh air, and originally wanted to smoke, but then thought of something and didn't light one.

Her words made Jiang Shichu laugh. "So you were originally planning to cook for Ji Shuli, right?"

"He likes girls who can cook."

"How do you know his preferences so well?" the man asked.

Qin Manshu turned to look at Jiang Shichu and said with a smile, "You know my preferences very well too."

As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Shichu fell silent. Qin Manshu realized she had spoken out of turn, turned her head to look at the scenery outside the window, and after a long while changed the subject: "How is the drug we developed before coming along?"

"It's still under review. You should know that the State Drug Administration is very strict about this area, so it's impossible to get approval so quickly."

"This is really troublesome. I already told you it wouldn't cause any problems," Qin Manshu frowned.

Jiang Shichu asked, "How can you be so sure? These procedures are also to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

"Ah, I just hope I can become stronger soon, just like you said, so that even after leaving the Qin family, I can still be the eldest daughter of the Qin family." She said this as if she were joking, referring to the conversation she had with Jiang Shichu when they parted on bad terms last time.

She had been very anxious all day. Although her expression and behavior seemed no different from usual, the man could still sense Qin Manshu's anxiety, unease, and irritability.

He glanced at Qin Manshu but said nothing.

The car drove smoothly on the road.

During this time, Qin Manshu's phone rang several times, but she pretended not to hear it. When the phone rang again at the traffic light, Jiang Shichu glanced at the number and knew that it was Old Mrs. Qin calling.

He clenched his fists. "Was that a call from the old lady?"

"Yes, that's right."

Jiang Shichu asked, "Is it okay for you not to answer the phone like this?"

These words seemed to provoke Qin Manshu. She turned her head and laughed, "Don't you know why Grandma called? You don't know, but I know all too well. It's because she found out that I wasn't doing things according to her requirements. She found out that the project I secretly ran away from wasn't that important, or rather, I didn't need to be outside for so long. Of course, it's also possible that someone told Grandma that Ji Shuli was also in Y City, and I secretly went to see him."

Jiang Shichu narrowed her eyes, "What will she do to you?"

"Just like every time I get angry, you must have seen it before, right? It's okay, I'm used to it." Qin Manshu lowered her head, the car had already exited the highway and was slowly driving towards the Qin family home.

Qin Manshu got off the bus after packing her luggage.

As if struck by a sudden thought, Jiang Shichu opened the car door and chased after Qin Manshu before she got out and entered the Qin family home, grabbing her hand. "You—"

"What's wrong?" Qin Manshu asked calmly.

Jiang Shichu thought back to the past, when Qin Manshu was very young, and Jiang Shichu was also young. They played together at her house. When Qin's grandmother came back from the company, the first thing she did was ask Qin Manshu about her homework. Qin Manshu did a good job, but the grandmother scolded Qin Manshu severely for not reading the book in time after finishing her homework.

The old lady looked down on the Jiang family and Jiang Shichu, and coldly drove Jiang Shichu away. Before leaving, he turned around and saw the fear in Qin Manshu's eyes. He could feel it, but he was still young, so he left anyway.

But now Qin Manshu's gaze has changed. She is no longer afraid, but rather acts as if it's nothing out of the ordinary. She can even smile nonchalantly and say that it's just like before, and she's already used to it.

No one can get used to the almost pathological state of Old Mrs. Qin; no one can truly get used to such a repressive and terrifying life.

He took a deep breath. "I'll figure out how to get that drug approved, but we still lack investment."

"I'll take care of the investment," Qin Manshu said with a smile. "Didn't you just say that the drug administration's strict approval process was a good thing? How come you changed your mind so quickly?"

“Since you’ve said there won’t be any problems, then this approval process is pretty much just for show.” Jiang Shichu gripped Qin Manshu’s hand tightly. “I’m sorry for what I said to you last time.”

"Why are you apologizing all of a sudden?"

Qin Manshu laughed and broke free from Jiang Shichu, "You should go back now. If Grandma finds out about my connections with you, you'll probably be in big trouble."

She spoke of it as if it were a joke, making it sound so casual.

Urged by Qin Manshu, Jiang Shichu could only clench her hands tightly, turn around and leave back to the car. Qin Manshu pushed the suitcase, and the housekeeper immediately helped with the luggage after noticing that the young lady had returned.

"Miss, you're finally back."

Qin Manshu asked with a smile, "What's wrong? You look so nervous."

"The old lady just went back to her room after throwing a tantrum. She seems very unhappy that you've been away on business for so long..." The housekeeper hesitated for a moment, "How about we tell the old lady about Miss's return tomorrow?"