Chapter 30 I want to eat what you made.

Halfway through the holiday, Li Qinghe returned to Chucheng. As soon as he got off the high-speed train, he called Shen Mengqing to arrange a meeting.

When Shen Mengqing answered the phone, Hao Meng was right next to her, staring at her with a look that seemed to threaten her not to refuse.

After accepting the dinner invitation, she lay down on the sofa. Hao Meng grabbed her arm, trying to get her to tidy up properly, but she wouldn't listen to anything this time. If she had to be dressed up by Ms. Hao again like last time, she would be exhausted.

"Mom, really, it's not necessary. There's no time to spare," Shen Mengqing advised.

Hao Meng, hands on his hips, said, "Then get up and change your clothes. I want to see what you're going to wear to meet them. You can't go in these pajamas, can you?"

Shen Mengqing sighed. She could understand the source of Hao Meng's controlling nature. When they were young, Hao Meng hadn't cared for her much, and she had always regretted it, wanting to make up for it now. Especially after breaking up with Lin Xiangyang, Hao Meng's concern for her working away from home had completely transformed into motivation to urge her to find a boyfriend.

In the end, Hao Meng picked out two pieces of clothing from her suitcase for her to wear, and even supervised her as she put on light makeup.

Before leaving her room, Hao Meng caught a glimpse of the jewelry box in her bag and casually took it out.

She opened it and exclaimed in amazement, "Wow, this necklace is lovely, it matches your outfit perfectly today!"

Before Shen Mengqing could refuse, Hao Meng put the shiny necklace on her, the sunflower swaying in front of her slender neck.

"..."

She imagined going to see Li Qinghe wearing the things Yu Xin had given her, and for some reason, it made her a little apprehensive, as if he were watching from the sidelines.

After Hao Meng left satisfied, Shen Mengqing quickly took off the necklace, carefully put it back in the box, stuffed it into her suitcase, and grabbed a few pieces of clothing to cover it up.

That evening, Li Qinghe invited her to dinner at a restaurant by the river. There were only two of them, and he generously booked a private room that could seat six or seven people.

Shen Mengqing sat down next to him and joked, "You booked such a big room, are you planning to order everything on the menu?"

"If you can eat it, it's not impossible."

Li Qinghe smiled at her, draped his coat over the vertical clothes rack in the corner of the room, and then, seeing that Shen Mengqing was only wearing a single layer of clothing, helped her hang up her bag.

He sat back down, poured her some tea, and said, "Chu City is much warmer than Bei City. I was wearing two layers of clothing, and I started sweating as soon as I got off the high-speed train."

Shen Mengqing took a sip of water and asked him, "How many times a year do you go back to Beicheng? It seems like you go back much more often than I do."

"There are quite a lot. The main reason is that my dad always believes that people should not forget their roots. He said that our family's foundation is in Chucheng, and we should leave some foundation in Chucheng. So sometimes I come back for work."

Shen Mengqing nodded. She hadn't expected Li Qinghe's father to have such deep feelings for Chucheng. No wonder he still remembered his friendship with her father back then and didn't want the relationship to end in their generation, so he introduced her to Li Qinghe.

"By the way, do you know anything about the company Santong?" she asked, seizing the opportunity to inquire.

Li Qinghe said with a smile, "Of course, we also invested in this company. Chairman Yang of Santong and my dad were very close when we were kids in Chucheng."

He looked at Shen Mengqing and asked, "What's wrong? You guys are starting to care about small pharmaceutical companies in Chucheng? They can't be compared to others, they should at least be at the level of Yunji."

Shen Mengqing waved his hand and said, "No, I applied for a job at Santong, so I wanted to know more about it."

Li Qinghe was somewhat surprised and said, "Do they have a branch in Beicheng? I didn't know that."

"No," Shen Mengqing said frankly, "I'm considering whether or not to return to Chucheng to develop my career."

Upon hearing her words, Li Qinghe's expression froze.

"Return to Chu City?"

Shen Mengqing nodded, her expression serious.

Li Qinghe didn't speak, but lowered his head and thought for a while before asking her in a deep voice, "Does your aunt know?"

Shen Mengqing: "I haven't told her yet, mainly because the interview results haven't come out yet, and I'm not completely sure either. I don't want her to worry about it in advance."

“That’s true,” Li Qinghe said to her. “Actually, you could also consider joining my company. We’ve set up a small branch in Chucheng, and my dad has entrusted it entirely to me. What position did you apply for at Santong? Do you need me to put in a word with them?”

"Assistant Dong."

Shen Mengqing clinked glasses with him and said, "No need for formalities. I also want to see if they can recognize my abilities. After all, the board office is different from other departments. Besides, shouldn't we save Young Master Li's connections for important moments?"

Li Qinghe shook his head: "No need to keep it. You can contact me anytime you need help. You don't have to repay the favor."

As soon as he said this, Shen Mengqing's eyes showed a subtle change.

She hesitated, and Li Qinghe noticed this. His tone remained gentle, but with a hint of bitterness: "I treat my friends the same way. If you have any burdens, then if you encounter any problems in the future, just consider me as a backup. But if there's really no one else who can help you, remember to come to me."

His words gave Shen Mengqing ample space, and she couldn't bring herself to refuse. She softly said, "Okay."

However, there's something I still need to ask him.

"My mom told me a few days ago that you and Uncle Li said we were in contact?" Shen Mengqing blinked.

Li Qinghe chuckled and said, "Well, part of the reason I said that is that I don't want to be arranged to go on blind dates with all sorts of people by him anymore."

Another reason is that now is not the time to talk about it.

“I understand, my mom has been urging me a lot lately.” Shen Mengqing picked up a piece of food and said, “Then don’t give it away. At Uncle Li’s place, I can stay in the ‘contact’ stage with you until you meet someone you like.”

Li Qinghe's gaze hardened as he stared at her and asked, "Does your mother need my help in the same way?"

"No need, no need. My mom is easy to deal with, and I'm usually in Beicheng anyway. If I go back to Chucheng, she'll definitely think we're not a good match. We'll see what happens then."

Shen Mengqing had already considered this issue.

"Okay," Li Qinghe said regretfully.

The scene at the racetrack suddenly flashed through his mind. Zhu Shaoming was vague about the relationship between Yu Xin and Shen Mengqing, only telling him not to reveal Yu Xin's identity.

He had suspected at the time that Yu Xin and Shen Mengqing had a special relationship, but now it seems that he was probably overthinking it. Yu Sheng only occupied a small area in Beicheng. Shen Mengqing could leave Beicheng whenever he wanted, so the two must not have a deep relationship. Maybe Yu Xin just didn't want his employees to see that he was under psychological pressure.

However, he still had some doubts, and as far as he knew, Yu Xin would be taking a new life in just a few months.

Li Qinghe remained expressionless, and casually asked her, "If Santong gives you an offer, when do you plan to resign from Yusheng and leave Beicheng?"

"November, before winter. It's too cold in the north of the city," Shen Mengqing replied.

Li Qinghe calculated the time and figured that Yu Xin should arrive just as she left.

He felt relieved.

"You don't need the year-end bonus?" Li Qinghe's eyes curved into a smile behind his glasses. "Then once you confirm the date, you must let me know so I can treat you to a farewell dinner."

Shen Mengqing said, "Okay, but don't treat me to anything too expensive. I'm afraid I'll be reluctant to leave Beicheng if I eat too much. Just tell me when you come back to Chucheng, and I'll treat you."

...

After finishing the meal with Li Qinghe, Hao Meng stopped pressing her for answers. In her eyes, the two of them were definitely on a steady path.

On the last two days of the holiday, Shen Mengqing urged her mother and her aunts to get a physical examination after the holiday. Half of her mother's four sisters were retired, and as they got older, none of them wanted to get a physical examination, and they couldn't even guarantee one every six months.

She made an appointment at the medical examination center for them and paid the deposit. They were reluctant to spend the money, so they finally decided to go.

Shen Mengqing returned to Beicheng with peace of mind. After a tiring day traveling by various modes of transportation, she lay on her bed in her rented room, feeling like her whole body was about to fall apart.

She hesitated for a moment, but still submitted her request for leave tomorrow, wanting to rest for another day. After finishing the application, she left a message for Liang Jun, saying that she had some things to take care of at home.

She put down her phone, nestled on the sofa, and gradually closed her eyes. Just before she was completely asleep, her phone rang abruptly.

Shen Mengqing's heart skipped a beat, thinking that Liang Jun had seen the message and was coming to ask her why she had asked for leave. She picked up her phone and saw that it was Yu Xin calling.

She pressed the answer button, her voice still weary: "Hello?"

Yu Xin paused on the other end of the phone and asked, "Asleep?"

"I almost fell asleep." Shen Mengqing sat up, looked at the unpacked suitcase, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Yu Xin: "Did you go back to Beicheng?"

Shen Mengqing gave a soft "hmm": "I just arrived this evening."

"If it's convenient for you, I'd like to eat wontons."

Yu Xin said calmly.

Shen Mengqing said speechlessly, "If you want to eat, just order takeout. I'm not Doraemon."

Yu Xin remained silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "I want to eat what you make."

Shen Mengqing glanced at the time; it wasn't too late yet, and she hadn't had dinner either, so she decided to eat with Yu Xin.

“I’ll make it now, and you can come to my house later,” she said.

Yu Xin said, "Why don't you come to my house? My kitchen is quite big."

"..."

He wanted to eat her cooking but was being picky about the location. Shen Mengqing patiently said, "Alright, Young Master Yu, please wait here. I'll get ready and come over."

After hanging up the phone, she opened her suitcase to take the necklace back to him, but after taking out all her clothes and bags, she couldn't find the necklace box anywhere.

She searched her bag again, but still couldn't find it.

Shen Mengqing's heart sank. She called Hao Meng and asked if she had seen the necklace.

"Oh dear, my memory is terrible. One day I was cleaning and accidentally kicked your suitcase, knocking this necklace out. I thought it must be expensive, so I put it in your closet for now, but I forgot to tell you," Hao Meng said.

Shen Mengqing breathed a long sigh of relief. If the necklace had really been lost, she wouldn't have been able to return to Chucheng for a while, and she would have had to use Yu Sheng's year-end bonus to pay back Yu Xin.

She said to Hao Meng, "Okay, I'll order a courier service and you can send me the necklace."

Having wasted so much time, Shen Mengqing pulled a trench coat out of the closet and put it on. A familiar soreness came from her lower abdomen, and her back ached a little, but she didn't pay much attention to it, assuming it was just from being tired on the way, and went out.

Summer has passed, and the roadside flowers in the neighborhood have become much sparser. The little yellow flowers are nowhere to be seen. Only the rich fragrance of osmanthus wafts in the wind. Shen Mengqing quite likes the smell of osmanthus, as it has a calming effect on her mind.

The autumn wind in the north was dry, making her face involuntarily tense. Shen Mengqing sniffed and quickened her pace.

When we arrived at Yu Xin's house, the door opened and we were greeted by a warm feeling due to the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the house.

She looked up and saw Yu Xin wearing a dark-colored loungewear set, with a soft-fabric crew neck sweatshirt on top and long, floor-length trousers on the bottom.

Shen Mengqing handed the trench coat she had taken off to Yu Xin and walked straight to the kitchen.

There was only a smooth, shiny pot on the stove, with its lid tightly sealed and covered with a thin layer of dust.

Unconvinced, she searched through all the kitchen cabinets and found only some spatulas, bowls, and chopsticks. She then opened the refrigerator, which was full of drinks.

She asked Yu Xin, "Where are the seasonings? Where are the wontons?"

Yu Xin was stunned by Shen Mengqing's question: "..."

“I’ve never cooked before,” he said softly, touching the tip of his nose. “I forgot that all I have at home are pots, pans, bowls, and chopsticks.”

Shen Mengqing was so angry she almost laughed, and said through gritted teeth, "Then you want me to come to your house?!"

Yu Xin picked up her phone and said, "Shall I order takeout now?"

"Let's go to the supermarket near the entrance." She put her coat back on and walked towards the entrance.

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Author's Note: Xinzi: I really forgot the truth, I didn't mean to lie to my wife [please]