Chapter 43 Would you like to sit down here?

"Are you done here?"

The room temperature suddenly dropped ten degrees. For a moment, Fu Mufan thought the indoor heating was broken or the door was not closed properly, letting in the cold wind from outside. But when he looked up, he found a cold gaze fixed on him.

Upon seeing the person who arrived, he was taken aback for a moment, then put on a polite smile and said, "Mr. Lu, I've heard so much about you."

Jiang Qingying was used to Lu Jinyuan's sour face and didn't find anything wrong with it. She took the initiative to introduce them: "This is my husband. You already know him, so I won't introduce him." Then she introduced Lu Jinyuan: "This is Fu Mufan, my college classmate."

Lu Jinyuan's expression softened slightly, and he nodded: "Nice to meet you."

Fu Mufan could probably sense his emotions, after all, they were both men. "I won't bother you any longer, goodbye."

So Jiang Qingying said, "Let's keep in touch."

Fu Mufan glanced at her, his smile somewhat strange, and his gaze held a hint of amusement. "Okay, keep in touch."

Fu Mufan left.

“Let’s go back,” Lu Jinyuan said.

Jiang Qingying was surprised, "Is it alright to do it so early?"

"It's alright, I've already informed them." Lu Jinyuan bent down, picked up a shawl from the chair, and draped it over her shoulders. "Let's go somewhere."

Where to?

You'll find out soon enough.

"Are you planning some surprises?" Jiang Qingying teased him. "I hope it's not a shock."

Lu Jinyuan smiled, took her hand and walked outside, jokingly saying, "Maybe."

Jiang Qingying finally understood why he wasn't drinking tonight. He had the driver leave early, handed him the car keys, and told him to drive home.

Sitting in the passenger seat, she felt inexplicably betrayed and tentatively asked him, "What big move are you planning?"

Lu Jinyuan was focused on driving, his eyes fixed straight ahead. "Guess?"

"I'm not going to guess, don't try to trick me." Jiang Qingying rolled her eyes at him. As the place he was driving towards became more and more desolate and deserted, she gripped the seatbelt tightly with both hands. In order not to reveal her fear, she took the initiative to change the subject, "I entrusted the matter of my Li family to Fu Mufan. He just returned to Nanzhou, and not many people know him. In addition, his family has high-ranking government officials, which makes things easier for him."

"Um."

Someone has started using very few words again.

“I’ve known him for several years, and we have a pretty good relationship. I trust his character and ability to get things done.” Jiang Qingying stared at his profile, his features were smooth and shrewd, and apart from the necessary blinking, his face showed no emotion whatsoever. She then emphasized, “I trust him quite a bit.”

"That's good." A perfunctory reply, devoid of any intonation.

Jiang Qingying's face fell instantly, her pouting lips looked like they could hang something on them, and she gave him a heavy snort.

Lu Jinyuan chuckled at this moment. Just as they reached the traffic light, he gently applied the brakes, bringing the car to a smooth stop. He turned to look at her and smiled, "What's wrong? Did I upset you again?"

"No!" Jiang Qingying crossed her arms and refused to look at him.

Lu Jinyuan reached out and rubbed her face, then pinched her chin with his fingertips, pulled her closer, and kissed her: "Did you?"

Jiang Qingying stared blankly at him, her lips, which he had just lightly touched, unconsciously pursed slightly. "No."

Being flirted with is one thing.

Being stubborn is another matter entirely.

Lu Jinyuan raised an eyebrow. Just then, the red light turned green. He released her fingers and refocused his attention on driving.

In many situations, his patience in coaxing people is limited; if Jiang Qingying says no, then he truly believes no.

Jiang Qingying wasn't one to fuss over trivial matters. She had said that she liked to fight evil with violence, so she punched his right arm to vent her anger.

After another fifteen minutes of driving, the final destination was Changtibian. In front of the car was an endless sea, and in the distance was a cross-sea bridge that had been completed but was not yet open to traffic.

The narrow, long embankment is a one-way street. Because of the sparse population, the streetlights are spaced far apart, so in some corners, the light is very dim.

Lu Jinyuan happened to choose a spot like this to park.

Jiang Qingying glanced out the car window and noticed that the snow that had fallen all night had actually stopped. She asked, "What are we doing here?"

Lu Jinyuan turned on the high beams of the car and said, "Look ahead."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qingying looked towards the front of the car. Under the bright lights, the tranquil sea appeared before her eyes. It was neither as mysterious as the dark sea nor as bright and magnificent as the sea during the day. This atmosphere gave her a sense of hope.

A glimmer of hope in the depths of darkness.

“I usually come here to relax. There are hardly any people, it’s very quiet, and it’s easier to figure things out when I’m thinking about them,” Lu Jinyuan said in response to the previous question, pointing to the cross-sea bridge in the distance. “I’ve watched this bridge go from nothing to something over the years, and I’ve also heard that it will open to traffic soon.”

"Have you been very tired lately?" Jiang Qingying noticed the fatigue between his brows.

He has always been good at disguising his emotions and likes to put on a brave face. Otherwise, she had never felt his exhaustion before, let alone the emotion that came from the bottom of his heart.

"Hmm." Lu Jinyuan leaned back in the driver's seat and let out a long sigh: "I haven't rested in a long time, so I wanted to find a place where there aren't many people around to stay with you."

Jiang Qingying unbuckled her seatbelt, leaned over, and gently rubbed the wrinkles between his brows with her index finger, smoothing them out before saying softly, "Don't always frown, you'll look like an old man."

"If you get old, not handsome, and lose your charm, I'll just kick you to the curb."

"How cruel." Lu Jinyuan smiled, pulled her hand down and held it, his dark eyes filled with expectation: "Would you like to sit here?"

"Tsk—" Jiang Qingying shook off his hand. "Is this what you really wanted?"

Don't you want to?

Do you have a condom?

They've always been very direct with each other, especially when it comes to things that involve pleasure.

Lu Jinyuan's chest trembled slightly, and a wicked idea began to glean from his eyes, which were gradually burning with desire. "There's none in the car."

"So?" Before Jiang Qingying could get an answer, her phone rang. She took her phone out of her bag and saw the caller ID on the screen: food delivery.

She squinted; her eye makeup was exceptionally beautiful today, with her eyelids covered in tiny, shimmering glitter that shone brightly in the dim light.

But when she turned to look at the culprit, her eyes held a vicious glint. In a place like this, ordering this kind of takeout, and even leaving her phone number—what could she possibly say to him?

Lu Jinyuan, like a naughty child who had gotten into trouble but was incorrigible, pointed to the deliveryman under the streetlight, indicating that she should answer the call.

Jiang Qingying bit her lip tightly, her gaze towards him like a deadly blade. She pressed the answer button forcefully, trying to keep her voice calm, "Hello."

"Hello, your food delivery has arrived. Where are you?" The deliveryman looked around, thought for a moment, and then double-checked, "Are you sure you wrote the address correctly?"

"No, please wait for me there, I'm coming." Jiang Qingying was too embarrassed to let the deliveryman bring the food to her car.