Chapter 19 Chapter 19 As Long as I Like

Everyone looked over.

Especially Zhao Xiao, whose eyes were filled with murderous intent, wishing her dead. Qin Mian felt like he was being stabbed in the back.

But she guessed Si Tu was probably trying to use her to make Zhao Xiao give up, so she could only cooperate, smiled lightly, and said, "Thank you."

Zhao Xiao looked at her smile and hated her even more.

With a snort, she threw down her chopsticks, stood up and left.

The young lady really couldn't stand being bullied, and she was fooled immediately after being provoked.

Qin Mian shook his head secretly in his heart.

When the other two friends Zhao Xiao brought saw her leaving, they immediately stood up and followed her.

As a result, there were only four people left in the box.

What Si Tu did was really effective.

Qin Mian picked up the chopsticks, picked up the fish in the bowl and ate it.

This is her reward, she deserves it.

After the four of them finished their dinner, they went home.

Qin Mian had just entered the house when he heard Zhu Yinglong talking on the phone inside. He was speaking in the dialect of his hometown, probably talking to his parents.

Qin Mian changed his shoes and went in. Zhu Yinglong finished his call, took the phone off his ear, turned around, and said, "It just so happens that my parents just asked me when we plan to get married."

marry?

Qin Mian walked through the living room and asked, "How do we tie the knot?"

The two of them now have nothing, not even the most basic house to settle down.

"Is it necessary to have a house?" Zhu Yinglong actually knew her concerns. The two had discussed marriage before, and Qin Mian told him that they should work hard together to buy a house and calculate how much money each side could come up with.

Zhu Yinglong's family is an ordinary working class family, and his parents are completely unable to support him. Although Qin Mian's family is better off, his parents look down on Zhu Yinglong, so they are not willing to support him at all. In other words, in this matter, they can only rely on the efforts of the two parties.

"House prices are so high right now, and according to predictions, they're going to fall even further. If we buy now, we'll probably lose money. Wouldn't it be better to wait until we're married and a few years later, when we'll have more savings and less pressure?"

"It's not entirely about the house." It's not easy to buy a house right now. Qin Mian knows this better than he does because she pays more attention to this issue than he does.

"What's the problem?" Zhu Yinglong asked.

If you don’t have a house, it’s okay to have enough money to settle down, but the question is, do you have it?

No.

Qin Mian felt insecure because he didn't have enough financial resources.

Since she is married, she will probably have children. She can live the life she has now, but she cannot do so with the children.

That would make her feel like her life and the lives of her future children would be ruined.

She sees no hope or security, so naturally she doesn't want to enter into this marriage.

"Let's wait until our financial situation gets better."

Qin Mian showed no expectation for this question, and even had some resistance.

When the two were together, they were only concerned with enjoying their relationship and focusing only on the present. As they grew older, they had more things to consider and more worries came with them.

Zhu Yinglong looked at her in silence for a long time. Before she closed the bathroom door, he suddenly asked bluntly, "Are you becoming less and less fond of me now?"

In the past, when they talked about marriage, they would also touch upon issues such as housing, finances, and a sense of security. However, Qin Mian was not as cold as he is now. In fact, he would actively look forward to the future with him, his eyes full of anticipation.

But now, the indifference is too obvious.

In particular, Qin Mian has now been promoted to the president's secretary, and his conditions are better than his in all aspects.

He is more likely to think in this direction.

He didn't want her to work as a secretary in the president's office at first because he was worried about this problem, but now, he felt that it seemed inevitable.

Qin Mian understood the meaning behind Zhu Yinglong's words, paused in closing the door, and hesitated for a moment.

She did hope that he could be more motivated than he is now. She didn't expect him to be successful, but at least he wouldn't be living a mediocre life like he is now.

Over the years, she has been actively striving for breakthroughs, even to the point of becoming anxious and suffering from insomnia in order to figure out how to make more money.

However, Zhu Yinglong never took it seriously.

It seemed like she was the only one planning and working hard for their future.

If Zhu Yinglong could keep pace with her, think in the same direction and work together to build a better future, so that she could see a little hope for improvement, then she would not feel increasingly disappointed and tired of this relationship.

But when it comes to working hard, you can only ask yourself and not others.

Even if you are a couple, if you ask for too much, you will feel resentful.

So, in order to protect the other person's self-esteem, Qin Mian replied insincerely before closing the door, "Don't let your imagination run wild."

**

The next morning, Qin Mian received another message from the 4S store, saying that the new car had been prepared for her and the optional accessories, including the temporary license plate, had been installed. They asked her when she would be free to pick up the car.

Qin Mian checked the time and it was already past ten in the morning.

I'll go over at 5 p.m.

Now it is very hot from 10 am to 5 pm.

[Okay, we'll be waiting for you.] The sales consultant replied politely.

At around four o'clock in the afternoon, Qin Mian took a taxi to the 4S store.

The clerk waited at the door and gave her a bouquet of flowers and arranged a car-picking ceremony for her.

Qin Mian held the flowers, stood next to the new car, and took a photo.

Then she got in the car, sent the photo to Si Tu, and reported to him, "Mr. Si, I've picked up the car."

Just as I was about to put down my phone, I received a reply from Si Tu: [Not inviting me to dinner? ]

It was he who specially approved the purchase of a new car, so Qin Mian should indeed be grateful to him.

[What do you want to eat?] She also agreed generously.

"It's up to you to decide," Si Tu said.

Qin Mian had previously made a detailed study of him and knew his preferences, so he immediately came up with an idea.

[Do you need me to pick you up?] she asked again.

Si Tu: [Yes, at the company.]

I didn't expect him to be in the company.

Although the hotel is open every day, office workers generally do not go to the company on weekends.

Qin Mian also knew his schedule and had no work arrangements for today.

She was slightly surprised and entered the address into the navigation software.

After arriving, Qin Mian sent a message to Si Tu and then waited in the car.

After a while, Si Tu came out of the elevator. She turned on the hazard lights, honked the horn to alert him of her location, and then got out of the car.

She went to the back and opened the back door, waiting for him to get in. However, Si Tu walked to the front passenger seat, opened the other door himself, and said, "I'll sit here."

Qin Mian hesitated for a moment, closed the back door, and returned to the front driver's seat.

"Do you have any temporary work? Do you need to work overtime?" She asked casually as she fastened her seat belt again.

Si Tu turned his head and glanced at her with a smile, his eyes somewhat tired. "Am I so dedicated in your eyes?"

But last night, when he returned to the villa, he happened to see his father coming out of the room with a woman.

He often saw such scenes when he was with his mother.

My mother's current male assistant is her lover for many years.

His parents were in a marriage relationship, and after giving birth to him as the heir, they considered themselves to have completed the family mission, so after that, they started to go their separate ways.

Sometimes he felt that although he had both parents, he was homeless and like a stray dog.

He propped up his head and rubbed his temples with a headache.

Qin Mian's concern was simply to confirm whether he needed any assistance.

Seeing him slumped tiredly in the back of the chair, feeling a little depressed, as if he didn't want to say anything more, she tactfully stopped asking.

"Then let's go." She started the car.

About half an hour later, Qin Mian brought Si Tu to Uncle Li's porridge shop.

"Oh, just in time!" Uncle Li was delighted to see the two of them coming over. "The first batch of crabs just hit the market. I picked out some high-quality ones and steamed them for you!"

"Thank you, Uncle Li." Qin Mian thanked him politely.

Uncle Li smiled and gave Si Tu a meaningful look. "You're welcome."

Si Tu had never brought other girls here. Even Zhao Xiao followed him here on her own initiative, not because he brought her here.

Now he came here with Qin Mian again, and seeing that his attitude towards Qin Mian and Zhao Xiao was completely different, it was estimated that Si Tu was interested in Qin Mian.

You can see through the old man's feelings towards the young people at a glance.

After all, those who have seen it have experienced a lot.

He thought Qin Mian was a good person and a good match for him, so he was naturally happy to see it happen.

Uncle Li returned to the kitchen with a smile and happily began to steam crabs for the two of them.

Qin Mian was not very particular about food and didn't know much about it. This was the first time he had seen and eaten crab.

When Uncle Li brought it out, he also added a small dish of homemade seasoning and said, "I added a little vinegar to it, which is just right to cut through the greasiness of the crab roe. Try it."

"Okay." This was the first time Qin Mian had heard of eating in this way. "Thank you."

Si Tu put on gloves, picked up a crab, first peeled off the shell, genitals, and parotid glands that were inedible, then broke the crab in half and handed it to her.

Qin Mian also put on the gloves, slightly surprised, then thanked him and took them with both hands.

She actually wasn't quite sure whether Si Tu's care for her was out of good upbringing, a belief that men should take care of women, or for some other reason.

Originally, she wouldn't think too much about it, but yesterday on the yacht, Jiang Xin asked him if he was pursuing her. When she looked at Si Tu's behavior again, she couldn't help but think too much.

After all, he is the boss, isn't he?

How can a boss take care of his subordinates?

His thoughts became more and more deviant. Qin Mian looked at the crab in his hand with a complicated mood.

"What's wrong?" Si Tu was peeling the second one, and seeing that she didn't eat it, he turned around and took the time to look at her.

Qin Mian shook his head, lowered his head and took a bite.

There is a lot of crab roe, which is like quicksand. Once you put it in your mouth, your mouth will be filled with the aroma of crab roe.

There was still a little on the corner of his lips, Qin Mian licked it carefully and reached out to pull out a tissue.

Si Tu also took a bite of what he had in his hand and looked up at her again, "How is it?"

Qin Mian nodded straight, "This is my first time eating this, it tastes really good."

She had only eaten hairy crabs before, and the roe inside was a bit hard, different from the texture of this quicksand.

Seeing that she liked it, Si Tu promised, "After a while, when the crab roe is ripe, I'll ask Uncle Kang to prepare a few for you."

"Crab roe?" Qin Mian really didn't understand this.

"Yeah." Si Tu stopped to explain to her, "It's the same as what you're eating now. They're both a type of blue crab. The difference is..."

One has been mated, and the other has not.

But the word "mating" wasn't very elegant, so Si Tu adjusted his wording, curled his lip, and gave a fresh and refined explanation, "It's like, what you're eating now is a young crab that hasn't been in a relationship yet, while the crab with roe is one that has already been in a relationship."

Qin Mian understood the meaning and nodded.

At the same time, she thought of something, her eyes shifted, and she asked tentatively, "Compared to the roe crabs who have been in a relationship, I guess boys would still prefer the girl crabs who have never been in a relationship, right?"

Her words were a double entendre.

Si Tu raised the corner of his lips slightly, and understood.

"That's not necessarily true." He broke off a crab leg, dipped it in the sauce in the small dish, and said with the same understatement, "For someone like me, I don't mind whether I've been in a relationship before."

As he spoke, he raised his eyes and stared at her, his direction becoming more obvious.

"As long as I like it, anything is fine."

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The author has something to say: Mr. Si: I can do anything for love!

Eat crab this time, eat Secretary Qin next time!

The next chapter will be tomorrow around 6pm