Send off
When the two arrived at the place, the teacher was already standing at the ordering desk to greet them. Su Yao originally wanted to let the teacher order, but An Chi insisted on following along to take a look, so Su Yao had no choice but to go forward.
The most eye-catching dish on the two order trays was a main course: tomato and egg noodles.
An Chi nodded when he saw this, and then did not interfere with the teacher's order.
Su glanced at him, then moved closer to him and asked, "What do you want to order?"
"Hmm. What time is the flight this afternoon?"
He asked Su a question she hadn't expected, but she was indeed leaving: "Around 10 p.m. tonight."
"That was my mistake. I thought I wouldn't have time to make you noodles. Eat less later, and I'll make you another bowl when we get home," An Chi said with a smile, feigning annoyance.
Su said, "I can't possibly eat two bowls of noodles in a row and wait until dinner."
"Um."
After ordering, the teacher smiled and took them out to eat.
Seeing the two holding hands, I didn't want to ask too much, but I couldn't help it. "Xiao Yao, do you have any plans to get married in the next few years?"
Su Yao was still chewing food when he hurriedly swallowed it, choked a little, coughed a few times, chuckled, and then habitually took the water that An Chi handed him.
An Chi's smile hadn't faded since he saw Su Yao in the office. He watched Su Yao's actions but didn't try to smooth things over. He gently patted Su Yao's back, and to make sure she was comfortable, he poured her a glass of water and handed it to her.
After drinking some water, Su smiled awkwardly and said, "I don't have that plan yet."
"Then you need to keep up the good work, An Chi." No one expected the teacher to say something like that.
Upon hearing this, Su realized that the professor had misunderstood their relationship, but their relationship wasn't so easily explained in a few words, and her expression immediately turned sour.
“I know, Professor, but…” An Chi paused.
Sue had to give him meaningful glances to stop him from saying anything out of line; she couldn't very well say they were bed partners...
An Chi completely ignored her hints, but he didn't say anything reckless either, saying, "The person involved should give me a chance."
As he spoke, he looked at Su Yao, who also took the opportunity to breathe a sigh of relief.
But she also understood that this was one thing for her mentor, but another thing for the two of them, An Chi was hinting at.
The meal went fairly well, and An Chi was "pardoned" in advance because of Su Yao's sake—he only had to take Su Yao home.
As he drove, Su felt increasingly uneasy, sensing that An Chi's actions earlier were a provocation.
"If you dare to say anything out of line again, I'll get angry," she threatened.
He pretended not to hear and didn't respond at all.
"Did you hear that, An Chi?"
He chuckled slyly, "I still prefer when you call me Su Chi; I feel more like a dog then."
The two sentences were disjointed and Su Yao didn't know what to say, but she was holding back her bad intentions. Before she could let them out, An Chi said, "I heard that, but what if someone asks about our relationship in the future? Should we say we're bed partners, friends with benefits, or sex partners? Su Yao doesn't believe that any unrelated opposite-sex couple would fly back from abroad to China just because of a verbal agreement."
The red light stopped him, and he stopped talking. Su wanted to retort, but the feeling of wanting to say something but holding back remained on her lips.
Turning his head slightly, with one hand on the steering wheel, An Chi looked at Su Yao, who dared not meet his gaze, and slowly said, "I don't know how long Bai Lutong chased you before he finally won you over, but he certainly didn't chase you as long as I did. So, I just want to ask you one question, Su Yao, do you like me or not? Not even love, not even liking me?"
After the words were spoken, Su Yao still didn't know how to respond. She was completely at a loss for words when faced with the statement, "No two unrelated people of the opposite sex would fly back from abroad to China just because of a verbal agreement."
Perhaps it was because she hadn't felt love for so long that Su Yao suddenly realized whether her behavior was out of concern for An Chi, a physical attraction, or perhaps she had truly fallen for him.
Su Yao didn't say anything until An Chi drove to the parking space. An Chi helped her out of the car, escorted her upstairs, and asked her, "Are you sleepy?"
She must not have slept well last night after rushing back from her flight, and she's flying away again tonight. An Chi is a little worried about whether she can handle it.
"It's alright," Su said casually. She wasn't spoiled at all; she was used to high-pressure environments, a habit she had developed from past hardships.
"Take a nap? I'll cook for you tonight and then take you to the airport, okay?" An Chi said softly, as if the questioning in the car just now wasn't his doing.
Su nodded. Right now, it seemed that she had no other way but to calmly assess the relationship between the two of them.
Despite saying she wasn't tired, Su Yao was actually fast asleep in bed.
He took her back to his apartment in the city center. Aunt Hong was probably out running errands, as he didn't run into her when he brought her back. He had hoped that Aunt Hong would take care of her, as his supervisor was waiting for him.
An Chi looked at it longingly for a couple of moments, but finally left to take care of his business. He was much smarter than before.
He wouldn't give up too much for Su Yao. He knew Su Yao wouldn't want to see this kind of self-indulgent "moral blackmail." She never wanted anyone to do anything for her. He should also think about himself instead of revolving around Su Yao from beginning to end. What progress is there compared to four years ago?
After finishing his work at the school, An Chi bought groceries and went home.
Su was not in the room, but working in the study, his expression serious, suggesting an unpleasant exchange.
Aunt Hong was also working in the kitchen. Luckily, I rushed back, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to show off my skills in cooking this meal. An Chi told Aunt Hong that he would cook and asked her to help out.
Aunt Hong was not modest in this matter. She knew An Chi's personality and quietly stepped aside to help An Chi prepare the dishes.
Su Yao was indeed a bit irritable in the study. She didn't want to get involved with Singapore anymore and had intended to pass the buck to that guy surnamed Liu. But then Bai Lutong suddenly appeared and started causing trouble in China. She angrily asked Tang Pai, "How exactly are you taking care of these things at the company?"
Tang Pai didn't dare to speak on the other end of the video call, and Ge Jin also looked serious. It was understandable that they were too busy with their business trip to pay attention to things back home. Su should trust Tang Pai and let her make decisions on ordinary matters. However, Tang Pai really shouldn't have let Bai Lutong intercept the deal.
"What's Bai Lutong saying now?"
"Mr. Bai said he would like to meet with you," Tang Pai told him truthfully, unaware that Su Yao had already returned to China.
Su gritted his teeth, "It seems we haven't given Bai Lutong enough trouble."
Ge Jin didn't offer any comment from beginning to end. Too many things had happened recently. Not only had he made a mistake, but Tang Pai had also done something wrong. He felt that someone was manipulating things, but he didn't dare to draw any conclusions. After Su finished getting angry, he spoke up to remind him: "Don't be too eager for quick success, President Su."
Su looked at him, her eyes still filled with anger and a fleeting ruthlessness, before she smiled again. "Pai Pai, it's okay. Just don't make the same mistake again. Alright, that concludes today's report."
Then he reminded her, "Ge Jin, remember to pick me up from the airport tonight."
Ge Jin nodded, indicating that he understood.
An Chi found Su Yao because he heard her voice in the study.
"Dinner's ready. What happened? Why are you so angry, Mr. Su?" He stood behind her, turned his head, and said to her with a smile.
Su wanted to see him, but he said, "It's a company secret, I'm not telling you."
"Did you sleep well at noon?" An Chi asked.
"You slept well." Su thought for a moment, then asked him, "What are we having for dinner tonight?"
“I didn’t make that bowl of noodles at noon. I’ll make you a new bowl tonight, and I also made a few side dishes. Aunt Hong came over to help out.”
Su wanted to hear "Aunt Hong," so she asked, "Should we let Aunt Hong eat with us?"
"She finished cooking and left without saying anything; it was just the two of us."
"Alright then, let's go eat."
Su took An Chi's hand and led him outside.
An Chi's eyes darkened when he saw her actions, but he quickly regained his composure. The way she held his hand reminded him of the time he went to the amusement park when he first entered the Su family, and he felt just as at ease.
The table was already laden with a variety of distinctive dishes, and there seemed to be no "side dishes" like he had mentioned.
Su guessed that he must have been preparing for a long time. If it weren't for Aunt Hong's help, he probably wouldn't have been able to call her for dinner for a while.
They sat in the same seats, facing each other, just like they had for years.
It's as if nothing has happened all these years.
"Eat more." Su insisted on making him eat more, as if she always thought he would never gain weight.
But An Chi now looks like a man; he's tall and has gained weight.
"I'm not as thin as I used to be. When you hug me to sleep at night, don't you feel it?" His teasing tone intensified, and Su Yao seemed to have gotten used to it. She no longer reminded him of his words, but whether it was out of habit or a different feeling in her heart was something that could not be said.
Su Yao looked at his eyebrows and eyes, which were sharp and handsome. He had been good-looking since he was a child, probably due to his genes. After all, all the An family members were like this, including his sister. This was one of the reasons why Su Yao took a liking to An Lan at first sight.
"How did you get so fat? You didn't gain weight even when you were staying at home," Su muttered.
An Chi was stunned when he heard this. Actually, he gained weight later. In the past two years, he had been living in a daze and not only did he not gain weight, but he also lost a lot of weight. Whenever Lucas saw him, he would ask if he had lost weight again, and his answer was always "I don't know".
Later, after he figured things out, he stopped being too confined to Su Yao's world and focused on himself, which led to him gaining weight.
Seeing him lost in thought, Su asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"Think about how I got so fat?" he replied thoughtfully. "It must be because my cooking is too delicious."
He smiled slightly. He didn't mention those "dirty things" and didn't want Su Yao to know about that less-than-glorious past. He was already satisfied as long as she could see the glory of the present.
"It really is delicious." Su Yao agreed, his cooking skills having improved significantly since he was a more mature cook.
Su Yao has a strong sense of perception. She knew that An Chi must have something he hadn't told her, but she didn't press him for details. She just ate silently and wiped her mouth after she finished.
"I'll take you to the airport later," An Chi said, watching her movements.
Su Yao no longer had the same tendency to avoid suspicion as before. She had figured out what her heart truly felt. If it was indeed a fluttering heartbeat, she needed to face these feelings instead of constantly running away. At the very least, she should truly live freely and unrestrainedly in matters of the heart, just as she had told Tang Pai, instead of hiding from him in a way that was unlike herself.
Bai Lutong was "forced" to escape, but An Chi was not. The decision-making power was in her hands from beginning to end. Her escape was not only a denial of her own beliefs, but also a denial of An Chi's achievements over the years.
Therefore, she agreed to An Chi's idea of seeing her off at the airport.
Upon arriving at the airport, An Chi looked at her, and Su Yao seemed a little flustered by his gaze. "I'm leaving."
"Wait, let me hug you, okay?" He touched her sleeve, making a pitiful expression.
Su wanted to continue to benefit from this, so she said, "Okay."
He held her, gently stroking her hair, and murmured, "Come back, I'll come get you, okay?"
But this time Su refused, saying, "Ge Jin and Wen Xie will be with me; they will see me off."
If it were just Su Wenxie, she would naturally have the final say, but Ge Jin's mind was elsewhere, and she didn't want to distract him because of this.
He tightened his arms around her again, then suddenly released his grip, letting go of her and gathering the hair he had just sucked so hard to make it neater.
"Okay, do you want noodles again when you get back?" he said softly.
Su looked at him, their eyes falling into each other's faces, seeing only each other's figures. "Come back and eat noodles."
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