The handmade noodles are exceptionally chewy and springy, and the spiciness of the roasted chili sauce spreads across the tongue. The crushed peanuts in the spicy noodles are the finishing touch, not only adding a lot of aroma to the noodles but also making the noodles more layered.
Cheng Qicai stopped midway through the meal to ask Gu Rongqi's opinion, "President Gu, what do you think? Is it delicious?"
Gu Rong nodded, "It's quite delicious."
Cheng Qicai's phone screen lit up on the table. She tapped it and saw a message from Ji Xing asking what she was doing.
She took a picture of the noodles on the table and sent it to him.
Gu Rongqi noticed she hadn't touched her chopsticks for a while and asked, "Is something wrong?"
"No," Cheng Qicai immediately put away her phone, realizing that she shouldn't be so cold to the other person when she was treating them to a meal. She casually said, "It's just a message from my blind date."
"Blind date?"
“Yeah, like last time at the burger joint, I was in a hurry to go back, right? Turns out it was my mom’s excuse to set me up on a blind date.” Cheng Qicai nodded, picking up a slice of pickled radish.
The sourness made her shudder; these radish slices were incredibly sour!
"Mr. Gu, have you ever been on a blind date?" Cheng Qicai was a little curious about this question. She found it hard to imagine Gu Rongqi going on a blind date.
Gu Rongqi thought for a moment and shook his head, "No, we were introduced directly together."
Wow, Cheng Qicai didn't expect to get involved in Gu Rongqi's gossip. She became even more curious, "You got together right after being introduced? Don't you two get to know each other, develop feelings for each other, and then decide?"
So fast! This is ancient arranged marriage!
Seeing that Gu Rongqi didn't answer, Cheng Qicai wondered if her question was too gossipy.
Gu Rongqi didn't think it was a big deal. He was just thinking about how to say it: "My parents approved, and both sides are suitable in all aspects, so we're together."
Cheng Qicai understood. It's about choosing the best partner, someone who is well-matched in terms of social standing.
She couldn't help but think of the male and female protagonists. In the novel, the male protagonist's parents seemed to disagree with the marriage, and the female protagonist overheard his parents urging him to marry into an arranged marriage. Then the female protagonist... broke up with him.
Thinking about this plot, Cheng Qicai straightened her back and carefully considered when the plot would begin.
I thought about it for a long time, but I still couldn't figure it out.
"What's wrong?" Gu Rongqi noticed that she seemed distracted for a long time, wondering what she was thinking about.
Cheng Qicai snapped out of her daze, shook her head, and decided to fill her stomach first, quickly devouring her noodles.
Western food at banquets can only be a pastime; Chinese food is much more satisfying for a proper meal.
Cheng Qicai looked up and saw that Gu Rongqi had also finished eating his plate.
She felt a sense of pride; indeed, no one could resist her recommendation.
that is……
"Mr. Gu, why is your face so red?" Cheng Qicai asked with concern, only then noticing that the bowl of noodle soup next to him was also empty.
Cheng Qicai completely forgot about it and ordered two bowls of spice according to her usual level. She said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Mr. Gu, I didn't know you couldn't handle spicy food."
The original intention of inviting him to dinner was to apologize, but instead of a proper apology, it made Gu Rongqi's face turn as red as a monkey's butt.
"It's alright, I just didn't say so." Gu Rongqi's voice was a little hoarse. His family's diet was mainly light and they rarely ate such spicy food.
Feeling even more guilty, Cheng Qicai ran to the convenience store next door and bought a bottle of milk.
Before getting into the car, he handed the milk in his hand to Gu Rongqi, saying, "Mr. Gu, drinking the milk will make it less spicy."
Then, as if remembering something, she hesitated for a moment before asking, "Mr. Gu, I left without saying goodbye to Brother Gu, is that alright?"
"It's okay, I'll talk to Liji."
Cheng Qicai felt relieved and watched the car's taillights disappear before entering the residential area.
Gu Rongqi, sitting in the car, stared at the milk in his hand, at the spot where Cheng Qicai had just held it. It felt as if her warmth had transferred to his hand, and he couldn't tell if it was cold or hot.
He didn't come to his senses until the cool air on the bottle condensed into tiny water droplets that seeped between his fingers.
He picked up the straw and inserted it. The cool liquid flowed from the tip of his tongue into his stomach, like a sweet dew from heaven, and the spiciness in his mouth was greatly reduced.
The next day, Cheng Qicai was blocked at the door by Gu Liji, who had arrived early.
His teasing gaze swept over him from head to toe. "How did you end up hanging out with my brother?"
Hey, what do you mean by "mingling together"? We have no relationship whatsoever.
"What?" Cheng Qicai feigned ignorance.
"Stop pretending. I heard about how my brother helped you out yesterday. He even called to tell me not to make things difficult for you."
The last sentence was added by himself, although Gu Rongqi only said one sentence to him when he called: Cheng Qicai was taken away by him.
But that doesn't stop him from thinking things through, okay? You know, his brother has never been that kind to anyone.
"It's really nothing, we've only met a few times," Cheng Qicai said, downplaying the issue.
"How many times have we met?" Gu Liji's eyes were full of scrutiny.
Cheng Qicai said helplessly, "Yes, you were there the whole time. The first time was in the office, the second time was hiking, the third time was in the mall, and the fourth time was at the banquet last night. You were there the whole time. The only time we ran into each other was the third time, which was when President Gu was inspecting the area near my mall on the weekend."
"real?"
"Really." Cheng Qicai nodded emphatically.
There was also one instance where I stayed overnight, but the details were too embarrassing to recount.
Gu Rongqi relaxed upon hearing this, but still said with some concern, "I don't have a problem with you, but since you're Su Ni's sister, I'm just kindly telling you that my brother's family can't just date anyone, otherwise my aunt will definitely tear you apart."
"There's nothing between me and President Gu," Cheng Qicai emphasized.
Ugh, who wants to get involved with someone whose family looks like they have a throne to inherit!
Thinking about Gu Rongqi's comments about dating last night, Cheng Qicai felt pained just listening to them. It sounded like his parents were the kind of people with an extremely strong desire to control!
Compared to Gu Rongqi's parents, Ms. Yun's pressure seemed much more endearing. She would urge him, but if it wasn't really appropriate, she wouldn't force him.
...
As it was almost time to leave work, Cheng Qicai happily hummed a tune while tidying up her desk.
"Why are you so happy today?" Lin Fengjie asked her, looking up from across the table.
"It's almost time to leave work, is Brother Lin unhappy?"
"I'm happy, but something's not right with you. You were actually humming a song today."
"Aren't people allowed to hum a tune?" After working together for three or four months, Cheng Qicai and Lin Fengjie's relationship had improved a lot. Since there were only the two of them in the office, they didn't have to be so particular about what they said.
When Lin Fengjie approached, he stared at her intently, his eyes never leaving her. He kept staring at her wherever she went, making her feel a little uneasy.
She surrendered, saying, "Okay, Ji Xing is back. Let's meet tomorrow."
"Oh, is that the person you went on a blind date with?" Lin Fengjie asked knowingly.
Cheng Qicai nodded. He had been getting along well with Ji Xing over the past month, but he was also busy with business trips, so the two of them could only chat in the evenings most of the time.
Today was the day he was to fly back, and Cheng Qicai had politely asked if he needed her to pick him up at the airport.
The other party refused, saying it would be better to meet tomorrow when he was well-rested and in the best possible condition.
Cheng Qicai didn't insist, and just sent him a message telling him to get some rest.
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