Chapter 44 Meeting "Isn't our appointment important?"...
Bai Yeke stared at Yi Sheng.
The weather was nice today, with plenty of sunshine. Large swaths of white light shone in through the windshield and the driver's side window, making it clear that Yi Sheng's profile looked slightly stiff and tense.
Bai Ye carefully presented her argument, "I know you declined our invitation to attend, so why would I ask you again?"
She doesn't seem so ungrateful as to insist on making things difficult for others.
Yi Sheng turned the steering wheel, and the car rounded the intersection. "Hmm."
Yi Sheng's complexion seemed to have improved slightly.
Baiye could exhale a small breath.
The car was scented with a subtle woody fragrance, gentle and dry, with a hint of coolness in its tranquility, perfect for early winter.
It had only been a week since we last met, but Yi Sheng's clothes and his car had both changed slightly.
Bai Yeke felt a sense of novelty towards her and couldn't help but secretly observe everything in the car and Yi Sheng's reflection in the car window.
Yi Sheng parked the car in a public parking space on the side of the road.
"Where is this?" Bai Yeke got out of the car and followed Yi Sheng. Although she was wearing a sweater under her hoodie, the morning wind was still a bit chilly.
Yi Sheng turned his head and said, "There's a noodle shop up ahead. Their ramen is very chewy, and the soup is good too."
"Oh." Bai Yeke shrank her neck slightly. "Didn't you used to not eat this kind of breakfast much?"
She only started making these kinds of breakfasts for Yi Sheng after she moved in.
I never expected Yi Sheng to have a favorite noodle shop now.
"Put your hat on if you're cold." Yi Sheng pulled the hat over Bai Yeke's head, paused for a second, his eyes changed, and jokingly grabbed the drawstring of Bai Yeke's hat with his other hand and tightened it.
Bai Yeke was instantly wrapped up completely, her eyes wide with shock because the whole thing happened so suddenly and unexpectedly.
Yi Sheng laughed out loud when he saw her expression.
"You did this on purpose, didn't you..." Bai Yeke muttered under her breath, quickly loosening the drawstring. "It looks so ugly."
"Hmm, you're probably the best looking among the ugly ones," Yi Sheng commented with a smile.
"Hmph." Bai Yeke laughed speechlessly.
"It's fortunate that our Miss Bai has such exquisite features," Yi Sheng said, as if embarrassed by his earlier joke, "that she can pull off this look."
Bai Yeke loosely held onto a drawstring under her hood with one hand, glancing at her sideways, "Thank you so much, Miss Yi."
Bai Ye glanced at the person, then couldn't help but tilt her head slightly and smile faintly from an angle that Yi Sheng couldn't see.
She liked it when Yi Sheng said "our Miss Bai," and she also liked it when Yi Sheng put the hat on her very close.
"This is the place." Yi Sheng said as they arrived at the store. "I don't usually eat this kind of breakfast. I just searched for it before I left the house."
The shop sign features a white background with black lettering that reads "Zhou's Handmade Noodles," decorated with blue floral patterns.
At first glance, there were quite a few diners inside.
After Bai Yeke and Yi Sheng went inside, there was just one table left, right by the door.
"I guess it's cold here." Yi Sheng frowned.
"It's fine." Bai Ye didn't seem to care. Anyway, the shop had the air conditioning on, so it was warmer than outside. "This is fine."
Upon hearing this, Yi Sheng sat down immediately. "Then go order. I'll order the same thing as you."
"Heh." Bai Yeke chuckled speechlessly, drawing out her words, "Oh."
Miss Yi is really something; even when we go out for a meal, she still habitually bosses me around.
This restaurant is so popular that it doesn't offer delivery service at all. Customers have to queue up, take a number, and then pick up their food at the counter with their ticket.
Bai Ye could only carry back the two bowls of noodles by using a tray.
"Hey! Wait!" Bai Yeke called out to stop Yi Sheng from getting up to take the bowl from the tray. She put the tray on the table. "Miss, I'm not steady on the tray. If you take one bowl, I'll definitely lose my balance and the other bowl will tip over."
This experience happened when Bai Yeke was still an intern. At that time, she was working as an assistant at a company. One time, when they were short-staffed, the administration asked her to help serve tea. As a result, when she carried the tray out, someone took a cup of tea from her tray, and the other teacups on her tray almost tipped over.
"Hehe." Yi Sheng was amused and then brought out a bowl of noodles to himself. "Miss Bai is quite frail."
Yi Sheng frowned slightly as she looked at the red liquid in the bowl, then asked, "What flavor is this?"
"Spicy beef offal." Bai Ye laughed. "You said you wanted the same as me."
She seized the opportunity to retort, "I'm frail, Miss Yi, so don't be afraid of spicy food."
Yi Sheng pursed his lips, silently annoyed.
Bai Ye picked up a mouthful of noodles, blew on it, and took a bite. "The taste is indeed quite good."
The bone broth here is very thick and smells delicious. The spicy beef offal broth is infused into the bone broth and then soaks into the noodles, making the noodles chewy and delicious.
Seeing her eating with relish, and with the spicy aroma wafting from the bowl in front of her, Yi Sheng couldn't resist picking up his chopsticks and taking a small bite as well.
"Hiss~" Yi Sheng took a deep breath, unsurprisingly feeling the spiciness. She turned her head left and right, trying to breathe in to relieve the burning sensation.
Bai Ye got up and poured a glass of water for her.
Yi Sheng took a small sip, and it was even spicier. "It's hot..."
Bai Ye laughed, "It's only hot, and it's not really hot, just lukewarm. Besides, hot food is better at relieving spiciness."
Yi Sheng took two more sips and did feel that it was spicier when he drank it, but the spiciness subsided quickly after he finished.
Bai Ye reached out and scooped out the chili oil from Yi Sheng's bowl with a soup spoon, leaving only the refreshing bone broth noodles and beef offal with a little bit of chili oil. She stirred it again, and the chili oil spread out, giving the whole bowl of noodles a light orange color.
"Try again."
Yi Sheng picked up another piece of food and ate it.
This time the flavor was just right, with a slightly salty and spicy taste mixed with the rich and savory bone broth. It was worth the special trip she had made to find this restaurant.
"Are you planning to participate in that competition your company is holding?" Yi Sheng suddenly asked her halfway through their meal.
Bai Yeke nodded, "I'll participate."
"Oh." Yi Sheng paused for two seconds. "So, you're just going to leave it to fate which client you collaborate with on your entry?"
"Hmm, I don't know." Bai Yeke took a sip of soup. "We'll see."
Her noodles were also stirred and the toppings were scattered, making the whole bowl a bright red color.
Yi Sheng felt the spiciness just looking at it and unconsciously drank some more water.
"Then why didn't you come to me?" Yi Sheng asked casually.
"Hmm?" Bai Yeke's first reaction was that she had asked this question once before, but then she felt that the situation was different now.
Unsure, she tentatively asked, "Would it be convenient for me to contact you?"
"There's nothing inconvenient about it," Yi Sheng said, glancing at her.
"Really?" Bai Ye was still a little unsure. If it were convenient, why did Yi Sheng refuse the official invitation from the heavens in the first place?
If Yi Sheng was only helping her out of pity, because he was worried about her and thought she wouldn't be able to find resources, she wouldn't really be willing.
Yi Sheng cleared his throat. "If we had announced my collaboration with Cantian from the beginning, it would have been a huge hit. But this is a competition with a long run. Maybe the hype would have been overshadowed by other news before the competition even started."
“But Santen launched the competition first, and the news of my collaboration with Santen’s designers was revealed midway through. As the competition progressed and the relationship deepened, the popularity was able to build up layer by layer.”
Bai Yeke nodded. "Yes, that makes sense."
Then she realized that Yi Sheng had planned to cooperate with her from the very beginning.
Bai Yeke quickly lowered her head, her lips pursed but she couldn't help but curl up her lips little by little. She quickly picked up the bowl and drank some more noodle soup.
The two ate their noodles slowly, and after finishing, they sat for another five minutes before getting up to leave.
The air conditioning in the store was quite strong. It was warm a little further in from where Bai Yeke went to order. However, since people were coming and going from where they were sitting, the wind inevitably blew in. The wind was still acceptable for Bai Yeke's seat.
It wasn't until she was leaving that Bai Yeke noticed, as she passed Yi Sheng's spot, that she realized it was right next to the door and the wind was strongest there, making it much colder than where Yi Sheng was sitting opposite her.
Bai Ye chuckled and teased, "Miss Yi, you were so lazy that you insisted on sitting down and made me order and pick up the food. Well, look what happened, you ended up with a great spot where you can enjoy the cold wind."
Yi Sheng walked a little ahead and chuckled meaningfully, "Heh, put your hat on properly."
When the two arrived at the mall, it had only been open for about ten minutes and there weren't many people yet.
Bai Ye went shopping with a quick and decisive attitude, and bought a coat and a cotton-padded jacket in just one hour.
She had air conditioning in the store, so the sweater was enough to keep her warm. She bought the coats to protect herself from the wind while commuting to and from get off work, and two coats were enough for her.
"Alright." Bai Yeke picked up the paper bag with satisfaction. "Let's go."
It was only noon, and Yi Sheng was somewhat taken aback. "Huh?"
Bai Yeke chuckled, "Didn't you have something to do today?"
Yi Sheng was even more confused. "What is it?"
"Uh... well..." Bai Yeke mumbled, "You've turned down some things... you must have something to do, right..."
"Heh." Yi Sheng reacted quickly after hearing this, and she smiled coolly, "You're asking about me."
"I... I didn't..." Bai Ye quickly apologized. She didn't want to betray Xiao Yang, making it seem as if Xiao Yang had carelessly leaked her boss's information to others. "I'm sorry... please don't—"
"It's alright." Yi Sheng crossed his arms and looked at her calmly. "Xiao Yang knows her place."
Xiao Yang's reliability is beyond doubt.
“Oh…” Bai Yeke thought so too.
Just when everyone thought the conversation had moved on, Yi Sheng suddenly spoke up again, "I have things to do. Didn't I make an appointment with you?"
"Huh?" Bai Yeke was taken aback.
Yi Sheng means...
I crossed out the business trip... something that bothered Xiao Yang so much...
He actually had a shopping date with her?
Isn't this a bit outrageous?
"I thought you had something important to say..." Bai Ye murmured, not quite understanding.
"Miss Bai," Yi Sheng looked at her, still expressionless, "Isn't our appointment important?"
Baiye remained silent.
Yi Sheng added, "It's quite important to me."
Bai Yeke's head buzzed, and her heart suddenly raced.
She turned to the side, tilting her head slightly, "You...you must be joking..."
Yi Sheng walked beside her, still with that casual smile, yet it seemed to carry a hint of coldness. "Heh."
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