Chapter 20 The Third Dinner "Abalone and Sea Cucumber Soup, try it." "...
Su Yinuo stopped, ignored everything around her, and quietly met Qin Cangye's sad gaze.
Clearly, she was still seeing many surprised faces flashing around in her peripheral vision, and clearly, she was hearing many curious questions, but she seemed to be oblivious to them. She felt very uncomfortable, and all she could see was the man who looked so powerful, but whose face was full of concessions and begging.
He seemed to be asking, "Why didn't you come that day?"
He seemed to be begging: "Please don't abandon me in the future, okay?"
It was not until she was pulled into the house by Li Jinmiao that she came to her senses. She glanced at the people in the room and saw Ji Wenjun, who was even more surprised, among all the surprised eyes.
Why is Ji Wenjun here too?
Su Yinuo was a little surprised.
"Hey, Miss Li, is this the long-lost little princess of your Li family?" Wang Zhengcheng walked over, looked at Su Yinuo inquiringly, and teased, "It seems she knows Young Master Qin?"
Su Yinuo cautiously avoided Wang Zhengcheng's gaze. Feeling at a loss as to what to do, she heard Qin Cangye's cold reply: "I don't know him."
Su Yinuo's heart skipped a beat. When she looked at Qin Cangye again, she found that Qin Cangye had already looked away and was looking at the tea cup in front of him with an expressionless face.
"I don't know him," Su Yinuo also replied.
Wang Zhengcheng's mouth twitched, and he complained in his heart: If I can't see that you two know each other, wouldn't I be a fool?
Just as he was about to say something, Li Jinmiao slapped him on the back and cursed, "My best friend: Nono, Wang Zhengwei, why are you nagging me like that? Are you going to have dinner or not? I'm starving."
As she spoke, she took Su Yinuo's arm and sat down next to Qin Cangye.
"Nono?" Wang Zhengcheng shouted in surprise, his eyes moving back and forth between Qin Cangye, Su Yinuo and Ji Wenjun, then he sat on the other side of Qin Cangye with an ambiguous smile.
After Li Jinmiao sat down, he began to greet everyone in the private room and chatted with Wang Zhengcheng about everyone's recent situation.
Su Yinuo lowered her eyes, unable to speak, and turned the tea cup in front of her boredly. She always felt a hot gaze coming from the left, but when she turned her head to look, she could only see Qin Cangye's perfect but cold profile.
Suddenly, Wang Zhengcheng interrupted, "Where is Ruoruo from? Why does she look so much like our Miss Jin Sanshui?"
The room immediately fell silent, and everyone turned their curious eyes to Su Yinuo. Everyone could sense that something was amiss between Su Yinuo and one of today's protagonists, Qin Cangye, but no one dared to question it. After all, no one dared to offend Qin Cangye, who had nearly broken Ji Wenjun's hand.
"I'm a native of Beiguang," Su Yinuo smiled embarrassedly.
"Are you still in school? What do you do at home?" Wang Zhengcheng seemed determined to get to the bottom of the matter.
Su Yinuo didn't know how to answer, her eyes were a little flustered, and when she was organizing her words, three voices sounded in the private room at the same time.
One was Li Jinmiao's impatient scolding: "Wang Zhengwei, why do you care so much?"
One is Ji Wenjun's anxious explanation: "Nuo Nuo is an intern in our company."
The other was the sound of the teacup in Qin Cangye's hand falling heavily onto the table.
The private room was silent for ten seconds before Wang Zhengcheng laughed awkwardly: "Eh? Why hasn't the dish been served yet? I'll go and rush it, you guys chat, haha..."
Wang Zhengcheng ran out to get some fresh air, and when he came back, the food was already on the table. He smiled and asked everyone to raise a toast to celebrate Li Jinmiao and Qin Cangye's return to singlehood. Then they started to eat, drink, brag and chat.
Su Yinuo was truly unused to this kind of situation. She buried her head in her food, becoming the most attentive eater in the room. She didn't notice Li Jinmiao had left the table and was now complaining to a second-generation entrepreneur about the difficulties of starting a business.
"Sister Miaomiao, what is this?" Su Yinuo picked up a shiny and springy dish, waved her left hand and was about to pat Li Jinmiao, only to find that there was no one on her left. When she raised her eyes, she met Qin Cangye's gentle gaze.
"It's a fish bone," Qin Cangye replied.
His voice was soft, and his expression was much gentler than at the beginning. He picked up the soup spoon and scooped a bowl of soup in front of Su Yinuo, handed it to her, and said, "Abalone sauce sea cucumber soup, try it."
Su Yinuo, who was in a daze, quickly put down his chopsticks, took the small bowl with both hands, and said, "Thank you, Mr. Qin."
The private room suddenly fell silent. Everyone who witnessed this scene was filled with shock and disbelief. "What did I just see? Am I dazzled?" "Young Master Qin actually picked up food for someone else?" "Holy crap, is the sun rising from the west?"
Qin Cangye glanced at them coldly, and everyone immediately turned their gazes away and began chatting about their own things. The private room became lively again.
Wang Zhengcheng chuckled, moved closer to Qin Cangye, and whispered, "Young Master Qin, you really don't know him?"
"I don't know," Qin Cangye said firmly. He picked up a few slices of golden matsutake with his serving chopsticks and put them into Su Yinuo's bowl. He said softly, "Pan-fried matsutake, try it."
"Thank you, Mr. Qin."
Wang Zhengcheng watched this scene with his own eyes wide open, almost rolling his eyes.
"Hawthorn and goose liver jelly, it's a great way to relieve greasiness. Try it."
"Thank you, Mr. Qin..."
Qin Cangye picked up another piece of fish, hesitated for a moment, put it on a small plate, picked out the fish bones with chopsticks, and then handed the small plate to Su Yinuo.
"I'm full. I really can't eat anymore." Su Yinuo looked at Qin Cangye helplessly with drooping eyes. Seeing the disappointment on Qin Cangye's face, she quickly took the small plate and said, "Thank you, Mr. Qin."
Qin Cangye finally stopped passing the food. After Su Yinuo finished eating the fish, she touched her round belly and tilted her head slightly to look at Qin Cangye's hand.
She had noticed when Qin Cangye handed her the food: there were still several bright red scars on the back of his hand that hadn't fully healed. Su Yinuo wanted to move to Li Jinmiao's chair to ask if his injuries were serious, but she was too embarrassed to make such an obvious move. As she was hesitating, Qin Cangye stood up and sat over, even handing Su Yinuo a warm after-dinner towel.
Su Yinuo looked up in surprise and met Qin Cangye's bright and deep eyes.
He seemed to be in a much better mood, and there seemed to be a hint of smile in his clear eyes.
Qin Cangye squeezed the towel in his hand. He felt the surroundings were too noisy at the moment. He wanted to snap his fingers and make everyone around him disappear immediately, then hug the extremely cute person in front of him without restraint.
There was a little oil stain on the corner of her lips, making her already plump lips look even more tempting...
I really want to bite it. Even if I can’t, it should be okay to touch it with my hand, right?
Thinking of this, Qin Cangye raised the hand holding the towel.
Su Yinuo was shocked when she saw this, and immediately snatched the towel from Qin Cangye's hand. She sat up straight, wiped the oil stains from the corners of her mouth, and then wiped her hands nervously.
Qin Cangye, with empty hands, was still looking at Su Yinuo, feeling extremely lost.
The two of them pretended not to know each other and watched the others chatting for a while. When Li Jinmiao came back, he saw that his seat was occupied by Qin Cangye, so he sat down in Qin Cangye's seat very tactfully.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Wang Zhengcheng began to talk about his experiences traveling around the world.
Su Yinuo rested her hands on her lap, listening intently. Suddenly, she felt a cold, broad hand rest on the back of her hand. Startled, she lowered her head and saw Qin Cangye's right hand, hidden by the tablecloth, tightly grasping her left hand.
The cold palm soon became warm, and then scorching hot. Su Yinuo's cheeks flushed, and she tried to pull her hand away, but she couldn't break free at all. When she put her right hand over his, trying to pry his hand open, she felt the uneven scar on the back of his hand.
Su Yinuo's heart trembled slightly, and her right hand stopped on the back of his hand.
Qin Cangye lowered his head and raised the corner of his mouth imperceptibly.
When everyone's attention was drawn to Wang Zhengcheng's speech, Su Yinuo leaned towards Qin Cangye, lowered her head and asked softly, "Does your hand still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore," Qin Cangye responded softly.
Su Yinuo gently patted the back of Qin Cangye's hand and warned him, "Don't do that kind of thing again in the future."
"I'll do as you say." Qin Cangye's fingers laced between Su Yinuo's, pulling her hand towards him and placing it on his leg. He gently kneaded her slender knuckles, rubbing her small, soft fingertips, as if he were playing with an inestimable treasure.
The blush on Su Yinuo's face slowly spread to her ears.
Wang Zhengcheng's speech was truly brilliant, drawing laughter from the private room. Everyone's attention had long since shifted away from Qin Cangye and Su Yinuo, save for Ji Wenjun, who witnessed their whispers from beginning to end, the subtle shifts in their expressions, and, what filled him with both anger and jealousy, Su Yinuo's flushed face because of Qin Cangye.
Ji Wenjun picked up the white wine glass and drank it in one gulp. Then he pushed his chair away and walked over to Su Yinuo. He rudely asked the honest and dull second-generation official sitting next to Su Yinuo to leave. Then he sat down and called out, "Nunuo."
Su Yinuo was startled and immediately pulled away the hand that Qin Cangye was holding, looking at Ji Wenjun who was already a little drunk.
"Nuo Nuo," Ji Wenjun smiled, ignoring the murderous look Qin Cangye gave him from the corner of his eye, and said, "There's going to be a drone show over Mingzhu Lake later. The best view is from the sky garden observation deck on the top floor of the clubhouse. Can I take you to see it?"
"Drone show?" Su Yinuo was genuinely intrigued and asked curiously, "What time is it? Can I go to the top floor of the club?"
"Of course you can go, at 8 o'clock," Ji Wenjun came over and whispered, "All other activities in the club require money, but strolling around the rooftop garden is free, don't worry."
Ji Wenjun was too close, and the strong smell of alcohol hit Su Yinuo. Su Yinuo dodged back uncomfortably, pressed against Qin Cangye's shoulder, and heard his cold warning: "Don't go."
Su Yinuo turned and looked at Qin Cangye.
Qin Cangye's sharp eyes immediately dissipated. He looked at Su Yinuo, his eyes drooping slightly, and pleaded pitifully, "Don't go."
“What’s it to you!!”
Before Su Yinuo could answer, Ji Wenjun slammed the table, stood up angrily, and yelled at Qin Cangye, "Don't you know each other? What's it to you if I take Yinuo out to play?!"
The laughter in the private room suddenly stopped. Everyone was startled by Ji Wenjun's sudden action. The first to react were Ji Wenjun's cousin Ji Chengan, followed by Wang Zhengcheng. One of them ran to Ji Wenjun's side, and the other came to Qin Cangye.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Mr. Qin, my brother drank too much," Ji Cheng'an hugged Ji Wenjun's arm, apologized repeatedly, and tried to pull him away.
Wang Zhengcheng pressed Qin Cangye's shoulders, feeling that his palms were about to be pierced by the sharp cold air emanating from his body.
"I'm not drunk," Ji Wenjun pushed Ji Cheng'an away and continued to shout under the influence of alcohol: "Qin Cangye, I want to ask you, don't you know Nuoruo? If you don't know her, then stay away from her!"
Qin Cangye stared at Ji Wenjun intently, countless ways to kill him popping up in his mind. If Su Yinuo wasn't there, he would have smashed Ji Wenjun's head on the dining table the moment Ji Wenjun yelled the first word.
But now, he can't do anything.
He could neither admit that he knew Su Yinuo nor take action just because of Ji Wenjun's provocation, because anyone in the private room could be Qin Weishu's eyes and ears.
Before completely destroying Qin Weishu, he must not let Su Yinuo be exposed to Qin Weishu's sight.
But he really couldn't stand Ji Wenjun's repeated approach to Su Yinuo! He gritted his teeth, his red eyes filled with rage.
He was struggling, and his expression became more and more ferocious.
Ji Wenjun continued to act drunkenly: "Stop staring at me, you think I'm afraid of you? Come and beat me up if you dare. I promise not to fight back. Then I'll go to the hospital and you'll go to the police station. Even if you beat me half to death, our Ji family can save me! But you, I will definitely make you stay in jail forever, until the sea dries up and the rocks crumble!!"
After venting his anger thoroughly, he looked at Su Yinuo, who seemed frightened, stretched out his hand to her, and said, "Nunuo, let's go!"
Seeing the hand that was about to touch Su Yinuo, Qin Cangye could no longer bear it. When he was about to explode, Su Yinuo suddenly stood up and dodged Ji Wenjun's hand.
"I'm sorry," she first apologized to Ji Wenjun, then faced the crowd, smoothed down her slightly messy bangs, and said sorry again, "I'm really sorry for ruining everyone's mood for the dinner. Please don't misunderstand me. Mr. Qin really doesn't know me. It's just that I have a one-sided crush on him, so... Anyway, it's all a misunderstanding."
After saying that, she picked up her bag, ignored the shock on Ji Wenjun and Qin Cangye's faces, turned around and ran out of the private room.
"Nono," Li Jinmiao chased after him.
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