Chapter 45 Does Jinglin like her? ...
He always believed that being able to personally take care of his wife in every aspect was a quality a husband should possess.
And now...
Jinglin clearly felt the subtle gaze directed at him from the other side. This feeling intrigued and excited him. So, like an encouraged warrior, he straightened his back and let his neck droop gracefully. His nimble fingers moved nimbly and powerfully, and with a few deft movements, the shrimp in his hand was completely peeled, leaving behind the glistening, translucent shrimp meat.
He turned the simple act of peeling a shrimp into a short film with elegance and composure.
After peeling the shrimp, Jinglin stared at it for a few seconds before placing it on Ye Qingyu's plate.
"Xiaoyu, try my shrimp-peeling skills." Jinglin smiled at Ye Qingyu, seemingly looking forward to her evaluation.
Ye Qingyu: "..."
She picked up the cup and took a sip of water.
It has to be said that his pretentious shrimp-peeling performance just now really disgusted him, and he had no desire for the shrimp that Jinglin peeled.
Meanwhile, Lu Ran also sensed Jing Lin's peacock-like display of power. But if it was directed at Ye Qingyu, he could actually respect it.
The most important thing right now is Pei Ci.
"What do you want to eat?" Lu Ran asked Pei Ci softly.
Pei Ci withdrew her gaze and instead stared at Lu Ran's face. His face possessed an elegant and noble air; he would probably look even better peeling shrimp than Jing Lin. After a moment's thought, Pei Ci pointed to the unpeeled shrimp, "I want this."
ah?
Peeling shrimp?
Lu Ran was stunned, not quite understanding why Pei Ci would make such a request, but if it was because of Ye Qingyu, then no matter how strange it seemed, it wouldn't be unreasonable. However, Pei Ci had already made the request…
He washed his hands, dried them, and took a shrimp from a plate beside him.
Peeling shrimp isn't technically difficult, but he's never done it before. The ingredients that end up on his table are always the last step in the process. He doesn't care much about food; it doesn't allow him to release his boundless energy.
Of course, it's also because he's naturally not good at this kind of delicate work.
So the peeling process was clumsy and awkward. After peeling off the shell piece by piece, the shrimp meat was as smooth as the surface of the moon.
Of course, aside from the shrimp being a bit shabby, this is actually at the average level.
Unfortunately, there's a scenic forest ahead.
With Jing Lin's work as a comparison, Lu Ran's techniques and the resulting works seem even less impressive.
strangeness.
The two are good brothers. Since Jing Lin can peel shrimp, why can't Lu Ran?
Pei Ci was unusually puzzled. She stopped Lu Ran from handing her the shrimp meat, saying, "Peel another one."
Lu Ran: "..."
Lu Ran threw the shrimp meat he disliked into the trash can. This time he realized that Pei Ci had asked him to peel shrimp because she wanted him to compare himself with Jing Lin.
Realizing this, Lu Ran deliberately chose a shrimp of decent size. He slowed down his movements, his seriousness no less than that of someone taking a final exam. The shell died little by little, the tendons were pulled out bit by bit. Although his movements were slow, this time the shrimp meat was not ruined.
Jing Lin watched Lu Ran's movements from the sidelines. In the past, he would just watch and then offer his support. But he didn't want to do that. When Lu Ran was halfway through peeling a shrimp, Jing Lin picked up a slightly smaller one and started his new activity.
His posture was upright, his fingers were nimble, and every movement was specially designed. At this point, Jinglin had already treated peeling shrimp as his own work; he was both a director and an actor.
Although he was clearly behind, he finished before Lu Ran in the end, and the shrimp meat he peeled was flawless.
"Xiaoyu, this is for you." Jinglin put the shrimp meat back on her plate.
Ye Qingyu didn't touch the shrimp he was peeling in front of her. She sat quietly to the side, picking at the salad closest to her.
Jinglin didn't mind and said to himself, "Would you like to eat crab? Or lobster?"
He didn't even need Ye Qingyu to answer. He had already picked up a king crab and skillfully used the tools to cut off the legs and peel the shell. The crisp sound and his beautiful movements made the process pleasing to the eye. The crab meat he peeled was basically no different from the crab meat prepared in the restaurant.
Lu Ran frowned, his hand holding the shrimp almost breaking it in half.
"I didn't know you had a talent for being a waiter," Lu Ran said sarcastically.
"Is that so?" Jing Lin seemed oblivious to the sarcasm, his face still bearing his usual smile. "I enjoy doing handicrafts, which is one of my hobbies."
This is no lie; he enjoys crafts, food, games, and travel, and he aspires to meet his ideal of a good husband. Unfortunately, he gradually discovers that he will never reach that ideal standard.
Such an obvious difference naturally caught Pei Ci's eye.
Prior to this, Pei Ci had barely paid any attention to Jing Lin. But Jing Lin's behavior during this meal surprised her.
I never expected Jinglin to have this skill...
However, she didn't come here just to watch Jing Lin gain Ye Qingyu's favorability. Since Lu Ran couldn't compete, she could only interfere with the interaction between the two.
"Ye Qingyu." Pei Ci didn't touch the shrimp that Lu Ran had peeled, and called out Ye Qingyu's name.
When Ye Qingyu looked up, Pei Ci pointed to the plate in front of her and asked, "Could you peel a shrimp for me?"
She wanted to disrupt the atmosphere where Jinglin was taking care of Ye Qingyu.
Her action was very effective; Ye Qingyu's attention was clearly drawn to her.
"Why?" Ye Qingyu asked.
Pei Ci didn't answer her, but instead asked, "Can you peel shrimp?"
This statement carries a provocative tone.
Ye Qingyu's expression changed. Pei Ci knew that Ye Qingyu wouldn't be completely ruthless over such a small matter, so she hardened her tone, "I want to eat the best one you peeled."
“Oh, there’s no need for Xiaoyu, Miss,” Jinglin said at the right moment. “It’s just shrimp, I’ll peel it, I’ll peel it. Our Xiaoyu has to eat by herself.”
As he spoke, he picked up a shrimp.
His fingers were trembling and numb, and he almost couldn't hold on.
He's going to peel shrimp for the young lady!!!
Seeing Jing Lin using herself as a cover again, Ye Qingyu frowned. After thinking for a few seconds, she actually washed her hands and picked up a shrimp as well.
Both of them made a move, and Lu Ran, not wanting to lose, picked up the third shrimp.
The four people, two couples in name only, without any hint of romance, are all unknowingly engaged in an unseen competition for Pei Ci.
How to peel shrimp.
How to get the young lady's attention.
Who can make the young lady eat the shrimp in her hand?
These are the issues they are most concerned about right now.
The girl at the center of the vortex sat quietly, her mind solely focused on the mission. Her thoughts were entirely driven by the mission, and she was completely unaware of anything else.
Finally, the three of them placed the peeled shrimp on Pei Ci's plate at the same time. Jing Lin's shrimp was undoubtedly the most beautifully peeled, followed by Ye Qingyu and Lu Ran.
Pei Ci stared blankly at Jing Lin's shrimp in the bowl and dish.
She had to admit that Jing Lin was exceptionally gifted at taking care of people. More importantly, as a nobleman, he could hardly be seen as a spoiled young master if he wanted to. In this respect, he completely outshone Lu Ran.
Now that Ye Qingyu has changed, it's normal for her to fall for Jinglin.
It's no exaggeration to say that with Jing Lin around, Lu Ran has almost no chance of winning.
What should we do now?
Pei Ci didn't know what to do for a moment, and put down the chopsticks she had picked up.
This action clearly aroused Jinglin's interest.
He was certain he had peeled it the best. But why not eat it?
Jinglin's lips were dry, and he kept licking them. He was like a student who had studied hard for more than ten years and finally handed in his answer sheet to the examiner, waiting for the results, but the examiner was slow to grade the paper.
Feeling uneasy, worried, and anxious.
He finally couldn't help but ask, "Why aren't you eating?"
Because of this sentence, Pei Ci raised her eyes and her gaze fell on Jing Lin's face.
She caught a fleeting hint of Jinglin's impatience.
Impatient? Why not be impatient?
Pei Ci still didn't touch her chopsticks. Soon after, Jing Lin started peeling new shrimp. But this time he was noticeably more impatient than before, because he used too much force and accidentally cut his finger on the shrimp shell, leaving a few streaks of blood on the shrimp meat.
Just then—
"Jinglin," Lu Ran said, "Come out with me for a moment."
Jinglin always listened to Lu Ran. He threw away the shrimp, grabbed a tissue to wipe the blood, and went outside with Lu Ran. When they returned, Jinglin had recovered.
At least, that anxiety suddenly dissipated.
Why did Lu Ran ask Jing Lin to go out?
For no apparent reason, Pei Ci suddenly thought of the night Jing Lin knocked Lu Ran unconscious. A bold conjecture suddenly sprouted in her mind—
Does Jinglin like her?
This idea was rather absurd, because in Pei Ci's memory, she and Jing Lin didn't have much interaction. The few interactions they had were all when Jing Lin followed Lu Ran, casually calling her "sister-in-law."
But his unusual behavior just now did indeed stem from the piece of peeled shrimp meat in his bowl.
"Is it cold?" Lu Ran's voice rang out softly. "I'll peel it for you again."
Lu Ran was about to change her dishes, but Pei Ci stopped him.
"No need." Pei Ci picked up her chopsticks and rummaged through the dishes. She kept a watchful eye on Jing Lin, but he had already returned to normal. However, when she picked up some shrimp, Jing Lin clearly changed…
Pei Ci was overwhelmed with emotion and fed the piece of meat to her lips.
"Bang--!"
Jinglin, who was sitting, suddenly stood up from his seat. As everyone looked at him, he wiped his face and said, "I'm going to the restroom."
Jinglin went out.
Pei Ci lowered her eyes. She didn't know if this absurd conjecture was true, but it did give her new inspiration.
*
The meal ended peacefully, and Jinglin prepared to continue his date with Ye Qingyu.
"Excuse me, Miss Pei, Xiaoyu and I are planning to go to the arcade, so let's part ways now," Jinglin said with a smile.
As he spoke, Pei Ci stared at his fingers.
Jinglin still has bloodstains left from peeling shrimp on his left index finger.
She noticed that this hand was not as fair and beautiful as most noble young men's hands; it bore the marks of labor.
It seems she really enjoys handicrafts.
"Okay," Pei Ci replied calmly, turning her gaze away.
Jing Lin was stunned.
Lu Ran had class in the afternoon, and Pei Ci wanted to part ways with him, so after Lu Ran took her home, he sent Lu Ran to school.
After returning home, Pei Ci, who had just received her injection, lay on the bed. She took out her phone and checked Jing Lin's number.
She decided to test whether Jinglin liked her.
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