More than ten minutes later, Xia Xiaobing drove up to the apartment building.
Then Tang Qi rushed over with her hands covering her head—the reason she covered her head was because it was still raining heavily, and the young lady had forgotten to bring an umbrella when she went downstairs.
Fortunately, Xue Xiaodie opened the back door in time, allowing her to get in the car quickly.
Then the car started and drove towards another shopping mall nearby.
Xia Xiaobing: "I'll drive straight into the underground parking lot and take the elevator up, then I won't get wet in the rain anymore."
Lu Zhe, standing next to him, said, "Great, having a car is really convenient."
Xia Xiaobing smiled and said, "When are you going to get your driver's license? If you have one, you can drive for the company."
Lu Zhe: "With this increased workload, should we get a raise?"
Xia Xiaobing: "If you drive a lot, of course you can add more. And since it's for company business activities, the company or I can reimburse your driver's license test fees."
Lu Zhe: "Okay then..."
In the back seat of the car, Tang Qi leaned close to Xue Xiaodie's ear and whispered, "Why did you let Lu Zhe sit in the front?"
Xue Xiaodie pouted: "He chose it himself, what can I do?"
Tang Qi subconsciously wanted to ask Sister Xiaodie to sit in the front row, but then she thought about it and realized that it would be too inappropriate to say that, so she could only obediently shut up.
Soon, the car arrived at the nearby Yintai Shopping Mall and parked on the second basement level.
The four people got out of the car, took the elevator upstairs, and arrived at a barbecue restaurant.
As we entered, Xia Xiaobing said, "This is the best-rated barbecue restaurant around here. I checked, and it should be this one. We arrived late, past lunchtime, otherwise we would have had to wait in line."
Lu Zhe glanced around and noticed that although it was already past eight o'clock, the store was still mostly occupied, with very few empty seats. This was enough to show how popular the store was with customers.
Tang Qi was already rubbing her hands together, eager to try it out: "It smells so good..."
Xue Xiaodie remained calm as usual. However, perhaps because she hadn't eaten dinner, she subconsciously touched her stomach and quietly swallowed.
The waiter led four people to an empty square table, said "Please scan the code to order," and left. But this brought the old problem back to life in a new form.
How should the seats be arranged?
In the past, with only Xue Xiaodie, Tang Qi, and Lu Zhe, the arrangement was quite simple. Lu Zhe would sit on one side, and the two girls on the other. Now, with the addition of the more formidable Xia Xiaobing, the situation has become increasingly complicated.
More importantly, although the last time they went to the panda base, there were four of them together, Xue Xiaodie deliberately kept Xia Xiaobing there, making Tang Qi and Lu Zhe sit together. Now, Xue Xiaodie would never do that again.
Xia Xiaobing was the one who made the first move this time.
As the company boss and ostensibly the highest-ranking person present, she naturally sat down first, taking a seat towards the back. Not only that, she also tugged at Lu Zhe's arm, saying, "Don't just stand there, sit down and order. Order whatever you like, it's on me today!"
Tang Qi and Xue Xiaodie were stunned—not because President Xia was going to treat them, but because of his incredibly natural action just now. Seriously, isn't pulling someone like that a foul?
Xia Xiaobing seemed completely oblivious to the two girls' stiff expressions, and simply took out her phone to scan the QR code to order food.
Lu Zhe's face stiffened further, and his heart pounded faster. He could feel the cold, beautiful woman's hand on his thigh, and she even squeezed it hard.
It doesn't hurt, but it feels really strange...
Xue Xiaodie and Tang Qi sat down silently, each taking out their phones and scanning the QR code on the corner of the table.
Xia Xiaobing suddenly said, "I've already ordered a few plates of meat and drinks. Take a look and see if there's anything else you want to add. The ordering system here should be operable by everyone."
Xue Xiaodie suddenly smiled and asked, "Does President Xia really like eating meat?"
Xia Xiaobing nodded: "Of course, I'm a carnivore."
For some reason, Lu Zhe felt that the mature woman next to him seemed to emphasize the words "carnivore" slightly.
Xue Xiaodie's smile also showed a hint of reluctance.
Tang Qi didn't pay attention to this detail, but she indignantly ordered three of the most expensive meat dishes.
————
Before long, the food arrived. And the waiter stood by the table, holding tongs, grilling the meat for the customer.
Thinly sliced beef, with evenly marbled patterns, is placed on a hot grill pan, where it quickly changes color, sizzles, and releases an enticing aroma.
"These are ready to eat."
The waiter picked up a few slices of grilled meat and placed them on an empty plate next to him.
Everyone ate their meat in silence.
Lu Zhe took a bite and said, "It's really good, the texture..."
Tang Qi: "But I still prefer what you make."
Upon hearing this, Xia Xiaobing, who had just swallowed the snowflake beef in her mouth, subconsciously licked her lips and asked, "Does he often cook for you at home?"
Tang Qi replied matter-of-factly, "Of course, he's my personal assistant."
Xia Xiaobing then looked at the other girl next to her and asked, "Would you like to eat with us too?"
Xue Xiaodie picked up a tissue and wiped her mouth, then said softly, "Yes, I also help with some housework."
Xia Xiaobing: "You're staying at Miss Tang's house, so you don't need to pay rent, right?"
Tang Qi: "Of course, Lu Zhe is my hired assistant, and Sister Xiao Die is... uh, my best friend."
Xia Xiaobing: "That's great! The three of them eating and playing together, it's enviable."
Xue Xiaodie had already guessed what she wanted to say, and couldn't help but tighten her lips.
Sure enough, the next moment, the usually aloof and mature woman smiled and said, "But I also rented a place next door to you. Can I live with you from now on?"
The moment the words were spoken, the other three people at the table were stunned.
Tang Qi's face was full of surprise: "Didn't you just move once? Why are you moving again!"
Xia Xiaobing said quite naturally, "Because I'm too lonely and bored by myself, I wanted to ask you guys to hang out with me."
Xue Xiaodie breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Sister Xia didn't actually say something like "because I like Lu Zhe." Otherwise, the situation would have really gotten out of control.
Lu Zhe turned his head to stare at the mature woman's profile and suddenly noticed that her beautiful, upturned eyelashes were trembling slightly. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a hint of unnaturalness on her seemingly composed and beautiful face.
Then he realized that Xia Xiaobing could get nervous sometimes too…
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