Twenty minutes later, the car stopped at the mouth of an alley.
A delicious aroma wafted from inside.
Jiang Fuyue was just enjoying the smell when suddenly her hand was held—he took it and pulled her along naturally, as if it were the most ordinary thing.
They turned a corner and came upon a private kitchen-style restaurant.
Jiang Fuyue raised her eyebrows. “Treating me to dinner?”
Xie Dingyuan nodded. “Will you honor me with your presence?”
They walked in together.
There was only one staff member inside—a woman who looked to be in her 40s or 50s, smiling warmly.
“Ninth Master, you’re here.”
“Aunt He.” He gave her a slight nod.
Clearly, they knew each other.
After they sat down, Xie Dingyuan let Jiang Fuyue order. She casually pointed at three dishes. He took the menu and added two more.
Soon, the dishes were served.
Five plates, each with a different presentation, held dishes that were each visually appealing—
The sweet and sour pork with pineapple was coated in thick sauce, the steamed bass was whole and flawless, and the jade shrimp was especially beautiful…
Though all the dishes were light in flavor, they easily whetted the appetite.
“How’s the taste?”
Jiang Fuyue nodded. “Delicious!”
Different from Jiang Da’s style, but equally tasty.
“Is there rice?” she asked.
The test today had been tough. Even though she finished it within an hour, plenty of brain cells had perished.
Mental fatigue brings hunger.
Xie Dingyuan turned to give Aunt He a few words. Soon, a small bamboo steamer was brought over, filled with piping hot white rice. It smelled incredibly fragrant.
Jiang Fuyue simply helped herself to a full bowl.
The moment she took a bite, her eyes lit up.
This rice—at first glance, nothing seemed different. But the flavor was subtly layered: the sweetness of pineapple, the tang of citrus, and a faint hint of osmanthus.
By all logic, mixing so many scents together should have resulted in something weird or cloying.
But not this.
The citrus balanced the pineapple’s sweetness. The barely-there osmanthus aroma added an elegant note, bringing everything together in perfect harmony.
Fragrant in the mouth, lingering on the tongue.
“Do you like it?” Xie Dingyuan’s eyes smiled.
“It tastes really unique.”
“It’s called ‘Autumn Chrysanthemum Falling Petals.’”
Jiang Fuyue casually said, “Then is there also ‘Magnolia Dew’?”
As it says in Li Sao: “In the morning, I drink the dew of magnolia; in the evening, I feast on the fallen petals of chrysanthemum.”
Xie Dingyuan: “There really is.”
Jiang Fuyue paused.
“Want to try it?”
“Uh…” She glanced at the unfinished dishes on the table. “Won’t that be too much?”
He thought for a moment. “Then we’ll order it next time?”
“Okay.”
She didn’t even notice how she had tacitly agreed to a “next time”—a promise made without thinking.
Xie Dingyuan’s lips curved upward in satisfaction, a subtle sense of triumph.
He used a pair of clean chopsticks to pick up a shrimp and placed it on her plate.
But Jiang Fuyue moved it to a side dish.
He raised an eyebrow. “What, don’t like it?”
“I’ll peel it later. Want to eat the other dishes first.”
Xie Dingyuan chuckled, put on disposable gloves, and started peeling shrimp.
His hands were large and well-proportioned—if he played piano, they’d surely look elegant. Even the simple act of peeling shrimp, done by him, seemed refined and graceful.
Jiang Fuyue glanced over, then looked away and continued eating.
With good food and a full stomach, her mood was bright.
Suddenly, a pair of chopsticks appeared in front of her, delivering two peeled shrimp onto her plate.
She looked up just in time to see him pulling his hand back.
She blinked. “For me?”
Xie Dingyuan gave a low “mm,” then moved the remaining shrimp over too, neatly arranged.
“Eat.”
“…Thanks.”
Twenty minutes later, after downing half a bowl of soup—
“I’m full,” said Jiang Fuyue.
Xie Dingyuan looked at the nearly-empty dishes on the table and nodded. “You’ve got quite an appetite…”
The most fatal line a straight man can utter.
Jiang Fuyue instinctively frowned.
Good appetite = eats a lot?
Was he saying she eats too much?!
Oblivious to the landmine he’d stepped on, Xie Dingyuan was still basking in the joy of successfully feeding her.
But the next moment—
“I guess I do eat more than you,” she smiled sweetly. “But we’re not really comparable.”
He blinked. “Why not?”
“Because I’m still growing, but you’re fully developed. If I eat more, I grow taller. If you eat more… you get fat.”
Xie Dingyuan: “…”
So she was calling him old?
After the meal, Xie Dingyuan went to pay while Jiang Fuyue waited by his side.
Aunt He now played the role of cashier. She took his card and smiled. “Same as always—20% off.”
Xie Dingyuan paused. “Wasn’t it 10%? Did it change?”
“I didn’t change it. You changed.”
“Me?”
“Single men get 10% off. That’s always been the rule. But there’s another—couples get 20%. You didn’t know that because you and Shen Qiannan always came here solo or together, single dogs hanging out. Of course you never qualified for the 20%.”
“…Oh.”
“So,” Aunt He gave a sly smile, eyes darting between him and Jiang Fuyue, “you’re really a couple now?”
“Cough…” Xie Dingyuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed. His eyes darted nervously.
Jiang Fuyue shook her head. “Not yet.”
His eyes dimmed.
But he quickly recovered. Not yet doesn’t mean never.
Like clouds parting, his expression brightened again.
“Oh well, I’ve already rung it up.” Aunt He smiled and winked. “Let’s just say it’s an early-use discount.”
Xie Dingyuan’s ears turned red.
Jiang Fuyue’s gaze flickered as she looked away.
Back in the car.
Xie Dingyuan asked, “Got any plans this afternoon?”
“Uncle’s coming to take me to dinner at home.”
“The Han family?”
“Yeah.”
Dinner plan failed. Xie Dingyuan had no choice but to drive her back to Chunfeng Hotel.
“Then… are you free tomorrow?”
Jiang Fuyue: “Grades come out tomorrow, and there’s the closing ceremony. Probably be done late.”
“…Oh.”
If he were a golden retriever, his ears would have drooped and his tail would’ve stopped wagging.
So pitiful.
“But,” she added the next second, “I should be free in the evening.”
His eyes lit up immediately, ears perking, tail wagging again.
…
That evening, Han Shen called: “Yueyue, I’m at the hotel entrance.”
“Okay, I’ll be right there.”
This trip to the Han house was actually strongly requested by the old man.
From four days ago, when Jiang Fuyue first arrived in the capital, Han Qishan had been calling Jiang Da nonstop—
“Little Jiang, you know, I wasn’t a good father, I failed my daughter, but better late than never, right?”
What else could Jiang Da say? Of course he agreed with “mm hmm” over and over.
Encouraged, the old man was delighted. “So I have to try to be a good grandfather!”
“Mm hmm.”
“Then tell Yueyue—after exams, come stay at our place for a few days!”
Jiang Da: “?” So that’s your real motive!
“What, you don’t agree?” The old man’s voice turned stern.
Jiang Da quickly explained, “No no, that’s not what I meant.”
“Then tell her! Right now!”
“…Actually, Yueyue listens more to her mom. Maybe you could call Ruru?”
On the other end, the old man suddenly stammered: “You—why do I have to call her? Aren’t you two married? Don’t you see each other every day, all lovey-dovey? You just pass along the message!”
Actually, Han Yunru was right beside him the whole time.
The old man didn’t dare face his daughter directly, so he went after the son-in-law.
Refused to admit it, but clearly scared out of his wits.
Han Yunru sighed quietly. She had long since chosen to forgive him. The one who couldn’t let go was himself, locking himself in a self-made prison.
In that moment, she felt a bit sorry for her father.
Wife gone, afraid to face his daughter, sons not close to him… even with billions in wealth, he was just an old toad, croaking out “lonely—lonely—” with no one to answer.
So pitiful.
Han Yunru softened, and nodded slightly to Jiang Da.
“Alright then,” Jiang Da said, “I’ll tell Yueyue.”
Han Qishan laughed with joy. “By the way… Ruru’s got good taste, choosing you as her husband.”
Jiang Da: “…” That’s not what you said before, old man.
Back to the present—
Just as Jiang Fuyue got into Han Shen’s car, she was spotted by Fang Liuliu.
“Liuliu? Liuliu?!”
“Huh? Mom, what?”
“What are you staring at, so absentminded?”
“Mom, you said before that Jiang Fuyue must have some backing—that’s why the guy Uncle Wang Hao sent got seriously injured. I think I just figured out what kind of backing it is.”
Liu Kaiyan raised a brow. “What kind?”
“She’s clinging to a sugar daddy! I just saw her get into a Bentley with my own eyes! So-called genius girl? Please. She’s just a homewrecker, a filthy tramp! Shameless!”
