“Excuse me!”
While she claimed to mind, she subconsciously shifted aside, as if yielding him space, because of the shadow he cast over her.
He strode straight into her home, changing into slippers with familiarity and heading towards the kitchen.
She never liked going to the kitchen before, and now that she’s just here for a short business trip, she hasn’t even been in there. She thought it would be empty, but when she opened the cupboard door, she found that all the spices and dishes were neatly arranged. It seemed that Lin Zhifei had hired a cleaning service beforehand and also bought some things for her.
“You go out first, about half an hour will be good.” Zhuo Yu’an also thought her kitchen was empty, so this time he brought some semi-cooked dishes, just heat and eat.
Seeing Shu Tinglan standing at the kitchen door without moving, he raised an eyebrow and said:
“Need a hand? Could you take care of opening the bag?”
The tone of voice was peaceful and gentle, like treating her like a little child.
“Leave it be, let’s go out for a meal.”
Shu Tinglan couldn’t accept sitting here with him, as if nothing had happened. After saying that, she silently turned around to get her bag and change shoes at the door, waiting for him.
Zhuo Yu’an didn’t insist any further, he still sorted the food and put it into the refrigerator. He pointed at the takeout box Shu Tinglan had placed by the door intending to throw away:
“Don’t eat takeout all day even when you’re on a business trip.”
Shu Tinglan rolled her eyes internally, he really was nosy. She bent down and casually picked up the takeout bag. When Zhuo Yu’an came out, he took the takeout bag directly from her hand without saying much, and walked side by side with her towards the elevator, as always considerate.
His attire and demeanor were out of sync with the takeaway bag in his hand, but he seemed utterly at ease.
In fact, Zhuo Yuan hadn’t expected her to agree to dinner with him tonight when he invited her. The semi-cooked products he bought were intended for her because, based on his understanding of her, she probably relied on takeout for all three meals. He planned to leave them at her doorstep.
Shu Tinglan is different now, at least she can cook and stir-fry dishes. After all, these past few years she’s been taking care of the kids. When she comes to Senzhou on business, it’s more convenient to just order takeout alone.
Zuo Yu’an drove her to a French restaurant. The ambiance was warm and elegant, and the waiter arranged for them a table with a view. Outside the window was a dazzling cityscape at night, both vibrant and serene.
Perhaps they knew each other’s tastes too well, so Zhuo Yu’an didn’t ask for her opinion and ordered directly. His voice was as pleasant as ever, when he whispered to the waiter to place the order, nodding slightly, quite charming.
Shu Tinglan had never denied this, otherwise she wouldn’t have been so infatuated and slept with him the first time they met. The reason she agreed to dinner with him tonight was two-fold: firstly, she wanted to learn about Hengsheng Capital from him. Since he was the mastermind behind it, he must have concrete evidence; secondly, she wanted to know how much he knew about the children so she could be prepared.
After ordering, a moment of silence fell between us, broken only by the restaurant’s soothing music playing softly in the background. This observation deck offered a good deal of privacy, unlike the bustling dining hall in front where people constantly came and went.
Zhuo Yu’an pointed to the piano not far away.
“Care for a tune?”
Shu Tinglan was taken aback and subconsciously looked at her own hands, shaking her head.
“It’s been years since I last played, I’ve forgotten.”
She had completely forgotten she could play the piano. He hadn’t mentioned it, and with work, kids, and everyday chores, those kinds of flowery things were long gone from her mind.
Her unintentional melancholy tugged at Zhuo Yu’an’s heart, causing a sharp pang. As it subsided, another wave of pain followed. He changed the subject,
“I left Hengsheng Capital’s materials in my car. I’ll bring them back to you later.” He brought it up proactively, and also guessed the reason she was willing to come out for dinner.
“Okay, thank you.” After a moment of thought, she added.
“I haven’t harbored any resentment towards Wen Jian for a long time. If not for this case, I wouldn’t have had any dealings with her.” She deliberately tested how much he knew about her affairs in the city over the past few years, but didn’t want to be too obvious, so she brought up Wen Jian.
But that’s too far, only listening to Zhu Yu’an follow her words and say: “I apologize, I went overboard.”
Perhaps afraid she would suddenly get angry again, he spoke very cautiously all night, being measured in his words and actions, with clear boundaries.
“Since you’ve chosen to be Wen Jian’s defense attorney, I respect your decision. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“Hmm.” Shu Tinglan was a little frustrated. Besides the information about Hengsheng Capital, she hadn’t gotten anything else. She knew very well that if Zhuo Yu’an wanted to play mind games with you, ten of you wouldn’t be able to outsmart him.
As if she knew nothing about her relationship with Yi Muyang, or the fact that she was even thought to be someone else’s stepmother. Yet, in front of her, he never mentioned it, as if it didn’t exist at all.
I felt like I wasted my time tonight accompanying him for dinner, he was really slow with the dishes and it took two hours to finish.
“Not tasty?” Zhuo Yu’an saw the impatience on her face. She appeared to be a capable and strong woman in the workplace, but privately, she still had many vestiges of her past self, her joy and anger were all written on her face, unchanged at all.
He smiled <<<
“It’s not tasty, let’s go to a different restaurant.”
“I’m full, let’s go home,” she stood up and walked towards the door first. She intended to take a cab back, but he said that the materials from Hengsheng Capital were in his car, so she had no choice but to walk towards his car.
Zuo Yu’an trailed behind her leisurely, watching as she walked towards the curb. After two steps, she turned back to his car, and the corners of his lips couldn’t help but curl upwards.
He opened the door for her to get in, and she didn’t refuse, knowing that refusing would be pointless. He had made up his mind to send her home, so he hadn’t ordered a single drink when they were placing their order earlier.
Shutinglan was still somewhat unwilling to accept it. All night, she hadn’t managed to say a single word to him. Could she give up?
But after much deliberation, he couldn’t figure out how to inquire further, fearing that speaking too much would arouse the old fox’s suspicion. His mind was preoccupied with this issue, and before he knew it, he arrived at her residential complex. Then, Zhuo Yu an even escorted her to the entrance of her building and accompanied her into the elevator when it stopped on the first floor.
When she came to her senses, he pointed at the security camera above the elevator.
“The monitor is broken, I’ll send you home.”
Is that a reason? A broken monitor isn’t the same as a broken elevator, so there’s nothing to send.
Just as the elevator doors were about to close, someone suddenly called out from outside.
“Hold on.”
Just then, Shu Tinglan hastily pressed the door open button, letting the person outside in while asking Zhuo Yunan to go out.
As the door swung open, two movers in company uniforms squeezed in from the elevator, carrying a sofa.
“Sorry, I apologize!”
The sofa was too big, trapping Zhuo Yu’an and Shu Tinglan in the triangular area inside.
Thank you all for your unwavering support. From this month onwards, it should be a continuous sweet update, shouldn’t it? It should be… or perhaps still updating with an alternating schedule of two chapters and three chapters every day.
> Another new month, for those with monthly tickets please throw them at me ha… Thanks! Being in the top few on the monthly ticket list is really good!