“Of course! If you’re not worried that I’ll get taken advantage of being alone with another man, then you must be jealous.” Chen Zhao stared at him playfully and directly.
Qin Er didn’t speak. Fearing he might be pushing too hard and cause a counterproductive reaction, Chen Zhao hurriedly added. “He’s just my childhood friend, an ordinary friend, that’s all. Brother, let’s go inside and eat, I’m starving~”
Qin Er: “Mm.”
Chen Zhao looped his arm around his. From entering the venue to sitting down, he continuously rambled about how much he missed him, even though it was fake.
However, Qin Er seemed to be in quite a good mood, causing the corners of Chen Zhao’s mouth to curl up smugly.
After sitting down, the waiter handed over the menus. Chen Zhao opened his and gasped upon seeing the numbers. “One thousand five hundred and eighty for just three dishes?!”
Is he eating gold?!
Isn’t Qin Er just a doctor? How can he afford to eat at such an expensive restaurant!
Do doctors make this much money? If he had known, he would have studied medicine too!
Noticing Qin Er’s gaze, Chen Zhao pushed the menu over: “Brother, you order. I’m not very familiar with this place.”
Qin Er named several dishes to the waiter. To Chen Zhao’s ears, what he uttered weren’t dish names, but stacks of cold, hard cash.
“I didn’t expect brother to eat at outside restaurants. I thought you’d find them unclean.”
“This restaurant maintains strict hygienic standards,” Qin Er said. “So I don’t mind it here.”
Chen Zhao nodded. No wonder an old mysophobic guy would choose to dine here.
The pre-meal bread tasted fantastic, soft and fragrant. The appetizers were scallops and pan fried bullfrog, followed by Wellington beef steak, black truffle silver cod, and pumpkin tomato braised rice for main courses, with a small cake for dessert.
This was the best meal Chen Zhao had eaten in his entire life. If it weren’t for Qin Er preventing him from drinking alcohol, he would have really wanted to taste what a 1997 Domaine de la Romanee Conti tasted like.
To be honest, Chen Zhao felt nervous throughout the meal, terrified that Qin Er might ditch the bill and leave him behind. Luckily, Qin Er stayed planted firmly in his seat with no sign of running off, allowing Chen Zhao to relax slightly.
He blinked, secretly sending a message under the table to prompt Jiang Yuzhou to act quickly.
Fish Porridge: 【Why is the food here so expensive! I only dared to order a plate of fried rice! And they charged me two hundred and fifty! I feel like I’m the 250 (idiot)!】
Ten Days: 【Sorry! I’ll reimburse you and treat you to a meal next time!】
Fish Porridge: 【Keep your word!】
Chen Zhao looked up to see the waiter approaching with the water he had ordered. As the waiter passed by, Jiang Yuzhou, who had been sitting at the adjacent table, stuck his foot out.
Caught off guard, the waiter stumbled. Though he managed to stabilize himself, the water splashed straight onto Qin Er’s shoulder.
“I’m so sorry, sir!” The waiter hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief.
Chen Zhao quickly stood up. “It’s fine, it’s fine! It’s just water!”
He handed a tissue to Qin Er. “Brother, wipe it off.”
Qin Er nodded and told the waiter it was fine. He pulled out the pocket watch from his coat pocket, set it on the table, and said to Chen Zhao. “I’m going to freshen up.”
Chen Zhao nodded and watched Qin Er walk away. His eyes fell upon the pocket watch on the table. His heart rate and breathing accelerated rapidly, like a thief, he snatched up the watch, walked over to the neighboring table, and handed it to Jiang Yuzhou. “Tell Master Xia to hurry up and repair it. I’m not sure if Qin Er will kill me if he finds out I took his watch!”
For the sake of his buddy’s life, Jiang Yuzhou tucked the pocket watch away, scarfed down the last bite of his 250 yuan fried rice, and set off on the road to Rainforest Town.
Returning to his seat, Chen Zhao felt his heart nearly leaping out of his throat, his brain spinning rapidly as he tried to figure out how to explain this to Qin Er later.
Not long after, Qin Er returned. Holding his suit jacket, he seemed to be in a rush as he said to Chen Zhao. “I have an emergency surgery.”
Chen Zhao: “Ah? Oh, okay.”
Qin Er’s eyes fell on the table. The spot where he had placed the pocket watch earlier was now empty. He furrowed his brows slightly, and Chen Zhao immediately blurted out. “The watch got a bit wet earlier, so I asked the waiter to wipe it dry. They’ll bring it right back once it’s clean.”
“Mm,” Qin Er didn’t say much, he was pressed for time. “The bill is settled. Go back by yourself in a bit.”
Chen Zhao nodded frantically. “Mm! Go ahead, brother, I’ll be fine by myself.”
Watching Qin Er leave, Chen Zhao slumped back against his chair, completely drained, as if he had just run a marathon.
That was way too close! Thank goodness heaven helped him out!
The waiter brought over the receipt. Chen Zhao took a casual glance and nearly fell off his chair, a single meal had cost almost two years of his living expenses!
Holy crap, you rich people are insane!
Chen Zhao gobbled down the remaining steak, finished the ten times overpriced Cola in one gulp, wiped his mouth, grabbed his bag, and left.
Qin Er was probably very busy, as he hadn’t returned even by noon the next day. Chen Zhao stayed on the phone with Jiang Yuzhou the whole time.
“You have no idea. I barely caught the last bus to get there last night. It was so late that I was afraid Master Xia was already asleep, so I could only go over first thing this morning.”
“Luckily Master Xia wakes up super early and started fixing it for you around five. Your pocket watch was missing way too many parts, so he had to forge replacements for you.”
“Almost done, it’s almost done! Just wait, I guarantee it’ll be in your hands this afternoon!”
Chen Zhao let out a long sigh of relief, finally putting his mind at ease.
Just as he was waiting out of boredom, there was noise outside the front door. Chen Zhao scrambled up and ran over to open it. “Brother!”
Qin Er turned his head, his brows carrying the same characteristic coldness as usual.
Chen Zhao was wearing a light blue floral dress today that outlined a slender waistline. His bare toes inside his slippers were round and full, neatly lined up like little steamed buns emitting a milky fragrance.
Qin Er watched him quietly for a moment before shifting his gaze and stepping inside. The door was left open, so Chen Zhao naturally followed him in.
Walking into Qin Er’s apartment, the surroundings felt instantly brighter because his place was neat and spotless unlike Chen Zhao’s home, which had turned into a literal dumpsite over the past few days.
“Was brother exhausted last night?” Chen Zhao shuffled over, sitting right next to Qin Er. He leaned in slightly, exposing his youthful curves right in front of the man.
Qin Er lowered his eyes, glanced at the snow-white skin, swallowed softly, and took a sip of water. “It was alright.”
“I knew brother was the best!” Chen Zhao giggled joyfully. He turned his back briefly to adjust his chest pads, then turned back around. “Brother, what are we eating tonight?”
“Where is my pocket watch?” Qin Er asked.
“…Didn’t I tell you? It’s with the waiter! They’ll return it once it’s clean!”
“Tell the truth.”
Chen Zhao froze: “It’s… it really is at the restaurant. I’ll go pick it up for you in a bit.”
“Chen Wan.” The man reached out, pinching his chin and lifting it up. His phoenix eyes looked cold and distant. “Don’t try to deceive me.”
As his lip bead was rubbed by the man’s fingers, Chen Zhao’s hair stood on end. He felt as though everywhere the man’s fingers touched was burning hot. “Brother…”
“I’m warning you, don’t do anything extra,” Qin Er narrowed his eyes. “Otherwise, the consequences will be more than you can bear.”
Chen Zhao was terrified by Qin Er. From the moment he met him until now, he had never seen such a frightening look in Qin Er’s eyes.
What else did he not know about this man?
The atmosphere was too suffocating for Chen Zhao to endure. He pushed the man’s hand away and stood up. “I’m sorry, it won’t happen next time.”
His body was trembling, and his voice could barely squeeze out. “I’m leaving now.”
He sprinted out and slammed the door shut with a loud BANG. At that exact moment, his stomach began to throb with a dull ache again. Chen Zhao sniffled aggrievedly, turned around, and raised his leg, wanting to give the door a vicious kick. In the end, he pulled his leg back, pulled a face at the peephole, and stormed downstairs in a huff.
After the girl left, the room suddenly became deathly silent. The exhaustion from staying up all night finally crept onto Qin Er’s forehead.
He propped his forehead with his hand and sat in the living room for a long time. It wasn’t until the sky turned dark and all natural light inside vanished that Qin Er raised his head from the darkness, stood up, and went to turn on the lights against the wall.
The girl hadn’t returned the entire time. Qin Er closed his eyes, knowing in his heart that he shouldn’t keep meddling in her affairs. He grabbed his car keys, intending to head back to yesterday’s restaurant to look for the pocket watch.
Upon opening the door, he ran into a courier wearing yellow clothes walking toward Chen Zhao’s door. The courier knocked on the door. “Is anyone home? Your package is here!”
Since Chen Zhao wasn’t around, naturally no one answered. Qin Er watched the courier knock several times before walking over. “Give it to me.”
The courier turned around. “Do you know her?”
Qin Er: “Mm.”
Courier: “Alright, please hand this over to her then. I have another delivery to make, gotta go.”
Qin Er took the paper bag and felt a box inside it. Just as he was about to hang the paper bag on Chen Zhao’s door handle, he noticed a small note taped to the bag.
【Student Chen, your pocket watch has been repaired. It took an old man like me quite a bit of effort. Restoring it wasn’t easy, so please treasure it well.】
Qin Er’s heart throbbed as a certain possibility sprang into his mind.
He opened the paper bag, pulled out the box, and tried several times with trembling fingers before managing to open it.
The pocket watch lay quietly inside, its hands ticking once again.