Wan Aiguo now understood that these two might not be on the best of terms. Although he really wanted to sit at the same table with the gorgeous beauty, he didn’t want to put Chu Xichen in a difficult position, so he smiled at Ning Xiaofei and said, “Ah Fei, then we will head over there. I hope there will be a chance for me to treat you to dinner alone another day!”
Hearing this, Ning Anyu couldn’t help glancing at him again, thinking: Is he actually my sister’s admirer? His expression instantly softened, and he smiled, “Why don’t we all just eat together tonight? It will be livelier with more people.”
“This…” Wan Aiguo looked at Chu Xichen in a bit of a dilemma.
Speechless at this fellow who could not move his feet upon seeing a beauty, Chu Xichen chuckled lightly, “You can just go with them. I actually prefer some peace and quiet by myself.”
Wan Aiguo had not expected Chu Xichen to be so direct and completely disregard social graces. Choking for a moment, he hurriedly said, “Senior, um, I think I will stick with you after all!”
After all, Wan Aiguo was the one who had invited Chu Xichen here, so ditching him now would be terribly impolite.
“No need.” Chu Xichen turned around to leave.
“Doctor Chu!” Ning Anyu stood up and looked at him with a hint of teasing amusement. “Did you drop something?”
Chu Xichen paused slightly. “Yes, my jade pendant. Did you find it?” Chu Xichen’s originally indifferent gaze instantly flashed with a bright, clear gleam.
“As for that…” Ning Anyu rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Whether I found it or not, I seem to have forgotten. How about Doctor Chu joins us for dinner first? I will take this time to think it over carefully, and I will tell you after we finish eating?”
Judging by Chu Xichen’s expression just now, Ning Anyu knew this item must be quite important to him, so he definitely had to seize this opportunity to keep him on a string.
Chu Xichen frowned as he looked at him, thinking this guy really was weird. Since he found it, why not just hand it back straightforwardly? Could it be that he wanted to use this to tease him and get revenge for the time he slashed him with a sword?
However, he had to get the jade pendant back, so he might as well see what on earth this guy was up to.
Chu Xichen chuckled and shot him a sideways glance. “Fine then. But you better make sure you remember, otherwise I am afraid this hot pot meal might give you a terrible stomachache.”
“What? Are you planning to poison me or something?” Ning Anyu half-clenched his fist, pressed it against the bridge of his nose, and chuckled with a muffled snort. Being able to have dinner with him like this was truly wonderful; he felt that even the other man’s sharp tongue was quite interesting.
Wan Aiguo: “…”
Ning Xiaofei: “…”
Looking at Ning Anyu, both of them were secretly speechless. Just a moment ago, he had been acting all swaggering with a stinky expression, but now his face had instantly bloomed with smiles, shifting faster than flipping a book. Even Ning Xiaofei had never seen him look like this.
The two of them took their seats. With his face full of utterly smitten smiles, Ning Anyu immediately called the waiter to add more dishes. “Does Doctor Chu like to eat fish head or bullfrog?”
“Whatever.”
“Then let’s get two catties of each, shall we? Hey, why don’t you take a look and see what else you like!” Ning Anyu handed over the menu.
“No need. The guest follows the host’s convenience.” Looking somewhat expressionless, Chu Xichen blocked the menu back.
“Oh, alright then. Shall we add some tender beef?” Ning Anyu looked at Chu Xichen. Seeing that the other man did not speak, he checked it off himself and continued adding a few other items.
Wan Aiguo stared straight at Ning Anyu, desperately wanting to say: Big Brother, look at me! I am alive and breathing—why aren’t you asking what I want to eat? Is this how you treat a guest?
Alas, Ning Anyu was either looking at the menu or looking at Chu Xichen.
Sitting beside them, Ning Xiaofei rolled her eyes dramatically, snatched the menu from his hand, and handed it to Wan Aiguo. “Let Doctor Wan order!”
“I always say Ah Fei is the kindest and most beautiful!” Wan Aiguo beamed as he took the menu. However, upon looking at it, so many dishes had already been ordered that they could not possibly finish them all. Speechless, he handed the menu back to Ning Anyu. “You ordered way too much. We won’t be able to finish; it will go to waste!”
“Oh.” Ning Anyu scanned it from top to bottom, it really was quite a lot. But he did not cancel anything and instead asked Chu Xichen, “Then what kind of alcohol should we drink? What would Doctor Chu like?”
“I don’t want to drink.” Chu Xichen had a very low alcohol tolerance; just one or two glasses of beer would go straight to his head, so after experiencing that once, he never drank again.
“Alright.” Ning Anyu pouted with a trace of regret. “Then would you like some other kind of beverage?”
“Just worry about yourself.” Chu Xichen really did not want to deal with him, but completely ignoring him would be too impolite. As a well-mannered person, he just could not bring himself to do that.
“Fine. Then take a look yourself!” Ning Anyu handed the menu over again, and this time Chu Xichen passed it directly to Wan Aiguo beside him.
Ning Xiaofei’s gaze darted between her younger brother and Chu Xichen’s face. Seeing her brother acting like he was falling all over himself to ingratiate himself with someone so eagerly attentive that it was probably more than he had ever shown a girl he liked—she thought it was truly a sight not seen in a lifetime. Had he been knocked stupid or beaten into submission during their fight last time?
Ning Anyu could tell that Chu Xichen really did not want to talk to him, but he did not take it too hard. He just reined it in a bit during dinner for fear of annoying the other man.
The meal went reasonably harmoniously. Although Chu Xichen spoke very little, Wan Aiguo was a chatterbox who was always great at livening up the atmosphere.
When Ning Xiaofei went to settle the bill, she discovered it had already been paid for halfway through by Wan Aiguo.
“You can remember now, right?”
Seeing Ning Anyu getting up to leave, Chu Xichen walked over and blocked his path. He had asked Ning Anyu about the jade pendant halfway through the meal, but Ning Anyu had just smiled and told him not to rush, saying filling his stomach came first.
“Oh, my apologies. I was so focused on eating earlier that I forgot to think about it. Doctor Chu, how about we go to a bar for a drink? I guarantee I will remember by then.” Ning Anyu shrugged, putting on an intentionally innocent expression.
“Ning Anyu!” Chu Xichen grit his back teeth in the dark, a pair of sharp phoenix eyes practically spitting fire. “Are you intentionally playing with me?”
Chu Xichen secretly clenched his fists. He wanted to hit someone again, but he knew he could not beat him.
How damn frustratingly stifling was this! Next time he went out, he would have to carry some special mind-calming and sleep-inducing or gut-cleansing and fire-cooling medicine with him!
“Don’t get excited, Doctor Chu. If you lay a hand on me again and hurt me, I will never remember.” The corners of Ning Anyu’s lips curved into a massive arc, his eyes sparkling with bright radiance. He was smiling very happily, yet with a bit of a mischievous, roguish streak.
“Ning Anyu, how old are you? Stop being so childish, will you?” Chu Xichen patiently tried to reason with him.
“I’m twenty-seven. And you?” Ning Anyu automatically filtered out the other man’s intent. Since he really wanted to get to know each other better, he did not mind starting with their ages.
Speechless, Chu Xichen said, “Are you going to give it to me or not?”
I’ll give it to you—so do you want it? “Pfft!” Ning Anyu couldn’t help pressing his fist against the bridge of his nose and laughing out loud. He really wanted to reply with those exact words, but he held back, afraid that this uninhibited behavior would scare the other man off. Besides, he wasn’t actually uninhibited; he just really wanted to flirt around a bit whenever he was in front of him.
Chu Xichen was somewhat dumbfounded. Had this guy’s mental illness acted up again? What on earth was he suddenly laughing for?
With a throbbing headache, Chu Xichen demanded, “What are you doing? What on earth do you mean? Give me a straight answer—are you giving it back or not?”
Stopping his laughter, Ning Anyu put on a serious expression. “Doctor Chu, let’s find a place to chat for a while. I think that way, I will definitely remember.”
“You…!” Chu Xichen finally confirmed that this guy had no sincere intention of returning his belongings at all; he was just stringing him along to mess with him.
With an icy-cold expression, Chu Xichen stared at Ning Anyu, then let out a sarcastic, sneering laugh. Trying to use the jade pendant to keep me under your thumb? You won’t succeed!
Chu Xichen turned to walk away, but was suddenly grabbed by the wrist by Ning Anyu. “Just chat for a little while, I promise I will give it to you!”
Frowning, Ning Anyu wore an imploring look that seemed genuinely sincere coupled with a hint of anxiety, bearing no trace of the earlier playful mischief.