The moment she heard there was food to eat, Jiang Mian instantly straightened up, her eyes shining so brightly they looked like they could shoot lasers.
Completely ignoring the still-wailing Zhai Feiyang at her feet, Jiang Mian cheered, stepped forward two paces, grabbed Song Qichen by the sleeve, and tugged him toward the outside.
Two minutes later.
Jiang Mian pointed excitedly at the lively shop in front of them.
“I want to eat this!” After the apocalypse, she really had not eaten this place’s food for a very, very long time. She missed it so much.
Song Qichen lifted his head and looked at the four large golden characters right above them.
Shaxian Snacks.
He could not help but quietly let out a sigh of relief in his heart.
Thank goodness, thank goodness…
Like hell it is!!!
Sitting upright at the dining table, Song Qichen silently stared at the pitch-black crown of hair of the girl across from him, who was buried in her food and eating with total abandon.
“Boss, another basket of steamed dumplings, and also another serving each of stir-fried rice noodles, zhajiang noodles, and this fragrant mixed noodles too. Thanks, boss!”
After finishing the mixed noodles on her plate, Jiang Mian quickly raised her hand and, smiling happily, spoke again to the proprietress who had come over to her side.
“Miss, are you eating this much because you’re filming a food video? How does my food taste? Where do you post the video? I’ll go support you when the time comes!”
The proprietress was smiling just as brightly.
Song Qichen: can’t smile.jpg
In all his years, he had never seen a woman who could eat this much.
In such a short span of time, the table was already piled high with stacks of plates. The key point was that she showed no sign of stopping at all. She was still asking the proprietress to bring more food. If this kept up, even with a ten-thousand-yuan gift on the line, Song Qichen felt his heart bleeding.
One had to know that Song Qichen had started making money at the age of five. In all the years he had lived, no one had ever managed to make him suffer a loss.
Yet earlier, when he had hinted so subtly that there would be plenty of #free# food at the evening tea gathering, she had acted as if she had not understood a single word and kept eating nonstop anyway.
Thinking back to that morning at the hotel, that girl who had cried so pitifully, looking fragile and easy to bully, soft and timid, seemed as if she had merely been a hallucination brought on by his lack of sleep.
God knew, he had only taken the initiative to sign the agreement with her because she seemed soft-tempered and easy to fool. Now, it seemed…
He had been fooled.
He, Song Qichen, had been fooled!
The man lowered his gaze, his thin lips pressed lightly together.
Seeing that Jiang Mian was about to finish eating again, Song Qichen’s long fingers lightly pinched the edge of the table. “Miss Jiang…”
Jiang Mian looked up.
She then saw that the man, who had been wearing an icy expression from the moment they entered the shop until now, was looking at her. The corners of his mouth suddenly lifted ever so slightly, forming a smile that was gentle yet restrained. “Sorry, it’s getting quite late. May I ask if you’re done eating? If we delay any longer, I’m afraid we’ll miss the tea gathering this evening…”
Hearing this, Jiang Mian glanced at the clock hanging on the wall while speeding up her eating. In just a few quick motions, she finished the rice noodles on her plate, pulled out a napkin to wipe her mouth, and said, “Oh right, right, I’m done now. Go settle the bill quickly, let’s hurry over.”
Song Qichen: “……” He really did not want to go.
After pausing for a moment, the man finally stood up with great difficulty and walked over to the cashier.
“Young man, your girlfriend can really eat. The total is 147 yuan. Cash or mobile payment?”
The corner of Song Qichen’s mouth twitched, and his hand began to tremble.
“Mobile.”
He said the word slowly, one syllable at a time.
After Song Qichen held his breath and finished paying with shaking hands, he turned around and discovered that Jiang Mian, who had just been sitting at the dining table, was nowhere to be seen.
“Your little girlfriend just went out. She should be waiting for you outside.”
Seeing that Song Qichen had not moved, the proprietress, who had just completed a big sale, reminded him enthusiastically.
Hearing this, Song Qichen thanked her politely and walked out.
As soon as he stepped out of the shop and turned his head, Song Qichen saw Jiang Mian standing in front of a cake shop.
In front of her, a promoter dressed in a pink JK outfit was energetically pitching their bakery’s new products to her.
“Miss, these are all free. Try them. It’s fine even if you don’t buy anything after tasting!”
The girl was smiling brightly, full of sunshine.
Seeing that Jiang Mian was actually reaching out to take the small plastic fork the other girl handed her.
“Don’t…”
Before Song Qichen could stop her, Jiang Mian had already stuffed the small cake on the fork into her mouth, and her eyes instantly lit up.
Like the brightest star in the night sky.
This made Song Qichen’s heart sink halfway in an instant. He subconsciously covered his phone, his whole body involuntarily taking a step back.
Mm!
So delicious!
Having not tasted cake in more than ten years, Jiang Mian was instantly conquered by the sweet, soft richness spreading through her mouth.
It was so good she almost wanted to cry!
“Miss, today our shop is running a promotion on new products. As long as you spend over 50 yuan and scan this QR code, we’ll deduct 5 yuan directly. The new items are also 20 percent off. If you spend over 100 yuan, we’ll even give you freshly baked mango egg tarts for free!”
The promoter enthusiastically introduced the offer.
Completely won over, Jiang Mian turned her head without hesitation and precisely met Song Qichen’s gaze.
I want to eat!
Those three words were written all over the girl’s beautiful almond-shaped eyes.
Wait, you can still eat more?
“Miss Jiang…”
Song Qichen had not finished speaking.
“I want to eat it, Song Qichen. Buy it for me to eat. Buy it right now!”
Jiang Mian was so excited she could barely contain herself.
“We’re really about to be late…”
Song Qichen attempted a last-ditch struggle.
“It’ll be quick. Buying a cake won’t delay us for that long.”
Song Qichen: …
Song Qichen did not say a word, clearly preparing to resist through nonviolent noncooperation. After all, no matter how good she was at fighting, in broad daylight and in public, was she really going to beat him up?
Besides, this cake shop was famously expensive, and the taste was not even as good as what he made himself.
He absolutely could not swallow this huge loss.
Seeing that Song Qichen did not move an inch, a trace of amusement quickly flashed through Jiang Mian’s eyes. This man really was exactly as described in the plot. Stingy.
Because he was stingy, when Jiang Mian had wandered into his room without warning or explanation, he had seized on that as an excuse to force the female lead to sign an unequal contract with him, then from time to time made her accompany him to gatherings for free.
For Song Qichen, this was a way to solve his current troubles, a deal with guaranteed profit and no loss. But for the original host, it was both miserable and ridiculous.
Simply because every time she attended those banquets, from beginning to end, she paid for the taxi herself, paid for her own makeup, and sometimes even had to pay for her own boxed meals.
After all, she was timid and tongue-tied, and she was terrified of Song Qichen, who often wore a perpetually cold expression. In daily interactions, whenever she saw him, she did not even dare to say a single word to him.
Looking across the entire history of romance novels, it could be said that there had never been another pitiful kept canary like her, one who was supposedly kept yet still had to pay every expense out of her own pocket.
After Song Qichen sent her into the industry, life did not get any better. It only became even harder.
She went straight into a 996[1]996 work schedule refers to a working system commonly associated with China’s tech and corporate sectors, where employees work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 6 days a week. It is often criticized for being … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1659060_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1659060_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); work schedule, with the bulk of her earnings taken by the capitalist Song Qichen. She then handed over the small remainder to support the male lead. Of course, she did all this willingly.
Putting work aside for the moment, since the original host herself was happy to do it, but back when she had to accompany her sponsor Song Qichen to banquets and still pay out of her own pocket, wasn’t that going a bit too far?
She was only eating a bit of his food now. Was that excessive?
Was it?
Not excessive at all.
Jiang Mian’s eyes curved into a smile.
She absolutely was not going to admit that she was simply craving these long-missed foods. After all, could those tea snacks really be better than this?
Hehe.
Just at that moment, a couple walked over to the side and sampled the cake on the promoter’s tray as well.
Girl: “Ah, this is really delicious. Honey, I want to eat this. Is that okay?”
Boy: “Buy more again? We’ve already bought so many snacks. Are you sure you can still eat it?”
Girl: “I can, I really can. Honey, honey, buy it for me!”
Boy: “This place seems kind of expensive. How about we go check the shops up ahead?”
Girl: “No, no. I just want to eat this. Please, please buy it for me, okay?”
Boy: “Alright, alright, I’ll buy it. Who told my little darling to love eating it!”
……
Watching the entire process from the side, Jiang Mian seemed to gain some kind of sudden inspiration. Her thoughtful gaze locked straight onto Song Qichen.
Song Qichen, who had also witnessed the scene just now, shuddered uncontrollably when he noticed her look.
“I think…” there was really no need.
The four words were already on the tip of Song Qichen’s tongue. Before he could say them out loud, Jiang Mian had already jogged over to his side. Mimicking what the girl had just done, she grabbed Song Qichen’s sleeve in one swift motion, just about to put on a performance, when she heard a sharp “rip—”.
‘My… clothes…’
Song Qichen stared at the torn sleeve in disbelief.
Seeing this, Jiang Mian also widened her eyes in disbelief.
Then, pretending that nothing at all had happened, she gathered the torn cuff together for him.
Jiang Mian extended her index finger and thumb, carefully pinched Song Qichen’s finger, and gave it a small shake.
“I just… I just want to eat that. Buy it for me.”
After tentatively acting cute, Jiang Mian blinked her eyes and looked at Song Qichen with an innocent, guileless expression.
The man’s lips pressed into a straight line. Slowly, very slowly, he pulled his hand back.
“Sorry, Miss Jiang. I have no obligation to spend this money on you.”
“Can’t we discuss it a bit more?”
“No room for discussion!”
With a cold expression, Song Qichen turned around and strode forward without hesitation.
Yes, this was exactly how he should refuse her!
She could already eat that much just at Shaxian Snacks. If she ate cake, wouldn’t he go bankrupt?
Song Qichen clenched his fist.
After walking several steps, he finally noticed that Jiang Mian had not followed. Thinking of the free tea gathering and the ten-thousand-yuan gift, he paused again. Turning back, he saw the girl, her hair tied in a single ponytail, standing there with her head hanging dejectedly. Her hands were clasped behind her back, her foot drawing circles on the ground, looking utterly heartbroken.
No matter how sad she was, he would absolutely not spend money on her again. Absolutely not.
No one could make him, Song Qichen, spend money on her again and again.
Even if they had signed a contract, it was still not happening.
Song Qichen’s gaze hardened with resolve.
Then he saw Jiang Mian, only a few steps away from him, suddenly lift her head and break into a radiant, dazzling smile in his direction. The orange glow of the setting sun spilled over her delicate profile, as if a layer of warm, soft light had been brushed across her face. The evening breeze stirred gently, lifting her fluffy hair and tracing the graceful lines of her figure, making her look all the more poetic, like a living painting…
If she had not been holding a stone the size of a fist in her hand!
Song Qichen: “!”
What was she doing?
In broad daylight, in public, was she actually planning to smash him to death?
Song Qichen’s heart shot straight up into his throat.
At this moment, Jiang Mian spoke. “Song Qichen, look. This is a stone.”
Hearing that, Song Qichen stiffly nodded.
Before his head had even fully dipped, the man’s pupils suddenly contracted.
Because he watched with his own eyes as the girl, who looked delicate and soft, casually crushed the stone in her hand into powder right in front of him.
She opened her palm, and gray dust drifted down from her hand.
Jiang Mian stomped her foot lightly and smiled in a shy, bashful, and timid way. “Chenchen, I want to eat cake. Buy it for me, okay? Please, please~”
With just that single stomp, one of the paving tiles on the ground cracked.
Song Qichen: “……”
“…………”
Two minutes later, Jiang Mian finally got to eat the little cake she had been longing for.
Five minutes later, Jiang Mian was drinking pearl milk tea she had not had in a very long time.
Ten minutes later, Jiang Mian was holding grilled lamb skewers in her left hand and grilled gluten in her right.
Truly, truly happy!
Song Qichen: heart as dead ashes.jpg
“We really should leave now.”
As night fell, Song Qichen spoke up again, his calm so deep it was almost as if his soul had left his body.
“Okay!”
Taking a big sip of milk tea, Jiang Mian nodded cheerfully, her face full of delight.
Sitting on the back of Song Qichen’s electric scooter, with the evening breeze brushing her face, the corners of Jiang Mian’s mouth never fell.
Mm, how should she put it?
Having a sponsor really did not feel bad at all!
And then there was the fact that the original plot was still a bit sloppy.
How could it say that Song Qichen was an unparalleled miser?
Wasn’t he actually pretty generous?
Hehe.
References[+]