Ten minutes or so after they started eating, Wang Xiao’s phone rang.
At first, he thought it was Qin Yuan, but it turned out to be Fang Chen calling.
Fang Chen had picked someone up and asked if Wang Xiao and Qin Yuan had met up yet.
“Not yet. He is having too much fun right now and is ignoring my calls.”
“He sure is something.”
Fang Chen turned to ask Wang Xiao for his location. Hearing that they were eating hot pot, and since he happened to be hungry, he felt his stomach growling the whole drive over.
Fang Chen pulled his car up right outside the hot pot restaurant and found a spot to park.
As the night grew later and foot traffic increased, Fang Chen and Ou Ming got out of the car, both assuming it would just be Wang Xiao and his friends.
However, upon heading upstairs to the hot pot restaurant, they unexpectedly discovered that Xie Fengbei and his group were there as well.
Yet Fang Chen’s surprise and Ou Ming’s reaction were vastly different.
The moment Ou Ming suddenly caught sight of Xie Fengbei, a chill ran through his entire body, and he turned around, wanting to run.
But Fang Chen grabbed him by the arm.
Not understanding why Ou Ming was acting so strange, Fang Chen cheerfully called out to Wang Xiao and the others.
The entire table turned to look over, and naturally, Xie Fengbei caught sight of Ou Ming being grabbed by Fang Chen.
“Ou Ming?”
Yang Yan spoke up first.
He was so shocked that his chopsticks almost slipped from his hand. What on earth was going on? Ou Ming, who had just broken up with Xie Fengbei, was now hanging out with Fang Chen and the others.
Yang Yan’s gaze shifted back and forth between Ou Ming and Xie Fengbei. Noticing that Xie Fengbei’s pupils were dark and heavy, with neither joy nor anger discernible in his expression, the corners of Yang Yan’s mouth slowly curved upward.
“What, you guys know each other?” Wang Xiao asked, judging from Yang Yan’s tone that it didn’t seem like a casual acquaintance.
“Well, we shared a meal before, but we didn’t interact much.”
“It is a bit surprising that he actually knows you guys.”
“How do you guys know each other?”
Yang Yan wasn’t about to expose everything right away; he decided to ask first on Xie Fengbei’s behalf.
Clearly, he didn’t realize he didn’t even need to ask, as Xie Fengbei actually knew everything already.
“This is our first time meeting him too. He is actually closer with Qin Yuan.”
“Qin Yuan?”
“Doesn’t Qin Yuan have a lover?”
Yang Yan paused mid-sentence. Ou Ming had already shrunk back, lowering his head the moment he saw Xie Fengbei and the others. His entire body looked stiff; clearly, if he had any wish at all, it was to escape from this place immediately.
Yang Yan sized Ou Ming up with keen interest, mentally admiring the guy’s nerve. Quite impressive, managing to secure a handsome payout from Xie Fengbei right before pivoting to hook up with Qin Yuan.
Qin Yuan was notorious for spoiling his people rotten, lifting whoever caught his fancy straight to the clouds.
Whatever they wanted, he gave them.
“Ou Ming.”
Just as Yang Yan was about to say something, Wang Xiao’s phone rang.
Yang Yan paused for a brief moment.
“Finally awake?” Wang Xiao teased deliberately.
“Yeah, had a good sleep.”
“Looks like you slept enough to digest your whole day.”
“We are eating some stuff at a hot pot place outside. Do you want to come?” Wang Xiao asked Qin Yuan on the other line. Diagonally across the table, Xie Fengbei’s gaze suddenly sharpened as he stared fixedly at Wang Xiao, though Wang Xiao didn’t notice it at the time.
“Not coming. Time to go soak in a hot spring.”
“Unbelievable. We come out, you ignore calls and play in secret, and now that we are eating, you run off to a hot spring. If we go to the hot spring later, are you going to claim you are tired and head home?”
“You said it yourself, I did not say a word.”
“You are truly someone who values sex over friendship.”
“Fine, fine, I get it. I will come over, happy?”
“What is the address?”
Hearing Wang Xiao’s end of the conversation, it sounded like Qin Yuan wasn’t planning to come, but the next second he suddenly asked for the address of the hot pot restaurant, meaning Qin Yuan was heading over after all.
Wang Xiao gave the location and hung up.
“Qin Yuan will be here shortly.”
“Didn’t he already eat?”
“Even if he ate, he has to come.” Wang Xiao’s tone carried a heavy emphasis.
Fang Chen let out a snort. “Fine by me. Once he gets here, he can take his person back. I am not about to babysit.”
Fang Chen threw an arm around Ou Ming’s shoulders and shoved him down into an empty chair.
Ou Ming sat down, terrified to the point where he had no idea where to put his hands.
Assuming Ou Ming was simply a naturally reserved person, Fang Chen patted his shoulder and offered a couple of reassuring words.
“Relax, nobody here is going to bully you.”
If he hadn’t spoken, it would have been fine, but those words made Ou Ming’s entire body shudder.
“Cold?”
Fang Chen even considered taking off his jacket to drape over Ou Ming.
“Fang Chen, eat your food.”
Wang Xiao cut in to stop Fang Chen. Fang Chen might be oblivious, but Wang Xiao’s powers of observation were razor-sharp. Clearly, the relationship between Ou Ming and Xie Fengbei’s crowd went far beyond just sharing a meal or two.
As for what was actually going on, since Ou Ming was someone Qin Yuan had sent over, he firmly intended to dump the trouble right back into Qin Yuan’s lap to resolve.
Meanwhile, Qin Yuan and Li Yan had stepped outside.
The hot springs could wait; they needed to make a trip to the hot pot restaurant first.
The two of them walked slowly along the street, treating it as a way to digest their food.
Upon reaching the hot pot restaurant, Li Yan happened to receive a phone call, so she decided to stay downstairs and wait instead of going up.
Qin Yuan headed upstairs by himself.
Upon arriving at the upper floor, Qin Yuan was quite surprised to find Fang Chen and the others sharing a table with Xie Fengbei.
Ou Ming was there too. Looking at Ou Ming’s rigid, tense back, Qin Yuan knew the guy was terrified out of his wits.
Qin Yuan walked over briskly and slipped his coat off his shoulders to drape it over Ou Ming’s.
Sensing the vaguely familiar touch, Ou Ming turned his head and caught sight of Qin Yuan. As if grabbing onto an instantaneous lifeline, Ou Ming jerked to his feet.
“Qin Shao.”
Qin Yuan smiled and naturally pulled him into an embrace.
“Why aren’t you eating? Not hungry?”
“I already ate.”
Even as he spoke, Ou Ming’s eyes kept darting toward Xie Fengbei, though he didn’t dare make direct eye contact. He lowered his head and bit down hard on his lower lip.
“President Xie, what a coincidence.”
Qin Shao greeted Xie Fengbei with effortless casualness.
“Indeed, quite a coincidence. My person ending up in your arms, certainly a coincidence.”
With a single sentence, Xie Fengbei successfully dropped the jaws of the clueless Fang Chen and the others.
“What?”
“This is your person?”
Fang Chen was so stunned his tongue felt tied.
“Well, since you threw him away and didn’t care whether he was hurting or not, I am different. I simply cannot bear to watch pretty people shed tears.”
“I am hardly that heartless.”
Qin Yuan spoke with a smile, though every word carried a sharp, piercing edge.
“Pretty? Is he prettier than you?” Xie Fengbei let out a brief, humorless chuckle. He stared directly at Qin Yuan’s face to appraise him. While it was a factual statement, almost no one would ever dare say it to Qin Yuan’s face.
Qin Yuan narrowed his eyes, and the atmospheric pressure around the table plunged instantly.
Fang Chen’s expression shifted drastically, and he quickly glanced at Xie Fengbei’s face. Xie Fengbei wore no smile at all, just a cold, unreadable expression devoid of either pleasure or displeasure.
“Go downstairs and wait for me by the entrance.”
Qin Yuan patted Ou Ming’s back.
“I…”
“No buts. Afraid something will happen to me? There are very few people here who can actually beat me in a fight.”
“I do have combat training, after all.”
Qin Yuan glanced sideways at Xie Fengbei. A perpetual poker face, handsome, sure, but entirely lacking in human warmth.
“Go on down.”
Qin Yuan’s voice was exceptionally gentle.
Fear and timidity filled Ou Ming’s eyes as he gripped Qin Yuan’s hand tightly.
“It is a holiday today, I doubt anyone is foolish enough to cause trouble.”
With his arm wrapped around Ou Ming’s waist, Qin Yuan turned him around and gave him a gentle nudge.
Meeting Qin Yuan’s soft gaze, Ou Ming turned and headed downstairs.
Down on the street, standing near the pedestrian walkway, was a stunningly striking woman smoking a cigarette. When Ou Ming walked out, she glanced at him briefly without paying much attention.
Later, as Ou Ming lingered by the curbside waiting for someone, Li Yan stared at him for a few extra seconds out of sheer curiosity.
Once Ou Ming was gone, Qin Yuan pulled out the chair he had just vacated and sat right down.
Ou Ming’s chopsticks remained untouched. Qin Yuan picked them up and started swirling beef slices in the boiling broth. Everyone at the table, not just Fang Chen and his friends, but Yang Yan and the others as well, stared at him in dumbfounded silence.
The only person whose expression remained relatively composed was Xie Fengbei.
Yet his composure only served to make onlookers feel that Qin Yuan’s arrogant and aggressive provocation was a deliberate attempt to make Xie Fengbei lose face.
Xie Fengbei kept his dark, heavy gaze locked onto Qin Yuan. Anyone else would have cowered under that stare, but Qin Yuan acted as though Xie Fengbei didn’t even exist.
After cooking the beef to perfection, Qin Yuan dipped it in sauce and ate it.
He chewed a couple of times and swallowed.
“Tastes good. I will come back to eat here tomorrow at noon.”
Qin Yuan laid down his chopsticks. He had already eaten barbecue earlier; any more food and he would genuinely burst.
“You guys eat. Stop staring at me, looking at me won’t fill your stomachs.”
Qin Yuan leaned back against his chair, raising his chin slightly. The indolent, casual posture looked remarkably aesthetically pleasing when executed by him, largely due to how his strikingly handsome face made the whole scene look like a painting.
Pulling out a pack of cigarettes, Qin Yuan prepared to light one.
“Nobody minds, right?”
Qin Yuan asked the table before striking a match.
“Smoke away,” Yang Yan chimed in temporarily.
Qin Yuan chuckled, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a child nearby and decided to put the cigarette back.
“Why aren’t you smoking?”
“I do not smoke in front of women and children.”
“Qin Shao, you really do know how to cherish the fairer sex.”
“That idiom is probably not used that way.”
One of Yang Yan’s friends interjected, only to be hit right back by a double entendre from Qin Yuan.
The smile on that person’s face instantly became difficult to maintain.
“Alright, let us talk less at the table and eat our food.”
With a single word from Xie Fengbei, anyone who wanted to speak immediately clamped their mouths shut.
Qin Yuan eyed him with a gaze full of amusement. Fang Chen subtly gave Qin Yuan a nudge, warning him that stirring up conflict this directly wasn’t going to do anyone any favors.
Especially not over an outsider; if word got out, people would just use it as fodder for gossip.
“You guys eat. Make sure to walk around and digest your food after you finish, otherwise soaking in a hot springs right after will make you feel sick.”
“I am heading out first. I will wait for you guys over there.”
With two people still waiting for him downstairs, Qin Yuan didn’t feel like lingering at the table.
“President Xie, I will take my leave.”
Qin Yuan stood up, resting one hand casually on the back of his chair, and made a point of bidding Xie Fengbei farewell.
A flicker of emotion finally surfaced across Xie Fengbei’s brows.
“Qin Yuan, you sure know how to play.”
“Of course. Almost certainly better than you do, President Xie.”
“Yet somehow I feel like a personality like yours could use a bit of modification.”
“Ha, is that so? I think I am doing just fine as I am, not bothering a soul.”
“Unlike you, President Xie. Speaking of which, how much older than me are you anyway? You sound like an old man.”
Qin Yuan leaned forward, resting both hands on the back of the chair as he chuckled, a tiny, subtle dimple appearing on his left cheek.
Qin Yuan was unexpectedly curious about Xie Fengbei’s age. While Xie Fengbei possessed an overwhelming aura of authority, when it came to actual age, it was hard to tell who was older and who was younger.
“I am older than you.”
As soon as Xie Fengbei spoke, he immediately realized his phrasing carried a rather ambiguous undertone.
“Oh.” Sure enough, Qin Yuan caught the ambiguity right away.
“Who is older and who is younger, we will find out once we hit the hot springs.”
“Alright, I will not interrupt your meal any longer. Bye-bye.”
Qin Yuan gave a casual wave as he straightened up.
He walked away at a brisk pace, his long legs striding through the hot pot restaurant as if he were walking a runway.
Xie Fengbei stared at Qin Yuan’s retreating back as a strange, unpleasant sensation churned rapidly in the depths of his heart.
That devil-may-care, unrestrained smile plastered across Qin Yuan’s face; he felt a sudden urge to shatter it completely.