“Or maybe,” Du Youling winked at him, “you’ve changed your mind and decided to go get our marriage certificate with me?”
Just then, the private room door was pushed open again.
Waiters filed in carrying porcelain plates, placing several freshly cooked private kitchen dishes onto the revolving table.
Du Youling shot resentful looks at the waiters. Why did they have to show up at such perfect timing, always interrupting her right when she was getting to the important part?
After the waiters withdrew and closed the door again, the private room returned to silence.
Mu Linjiang met Du Youling’s gaze, which clearly wanted to continue the previous topic, and calmly uttered three words: “No talking while eating.”
Du Youling’s mouth, which was just about to open, froze mid-motion.
“Stubborn as a mule! Won’t listen to reason! You’re hopeless like this! You’ll be a bachelor for life at this rate!” Her frustration even brought out her local dialect.
Under Du Youling’s resentful stare, Mu Linjiang calmly rotated the turntable and used the serving chopsticks to pick up a piece of squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, placing it into the small dish in front of her.
“Eat.”
Du Youling glanced at the piece of fish in her dish—golden in color, coated in sweet and sour sauce—swallowed her saliva, and her attention was instantly diverted.
“Oh.”
Better to die stuffed than starve!
Throughout the meal, Mu Linjiang barely touched his chopsticks. Most of the time, he simply watched Du Youling eat.
After Du Youling had eaten her fill, she leaned back without any regard for appearances, contentedly patting her round belly. She had demolished more than half of the private dishes on the table.
Since the meal was over, there was naturally no need to abide by the no-talking rule anymore.
Du Youling propped her chin on one hand: “Mu Linjiang, let’s add each other on WeChat.”
Mu Linjiang asked instead, “Full?”
“Yeah, I’m stuffed. Almost ate myself to death.” Du Youling was a bit confused.
Mu Linjiang gave a barely perceptible nod, then stood up. “Since you’re full, let’s go.”
With that, he strode out the door on his long legs.
“Hey, Mu Linjiang!”
Seeing him leave just like that, Du Youling quickly stood up as well.
She fumbled to grab his coat and jogged after him.
Secretary Chen, waiting outside the door, immediately bowed respectfully as the door opened.
Mu Linjiang walked out toward the courtyard while giving instructions in a deep voice: “Go get the car. Take Miss Du home.”
“Understood, Mr. Mu.” Secretary Chen caught his meaning.
Inside the car, Du Youling watched the street scenes outside become increasingly familiar. Two more traffic lights and they’d be at the Du residence.
Du Youling withdrew her gaze with some frustration.
All day today, even though she’d gotten a free ride and a free meal, when she counted it up carefully, she’d made absolutely zero substantive progress!
This old man was like an enlightened monk—completely watertight!
Seeing the car turn into the final street, Du Youling couldn’t sit still again.
“Mu Linjiang.”
The man who had been resting with his eyes closed slowly opened them. His deep phoenix eyes looked especially dark in the dim lighting as he turned his head toward her.
“Just give me your WeChat. I already said I’m pursuing you, but you won’t even give me a way to contact you. How am I supposed to carry out my work like this?”
“And I promise I won’t bother you normally—I definitely won’t interfere with your busy schedule. I’ll just send you greeting messages during holidays. That should be fine, right?”
She blinked her big eyes, embodying the phrase “stoop to conquer” to the fullest, using both soft and hard tactics to beg him.
Just as Du Youling thought he would refuse again, Mu Linjiang spoke: “Give me your phone.”
“Huh? Oh oh oh oh! Here, here! Take it!… Wait, hold on. My phone… where’s my phone?!” Du Youling frantically searched left and right.
“In your hand.” The man’s voice came coldly from beside her.
Hearing this, Du Youling looked down and saw that her right hand was tightly gripping the fruit-brand phone, its screen already lit up.
The car fell into an awkward silence.
“…Ah, here it is. Haha.” Du Youling let out a dry laugh.
She hastily unlocked her phone and handed it to Mu Linjiang. “Um, here. WeChat’s already open.”
With that, she turned her head and slapped her own forehead in frustration.
“Done.”
Mu Linjiang locked the screen and handed the phone back to her.
Du Youling turned around, took the phone, and checked WeChat again. Only after confirming he had really added her as a friend did she close the phone.
At the same time, the car happened to stop right at the Du family’s front door.
This time, Du Youling left without hesitation. Before getting out, she waved at Mu Linjiang: “Mu Linjiang, thanks for the big meal! I’ll come find you again tomorrow. Bye-bye!”
Bang!
The car door closed, and Du Youling bounced happily toward home.
Seeing Du Youling enter the house, Mu Linjiang only then instructed the driver to leave.
Du Youling hummed a little tune as she pushed open the Du family’s front door. But the moment her foot stepped into the entryway, she ran straight into a figure.
The hall was brightly lit. Du Ningyang held her phone in her hand, a trace of tenderness and sweetness still lingering on her brows that had yet to fade.
Seeing this, Du Youling knew that Du Ningyang had just finished a long, sappy phone call with Mu Jingyao.
Back when those two were still dating, they called each other at least ten times a day. Du Youling had never missed a chance to mock Du Ningyang about it, saying she’d lost herself entirely in the relationship, clutching her phone day and night without ever getting tired of it.
Every time, Du Ningyang would smile sweetly and fire back, saying that a clueless straight girl like her couldn’t possibly understand the sweetness of love.
Du Youling was thoroughly unimpressed. Sweet, her foot. All those phone calls would exhaust anyone to death. And dating—what was even so great about dating? With all that effort, she’d rather get some extra sleep.
Hearing the commotion, Du Ningyang looked up and happened to catch Du Youling rolling her eyes.
Du Ningyang put away her phone, the sweetness on her face instantly fading.
She teased, “Oh, look what time it is. So our Second Miss Du still remembers how to come home?”
Du Ningyang crossed her arms, leaning leisurely against the pillar, her gaze sweeping over the tailored men’s jacket draped across Du Youling’s shoulders.
“Where’ve you been playing? That jacket… doesn’t look cheap.”
The moment Du Youling saw her, the smugness she’d been barely containing exploded exponentially.
She’d been dying to share her triumph with someone, and who should walk right into her hands but the very person she wanted to show off to?
“Hmph, of course it’s not cheap. You’ve got no taste.”
Du Youling deliberately tugged the suit jacket higher on her shoulders, grabbing the lapels with both hands and lifting her chin. “Tonight, I went on a date with—my—favorite—person.”
As she spoke, she winked and gestured at Du Ningyang, her face practically screaming, “Go on, ask me who he is.”
Du Ningyang watched her looking like she was about to strut right up to the sky, a glint of amusement flashing in her eyes.
She looked at her with a half-smile. “Your favorite person? Really your favorite person? Or did someone, in a hurry to meet a deadline, just grab some random person off the street to put on a show?”
“How could I possibly be putting on a show! Am I that kind of person!”