Leaving the room, Qin He locked the door.
Di Shishi's room was next door, and Yu Jing's was on the outer side. Both of their doors were open.
Qin He called out to Di Shishi, and Yu Jing came out upon hearing the sound.
Duncheng was hot during the day, and the sun was strong.
Qin He found a decent-looking restaurant, and the group went in and ordered a few dishes.
The restaurant did not have private rooms. Currently, several rough-looking men were eating nearby, with bottles of beer on their table.
When the men saw Qin He and Di Shishi, their eyes lingered.
In the desert region, fair-skinned people were rare, especially since Qin He and Di Shishi were already exceptional in appearance.
However, both of them had men beside them, and they didn't seem easy to provoke.
The men dared not strike up a conversation, but their boastful voices continued.
The boss served the dishes, and the group ate in silence.
Voices from the next table drifted over.
"In Sha Town, who would dare to cause trouble for Young Master Bian?"
"Exactly, Young Master Bian's family is something in Sha Town."
Qin He found it somewhat amusing and cocked her ear to listen to the commotion at that table.
"You guys are too polite. I've never relied on my family," someone called out with a laugh.
The others immediately replied,
"You're right. Young Master Bian ventured into that place alone back then, and it shook all of Sha Town."
"Yes, I heard many people died there, and their souls are still wandering aimlessly in the desert."
Qin He raised her eyebrows and looked over.
She had expected the rough-looking men to be boasting about some seasoned young man. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was just a boy of eighteen or nineteen.
The boy's skin was a healthy bronze, his appearance average. When he grinned, a row of white teeth was revealed, giving him a somewhat wild wolf-like aura.
The people at that table also noticed Qin He looking over and thought their group had caught the beautiful woman's attention.
Their voices grew louder.
Qin He chuckled.
"Young Master Bian, you are the only one who returned alive from that place. Why don't you tell us about your adventurous experience?"
Young Master Bian glanced in Qin He's direction and coughed lightly. "Actually, my return was pure luck. That place has been buried by sand for years. That day, a fierce wind started blowing—"
Across from Qin He, Di Shishi's mouth twitched. "What kind of fantasy plot are they talking about? People nowadays really know how to exaggerate."
Yu Jing's eyes held a smile.
Beside Qin He, Gu Qichen remained calm, lowering his gaze to peel a shrimp and place it in Qin He's bowl.
Just as he was about to call out to her, he noticed Qin He had already turned to the side, propping her chin with one hand, listening intently to the boy at the other table.
Gu Qichen narrowed his eyes, staring at the back of Qin He's head.
Across from them, Yu Jing kept his gaze fixed, his face now devoid of any smile, as serious as a stone.
Praying that Mr. Gu wouldn't get angry.
Seeing Qin He so engrossed, Di Shishi twitched her lips and nudged Yu Jing with her elbow.
"Should I say her taste is strong or too innocent, that she believes this kind of story?"
Yu Jing: Little aunt, please don't call on me!
Just as Qin He was listening with interest, a hand covered her head, forcing her to sit up straight.
Gu Qichen narrowed his dark eyes, his thick eyebrows furrowed, and warned her, "Eat."
So sour.
Qin He smiled and replied, "Okay."
She picked up a shrimp from her bowl.
Gu Qichen peeled another one, his expression indifferent, but in his mind, he was contemplating whether to have Yu Jing clear the area for their next meal.
The voices from the other table grew louder, seemingly unwilling to stop.
On Qin He's side, Gu Qichen had peeled another shrimp.
Qin He rested her chin on her hand, smiling as she looked at the dishes in her bowl, her ears still filled with the stories from the other table.
She was so distracted that when Gu Qichen brought something to her mouth, she opened it to eat without looking.
She took half of it and realized it hadn't reached her mouth.
Regaining her senses, she saw Gu Qichen staring at her with a cold smile.
He hadn't fed her anything; he was just testing if her mind was still present.
Qin He held Gu Qichen's finger in her mouth, looking at him innocently.
Di Shishi covered her face opposite them: So embarrassing, truly embarrassing!
Yu Jing: Please pretend he doesn't exist. He's just air.
Qin He opened her mouth, and Gu Qichen withdrew his hand, casually pulling out a wet wipe to clean the oil from peeling the shrimp.
"I see you've eaten quite enough."
Qin He deliberately let out a small burp.
"Then let's go back," Gu Qichen said, standing up and heading out.
Qin He innocently wanted to follow, but after two steps, she remembered her bag and turned back to her seat to retrieve it. She then saw Yu Jing and Di Shishi looking away, avoiding her gaze.
"Aren't you guys leaving?"
Di Shishi shook her head. "I'll eat for a while longer." She didn't want to get caught in the "crossfire."
Yu Jing buried his head in his food, appearing very serious.
Qin He pursed her lips and, with her bag in hand, was about to leave when Gu Qichen returned.
He had left in anger, and Qin He hadn't followed. After reaching the door, he pondered for only three seconds before deciding to personally escort her away.
Putting his arm around Qin He's waist, Gu Qichen half-dragged her away.
Di Shishi watched the two of them leave and let out a sigh. "Your Mr. Gu is really sour when he's jealous."
Yu Jing put down his chopsticks. He was already stuffed.
"Miss Qin was out of line."
"Qin He was just listening to people chat, what's out of line about that?" Di Shishi looked at the table where the boasting was still ongoing.
Although the central figure, Young Master Bian, was of average appearance, perhaps due to living on the desert's edge for so long, the boy's demeanor was different from the young masters in Qingcheng.
Di Shishi looked boldly. "This skin tone is indeed rare. He smiles so brightly, he even has a bit of an exotic feel."
Yu Jing raised his eyebrows. "Exotic feel?"
He looked at the Young Master Bian, then at Di Shishi, and his mood became agitated.
"Miss Fu has quite a discerning eye. Shall I help you ask for his number?"
"That won't be necessary," Di Shishi smiled. "I'm not a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl anymore; I don't need help asking for someone's number."
Actually, she wasn't particularly interested, but she felt Qin He's unusual attention towards the boy meant there was something special about him.
Yu Jing stood up with a cold expression, pushing his gold-rimmed glasses up his nose.
"Then Miss Di, please eat slowly. I'll be heading back."
Yu Jing stood up, intending to leave.
As he passed that table, he accidentally kicked the boy's chair.
The kick was quite forceful, and one leg of the wooden chair directly snapped. Young Master Bian, caught off guard, fell backward!
Enraged, he stood up and looked at Yu Jing.
Yu Jing was extremely refined, with a cool demeanor, and spoke politely. "I'm truly sorry, the aisle was a bit narrow."
Young Master Bian looked at Yu Jing with uncertainty.
He wanted to get angry, but the other person was very polite and didn't seem easy to provoke.
If he didn't get angry, he found the other person's expression extremely displeasing.
Before he could decide, someone at the table who had been flattering him spoke up.
"You walk with your eyes closed, don't you? The aisle is narrow enough as it is!"
Yu Jing looked at that person. "Not enough. So what?"
"Damn it, are you looking for trouble?" Someone, wanting to show off in front of Di Shishi, slammed the table and stood up.