Ji Yuchen had originally suggested a Western restaurant.
But Qin Fan had vetoed the idea, claiming he couldn’t stomach that kind of food, which made Ji Yuchen change her mind.
Three dishes and a soup were set out on the small two-person table.
Before Qin Fan could finish saying, "Classmate Yuchen—"
Ji Yuchen interrupted with a playful pout and a laugh. "Qin Fan, can you not be so formal? Just call Yuchen. Why add ’classmate’? It makes us sound so distant!"
"Alright, Yuchen. Are you sure you’re treating to a al and not just looking for trouble?" After ladling so soup into a bowl and placing it in front of her, Qin Fan asked with a aningful smile.
Getting into trouble?
Ji Yuchen was imdiately puzzled by his words. After a word of thanks, she furrowed her brow in confusion. "Qin Fan, getting into trouble? What kind of trouble?"
"Who does Wen Dongyou hang out with?" Qin Fan asked with a shake of his head and a smile.
"He Haolin! Why?" Ji Yuchen replied, tilting her head and blinking.
"And is He Haolin pursuing you?" Qin Fan continued.
Hearing this, Ji Yuchen, who was a bit slow on the uptake, seed to have an epiphany.
She bit her pink lip and said, "We’re just friends! I don’t want a relationship right now. I just want to get into a good university!"
Qin Fan responded with a lazy smile. "How you see your relationship doesn’t matter. What’s important is that he’s been telling everyone you’re his, and therefore off-limits, right? Do you think Wen Dongyou will tell him about us eating together? And do you think our dear Young Master He will fly into a rage?"
His light-hearted tone was laced with sarcasm.
This was shaping up to be a classic "fem fatale" drama. But Qin Fan, having returned with the might of the Shura Venerable, couldn’t care less about these hopping grasshoppers.
"Qin Fan, are you scared?" At this, Ji Yuchen’s expression also beca a little strained.
Would Wen Dongyou notify He Haolin?
Without a doubt! With his reputation as Qi Middle School’s number one lackey, of course he would report it. It’s impossible that he wouldn’t!
"What is there to be scared of? The real question is, are you afraid of being misunderstood?" Qin Fan said, his voice deceptively gentle.
His composure was as firm as a mountain, yet it exuded an invisible arrogance that seed to radiate from within.
This sent a wave of bewildernt through Ji Yuchen, who was sitting opposite him.
Is this really Qin Fan? Why does he feel like one of those supre young masters from Four-nine City, the kind people call ’Heaven’s Favored Sons’?
Even though Ji Yuchen had no concept of these so-called "Heaven’s Favored Sons," the words still popped into her head involuntarily.
She paused. Looking at Qin Fan’s calm, peaceful smile, she said, "If you’re not scared, what do I have to be afraid of! First, he and I are just friends! Second, we’re not doing anything sneaky or shaful! And third, most importantly, if the fearless Qin Fan isn’t afraid, how can I, the heroine who promised to stand up for you, be scared?"
Ji Yuchen held up three fingers as she spoke, giving Qin Fan a sly wink from her lively, clear eyes.
"Then let’s eat! Thanks for the al," Qin Fan said with a faint smile and a nod, dropping the subject.
He then picked up his soup bowl. He didn’t bother with a spoon or any pretense of gentle sipping. Instead, he tilted his head back and downed it in one gulp.
"Here, have so at. Honestly, you’re too thin! You should eat more high-calorie food!" Seeing Qin Fan’s unpretentious and relaxed manner, Ji Yuchen smiled knowingly. She picked up her untouched chopsticks and placed several slices of at into his bowl.
Uh...
Qin Fan froze for a second. Unaccustod to such gestures, he could only give a wry smile to himself. Not wanting to make a fuss, he simply looked up, t her gaze with a slight smile, and nodded.
ssage received and accepted.
Qin Fan’s guess was correct; Wen Dongyou did indeed call He Haolin.
And the scene he predicted played out perfectly; He Haolin flew into a rage.
After receiving the call from Wen Dongyou, he imdiately rushed to the restaurant, storming nacingly up to the private rooms on the second floor without asking for any details. After shouting, "Young Master He!" Wen Dongyou and the other lackeys followed indignantly.
"They’re here." Qin Fan put down his bowl and chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and smiled at Ji Yuchen.
Before Ji Yuchen could even react, He Haolin had already charged onto the second floor. His eyes swept the room before he strode furiously to their table.
"Yuchen, why didn’t you tell you were coming here to eat? I would have co with you." His anger inexplicably vanished the mont he saw Ji Yuchen. Without even glancing at Qin Fan, he forced a gentlemanly smile.
"I’m eating with Qin Fan. Why would I call you?" Ji Yuchen retorted, her brow furrowed with clear displeasure.
Everyone at Qi Middle School treated her as if she were He Haolin’s girlfriend. She didn’t care about that—after all, what was the use? People would say whatever they wanted. But what she could never get over was that He Haolin himself seed to believe it, always acting like her boyfriend. He monitored everything she did and everyone she t. Even her supposed best friends and roommates seed to have been bought off by him. What girl could stand it? They say you either erupt in silence or perish in it. Ji Yuchen was being pushed to her breaking point. She was about to explode.
"This trash is worthy of eating with you? Yuchen, you have to understand, you two are not from the sa world! Getting close to him will only make people laugh at you! Is it worth letting a loser like him tarnish your reputation?" He Haolin’s left index finger trembled as he pointed at Qin Fan. His expression was grim, but he still tried to restrain himself as he spoke.
"Enough! Young Master He, who I eat with is my own business! And how are Qin Fan and I not from the sa world? Is he from Mars or the moon? Let people laugh! It’s their mouth, they can say what they want! I don’t care! He Haolin, let’s not even ntion that we’re not in the relationship everyone thinks we are. Even if I really were your girlfriend, do you think it’s right to interfere in my life like this? Who I see, who I’m with, who I eat with, when I sleep, when I wake up—you have to know every single detail. You might as well plant a tracking device on ! He Haolin, I’m begging you, just leave alone! You don’t need to worry about my reputation. I don’t care about it either!"
Ji Yuchen, who was simple-hearted by nature, finally snapped at his words. Perhaps she could have tolerated his pathological behavior if not for this. But for him to say such humiliating things right in front of her—and in front of Qin Fan, soone she considered a friend—was too much. What about her dignity? What did that make her?
Even a Buddha can get angry, let alone a living, breathing person.
Ji Yuchen had had enough.
So what if He Haolin was the son of the city’s party secretary? She wanted freedom! She wanted to live her life as she pleased
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