38: Chapter 38 Dinner

Qiao Yichen glanced at his phone, set down the glass of ice water in his hand, his gaze swept lightly over the faces of the three ladies, finally resting on Liu Yanran's slightly lowered eyelashes.

"It's about time," he said, his voice gentle and suggestive, "I know there's a 'Jiangnan Li' on the fifth floor of the mall; they make quite authentic Hangzhou cuisine, and the environment is quiet. I wonder if the three beautiful ladies would grace me with their presence and allow me to treat you to a simple dinner?"

Lin Wei was the first to laugh: "Oh, so generous?"

Su Qing also set down her coffee cup and looked at Liu Yanran.

Liu Yanran didn't look up, lightly rubbing the rim of her pomelo tea cup twice before saying indifferently, "Whatever."

"Then let's go," Lin Wei stood up, her movements decisive.

On the fifth floor, the private room at 'Jiangnan Li' was a semi-open partition; bamboo blinds hung down, providing privacy without feeling cramped. When the four were seated, Qiao Yichen naturally took the seat closest to the aisle—this was the path the servers had to take to deliver food.

The server handed them the menu.

Qiao Yichen took it, didn't flip through it, and handed it directly to Liu Yanran: "You look first."

Liu Yanran took the menu, said nothing, and turned the pages one by one. Lin Wei leaned over to look with her, and the two discussed something in low voices. Su Qing sat quietly, her gaze lingering on Qiao Yichen's face for a moment before moving away.

After Liu Yanran and Lin Wei had selected a few dishes roughly, Qiao Yichen took the menu, quickly scanned it, and added two more dishes.

"longjing shrimp, clear soup fish balls, sweet osmanthus lotus root..." His pace was steady as he ordered, clearly stating each dish, "Add an order of Sister Song's fish soup, make it less oily. For staples, let's have some xiaolongbao and scallion oil noodles."

The server noted it down and then asked, "What about drinks?"

"A pot of Longjing tea, and a pitcher of freshly squeezed orange juice," Qiao Yichen finished, looking at the three ladies, "Is this okay?"

Lin Wei raised an eyebrow slightly: "The things you ordered are all quite light."

"It's more comfortable to eat lightly in the evening," Qiao Yichen smiled.

But Liu Yanran knew—these were all dishes she preferred.

The food arrived very quickly.

The fragrance of the longjing shrimp drifted over first, followed by the tenderness of the fish balls and the sweetness of the candied lotus root. Qiao Yichen waited until the three ladies had picked up their chopsticks before taking his own. He didn't rush to eat; instead, he used the serving chopsticks to pick up a shrimp and naturally placed it on the plate in front of Liu Yanran.

Liu Yanran's chopsticks paused for a moment. She said nothing, picked it up, and ate it.

Lin Wei saw this and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

Lin Wei swallowed a fish ball and brought up the topic from the afternoon again: "By the way, Qiao Yichen, you mentioned earlier that you could keep an eye out for channels for women's clothing lines. When should I expect news?"

"I periodically receive resource lists from our partners here," Qiao Yichen put down his chopsticks, his attitude very sincere, "If the next list includes positions suitable for women's apparel, labeled for women aged 25 to 35, I will send them to you to look at immediately."

Lin Wei's eyes instantly lit up: "Really? That would be wonderful, thank you so much!"

"You're welcome," Qiao Yichen smiled, his tone matter-of-fact, "You are Yanran's good best friend; it's only right that I can help out a little."

Lin Wei blinked, smiled, and turned to Liu Yanran: "Did you hear that? 'Yanran's good best friend.'"

Liu Yanran lowered her head to eat, but the tips of her ears were faintly flushed.

Su Qing spoke up then, "Qiao Yichen, your studio is just starting out. If you have any uncertainties regarding subsequent finance, taxation, or contracts, feel free to ask me anytime."

"Then thank you first, Lawyer Su," Qiao Yichen raised his tea cup, "I'm sure I'll need to trouble you in the future."

"It's no trouble," Su Qing also picked up her tea cup, and the two made a gesture across the table before taking a sip.

The atmosphere gradually relaxed.

Lin Wei was good at livening things up. She talked about the bizarre customers she encountered recently at her Taobao store, how she haggled with the factory, and the embarrassing moments during live streams. Qiao Yichen listened attentively, occasionally interjecting at the right moment or laughing along.

Liu Yanran was quiet but clearly more relaxed than in the afternoon, occasionally joining the conversation.

Halfway through the meal, Lin Wei suddenly remembered something: "Right, why did you go to the west side of the city this afternoon? You were dressed so formally."

Qiao Yichen picked up a mouthful of mixed noodles, his tone casual: "I went to look at the Jiayi Xuan Auction House."

"Auction House?" Lin Wei's eyes lit up, "Are you buying antiques?"

"Not buying, I wanted to attend one of their Private Negotiation Fairs," Qiao Yichen put down his chopsticks, "But the threshold is quite high; it requires a recommendation from an existing client to get in. I don't have that resource right now, so I came back."

Liu Yanran looked up at him: "What Private Negotiation Fair?"

"A special session for antiques repatriated from overseas," Qiao Yichen looked at her, his gaze open, "There are a few antiques inside that I am quite interested in and wanted to go broaden my horizons."

Su Qing listened quietly, then suddenly asked, "What kind of recommender is needed?"

"An existing client recognized by the Auction House, or a partner institution," Qiao Yichen replied, "It serves as a kind of credit endorsement."

Su Qing nodded. Since she didn't understand that area, she didn't ask further.

The conversation quickly returned to daily matters. Lin Wei talked about wanting to learn flower arrangement recently, and Su Qing recommended a teacher. Liu Yanran talked about the company's arrangements for next week; Qiao Yichen listened quietly, occasionally asking for details.

The meal lasted over an hour.

When it ended, Qiao Yichen got up to pay the bill. Lin Wei watched his back, leaned close to Liu Yanran's ear, and whispered: "Not bad. He remembered your taste when ordering and is helping me look for channels later. Initial assessment—passed."

Liu Yanran glared at her but didn't argue.

Su Qing shook her teacup, glanced at Qiao Yichen, and said softly to Liu Yanran: "He's alright, didn't mess up."

Qiao Yichen returned after settling the bill, and the four went downstairs together.

Since none of them had driven, they called for rides at the mall entrance.

Soon, the cars called by Lin Wei and Su Qing arrived first.

"Then we'll be leaving first!" Before getting into the car, Lin Wei winked at Liu Yanran, then waved goodbye to Qiao Yichen with a smile, "Thanks for dinner tonight, let's chat on WeChat if anything comes up!"

Su Qing also nodded in greeting: "We're off."

The cars pulled away, leaving two red lines tracing through the night.

The evening breeze was slightly cool; only Qiao Yichen and Liu Yanran remained standing by the roadside. The sound of traffic came from not too far away, like the city's background noise.

Qiao Yichen turned to look at her. She was wearing a cream-colored knit cardigan today, which looked exceptionally soft in the night. A few strands of stray hair were lifted by the wind, brushing against her fair neck.

"Shall I take you home?" he asked.

Liu Yanran didn't answer immediately. She looked down at her own shoe tips, and after a few seconds, softly said, "Mm."

The car she called arrived quickly. The two got into the back seat one after the other and gave her home address.

It was very quiet in the car; only the mechanical female voice of the navigation occasionally prompted the route. Qiao Yichen didn't deliberately start a conversation, and Liu Yanran just looked out at the flowing night scenery.

... The car stopped at the entrance of the residential complex.

The two got out and walked into the complex side by side. The streetlights stretched and shortened their shadows, which then overlapped.

After walking for a while, Liu Yanran suddenly spoke, her voice very light:

"Last night... I didn't intentionally ignore your message."

Qiao Yichen slowed his pace.

"I know," he said, "It was my fault for canceling last minute."

Liu Yanran fell silent for a moment before continuing:

"Actually, I can understand. Elders insisted on thanking you, and I couldn't refuse."

She finished speaking calmly, but Qiao Yichen seemed to detect the hidden grievance within her words.

So, he stopped walking.

Liu Yanran also stopped, turned to look at him.

"There won't be a next time," Qiao Yichen looked at her, his voice not loud.

Liu Yanran was stunned when she heard this. She didn't speak, just turned her face away and continued walking forward, her pace slightly faster than before.

She reached the door of her apartment and stopped in front of it.

"I'm here," she said.

"Good," Qiao Yichen also stopped, "Rest early."

Liu Yanran nodded and took out her key from her bag. The slight sound of metal colliding was heard.

Just as she raised her hand to open the door, Qiao Yichen suddenly called out to her:

"Yanran."

She turned back.

The next second, Qiao Yichen reached out, gently cupped her face, and leaned down to kiss her.

The kiss came suddenly, a warm touch imprinted on her lips.

Liu Yanran froze completely, her fingers unconsciously gripping her purse tightly.

She didn't know how long it lasted—maybe only a few seconds, maybe longer.

Qiao Yichen pulled back slightly, both of them slightly breathless.

She hurriedly turned around, fumbled the key into the lock several times before it caught, and with a 'click,' she opened the door and slipped inside.

Just before the door closed completely, Qiao Yichen heard a very faint sound from inside:

"... Be careful on your way."

Then the door closed completely.