He Siheng had made plans with Tan Jing for lunch on Saturday at a Hunan restaurant near North Street Mall.
That Saturday morning, Tan Jing messaged him, saying it was time and that they should head out together.
He Siheng was afraid he would wait at the door of his house, so he quickly replied: My dad is home; don’t let him see you. Meet at the neighborhood entrance.
Just like underground agents making contact, they left one after the other and met up at the neighborhood entrance.
Tan Jing was already waiting by the roadside, wearing a long coat, his posture tall and straight. His clear, pale gaze fell on He Siheng, subtly sweeping over the silver earring on his earlobe.
Last time it had been black; this time, he had changed to a different style.
He must have suffered quite a bit when he got his ears pierced. Young Master He seized every opportunity to wear earrings to show off and look cool, and he had quite a few styles.
He Siheng walked toward him, thinking he was staring because of that message from before the outing. He explained helplessly, “Boss He at my house has been at war with your dad again lately. I heard your family plans to ally with the Zhao Family through marriage, and he’s so anxious he’s talking about sending me to the hospital for Differentiation.”
Tan Jing tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Then he can relax. There’s no chance between my family and the Zhao Family.”
He Siheng raised his brow. “You’re saying it’s impossible right after first contact? So decisive—are you planning to hang yourself from one tree?”
There was a teasing tone in his voice. Tan Jing narrowed his eyes slightly. This wasn’t the first time He Siheng had teased him about this. He usually let it slide, but for some reason today, he didn’t feel like brushing it off with a smile.
Tan Jing lifted his hand and draped it over He Siheng’s shoulder, turning his face toward him with a lazy smile. “It’s because of you.”
His brows and eyes were bold and striking, with pitch-black pupils, but he rarely showed any emotions on a normal day, making him seem aloof. Now, with this smile, the corners of his eyes lifted slightly, his gaze hooking like it had a barb.
He Siheng froze completely, feeling like his heart had been tugged outward by that gaze.
What did he mean, because of him?
Why because of him?
Wasn’t that a bit too ambiguous?
While He Siheng was bewildered and at a loss, he heard the guy speak lazily, “It’s because I went to save you that I didn’t even get to meet.”
“…Oh.” He Siheng was truly speechless. This guy not only paused dramatically when he spoke but also always made people overthink.
He Siheng brushed off Tan Jing’s hand and took half a step back. For some reason lately, whenever he got close to Tan Jing, he felt uncomfortable all over.
He suspected it was some aftereffect from that aphrodisiac last time. He had searched online but found nothing.
He Siheng stood there casually with his hands in his pockets, continuing in his bro-ly tone, “So that’s why I’m treating you to a meal as compensation—and inviting your good brothers along too.”
Tan Jing lowered his eyes, noting the distance He Siheng had put between them, and let out an ambiguous hum of laughter. “You’re quite generous.”
He Siheng justified himself righteously, “Let me tell you, the money for this meal I’m treating to? It’s the ‘poach people’ fund I scammed from Boss He.”
Tan Jing raised a brow. “Poach people?”
He Siheng recounted his cleverness from last week. “Boss He was so anxious last week that he wanted me to crash the wedding. I went along with it and scammed some pocket money out of him. Otherwise, my bank card has been frozen by my mom for two months—where do you think I’d get the money from?”
He paused and added, “But poaching people was my dad’s idea. I don’t have that thought now, so you can relax.”
Tan Jing didn’t bite on the relax part and instead asked, “What will you tell your dad if you don’t manage to poach anyone?”
He Siheng hadn’t expected Tan Jing to care about him instead. “I haven’t thought about that, but it’s no big deal. I can… play it by ear…”
“Poach me back.”
Before he could finish the second half of his sentence, Tan Jing suddenly interjected.
He Siheng nearly choked on his saliva and coughed. “Wh-what?”
Tan Jing explained logically, “Uncle He and my dad keep fighting like this just to get one over on each other. If you just poach me back home, wouldn’t that let him vent the most?”
“It seems… kind of reasonable?”
He Siheng was convinced by his logic but still felt like something was off. “Wouldn’t that be too much of a sacrifice for you?”
Tan Jing watched him mull it over for a long time without figuring it out, instead falling into a dead end. He subtly curved his lips. “No problem. For you, I can make a small sacrifice.”
They arrived at the Hunan restaurant.
North Street was one of Qinan City’s bustling commercial districts, and it was mealtime peak hour right now, with long lines at every restaurant. Fortunately, He Siheng had foreseen this and grabbed a number online beforehand. He also knew the outer hall would be crowded and noisy at this time, so he paid extra to book a private room.
In the second-floor private room, He Siheng casually pulled out a chair and sat down, handing the menu to Tan Jing beside him to order first.
Zhou Yu sat tightly on his other side, already seated, and couldn’t help but sigh, “I never thought in my lifetime I’d get to eat with the Class Monitor.”
Wang Yizhou, sitting across from him, also sighed, “I never thought in my lifetime I’d see Young Master He treating Jing Bro to a meal.”
Song Lin didn’t speak, but kept the sigh in his heart.
