“You!” Qin Ningyi was so choked by Huo Rou’s words that he couldn’t speak for a long time.
“I am An An’s father.” After holding back for a long time, he could only utter this identity that had a connection with Huo Rou.
“You are just An An’s father.” Huo Rou’s casually spoken words made all of Qin Ningyi’s anger dissipate.
He looked at Huo Rou deeply. In her eyes, beneath the gentle and amiable demeanor, was a heart that was still icy cold, filled with a chill.
Even if her attitude had changed, she had never intended to accept him. So no matter if he took a step forward or backward, she remained the same. He was now trying to interfere with her, and all her pretense of gentle warmth vanished.
He said no more, and the atmosphere between them became somewhat delicate.
The party ended relatively early, and Qin Ningyi, as promised, took them out for a grand meal.
The restaurant was called "Sweet, Sour, Bitter, Spicy," located on the top floor of the city's tallest building, offering a panoramic view of Yu Chang City.
“Old Qin!” As soon as they reached the entrance, a man with a buzz cut greeted them from inside.
“Oh! You brought a lady, and… a child?” The man raised his eyebrows, looking at Qin Ningyi.
“This is my friend, Zhao Hengyu,” Qin Ningyi introduced. “Huo Rou and my son, An An.”
Zhao Hengyu noticed the subtle atmosphere between Qin Ningyi and Huo Rou, as well as the difference in Qin Ningyi’s choice of words during the introduction, and immediately understood.
He jokingly called out, “Sister-in-law, hello.”
Huo Rou had been observing him since he appeared. Seeing that he was casual, she naturally smiled and raised her voice, “Just call me Huo Rou.”
This statement implicitly denied Zhao Hengyu’s earlier address of "Sister-in-law." Zhao Hengyu, however, paid no mind, thinking Huo Rou was straightforward and different from how she appeared.
Qin Ningyi had already discussed the menu with him. After entering the private room, dishes began to be served.
Zhao Hengyu stayed by their side.
“How are my dishes?”
“Delicious! Uncle, what’s in this?” An An ate with great satisfaction. When Zhao Hengyu asked, he immediately praised him.
“Commercial secret. An An, if you like it, you can come every day. Old Qin and the others don’t like my cooking, so I can only make it for others.”
Qin Ningyi glanced at Zhao Hengyu, who fearlessly continued, “He never used to eat this kind of flavor. Ah Rou, it must be your preference, right?”
Zhao Hengyu, having become familiar with them, had already started calling her Ah Rou. Ever since Qin Ningyi booked this table with sour and spicy dishes and asked him to cook, he knew there would be some drama today.
He hadn’t expected her to bring someone who looked easy to get along with but was actually a cold beauty.
Huo Rou’s chopsticks paused, then she calmly looked up and smiled, “Yes, An An and I like it.”
She had never known what Qin Ningyi liked. During their brief encounter in childhood, he had politely taken her to eat things she liked.
She had always been bothered by his forgetting, but had she ever truly gotten close to him?
The person she had liked for so long, she didn’t even know what he liked to eat. What right did she have to care?
Huo Rou naturally picked up on Zhao Hengyu’s words and asked, “Then what kind of flavors does he like?”
There’s hope!
Zhao Hengyu winked at Qin Ningyi and enthusiastically told Huo Rou, “Old Qin, he likes light and bland flavors, and he likes sweet ones too.”
“Zhao Er!” Qin Ningyi called out to Zhao Hengyu with some exasperation, stopping him.
Zhao Hengyu was bewildered. He was helping! What did a lifelong bachelor like him know? Why was he being called out? Did he still want a wife?
Huo Rou also looked at Qin Ningyi in confusion.
Qin Ningyi was naturally a little happy that Huo Rou had asked about his preferences, but…
“If she knows I like sweets, what about my image?” Qin Ningyi, without any pretense, explained his reason for stopping him.
“Hahaha, you still care about that?” Zhao Hengyu took the red wine and poured him a glass, teasing him. “Didn’t you acquire a candy company? Everyone knows that if they look into it. You’re actually getting shy now.”
An An, upon hearing about candy, also became curious. “Uncle, what candy company is it? Did Dad acquire it just to eat candy?”
“You tell her!” Zhao Hengyu gestured with his chin, instructing Qin Ningyi to confess. “Otherwise, if I don’t explain it well, you’ll get shy again.”
Qin Ningyi’s slender fingers turned the wine glass in his hand. The ruby-red liquid flowed past his thin lips into his mouth. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice took on the mellow aroma of red wine.
“That company was originally called Lemon, specializing in very sour candies. After I acquired their company, I renamed it You You.”
“Is it that really, really sour candy?” An An heard the company name and found it familiar. “Dad, do you like to eat it too?”
“Yes, their candy is very sour,” Qin Ningyi nodded. “But I don’t like to eat it.”
“Then why did you acquire it?” Huo Rou had put down her chopsticks. She asked this question with an air of casualness, as if inquiring about the weather.
“Because of a friend from my childhood. She was bullied by people in the compound, and I saved her. She took me to eat it.”
Mentioning this, Qin Ningyi glanced out the window at the boundless darkness below, illuminated by dazzling neon lights. In this vast world, this was all he could do.
“But I never saw her again, so I thought, at least she could still eat familiar candy and her life wouldn’t be completely bleak.”
His youthful affection, by the time he understood it, many years had passed, and he could no longer find that person.
Hearing him say this, Zhao Hengyu seemed to recall something. He laughed and patted Qin Ningyi’s shoulder. “Was it the friend you met that time you got severely beaten by Grandpa?”
“Mm,” Qin Ningyi said, smiling as he recalled the past.
Zhao Hengyu’s peripheral vision swept over Huo Rou. Seeing her pale face, he suddenly realized that the friend Qin Ningyi had saved back then was a girl!
She was essentially his first love. How unfortunate that he was discussing his first love in front of his current partner?
“Let’s not talk about the past. Ah Rou doesn’t know anything about it. Let’s drink, drink!” He quickly tried to smooth things over and change the subject.
After drinking some wine, Qin Ningyi had planned to call Old Zhang to drive them, but Huo Rou stopped him.
“I’ll drive.”
Ever since the conversation about the past, Huo Rou hadn’t spoken much. Now that she voluntarily offered to drive, Qin Ningyi’s eyes lit up.
Yu Chang City at night was both lively and tranquil, a paradoxical existence.
As the car drove into the Jincui Renjian villa complex and parked downstairs, Huo Rou frowned and looked at Qin Ningyi. “How long do you intend to keep watching?”