Chapter 1174: I Want to Make You Stay (52)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Fang Erlan got inside the nanny van listlessly.

She then received a text from Yan Ge, who asked to meet her for dinner.

Fang Erlan agreed. She gave Xiao Yue some money and instructed her to have dinner with the chauffeur. She then alighted from the car.

She told Xiao Chenyang that she would be back soon and thus instructed him not to a.s.sign any bodyguards to her.

When she was dragging her feet to Yan Ge’s nanny van, she discovered that there were people snapping photos of her getting inside the van. However, she could no longer be bothered since they no longer had to hide their relations.h.i.+p now that it had already been exposed.

She sat beside Yan Ge, who held her hand tightly, allowing the warmth of his hand to spread to her skin. He said, “You seem to be really out of sorts lately. Don’t let those netizens affect you. They’re not important to you at all. What would you like to eat?”

“I don’t have much of an appet.i.te.”

“Decide after you’ve seen the menu, then.” He then said to the chauffeur, “Start driving.”

The car moved off slowly and began weaving in and out of traffic. Fang Erlan looked out of the window to see that the sky had already turned dark and that there were lots of pedestrians along the streets.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Fang Erlan rested her head on his shoulder and said, “I suddenly realized that I’m actually not as strong as I thought when it comes to taking stress and criticism.”

“That’s what being an artiste is like. We’re forever living in the eye of the public who never fails to scrutinize us and compare us against overly idealistic standards. Every slightest flaw and mistake of ours will be magnified and made a big fuss of. You’ll have to get used to it slowly and learn to turn a deaf ear to those voices on the internet.”

“That’s what I said to myself. I tried to comfort and rea.s.sure myself again and again, but I’m still very bothered by it.”

“You’ll be fine once we tide over this.”

“Perhaps,” she said monotonously.

Soon, they arrived at a restaurant.

It was near the hotel that they were staying in.

The two of them alighted from the car one after another. Clad in a surgical mask, Yan Ge held her hand and led her into the restaurant.

It was the restaurant’s peak hour, with the highest number of patrons.

They asked for a private dining room.

His a.s.sistant and bodyguard waited outside the door.

There was a subtle fragrance in the room. After placing their orders, Fang Erlan rested her chin in her hands and said, “This place looks really nice.”

“I’ve never been here before. Today’s my first time here. We’ll know if it’s really good after we try the food.” Yan Ge picked up the teapot and poured her a cup of tea. “Have some warm water first.”

Fang Erlan nodded and took a few sips out of her teacup.

When the first dish was served, the waitress claimed to be a fan of Yan Ge’s and asked for an autograph. Yan Ge agreed immediately.

To their surprise, a different waitress served the second dish and she, too, asked for Yan Ge’s photograph.

They had ordered a total of five dishes, each served by a different waitress.

Fang Erlan and Yan Ge were both understanding toward the fans and, hence, he agreed to sign all the autographs that they had asked for.

However, after serving the last soup dish, the waitress stayed inside the room instead of leaving.

Yan Ge said coldly, “You’re not needed here anymore. Please go outside.”

“It’s alright, you guys go ahead and enjoy the meal. I’ll just stand here quietly. I definitely won’t disturb you.”

The waitress seemed to only be in her late teens and appeared extremely youthful.

Displeased to hear her answer, Yan Ge said, “As I’ve said, you may leave. It’s inconvenient with you around.”

It was obvious what he had meant, which was that, with her around, he wouldn’t be able to talk to Fang Erlan properly.

Not intending to leave at all, the waitress called him by his full name and asked, “Yan Ge, may I ask you a question?”

“What question?” he asked with a look of annoyance, clearly not wanting to talk to her. However, he had no choice but to urge himself to be patient since she was a fan of his.

“Do you really love her?” she asked, referring to Fang Erlan.

Fang Erlan was enjoying the food slowly, not bothering to look at the waitress at all. She was initially already in a foul mood. However, her spirits were further dampened after hearing the waitress’s words.

“Yes, I love her very much. Will you go out now?” said Yan Ge, who remained gentlemanly throughout.

The waitress lost her composure and began exclaiming in agitation, “She doesn’t deserve you at all! How could you love her!?! She can’t be your girlfriend!”

Fang Erlan finally looked up at the waitress and chastised sternly, “Please get out, we’re having a meal.” She then called for the bodyguard.

Yan Ge’s bodyguard entered and asked, “Ms. Fang, do you have any orders…?”

“Send this waitress out.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the waitress whipped out a knife from her pocket all of a sudden and placed it on her wrist. The knife was small but the blade was extremely sharp.

Her makeup had been ruined by her tears. She stared at Yan Ge indignantly, as if he had broken her heart.

“I’ve fancied you for three whole years, how could you fall in love with such a woman!?!”

Yan Ge and Fang Erlan stood up one after another. In order to placate her emotions, Yan Ge tried to mellow his voice despite staring at her coldly. “Will you put the knife down first?”

“I’ll put it down if you break up with her. How could you treat me like this? I send you private messages on Weibo every single day and yet you’ve never once replied to me! I can’t believe you actually have a girlfriend now. You’ve hurt my feelings and broken my heart!” She took a few steps back and plastered herself against the wall. At the sight of the bodyguard who was approaching her, she hollered, “Don’t come near me, or else I’ll slit my wrist and kill myself. Yan Ge already has a girlfriend anyway. I don’t wish to live anymore!”

Yan Ge immediately shot his bodyguard a glance, hinting for him to call the police to resolve the absurd situation.

The bodyguard immediately proceeded to call the police and the restaurant manager.

The manager and the waitress’s friends tried to comfort her, to no avail.

Finally, the police arrived.

“You’ll only be hurting yourself in the end. Put the knife down.”

“Yan Ge, are you going to break up with this ugly woman or not!?!” the waitress insisted. Unable to contain her anger, she began berating Fang Erlan, “You look just like a dance hostess. No, wait, even dance hostesses are far better than you. Who are you to deserve Yan Ge’s love? Who are you to be his girlfriend? You shameless s.l.u.t! Despicable…”

“Shut up! I don’t wish to have a fan like you. I feel so insulted to be your idol,” Yan Ge snapped, his veins bulging from his forehead due to his immense pique. He grabbed Fang Erlan’s hand and pulled her out of the door.

Noticing that they were about to leave, the waitress squinted and slit her wrist. Although the police managed to s.n.a.t.c.h the knife away from her, she still ended up hurting herself.

Yan Ge immediately whipped out a piece of tissue paper and handed it to her. If he were to leave immediately, there would only be absurd rumors and speculations on the news.

Hence, he had no choice but to send the waitress to the hospital together with the police, feeling helpless and exasperated.

Fang Erlan did not tag along. The restaurant manager said apologetically, “I’m very sorry, Ms. Fang. This meal shall be on the house.”

“There’s no need for that.”

“It’s a must. Ms. Fang, do continue to enjoy the rest of your meal. Mr. Yan said that he would be returning soon.”