Chapter 428: All the More Reason to Not Let You Leave

Their relations.h.i.+p had already improved to the point of exchanging private messages on WeChat.

“I’m pretty close to Brother Zhiqian.” Ming Yeqing smiled and said to Tan Mo, “I asked him if he had finished his work. And if he’s done, we can ask him to join us for the meal. Then, we can go to the escape room that Momo recommended earlier in pairs.”

Upon hearing that, Qin Muye’s eyes widened in astonishment. “Tonight, you say?”

“Yeah, I thought since it’s Sunday, we’ve got nothing to do and didn’t need to head to the lab. Plus, we’ve got all night to spend. I figured that we might as well go and play. Besides, it should be easier for us to form a group since there’ll be more customers at night,” Ming Yeqing explained.

“Unfortunately, brother Zhiqian is still working.” Flas.h.i.+ng a gentle smile, Ming Yeqing said, “And he told me that Momo asked him to focus on his work.”

“Has he eaten?” Tan Mo questioned.

She was concerned if Wei Zhiqian had obeyed her advice to take his meals on time.

After a short pause, Ming Yeqing replied, “Oh, I didn’t ask him about that.”

“Geez! You should just ask him that by yourself,” Qin Muye stated. With the closeness of their relations.h.i.+p, Tan Mo certainly didn’t need a messenger to ask Wei Zhiqian a question.

After contemplating it for a while, Tan Mo took out her cellphone and lowered her head to send Wei Zhiqian a text message.

She did not need to worry about Wei Zhiqian ignoring incoming messages as he had already replied to Ming Yeqing earlier.

Tan Mo asked, “Uncle, have you eaten?”

Wei Zhiqian replied, “Not yet. I’m still not hungry.”

Tan Mo thought, ‘He must have been so occupied with work that he forgot about eating again. That must be why his hunger still hasn’t kicked in.’

Tan Mo responded, “It seems like you won’t be taking your meal if I don’t supervise you. Please wait for me. I’ll be there soon.”

Upon seeing that, Wei Zhiqian was confounded.

Wei Zhiqian asked, “Where? You mean you’re coming to my office?”

Tan Mo replied, “I’m at a j.a.panese restaurant now. I’ll get you some sus.h.i.+ later. Since it’s a bite-size dish, you can eat it while you work. It won’t affect your work efficiency. Just sit tight until my arrival.”

Tan Mo initially thought of giving herself some time to pull herself together.

But the circ.u.mstance would not permit her to do so. Wei Zhiqian would likely have an empty stomach for the rest of the day if she didn’t make sure he would partake of a proper meal.

After decluttering her thoughts, she decided to deliver him his dinner first.

She would then return to the campus, think about the situation, and ponder her next step after delivering the food.

Sitting in front of his working computer, Wei Zhiqian was in a dazed state. A while later, his mouth curled into a smile.

After a long day, he was finally getting out of work mode. Just then, he was overwhelmed with a sudden delight and a relaxing feeling.

After pressing the call b.u.t.ton at the table, a server came to them.

Tan Mo proceeded to order several to-go platters of sus.h.i.+.

After the server left, Tan Mo clarified before Qin Muye started asking. “I ordered those for uncle. He’s busy with work and totally forgot about dinner. He even came up with an excuse, saying he wasn’t hungry.”

Ming Yeqing c.o.c.ked his eyebrows and thought, ‘He’s using a sneaky approach now. Interesting.

‘He was an utterly insensitive man before. Isn’t he a little too melodramatic after getting better at picking up hints Tan Mo dropped?’

As those thoughts came to his mind, Ming Yeqing began to wonder if Wei Zhiqian gained enlightenment after taking lessons from some love gurus.

Perhaps that might be the reason why he seemed to have finally knocked some sense into himself.

“Well, hurry up, then,” Ming Yeqing urged. “You shouldn’t let him pick up the habit of eating irregular meals. He’s a man with a hectic schedule all year long. If he skips his meals and has irregular eating patterns, it might bring adverse effects to his health, especially his stomach, in the long run.”

Ming Yeqing’s natural apt.i.tude was attentiveness.

Having heard that, Tan Mo heaved a deep sigh.

Sometime later, the server came up to Tan Mo with the food she had ordered earlier.

The disposable tableware was packed with a variety of sus.h.i.+.

“I’ll take my leave now.” Tan Mo did not eat much herself at that point.

It came as no surprise because she had been talking about her dream.

Furthermore, she gradually lost her appet.i.te after listening to Ming Yeqing’s and Qin Muye’s opinions.

“Be safe. Let us know when you arrive at Brother Zhiqian’s office,” Qin Muye said.

After nodding, Tan Mo turned and left with the food in her hand.

“Let’s go to the escape room that Momo mentioned earlier after eating,” Ming Yeqing declared. “We should be able to make it back before the dorm’s curfew.”

“Nah, don’t worry about that. Even if we couldn’t make it back on time, we could still go back to our own homes. We could then head to campus from there tomorrow.” It was pretty convenient when one’s home was within the city.

Qin Muye went all out just so she could play the escape game that night. She was obviously not pulling any punches.

“Why have you decided to go there tonight?” Qin Muye’s eyes narrowed into crescent shapes.

“Well, I could tell that you were very much looking forward to partic.i.p.ating in the game. It’d be too long a hiatus if you were to wait until the coming Sat.u.r.day. The antic.i.p.ation would eat your heart out over. I thought maybe we should go there later since we’ve got nothing else to do after this anyway,” Ming Yeqing elaborated as his mouth quirked at the corners.

“Ah-Qing, you’re so good to me!” Qin Muye was in seventh heaven. “How could you be so observant?”

After spending a long time with Ming Yeqing, Qin Muye could no longer get along with other guys.

Those young lads were a thoughtless bunch. In terms of perceptiveness, theirs could not even attain 10 percent of Ming Yeqing’s.

After getting used to Ming Yeqing’s gentlemanly and attentive treatment—his thoughtful tenderness—how could she put up with a group of emotionally immature and childish young men?

***

Tan Mo took a cab and brought the sus.h.i.+ to Wei Zhiqian.

Only a few employees were at the company as it was Sunday.

Tan Mo instantly found herself in trouble after entering the main entrance.

A row of turnstiles was installed in the lobby.

One could only get in through the personnel’s access card.

Naturally, she could not do that since she didn’t have it.

Interrupting Wei Zhiqian’s work was the last thing she wanted as she was only there to deliver him his dinner.

However, the odds were stacked against her at that moment. She could not get through the turn gate without him.

Right as she contemplated if she should wait for one of the pa.s.sing employees to help her out, a familiar silhouette appeared from the inside of the turnpike getting out from the elevator, striding toward her.

To her surprise, that figure belonged to Wei Zhiqian.

“Uncle!” Tan Mo exclaimed.

Wei Zhiqian came up to Tan Mo, put his thumb on the fingerprint scanner, and pulled her in. After taking the bag of sus.h.i.+ from her hands, he asked, “Did you carry such a heavy load all by yourself?”

“I hopped right into the car after leaving. It was just a short walking distance after my arrival.” Just as Tan Mo elaborated what had happened, she had already been pulled through the gate.

After regaining her composure, she announced, “I’m only here to deliver you your dinner. So, I’ll be taking my leave now.”

“Are you sure you’re not going to watch me eat? Can you stand to leave me on my own devices?” Wei Zhiqian raised the bag of sus.h.i.+ as he spoke. “Aren’t you afraid that I might lose track of time while working?”

“I traveled all the way here just to deliver them to you. Did you expect me to believe that you would waste them?” Tan Mo puffed her cheeks coquettishly, indicating that he could not work an angle on her.

At that, Wei Zhiqian was stunned for a split second before bursting into laughter.

Come to think of it, whatever she said kind of made sense.

At that moment, Tan Mo’s stomach let out a grumbling sound.

Upon hearing that, Wei Zhiqian’s eyebrows immediately squeezed together into a frown. “Didn’t you mention that you were having dinner during the call earlier? Did you have your meal properly?”

“Well, since you told me that you hadn’t eaten, I thought I should get you your sus.h.i.+ first thing after the call. I didn’t eat much myself,” Tan Mo said. “Does sus.h.i.+ suit your palate?”

She recalled that j.a.panese cuisine was one of Wei Zhiqian’s favorites.

“Yeah, I like it.” Wei Zhiqian nodded while grabbing her hands. “Since you didn’t have a proper dinner yet, that’s all the more reason I can’t let you leave.”