Tong Mo heard someone talking to her and instinctively replied, "Because I didn’t bring any money!"
She had rushed out of the house and forgotten both her wallet and phone.
"Then I’ll treat you." Li Zijue heard this, and without another word, grabbed her slender arm, ready to take her inside to eat.
"Hey! Who are you? Let go..."
Tong Mo thought she had encountered a bad person and was just about to scream when she turned her face and saw it was Li Zijue.
She instantly breathed a sigh of relief, looking at him, "Uncle, it’s you! You really scared me to death!"
Perhaps because he had once saved her from the hands of a scoundrel, she felt an indescribable trust in him.
"Am I that scary?" Li Zijue couldn’t help but ask, feeling dejected.
"No, no..." Tong Mo gave a dry laugh, then seeing that he was alone outside, couldn’t help but ask curiously, "Uncle, why aren’t you at home celebrating the New Year?"
Did his family treat him badly too?
Li Zijue didn’t answer her question, but instead countered, "Aren’t you also not celebrating the New Year at home?"
"That’s because my family treats me badly, I hate spending New Year with them." Perhaps because she had encountered someone familiar, Tong Mo, not knowing why, couldn’t help but to tell him all this.
Li Zijue fell silent.
When his mother had secretly arranged a fiancée for him, he had investigated her; her mother had become comatose, while her father doted on his mistress and the mistress’s daughter.
Thinking of the various hardships she might have endured, Li Zijue felt a sourness in his heart, and seeing the young girl longingly watching others eat, he again took her by the arm and headed inside, "Aren’t you hungry? Let’s go eat too."
This time, Tong Mo didn’t refuse.
Because she really was about to die of hunger.
After they got a private room, the waiter brought up the menu with a smile, "Please order, both of you."
Saying this, she was about to hand the menu to Tong Mo first.
Usually, when a man brings a woman to eat, it’s generally the woman who orders, so the waiter didn’t think twice before placing the menu in front of her.
"No, I’m not ordering, please give it to him," Tong Mo didn’t accept it but shook her head, pointing at Li Zijue sitting across from her.
She already felt embarrassed as he was treating her; if she ordered, that would make her even more embarrassed.
"Okay." Just as the waiter was about to pick up the menu, she heard a man’s deep voice say, "Let her order."
The waiter was immediately baffled, looking back and forth between Tong Mo and the man, not knowing what she should do.
"But..." She would feel embarrassed!
Li Zijue cut her off directly, "There are no buts."
"Well, then." Tong Mo had no choice but to take the menu and start ordering. She chose some of her favorite dishes first; then she raised her little head and looked at the man across from her, "Um... what do you like to eat?"
"The same as yours is fine," Li Zijue replied.
He wanted to try the same things she liked.
"I didn’t expect you to have the same taste as me..." Tong Mo murmured softly, then handed the menu back to the waiter, "That will be all, please bring it quickly!"
The waiter nodded and withdrew.
Soon, all sorts of dishes were served.
They were all her favorites!