At that very moment, just as Gu Qize was thinking of Bao Nan, he saw him with a suit jacket slung over his arm, walking in from the entrance.
He hadn’t even taken off the badge on his white shirt, and his stern face had a slight hint of fatigue, probably from rushing over right after a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Wow, he really does care.
Gu Qize raised an eyebrow, looking amused at the dusty Bao Nan, and lowered his voice, "Second Brother, the situation is still quite stable for now."
Upon hearing this, Bao Nan shot him a cold glance, walked straight to the other side and sat down, but unconsciously leaned his body towards the bamboo curtain.
From behind the bamboo curtain came Jiang Tong’s hearty laughter.
Bao Nan’s lips tightened, and he clenched the cup that was just in his hand.
"..."
"Oh my, Xiao Changlu, how did you become so eloquent after just a trip to A City?"
Jiang Tong covered her mouth with one hand, laughing heartily at what Chen Changlu said.
Chen Changlu waved his hand, "It’s nothing, it’s just because you taught me well back in the day, Senior Sister."
"Alright, stop flattering me, I’m really going to get a big head, really hahahahaha."
While these two were having a lively conversation, the two behind the bamboo curtain were engaged in a silent standoff.
Gu Qize looked at Bao Nan, whose body was practically against the bamboo curtain, and helplessly twitched his mouth corners.
He didn’t even feel like teasing his second brother anymore.
With an expression colder than anyone else, yet he cared more than anyone.
See, even just a little fanboy could make him lose his cool.
"Sir, your ordered dishes are ready, shall we serve them?"
A server appeared at just the right moment before them, holding a menu.
"Serve them, please."
Gu Qize sighed helplessly and spread out the napkin in front of him.
Since he was just here for the show today, he couldn’t let himself go hungry.
Upon his instruction, the server quickly served all the dishes.
Following the custom at the Sea River Banquet, after serving, the server would announce the dish names for confirmation.
"Hello, sirs, these are the dishes you ordered, please verify."
"First dish: Chilled Honey Pumpkin Cake."
"Second dish: Cold Shredded Pumpkin."
"Third dish: Candied Iced Pumpkin."
"Fourth dish: Single-Brewed Pumpkin Wine."
Bao Nan: "..."
Are these dish names serious?
Seeing his face turn a shade of liver red, the culprit Gu Qize tried hard to hold back his laughter, winking, "Oh come on, Second Brother, this is just to set the mood, right?"
Bao Nan’s face instantly darkened; this was truly a brother who was more of a hindrance than a help.
He wearily rubbed his brow, ultimately deciding to resign himself to fate.
At this moment, Chen Changlu’s voice came through again, making Bao Nan instinctively perk up his ears.
"Senior Sister."
Chen Changlu looked at Jiang Tong, his gaze passionate and tender.
"Hmm? What’s up?"
Since the two had already warmed up to each other with their earlier conversation, it now served as a perfect lead-in for what he was about to say.
"Actually, I had another reason for returning to Beijing this time," Chen Changlu’s voice softened, "and that is—to pursue you!"
"Pfft—" Jiang Tong spat out the red tea she had just taken a sip of, eyes filled with disbelief, "Are you serious?"
"I feel that in my lifetime, nothing can be as true as meeting you, so I hope Senior Sister can give me a chance to pursue you."
Bao Nan caught every word of this.
Not bad, this rival of his is strong; although not as handsome as him, his words are sweeter.
What if Tongtong likes sweet talkers...
With that thought, his face was filled with gloom as he forcefully stabbed the bowl of rice in his hand with chopsticks.