At four in the afternoon, Qin Jiran finished his work with the makeup artist and stylist, and, feeling somewhat excited, he called Su Yanyi.
"Yanyi, will you be home for dinner tonight? I’ll be cooking." Despite being busy with work, ever since he learned that Su Yanyi liked his cooking, Qin Jiran frequently made time to prepare meals for Su Yanyi, and of course, various kinds of snacks too.
"Where are you? Have you arrived home?" Although both worked at the same company, due to the nature of their jobs, their commuting times varied, especially Qin Jiran, who spent more time busy outside the company.
"Still at the company, just finished work. Are you here? Shall we leave together?" Qin Jiran invited her with hopeful anticipation.
Though Su Yanyi had given Qin Jiran the chance to pursue her that evening, Qin Jiran really didn’t know how to go about pursuing her, apart from making more delicious food. He did not know what else he could do. All his emotions were already given to Su Yanyi, and he could only clumsily think of treating Su Yanyi even better.
Not knowing how to pursue didn’t mean there were no changes between them. With Su Yanyi’s consent, Qin Jiran seemed to become more confident in her presence, and their conversations were sprinkled with more questions. He was no longer as overly cautious as before, and now he was naturally inquiring about Su Yanyi’s preferences like this.
"Meet at the parking lot." Though there was still a lot of work to do, work was never-ending, so Su Yanyi decisively chose to leave work.
Both Su Yanyi and Qin Jiran had their own cars. While Qin Jiran was considering whether to make his own car disappear so as to ride home together with Su Yanyi, she had already reached the parking lot. Their cars were not close to each other, and Qin Jiran, standing closer to Su Yanyi’s car, quietly slipped his car keys back into his pocket when he saw her approaching.
"Let’s take one car home." Qin Jiran walked a few steps forward, conveniently blocking the direction where his car was parked.
"Hmm." Su Yanyi didn’t give it much thought and got into her car directly, and Qin Jiran quickly sat in the passenger seat, then obediently waited to drive off. But he saw that Su Yanyi seemed to be pondering something.
"What’s wrong?" asked Qin Jiran with concern.
"You drive." Since being reborn, Su Yanyi’s habits and preferences had changed quite a lot. She used to like driving herself, but now she had a bit of an aversion to it, probably because she had been in a car accident in her previous life.
"Okay." Qin Jiran naturally wouldn’t refuse. He immediately switched places with Su Yanyi and happily drove her home.
Leaving work with Yanyi, driving her car, taking Yanyi home, the feeling was just too warm and wonderful. Qin Jiran’s face showed a joyous smile that lasted all the way home.
As soon as Su Yanyi and Qin Jiran got home, they saw Little Golden Turtle lying on the living room sofa, with a green turtle plushie pressed underneath it. The big and the small together looked indescribably cute, making Qin Jiran’s smile even more pronounced.
"Silly turtle." Su Yanyi walked over and flicked Little Golden Turtle with her finger, contrasting her own daily busyness with the leisurely comfort of the little creature, she truly found it annoying.
However, to Qin Jiran, this scene seemed like Su Yanyi was interacting with Little Golden Turtle. The seemingly indifferent girl was playing with a dumb and cute pet, such a loving picture it was, he wished he could capture it.
"Yanyi, let’s take a photo together with Xiao Meng," Qin Jiran said, taking off his coat and sitting beside the two.
Su Yanyi raised her eyebrows, glanced at the Little Golden Turtle with a bit of disdain, and then said haughtily, "Who wants to take a picture with this silly thing? It’s so stupid."
Even as she spoke, Su Yanyi maliciously flipped over the Little Golden Turtle, letting it lie on its back with all four legs in the air. She watched as it clumsily stretched out its little paws before she nodded with satisfaction.
Qin Jiran, seeing Su Yanyi’s adorable actions, had a thicker smile in his eyes, speaking indulgently, "It is a bit silly, but quite cute."
Little Golden Turtle, being called stupid by both its owners, still made efforts to flip over but could only clumsily spin in place, making it look even more foolish.
The dinner was lavish, with Qin Jiran spending nearly an hour preparing four dishes and a soup, plus two plates of snacks. It left Su Yanyi quite satisfied, but the problem of overindulging also arose; she felt a bit too full.
Sitting felt a bit uncomfortable, so Su Yanyi walked around the room for a bit but still didn’t feel relieved. When Qin Jiran finished cleaning up and came out, he saw Su Yanyi wandering around and had a flash of insight, "Do you want to go for a walk?"
"Sure." Su Yanyi was thinking the same.
This was obviously their first time walking together. The weather was a bit cold, but fortunately, they were both dressed warmly. This made Qin Jiran a bit disappointed; no chance to play the gentleman by giving his coat to a lady for warmth. Although he had never acted in a romance drama, he knew it was a classic scenario that he couldn’t employ now.
Since it was a villa area, there were no other people in sight, and the atmosphere felt very quiet.
Qin Jiran racked his brains, trying to think of something to say so that Yanyi wouldn’t find him boring. However, whether it was because of nervousness or simply because Su Yanyi was walking beside him, his thoughts were jumbled, and he could only sense the cool fragrance in the air, which was very much like Su Yanyi’s scent.
As for Su Yanyi, her thoughts were much simpler. She just felt that this man was really foolish. With such a good opportunity, he didn’t even know how to be proactive, not even knowing to hold her hand. At this rate, how many years would it take before he successfully wooed her?
Su Yanyi was quite worried about Qin Jiran, but it was a worry she felt a little embarrassed to voice out loud. A man who was ordinarily decisive, why would he become so timid in front of her? She could only anxiously watch him.
Su Yanyi wasn’t someone who couldn’t take the initiative; she just felt that since she had given Qin Jiran the opportunity to pursue her, she should not be too forward. Otherwise, it would look like she was chasing him!
Thinking about this, Su Yanyi reconsidered their interactions over the past few days and began to feel dissatisfied.
This man clearly said he liked her and wanted to pursue her, but why hadn’t she seen any concrete actions? Other than serving her extra food while cooking, there were no dates, no gifts, no sweet nothings—nothing that the books describe, which was really frustrating!
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