An Nuan came back to her senses and realized it was already 10pm.
She had sat there the entire afternoon into the evening without moving an inch, and now her neck and shoulders were sorely stiff.
An Nuan stood up from the sofa, rotating her arms, and said to Hu Feng, "I'm off work now."
"Yes," other than Ye Jinghuai's villa, Hu Feng stuck by her side every step of the way.
The two left An's Group together.
Feeling rather tired, An Nuan leaned back against the car seat and took out her phone to open her chat history.
Her eyes froze for a moment.
She saw that Ye Jinghuai had sent her a message at 5pm that afternoon, asking if she wanted to have dinner together. He had even shared the location of the restaurant with her.
However...
She had been so busy that she didn't even glance at her phone.
So she was completely unaware of these plans.
Ye Jinghuai hadn't called to remind her or ask if she had received his message either.
She pursed her lips and dialed Ye Jinghuai's number.
He picked up on the other end, "Miss An has finally remembered me?"
"You asked me out to dinner, why didn't you call?" An Nuan said, somewhat speechless.
If she hadn't seen the message, she would have just stood him up!
"With you being so busy, even if I had called, would you have left your work to have dinner?"
"At least I could have declined you," An Nuan retorted righteously.
The other end laughed lightly.
He didn't seem to mind much at all, and said, "In the end the result would be the same anyway. Why would I pester you? It'd be better to let you focus on your work, and when you naturally finish up you can get off work."
"I just can't stand you sometimes," An Nuan truly felt that she and Ye Jinghuai were unable to communicate on the same channel.
Most people would have at least called to ask if the other party had received their message when they didn't get a reply. And if the other person couldn't make it, the polite thing would be to head back early. But Ye Jinghuai had just waited without making a peep.
Could it be that to him, asking her out to dinner was merely a cursory invitation?
In fact, he had probably made plans with Qin Jiang. He had just casually asked An Nuan as an afterthought. If she didn't respond then so be it.
Thinking this way...
An Nuan also felt she needn't feel guilty anymore.
She said, "I'm off work now and on my way back."
Just as she was about to hang up...
"So can I have the server start plating the dishes?" Ye Jinghuai asked.
An Nuan froze.
Thinking she must have misheard.
Or misunderstood.
But then she heard Ye Jinghuai say, "I'm still at the restaurant waiting for you."
"......" Was this guy sick in the head or what!
He had actually waited for her all this time?!
Waiting silently without pestering her.
While she definitely thought he was neurotic, her heart was also inexplicably moved to no end.
She abruptly ended the call and said to Hu Feng, "Go to Carlo's Restaurant."
"Yes," Hu Feng would carry out orders directly without asking further questions.
"By the way, does your Young Master Ye get bouts of craziness from time to time?!" An Nuan felt rather stifled inside.
There were indescribable feelings that she wanted to vent out.
"What?" Hu Feng was completely bewildered.
"When he makes dinner plans with people, does he always neglect to notify them and just keeps on waiting and waiting and waiting for them to show up?"
"No." Hu Feng answered seriously.
An Nuan also felt this didn't match Ye Jinghuai's style.
She somehow felt that if Ye Jinghuai had dinner plans with Qin Jiang and Qin Jiang was late by even a minute, he would strangle Qin Jiang.
"Young Master Ye never takes the initiative to ask people out for meals," Hu Feng added.
An Nuan's heart stirred.
As if something had struck her deeply.
So Ye Jinghuai treats her...truly completely differently?!
The car soon arrived at its destination.
An Nuan's footsteps were even a bit hurried as she entered the restaurant, and then...
She pursed her lips.
Her whole body just froze in the grand lobby.
In the vast empty lobby, Ye Jinghuai sat alone at a dining table looking pitifully lonely.
The soft lights overhead shone down on him.
He sat there stiffly, not moving an inch.
Like an exquisitely carved statue.
So beautiful, yet so lonely.
An Nuan took a deep breath and slowly walked over step-by-step.
Hearing the footsteps, Ye Jinghuai also turned to look at An Nuan.
Watching as she resolutely approached him.
The corners of his mouth curled up into a smile.
His tall and straight figure elegantly stood up.
The moment An Nuan came up to him, he gallantly pulled out a chair for her, inviting her to sit.
An Nuan looked at Ye Jinghuai and slowly sat down.
Ye Jinghuai made a gesture.
The staff immediately understood and began serving the dishes.
The waiter also took this chance to pour expensive red wine into their wine glasses.
"Is today some kind of special occasion?" An Nuan asked.
It was so extravagant.
What was the occasion?
If it was an important day, why didn't he call to give her a heads up?!
Perhaps for such an important occasion she could have set her work aside first.
Ye Jinghuai did not answer.
An Nuan started guessing, "Our 100 day wedding anniversary?"
Ye Jinghuai shook his head.
"Your birthday?" An Nuan continued to speculate.
Ye Jinghuai's brow clearly furrowed.
Alright then.
She truly couldn't remember when Ye Jinghuai's birthday was.
"I was born on February 2nd," Ye Jinghuai said.
An Nuan felt rather ashamed.
She really hadn't paid special attention to these things.
Just as she was speculating that Ye Jinghuai probably also didn't know when her birthday was, she heard him say, "Yours is August 8th."
"......" Could he cut her some slack here?
"Together they make 'perfect perfection'," the corners of Ye Jinghuai's mouth curled up amusedly.
So was there anything worth being happy about here?!
"Today isn't any important occasion," Ye Jinghuai said plainly.
"If today's not important then why make such a big fuss over dinner?" An Nuan was still rather baffled.
It couldn't be that he was actually deranged.
"I'll be away from Qing City for a few days starting tomorrow," he explained.
Oh, so this was a farewell dinner!
Shouldn't she have been the one to do this instead?
"How many days?" An Nuan asked the question she cared most about.
"Looking at the itinerary, around 10 plus days or so."
"That long?" An Nuan said, rather surprised.
In that moment she clearly couldn't accept it yet.
"The city government has planned an itinerary of traveling lectures. I've now been assigned to some remote outlying districts and counties. According to the arranged schedule, it'll be around 10 days before I return," Ye Jinghuai patiently explained.
"What about Gu Yan Sheng?" An Nuan asked.
Was Gu Yan Sheng under the same arrangement?
Ye Jinghuai's expression clearly changed.
"Don't overthink, I'm just concerned about any difference in how you two are being treated." An Nuan said with utmost seriousness.
"For now, he's staying within Qing City proper. Afterwards he'll probably go to the suburban districts and counties."
"So you're the one being targeted," An Nuan stated assuredly.
Ye Jinghuai didn't seem to care much.
"Leaving tomorrow morning already?" Since it was the city government's arrangement, there was no refusing.
"Yes, bright and early tomorrow. So I wanted to have dinner with you tonight because I'll miss you when I'm gone for so long." Ye Jinghuai's words sounded quite natural.
Yet upon careful thought, they were also rather heartwarming.
So...
Ye Jinghuai had done this because he would be reluctant to part.
While she...had just kept him waiting for at least 4 hours.
