No, he didn't put any thought into it. Night Yes just randomly took one from his inventory, and he didn't spend any money either, just made a phone call.
Could he say that?
He had to save face in front of his juniors.
Qiao Ying rarely considered other people's feelings and mimicked Qin Hanyue's way of speaking, "Mr. Qin likes it, that's good."
This answer far exceeded Qin Hanyue's expectations.
After all, considering Qiao Ying's personality, he really didn't dare to guarantee what kind of witty, blunt answer she would give before she opened her mouth.
Qin Hanyue smiled and satisfiedly put away his hand, "Since it's a gift from Miss Qiao, of course I like it."
Qin Yuchen held his chopsticks, "......"
Qin Hanyue glanced at him, his tone slightly cold, "What's wrong? Don't like the dishes?"
Qin Yuchen came back to his senses, "No, I like them."
He tightened his grip on the chopsticks and lowered his head to eat.
But he couldn't taste anything.
Qin Hanyue put down his chopsticks and used a napkin to wipe his mouth, "I haven't asked yet, why did you ask Miss Qiao out to dinner?"
Qin Yan: Is it appropriate for Third Master to ask like this? Little Miss was invited out by Young Master Yuchen. Not only did you hijack the lead, but now you're interrogating her?
Qin Yuchen looked at Qiao Ying and honestly said, "Yuchen wanted to properly thank Miss Qiao for saving my life back then."
Qin Hanyue lightly responded with an "Oh."
Qin Yuchen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. But then he heard his third uncle continue to ask, "How did you get in contact with Miss Qiao?"
Qin Yuchen was taken aback and quickly said, "I happened to run into Miss Qiao last time I went to Mingshan Hall."
Qin Hanyue immediately turned his head to ask Qiao Ying, "Why did you go to Mingshan Hall?"
Qiao Ying: "To get medicine for my brother."
Qin Hanyue: "What's wrong with your brother?"
Qiao Ying: "Minor problem."
Qin Hanyue: "That's good then."
Qin Yuchen kept his head down and ate quietly throughout. He didn't know what he was eating. All he heard was his third uncle and Qiao Ying talking, with most of the talking done by his third uncle, of course. He only had a chance to speak when his third uncle called on him.
What scared him was that he kept feeling his third uncle glance at him from time to time. Qin Yuchen had to sit up straight.
When Qiao Ying finished eating, the meal was over.
Qin Hanyue: "Qin Yan, go pay the bill."
Qin Yuchen quickly stood up, "Uncle, let me. I was the one who invited them to dinner after all. How can I let you pay?"
"I'm your uncle. How can I let a junior pay? Don't worry about it and go back early. I'll take Miss Qiao back to school."
Qin Yuchen: "Yes..."
Qin Hanyue left with Qiao Ying, and Qin Yan went to settle the bill.
Only Qin Yuchen was left in the private room. He sat back in his chair, still confused even after catching his breath.
He suddenly remembered that at the last meeting, his third uncle had received a call from a girl. He was all smiles and politely asked if she had arrived in Beijing, saying he would pick her up from the airport himself.
Could the Miss Qiao he mentioned then be referring to Qiao Ying?
Qin Yuchen couldn't figure it out. He had asked Qin Yan before. His third uncle only went to Yun Cheng to keep an eye on Qiao Ying from afar to make sure she was fine before leaving.
The two didn't have any interaction. Afterwards, his third uncle stayed in Beijing before going to M State shortly after. He never went back to Yun Cheng at all.
So how on earth did his third uncle get to know Qiao Ying, and become so intimate with her?
Moreover, it seemed that his third uncle was the one actively pursuing her.
But based on the few times he had previously mentioned Qiao Ying, his third uncle didn't show any interest in her at all...
Judging from how they were acting, they must have known each other for quite some time already.
So Qin Yuchen calculated the timeline and called Qin Yan.
Qin Yan left Qin Hanyue's villa and returned to his own place.
After taking a shower, he took out his laptop to prepare documents for the next day’s morning meeting.
Just then, he received a call from Qin Yuchen.
"Young Master Yuchen, did you need me for something?"
Qin Yan knew why Qin Yuchen was calling him.
Sure enough,
Qin Yan awkwardly said, "Young Master Yuchen, as a subordinate, it’s not my place to talk about the Third Master’s personal matters."
If the Third Master found out, he’d kill him for sure.
Moreover, even if the Third Master spared him, the Blackwater boss would definitely deal with him. He couldn’t afford to offend either one.
Qin Yuchen: "At least tell me when they got to know each other. It wasn't during the time my third uncle went to Yun Cheng on my behalf, was it?"
Qin Yan could only say: "Miss Qiao went on vacation to M State during the summer break and happened to run into the Third Master. That’s how they got to know each other."
Qin Yuchen: "She went on vacation to M State?"
Qin Yan raised his brows: Come on, as if!
That’s what they claimed. And the crucial thing is that the Third Master believed it. *sighs*
The line about Qiao Ying vacationing in M State left Qin Yuchen dumbfounded.
So was his third uncle’s first move upon returning from M State to turn down the marriage alliance with the Su family because of Qiao Ying?
Qin Yuchen: "Are my third uncle and Miss Qiao...together?"
Without thinking, Qin Yan immediately said: "No."
After speaking, Qin Yan then reacted.
Crap, did he say the wrong thing?
Should he not have said no and given a more ambiguous response instead?
Qin Yuchen: "I see, thank you."
Qin Yan: "Uh, uh, Young Master Yuchen..."
"Beep beep beep..."
Looking at the hung-up call, Qin Yan worriedly muttered to himself: "Young Master Yuchen, please don't do anything rash. Even if they're not together yet, can't you see what intentions your third uncle has towards Miss Qiao?"
The next day,
After the afternoon classes ended,
Qiao Ying dragged a new suitcase as she walked back to the dorms.
As she passed by the basketball court, a basketball came flying towards her.
"Watch out!" Huo Chengdong yelled loudly.
Without even looking, Qiao Ying casually tilted her head to dodge.
The basketball narrowly grazed past her ear and smashed against the wall before rolling to a stop at her feet.
"Sis Ying?" Only then did Huo Chengdong recognize that the girl was Qiao Ying.
Qiao Ying glanced at the basketball by her feet, then looked towards Huo Chengdong on the basketball court. She lifted her foot and hooked the basketball off the ground before catching it easily with one hand.
Huo Chengdong clapped his hands together, "Sis Ying, toss it back!"
Qiao Ying looked at the distant basketball hoop. Then she threw the basketball out with a flick of her arm.
The basketball traced out a beautiful parabola in midair. Under over a dozen watchful gazes, it accurately swished into the basketball hoop without a hitch.
"Holy sh*t!" Huo Chengdong was dumbfounded.
He looked back at Qiao Ying, but she had already walked away dragging her luggage. He hurried to catch up.
"What the heck, how did she make that shot from so far away?"
"And it was with just one hand! How is that monster arm strength even possible when her arms look so skinny? Where does she get that much power from?"
"Not only is she gorgeous, but she can shoot hoops so awesomely too."
Over a dozen male students on the basketball court ogled at Qiao Ying's retreating figure.
Huo Chengdong caught up to Qiao Ying.
"Sis Ying, where are you going with that suitcase?"
Qiao Ying took out Huo Chengdong's phone from her pocket and returned it to him.
Huo Chengdong accepted the phone and took a look: "Holy hell, you cleared the entire game? Sis Ying, you're way too pro! How did you get past everything?"
Qiao Ying dragged her luggage back to the dormitory to pack up.
All three roommates were in.
Upon seeing Qiao Ying enter, one roommate immediately lowered her head to pretend to read a book; another pretended to play with her phone.
Li Shiyin, who had been spacing out, quickly walked out of the dorm room after snapping back to her senses.
After Qiao Ying finished packing, the three roommates had all disappeared.
The so-called house that Qin Hanyue gave her was a detached villa located twenty minutes by foot from Beijing University, in a villa district. It was an entire stand-alone building just nice for one person.
There was a direct public bus to Beijing University right outside that only took four minutes.
The villa itself wasn't big, just two stories, perfectly suitable for her to live alone.
It was fully furnished and the décor wasn't bad either.
The only thing unsatisfactory to Qiao Ying was that the villa district was situated in a prime location, sandwiched between four main busy roads. Next to it was a park and shopping mall. An elevated highway could also be seen from it.
With all that coming and going of people and traffic, it was too lively and neon-lit.
If she wanted to dump a corpse or something, it really wasn't very convenient.
"Do you still like it?" Qin Hanyue asked.
