xxix

Lan and Liwei spent about an hour, eating and talking until they realized that the man probably wanted to close his shop.

Lan got up in order to pay, but Liwei wouldn't allow it.

"I'll just pay it's fine." he said.

"You don't have to pay for me."

This argument didn't have any reason to take place, considering Lan was still using the money she lent him back then. He even felt a bit embarrassed when he thought about it so he didn't know how to retort.

Liwei must have sensed that something had shifted in his expression, cause she didn't add anything else.

He decided to take this opportunity to convince her.

"Let me pay okay ? It's me who took you here anyway, so it would only make sense."

Of course, when he said that, he didn't just mean 'let me pay with your money'. But he was intent o. paying her back whenever he could, so he would include today's receipt to his debt.

Liwei sighed slightly, then she smiled. "Okay, fine."