Chapter 31

Qin Wanshu paid the bill, and Zuo Qinghuan personally handled the cash register. During this time, the two of them didn't really communicate much. Qin Wanshu took some bills out of her wallet and handed them to Zuo Qinghuan. Just as Zuo Qinghuan was about to give her change, Shi Yunyang spoke up again.

"How do you like our beauty Qin?" Shi Yunyang asked Zuo Qinghuan, pointing at Qin Wanshu. Shi Yunyang's lively personality never seemed to stop, but it was undeniable that this girl had a keen eye; she noticed that this woman, who looked like a cute lily, had been ignoring her and Yan Ruoshan since she walked in, occasionally glancing at Qin Wanshu. However, Qin Wanshu was used to others looking at her, so Shi Yunyang didn't detect the underlying meaning.

"Top-notch," Zuo Qinghuan replied after giving it some thought.

"Is the beauty on sale?" Shi Yunyang asked teasingly; she was someone who dared to make jokes about anyone.

Zuo Qinghuan glanced at Shi Yunyang, then at Qin Wanshu, who was just smiling back at her, seemingly waiting for her answer, or perhaps just watching the scene unfold without a care.

"Sure, I'll treat her for free," Zuo Qinghuan said straightforwardly, but her generosity was only directed at Qin Wanshu; the other two women had to pay for their meals.

"How about my looks?" Shi Yunyang insisted. She dismissed the serious Yan Ruoshan, but as a stunning beauty herself, she couldn't bear to be excluded.

"Not really my type," implying that Shi Yunyang's beauty wouldn't allow her to dine for free.

"What do I lack compared to her?" Shi Yunyang raised her eyebrows, growing more interested.

"Everything," was Zuo Qinghuan's honest opinion.

Although Shi Yunyang admitted that she might not measure up to Qin Wanshu in other aspects, she never thought her own beauty was inferior; she believed Zuo Qinghuan simply lacked appreciation.

"Settle the bill. There's no need to waive my share," Qin Wanshu interrupted Shi Yunyang, who was becoming increasingly serious and curious about Zuo Qinghuan. Qin Wanshu knew Shi Yunyang well; this girl tended to be interested in teasing and conquering those she couldn't easily win over, and her personality was quite troublesome.

Shi Yunyang wanted to say something more, but with Yan Ruoshan around, she didn't want to be laughed at and dropped the joke. Although she didn't care about the money, it did sting a bit to feel overlooked in terms of beauty. She cast a resentful glance at Qin Wanshu, wondering why there was a Wanshu but not a Yang. But her confidence quickly returned; after all, she had been in the same class as Qin Wanshu for many years, and the number of people pursuing her far exceeded those chasing after Qin Wanshu. Unbeknownst to her, most people yearned for someone like Qin Wanshu, and very few dared to pursue her.

Zuo Qinghuan gave Qin Wanshu the change without including her share, and Qin Wanshu merely glanced at her without making a fuss and left.

After 9 PM, there were very few customers, and Zuo Qinghuan prepared to have the staff close the store. As she counted the cash at the register, she felt quite satisfied. If they could maintain the current customer flow, they wouldn't be losing money. With that thought, Zuo Qinghuan felt reassured.

Once she finished counting, she noticed that Li Xin was cleaning up alone while the other two staff members had already left.

"You're one of the bosses; you shouldn't have to do this. Let them handle it," Zuo Qinghuan said, feeling that Li Xin could do the work of three people. After a whole day, she hadn't complained about being tired, making Zuo Qinghuan wonder if she was either torturing herself or just full of energy.

"I'm in a bad mood anyway, so I'll let them leave early," Li Xin replied as she continued mopping the floor without looking up.

"If all the bosses were like you, the employees would be thrilled," Zuo Qinghuan said, noticing that if Li Xin kept this up, she would turn into a tired housewife. Indeed, without the sweetness of love, this woman seemed rather dried out; Zuo Qinghuan thought it might be time to bring in some beauty to brighten her up. She didn't want a tired-looking woman running her store.

"You should head home first. I'll finish up and go back," Li Xin said thoughtfully.

"Alright, I'll head out then. Just finish up and don't take too long," Zuo Qinghuan said with concern, knowing that when Li Xin was in a bad mood, she liked to repeat chores, which was a form of obsessive-compulsive behavior that wasn't good for her.

As Zuo Qinghuan stepped out of the store, a flash of bright headlights nearly blinded her. She quickly recognized that the person in the car was Qin Wanshu.

Once the headlights dimmed, Zuo Qinghuan hurried to the front of Qin Wanshu's car and tapped on the window. Qin Wanshu rolled it down.

"Why haven't you gone home yet?" Zuo Qinghuan asked.

"Just got back from the office and happened to pass by. Do you want a ride?" Qin Wanshu asked gently.

What a coincidence! Zuo Qinghuan thought to herself. Actually, Qin Wanshu did get off work quite late, but whether she had passed by deliberately or subconsciously was unclear. She had seen the lights still on inside the store and stopped for a moment, and just as she was about to leave, Zuo Qinghuan appeared.

"Sure!" Zuo Qinghuan replied without hesitation, walking over to the other side of the car, opening the door, and taking a seat in the passenger seat.

Noticing that Zuo Qinghuan hadn't put on her seatbelt, Qin Wanshu leaned over to buckle it for her. Zuo Qinghuan smiled; she loved how attentive and meticulous Qin Wanshu was, always warming her heart inexplicably.

"What's making you so happy?" Qin Wanshu asked after seeing Zuo Qinghuan's radiant smile.

"I'm just happy to see you," Zuo Qinghuan replied matter-of-factly.

Qin Wanshu glanced at Zuo Qinghuan but didn't respond right away. After a moment, she finally spoke, "Thank you for the afternoon tea this afternoon."

"I couldn't help it; who told our beauty Qin to be so good-looking?" Zuo Qinghuan said with a smile, looking at Qin Wanshu's profile. Beauty Qin, indeed, was beautiful; Zuo Qinghuan liked that term.

Qin Wanshu found this way of addressing her somewhat improper; it felt awkward. She pursed her lips and stopped engaging with Zuo Qinghuan. Sometimes, her personality could be quite reserved.

"Which direction should I take you?" Qin Wanshu asked. To the golden house, or to that little single apartment?

"To the left." Zuo Qinghuan hadn't been back to the apartment that Han Shibin bought for her in a long time. Although the apartment was under her name, she considered whether or not to sell it, but she didn't dare to do so right now for fear of making Han Shibin furious.

As Qin Wanshu turned left with the car, she felt good knowing that Zuo Qinghuan was going back to her little apartment. In fact, her mood had been quite good all day.

Soon, they arrived at Zuo Qinghuan's place.

"Want to come in for a bit?" Zuo Qinghuan asked with her most charming eyes, like a puppy looking at its owner.

"No, it's too late." In fact, Han Shibin had called earlier to say he was coming to pick her up, but she had turned him down. It was indeed late, and if she didn't go back soon, Han Shibin would likely be worried sick.

"Just for a little while," Zuo Qinghuan said, grabbing Qin Wanshu's wrist. She hadn't seen Qin Wanshu in days and truly didn't want her to leave.

"Maybe not…" This time, Qin Wanshu's refusal was clearly not very firm. Compared to returning home to face the increasingly undesirable Han Shibin, she preferred spending time with Zuo Qinghuan.

"Come on, just for a little while." Seeing Qin Wanshu soften, Zuo Qinghuan eagerly took hold of Qin Wanshu's hand, half-dragging her into her home.

"Do you want to drink some red wine?" Zuo Qinghuan asked Qin Wanshu, who was sitting on the sofa after changing out of her pajamas.

Qin Wanshu shook her head. Due to her constitution, she was very sensitive to alcohol; just a little bit would easily get her drunk. It was simply how her body was, so she rarely touched alcohol.

"Then let me pour you a glass of juice." Zuo Qinghuan opened a bottle of red wine that she had smuggled back from the golden house. Having worked in a bar before, she was fairly familiar with alcohol, so she also made a fruit cocktail for Qin Wanshu.

Looking at the pink fruit cocktail, Qin Wanshu thought it was really juice, so she drank it down, finding it quite tasty, and had a few more sips.

Before long, Zuo Qinghuan noticed something was off. Qin Wanshu's pale face began to flush, and Zuo Qinghuan thought to herself, isn't Miss Qin unable to drink alcohol?

"Can't hold your liquor?" Zuo Qinghuan casually asked. God knows how wicked her intentions were when she asked that question, as she felt a thrill of excitement in her heart while doing so.

"Yeah, I get drunk easily," Qin Wanshu nodded, feeling as if her face was quite hot.

Seeing that Qin Wanshu was trying hard to stay clear-headed but was beginning to look somewhat dazed, Zuo Qinghuan noticed how Qin Wanshu's face was flushed red from the alcohol, making her look like a completely different person compared to her usual unfathomable self.

A wicked voice inside Zuo Qinghuan urged her to get Qin Wanshu drunk, and in fact, she was ready to do just that. She quickly mixed another fruit cocktail, this time with a noticeably higher alcohol concentration than before.

"This flavor of juice is also really good; you should give it a try," Zuo Qinghuan said with a smiling face, her expression resembling that of a villain luring a good woman.

Qin Wanshu felt something was off about the juice, but she couldn't resist Zuo Qinghuan's enthusiasm, so she took another couple of sips. Now her face was even redder, and her eyes looked even more hazy. It was at this point that Zuo Qinghuan was ready to transform the situation.

"Your face is so red…" Zuo Qinghuan leaned closer to Qin Wanshu, her fingers lightly caressing Qin Wanshu's delicate face. Her fingers slid down to Qin Wanshu's chin, gently lifting it up in a typical teasing manner, and with the effects of the alcohol, the scene turned ambiguous.

Although Qin Wanshu was a bit tipsy, she still retained some clarity. She felt Zuo Qinghuan's face getting closer to hers while her own face felt increasingly hot.

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