He didn't say "rely on me", nor did he ask again "why don't you need me".
It seemed that his decision to stop pursuing the matter of her estrangement was already a huge concession on his part.
All she had to do was follow this new "instruction".
Meng Ruozhao's fingers on the edge of the table suddenly curled.
An indescribable sense of revulsion welled up in her heart.
She disliked this kind of dominance, and even feared it.
It was as if someone had once restricted her life in the same way.
But she couldn't show her disgust anymore. So she tilted her head up, meeting Yan Qiubai's gaze that carried both an order and a hidden expectation, and simply replied with a soft "mm".
If one looked closely, a faint, ambiguous glimmer seemed to flit across those clear eyes.
But Yan Qiubai didn't notice. He was overjoyed by that soft "mm".
When the dishes were served, he even helped her dish out the food himself, taking note of her food taboos. He almost wanted to feed her himself.
Du Xixi, who had been completely ignored, bit her lip in secret.
How could Meng Ruozhao easily calm Yan Qiubai's anger just by offering a perfunctory apology?
Moreover, he had become so attentive and eager to please her!
A strong sense of jealousy and unease instantly seized her heart.
She managed to maintain a smile on her face, but her nails were almost digging into her palm.
However, soon she regained her composure and even chatted with Xu Tingyu for a few words.
Halfway through the meal, when Du Xixi suddenly bent over, covering her stomach, Yan Qiubai subconsciously frowned.
"Qiubai, my stomach hurts so much."
She deliberately leaned towards Yan Qiubai while stealing glances at Meng Ruozhao from the corner of her eye.
"Do you need to go to the hospital?"
His inquiry was polite and restrained, with just the right amount of concern in his voice, as if he were talking to any ordinary friend who wasn't feeling well.
"Maybe it's because I've been busy with a project recently and haven't been eating properly."
As Du Xixi spoke, her eyelashes fluttered. But when Yan Qiubai wasn't looking, she quickly glanced at Meng Ruozhao.
"You guys don't get to see each other often. I don't want to interrupt you. I'll just call a cab myself."
Normally, Yan Qiubai could have sent Du Xixi away with someone else. But he didn't bring his driver today.
Moreover, it was raining so heavily outside. Du Xixi had come with him after all.
It wasn't proper to let a lady go to the hospital alone.
"It's raining too hard outside. I'll take you there."
He quickly made a decision, his voice gentle as good manners required.
"Chaolao, wait for me here."
He quickly calculated in his mind how long it would take to go to the hospital and come back.
It would take at most an hour. Then he could come back and still have time to watch a movie with Meng Ruozhao.
Before Meng Ruozhao could say anything, Yan Qiubai had already helped Du Xixi up and led her towards the parking lot.
Watching their figures disappear at the door, Meng Ruozhao couldn't help but smile helplessly.
It was really a pity that her wonderful stepsister didn't become an actress with such great acting skills.
From bending over and holding her stomach to looking at Yan Qiubai pitifully, it all seemed like she had rehearsed it countless times.
After all, she, her "good stepsister", was still sitting there!
When she wasn't feeling well, instead of asking her for help, she directly turned to her future brother - in - law.
Yan Qiubai was also quite interesting. He could have taken Meng Ruozhao with him, but instead he made her wait there.
She lowered her head and saw the smile on her lips reflected on the silver tableware - a third of self - mockery and seven - tenths of confusion.
How ridiculous!
This man had just asked her to care about him more, but then he turned around and left her alone.
Maybe in this three - person game, she was the extra intruder.
Fortunately, she had originally planned to dine alone. So she tried to ignore this little episode and silently finished the dishes she had ordered.
When the waiter came to refill her tea for the third time, she realized that Yan Qiubai and the others had been gone for almost two hours.
The rain outside hadn't stopped and seemed to be getting heavier.
She couldn't just sit there and wait forever. So she decided to call Yan Qiubai to ask if he was coming back.
Just as she picked up the phone, his message came.
"Your sister needs to have some examinations. I can't leave. Go back first."
Meng Ruozhao couldn't quite tell how she felt. There was a sense of disappointment, but also a bit of relief.
She quickly replied with a message: "Okay."
She wanted to say more, but nothing seemed appropriate. So she just said nothing.
After paying the bill, she opened the ride - hailing app. When she saw that it showed "258 people in front of you in the queue", her emotions finally fluctuated.
There were not only many restaurants here with a large number of diners, but also many office buildings. If she waited, who knew how long it would take?
She didn't want to waste her time waiting. So she decided to go to the next intersection to try her luck.
Before she had walked very far, she unexpectedly ran into Pei Jiangmu, whom she had met just a few hours ago.
He was still wearing the clothes she had lent him, but he had taken off the coat and was only left with a shirt.
Probably he had been caught in the rain again. His shirt was completely soaked, water was dripping from his hair ends, and his sneakers were completely soaked in water.
The passing girls kept stealing glances at this disheveled but still dazzling man.
"Sister!"
He also noticed her quickly. When he trotted over, he almost slipped and managed to hold onto a street lamp just in time to avoid kneeling in front of her.
It turned out that the company where he had an interview in the afternoon was nearby.
When Meng Ruozhao entered the restaurant, his interview had just ended.
When he learned that she couldn't get a cab, his eyes lit up amazingly.
"My car will be here soon. Sister can go with me."
The rain slid down his trembling eyelashes. Meng Ruozhao vaguely saw a puppy soaked in the rain.
She tilted her umbrella halfway towards him and couldn't help asking, "Where's your umbrella?"
How could the person who had left her shop in good condition just a few hours ago suddenly look so disheveled?
"I'm sorry."
He lowered his head, like a person who had done something wrong, and his voice got softer and softer.
"I left my umbrella at the entrance of the office building. When I came out, it was gone. There were so many people interviewing today. Maybe someone took it by mistake..."
Since he had lost his umbrella, he had to run in the rain to wait for the bus here.
But there were too many people taking the bus. He waited for one bus after another and finally decided to take a cab.
"I'm really glad I took a cab. Otherwise, I wouldn't have met sister, and I couldn't have taken sister with me."
As he said this, he looked up at her again and even stepped out of the umbrella on his own initiative.
"No need. I'm already soaked. I'm just sorry, sister, for getting your clothes wet."
"I'll send them to the dry - cleaner. I'll also compensate you for all the losses."
The words of apology came out of his mouth like a kind of incantation, as if repeating them a few more times could make all the bad things disappear.
Just as he lowered his head to apologize, a withered leaf from the green belt was picked up by the wind and landed on his shoulder.
It was like a butterfly wing knocked down by the wind and rain, just like him.
"No need to compensate."
She reached out involuntarily, plucked off the leaf, her eyebrows showing a mixture of helplessness and tenderness.
"And there's no need to say sorry to me anymore. I'm not that easy to get angry."
"It's just clothes. It doesn't matter if they get wet or dirty."
She knew that the coat he had taken off must be in his bag. He must have taken it off because he was afraid of getting it wet.