The Maybach glided smoothly on the road towards the city center of Haicheng, while Pei Mingyuan rode his motorcycle, trailing not too far behind.
After Xu Zixi got in the car, she rolled down the window and stared out at the scenery, not even sparing a glance for Yan Yincheng sitting beside her.
Yan Yincheng didn't seem to mind her aloofness and avoidance. He silently opened the mini - fridge, rummaged inside, and took out a bottle of water. After unscrewing the cap, he held it out to her.
"Zixi, are you thirsty? Have some water."
However, after holding his hand in the air for a long time, she still didn't respond. Yan Yincheng felt a bit awkward and had to pull his hand back.
For the rest of the journey, they didn't say a single word to each other. But just sitting in silence like this already made Yan Yincheng feel extremely content. It was worth all the rush from Fengcheng back to Haicheng without even a moment's rest on the way.
The familiar, light and fresh fragrance from the woman wafted over continuously. Yan Yincheng felt as if he had returned to that night when they sat together watching the sunrise. The taut string in his mind gradually relaxed, and the exhaustion from his restless and hasty travels crept up bit by bit. Smelling that fragrance, he tilted his head and fell asleep on the seat.
Xu Zixi had been holding back her anger, waiting for Yan Yincheng's next move.
She didn't believe that he would really take her to the Japanese restaurant, nor did she believe that he had no designs on their two kids.
He must have some other motives for all this, right? Maybe he deliberately took her to a place to confine her so that she couldn't see the kids for days, forcing her to give up the custody of the kids to him. Or perhaps he deliberately took a roundabout way just not to take her home, and finally forced her to take him to see the two kids.
But after waiting for a long time, so long that she had lost her patience, he still remained silent. Frowning, she turned around, intending to question him, only to find that he had fallen asleep.
The afterglow of the setting sun filtered through the car window, spilling into the car and casting shadows on Yan Yincheng's sleeping profile. The light and shadow alternated with the scenery flashing by outside the window, as if dancing merrily on his face.
He did seem a bit thinner than before, and his skin was so fair that the blood vessels beneath it could be faintly seen. Compared to the exhaustion and nervousness when he first arrived, now his eyebrows were relaxed, and there was a faint smile on his lips. He looked sound asleep.
All her dissatisfaction and speculation seemed to fade away imperceptibly when she saw his relaxed sleeping face.
She propped her chin up and sighed silently, staring blankly at his profile.
By now, she couldn't figure out what this man was up to.
He knew how important the household register was to her, yet he still traveled all the way from Haicheng to Fengcheng, retrieved the document from the Yuan family, and even used it as a bargaining chip to make a bet with her. Although his bet was exactly what she wanted, wasn't he afraid that she would get even angrier? Was he so sure that she would accept his bet?
But how did he manage to get the household register from the Yuan family? Did he reveal their relationship to the public, telling everyone that they not only had a physical relationship but also had two children?
If the Yuan family knew that she had hooked up with the Yan family, especially with the uncle of Yan Zhen, would they be willing to let go so easily?
However, she hadn't received any harassing calls from the Yuan family during this period. Maybe the Yuan family didn't know where she was and didn't want to have anything to do with her. Did this mean that the Yuan family was willing, even eager, to hand over her household register to him?
What on earth had he done behind the scenes?
He said... he came here for her this time.
Could she really trust him again?
Maybe it was the long - lasting meeting that made her physically and mentally exhausted, or maybe the quiet atmosphere was too hypnotic. Xu Zixi gradually felt drowsy.
Just as she was about to fall into a dream, a shrill ringing suddenly broke the silence in the car. Xu Zixi snapped back to reality and instinctively looked at the person beside her. Yan Yincheng, who had been sleeping soundly, frowned slightly. She fumbled around in a hurry, took out the ringing phone from her coat pocket, answered it, and put it to her ear, unconsciously lowering her voice.
"Hello?"
"Miss! I'm at the parking lot of the project site! You can come out now!" Hu Ge's energetic voice came from the phone. Xu Zixi covered the receiver with one hand and turned to look to the right. She found that Yan Yincheng had sat up straight, apparently awake.
So she didn't try to hide it anymore. She said to Hu Yuankang, "You're late. I've left first. You can wait for me at... here." She gave Hu Yuankang the address of the Japanese restaurant.
"Are you going to have Japanese food tonight? With whom? Young Master Pei? Why didn't you wait for me? How could you take his motorcycle? Motorcycles are so dangerous. You could fall off easily. What if you get hurt?" Hu Ge slapped his thigh on the other end of the phone.
Yan Yincheng had said the same thing just now. Although she was reluctant to admit it, she did seem a bit willful just now.
Xu Zixi blushed. She said, "Don't worry. I didn't leave on the motorcycle. Anyway, just wait for me at the Japanese restaurant!"
After saying that, she hung up the phone and turned her face to the side, looking out of the window. But this time, after looking for a while, she couldn't sit still anymore. Turning back, she glared at Yan Yincheng fiercely, snatched the bottle of water he had offered her earlier, and took a sip as if to cover something up.
She wasn't going to forgive him that easily!
Finally, they arrived at the Japanese restaurant. As soon as the car stopped, Xu Zixi couldn't wait to open the door and jump out. Yan Yincheng was startled and shouted behind her, "Be careful!"
Xu Zixi landed steadily, snorted at him, then turned to join Pei Mingyuan, who had also just arrived, and walked towards the Japanese restaurant ahead.
Yan Yincheng got out of the car in a hurry and urged Wei Shu to catch up with them. But when they pushed open the door of the Japanese restaurant, they were stopped by a waitress in a kimono.
"Two gentlemen, do you have a reservation?"
The waitress's cheeks were flushed, and her eyes sparkled as she looked at Yan Yincheng. Her voice became soft unconsciously. Oh my god, how could there be such a good - looking man in the world?
Yan Yincheng ignored this woman who suddenly came up to flirt with him. He kicked Wei Shu and said anxiously, "Where are they?"
Wei Shu rubbed the place where he had been kicked aggrievedly and said to the waitress, "We're with the two guests who just came in."
The waitress came back to her senses, nodded slightly, and said coyly, "I'm sorry. The two guests just now reserved a private room for two. I haven't heard that they want to add more people."
"Then arrange a private room next to theirs for me." Yan Yincheng said impatiently. A private room for two, with a single man and a single woman inside. That Pei guy must have some ulterior motives!
"I'm really sorry, sir. All the private rooms next to that gentleman's are fully booked." The waitress said rather regretfully, "All the private rooms in our restaurant need to be reserved three days in advance. Now there are only seats in the hall left. What do you think..."
She pointed behind her. Wei Shu looked over and indeed saw only two empty seats left.
Was he supposed to dine in a crowded hall full of all kinds of smells?
Absolutely not!
Yan Yincheng said with a cold face, "In that case, I'll book this whole restaurant from now until midnight."