Zhao Youting was a bit unhappy. "Who did you go out with?"
Especially after he heard that Qin Qiao'er had gone out with Li Yanjin, he felt even more discontented. But he still managed to hold back and continued to ask, "Was it just the two of you?"
Qin Qiao'er didn't think much about it. "Yeah. I originally wanted to ask another girl from our crew, but it seemed that Li Yanjin didn't like that girl very much, so it was just the two of us."
Hearing this, Zhao Youting instantly became alert. "He wouldn't have deliberately wanted to have a meal alone with you, so he didn't let that girl come, would he?"
"Ah? I don't think so?" Qin Qiao'er was a bit surprised when she heard what Zhao Youting said. But then she thought it seemed to be just as Zhao Youting had said.
Li Yanjin hadn't made it clear yet why he disliked Li Moli. If it was really the case, the relationship between them would be so awkward.
While Qin Qiao'er was thinking about her relationship with Li Yanjin, Zhao Youting thought he had really guessed Li Yanjin's intention. He instantly felt a twinge of jealousy.
He subconsciously wanted to lose his temper, but then he remembered that Qin Qiao'er was a person who responded better to soft persuasion than harshness. If he lost his temper with her now and they were so far apart, when Qin Qiao'er got angry, he wouldn't even be able to console her.
Zhao Youting pretended to be extremely aggrieved. "I'm all alone at home, while you're out having a meal with another man and not even answering my calls."
After hearing this, Qin Qiao'er instantly felt quite guilty. It was really her fault today. She had forgotten to tell Zhao Youting about this, making him wait for her in vain for so long.
"Don't be angry. It was really my fault this time. Please forgive me, okay? I'll definitely make it up to you next time."
Zhao Youting took the opportunity to press his advantage. "Alas, I'm so unlucky. I've just started dating, but I'm left all alone at home."
Qin Qiao'er couldn't help but laugh. "As a family member, you always have to make some sacrifices."
"I want compensation." Zhao Youting said like a child.
"Okay. Whatever you ask for, I'll promise you."
Zhao Youting thought about it for a while in distress and found that he really didn't have any requests at the moment. So he set three conditions for Qin Qiao'er. Whenever he wanted to use these three wishes, Qin Qiao'er must help him fulfill them unconditionally.
Qin Qiao'er agreed to this request of Zhao Youting's. Then the two of them talked on the phone about how much they missed each other.
Before they knew it, Qin Qiao'er had been talking to Zhao Youting on the phone for quite a while. Suddenly, she realized that she was still having a meal with Li Yanjin.
She had been on the phone outside for such a long time. She took the phone down a bit to check the time and found that almost half an hour had passed.
She thought she had only been on the phone with Zhao Youting for a few minutes. They had been chatting so happily that they completely forgot how quickly time was passing.
Qin Qiao'er quickly hung up the phone with Zhao Youting and then went back into the restaurant.
After seeing Qin Qiao'er finally come back, Li Yanjin smiled helplessly. He hadn't expected Qin Qiao'er to be on the phone for so long.
"You're finally back. If you hadn't come back, I would have gone out to look for you to see if you didn't want to have a meal with me and had secretly left without me."
Qin Qiao'er quickly said, "No, no. There was just something. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long."
Although Qin Qiao'er seemed no different, Li Yanjin just keenly felt that Qin Qiao'er seemed more excited than before she made the phone call.
She was more lively than before. Li Yanjin began to wonder who had called Qin Qiao'er just now. Could it be Qin Qiao'er's boyfriend?
At this moment, Li Yanjin felt that he had been a bit hasty. He didn't even know if Qin Qiao'er had a boyfriend, yet he had rashly wanted to confess his feelings to her.
He just subconsciously thought that since Qin Qiao'er was a single mother, she shouldn't have a boyfriend. But now it seemed that he was always afraid that his judgment was a bit off.
So he asked tentatively, "Why did you take so long on the phone? Was it your boyfriend?"
Li Yanjin had been praying in his heart to hear a negative answer, but Qin Qiao'er just lowered her head and shyly smiled.
Hearing that Qin Qiao'er didn't deny it, Li Yanjin's heart sank.
Qin Qiao'er said, "I really regard you as a friend, so please don't tell anyone about this."
Li Yanjin smiled bitterly. He didn't know what expression to use to reply to Qin Qiao'er's words.
He was silent for a while. "...Okay."
This affection was thus nipped in the bud before it even had a chance to sprout.
Li Yanjin didn't know how he got back to the crew. On the way back, he was in a daze, immersed in his own emotions.
He didn't expect that Qin Qiao'er really had a boyfriend. It was his fault that he hadn't found out clearly before. After such a long period of being single, he had finally met a pretty good girl, but the girl was already taken.
On the way back, Li Yanjin suddenly remembered the first time he saw Qin Qiao'er. The man who was just following beside her seemed to say that he was her assistant.
But when Qin Qiao'er was officially filming, he didn't see that man. He originally thought that the assistant had quit, but now when he thought about it, that assistant seemed to be Qin Qiao'er's boyfriend.
At that time, just after the filming, the way that man rushed up to protect Qin Qiao'er completely showed that there was something going on between them. It was just that he hadn't cared much about Qin Qiao'er at that time, so he hadn't paid much attention.
Li Yanjin bitterly digested his unspoken crush in his heart. But he was also glad that he hadn't said it out yet, otherwise they might not even be able to be friends.
He also began to slowly persuade himself. Since they couldn't be a couple, he could face Qin Qiao'er in a more normal way. He might as well just think of it as mentoring a junior.
Anyway, he still really admired Qin Qiao'er. After getting along with Qin Qiao'er for these few days, he thought that Qin Qiao'er was also a very suitable person to be a friend. Qin Qiao'er trusted him very much and had told him about this.
Qin Qiao'er had no idea how conflicted Li Yanjin had been on the way back. While talking to Li Yanjin, she was also thinking in her mind how to make it up to Zhao Youting after she got back.
Just like this, they each with their own thoughts, the two of them returned to the crew.