Chapter 39: Taking Him to Eat at a Street Stall

When Ye Wangchuan saw the girl looking back from the roadside, a look of surprise clouded his deep eyes. He crushed the cigarette between his fingers and strode toward her.

Raising an eyebrow in surprise, he grabbed her left wrist and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Qiao Nian only saw a tall figure looming over her, radiating an intense sense of pressure. With her wrist caught, her temples throbbed. Forcing herself to suppress the urge to break free, she said nonchalantly, "I heard there was a good milk tea shop nearby, so I came to buy some."

"Buy milk tea?"

"Mm-hmm."

Ye Wangchuan frowned. He didn't know if there were any milk tea shops on this street, but there were plenty of bars.

While he was smoking in the corner just now, he had noticed several men glancing toward the roadside, muttering something about "nice legs." He had looked over to see what they were talking about.

And there she was, standing by the road, completely oblivious!

Pressing his fingers against his brow to suppress a rising irritation, Ye Wangchuan asked in a low voice, "So, did you get it?"

Qiao Nian spread her hands and replied casually, "I bought it. The taste was mediocre, so I drank half and threw the rest in the trash."

"..."

Ye Wangchuan hadn't interacted with many people her age before. Recalling himself at eighteen, he didn't seem to have possessed the same wildness in his eyes and expression.

She was like an untamable wolf!

Her eyes were filled with an irrepressible sense of madness and nonchalance.

"Shouldn't you be in class at this hour?"

Qiao Nian was as calm as if she hadn't been caught red-handed, talking nonsense with a straight face. "There are no classes on the first day of school. I came out to buy milk tea after school ended."

His gaze deepened. He released her wrist, his expression softening. "Haven't eaten yet? Let's go. I'll treat you to dinner."

Qiao Nian shot him a surprised look. "You're really treating me to dinner?"

Ye Wangchuan found it somewhat amusing. His seductive voice sounded as if it were brushing against her ear. "How can an invitation to dinner be fake? If it were fake, you could just treat me instead."

"Let's go, my treat. You can eat whatever you want."

Qiao Nian's dark eyes seemed to be scrutinizing him. "Anything really?"

Ye Wangchuan didn't actually intend for her to pay. Seeing her long, thick, slightly upturned eyelashes, he sensed her disbelief. His thin lips curled into a smirk, finding her interesting. "Yes, anything. Whatever you want to eat, just say it."

The wildness at the corners of Qiao Nian's eyes seemed to bloom again, and she appeared to smile. "Fine, you said it!"

...

Twenty minutes later, the legendary Lord Wang of Beijing stood before an outdoor street stall by the roadside, unable to move for a long moment.

"We're here."

Qiao Nian walked over familiarly to greet the owner.

"Auntie Chen, how's business today?"

There was only a single tricycle by the roadside, fitted with a few simple wooden boards covered by a clean, neatly washed floral tablecloth. On the table, over twenty plastic baskets were arranged tidily, filled with strings of vegetables and meat.

At the very back of the tricycle sat a pot emitting spicy, hot steam, with a woman in her forties busy working in front of it.

Seeing Qiao Nian, the woman was clearly delighted. Amidst her busy work, she flashed a surprised and happy smile and greeted her, "Niannian, you're here!"

"Yeah, school ended early, so I thought I'd stop by." Qiao Nian spoke with an easy familiarity, as if they were very close.

This was the first time Ye Wangchuan had seen her so relaxed, and his furrowed brow smoothed out significantly.

It was his first time at a street stall. He wasn't picky about his surroundings, but the place Qiao Nian had brought him to exceeded his expectations.

The stall was located right at a crossroad corner where the sidewalk was exceptionally wide. About thirty tables were scattered around the tricycle, and even though it wasn't yet seven o'clock, they were almost all full.

Most of the customers were young people, some wearing school uniforms, likely students from nearby schools who had just finished class.

(End of Chapter)