By the time Zong Jinghao and Lin Xinyan came downstairs, the other occupants were already waiting at the dining table. Qin Ya was taking care of Lin Ruixi while Lin Xichen was eating his breakfast on his own, as he was independent enough to feed himself.
“Seems like I’m not too late. Just in time for breakfast.” Bai Yinning rolled himself in through the entrance.
He then turned to Lin Xinyan with a smile. “You’re the one who said you want to treat me to a meal, yet I have to chase you around. In this case, I think the bill should be on me and not you.”
Lin Xinyan had her mind occupied by the prank doll incident, hence she had totally forgotten about her promise. Feeling embarrassed, she replied, “I’m sorry. I’ve forgotten about it.”
“Oh, not a problem. I’m here to ask you out now.” Bai Yinning glanced at Zong Jinghao as he spoke, “Why not treat me for breakfast today?”
The man’s hands on Lin Xinyan’s shoulder slid down to her waist. Exerting some force, the woman was dragged closer to him and her figure was pressed tightly against his body. Zong Jinghao put on a fake smile as he eyed Bai Yinning. “Mr. Bai, don’t tell me you’re too poor to even afford your own meal?”
With a flicker in his eyes, the wheelchair-bound man ignored the other man’s hands on Lin Xinyan’s waist and replied with a faint smile, “No food tastes as good if it’s not treated by Ms. Lin. Even the most exquisite ones.”
Lin Xinyan’s gaze wavered between Bai Yinning and Zong Jinghao as they talked. Why did she have a feeling that these two were secretly fighting?
Were those sparks flying between them?
Since she was the one who promised to treat Bai Yinning in the first place, she shouldn’t go back on her words now. “Fine, then let’s eat together.”
Taking a look at their table, the man noticed that half of the seats were occupied by their gang. However, he still smiled politely. “Since you’re treating me, I don’t think it’s appropriate to eat with so many people. Shouldn’t you ask me what I want to eat?”
“I’m sorry. I’m being careless. Where do you want to eat then? Anything you’re craving for now?” Lin Xinyan’s face twitched at his words. She didn’t expect him to be so picky today.
She had always thought he was pretty easy going.
“After turning right from the hotel, there’s a very famous dumpling restaurant nearby. The breakfast set is pretty delicious and their crystal dumpling is my personal favorite. Mind to treat me that?”
With her smile still plastered on her face, she agreed, “Ok.”
Until then, Lin Xinyan still didn’t notice that Bai Yinning only wanted her to treat him alone. The man confirmed with her slyly, “You’re only treating me, right?”
The woman nodded without further doubt, “Yes.”
The man returned a bright smile. “Then wouldn’t it be inappropriate for Mr. Zong to tag along?”
This man is pushing his luck! The words rang in Zong Jinghao’s mind and were twirling on his tongue, threatening to slip out of his mouth. He was about to say it out loud when he felt a tug on his arm.
Lin Ruixi had come over to him and was tugging on his sleeves. “Daddy, come and eat with me. I’ve just peeled you an egg.”
Lin Xinyan stroked her daughter’s hair. “Behave well, Ruixi.” She then turned to Zong Jinghao. “Please take good care of Ruixi.”
“Daddy! Come and have a look at my peeled egg…” Just like how she dragged her mother this morning, Lin Ruixi dragged her father towards the dining table.
Once the two sat down, Lin Xinyan approached Bai Yinning, ready to go. “Let’s go.”
The man rolled his wheelchair out and took the lead.
Since the restaurant was not far, the two did not drive there. Gao Yuan did not tag along as well.
“You’re not mad at me, right?” Bai Yinning asked once they were out of the hotel.
Lin Xinyan smiled. “I’m the one who offered to treat you and I’ve forgotten about it. Sorry about that.”
“I mean, you’re not mad at me for asking only you out, right?”
Lin Xinyan was indeed surprised when he insisted on asking her out alone.
“Actually, I need your help. I cannot say it with so many people around, that’s why I asked you out alone,” Bai Yinning answered honestly.
That was the reason he called the woman so early in the morning to ask her about the treat. It was all because he wanted to talk about his problems in private.
“If it’s within my abilities,” Lin Xinyan replied sincerely. No matter what, this man had saved her life. Although Zong Jinghao had returned the favor to him forcefully, she still felt indebted to him. Since fate let them meet, they could be considered as friends now. Plus, Bai Yinning had never harmed her ever since they knew each other.
“I’m glad to hear that.” Bai Yinning smiled and nudged with his chin. “It’s right in front.”
“Don’t you have something to say?” Lin Xinyan was confused.
“Yes, I do. But breakfast is more important. I can’t let you starve.”
Bai Yinning seemed to be a regular customer here. The moment he arrived, a waiter opened the door for him and led them to a private room without waiting for his orders. Then, the waiters served them their signature breakfast set. Amongst the dish was the crystal dumpling mentioned just now.
Bai Yinning took a piece of dumpling with his chopsticks and placed it on the woman’s plate. “Try this.”
Lowering her head, Lin Xinyan observed the dumpling. It was named as crystal dumpling because of its crystal clear skin. The fillings inside could be clearly seen. Before she took a bite, the man across her reminded, “Eat it in one mouthful. There’s gravy in it, so it’ll spill if you bite.”
Hearing that, Lin Xinyan stuffed the whole dumpling into her mouth. It was slightly bigger than the usual soup dumplings. Immediately, the thick seafood aroma of the fillings, gravy and its thin skin filled her mouth. The taste wasn’t uncomfortably fishy. Instead, she felt very satisfied to eat such a delicious dumpling in one mouthful. Covering her mouth to stop the gravy from dripping out, the woman knew she must have looked ugly with poor table manners.
Bai Yinning passed her a napkin. “Don’t feel embarrassed. This is how you should eat it. It tastes the best this way.”
Lin Xinyan accepted his napkin and wiped her mouth. After swallowing her food, the woman sipped a mouthful of porridge. It was just plain porridge and there was no special taste to it at the first sip. But when she swallowed it, a faint yet pleasant smell of boiled bone marrow filled her cavity.
“This is marrow bone porridge. The pork flesh is removed from the ribs, leaving behind the bones to boil into a soup. After that, the rice is washed and poured in a porcelain pot. Lastly, the pork soup is poured into the porcelain pot and it is boiled for an hour. It looks just like any other plain porridge, but its nutritional value and taste is way beyond any normal porridge.”
Lin Xinyan turned to Bai Yinning in surprise, as if she had just discovered a new continent. “You study about food?”
The man took a gulp of water and rested his gaze on the swaying water in his glass. A while later, he lifted his gaze. “I didn’t really study. Will you believe me if I say that I studied this overnight for you?”
The poor woman choked on her porridge after hearing his words. She felt her mouthful of porridge stuck in her throat and began coughing. Cough! Cough!
Bai Yinning passed her a cup of water. “Wash it down with some water.”
Lin Xinyan gulped a big mouthful of water, which did the trick as he said. Putting down her cup, the woman wiped her mouth with her napkin. “Mr. Bai, this joke of yours is not funny.”
Lin Xinyan pretended she didn’t get the underlying meaning of his words and played it off as a joke.
Bai Yinning smiled in response. “Fine, if you say so.”
When they were almost done with their meal, Lin Xinyan asked directly, “Alright. What do you need my help for?”
The man thought for a moment before speaking, “It’s regarding the prank doll incident.”
Lin Xinyan tried to hold herself as she thought. He too has a clue? That’s fast!
“Mr. Zong suspected that a friend of mine did it.” His usual smile slowly vanished when he mentioned about Yao Qingqing.
Yao Qingqing was not just any other person. She was a part of his memory; his memory in the orphanage.
She was like family to him. Like himself, Yao Qingqing was also an orphan.
Both of them were raised in the orphanage. That was why he had to help her once he found out that Yao Qingqing was his childhood companion in the orphanage.
“She’s been a very timid and kind-hearted person since young. I remember there was a time when some kids at the same orphanage as I caught a puppy and wanted to barbeque it for dinner.” He could see the shock on Lin Xinyan’s face and smiled at her look. “Surprising, right?”
The horrified woman nodded honestly.
“The daily expenses of the orphanage relied mainly on the donations by the public and subsidies by the government. However, how much money actually reached the hands of the children?” His tone turned sarcastic as he continued. “Most of the time, we were grateful enough to have a filling meal, let alone having meat. There was hardly any oil in our dishes and absolutely no meat to go with our meal.”
“The few kids who caught the puppy were slightly older than the two of us, hence they dared to do anything just to fill their stomachs, and even said that barbequed dog meat is nutritious and tastes good. Qingqing saw them doing that and let go of that puppy. We were stuck in the orphanage, so once the puppy escaped, there was no way to catch it back.
The older kids knew she was the one who had helped the puppy escape, hence they beat her up badly. I only managed to save her by calling the principal over. Qingqing was bedridden for a week after that. I asked her whether or not she regretted her actions, and she said she did not. So, will a kind-hearted soul like her resort to such horrifying means to frighten a child?”
Lin Xinyan dared not make any comments for now. Who knows? People might change.
“Then do you know everything about the current Yao Qingqing?” Lin Xinyan asked.
