Zong Yanxi refused to move a muscle although Gu Xian stood holding the car door for her.
“Come on. You’re too heavy for me to carry you,” he teased.
Zong Yanxi glared at him and grunted. After she got off the car, Gu Xian locked the door and dragged her into the restaurant.
“A table for two,” he said to the waiter.
“Over here.” The waiter gestured towards a nearby table.
Zong Yanxi followed behind listlessly as she locked her gaze on the ground. She even let out a groan when Gu Xian jabbed her with his elbow. “Hey! It’s Jiang Mohan,” Gu Xian alerted her.
Before she could even pull herself together, she spotted Jiang Mohan seated at the other table. He seemed to be engaged in serious talk when he sensed someone looking at him and turned his head towards them.
Zong Yanxi quickly straightened her back and put up a smile. “President Jiang,” she greeted.
Jiang Mohan nodded at her and shifted his gaze to check out Gu Xian, who in turn, scoffed and pulled Zong Yanxi back to their seat.
“Get me all the best dishes you have here,” Gu Xian told the waiter coldly without even looking at the menu.
Zong Yanxi widened her eyes and stared at him in bewilderment.
What’s wrong with him?
Why is he so worked up all of a sudden?
It took the waiter a while to come back to his senses and he quickly replied, “Sure. We’ll serve you the best food we have.”
After the waiter left, Gu Xian leaned forward and said softly, “We must pretend like we’re a couple.”
Zong Yanxi sat back and replied apathetically, “I’m not into kids.”
Gu Xian rolled his eyes hard and grumbled. “You’re the kid here.”
But Zong Yanxi leaned closer as a frown spread across her brows. “Tell me, what’s wrong with you?”
“I could feel your ex-husband’s hostility from the way he scrutinized me back there. Why don’t we pretend like a couple and make him angry?” Gu Xian proposed with a cunning smile.
Zong Yanxi smacked her lips and glared at him. “Hey! I’m not his ex-wife. I’m Lin Ruixi!”
Gu Xian put on a wry smile and did not know what else to say.
“Excuse me,” a voice interjected their conversation. Two waiters stood by their table and filled the whole table with yummy dishes in no time.
Before Zong Yanxi could even berate Gu Xian for his impulsive decision, the latter spoke up first.
“You’re paying for the meal. You’re still richer than me although you’re not Zong Yanxi anymore.”
Seeing Zong Yanxi had not recovered from the surprise and still had her gaze glued to all the dishes, Gu Xian added, “Cut me some steak and feed me.”
Zong Yanxi could not believe what she just heard. “Are you crazy? It’s not like you hurt your hands!”
Gu Xian smiled cheekily. “Your ex-husband is looking at us.”
Indeed, Jiang Mohan was really looking at them when Zong Yanxi sneaked a peek in his direction.
But still, she ignored Gu Xian and busied herself with the food.
Yet Gu Xian refused to give up. “Honey! Be careful! The soup is hot!” he exclaimed in an unnecessarily loud voice.
Zong Yanxi looked up at him with a confused look.
She sensed other diners were looking at them and facepalmed in embarrassment.
She wished she could just drive a hole through the ground and hid in it.
I swear this person is deranged.
Behind them, Jiang Mohan ended his discussion with another person and walked out of the restaurant.
Gu Xian winked sarcastically with a nasty smile when he saw Jiang Mohan left.
After the meal, Gu Xian walked over to the counter to pay but Zong Yanxi quickly followed after him. “I’ll pay!” she volunteered.
“I was just kidding. I wanted to cheer you up. How can I let a woman pay? I won’t be broke just because of a meal,” he said.
“I’m your friend, not just any woman,” Zong Yanxi insisted.
But Gu Xian refused to let her pay and took out his card. After paying, he kept his card back in his wallet and gestured to leave.
“Are you feeling better?” he asked as they walked out of the restaurant.
“I’m feeling better,” Zong Yanxi replied with a cheerful smile.
“I’ll send you home,” Gu Xian offered.
“It’s fine. I’ll take a cab back.”
“Come on. You’re not going back alone at night,” Gu Xian said with a worrying tone as he shoved her in the car.
“Hey! Stop being unreasonable!” Zong Yanxi retaliated.
“At least I’m not as unreasonable as your ex-husband!” Gu Xian cried out.
“I won’t talk to you anymore if you keep bringing him up,” Zong Yanxi warned.
She hated it when people kept talking about Jiang Mohan.
“Alright, alright. I’m sorry. I won’t mention him again,” Gu Xian apologized.
“There’s no next time,” she reiterated. She really did not like it when people brought up the past—especially Gu Xian.
“Are you really angry?” Gu Xian probed carefully, surveying her face.
“What do you think?” she said with a fierce glare.
“I won’t do it again.” Gu Xian made a sincere promise.
He started the engine and suddenly remembered she wanted a drink. “Still want to hit the bar?” he asked.
“Gu Xian, how could you be so mean to me?” she grumbled. “Just drive and don’t talk to me,” she added and closed her eyes, pretending to sleep.
Gu Xian knew she wanted some space and decided to leave her alone.
He pulled up beside her hotel after a short drive and Zong Yanxi got off. Gu Xian wound down the window and shouted, “Do you want me to stay?”
Zong Yanxi was down and Gu Xian was worried she had no one to turn to.
“I’ll be okay,” Zong Yanxi replied. She was already feeling better after the drive.
Instead of heading right into the hotel, she stood beside the road and said, “I’ll see you off.”
Gu Xian waved her goodbye and drove off.
Just as Zong Yanxi was about to turn and head towards the hotel, she spotted two people lurking behind some flower pots near the entrance.
She lowered her head and a shadow passed over her face.
Zong Yanxi searched for Li Chengjie’s contact on her phone and asked if he had everything settled. A text came back swiftly: Everything has been arranged.
After reading the message, she kept her mobile phone and walked casually towards a nearby supermarket. She strolled between the shelves slowly as she anticipated an ambush.
Just as she came out of the supermarket with a bottle of water, two men approached her and whispered, “Chengjie sent us. We’ll act now.”
The men did not wait for her reply but grabbed her into the car.
The car sped off in no time, heading towards a burnt house in the suburbs. The house had suffered so much damage it was barely recognizable.
But how could Zong Yanxi not recognize that place?
