After Yan slipped back to the room, she hurriedly opened the closet to look for some clothes. After searching, she found that all her clothes were casual attire and none of them were more ladylike and feminine. After looking at it again, the most eye-catching piece of clothing in the closet was a dress. It was the floral dress that was sent to her that day at Han Qing’s house.
She took out the skirt and stood in front of the mirror for a moment while posing. She did not expect this to be the only lady-like dress out of all her clothes. However, this was the dress that Han Qing had given her. If she wore it to meet Han Qing, would it seem too insincere?
After thinking about it for a while, Yan was ready to go to the mall to buy some clothes. No, that would not do. She was almost broke now… She previously asked Little Bean to transfer her money to Han Qing, so she was now a pauper.
Yan checked her balance in her account and found that she only had 200 left. She stretched out her hand to support her chin and wondered if she should take a little advance from the restaurant for the time being. No way! The money in the restaurant was for stock-keeping and to pay the employees. If she went ahead and took an advance each time she had no money, how would she replenish stocks and pay her employees? Did she not want to operate the restaurant anymore? Thinking of this, Yan quickly dismissed the idea.
In the morning, Luo Huimei went out to the restaurant first. After she left, Yan quietly went over to her father’s side and sweetly called out, “Dad~”
Mr. Zhou was reading the newspaper, and when he heard the female voice calling out to him so suddenly, he turned to look at his daughter. “Yan? Are you looking for your mother? She went out.”
Yan parted her lips and forced out a smile. “No, I’m looking for you.”
“Looking for me?” Mr. Zhou heard the words and hurriedly put away the newspaper while he put on a serious expression. “Is there anything important?”
Seeing her father like this, Yan was feeling a little hesitant. Although she had said that she did not want her parents’ money when she first opened the restaurant, her parents still secretly paid the expenses for her. Of course, she knew that her parents had a substantial amount of savings after so many years. Furthermore, she was their only daughter. The couple had no other interest either. They neither gambled nor spent on unnecessary items. As such, they had plenty of savings.
Now, Yan wanted to ask her father for some money, but it was so difficult to speak. Since she was already a grown-up, she felt that she had to honor her parents. In the end, though, she opened a restaurant and allowed her parents to pay for her without speaking up. Now that she had no money, she even needed to ask for it from her parents. What would that look like?
“Yan?”
Yan smiled and shook her head. “It’s nothing. I just noticed that you seem to have more white hair now. If you’re tired, then you should just cancel our restaurant’s delivery service. It doesn’t earn as much and it’s tiring for you.”
Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhou immediately rejected her request. “We can’t possibly do that. Is the money earned from doing deliveries not money? I’m not working anymore, and if I don’t even help out in your restaurant, what kind of person would I be? Don’t say these things about wanting me to grow old peacefully. If I sit here all day without moving, won’t I become paralyzed after a long while?”
“But you’ll be running under the sun by doing the delivery service…”
“Alright, alright. If this is what you want to say, then just return to your room. I won’t listen.” After speaking, Mr. Zhou picked up his newspaper and covered his face, refusing to talk to Yan any longer.
Yan was at a loss. “Dad!”
Mr. Zhou continued to cover his face with the newspaper, ignoring her. Yan was left with no choice but to go back to her room. She looked at the clothes for a while and finally wore what she usually wore.
When she went out, Yan was still thinking. Since I usually dress like this anyway, why should I change myself after getting together with him? Since he’s willing to be with me, then it means that he’s already accepted what I usually look like. However, she actually wished to better herself so that she could match up to him. Although… the distance between people was sometimes much too far. Given his career achievements, she might not be able to catch up to him even after a lifetime.
Thinking about this, Yan was a bit sad again. She ended up not buying anything and instead, hailed a cab to go look for Han Qing.
When Han Qing received Yan’s message, it was ten minutes after she first sent it. Seeing the message sent by his little lady, he frowned instantly and immediately called her.
Yan was squatting on the side of the road, staring at the scene in front of her in a daze. She was obviously near the location, but she could not find it at all. There were so many villas around, but she did not know which one it was. She wanted to call Han Qing at the first moment, but after looking at the time, she thought that it was still quite early. After all, the initial plan was for her to go shopping first before coming to look for Han Qing in the afternoon.
However, the plan had changed. She did not go shopping or eat breakfast and came over directly. She could not wait to see him. Even so, she was afraid of disturbing him at the same time. After thinking about it, Yan only sent him a WeChat message.
After waiting for a few minutes without a reply, Yan was actually thankful that she had not called. If she had, she would definitely have woken him up. Then, she thought that since she was already here, she should just find a place to squat down and stare at the grass in front of her while daydreaming.
It was unknown how long she had waited for when the phone suddenly vibrated. It was Han Qing calling her. Yan’s heartbeat sped up as she answered the call. “Hello?”
“Where are you?” Han Qing went out after putting on his shoes and started looking around.
Yan pursed her lips and chuckled. “Are you awake? You don’t have to rush out to find me. Didn’t I send you a message on WeChat? I knew you weren’t up yet since you didn’t reply, so I just walked around the area. You don’t have to rush. You should go wash up and have breakfast first. Once you’re free, you can—”
“Look up.” Suddenly, Han Qing interrupted her.
Yan was frozen in place, then she slowly lifted her head as per Han Qing’s orders. At a glance, she saw Han Qing standing not too far away from her. He was wearing a long knitted sweater and a pair of trousers while basking in the morning sun. As he did not have time to tidy up his hair earlier, he looked a little disheveled. He was holding his phone in his hand, and his faint gaze fell on her face. Then, his thin lips parted slightly. “Wait for me to come over.”
Yan simply stared blankly at the man as he made his way over. She did not react until he was in front of her. She stood up and smiled awkwardly, saying, “Why’d you come out so soon? And… is your place that near? When I came over before, I didn’t pay attention, so…”
While talking halfway, Yan suddenly felt her eyes going dark as she fell forward uncontrollably. Han Qing grabbed her arm in time and pulled her into his embrace.
Crash! Yan’s head slammed into Han Qing’s arms. She was feeling dizzy, but at least she had not fallen to the ground.
“What’s wrong?” Han Qing frowned, and at that moment, it was obvious that the little lady’s complexion was not looking too good. Then, she fell forward again as if she was about to faint. He asked, “Did you squat for too long?”
Yan closed her eyes and bit her lower lip, nodding.
