He probably came here to have some ramen. I shouldn’t panic yet. Before I’ve understood everything, I need to remain calm. Yan calmed down after she convinced herself. She then took a deep breath and headed downstairs. As she came down the stairs, she tried to remain composed and she greeted Lin Xuzheng as usual after facing him. Then, she entered the kitchen.
As soon as she got into the kitchen, she started to cook the ramen. She remembered Lin Xuzheng’s face when they met. His eyes and facial expression don’t seem odd to me. I don’t think he knows that girl was me. That’s a relief. If he knows about it, what nonsense will he tell Han Qing? She had no idea whether she was actually pregnant or not, so she wanted to use the pregnancy test kit to test it. If this incident turns out to be false, it’d be very awkward for me. Therefore, I must only keep it to myself before making sure of it. When I head to the pharmacy later on, I can’t be as reckless as today.
Meanwhile, Lin Xuzheng was in the private room, looking playfully at the bag he placed next to him. No one was able to tell from his face whether he was laughing or not. He knew that this time, his good friend had landed himself in a sticky situation. I never expected the two of them to progress this fast. I wonder what my steadfast friend would look like in this situation, and what will his expression be when he realizes that he is about to be a father?
If possible, Lin Xuzheng wanted to bring this bag of pregnancy test kits to Han Qing and mock him a few times to see the changes on his friend’s face. Just the thought of it was enough to amuse Lin Xuzheng. Sadly, I took these from Yan. Since she is a girl, it’s better for me to keep it as a secret for her.
When Yan brought the ramen into the private room, she let out a soft cough to suppress her guilt. After that, she placed the bowl of ramen in front of Lin Xuzheng. “Xuzheng.”
Lin Xuzheng gave her a glance and realized that the young lady avoided eye contact with him. It was obvious that she lacked the courage to look into his eyes. Am I that scary? She has already recognized me as a good friend, so why doesn’t she dare to look at me now? “Alright, have a seat.”
Yan sat in front of him. She probably still felt guilty because her breathing was so low that it seemed she was trying her best to reduce her presence in the scene. Meanwhile, Lin Xuzheng calmly picked up a pair of chopsticks and started to eat gently in front of her. Usually, she would have a lot to talk about with him, but she remained silent today.
“What is it?” He suddenly raised his head to look at her.
“Huh?” Yan stared at his eyes like a frightened bird. “Xuzheng, what is it?”
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Lin Xuzheng felt amused as he glanced at her. “Why are you so quiet today? Don’t you have anything to tell me?”
“Ah, no.” She kept on waving her hands in denial. “I’m just thinking of something else. It’s not that I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Oh?” Lin Xuzheng raised his brows. “What are you thinking of? Can you tell me?”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea. You are still eating, so I’m afraid of disturbing you.”
“I’m bored anyway. You can just come out with it.” With that, Lin Xuzheng lowered his head again to eat the ramen. Yan felt embarrassed about the situation. “It’s nothing. I’m just thinking whether to hire an extra person in the shop.”
Hire an extra person? “Eh? Is there not enough employees in the shop now? Are you preparing to step down?” Is she trying to make way for her pregnancy later on?
Hearing him asking her whether she wanted to step down, she immediately had goosebumps all over her, becoming vigilant. “N-No. I’m just… thinking that my parents are a bit busy, so I’m considering hiring an extra person.”
“I see. Your parents are not young anymore and they shouldn’t be this busy, so it’s quite nice of you to hire a few more people. Do you have a preference? Do you need me to choose for you?”
“No need for that. I’m not in a hurry. We can take it slowly till we find the right choice.”
“That works too.”
After a moment of silence, Yan felt that she couldn’t stay here for long, so she found an excuse to leave. “Xuzheng, it’s a bit busy downstairs. Is it alright if I leave you here alone today?”
“It’s fine. I noticed that your business is good when I came in. You can head down and continue with your work.”
“I’m so sorry, Xuzheng. I’ll accompany you next time!” After that, she quickly stood up as if she was in a hurry to escape. However, just as she took two steps after turning away, Lin Xuzheng suddenly called her, “Oh, Yan~”
“Huh?” Yan turned and looked at him with a confused expression.
“I forgot to return your stuff.” Lin Xuzheng gave a slight smile as he placed the bag next to him on the table.
At first, Yan was still shocked. “My stuff?”
“Yes, your stuff.”
She was bewildered when she went over to pick up the bag, but she didn’t think much of it, so she opened it up straight away in front of Lin Xuzheng. After she had a clear look of what was inside the bag, her face changed drastically. “T-This…”
What!? Her eyes widened in disbelief. The bag contained all of the pregnancy test kits she bought at the pharmacy and now, they were all delivered to her in this bag. Why would Lin Xuzheng bring all of these to me? Could it be that… he has recognized me back at the pharmacy?
“What is it?” Lin Xuzheng was amused by her shocked expression. “Aren’t these yours?”
She regained her senses and instinctively released the bag before quirking up the corners of her lips, smiling awkwardly. “Xuzheng, are you joking? How could… these be mine?”
“These aren’t yours? But I saw you holding these back at the pharmacy.”
At this point, Yan could no longer hold on to her smile. As she took a serious look at Lin Xuzheng, it was obvious from the joy in his eyes and lips that he toyed with her. Thinking about it, Yan felt a little angry while she questioned him, “Xuzheng, you’ve seen me from the start, right?”
Lin Xuzheng kept on smiling without uttering a word. Seeing him this way, Yan realized that her guess was right. He recognized me then, so he bought everything and came to the shop to give me all these. “Xuzheng, how could you do this? You!”
Just when she was about to burst into rage, Lin Xuzheng quickly spoke, “Alright. Don’t blame me. I was just buying something else when I bumped into you. I brought these over to you because I saw you dropped everything on the floor earlier. I don’t mean anything else.”
“If you don’t mean anything else, then why didn’t you tell me directly when you came? Why do you need to wait until now?”
Lin Xuzheng felt resigned. “I’m just trying to mess with you, but I’m surprised to see you this serious. Alright, don’t get mad at me. I’ve sent everything here to you and I’ve even paid the bill.” It would have been better if he didn’t mention this, for it made Yan feel even more embarrassed now.
