Chapter 313: Qingjin Pavilion
Yun Zijin had already made plans with Lu Yunque to have dinner with him tonight.
It was 5:00 PM. If she left for the Lu Group Building now, she would get there around six, which was right when people at the Lu Group got off work.
"Oh, then you should hurry and go. I can just take the bus back to school myself."
When Qin Sitong heard Yun Zijin was going to the Lu Group, her first thought was that she couldn’t get in the way of the young couple’s date.
"I’ll give you a ride."
For the first time, Fu Ze saw Yun Zijin in such a heroic light. She was basically creating an opportunity for him to be alone with Qin Sitong.
Qin Sitong, however, felt awkward. They had only met a few times; letting him drive her home seemed too forward.
Besides, she felt Fu Ze’s offer was probably just him being polite. If she agreed, she might actually annoy him.
"There’s no need. It’s not that far from school. It’s less than ten stops on the subway."
"What kind of guy goes out with a girl and then makes her find her own way home?"
"If word got out, I’d be a laughingstock in Dijing’s social circles."
Fu Ze said, feigning distress.
Sure enough, a conflicted expression appeared on Qin Sitong’s face.
"It’s fine. Just let him give you a ride. I wouldn’t feel right about you traveling alone anyway. Text me when you get to campus."
Although Yun Zijin still had her reservations about Fu Ze’s intentions, she had to admit that between Qin Sitong traveling alone and Fu Ze giving her a ride, the latter was the safer option.
With Yun Zijin acting as a wingman, Qin Sitong finally agreed to Fu Ze’s offer to drive her back to school.
Fu Ze shot Yun Zijin a grateful look before turning to Qin Sitong. "Let’s go, then. The driver has already brought the car around."
At the same time, Zero One and his men brought Yun Zijin’s car around as well.
Yun Zijin waved goodbye to Qin Sitong before turning and getting into her car.
Fu Ze opened the rear car door for Qin Sitong. "Get in."
"Thank you."
Other than when she rode in Yun Zijin’s car, this was the first time someone had ever opened a car door for her.
Zero One and his men opened the door for her out of respect for Yun Zijin, but Fu Ze...
Qin Sitong took one look at him, then quickly lowered her head and looked away.
If one looked closely, they would see that the tips of Qin Sitong’s ears had turned red.
After Fu Ze got in the car, he happened to glance over and noticed Qin Sitong’s face was bright red, just like an apple. It was incredibly cute.
"Your face... is a little red. Are you too hot?"
But it was October, and the temperature in Dijing had already dropped quite a bit. ’It can’t be that hot, can it?’
"Is it? I guess... it must be the heat."
Qin Sitong wasn’t telling the truth. Since she wasn’t used to lying, her voice lacked conviction and she spoke in fits and starts.
"Xiao Zhou, turn down the AC."
Fu Ze caught on, but he didn’t call her out on it.
Even without any experience in pursuing girls, he knew not to be too aggressive. The slow and steady approach—like boiling a frog in slowly warming water—was the best strategy.
＊
Lu Group.
A silver business van pulled to a slow stop in front of the Lu Group Building. A doorman quickly stepped forward to open the door for Yun Zijin.
At the Lu Group, Yun Zijin was a well-known figure, and so were her cars.
In fact, because she changed cars so often, some employees had even started a betting pool on just how many vehicles she owned.
So far, however, no one had managed to get a complete count.
"Hello, Miss Yun!"
The receptionists had learned to greet Yun Zijin proactively as soon as they saw her.
Yun Zijin gave the receptionists a slight nod and headed for the private elevator reserved for Lu Group’s senior executives.
The elevator stopped at the top floor of the Lu Group Building, and Yun Zijin stepped out.
"Miss Yun, you’re here. The President is on a video conference call. If you could please be as quiet as possible when you go in."
"Okay, I understand. Thanks for the heads-up."
With that, Yun Zijin slowly opened the door to Lu Yunque’s office. She peeked her head in first and, after confirming he was alone, tiptoed inside.
Lu Yunque had sensed the door opening and was about to reprimand whoever it was, a frown already forming on his face. But when he looked up and saw Yun Zijin, his brow instantly smoothed.
However, since he was still in the meeting, he couldn’t speak to her. He could only watch as she made herself comfortable on the office sofa.
Yun Zijin waited for about five minutes before Lu Yunque ended his video conference.
"It’s past quitting time. We should go eat."
Yun Zijin tapped the face of her watch, motioning for Lu Yunque to look at the time.
"Perfect timing. Do you want to eat here, or go out?"
"Let’s go out. It always tastes better when it’s fresh from the kitchen."
After a moment’s thought, Yun Zijin decided it was better to eat out.
Lu Yunque, of course, had no objection. He tidied up the documents on his desk and stood up. "Let’s go."
Yun Zijin grabbed her purse and walked out of the office with Lu Yunque.
In the outer secretarial office, no one had left for the day yet. When they saw Lu Yunque and Yun Zijin emerge from the office, they all greeted them.
"Yes. Finish up what you’re working on and then head home."
After saying that, Lu Yunque took Yun Zijin’s hand and calmly walked away, much to the envy of the handful of people in the executive secretarial pool.
No matter how many times they saw it, it was still jarring. When he was with Miss Yun, the President was like a completely different person.
Lu Yunque took Yun Zijin to Qingjin Pavilion.
Every time she saw the name ’Qingjin Pavilion’, Yun Zijin got a strange feeling. ’That name...’
’If I didn’t know for a fact that I don’t own any businesses by this name, I’d almost think this was my own restaurant.’
"What’s wrong?"
Lu Yunque noticed Yun Zijin seemed a bit distracted and asked her.
"It’s nothing. Do you know who owns this place?"
It was mainly because the name was so misleading.
"This place? The owner is apparently a foreign national of Chinese descent. I’m not clear on the specifics of their identity."
’A foreign national of Chinese descent?’
Yun Zijin grew pensive.
"Why the sudden interest?"
"It’s nothing. The name just reminded me of my own, so I was curious."
Yun Zijin offered a casual excuse.
Lu Yunque didn’t respond, leaving it unclear whether he believed her or not.
Lu Yunque was a premium member, so someone quickly came to lead them to a private room.
＊
On the way back to the university, Qin Sitong didn’t dare look up at Fu Ze for the entire ride. She felt incredibly awkward.
Fu Ze was eager to start a conversation, but he didn’t know much about Qin Sitong. He tried to think of something to say several times but couldn’t come up with a good opening.
When the car stopped in front of Dijing University, Fu Ze was startled to realize they had arrived so quickly.
"Let me walk you to your dorm. You can just give me directions once we’re on campus."
Having been silent for the entire trip, Fu Ze had finally found something to say.
"There’s no need. There’s a campus shuttle stop right at the gate. I can just take that."
Qin Sitong refused Fu Ze’s offer to walk her to her dorm. She opened the car door herself, got out, thanked him, closed the door, and hurried through the university gates.