The restaurant got extremely busy at noon. Word must have spread on the internet as people rushed over to see Little Bean. Several internet celebrities heard about the cute little waiter at the newly opened ramen restaurant and wanted to get in with the crowd. To their surprise, they found a ‘No Photos’ sign when they arrived at the restaurant. If anyone took his picture without permission, legal charges would be made against them.
There were internet celebrities who liked to do live broadcasts and many of them would even film people on the streets openly. While they simply treated those people as background in their broadcasts, some of them would even humiliate or take advantage of those people.
In this case with Little Bean, if Yan had not stopped them, they would have spread his pictures all over the internet, affecting his livelihood in the future. Though they were immensely disappointed when they found out they could not take pictures, they were still impressed by how cute Little Bean was and by the taste of the ramen.
…
Meanwhile, in a private room at a 6-star hotel, two men sat facing each other. There were only the two of them in the grandiose private room which made the room feel unusually spacious. However, their presence seemed to have filled up those empty spaces.
Lin Xuzheng poured himself half a glass of wine then swirled it gently in his hand. The light fell on the wine glass and created a shadow. He fell in a daze as he stared at it without taking a sip. After a while, he said, “That young lady’s new shop opened today. Aren’t you going to take a look?”
The chopsticks in the hand of the person sitting across from him paused for a moment before resuming. “Did you ask me out today to tell me that?” Han Qing looked up. His bleak gaze fell on Lin Xuzheng’s face.
That conscientious, cool-headed, and restrained attitude was as he always was. He looked calm—like a person who had achieved nirvana. If it were not because Lin Xuzheng had just helped him, he might have believed Han Qing was actually indifferent toward this. Now that he had found out Han Qing’s hidden secret, it was not as exciting anymore. Seeing his good friend in denial of this secret piqued his interest.
“Just wanted to remind you that you still owe me a favor.” Lin Xuzheng smirked meaningfully as he brought the glass close to his lips and slowly took a sip.
Han Qing frowned. “Do you have a driver?”
“No.”
“Don’t say I didn’t remind you. You can’t drink and drive.”
Lin Xuzheng continued to drink his wine slowly. “I haven’t lost my memory. I don’t need you to remind me.”
Han Qing’s frown deepened.
“Why? Since you owe me such a big favor, you can be my driver later, right?”
Again with the favors. Those words made Han Qing feel sick. He reached up to pinch between his eyebrows then looked down and ate some food.
Lin Xuzheng was not constantly bringing up favors for nothing. He just wanted to tease Han Qing. After all, they had been good friends for years, but it was the first time Han Qing had reached out to him. Not to mention, it was for a young lady.
Lin Xuzheng was satisfied to see Han Qing speechless and downed the whole glass of wine. Then, he poured more wine and swirled the glass in his hand again. “Tell me about it.”
There was no change in Han Qing’s behavior, and he did not answer him either.
Lin Xuzheng continued, “Are you feeling reluctant? Fine. I won’t force you. Then why don’t you tell me; do you like that young lady?”
Han Qing looked up at him, unamused. “When did you start becoming so nosy?”
“I’m just bored. You know I have nothing to do all day now, so what’s wrong with a little gossip?”
Han Qing pursed his lips. They had known each other for a long time. There was a time when Lin Xuzheng was devastated because of a woman, and he did not know how to comfort him. He started to lose himself and no longer cared for the company. After that, he became worse each day. However, their family had a strong background. Therefore, even if he lost himself, he did not do anything that harmed the company. Otherwise, the company would have gone bankrupt by now.
“Deal with your company business if you’re bored.”
“No. Dealing with the company is even more boring. Chatting and gossiping is still more meaningful.” Lin Xuzheng was smiling, but his smile did not reach his eyes. Han Qing knew that the scar in his heart would not heal that quickly, so he did not say anything more. Regardless of what Lin Xuzheng said after that, Han Qing just dismissed him.
Lin Xuzheng kept drinking. At some point, Han Qing could not bear to watch him any longer. “That’s enough. We’ll end it here today. I’ll ask the driver to send you home.” With that, he stood up and put on his coat.
Even though Lin Xuzheng had drunk a lot, his mind was still clear. After his wife passed away, he drowned himself in alcohol for some time. He drank to numb himself every day. Initially, his tolerance was not very high, so the alcohol was effective in knocking him out. But as the days and years went by, the alcohol did not work on him anymore. Drinking alcohol was like drinking water to him. Of course, that was just the mental side of it.
Alcohol damaged his body pretty badly, especially his digestive system. Lin Xuzheng lost count of the times he went to the hospital because of alcohol. He received special treatment each time, but he still never stopped drinking. While he wanted to die to be with his wife, he also cherished his life because his wife had sacrificed herself for him.
When Lin Xuzheng could no longer bear to think of the past anymore, he also stood up. “Okay, Let’s go. It’s rare to get our President Han to be my driver. You can’t refuse when I tell you where to go later.” He was already indulging in wishful thinking.
Han Qing pulled open the door with a dark expression. Both of them got in the elevator then got to the car. The driver was waiting for Han Qing downstairs. “President Han.”
“You can take my car back now, then come get me at his place later.”
“Yes, President Han.” The driver rushed off after receiving the order from Han Qing. After Lin Xuzheng gave Han Qing his keys, both of them got in the car.
“Let’s go. Take me to the young lady’s place.” As they got in the car, Lin Xuzheng immediately sat in the passenger seat. He looked completely drunk but was able to speak clearly. Han Qing was getting ready to drive when he stopped to look at him momentarily.
Lin Xuzheng smiled. “Why? Are you scared?”
Han Qing pursed his lips and clenched his jaw. His face started to grow colder.
“You’re a grown man. Why are you afraid of seeing a young lady? Han Qing, I’ve known you for so many years. How did I not know you still had moments like this?” Lin Xuzheng teased.
Han Qing’s face looked cold under the dim light in the car. “I’ll return the favor I owe you. But that is no reason to push me around, Lin Xuzheng. Even if you want to pull a prank, you should have some standards.”
“Huh? Are you getting angry?” Lin Xuzheng shook his head helplessly. “You’re so scary. But I think I’m quite lucky I get to see this side of my good friend. What do you think her reaction would be if I told her that you were the one who begged me to help her with this?
