Chapter Fifty-Five: Indulgence

The corners of Wen Jingxing’s lips curled up ever so slightly—was this little woman actually jealous?

“So what, even talking behind my back, you do it right in front of me? And so loudly, too—you’re not afraid I’ll get angry?”

Song Wanning propped her elbows on the table, resting her cheeks in her hands. “Did I? But I was already speaking very softly, you know. And besides, you’re not called Chen Weiran~”

The way she tilted her head as she spoke seemed irresistibly cute in Wen Jingxing’s eyes.

He couldn’t understand it. When she was little, she’d been this adorable—just like now. So why had everything changed once she grew up? It wasn’t just her personality, but her whole manner—after just a few brief encounters, Song Wanning had left him with a rather poor impression.

Yet as he truly got to know her now, he found that she was still just as endearing.

Could it really be, as she said, that she’d been dissatisfied with the blind date her family arranged, and so deliberately antagonized him? Intentionally leaving a bad impression to scare him away? Was it not her true character after all?

Wen Jingxing couldn’t figure it out, nor did he want to dwell on it any longer. After all, she was here before him now, perfectly fine—wasn’t that enough?

“How did business go with your pancake stand today?”

At the mention of this, Song Wanning’s energy returned in full force. She recounted the entire eventful day at the stand, from morning till night, and declared that she intended to use her earnings to treat Wen Jingxing to dinner.

After all, he had treated her before, and had even seen her home when she was drunk. Even though, in the end, it was the staff who took her to her room, Song Wanning was still grateful to him.

But Wen Jingxing quickly shattered her fantasy. “That restaurant belongs to a friend of mine who just opened it. I don’t think what you made today will be enough...”

Though Wen Jingxing phrased it delicately, Song Wanning caught on quickly. Wasn’t he just saying that what she’d earned wasn’t enough to cover a meal there?

Anyone Wen Jingxing called a friend was probably as wealthy as he was, so their restaurant must be extremely high-end.

Song Wanning waved her hand dismissively, unconcerned. “Then you treat me instead.”

She decided to let the illustrious Mr. Wen show her a bit of the world today.

“But... there’s something I want to ask you.”

“What is it?” Wen Jingxing looked at her, sensing she was about to say something he wouldn’t want to hear.

Sure enough, in the next moment, she said, “There was an uncle who helped me watch the stall today. In a moment of gratitude, I said I’d treat him to dinner. But then I remembered I’d already agreed to eat with you... But he already accepted, so maybe we should postpone our dinner?”

Seeing no change in Wen Jingxing’s expression, Song Wanning wondered if he thought she was being too abrupt. “Or maybe I should ask him to reschedule instead...”

Unexpectedly, Wen Jingxing reached out and lightly tapped her forehead with his bent forefinger. “What on earth do you think about all day? Since you’ve already invited him, let’s all eat together. I never said you couldn’t.”

Song Wanning nodded eagerly, her face breaking into a happy grin. “Then next time, I’ll invite you out—just the two of us.”

At this, Wen Jingxing arched his eyebrows and looked at Song Wanning. Did she even realize what she was saying?

But Song Wanning’s thoughts were simple. She’d noticed Wen Jingxing seemed to have a particular fondness for treating her to meals—one invitation after another. Since she’d broken their agreement and invited someone else, it was only right to invite Wen Jingxing to a one-on-one dinner next time. That seemed perfectly reasonable to her.

She had no idea what Wen Jingxing might make of her words.

Song Wanning lingered a little longer in the bar. Ever since she’d sat down with him, no other young women had dared approach Wen Jingxing. Though she wore sunglasses covering most of her face, her whole presence radiated an effortlessly powerful aura. Anyone with sense would know better than to provoke her.

As evening fell and five o’clock arrived, the hat-selling uncle showed up right on time.

By then, the bar was filling up. The uncle looked around before finally spotting Song Wanning and Wen Jingxing at the bar.

“Sorry about that, must have taken you a while to find us,” Song Wanning apologized when she saw him.

The uncle waved away her concern. As long as someone was treating him to a fine meal, he didn’t mind waiting all night.

Wen Jingxing recognized him at once—it was the same man who’d sold hats to Song Wanning. He’d only caught a glimpse of him before, but the impression stuck.

He found it odd—why was this uncle involved with Song Wanning now?

Outside the bar, Wen Jingxing said, “Get in, I’ll drive you both there.”

The uncle, with a businessman’s keen intuition, caught on immediately. “So it’s Young Master Wen treating us today!”

“Mhm,” Wen Jingxing replied, not bothering to say more.

The uncle started to wonder if Young Master Wen didn’t actually want him at dinner. Then glancing at Song Wanning in the passenger seat, he thought—could it be that Young Master Wen wanted to dine with her alone?

As a devoted matchmaker at heart, he never missed an opportunity. “Actually, I just remembered—I may have left the gas on at home. Maybe I shouldn’t come tonight...”

But before he could finish, Song Wanning said, “Wen Jingxing, turn around and drive to his place. We’ll shut off the gas and then go to dinner.”

It was clear—Song Wanning was determined to treat the uncle to dinner.

The uncle waved his hands, flustered. “No need, no need! I suddenly remembered—I did turn the gas off.”

In fact, he didn’t even have a gas stove at home—only an induction cooker. If they went to his place, he’d be exposed.

“Oh? Is that so?” Song Wanning cast him a sidelong glance, as though seeing right through him—but she let it go.

The uncle, unable to read her mind, broke out in a cold sweat.

Though the drive from the bar to the restaurant was short, to the uncle it felt like an eternity.

No one spoke in the car after that. When they finally arrived at the restaurant, the van had barely stopped when a valet rushed over to greet them and help them out.

The battered old van was parked among a fleet of luxury cars.

The contrast was almost comical—so stark that even Song Wanning couldn’t bring herself to look. But she thought to herself, these valets are truly professional! Not a hint of disdain at the sight of such a wreck, and their service remained courteous and careful.

What she didn’t know was that at a place like this, you couldn’t even drive up to the door without a reservation. Anyone able to park out front was a VIP—what valet would dare neglect a guest?

Inside, they attracted a few curious glances—not at Song Wanning or Wen Jingxing, but at the hat-selling uncle.

Song Wanning had already been lectured by Wen Jingxing for over an hour, and in the end, he’d forced her to change out of her more provocative outfit. And, knowing where they’d be dining, Wen Jingxing had also arranged a formal suit for the uncle.

Clothes do make the man, but after years of wind and sun by the sea, the uncle still didn’t quite fit in here.

He had a strong heart, though. He could tell at a glance this was an upscale place, and had no time to care about what others thought—he was already mentally savoring the delicious food to come.