Xu Qinghe sent Shi Wenli another message: ["I'm tagging along with Jiang Yang to your place for dinner tonight (chuckle). Sorry for the trouble."]
Shi Wenli: ["No trouble. Come on over."]
Shi Wenli: ["I'll start simmering the tomato soup."]
Xu Qinghe: ["OK"]
At least she could eat his wontons before he moved.
As they exited the main building, Xu Qinghe asked Jiang Yang where to pick up grilled skewers.
Jiang Yang pointed across the street from the hospital.
Diagonally opposite the hospital was a food alley with three barbecue shops next to each other.
Jiang Yang had never eaten there before and didn't know the taste, so he ordered a portion from each shop.
Xu Qinghe didn't get out of the car. While waiting, she opened the vanity mirror in the car and tidied her stray hairs.
She had a lipstick in her bag; she picked a near-nude shade and applied a simple lip color.
After finishing, she couldn't help but chuckle at herself.
She and Shi Wenli hadn't known each other for just a day or two; he had seen her exhausted and disheveled. What was she so concerned about?
She pushed the vanity mirror back up, just as Jiang Yang returned with three large bags of barbecue.
Xu Qinghe stuffed the lipstick into her bag. "Are Shi Miao and her husband coming too?"
Jiang Yang got in and closed the door. "They're on their honeymoon. It's just Brother Shi and the two of us."
"Then you bought so much. Can we finish it all?"
"It's fine if we can't finish it. I'll take it home for my dad."
"..."
Such a filial son.
Speaking of his father, Jiang Yang took off his jacket and tossed it into the back seat. "My dad set up a blind date for Brother Shi today. Did you know?"
Xu Qinghe paused briefly, then shook her head. "I had lunch early and didn't run into Director Shi in the cafeteria."
Earlier, there were rumors around the hospital that Dean Jiang was going to set Shi Wenli up. So it was true after all.
He was introduced at noon, and now Jiang Yang was going to his place for dinner, even bringing barbecue to celebrate. Shi Wenli must have agreed.
She pulled a tissue from her bag and discreetly dabbed at her lips.
Wiping away the faint rose-beige color.
Jiang Yang clicked his seatbelt into place and started the car. "A few days ago, my dad swore he'd set Brother Shi up with Sister Qi Ruo. But Brother Shi didn't even know what Qi Ruo looks like or where she works, and he turned it down flat."
"Don't you think my dad is the worst matchmaker ever?"
In just a few dozen seconds, Xu Qinghe's mood was like a roller coaster ride.
So she was that reluctant to let him go.
Hearing that he had a blind date prospect made her sadder than she had imagined.
Jiang Yang was a bit frustrated with his father's lack of skill. "Other matchmakers at least manage to get the two parties to meet. But him..."
"My dad is probably sulking right now."
"He loves grilled fish, so I packed a few for him to cheer him up."
As he complained, the smell of barbecue filled the entire car.
Jiang Yang had been hungry for a while; he couldn't resist the tempting aroma.
He immediately changed his mind, postponing his filial piety. "Forget it. Let's try the grilled fish first. I'll bring some for my dad another time."
Xu Qinghe: "..."
His filial piety barely lasted two minutes.
There was a red light ahead. Jiang Yang lightly pressed the brake, and at that moment his phone rang.
He glanced at the number on the car screen. Not considering Xu Qinghe an outsider, he tapped the hands-free answer button.
A clear, pleasant female voice echoed in the car.
"Yangyang, are you off work?"
Jiang Yang: "..."
Being called by his nickname in front of a colleague as a grown man—how mortifying.
He had been so busy today that he forgot Qi Ruo always called him that. Otherwise, he would never have put it on speaker.
"Sister Ruo, I just left the hospital. Are you back from your business trip?"
Qi Ruo: "Yeah, I took a flight at noon."
She had been on a business trip for a month and heard upon landing that she had been set up on a blind date.
She was about to confront her parents for not telling her in advance—she didn't want to get married so early, and she certainly didn't want to go on blind dates. But her father beat her to it: "Don't be mad. No need to meet. The other party declined."