Chapter 451: Is This How You Pursue Someone?

When Yuan Shiyao said he wanted to ask a question, Jiang Qingli had a bad feeling.

The message arrived at 23:59.

Just as the "Read" receipt appeared next to the message box, the time refreshed.

0:00.

A new day had begun.

Yuan Shiyao’s status showed "Typing..."

Jiang Qingli stared at the words, unconsciously holding her breath.

A moment later, a message from Yuan Shiyao arrived:

"Qingli, I’m on duty this morning, from six a.m. to five p.m. I’ll be doing my internship at the courthouse. If you’re free, could I come see you tonight for dinner?"

"I brought some fruit and ingredients from the Upper City District. If you’d like something freshly made, I can apply to extend my stay in the room downstairs from you and cook for you, or maybe make some dessert."

"Although my cooking skills aren’t as good as your Beast Husband’s, my grades in cooking class have always been in the top three, so I shouldn’t be too bad."

The wording of Yuan Shiyao’s messages was more polite and formal than when they had been just friends.

But catching a glimpse of the "pursuit request" message from before, Jiang Qingli still found it a bit hard to get used to.

She tapped the chat box and was about to type when she thought of something and replied: "Sorry, the City Lord of the Tenth District is visiting today. We’ll be having lunch and dinner together in Zone A."

Yuan Shiyao’s reply was swift: "Okay, I understand."

’Jeez, why does it feel like this conversation is getting weirder and weirder?’

Jiang Qingli complained to herself.

She decided to just send a very official handshake emoji, mimicking his tone: "Thank you for understanding."

He quickly replied with a handshake and a smile emoji.

He probably wasn’t finished, as his status changed back to "Typing..."

Jiang Qingli was curious about what else he was going to send.

A moment later, Yuan Shiyao asked: "Then can I bring you breakfast? Here are the ingredients I have [Image]. What would you like to eat?"

The picture showed a wide and abundant variety of ingredients.

Jiang Qingli: "Don’t you start work at six? It’s over an hour’s drive from the military district to the courthouse, isn’t it?"

Yuan Shiyao: "Don’t worry. I have an insulated food container. It’ll stay fresh and warm, so the taste and texture won’t be compromised."

Jiang Qingli hadn’t expected him to be worried about the food’s texture.

What she really meant was, ’What time would you have to wake up?’

Jiang Qingli didn’t explain, simply replying: "No need, I have food here."

Yuan Shiyao didn’t press the issue: "Okay, good night," he wrote, adding a moon emoji.

Jiang Qingli replied with a good-night emoji.

’This isn’t as awkward as I imagined.’

"Just let things happen naturally, baby."

A gentle male voice spoke up.

Jiang Qingli started, only then realizing she was still on the call with Baili Jing; it hadn’t ended.

She touched the tip of her nose, a little embarrassed, and asked curiously, "How did you know I was just messaging Yuan Shiyao?"

"If I had ulterior motives, I’d say it’s because I know you so well." A low chuckle sounded, Baili Jing’s tone as gentle as ever. "But it was also easy to deduce. After you stopped talking, I heard the sound of fingertips tapping a screen, so I figured you were sending messages."

"Yuan Shiyao just confessed to you, and you didn’t reject him. Any male, in that situation, would send a message to test the waters after you went back to your room. It’s only natural."

His deduction was perfectly reasonable.

Jiang Qingli focused on his first sentence. "What do you mean by ’ulterior motives’?"

The other end of the line went silent for a moment.

Baili Jing seemed to let out a soft sigh, and when he spoke again, his voice was quiet:

"Baby, you were smiling just now."

-

「The next morning.」

When Jiang Qingli woke up, Ye Linyuan was still lying beside her.

His snake tail was coiled obediently at her side. Propping his head up with one hand, Ye Linyuan lazily watched Jiang Qingli get up, wash her face, put on her military uniform, and adjust her tie in the mirror.

"How rare. You’re still here when I wake up," Jiang Qingli remarked. "Usually, the mattress is already cold by the time I’m up."

Ye Linyuan raised an eyebrow. "I will be from now on."

He had been too busy before.

’It was because he’d been too busy that some tactless creature had tried to crawl into Jiang Qingli’s bed.’

’So, from now on, he would do his work here, with Jiang Qingli.’

After getting ready, Jiang Qingli glanced at her watch. It was already 6:40.

She had a meeting at seven.

There was no time for more chatting. Jiang Qingli leaned down, kissed Ye Linyuan on the lips, and instructed, "Don’t let anyone see you. Wait for me to get off work, okay?"

A flicker in his eyes, Ye Linyuan licked his lips. "Mm."

Jiang Qingli grabbed a tube of nutrient solution from the fridge and rushed out of the room.

Baili Jing and Yi Nuo also had urgent matters to attend to this week, so Jiang Qingli hadn’t asked them to make breakfast either.

As for Ye Linyuan...

She’d never seen him cook.

Then again, even if Ye Linyuan wanted to cook, Jiang Qingli wouldn’t dare eat it. The guy grew up on nutrient solution; it was like he had no sense of taste.

Walking quickly out of her room, Jiang Qingli had just closed the door when she noticed a small food container placed by the doorway.

She picked it up. Even before opening it, she had already guessed who sent it.

Inside lay a sandwich.

Jiang Qingli took a picture and sent it to Yuan Shiyao.

He replied quickly: "I made two servings by accident when I was making breakfast this morning. Sorry, you can just throw it away if you don’t like it."

’He already brought it all the way to my door. It would be a waste to throw it away.’

Jiang Qingli replied with a "thank you" and started eating as she walked.

Luckily, her residence wasn’t far from the office building. By the time Jiang Qingli sat down in her office, she was right on time.

The City Lord of the Tenth District was a woman in her early thirties. She was a hearty female who always slung an arm around Jiang Qingli’s shoulders like a big sister.

Her visit this time was mainly for a routine security meeting.

Jiang Qingli was busy with meetings the entire morning. At noon, she, Yuan Liang, and the others hosted the City Lord, and she was completely run off her feet.

It wasn’t until the afternoon, when Yuan Liang took the City Lord of the Tenth District to discuss other matters, that Jiang Qingli finally had time to check the unread messages on her terminal.

After she sent her message that morning, Yuan Shiyao had replied quickly: "I should be the one thanking you."

Jiang Qingli: "?"

Even though she only replied several hours later, Yuan Shiyao’s response was instantaneous: "Thank you for being willing to eat the breakfast I made, Qingli."

"The types of breakfast I can make are limited, so please forgive me if there was anything wrong with it."

Jiang Qingli: "It was delicious."

Although she had eaten in a hurry and hadn’t noticed any particular flavor, she thought it was pretty good.

He then sent a bowing emoji.

Jiang Qingli felt a sudden urge to laugh.

She could almost picture Yuan Shiyao holding his terminal, staring at the screen with a completely serious expression as he replied.

It made her want to laugh.

But then again, she thought, this was actually fine.

It wasn’t as awkward as she’d imagined. They hadn’t reached a stalemate, nor had their friendship been shattered.

The intercom buzzed.

Jiang Qingli picked it up and heard her temporary secretary say, "Advisor Jiang Qingli, a package has arrived for you."

"It seems to be... a box."