A small candy

Chapter 58 Extra 5 We will get the certificate tomorrow
Jian Ling went to Cheng Zhixu's office for lunch at noon. He was silent than usual. He slowly unpacked the lunch box, handed her a pair of chopsticks, and pushed the juice over to her.

Jian Ling ate a beef ball, one cheek puffed up, her eyes filled with confusion. She chewed the ball silently, swallowed it, and asked carefully, "Who made you angry?"

"I heard someone sent you a bouquet of roses?" Cheng Zhixu raised his eyes lightly, his eyes seemed to have penetrating power, which could penetrate the body and hit the heart.

"Who told you that?" Jian Ling took a mouthful of rice and answered guiltily.

"That's the point?"

"Cheng Yan." Jian Ling couldn't bear his gaze and simply confessed, spreading her palms and shrugging helplessly, "It's none of my business. He wanted to send it off. Maybe he just wanted to express his gratitude for me picking him up at the airport yesterday."

Cheng Zhixu picked up the water cup and took a sip.

It puts pressure on people invisibly.

Jian Ling felt even more guilty. After receiving the roses that morning, she called Cheng Yan and asked him what he meant. He was in the luxury suite of the hotel, jet-lagged and still half asleep, when the ringing of his cell phone woke him. His voice was lazy, with a faint smile, as he said, "Whatever you think it means, I mean it."

The vague explanation made Jian Ling's heart beat wildly, and she felt nervous and helpless.

At this moment, when asked by Cheng Zhixu, Jian Ling didn't know how to answer. She couldn't say that she suspected Cheng Yan was interested in her. After all, the other party didn't say it clearly.

The meal was a bit unpleasant. The atmosphere was as quiet as a late winter night, with no cicadas chirping or birds singing, only dead silence.

When Jian Ling was about to leave, Cheng Zhixu asked, "Where are you guys going to have dinner?"

Jian Ling mentioned the name of a restaurant, and Cheng Zhixu had an idea in his mind. It was the restaurant that entertained Italian clients that night, and he was familiar with it.

Jian Ling blinked her watery eyes and looked at him: "Do you want to go with me?"

Cheng Zhixu hummed.

Jian Ling smiled and her eyes fell on his tie. He was wearing the tie she gave him today, and the tie clip was also dark gold, which was quite textured and matched his temperament very well.

Cheng Zhixu lowered his eyes to check the time on his watch. He had a cross-border video conference in ten minutes and had no time to talk to her. He thought he would settle the score when he got home tonight.

Jian Ling pointed outside the door, hesitated for a second, and said, "Then I'll leave?"

"Ah."

Is he still sulking? Jian Ling thought she had explained everything clearly last night, so he shouldn't be angry. After thinking for a moment, she didn't rule out the possibility that the bouquet of roses was the cause of the trouble.

Jian Ling sighed, turned back, and hunched over to give Cheng Zhixu a kiss on the cheek. When she stood up, she realized she had forgotten to wipe her mouth after dinner, leaving some grease on it. She quickly wiped his face with her hand and ran out of the office, laughing.

After the person left, Cheng Zhixu slowly raised his hand and touched his face, which still retained the softness and warmth of his lips. He smiled softly.

If he didn't act angry, she would really think he didn't care.

-

In the evening, it started to drizzle. A few bright lights flashed across the dim sky. The winding cracks of lightning seemed to tear the sky into several holes, accompanied by bursts of muffled thunder.

After get off work, the rain got a little heavier. Jian Ling put on her makeup, went upstairs to find Cheng Zhixu, stayed with him for a while, and then they took the elevator to the underground parking lot together.

Cheng Zhixu gave the driver a day off and drove himself.

Jian Ling sat in the back seat, just finishing adjusting the hem of her cashmere skirt, when Cheng Zhixu leaned in and sat right next to her. Jian Ling leaned slightly sideways, half her back pressed against the car door. Suddenly, he was kissing her, sucking on her lips. The quiet car was filled with the intimate sounds of kissing, sending a tingling sensation through her scalp.

Most of Jian Ling's lipstick, which she had just applied, had been rubbed off. She looked at him with sparkling eyes, panting softly, and spoke briefly in a halting manner, "Why... kissing me suddenly?"

"Make up for lunch." Cheng Zhixu rubbed his mouth with the tip of his thumb. As expected, he saw a hint of red on his fingertips. He felt helpless and asked, "Is this edible?"

"What?" Jian Ling lowered her gaze and saw a handful of red marks on his fair fingertips. She narrowed her eyes and smiled, "You're talking about lipstick. It's edible, but it's not good to eat too much of it."

Cheng Zhixu's expression froze for a moment, he curled the corners of his lips, and rubbed the lipstick on his fingertips back onto her lips. Unexpectedly, Jian Ling suddenly opened her mouth and bit him.

"Puppy?" A tooth mark suddenly appeared on the inside of his finger.

“…” Jian Ling rolled her eyes and almost lifted her skirt to show him the evidence. Do you think you haven’t bitten me?

Cheng Zhixu met her eyes and recalled the scene in bed almost instantly. He sighed softly and rubbed her cheek with his fingers: "Go to the front and sit in the passenger seat."

"Huh?" Jian Ling glanced around and realized there was no driver. "Where's Xiao Yang?"

"Give him a day off. I'll drive today." Cheng Zhixu unbuttoned his suit and opened his arms, finally feeling less hot.

Jian Ling opened the door and got out, then walked around to the passenger seat. Cheng Zhixu then got in the driver's seat and fastened his seatbelt. At this moment, Jian Ling's phone rang. She answered it and said, "Okay, I'll look for it."

After answering the phone, she turned to Cheng Zhixu and said, "Cheng Yan said he doesn't want to eat Italian food, he wants to eat authentic Chinese food. Do you have any recommendations?"

Cheng Zhixu often attends social events outside, so he should know better than her which restaurant has more authentic and delicious dishes.

Cheng Zhixu started the car expressionlessly and told her an address. Jian Ling sent the address to Cheng Yan and asked him to go directly to the restaurant. She told him that if he couldn't express it, he could just show the address to the driver and he would understand. Cheng Zhixu and Jian Ling arrived first and booked a private room in advance to wait for them.

About twenty minutes later, Cheng Yan arrived and was led to the door of the box by the waiter.

Cheng Yan was dressed even more like a celebrity than he had yesterday, a high-necked white sweater with a coat and black trousers. The waiter who brought him in stared at him for a long time.

Cheng Yan shook off the raindrops that had accidentally stained his sleeves and said with his head down, "This place is too hard to find. You should come pick me up on the way..."

He stopped talking when he looked up and saw another man in the box.

The man sat in a chair near the back, his black suit crisp, his skin pale, his expression impassive. The interior was decorated in a traditional Chinese style, complete with screens and tea tables. Even the overhead lamp had a warm, frosted shade, rather than a dazzling crystal chandelier. Cheng Yan, in the dim light, watched the man a few steps away, feeling an inexplicable discomfort.

Jian Ling took the initiative to introduce them to each other: "This is the one I mentioned to you, my childhood friend, Cheng Yan." She turned to Cheng Yan, pointed at Cheng Zhixu and smiled sweetly, "My boyfriend, Cheng Zhixu."

Cheng Zhixu frowned in dissatisfaction and corrected her address: "Fiancé."

"Yes, fiancé." Jian Ling nodded and said affirmatively.

Cheng Yan's expression changed instantly. He pulled his lip without disguising it and said awkwardly, "How come I didn't know you had a fiancé? Jian Ling, I remember you said when you were little that you wanted to marry me when you grew up."

Jian Ling's mind buzzed, and she immediately looked at Cheng Zhixu's expression. Perhaps because there were others present, his expression wasn't particularly expressive. But Jian Ling knew perfectly well that if it were just the two of them, Cheng Zhixu's expression would be extremely grim!
"No... no, when did I say that?" Jian Ling felt very uncomfortable and tried hard to recall, but she had no memory of it at all.

Cheng Zhixu picked up the glass on his right hand, tilted his head back and took a big gulp of water. It seemed as if he was drinking wine instead of water.

Jian Ling's heart was lifted. When he was sulking at noon, he drank water silently. With every sip of water, the lines of his lips became straighter.

Cheng Yan fanned the flames: "You don't remember?"

"Those were all childhood memories, let's not talk about them anymore! Let's order some food, I'm starving!" Jian Ling didn't want to talk about this topic anymore and quickly changed the subject to something else. "You said you wanted authentic Chinese food. This restaurant is amazing, they have all kinds of cuisines. Order whatever you want, it's my treat."

Cheng Yan glanced at Cheng Zhixu, without greeting him, and pulled out a chair to sit down.

Cheng Zhixu didn't even bother to look at him, just treating him as air.

Jian Ling was stuck in the middle, sweating profusely. What had she done wrong to have to face this situation?

Cheng Yan did not mention the embarrassing things again, and only occasionally commented on the dishes, as if deliberately opposing Cheng Zhixu, and communicated in Italian throughout.

When the waiter brought in the dishes, he saw this strange scene: Jian Ling was sitting between two men, her position closer to Cheng Zhixu. She turned her head and communicated with Cheng Yan in Italian, and the next second switched to Chinese to translate for Cheng Zhixu so that he could understand what they said.

For a moment, she seemed to be back to the scene when she was having dinner with the Italian clients. She was exhausted.

Cheng Zhixu moved his chopsticks a few times before wiping the corners of his mouth with a napkin. He then picked up some food for Jian Ling and whispered, "Stop talking and eat something. You haven't even taken a few bites."

Cheng Yan's Chinese was not very fluent, but it was not to the point where he couldn't understand. After hearing what Cheng Zhixu said, he was silent for a moment and reflected on himself. Perhaps he shouldn't have tormented Jian Ling out of spite.

During the second half of the meal, Cheng Yan remained silent and focused on eating.

The rain outside the window continued to fall, and it continued to drizzle even after the dinner ended. When they left the private room, Cheng Zhixu took off his coat and draped it over Jian Ling's shoulders, his arm loosely around her waist. His other jade-white hand held a large black umbrella, which he held above their heads, tilted towards Jian Ling.

The two stood at the bottom of the stairs and called a car for Cheng Yan. Jian Ling waved to Cheng Yan, who was sitting in the back seat: "Bye, we'll meet again next time."

Cheng Zhixu's face hidden under the umbrella was as dark as the night, and he said nothing.

It wasn't until the two of them got in the car that Cheng Zhixu lost his indifference in front of others. He suppressed his complaints in his tone: "Jian Ling, you are really something. When you were a child, you wanted to marry a doctor, and you also wanted to marry this Cheng Yan. Do you believe me..."

"Cheng Zhixu." Jian Ling suddenly interrupted him and turned her head to smile at him.

"What for? Don't think you can let go of this silly smile. I'm telling you, when we get back, I..."

"Cheng Zhixu." Jian Ling interrupted him again, still smiling, "Let's go get the marriage certificate tomorrow."

Cheng Zhixu's anger, which had been pent up all night, instantly dissipated. He stepped on the brakes, pulled over to the side of the road, and turned to stare at her blankly. The soft rustle of the windshield wipers sweeping back and forth mixed with the patter of wind and rain filled his ears.

Pedestrians on the roadside are hurrying, some holding umbrellas and some wearing raincoats. Their figures are blurred by the overwhelming rain and become the background.

Cheng Zhixu was silent for a moment: "What did you say?"

Jian Ling put her hands beside her mouth, making a trumpet shape, and spoke word by word, "I say, Cheng Zhixu, let's go get the marriage certificate tomorrow!"

He was the one who proposed to her, so it's her who decides on getting the marriage certificate. It's quite fair.

Cheng Zhixu paused for a second, a smile spreading across his eyebrows and eyes: "Okay."

——End of Extra——

　This is the end of the online version of the extra story. It’s time to say goodbye!
　　Bye ~
　　See you in the next book~
　　Maybe not too long~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)