Chapter 171 Provoked Him with Words

Seeing that Han Lanzhi remained silent, Shen Qingyi assumed she didn't believe her. "You can call and ask his superior."

Naturally, Han Lanzhi had already made that call, inquiring in the capacity of Lu Yan's former mother-in-law.

"He just agreed like that?" She remembered all too clearly how fiercely Lu Yan had refused back then.

Fearing that Han Lanzhi might see through her, Shen Qingyi quickly explained, "He didn't agree at first, but I provoked him with my words."

Maintaining her habitual elegance, Han Lanzhi looked very satisfied. "You've finally grown a bit smarter."

Shen Qingyi glanced at her secretly, and seeing that she believed it, she didn't reply.

Han Lanzhi continued, "Mother only has your best interests at heart. With a man like Lu Yan, you won't have a good life following him. Back then, your father didn't pick a husband for you; he was picking a successor for himself. A man like him is utterly selfish and only ever considers things from his own perspective."

"Mother!" Shen Qingyi interrupted her.

Hearing her displeasure, Han Lanzhi frowned slightly. "What? Can't even bear to hear the truth? From the time you were little, how many days has he actually cared for you?"

Seeing that an argument was about to break out, Xia Xiyue hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "Aunt Han, what would you like to eat? I can make a call and have someone prepare it."

Shen Qingyi quickly chimed in, "It will be dawn in a few hours, and we can have breakfast then. Waking people up in the middle of the night to cook is too much trouble, plus I'm not hungry."

Xia Xiyue shot her a sidelong glance. "You're so picky with food, and the food on the train was terrible. What could you possibly have eaten?"

Han Lanzhi gave the young master an approving look and asked, "Where are we going to eat?"

"A restaurant owned by a friend of mine. It's just up ahead. I told them about it yesterday noon, so there will be people there now," Xia Xiyue said.

Feeling somewhat constrained, Shen Qingyi didn't know what to say for a moment.

When they reached the car, Xia Xiyue opened the back door. Han Lanzhi got in first, and Shen Qingyi followed. Just as she bent down to enter, she heard Han Lanzhi say, "I've waited for you all night and I'm very tired. I want to lie down and sleep in the back row, so why don't you sit in the front."

Shen Qingyi froze in awkwardness.

Xia Xiyue opened the front passenger door. "Come sit over here! It's very close, we'll be there in fifteen minutes."

Shen Qingyi backed out, sat beside Xia Xiyue, fastened her seatbelt, and gave him an apologetic smile.

"Where is An'an?"

An'an could be said to have been watched growing up by Xia Xiyue, so he was quite fond of the child. If An'an were brought along as well, Shen Qingyi would have one less major worry tethering her to that place.

"At home, going to school," Shen Qingyi replied.

After these words, the car fell silent. After a long while, Shen Qingyi finally couldn't help asking, "Why are you with my mother?"

Xia Xiyue hesitated for a moment before Han Lanzhi spoke up, "I wanted to come to Pengcheng ahead of time to wait for you, but I didn't know anyone here. Remembering that you and Xia Xiyue used to be classmates and that you used to work at his family's place, I went to look for him. I didn't expect Young Master Xia to be so easy to talk to."

Shen Qingyi was puzzled. "How did you even get Young Master Xia's contact information?"

Han Lanzhi sat up straight. "Are you implying that I acted on my own and caused you trouble?"

"No, I was just curious."

Han Lanzhi took a deep breath. "The Xia family may not amount to much in Kyoto, but in Pengcheng, they are second to none. You can find the Xia family's shops and properties by simply asking around. Was it really that hard to find?"

Shen Qingyi stopped talking.

Seeing that her expression wasn't very good, Han Lanzhi grew somewhat displeased as well. "Why are you being so distant? Is it because your relationship with Young Master Xia isn't actually good?"

"No!" Shen Qingyi couldn't quite describe what she was feeling inside, but she explained, "I was going to trouble Sister Xiyun and Young Master Xia myself anyway, but whenever you make any decision concerning me, could you please consult with me first?"

Han Lanzhi kept a straight face and said nothing.

The fingers Xia Xiyue had on the steering wheel tightened slightly. "Qingyi, you call my sister 'Sister', but you either call me by my full name or 'President Xia', and now you've even upgraded me to 'Young Master Xia'."

"You've always been informal and called me by my full name, so I can only be polite to you in return."

Xia Xiyue glanced at Shen Qingyi out of the corner of his eye.

Just from arguing with Madam Han a moment ago, a faint blush had crept onto her cheeks, her lips were pressed into a straight line, and her gaze was fixed straight ahead—the expression she wore when she was extremely displeased.

Feigning surrender, he said, "Fine! From now on, I'll call you Elder Sister Qingyi, and you call me A-yue, alright?"

"Mm," Shen Qingyi gave a faint response.

The car stopped in front of a restaurant. The storefront wasn't large, but the location was prime.

Xia Xiyue walked around the front of the car to open the door for Shen Qingyi, while Han Lanzhi stepped out.

The restaurant door was open, glowing with warm yellow light inside. The layout was very distinctive, with very few tables and chairs—enough to accommodate at most seven or eight people. Each dining table was covered with a blue-and-white checkered tablecloth, topped with a glass vase that was pleasing to the eye.

The proprietor of the shop was a young man in his twenties. He was sitting in front of the service counter, yawning. Seeing Xia Xiyue leading people in, he immediately perked up. "Young Master Xia has finally arrived."

Without replying, Xia Xiyue asked directly, "Are the dishes prepared?"

"They're ready, I'll have them brought out immediately."

With that, he shouted toward the kitchen entrance, "The guests have arrived, hurry up and bring the food out."

There were eight dishes in total, small and delicate in portion.

Bone plates, soup bowls, rice bowls, teacups, chopsticks, and spoons were all neatly set out in matching sets before the three of them.

Shen Qingyi was somewhat surprised; she had to admit that the people of Pengcheng were truly meticulous about dining.

Xia Xiyue scooped a bowl of soup for Shen Qingyi and placed it before her. "The soup here is very good, have a taste."

"Thank you, you don't need to be so polite, I can do it myself," Shen Qingyi said, feeling somewhat awkward.

Yet Xia Xiyue completely ignored her words and scooped another bowl for Han Lanzhi, who accepted it with a calm and natural air of entitlement.

She glanced at her daughter, took two sips of the soup, put the spoon down, and apathetically picked at a few other dishes with little enthusiasm.

Xia Xiyue, on the other hand, carried himself like a young gentleman. His table manners were far superior to those of the Zhao family. Suddenly, he felt a mild annoyance toward Shen Qingyi; this daughter had inherited only her mother's looks without any of her poise, and he secretly worried that the elders of the Xia family might look down on her.

Sensing Shen Qingyi's mood, Xia Xiyue asked, "What's wrong? Are the dishes not to your liking?"

Shen Qingyi smiled. "No, it's just that I don't have the habit of eating at night, and I'm really quite sleepy right now. Still, thank you for the trouble."

"Then I'll take you to rest shortly."

Seeing that Xia Xiyue had also put his chopsticks down, Shen Qingyi suddenly felt that she was being a wet blanket. She picked up her soup bowl, took another sip, and said, "This pigeon soup is fresh and sweet, and the meat is tender and flavorful. It's quite good."

Observing her behavior and recalling how she had nearly gagged when her mother tried to feed her earlier, Xia Xiyue smiled and said, "There's no need to force yourself. If you can't eat it, we can go try something else tomorrow."

The boss sitting at the service counter wore an expression of avid gossip, looking at Xia Xiyue with utter confusion.

He hadn't expected Young Master Xia to have a side that coaxed people.

Yet this woman didn't seem particularly special, other than being rather pretty.

She was fussy and put on airs; which of the young women who used to come to their restaurant didn't eat bowl after bowl?

He disliked this kind of affected coyness—with so many dishes on the table, she was actually being picky.