City S was famous for their soup dumplings. But not many people know that city S had so many other options to offer that could make a great food adventure tour.
This duck restaurant was one of them.
Li Xiqing poured tea for everyone.
"Miss Deep Blue Sea, so how many volumes do you plan for the this series in total?" he then distributed the cup for the ladies.
Miss Sea took the cup, "You can call me Shen Lan, just like Miss Shao.", she took a sip before saying, "To be honest, I don't know. Right now, the ideas just kept pouring in. So I will keep writing until I ran out of ideas." she shrugged.
Miss manager chimed in, "Shen Lan, don't scare me this way. I still haven't found my golden tree to hug yet!" she emptied her cup in big gulps and then said, "I don't care, you have to keep writing until I get married!"
Shao Yan brought her hand close her mouth slightly, and then she laughed.
Li Xiqing really liked this small gesture of hers.
Every time he met Shao Yan, he would always found something new from her.
He enjoyed this feeling. Very much.
They chatted more for a while, and then the dishes came in one after another.
Other than braised duck, Li Xiqing also ordered Peking Duck. Even though Peking Duck was the staple food from City B, but City S also had their own version of Peking duck.
"Do you know that Peking Duck is now recognized as national dish of China?", manager Lin asked the table while picking a slice to her plate.
This brought the discussion to move to different kinds of Peking Duck that existed. They also discussed which kind that they had tried before. And which one was the best.
Li Xiqing paid more attention to which dishes that Shao Yan picked and what she avoided.
He scooped some dishes for her as well, which gained him her gentle smile.
Dinner time never felt so warm and comforting before.
Li Xiqing paid for dinner. Shao Yan wanted to pay, she said that Gold Crane would covered for this; miss manager also said the same thing that her company would cover for it.
But Li Xiqing simply replied, "Just take it as celebration of meeting new friends" and then he smiled politely.
This smile brought another round of inner squeal from Miss Manager.
After they exited the restaurant, Li Xiqing asked which area he should drive to.
Miss Sea and miss manager both requested to be sent to the company as they had parked their cars there prior to leaving for city Q.
Their company was located not far from their current location, it was near the old city district. Along the drive there, Shao Yan was able to see many old style building that had been converted to shops.
Her eyes twinkled admiring the classic beauty within those vintage architecture.
Li Xiqing noticed this as well. And silently made a mental note on this.
Li Xiqing drove to the parking lot and helped Miss Sea and Miss manager to load the baggages into their car.
Before leaving, Shao Yan told Miss Sea, "Miss Shen, I will finish the second blog post tonight and I will email it to you. I want to have your approval first before I sent it to Mr. Wang."
And then she continued, "If you have any questions about my blog, Miss Shen, I would suggest you to talk to Mr. Wang directly," Shao Yan purposely paused here and looked at Miss Sea meaningfully, "What do you think of my idea, Miss Shen?"
Miss Sea paused for a while, and then she showed a very gentle lovely smile.
"We shall do as you said. Thank you" and then Miss Sea gave Shao Yan a brief hug.
They parted ways and said good night to each other.
Li Xiqing started driving to the direction of her apartment.
Now that there were only left the two of them in the car, the calm that Shao Yan felt before had disappeared.
Every single thing that Li Xiqing did, was now magnified in front of her eyes.
.....
When he crossed his arm to the steering wheel.
Or when he adjusted the car temperature.
When he leaned to the side, his hand supported his chin.
When he hummed to the music.
Or when he talked about small things every now and then.
It's really distracting for her!
.....
But somehow she didn't feel awkward. In fact, she actually felt really... warm??
Shao Yan was trying to distract her mind, so she started to think about what to write on the post tonight. And then she went quiet.
Li Xiqing didn't disturb her, he let her enjoy her own quiet time.
Li Xiqing drove to her apartment and then entered the parking garage.
He walked around to the back of the car to unload her bags. Shao Yan tried to take them away from him, but he held them still, and said, "You're tired, let me help you. Let's go." He patted her back and then started to walk to the elevator lobby.
Shao Yan was really helpless now. She wasn't used to rely on anyone. She could just follow him obediently from behind.
"Are you going to the office tomorrow?" Li Xiqing asked her when they've entered the elevator. He pushed the button to her floor.
Shao Yan took her phone out to check on her calendar.
"Yes, I have to. There are some meetings that I need to attend tomorrow." Shao Yan remembered that she needed to give away the tea gifts for everyone in the office.
"Oh, I bought some tea for you." and then she corrected herself, "I mean, I bought some for the office people, so I bought some for you too."
Li Xiqing was pleased that at least she remembered him.
They arrived on her apartment floor. Shao Yan opened the door and held it so Li Xiqing could carry the baggages in.
He entered the foyer and turned on the lights.
Li Xiqing settled her bags down in the living room. And then he walked to the bathroom direction to wash his hands.
Shao Yan looked at the whole thing and wondered, 'Ho... Hold on, Mister!! Is this my place or is this your place??'
@_@