"Well. . . that was very fun. . ." The sarcasm in her voice was evident but Gu Yechen didn't seem to notice.
"We did it," he said with a smile as he looked at He Xinyan.
"Yeah, you did it. . ."
The two of them walked out of the room and the front desk worker seemed surprised to see them, "You guys are done. . . already?"
"Yep!" He Xinyan said in the happiest tone possible.
"You two broke a record! Congratulations! You can take a picture right here using our wall of fame and we will put your photo up on the winner's board."
Hearing this, He Xinyan's mood got a little better. At least they were able to break the record!
Correction!
At least Gu Yechen was able to break the record!
The two of them took a picture together and they were able to tape their picture at the very top of the winner's board for having the highest record.
Back in the car, He Xinyan was still a little angry as she asked, "Tell me the truth. Did you play this escape room before?"
Gu Yechen raised one eyebrow, "No. Why?"
"Why?" He Xinyan punched him softly on the arm, "That wasn't fun at all! You solved everything! Ugh!"
Gu Yechen seemed to just realize what he did wrong as his eyes widened in surprise, "I'm sorry. I was just trying to solve the clues."
His sincere apology made it difficult for He Xinyan to stay mad so she pouted and said, "Fine. You better treat me to a good brunch."
---
They arrived at a brunch restaurant near the beach, and they were able to get the table near the window that looked out over the large ocean.
"We're early! No one is here!" He Xinyan exclaimed as she looked around the empty room.
Gu Yechen helped pull out the chair for her as he responded, "I booked the entire restaurant so it can just be the two of us."
He Xinyan almost fell out of the chair when she heard that, "The entire restaurant?"
Although this brunch place wasn't extremely expensive, He Xinyan could guess that it still probably cost a lot to book this entire place!
A waiter walked over with two menus and politely waited for them to choose what they wanted to eat before walking away with the order.
It was still summertime so the sun was bright and shiny. It was hot outside, but it was cool inside the restaurant. The gentle ocean breeze also made the brunch more comfortable and relaxing.
They each ordered one dish and ate silently, listening to the soft sound of the waves crashing against the shore.
Gu Yechen only ate half of the dish and then stopped eating to watch He Xinyan eat.
After Xinyan was done, she looked up at the plate and asked, "Are you not going to finish that?"
"Do you want it?" Gu Yechen pushed the plate forward. To be honest, He Xinyan didn't like sharing food or drinks with others because she found it quite disgusting to share saliva.
However, with Gu Yechen, she didn't feel any sense of disgust. She only felt sadness about wasting food. . . Maybe it was because he was just too clean and good for her to feel any disgust.
"Okay!" He Xinyan looked at the clean cuts from his knife of the grilled beef tenderloin and the leftover pieces of potato and fried eggs and a surge of happiness shot up He Xinyan.
Who cares about the failed escape room experience? Going on dates with Gu Yechen was awesome! Food!
In the next few minutes, He Xinyan ate and ate and finished all of the food on the plate, not even leaving a single scrap.
Gu Yechen had more fun watching her eat than eating himself because he didn't really enjoy eating anyway.
"Do you want more? We can order more." Gu Yechen lifted his hand up to call the waiter but He Xinyan stopped him.
"It's okay, I'm full now." After eating two servings of food, He Xinyan could feel the tightness of her pants and it almost felt like her waist had enlarged a whole inch.
After Gu Yechen paid, they left the restaurant together, and with no other plans, they returned back to the Xihe Estates.
"I don't want to leave," He Xinyan muttered. She had to admit that it was much more fun and easy to be with Gu Yechen than her "family". Plus, now that she knew that their relationship wasn't only a contract, she felt more relaxed next to him.
He Xinyan smiled at herself, thinking that she felt more comfortable next to a scary and domineering king than her family members. How funny. . .
"You can come to my house," Gu Yechen offered as his heartbeat sped up. "You can stay for a while and I'll cook dinner for you."
"Really?" He Xinyan's eyes lit up at the opportunity of not having to go home and face the fake mother and daughter duo, "Thank you!"
He Xinyan followed Gu Yechen into his house and was once again amazed at the large and beautiful interior of the mansion.
It would be nice if she could move out of the He mansion and live here. . . But she had to look after the He mansion. It belonged to her grandfather and mother and she wasn't going to let strangers occupy it forever. Besides her dad, she was going to find a way to kick every outsider out of the house just like how they had kicked her out.
They walked into the living room together and He Xinyan continued to look around the house her mother, grandfather, and herself liked.
But now, it belonged to her pursuer!
He Xinyan turned around to see Gu Yechen walking towards her and he lifted his hand up, holding out a key in the palm of his hand.
"This is. . ." He Xinyan picked up the key.
"It's the key for this house. You can come over whenever you want to."
"What?!" He Xinyan looked up with surprise as she felt her heart flutter slightly.
Gu Yechen smiled, "My house is your house."