Yi Ran, as she was getting dragged by Ning Qi. She looked at him with a mixture of panic and a thrill that she had never felt.
She didn't feel how she expected when Ning Qi kicked that guy. Instead, she felt she was experiencing something she had never thought of.
Usually, she would have avoided Ning Qi after he did something that might lead to trouble later, which she avoided at all costs.
But now she finds it satisfying, and the hand that is holding her is giving her a lot of courage that she lacks.
"Are you fine?"
After exiting the restaurant, Ning Qi looked at Yi Ran and said that, from his first impression of her, she is quiet, gentle, and also a person who avoids trouble. Except when someone triggers him with his close ones, he is almost identical to her.
"I'm fine. You shouldn't have done that... he might come after you later." She was looking at Ning Qi with concern.
"It's alright! That guy deserved it. I avoid trouble whenever possible but am unable to control myself when someone goes after my friends or family members. Don't worry about him, it's hard for him to find us, it's not a small village."
Ning Qi explained, trying to console her. But he knows it's not hard for that guy to find him. It will just take a little longer because he appears to have some connections in the city.
'Whatever comes, will come! Let's deal with it when the time comes.' Ning Qi is also concerned, but he consoles himself because he can't do anything about it.
"C-can you please release my hand?"
She nodded her head after hearing him. But as she looked at the hand that was still holding her, she couldn't help but blush and ask Ning Qi to release her.
"Ah? I'm sorry about that... Let's go to my house, Li Ping and Jia Li look to have already gone."
Ning Qi took his hand, embarrassed. And he looked around a bit to check on Li Ping and Jia Li, but couldn't find them and said so.
"Alright! Let's go... It's only around 500 meters from here. But don't mention anything, I don't want them to worry about this too." Ning Qi asked, and they both walked slowly.
As they reached his house, they saw Li Ping and Jia Li watching TV. Looking at Li Ping, his head had already cooled down a lot.
"Oi! Old Li, can you come and help me in the kitchen?"
Ning Qi shouted at Li Ping, making both Jia Li and Li Ping look back at them.
"You go and watch TV with Jia Li, we will prepare some food quickly."
Ning Qi said slowly, without giving another look at Li Ping's enquiring look.
"I can help you. Let them watch TV, Li Ping needs some time to cool off too." Yi Ran said.
"Nah! I'm already fine, you go and join Jia Jia, Ran. You are the guests today, how can we let you work?"
Li Ping came in and smiled, surprising Yi Ran with how quickly his mood changed. But Ning Qi, on the other hand, knows his friend quite well, he will put aside unnecessary thoughts after he cools down a bit.
"Surprised, right? That was my experience as well. This guy changes his mood pretty quickly. Right after we came back, he started talking about nonsense."
Jia Li also came towards Yi Ran after seeing Yi Ran with the same expression she made at this guy's mood-changing ability.
He even started talking to her about love, life, etc., making her blush and want to kick him in the ass. He is making it obvious with all that talk, but she felt that it was too fast.
"Alright! That's how he is. You guys watch TV, we will make food in 20 minutes."
Ning Qi said this as he dragged Li Ping into the kitchen to begin preparing food.
"Hm! Ran ran... What is your opinion about Ning Qi so far?"
Jia Li asked Ran after they sat down to watch TV. She is obviously not in the mood to watch, she finds that Ning Qi is quite compatible with her bestie and wants to fix them.
"Oh! Looks like our Jia takes a liking to Li Ping here, huh?"
Yi Ran didn't answer her question, instead asking a question in reverse, as she felt that Jia Li is a bit abnormal when she looks at Li Ping today.
"Yeah! My parents have been asking me to get a boyfriend soon, or they will arrange one if I can't find one this year. We've known Li Ping for a while. He's quite good and has a personality similar to mine, albeit a little dumb at times. And he is showing interest in me too... What about you? I know that you are interested in Ning Qi too, but you are just too shy to agree, hmph!"
Jia Li humphed and rebutted Yi Ran.
"Hm! What does it matter, even if I have a good impression of him? Do you think he has an interest in me?"
Yi Ran got a bit surprised by Jia Li's straightforward answer. She also explained herself in a roundabout manner.
"I don't think anyone will reject our beautiful Ran Ran, hehe! I think that Ning Qi will officially pursue you once he finds out that you have an interest in him. Don't worry, Ran, leave it to me, hehe."
Jia Li said, making Yi Ran blush a bit, but she didn't object to her help as she doesn't have much experience in this.
As they kept whispering with each other, Ning Qi and Li Ping came out of the kitchen with a set of plates and food prepared. They looked at the girls, whispering with each other in small voices, and looked at each other before shaking their heads.
After seeing that both boys were out, they stopped talking and got up to help set up the table.
Soon! All of them sat down and started dining.
"Woah! This food is quite delicious, Ning Qi."
Jia Li said, continuing to dig in. Yi Ran on the side also nodded her head.
"What? I also prepared a dish for what you are eating... Why do you only praise Ning Qi and not me?"
Li Ping said this with a crying face, which made all the people laugh.
They soon forgot about the incident that happened an hour ago and started talking happily.
"Hm! Ning Qi... Do you like our Yi Ran? She is quite interested in you...If you also have an interest in her, you both can start dating and see how it works. What do you say?"
Just as their dinner was about to end, Jia Li, the matchmaker, took the chance to propose.
Yi Ran blushed until her face turned red. She didn't dare to look at Ning Qi directly and decided to concentrate her eyes on the food. But her ears are perched up, waiting for Ning Qi's reply.
Li Ping, on the other hand, knows that the situation he was waiting for has come. After Ning Qi agrees, he also wants to propose the same to Jia Li. He also looked at his brother and urged him.
"Come on, Lao Ning! Simply put, you won't find a better girl than Our Ran." Li Ping said.
"It's not that I don't want to... I also want to agree. It's just that if I agree now, I will probably hurt her in the future. So, I will decline, and it's best that we stay friends." Ning Qi said, surprising Jia Li and Li Ping.
But Yi Ran, on the other hand, lifted her head a bit and looked Ning Qi in the eyes. She doesn't know why, but she knows that Ning Qi is telling the truth.
She got a bit disappointed and uncomfortable, she wants to leave this place as soon as possible. But she also wants to know why.
"What the hell are you saying, Lao Ning? Yi Ran is a good girl, and I think my uncle and aunt will be quite happy to get such a pretty and gentle person as their daughter-in-law if your relationship matures and you decide to marry in the future."
Li Ping is quite confused, he knows Ning Qi well. It's just that he doesn't know why he is acting weird today. According to him, Ning Qi would have already accepted a girl who is similar to him in temperament.
Jia Li also looked at Ning Qi with a bit of displeasure and took Yi Ran's hand to console her a bit. She didn't expect that straightforward rejection from Ning Qi. She even thought Ning Qi was playing hard to get, which Yi Ran does not believe.
"Don't take me wrong! It's not that I didn't like Yi Ran. From the first look at her, I can see a lot of myself in her, and she is very beautiful. It's just that I can't go out with her and hurt her later. To be honest, I'm already married, just after I finished high school at the age of 19... "
"But except my family, no one knows this, even my best friend Li Ping doesn't know. It's an arranged marriage that was decided by my parents and her parents when we were kids. Even though I am married to her, I don't even have any contact with her. I may have played with her a bit when we were kids, but those memories are vague. After marriage, she only stayed with me for three days, and that was only to complete all the rituals..."
Ning Qi explained slowly and also thought of that peerless face, which doesn't have many emotions. She didn't even look at him straight in the entire three days that they stayed together, not to mention talk with each other or do more.
It was also the only time that he met with his second sister and little brother. It's not that they are allowed to attend their elder brother's wedding.
It's just that they are here to attend their senior sister's marriage and also because their parents pleaded with their sect.
That girl is also from the same sect as his brother and sister. She was recruited there even before them, probably when she was around 7. Ning Qi is used to playing with her, according to his parents.
Even if Ning Qi has a few vague memories... he doesn't think that girl will always stay the same once she grows up.
He asked his parents to stop this marriage, but no one agreed to his pleas. He even went to meet her parents and told them to stop this marriage, as this did not do any good for either of them, but he was surprised that they didn't agree either.
"Hello! If you want to stop this marriage now, we can stop it. Don't force yourself" Ning Qi even remembered that he tried to persuade her to cancel, but all he got was a cold stare from her.
Ning Qi explained everything, looked apologetically at Yi Ran, and said.
"Alright! You guys carry on! I'm full, I will go to bed early." Ning Qi said this and went to wash his hands before entering the bedroom.
"He is not making up things, right? I mean, who believes in things like martial arts and bullshit? Not to mention sending people to the mountains for training and only letting them meet once or twice a year?"
He and Ran Ran only met today, and even though she took a liking to him, she would at most be a bit disappointed for a day or two.
Jia Li was obviously quite doubtful of what Ning Qi said. She is a person who only believes in what she sees and thinks that Ning Qi's situation is similar to those in novels or movies, which is obviously impossible in real life.
Yi Ran, on the other hand, had faith in Ning Qi, despite the fact that she does not believe in martial arts.
"No! I don't think so... I know his situation. His sister and brother really went to train somewhere, and it's a sect. This is told to me by Ning Qi's father himself...I was also as surprised as you guys. But we need to acknowledge that the society that we are seeing is only for normal people. From that, I can say that what Ning Qi said is 100% true... He is usually quite an honest person. He probably even took a liking to Yi Ran, just like he said, he doesn't want to hurt her because of this."
Li Ping explained as he is the one who knows a lot of secrets about Ning Qi and has also met his parents and his sister multiple times.
"I also think that he is not lying! Let's go, Jia... It's getting late."
Yi Ran said after gathering her thoughts. She doesn't know what she is feeling right now, a bit of sadness, a bit more liking towards Ning Qi, or a bit of empathy.
"Alright! I will drop you guys. Let's go"
Li Ping also thinks it's better not to force things. He also lost the chance to propose a date with Jia Li, but obviously, she was not in the mood.
They soon finished eating, and Li Ping hired a taxi for them before going back to his house. He told Jia Li to message him after they reach their house, as both of them are staying in the same room.