"Wu Qiang. Wu Qiang!"

Wu Qiang raised his gaze from his phone and stared at the girl sitting on the other side of the table with an annoyed expression. "What?"

Rong Fang Yi slightly furrowed her brows but still forced herself to smile in the end. "I was telling you about the charity event my mother and I are planning."

"Ah." Wu Qiang looked back at his phone, his thumb hovering over the send button.

"A lot of people have already said that they’ll come. What about you? You’ll certainly be there, won’t you? And what about your family? Is father-in-law going to come?"

This time Wu Qiang looked up, his brows furrowing tightly. "What father-in-law? We’re not even engaged. Don’t be so presumptuous!"

Rong Fang Yi’s lips tightened and she took the glass next to her, taking a sip of the wine to calm herself down. For a moment, her eyes narrowed but finally, she looked at Wu Qiang with yet another smile. "Alright, alright. I know already. So will uncle come?"

Wu Qiang looked back at his phone and finally pressed the button, sending the message over before he put the phone down. "Shouldn’t you ask my father if you want to know if he’ll come? How would I know?" He picked up his own glass and turned away, checking whether the waiter was already in sight. Unfortunately, nothing could be seen of the person.

The couple at the table next to theirs had already received their order, even though they had come after them. Wu Qiang’s eyes narrowed. It seemed he shouldn’t come here anymore in the future. Either the service was really bad or somebody had been bribed so that he would have to spend more time in the restaurant or rather …

He turned to glance at Rong Fang Yi, feeling even more disgusted. From the very beginning, he had made it clear to her that he wasn’t interested. Unfortunately, this girl would neither take a hint nor understand if she was clearly told 'no'. In fact, the latter would make her bite onto somebody like a pit bull, refusing to let go regardless of how you scolded her or tried to shake her off. She was of the firm opinion that she was so lovely and desirable that anybody would fall in love with her sooner or later. Well, good luck! He certainly wouldn’t fall for her.

Rong Fang Yi also looked around. She chuckled lightly and reached over, her fingertips gently brushing Wu Qiang’s hand. "I can’t believe the waiter still hasn’t come over. Do you think they forgot about us? How strange! I thought the service here was really good."

Wu Qiang took his hand back and picked up his phone again. The other side hadn’t answered yet, making his expression turn grim.

On the other side of the table, Rong Fang Yi slightly leaned forward, showing off the low-cut dress she was wearing. "Bad news? Is it about some project you’re working on for the company?"

Wu Qiang glanced at her but didn’t say anything. He had never talked with her about the matters of the company. Even if she was desperate because she was slowly lacking things to say, she really should know better than to ask about this. It was a pity that he couldn’t just call her out on it and be done with this. After all, their families were close. His father would chew him out if he dared to just leave her here before the food could even come. Well, not that they had even managed to order anything yet.

His phone finally blinked and a message appeared on the screen. Wu Qiang ignored the other person sitting at the table and opened it with half a smile. Finally!

[I was checking out. No need to get worried, Mister CEO. It’s not like somebody will kidnap me on my way home.]

Wu Qiang already wanted to text back when another message arrived.

[I’ve brought a lot.]

There was a slight pause and then another message came in.

[Should be enough for two people. When will you be home? Should I cook for you too?]

Wu Qiang’s smile unwittingly widened and his gaze softened. He pondered for a moment and finally messaged back.

[Mn. You wait for me. I’ll wrap everything up in half an hour.]

This time, the other side didn’t respond immediately. Wu Qiang put his phone down and looked up at Rong Fang Yi. "You’re right, the service here is much worse than usual. It doesn’t seem like our order will even arrive today. Anyway, there’s still a lot to do in the company so I’ll excuse myself first." He didn’t wait for her to answer and just got up, slipping his phone into his pocket.

Rong Fang Yi stared at him in a daze. Excuse her? He just wanted to leave? "Wu Qiang! You can’t just leave me here alone!" She also leaped to her feet, almost pulling down the tablecloth in her panic.

Wu Qiang snorted. "Why? You can call your chauffeur? Don’t worry, I’ll go explain to the waiter. Since their service is this bad, they shouldn’t have any complaints." He turned around and walked to the entrance, giving the staff that rushed over a cold look. "Whatever you have to say, say it to the person whose money you accepted." With that, he left the restaurant and walked to his car. He took another look at his phone and indeed, the next message had arrived.

[Half an hour is only enough for a few dishes. Don’t expect me to look good.]

Wu Qiang chuckled and his fingers flew over the keyboard. [Looking good isn’t important. Looking like yourself is.] He put the phone down and started the engine, not caring for Rong Fang Yi who was running out after him. He didn’t even spare her another glance and just sped off. Anyway, this was her own fault. He was willing to sit through an entirely boring dinner as long as she behaved. But she hadn’t even been able to do that so why should he bother? There was also an end to how far he was willing to go just to please his parents. This had definitely crossed the line.

Rong Fang Yi stomped her feet in anger and stalked back into the building. That Wu Qiang! She’d make him pay for this! How could he ignore her half the evening and then even leave her alone?! What 'she could call her chauffeur'? That wasn’t the same thing at all! They were supposed to be a couple, they were supposed to get married in the future. Shouldn’t he treat her better than this?! And who had he been texting all the time? It couldn’t be that he had met some bitch that was trying to steal him away from her, could it?!

She gnashed her teeth in anger and went to grab her purse, finally calling the chauffeur after all. She would definitely find out what was going on there and then make that bitch pay that dared to try to sink her nails into her boyfriend! Nobody would get between her and her Mister Perfect!

Wu Qiang didn’t care about her opinion at all and wasn’t worried about what she might do either. To him, Rong Fang Yi was just a spoiled princess that could do nothing more than throw a tantrum if she was angry about something. If she tried to do something else, she’d just embarrass herself. In fact, if she did, he would be more than happy. After all, then he’d have a reason to tell his parents that they definitely weren’t fit for each other. And if that happened …

He smiled to himself and rushed straight home, pushing every thought of Rong Fang Yi out of his mind. Now, only his actual darling counted. He didn’t even look at his phone before he rushed into the penthouse and over to the kitchen, sliding around the corner. "I’m back!"

Yu Ning turned around and then glanced at his phone. "You liar! That wasn’t even half an hour. I haven’t even finished the dishes yet."

Wu Qiang smiled and walked over, pulling him into his arms. "Cooking is also optional. As long as you’re here, that’s all that counts."

Yu Ning laughed and turned in his arms, hugging his neck. "So you’ll be satisfied with just a bowl of rice?"

"If it’s your bowl of rice …" Wu Qiang leaned down and their lips met.

Yu Ning sighed but still broke away in the end. "That meeting you had … It wouldn’t be a problem that you just left, would it?"

Wu Qiang shook his head. "It was just that annoying girl that my father foisted on me. I’d choose you over her any time. It’s just that she didn’t want to shut up today so I couldn’t get out sooner. Otherwise, I would have been here much earlier."

Yu Ning grinned and reached up, pulling Wu Qiang’s tie. "You better not let your old man hear that. He’d jump in anger."

"Don’t worry. It’s enough as long as you hear it. Now … I think you should pay attention to the stove or we won’t even get that bowl of rice."

Yu Ning’s eyes widened and he whirled back to the stove, taking the pot off the burner. He waved to make the steam disappear and then tried to stir the rice. Unfortunately, the rice at the bottom had already gotten stuck and turned a reddish-brown. "Ah! I can’t believe this happened!" Yu Ning furrowed his brows. This was so embarrassing! Especially after he had said that he would make a few dishes for them tonight.

He continued to stare at the pot with anger, feeling unreconciled. Hadn’t he only turned around for a few moments? How had this even happened? Something had to be wrong with this rice!

He grumbled to himself but then pulled himself together. He couldn’t change it anymore. Now, he could only try to save the situation. He turned back to his boyfriend and once again grabbed his tie, pulling all the way down until Wu Qiang’s face was in front of his. "Mister CEO, between a bowl of rice and me, what would you choose?"

Wu Qiang’s eyes curved in a smile and he grabbed Yu Ning’s waist. "Mn, I think investing in you will produce better returns in the long run." He closed his eyes and leaned forward, giving his boyfriend another kiss. "Mn. I was right. I can already see the investment pay off."

Yu Ning laughed and pecked his lips. "Let’s forget about the rice then and order some take out. Or maybe … let’s just go to bed directly? I wouldn’t mind going hungry for one meal. Eating so much in the evening isn’t that good anyway. You’ll just get fattened up." He reached out and patted his boyfriend’s stomach.

Wu Qiang chuckled and picked him up, carrying him toward the bedroom as if it was nothing. So much for needing to watch what he ate. "My phone is in the pocket. If you take it now, we’ll be finished before they deliver it."

Yu Ning’s eyes lit up and he fished the phone out of the pocket while holding onto his boyfriend’s shoulder with one arm. "You really have your priorities straight, Mister CEO. So between seeing the girl your father foisted on you and that bowl of rice back in the kitchen, who wins?"

Wu Qiang opened the door with his elbow and walked into the bedroom, putting his boyfriend down on the soft mattress. He couldn’t help but grin at the question. It really seemed like somebody was jealous. Well, not that he had any reason to.

He leaned down over Yu Ning and pecked his lips. "Naturally, it’s always your bowl of rice. Even if it’s burnt." He took the phone and threw it onto the nightstand, not waiting for Yu Ning to call for takeout anymore. With a wolfish grin, he pushed him down and loosened his tie. "Skipping meals also isn’t healthy. So I guess if we can’t have takeout and can’t eat those tasty dishes you make, we can only eat each other up."

He didn’t wait for the response and just gave his boyfriend another kiss, His hands already roaming about, taking off one layer of clothes after the other as if peeling tasty food. Mn, he always made the right choices. That was in the blood of a businessman.