Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Envy, Jealousy, and Hatred!
Luu Qi, however, didn’t seem to mind at all. She made a silly face and stuck her tongue out before turning back to Qingxue.
"Sister-in-law, my name is Luu Qi."
Hearing Luu Qi’s direct introduction, Qingxue had to force down her shyness.
"Hello, Cousin. I’m Qingxue. This is a gift for you."
As she spoke, she retrieved a gift box from nearby.
"I didn’t know what you’d like, so I just browsed around and picked out a watch. My taste isn’t the best, so open it and have a look. If you don’t like it, we can take it back and exchange it."
With that, Qingxue looked at Luu Qi expectantly.
"No, no, I couldn’t."
Luu Qi quickly waved her hands in refusal.
This was their first meeting; it wouldn’t be right to accept such a gift.
Seeing Luu Qi refuse, Qingxue looked a little crestfallen.
"Does this mean my cousin doesn’t like me, so you don’t like my gift either?"
Hearing this, Luu Qi waved her hands frantically.
"No, not at all!"
Seeing an opening, Qingxue pressed her advantage, holding the gift box out to Luu Qi.
Feeling a bit helpless, Luu Qi shot a pleading look at Xia Liang.
Xia Liang glanced over and gave a slight nod.
Although he hadn’t admitted it aloud, he already considered Qingxue one of his own.
A gift for his cousin wasn’t a big deal.
Seeing Xia Liang’s approval, Luu Qi had no choice but to accept it, lifting the box slightly.
"Then thank you for the gift, Sister Xue. You’re so beautiful, so your taste must be excellent."
To keep Qingxue from getting overly embarrassed again, Luu Qi avoided calling her "sister-in-law."
However, even though she accepted the gift, Luu Qi didn’t open it then and there.
After all, that would be quite impolite.
Seeing that her gift had been accepted, Qingxue finally breathed a sigh of relief and beckoned to a waiter.
"You can bring the food out now."
Lotus root, chives, fatty beef, chicken wings, river prawns...
Plate after plate was served to their table.
The meal was a very cheerful and harmonious affair.
The three of them ate for nearly two hours.
It was mostly because Qingxue and Luu Qi chatted nonstop. Xia Liang couldn’t fathom it. It was their first time meeting, so where did they find so much to talk about?
「」
After leaving the barbecue restaurant, Qingxue and Luu Qi decided to go shopping.
As the only man in the group, Xia Liang naturally had to accompany them.
The trio set out from the restaurant, covering practically every store in the vicinity. Along the way, they went in and out of countless shops, big and small, trying on anything that caught their eye.
After an hour of shopping, the two were feeling a bit thirsty, so they sat down in a milk tea shop.
Watching them continue to chatter away, Xia Liang was filled with regret.
Wouldn’t it be better to be livestreaming after dinner? he thought. Wouldn’t it be nice to just relax with Zhou Ruo at home? Why on earth did I agree to go shopping with this species called ’woman’? Let alone two of them. That’s double the combat power.
With his current physical fitness, he could sprint at full speed for an hour without even breaking a sweat. Yet after just a short time shopping with these two, he was already tired.
Just then, a couple walked in.
Luu Qi’s eyes were glued to the chocolate sundae in the girl’s hand, and she unconsciously licked her lips.
"Sister, I want some ice cream. Do you want any?"
At this, Qingxue also propped her chin on her hands and looked at Xia Liang with a hopeful expression.
"Mhm, I’d like some too. It would be even better if someone went to buy it for us."
"Oh."
Xia Liang glanced casually at the menu, then looked back at the two of them.
"What a coincidence. I’d like some, too. It would be great if someone bought it for me..."
As soon as the words left his mouth, a sound erupted from a nearby table.
"PFFT!"
"What are you doing?"
The trio turned their heads in confusion.
They saw a young man had just sprayed a mouthful of milk tea all over the face of the girl sitting opposite him.
"Hmph!"
Having been sprayed in the face, the girl was in no mood for a date. She grabbed her bag and stormed out.
"Hey! Tiantian! I’m sorry, wait for me!"
The man scrambled after her, but not before shooting Xia Liang a furious glare.
What does that have to do with me?
Getting glared at for no reason, Xia Liang felt completely innocent.
Seeing his blameless expression, many people around him rolled their eyes, as they had nearly done the same thing.
A handsome man with two beautiful women was a combination that naturally drew a lot of attention. From the moment the three of them had walked in, most of the patrons in the milk tea shop had been sneaking glances at their table.
When they heard the two lovely ladies say they wanted ice cream, everyone subconsciously assumed Xia Liang would eagerly scamper off to buy it for them. They never expected him to come back with:
"I’d like some, too."
This made everyone inwardly label him as a totally clueless guy.
Many of the men in the shop wanted to beat their chests and roar.
Are you kidding me! If you don’t know how, let me do it!
To have such incredible women with him and not know how to cherish the opportunity! If it were them, they would have gone to buy ice cream without a moment’s hesitation. It was a perfect chance to show off their chivalry and score points. Wasn’t that the obvious move?
But this was good too! Looked like they were in for a show.
The onlookers perked up their ears, watching Xia Liang’s table from the corners of their eyes. They were ready to see what would happen next. If the two women got angry, one of them could swoop in, offer some comfort, and maybe even win a beauty’s heart.
However, to their disappointment, neither woman showed the slightest hint of anger.
It was as if they were already used to it.
Qingxue couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Xia Liang. They had been getting along so well today, she’d thought he might have changed a little and decided to test him.
Turns out she was overthinking things.
With a sigh, Qingxue stood up.
Seeing this, the people watching their table couldn’t help but start laughing.
"Serves him right!"
"What a hopelessly clueless man!"
"Hilarious! The ladies were obviously hinting for *him* to go buy the ice cream."
"He’s not even apologizing! It’s definitely over for him."
...
"Let’s go, Luu Qi," Qingxue said. "We’ll go buy ice cream for this lazybones."
"Okay."
Luu Qi obediently stood up and followed her toward the counter.
It feels so good not to be a Bootlicker! Xia Liang thought blissfully. I remember running my legs off just to buy Yang Ying a Häagen-Dazs ice cream bar, only for her to complain about it when I got back. This is so much better! Awesome!
In stark contrast to Xia Liang’s delight, the crowd that had been waiting for his downfall looked as if they had just swallowed something foul.
What the hell was going on? This wasn’t how the script was supposed to play out!
Under everyone’s bewildered gaze, Qingxue walked toward the counter.
Then, she suddenly turned back.
"By the way, what flavor do you want?"
BANG!
Her words struck the hearts of the onlookers like a sledgehammer.
Critical Hit—9999!
What kind of divine girl was this?
Looking at their own girlfriends, who got upset at the drop of a hat, the men in the room had to admit they were jealous.
"Why are the best girlfriends always someone else’s!"
"I’m so envious! Where do you even find a girl who is so considerate, understanding, and not dramatic?"
"I don’t get how a guy so clueless about women could find such a great girl!"
"Well, I think he’s great. And he’s incredibly handsome!"
"Yeah! The way he said no was so manly!"
...
Ignoring the murmurs from the crowd, Xia Liang simply waved a hand.
"Any flavor is fine."