Haidilao was too crowded, and he was too lazy to queue.
Chen Dongyang felt that all hot pot tasted more or less the same, so he chose a place with very ordinary decoration.
Tiantián sat next to Douya, and Chen Dongyang sat opposite them alone.
After ordering the soup base and ingredients, Chen Dongyang asked the waiter to bring Tiantián a large bottle of orange juice.
They ordered a mild spicy soup base. He didn't know how Chen Dongyang knew Tiantián couldn't eat spicy food. After a few bites, she started drinking orange juice frantically.
However, there was some truth to the saying that spicy food is appetizing.
He thought he wouldn't be able to eat it, but the more he ate, the more he wanted to. By the end, everyone was sweating a little.
Seeing that Tiantián's mood had completely improved, Chen Dongyang asked Douya to go and get a few more dipping sauces.
After Douya left, he started talking to Tiantián.
"What are you planning to do for the semifinals?"
In fact, Tiantián had guessed what he was going to say when he sent Douya away, but she hadn't figured out how to respond.
She told him the truth, "If it doesn't work out, I'll have my brother send me."
"So you're definitely going to participate in the competition?"
"Nonsense. I worked so hard drawing. I've finally made it to the semifinals, so why shouldn't I participate until the end? Besides, I don't have anything else to do lately."
Tiantián suddenly looked up, "What do you mean by asking this? You don't want me to participate?"
Chen Dongyang certainly didn't mean that; he didn't lack this one opponent.
He took a sip of water and said, "Since you must go, I must go too. You've been hiding it from your brother for so long, why would you let him know in the end? Let's go together."
Tiantián refused without thinking,
"No."
Chen Dongyang seemed very disappointed, "Why?"
Tiantián said, "My leg is inconvenient, and I don't want to be bumped around too much. I'll have my brother send someone to take me."
"I can take you too."
Tiantián gave him a sarcastic look, smiled, and said nothing more.
But Chen Dongyang understood her meaning.
They fell into silence. After a pause, he said, "If Doubao has any more problems in the future, you're not planning to help anymore, are you?"
They were talking about themselves, why bring up Doubao?
Tiantián looked at him speechlessly. Chen Dongyang explained.
"Since you said everyone is friends, and you would help Doubao if he had problems in the future, why bother arguing with his mother?"
"I told you, she's just like that. She speaks without thinking. You're so smart, why would you bother with an idiot?"
"Is she an idiot?"
Tiantián was about to say that she wasn't an idiot at all when Douya returned.
She swallowed the rest of her words.
Perhaps everyone was full, or perhaps they had more on their minds, but for the rest of the meal, only Douya ate heartily.
After dinner, Chen Dongyang took Douya back first.
Tiantián had prepared herself to argue with him alone, but from the moment they got into the car, Chen Dongyang didn't say a word to her.
And it seemed like he didn't want to talk to her either.
That was fine; neither of them needed to talk to each other.
They drove in silence until they were outside Tiantián's residential compound. The security guard already recognized Chen Dongyang and let them pass directly.
He drove the car to the ground floor, took out the wheelchair first, and then opened the car door.
Just as Tiantián was about to support herself with her arms to get out of the car, he stepped forward and hugged her without a word.
As before, he carried her down and gently placed her in the wheelchair.
Then, he closed the car door with one hand and held the wheelchair with the other.
"I'll take you upstairs."
Tiantián didn't expect him to be waiting for her. She felt flustered and sweet, not knowing what to say, so she could only lower her head and let him do as he pleased.
Chen Dongyang skillfully took her into the house, closed the door, and crouched in front of her.
"If her words angered you that day, I apologize. I'm sorry, it was all my fault for handling it poorly."
"I know I have no right to say anything else to you, but I sincerely want to help you. Let's go to the semifinals together."
"If you don't want to see me, I promise I won't bother you again after the semifinals. I'll stay away from you forever from now on, okay?"
"Just consider it one last time. Let me do something for you, okay?"
He was still wearing a black t-shirt today, with his arms exposed.
His veins bulged, and his muscles tensed. Paired with his excessively angular face and his gentle yet affectionate tone, it was hard not to be dazed.
Tiantián felt his request was excessive.
She knew that further development between them would be detrimental to both of them, and moreover, he had no intention of pursuing anything and was ready to leave at any time, yet he was using the guise of helping her to entangle himself with her.
Her reason told her that Chen Dongyang's behavior was scummy and that she needed to stay away.
But Tiantián couldn't say it.
Deep down, she actually had the same desire as him.
When she saw the list of semifinalists today, she had even started anticipating Chen Dongyang initiating contact with her.
This was destined to be a relationship that would bring her infamy, but Tiantián finally nodded.
As she nodded, she also prepared herself mentally.
If she was scolded by Wushuang or Huihui later, she would accept it.
As Tiantián had hoped, the day of departure finally arrived.
She hid it from Wushuang, saying that Jiang Jingyu had sent someone to take her, packed her luggage, and got into Chen Dongyang's van.
Although it was just a very old Wuling Hongguang, Tiantián felt as if she owned the world.
The sky had turned blue again, the air had become sweet, and the clouds had become gentle.
Sitting in the passenger seat, she couldn't stop smiling.
Chen Dongyang was the same.
He glanced at her from time to time, his eyes and brows full of smiles.
They drove onto the highway together. Even when there was a car accident ahead and a major traffic jam, they were not anxious.
They talked about each other's design concepts, the recent weather, the brands of the cars in front, and the history of the section of road they were on.
They wished they could make up for all the words they hadn't spoken in the past week.
After being stuck in traffic for more than two hours, they had only traveled more than seventy kilometers when it was noon.
Chen Dongyang was worried that Tiantián would be hungry and also needed to use the restroom, so he drove to a service area.
He took out the wheelchair and helped her sit down, "Do you need to go to the toilet?"
Tiantián was worried about inconvenience, "No, I didn't drink water this morning, so I'm not in a hurry."
"That won't do. You should go when you need to. You still need to drink water. Don't be afraid, at most we'll stop at a service area a few more times."
"That will delay things too much."
Chen Dongyang smiled, "What's the rush? Are you meeting someone?"
Tiantián rolled her eyes at him, "You know it's inconvenient for me to go to the toilet."
"It's okay, I'll find someone to help you."
Saying that, he pushed her towards the restroom entrance. Seeing a beautiful woman coming out, he politely approached her.
"Hello, can I bother you for two minutes?"
The beautiful woman's gaze met his, and she looked a bit surprised, "Is something wrong?"
"This is my friend. She injured her leg and finds it inconvenient to use the restroom. Could you trouble yourself to help her?"
The beautiful woman pushed Tiantián inside. While helping her, she couldn't help but sigh.
"Your boyfriend is so good to you, handsome and considerate. You two are such a good match, I'm so envious."
Tiantián: "..."
"Does he have any brothers or cousins? Any distant cousins would do. He's so handsome, his brothers must be good too. Can you introduce me?"