He had a face that seemed to be of mixed Chinese and Western heritage.
Even his voice was as clear and pleasant as the clinking of jade.
Compared to Xu Linchuan's gentle charm, this man's voice held a touch of feminine softness.
"Hello, my name is Su Zhe."
Su Zhe?
The owner of this Shuiyun Jian Chinese restaurant, Su Zhe.
He heard he was an overseas Chinese, but he didn't expect his Chinese to be so fluent.
Su Zhe's clear blue eyes swept over Su Qi, "You are indeed as beautiful as the rumors say."
Then he smoothed his hair.
"But compared to me, you're still a little short."
Su Qi felt a line of black dots appear on her forehead.
Could this Su Zhe be...
As she was thinking, Su Zhe leaned towards Huo Tingyun, "Oh, you're so mean, not coming to my restaurant to eat for so long, and the first thing you do is bring your whole family. Don't you know I'll get jealous?"
*Pfft...*
It was a good thing she wasn't drinking water, or she would have burst out laughing at this sight.
Su Zhe leaned against Huo Tingyun in a delicate manner. Huo Tingyun, with his icy expressionless face, looked at Su Zhe. This scene was as amusing as it could get.
"Stop being ridiculous."
Huo Tingyun coldly removed Su Zhe's hand that was reaching out, took Su Qi's hand, and walked expressionlessly towards the private room.
"Oh, you're so mean, you don't want me, you just want to eat the food I make!"
Su Qi was suppressing her laughter.
No wonder there were rumors that Huo Tingyun liked men. The news must have originated from here!
"Don't mind him, Su Zhe likes men."
Su Qi nodded, "I can see that."
And she could also see that Huo Tingyun was Su Zhe's type.
The way Su Zhe looked at Huo Tingyun was clearly filled with romantic affection!
Unfortunately, Huo Tingyun didn't seem interested in Su Zhe.
The dishes were served, all made by Su Zhe himself. It had to be said that even though the dishes were the same and the flavors were the same, Su Zhe's cooking was much more delicious than the chef's. The last time she came, she thought it was already delicious, but eating Su Zhe's cooking was even more so.
After the meal, Huo Tingyun went to the restroom, leaving only Su Qi and Su Zhe.
Su Qi had nothing to talk about, so she used drinking water to cover her awkwardness.
Ever since Huo Tingyun left, Su Zhe's gaze had been fixed on her.
After a while, Su Zhe stood up, "Can I touch the baby in your belly?"
Su Qi was taken aback, and readily agreed, "Of course."
Su Zhe walked over, carefully extended her hand, and just touched her belly.
She couldn't help but sigh.
"This is the first time I've seen Tingyun bring a woman to my restaurant to eat. Before, it was either clients or family. You're the first. I heard you've been married for a year. I always thought Tingyun didn't have feelings for you, but seeing you today, Tingyun does have feelings for you."
Feelings?
Su Qi curled her lips, with a hint of sarcasm, "He just likes the child in my belly."
"Tingyun doesn't like children. Moreover, Shencheng is so big, there are so many women who can have children for him and are willing to have children for him. If he just wanted a child, it would be the same with anyone. He chose you!"
"What do you mean?"
Did she have to be grateful to Huo Tingyun?
"I don't mean any harm. I just want to say that Tingyun has feelings for you, maybe he doesn't even know it himself. He actually fell in love with you a long time ago!"
Love?
Huo Tingyun loves her?
She no longer believed such naive and ridiculous words.
Just like she no longer believed in fairy tales in this world.
Huo Tingyun was the prince in the fairy tale, but she was not the princess at all.
Su Zhe blinked her eyes, propped up her chin, and smiled, "You say, with Tingyun's personality, if he really didn't want to, even if the old man forced him to marry you, he would definitely not marry you!"
Su Qi was stunned.
She knew Huo Tingyun too well, which was why she couldn't understand why Huo Tingyun had agreed to marry her back then.
"So, Tingyun loves you, he just hasn't discovered it yet. He's always been someone who says one thing and means another, arrogant, cunning, sharp-tongued, seemingly cold, but actually warm inside. It's just that he lacked care since childhood, without a father's company and affection, no one taught him what love is, or how to love someone."
Huo Tingyun went abroad to study at fifteen, and it was then that he met Su Zhe.
Counting from now, it's been thirteen years. Su Zhe understood Huo Tingyun better than anyone.
During his years of studying abroad, Qin Xue had to take care of the Huo family and all the stewards, rarely coming abroad. Huo Qingrang was even less so. Only the old man visited frequently, so Tingyun had a good relationship with the old man. However, Huo Tingyun agreeing to marry Su Qi would definitely not be just because he listened to the old man.
Huo Tingyun has feelings for her?
What a joke!
She would rather believe in the end of the world than believe that Huo Tingyun loved her.
Just as Su Qi was about to say something, the door was pushed open from the outside. Huo Tingyun walked in, picked up his jacket from the chair, and offered Su Qi a hand, "Let's go."
Su Zhe stood up and grumbled discontentedly, "You're leaving right after dinner, and no goodbye kiss. How cold and heartless..."
Before Su Zhe could finish speaking, Huo Tingyun took Su Qi's hand and led her out of the restaurant.
The man had official business, and Su Qi wanted to go to the mall to buy some winter clothes. As her belly grew bigger, her old clothes became difficult to wear. She needed to buy some new clothes. Moreover, her belly would continue to grow. Although Qin Xue had prepared some, they were too casual and difficult to wear outside.
The man handed her a gold card, "Swipe it for whatever you want."
Su Qi was stunned, "I have my own money."
She still had a few thousand yuan, and didn't need Huo Tingyun to give her money.
"You're embarrassed to spend my money?"
Huo Tingyun raised an eyebrow and leaned closer to Su Qi.
"You weren't like this before, you were passionate and fiery. How come you're being so polite to me now?"
Su Qi's expression was complex, "You weren't like this before either."
Before, Huo Tingyun wished he could stay eighteen thousand miles away from her.
Now that he was treating her well, she was a bit unaccustomed to it.
Who knew what he was up to?
What if it was poison?
"Swipe it with confidence."
"I'll swipe hundreds of millions and bankrupt you."
"Then you'd have to have the ability to do that."
Even buying out the entire mall might not bankrupt Huo Tingyun.
At most, it would be a small loss.
No, it might not even be a hair.
Su Qi took the gold card. It was heavy. The old man had also given her a card with an unlimited limit before, but none of them were as generous or as significant as this card.
Huo Tingyun's money, it would be a waste not to spend it.
The car stopped at the entrance of the mall. This was the largest commercial plaza in this affluent area, housing many luxury brands, all top-tier international luxury goods.
Su Qi got out of the car, having to support her belly. Even the act of getting out of the car seemed strenuous.
Looking at the luxurious department store in front of her, although it wasn't her first time here, she still felt like a country bumpkin entering the city.