The female singer on stage happened to glance at him, and she gave him a sweet smile.
An Jing exclaimed, "What's going on? Were you just exchanging glances with the person on stage?"
Tian Yi said expressionlessly, "You're overthinking it. I didn't even look at her."
"But..."
Before An Jing could question further, Tian Yi pulled his chair back, turning his back to the stage.
"I was thinking of Susu just now. It has nothing to do with that woman on stage."
An Jing said "oh" and couldn't help but look at the singer on stage again, saying, "You know, that singer really looks a bit like Susu."
Tian Yi swept him an impatient glance, signaling him not to make such a boring joke.
Seeing that he didn't believe him, An Jing stopped paying attention to the singer on stage and drank with him without further conversation.
When the singing on stage stopped, An Jing saw the female singer walking directly towards them.
"Hey, she's coming for you," An Jing reminded him.
Tian Yi's expression instantly turned very unpleasant.
The female singer, not yet realizing that the person she wanted to approach was not to be trifled with, placed a hand on Tian Yi's shoulder and said in a clear voice, "Are you two handsome guys just finished moving bricks..."
Tian Yi moved slightly, shaking off her hand as if dusting off dirt.
"Go away. Don't get too close to me," Tian Yi's voice was chillingly cold.
The female singer's breath hitched, feeling incredibly embarrassed.
Normally, she only sang on stage and never approached guests to strike up a conversation.
The moment their eyes met on stage, her heart had pounded wildly.
Seeing that these two handsome men were clearly dressed as construction workers, but they were here to spend money, they must at least be foremen.
She had intended to use the break to get acquainted with the man whose eyes had met hers, but she hadn't expected him to become a completely different person.
His aura was quite intimidating.
An Jing quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "If the beautiful lady wants a drink, I'll buy you one. My friend here doesn't like women."
The female singer looked as if she suddenly understood, saying "oh" twice. She took An Jing's offer, smiling and saying, "Thank you, but I have to go on stage soon, so I won't have a drink."
With that, she went to the lounge behind the bar stage.
Tian Yi, confirming that the woman would no longer bother them, glared fiercely at An Jing and said, "What did you mean by that just now? What do you mean I don't like women?"
"Nothing, it doesn't mean anything," An Jing said with a smile. "Anyway, I dealt with her for you. Whatever she infers is her business."
Tian Yi said exasperatedly, "Your way of solving my problems is always to make people misunderstand that I like you."
"What can I do?" An Jing said helplessly. "Every time you see a girl, you're as stern as Judge Bao. I have to make them feel better, so they don't have nightmares when they go back."
"Girls? That woman looked like she worked as a hostess," Tian Yi said disdainfully.
An Jing said, "Then you're mistaken. I heard the singer is still a student. A client I brought here last time offered to pay her to come down for a drink, and she refused. She's probably not a casual girl."
"How many times have you seen her? Don't be fooled by appearances," Tian Yi still said dismissively.
An Jing didn't want to investigate what kind of person this girl was. Anyway, they were just here to pass the time, and they would each go home when morning came.
...
Susu woke up early and started getting busy. The filling was specially prepared according to Tian Yi's taste.
The dough, which had been proofed the day before, was kneaded again and was ready to be made into xiaolongbao.
Tian Yi used to dislike xiaolongbao, finding the fillings in commercially made ones not to his liking.
Once, when she was making small buns for Xiao Xing, Tian Yi graciously tasted her handiwork and also fell in love with her xiaolongbao.
He even became like a child, constantly asking for her homemade xiaolongbao.
The first batch was already steaming. She came out of the kitchen and looked towards the main gate, thinking that Tian Yi should be back after a night of work.
Xiao Mei had just come out of her room and was surprised to see that the young madam was up even earlier than her.
"Young Madam, why are you up so early today? What are you making? The kitchen smells so good."
"Tian Yi said he wanted to eat xiaolongbao, so I just started steaming them," Susu said with a smile.
But seeing that Tian Yi hadn't returned yet, she thought she and Xiao Mei would be the first to try the first steamed batch.
Just as she was about to return to the kitchen, she heard a car outside, indicating that Tian Yi was back.
However, she still headed towards the kitchen. Xiao Mei quickly said, "Young Madam, isn't that Young Master?"
Susu said "mm" and replied, "You go welcome him. I'll see if the xiaolongbao are ready."
Xiao Mei understood her intention – she wanted to surprise the young master – so she hurried to the door to greet him.
Tian Yi returned with anticipation, wondering if Susu had made him xiaolongbao.
Although she had promised him yesterday, perhaps she had forgotten.
He saw Xiao Mei at the door and asked, "Has the young madam not woken up yet?"
Xiao Mei smiled and said, "She's up and in the kitchen."
Tian Yi had already smelled the aroma of the buns and ran towards the kitchen with a smile.
In the kitchen, Susu was busy arranging the steamed xiaolongbao on a plate.
Tian Yi came up behind her, suddenly reached out, grabbed a xiaolongbao, and put it in his mouth.
Susu turned around and hit his hand, saying, "Did you wash your hands after just returning?"
"It's fine. Let me try one first." Saying that, he swallowed a xiaolongbao without fear of the heat.
Susu smelled something unusual on him, "Why is there a smell of alcohol?"
"I was tired after working with An Jing, so I went for a few drinks in the middle of the night to relax," Tian Yi explained frankly.
Susu pushed him, saying, "Go back to your room and take a shower, then change your clothes. Don't let Xiao Xing smell the alcohol on you later."
Tian Yi looked at the xiaolongbao on the plate, still craving them, and said, "Let me have one more."
"Don't worry, I made a lot, and I saved them all for you."
Tian Yi had no choice but to return to his room first.
Susu watched his retreating back from the kitchen with a smile, finding his demeanor truly adorable.
But suddenly, she saw a long strand of hair fall from his pants.
After he left the kitchen, she bent down and picked up the strand of hair from the floor, examining it closely.
It was a long, dyed strand – definitely a woman's hair.
Perhaps it had gotten stuck on him at the bar when he went drinking with An Jing.
She thought about the messy environment of the bar and assumed it was accidentally stuck on him. She then threw the hair directly into the trash can and continued her work.
When they officially had breakfast, Tian Yi and Xiao Xing were fighting over the xiaolongbao.
Susu watched them with a happy smile, feeling content to be able to make such a breakfast for her family.
...
In the psychiatric hospital, Feng Rou calmly answered the doctor's questions.
She no longer claimed she wasn't sick, nor did she exhibit any extreme behavior.
After being confined to the maximum-security ward, she had accepted reality. Regardless of whether she was framed or not, if she wanted better treatment here, she had to follow the rules.
She did whatever the doctor said, without showing any emotions, otherwise, she would be considered severely mentally ill.