Chapter 42: Dinner Together
Kong Yiyue hadn't expected Fu Jinting to take the initiative to contact her, so she couldn't help feeling pleasantly surprised when he called.
“Hello?”
“Mm, it's me.” Fu Jinting's deep voice rang out beside her ear, taking on a special warmth in the quiet, beautiful night.
She paused for a moment before replying, “Mm, what is it?”
“Didn't you say you wanted to have dinner together?”
“Huh?”
“Come out now.”
Kong Yiyue was confused. “Now? It's so late?”
Fu Jinting seemed to be thinking, Since I've already called you, you shouldn't refuse. So he was somewhat displeased with her questioning tone. He said, “I've been busy until now—I haven't eaten yet.”
“You've been that busy?” Kong Yiyue was surprised. Then she remembered he'd taken over the company, so he naturally wouldn't be as free and relaxed as an ordinary exchange student. She said with concern, “While company matters are important, how can you skip meals like this?”
An almost imperceptible smile crossed Fu Jinting's face on the other end of the line. “So Kong Yiyue, will you have dinner with me?”
Kong Yiyue bit her lip in frustration—wasn't he asking the obvious?
“Mm, wait for me—I'll change clothes and be right there.”
“Okay.”
They'd arranged to meet at a restaurant a bit farther from campus. By the time Kong Yiyue arrived by taxi, Fu Jinting was already waiting there. Before he could greet her, she'd already walked straight over and sat down.
Seeing how proactive she was, Fu Jinting thought back to a banquet he'd attended with Nie Lingwei once. When it was time to sit, she'd stood to the side, looking at him affectionately as if waiting for him to pull out her chair.
While such courtesy would demonstrate gentlemanly manners, Fu Jinting didn't like doing such things for women he had no connection to. But given the situation, he'd calmly pulled out the chair for her anyway. After that, he'd been unwilling to dine with her again.
It's instinct for women to become spoiled when loved, but only if that man truly dotes on them.
After sitting down, Kong Yiyue saw that he'd already pushed the menu over to her. She scanned it briefly and asked, “You haven't ordered yet?”
Fu Jinting replied, “I ordered a few signature dishes—take a look and see what you like.”
“Oh.” Kong Yiyue smiled slightly. After looking through the menu carefully, she only asked the waiter for a piece of cake and a glass of water.
Seeing what she'd ordered, Fu Jinting's brow twitched slightly. He asked, “You're not eating?”
Kong Yiyue answered honestly, “Mm, I ate quite a bit earlier, so I'm not hungry yet. Besides, it's already past ten—eating too much would be hard to digest.”
“What about the cake? Does eating cake make it easier to digest?” He clearly didn't agree with her reasoning.
Kong Yiyue shook her head. “No, I just suddenly feel like having some. Our dance teacher has been getting stricter about our weight lately—if I eat too much, I'll have to diet tomorrow.”
Dance teacher? Only then did Fu Jinting remember she was studying performing arts. Since having more skills is always better, dancing and singing were probably essential abilities. He asked, “Why did you choose the performing arts major? Your college entrance exam scores were good enough for other options.”
Kong Yiyue hadn't expected him to bring up this topic. She joked, “You didn't ask when the admission results came out—bringing it up now makes me feel like it was another lifetime ago.”
Fu Jinting asked unhurriedly, “Is that so? Then what's the answer?”
“Hmm…” Kong Yiyue pretended to think carefully before saying, “It's not really for any particular reason. I didn't like some majors, didn't have talent for others, and didn't want to study some. So after picking and choosing, this was what was left.”
Fu Jinting stared at her, his lips moving slowly. “Is that the truth?”
“Of course. But one important reason was that deep down, I knew celebrities get good pay and decent incomes, so I thought this major wouldn't be bad either.”
Fu Jinting didn't respond to her answer. Just then, the waiter started serving their food, so they focused on eating in silence.
When they finished and walked out of the restaurant, it was already past eleven. Remembering the school gate closed around midnight, Kong Yiyue pulled Fu Jinting to walk a bit faster. “We need to hurry back—otherwise we won't make it.”
“Won't make what?” Fu Jinting didn't know Lian University had a curfew.
Only then did Kong Yiyue remember he was still new to the school. She replied proudly, “The curfew! The gate closes at midnight, and after that they don't let anyone in—even with a student ID or ID card.”
“Is that so?” Fu Jinting said, “Then hurry back.”
“Aren't you coming back with me?”
Fu Jinting said, “I live off-campus.”
“Oh, right.” Kong Yiyue understood—he didn't spend much time at school, and with company matters to handle, it made sense he didn't live on campus. After thinking it through, she said, “Mm, then be careful on your way back. I'll head in first.”
Fu Jinting was slightly surprised by her farewell—she wasn't asking him to drive her back?
He watched as she walked a few steps to the side of the road, peering anxiously ahead as if waiting for a taxi. Staring at her back, he found himself thinking she looked somewhat delicate and fragile. With a silent sigh, he walked over to her, pulled her to his side, and looked out into the night as he said, “I'll drive you back.”
“Won't it be too late for you to get home if you go back and forth?”
Fu Jinting thought to himself, Why aren't you worried about yourself? “I live near the school—it takes less than fifteen minutes to drive there.”
“Oh, that's good then.” After getting in the car, Kong Yiyue smiled brightly and said, “Thank you, Fu Jinting!”
For some reason, that simple “thank you” made Fu Jinting feel uncomfortable all over, though he couldn't pinpoint why.
Although their relationship had made significant progress, the two still rarely saw each other. Fu Jinting was swamped with work, and it wasn't until a week later that Kong Yiyue sat down to eat with him again.
In the western restaurant, Kong Yiyue noticed that Fu Jinting had lost weight from all his company work. She asked, “Is the company really that busy?”
Fu Jinting thought she was complaining about him not making time for her, so he asked, “Do you feel wronged being with me?”
Kong Yiyue had never thought that way. She said honestly, “Not really—I just notice you've lost quite a bit of weight.”
“Hm?” He looked at her intently.
“Work is important, but your health matters too. Like my dad—if he hadn't been addicted to gambling when he was young, staying up all night and skipping meals just to gamble, he wouldn't have…” He wouldn't have passed away so young.
Kong Yiyue didn't know why she'd suddenly brought up her father. She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, forcing a smile as she said, “You should take better care of yourself too.”
When Fu Jinting heard her mention her father, he'd thought she'd continue talking about it, but she'd stopped at just the right moment. Watching her every expression, he could easily see the sadness in her eyes. He wiped his mouth with a napkin, then asked slowly, “Do you hate me for what happened with your dad?”
Kong Yiyue instinctively thought, Why would I hate you for my dad's things? Then she immediately remembered the 500,000 yuan and understood what he meant.
Kong Yiyue looked at him, her smile faint as she asked, “Do you want to hear the truth?”
Fu Jinting gave her a look that clearly said, Of course.
Kong Yiyue knew exactly what he wanted. She said as he'd asked, “At first, yes—I hated you a lot. I don't like asking others for help, but back then I had no choice but to go to you. It was only natural that my heart was cold…”
She stopped the topic at the right point. “But never mind—now I can say we've gotten through the hardest times. From now on, I'll focus on making money and living well, and things will only get better.”
Fu Jinting wanted to say something, but seeing how hopeful and confident she looked, he couldn't bring himself to dampen her spirits.
Seeing he didn't respond, Kong Yiyue said, “You bringing this up reminds me—how did you know I borrowed that money from Fu Qingrui?”
Fu Jinting chuckled. “Why wouldn't I know? Kong Yiyue, do you think so little of me?”
Kong Yiyue laughed and said, “Of course not—otherwise why would I have my eye on you?” Her words were half-joke and half-truth. Fu Jinting didn't press further, just smiled slightly and asked, “Done eating?”
“Mm.”
“Then let's go—I'll take you back to school.”
As she stood up, Kong Yiyue muttered, “It sounds like you're not even a student there.”
Fu Jinting had just walked over to her chair. Though they were a bit apart, he'd heard most of what she said. He looked at her, crossing his arms over his chest as he said in a clear voice, “Kong Yiyue, what did you say?”
Kong Yiyue had just stood up straight. When she looked up at the sound of his voice, she suddenly found herself face to face with his tall figure. She smiled gently and said, “What's wrong? I didn't say anything!”
Seeing her eyes sparkling with amusement, her brows slightly raised in a mischievous expression, Fu Jinting felt his heart skip a beat. Was this the real her?
He stared at her for a moment, then came to his senses and stepped back subtly. “Let's go.”
Kong Yiyue found his reaction a bit puzzling, but wisely chose not to say more. She said naturally, “Okay.”
After the car stopped at the school gate, Kong Yiyue unbuckled her seatbelt and prepared to get out. Instinctively feeling this wasn't right, Fu Jinting reached out and grabbed her slender white wrist as she was about to get out.
Kong Yiyue felt the strength of his hand and turned back to look at him in confusion. What was this about?
Fu Jinting smiled slowly and said, “Nothing—just be careful when you get out and watch for cars.”
Kong Yiyue couldn't help but smile too. “This is the school gate—there aren't many cars here.”
“Mm.” Unwilling to admit he was making excuses, Fu Jinting added, “It never hurts to be careful.”
“Okay.” Kong Yiyue thought to herself that he really did care about her, so she didn't think too much of it.
Watching her delicate figure grow smaller and smaller in the distance, Fu Jinting's smile slowly faded. He felt annoyed and restless—for a moment just then, he'd wanted to ask her for a goodbye kiss…
Fu Jinting thought he must be going crazy!
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