Although They're Mentally ill, They're Extremely Easy to Comfort - Chapter 38

“Hello? Ling Xi! Yun Jin said that a boss with such a respectable reputation as President Qiao has seen all sorts of grand occasions. If we take her out to a high-end restaurant, she might look down on it. Why don’t we show some sincerity and invite her to our home for a meal instead? What do you think?”

Finally making it to the end of the workday, Ling Xi walked into the faculty parking lot, talking to Xiao Mo on the phone: “Invite her to the house for dinner? Is Yun Jin planning to show off her cooking skills?”

“You don’t need to worry about the rest. You just need to keep President Qiao in a good mood, and the two of us will handle all the other preparations. The main thing is, this way we can also save some money.”

Money, money, money. It all comes back to money, Ling Xi raised her voice to complain: “I knew Su Yun Jin the miser wouldn’t part with a single hair!”

“It’s settled then. After work, you go pick up President Qiao. I’ll be waiting for you at Yun Jin’s place. Gotta hang up now.”

“But I wanted to go out and treat myself to a nice meal… Hello? Hello?!”

Before Ling Xi could finish her sentence, Xiao Mo deliberately hung up the phone, not giving her a chance to speak, which made her stamp her foot in anger.

Just then, Qiao Bo’er’s car conveniently pulled up beside Ling Xi.

The car window rolled down halfway, and Qiao Bo’er stared at the visibly annoyed Ling Xi with confusion: “What are you mumbling and grumbling about all by yourself standing here?”

Ling Xi looked like she was covered in lice, scratching and shifting awkwardly before stammering out an explanation: “That… Xiao Mo and Yun Jin said…”

“Get in the car first. It’s cool inside.” Qiao Bo’er saw Ling Xi was sweating profusely, opened the car door, and impatiently pulled her closer: “Just tell me straight. Don’t be so hesitant.”

“Do you mind going to my friend’s house for dinner?”

Hearing Ling Xi’s question, Qiao Bo’er became intrigued: “Our relationship is good enough for me to go to your friend’s house for dinner now?”

“It’s mainly… well… how should I explain this to you… Just think of it as eating a family meal, it’s more relaxed than eating out.”

Qiao Bo’er really hadn’t expected Ling Xi’s group to arrange a home-cooked meal. After all, business entertaining and visiting someone’s home are two completely different occasions, and the way one interacts naturally needs to be different.

Ling Xi’s little brain was working at lightning speed, almost smoking, as she continued to offer a fawning smile and elevate the meaning: “Oh, this is just because our Xiaoyunxi Studio had a serious lapse in customer service and we want to express our sincere apology and commitment! So, wouldn’t hosting a home-cooked meal be more meaningful than those delicacies outside?”

Watching Ling Xi squint and struggle for words, Qiao Bo’er smiled, pulled out a tissue, and while wiping away her sweat, teased: “Are you sure it’s not because you’re afraid of spending too much money and feel it would be too extravagant?”

“How could it be?! Although we are a small studio, we won’t go bankrupt from one meal. The main reason for this decision is to express the highest level of sincerity.”

“Alright then, tell Qu Ye the address.”

“Hehe! Will do!”

Qiao Bo’er, being a group CEO worth over a hundred million, could clearly see through the little tricks of these three blockheads. A wicked smile played on her lips as she decided to have some fun with the ‘Three Antiquity Freaks.’

“Qu Ye, first let’s go to the supermarket I usually frequent. It’s proper to bring a gift when visiting someone’s home; that’s only right.”

At this, Ling Xi was confused: “Huh? No need, no need… We’re just going for a meal, no need to trouble you with gifts!”

Qiao Bo’er turned to look at Ling Xi, who instinctively waved her hand in refusal, but insisted on the arrangement. She even laid all her cards on the table, making her intentions clear: “Ostensibly, I’m attending a business dinner meticulously hosted by the people in charge of Xiaoyunxi Studio. In reality, I’m going to meet the little lazy cat’s friends. If I don’t appear generous, how will I conquer them one by one and finally win you over?

Looking at it this way, I should thank them for choosing a home-cooked meal this time. It truly is a good opportunity to narrow the distance between us. I’m very satisfied…”

“Hiss!” After hearing Qiao Bo’er’s master-level analysis, Ling Xi gasped, but didn’t continue the conversation.

Inside, the ‘little Ling Xi’ in her mind was already furiously cursing: “Damn it, Xiao Mo and Su Yun Jin, two idiot teammates! They’re pushing me into a pit of death for a few measly silver coins. No wonder they told me to ‘keep President Qiao in a good mood.’ Turns out they were trying to cash in big time!”

“What are you thinking about?” Qiao Bo’er couldn’t help but pinch Ling Xi’s nose. Ling Xi impatiently swatted her hand away, complaining: “You are constantly coveting this and that about me, and now you’re coveting my friends. I think we desperately need to maintain a relationship and distance as mere ordinary friends.”

“You weren’t maintaining any ‘relationship’ or ‘distance’ when you were sleeping in my arms last night.” Qiao Bo’er feigned the look of an innocent victim, leaving Ling Xi wide-eyed and speechless.

All she could do was sigh. Qiao Bo’er was Ling Xi’s natural nemesis, with one sentence she could leave her completely choked inside the car.

The imported supermarket that Qiao Bo’er supposedly frequented looked much more upscale than ordinary ones. Most of the people going in and out were urban elites, or Filipino domestic helpers.

Ling Xi stared at the bright English sign, struggling to figure out what the name was.

“Go get a shopping cart.”

“Alright!”

With Qiao Bo’er’s instruction, Ling Xi’s body instantly formed a muscle memory, and she quickly ran to fetch the cart.

Emmm, wait! Why was she so automatically obedient to her command? Furious!

Qiao Bo’er walked comfortably ahead with her back straight, looking like she was walking a runway at a supermarket. It wasn’t surprising; she genuinely lacked any down-to-earth atmosphere of daily life.

Ling Xi, however, seamlessly took on Qu Ye’s role, completely reduced to a little follower.

Upon reaching the fruit section, Qiao Bo’er casually picked up a beautifully packaged box containing only two large apples, didn’t even glance at the price tag, and dropped it into the cart.

Next, she picked up an imported melon with a sticker, weighed it in her hand, decided it was too light, and then replaced it with a bigger, rounder one.

Since the weather was so hot, a watermelon should also be included. Sliced and chilled, it’s very refreshing after a meal. It had to be the biggest one, to truly show the sincerity of a house visit.

Her gaze locked onto the sparkling grapes. It’s good for women to eat more grapes for beauty and health, so she had to get two bunches.

The quality of the Musang King durian looked excellent. Not caring about the stench of durian, she had to choose the most expensive one.

Qiao Bo’er specifically turned back to Ling Xi, seeking her opinion: “Do you guys mind the smell of durian?”

The memory of the building-bombing incident began to viciously attack Ling Xi. She gave a cold sneer: “Heh, we’ve seen surströmming (fermented herring), why would we be afraid of this stuff?”

“Alright then.”

Qiao Bo’er picked up the durian and tossed it into Ling Xi’s arms. Ling Xi, startled, caught it firmly with her hands, getting painfully pricked by the durian, and struggled a few times before finally placing it into the cart.

Damn her! This crazy woman actually treated her like a servant!

Finally, she added a few boxes of astonishingly large avocados and red-fleshed kiwis, which Qiao Bo’er claimed would be used to make a healthy fruit salad that everyone would surely love.

Ling Xi, who had no idea about the true cost of groceries, naturally followed dumbly, even kindly helping Qiao Bo’er organize the space in the cart so she could continue her crazy shopping spree.

In a place like this, without a solid family fortune, such decisive and rapid shopping was rare. In just a few minutes, the cart had piled up into a small mountain.

Ling Xi figured that buying some fruit wasn’t a big deal, and even naively thought that she had been letting Qiao Bo’er pay for everything since they met. She hadn’t even paid back the money for the last Japanese meal, so perhaps today she should really step up and fight to pay the bill later.

Shopping complete, Ling Xi actively pushed the cart toward the checkout counter. Qiao Bo’er showed no intention of speeding up; she had already anticipated the distressed, penny-pinching expression of the Associate Professor Ling, who was about to regret everything.

“Beep.”

What on earth is this expensive item? Over a hundred per half-kilogram. Does eating it grant eternal life?

“Beep.”

Damn it, are these miserable grapes sold by the piece? Two bunches cost three hundred!

“Beep.”

Are durians performing on the street to rip people off these days? Five hundred! It actually costs five hundred!!

“Beep.”

The scanning machine emitted heavy beep sounds. The amount on the display screen went from an initial 150 to 470, then to 982, and finally stopped at 200700 (a horrible pun: ‘Ai Ni Ling Xi’ or ‘Love You Ling Xi’).

Ling Xi stared at the final amount, her eyes wide with disbelief, her heart frantically cursing the terrifying string of numbers.

Was this fruit they were eating? This was clearly eating Ling Xi’s blood and flesh!

She slowly reloaded the fruit back into the cart, occasionally flipping through the contents of the plastic bags. Qiao Bo’er asked curiously: “What are you looking for?”

Ling Xi’s head was almost buried in the bags, and she mumbled sullenly: “I’m checking if there’s a lump of gold inside.”

“You’re quite the prankster.” Qiao Bo’er chuckled, taking out her phone to pay. Ling Xi shouted loudly: “I’ll pay!”

That final outburst of defiance carried a choke, mixed with too much of a heartache that a person her age shouldn’t have to endure.

Ling Xi displayed her payment code. Qiao Bo’er could even feel the tremor in the hand that gripped her arm.

“Beep!” The sound of the payment was crisp and pleasant, but it was also the sound of Ling Xi’s lifeblood draining away.

“Wuwuwu… I’m going to eat every last bit of this fruit today, wuwuwu… Qiao Bo’er, you definitely did this on purpose!!”

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