To Sweep Across Like Wildfire - Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Meng Chi realized that she was now lying without a second thought; her nonsense flowed out without her even blushing or her heart skipping a beat.

She felt like she was being corrupted by Shen Qingruo.

“Want some popcorn?” Shen Qingruo held the bucket out toward her.

Meng Chi picked up two pieces, eating them with refined grace. The light from the silver screen reflected off her skin, making her hands look smooth and pale. Her fingers were long, the joints clearly defined, and her nails were neatly trimmed.

Noticing Shen Qingruo’s gaze, Meng Chi looked at her own hand, popped the remaining popcorn into her mouth, and asked, “What is it?”

Shen Qingruo glanced at the popcorn bucket, bit her red lip, and gestured. “Feed me.”

If it were Xie Zhen, she’d probably snap back, Don’t you have hands?

But the “kid” was different.

Meng Chi paused for two seconds, then picked up a piece of popcorn from the paper bucket and brought it to Shen Qingruo’s lips. Shen Qingruo parted her lips slightly to take it, her tongue brushing against Meng Chi’s fingertips as she rolled the popcorn into her mouth, all while wearing an expression of pure innocence.

They locked eyes, and a crackle of electricity seemed to spark between them. Feeling a slight numbness in her heart, Meng Chi took off her 3D glasses, reached out to hook off Shen Qingruo’s glasses as well, and leaned in slowly. Their warm breath mingled. Shen Qingruo tilted her head slightly, avoiding the kiss, and whispered, “There are cameras in the cinema. Everything we do can be seen.”

Meng Chi hadn’t known that, mostly because she had never thought about kissing anyone in a movie theater before. She hesitated.

But then Shen Qingruo turned back, brushed her lips against Meng Chi’s, and pulled back just an inch to tease, “Surely no one will mind a little kiss?”

As if losing her mind, Meng Chi pressed her lips against Shen Qingruo’s again.

…

After the movie ended, the two walked out with noticeably flushed lips.

Shen Qingruo checked the time. “It’s time for lunch. Anything you want to eat?”

“Hot pot?” Meng Chi instinctively chose Shen Qingruo’s favorite.

“But you can’t handle spice,” Shen Qingruo touched her lip, suddenly switching to a sugary, high-pitched Taiwanese accent. “Besides, you bit my lip so hard just now, it really hurts, you know? How can I eat spicy food like that?”

She opened a food review app, picked a restaurant from the top of the nearby rankings, and said flamboyantly, “Sweetie, let’s go eat coconut chicken, okay?”

Meng Chi: “…”

Meng Chi: “Can you please not talk like that.”

Shen Qingruo replied, “Why not? Am I not cute like this?”

Meng Chi ignored her. “Then let’s go eat coconut chicken, then ji-ba.”

Before she realized the accidental double entendre, Shen Qingruo melodramatically covered her mouth with her hand. When she lowered it, she had switched back to a formal, standard Mandarin accent: “The Capital Transportation Commission reminds you: say ‘chicken’ but don’t say ‘then’ ji-ba; civility starts with you and me.”

Meng Chi: “…Let’s go. Coconut chicken.”

…

Although the restaurant was on the top-rated list, there weren’t many people during a weekday lunch. With plenty of empty seats, they received the undivided attention of five or six servers. Every time Shen Qingruo put the teapot down, someone would move it back to the side rack. She finally kept it on the table, only to feel several pairs of burning gazes on her back. A server rushed over to grab it again.

Shen Qingruo held onto it. “I’ll do it myself later; it’s not in the way of my meal.”

The server finally let go, but the moment she released it, he stared at the pot and adjusted it so the spout faced outward. Throughout the meal, every time Shen Qingruo poured water and set it down casually, a passing server would stop to adjust the direction of the spout.

“…Does your boss have OCD?” Shen Qingruo couldn’t help but ask.

They just smiled and walked away—only to do it again the next time they passed.

Meng Chi ate coconut chicken more often than hot pot. She skillfully squeezed some calamansi juice into her dipping bowl.

“That movie was really just average,” Shen Qingruo remarked. Meng Chi hummed in agreement while wiping her hands. She pulled up the rating for the suspense film, thought for a moment, and lit up five stars, adding a review: The atmosphere was great. Watched it with a friend.

Shen Qingruo got up to go to the self-serve sauce station. As she passed, she asked, “Do you want some sauce?”

“No thanks.”

“You eat so simply,” Shen Qingruo’s gaze moved from Meng Chi’s bowl to the bubbling pot. “This bland food really is tailor-made for you.”

A moment later, Shen Qingruo returned with a bowl of red chili peppers, only to witness a scene—a mediocre-looking guy was hitting on Meng Chi.

The guy said, “Miss, you’re so beautiful. Can I add you on WeChat? I promise I won’t post ads for shopping agents on my feed.”

Shen Qingruo froze for half a second. It was like a dog coming home from a walk to find someone trying to steal its house. She marched over and blocked the space between them, resting her hand on the back of Meng Chi’s leather chair in a pose she thought was overflowing with possessiveness.

The guy looked bewildered and stared at Shen Qingruo for a moment.

Are young people today this slow? Shen Qingruo thought. I’m literally leaning on her, can’t he tell?

She gave a half-smile. “Didn’t see me?”

The guy’s eyes darted between them before a look of realization dawned on him. He said sincerely to Shen Qingruo, “Hello, older sister! Sister, does your younger sister have a boyfriend?”

Shen Qingruo: “?”

Ultimately, it was Meng Chi who directly rejected him.

They sat across from each other. Shen Qingruo looked a bit dazed, poking at the peppers in her bowl. She looked up and asked seriously, “Do I look that old?”

“Don’t mind him,” Meng Chi paused, then mimicked Shen Qingruo’s usual tone: “The kid just doesn’t know how to speak.”

“Cruel,” Shen Qingruo said. Do we really look that mismatched? Do I look like her sister at first glance?

…

After eating, they passed some clothing stores aimed at students. Shen Qingruo couldn’t help but peek at them, wondering if she should buy a couple of outfits so she wouldn’t be mistaken for Meng Chi’s elder on the street. But then she imagined herself in “youthful” clothes and shuddered; Xie Zhen would laugh at her until next year. Forget it.

On the third floor, a new aquarium had opened. Once inside, Shen Qingruo immediately regretted it. The place was swarming with hyperactive children; it felt more like a zoo. She was about to suggest they leave when she saw Meng Chi’s fingertips pressed against a glass window. On the other side was a tiny starfish.

Meng Chi’s gaze was focused; she seemed genuinely interested.

“Do you like it?” Shen Qingruo asked.

“Mm…”

“Have you never been to an aquarium before?”

“I came on a school trip.”

“Never alone?”

“No, I never had the time.”

Shen Qingruo said, “You have no time as a student, and you’ll have even less once you start working. Come on, there’s an underwater tunnel up ahead.” She immediately tossed the idea of leaving out the window.

The underwater tunnel was fairly average due to space constraints—not many sea creatures, but plenty of plants. Yet Meng Chi watched with great interest, stopping occasionally to observe.

Midway, Shen Qingruo’s phone rang. A rough, middle-aged male voice came through the other end, sounding a bit drunk. “President Shen, you free? Let’s go for a drink?”

Meng Chi, who had been watching the fish, immediately perked up her ears. She hadn’t heard what the man called Shen Qingruo at the beginning and assumed he was just another “client.”

Shen Qingruo waited patiently for the man to finish before saying, “President Zhao, I’m so sorry, I actually have plans today.”

“You… you say that every day… I’m not taking no for an answer today, you have to come…”

Shen Qingruo’s face was expressionless, but her tone was incredibly sincere. If Meng Chi weren’t standing right in front of her, she might have believed it. This woman must fool people often, Meng Chi thought.

Shen Qingruo sighed, glanced at Meng Chi’s back, and said, “It’s not that I’m never free, but I happen to be free today, so I’m taking my kid to the aquarium.”

The man’s tongue immediately tripped. “You… you have a kid?”

“I do.”

The man said sheepishly, “You don’t look like someone with a kid…” After some more rambling, the man hung up.

Meng Chi looked at the fish distractedly and asked airily, “Another client?”

“Not exactly.” Shen Qingruo’s next sentence sent Meng Chi’s heart to the floor. “A friend of a client. Met him at a party once.”

Shen Qingruo sure has a lot of clients, Meng Chi thought.

Seeing her staring at the fish, Shen Qingruo said, “We should go to a park one day; you can feed the fish up close there.”

As soon as she said it, the “kid” turned away from the fish and started walking ahead with heavy steps, giving a half-hearted reply. Lost interest in the fish that quickly? Shen Qingruo thought. Truly a kid’s personality—everything is only interesting for a moment.

The aquarium wasn’t large, and they finished in under two hours. The exit led to a gift shop. Meng Chi walked through quickly, only to realize Shen Qingruo hadn’t followed. She looked back and saw Shen Qingruo paying at the counter. Shen Qingruo took a gift bag and walked over, handing it to her. “Here.”

Meng Chi opened the bag to find a cute little plush starfish.

The unhappiness from earlier vanished instantly. The corners of her mouth twitched upward, but feeling she was too easy to coax, she pressed her lips together to look “serious.” Her disobedient lips curved up anyway. She said with forced calm, “Is this for me?”

“Who else?” Shen Qingruo said, unaware of Meng Chi’s emotional rollercoaster. “Is it for me to prop up my lower back?”

As soon as she said it, she winced. She remembered the night before last… when they were doing that, Meng Chi had indeed used a pillow to prop up her lower back.

Meng Chi didn’t catch the double meaning at first. She squeezed the starfish, liked the feel of it, and hugged it to her chest. Not hearing Shen Qingruo speak, she wondered for a moment, then “understood” the last sentence. She whispered, “It’s not like that’s impossible.”

For once, Shen Qingruo was thin-skinned. She covered her mouth, wondering what on earth she was saying. She mumbled, “I’m a bit tired from walking all day. Should we go home?”

Meng Chi fiddled with the starfish, looking a bit shy. “Okay.”

From her expression, Shen Qingruo immediately judged that Meng Chi’s head was currently filled with “adult content.” She blurted out, “I didn’t mean it like that! I mean I’m actually tired and want to go home!”

Meng Chi paused, continued to fiddle with the starfish, and said with a face full of mock-innocence, “I know.”

Shen Qingruo: “…” The more I explain, the more it sounds like… that.