Hear this life

Wen Tingli looked at the words in astonishment. She was so shocked that she remained silent for a full ten seconds.

But soon, she nodded happily: "Let me think about it, or I'll invite you to Guangyaju. Their fermented rice is specially made. The white fermented rice pickled herring is very fresh. In addition, their eel paste noodles and grass head circles are better than those made by other places."

Lu Shicheng motioned for her to lead the way. Wen Tingli became even happier and raised her hand to point across the street: "The restaurant is behind Tangjia Lane. It's hard to find. Let's cross the street first."

As she was about to lead the way, Lu Shicheng stopped her.

[Please call Mr. Kuang for me.] He handed her the notebook.

"Oh, right." Wen Tingli went back to the telephone office. After walking a few steps, she suddenly turned around and smiled at Lu Shicheng, "You are afraid that Mr. Kuang will worry about you. You are so kind to the people around you."

Lu Shicheng was staring at the sycamore trees on the side of the road. He was used to Wen Tingli's constant chatter.

The call was connected.

"Mr. Kuang, I'm Wen Tingli. Mr. Lu asked me to tell you... How could I be with him? I can't explain it clearly at the moment... It's near Ganjia Lane. Yes, you don't have to rush to find Mr. Lu..."

After calling Kuang Zhilin, Wen Tingli called Mrs. Zhou again.

Then the two of them walked out of Ganjia Lane side by side.

"After dinner, can I treat you to some dessert? There's a shop nearby that makes really good pigeon egg dumplings."

As she was talking excitedly, Lu Shicheng suddenly grabbed her arm. It turned out that she was so focused on entertaining Lu Shicheng that she didn't notice there was a big rock under her feet. If Lu Shicheng hadn't pulled her in time, she would have sprained her ankle by now.

Lu Shicheng put his hands back into his trouser pockets seriously.

Wen Tingli smiled embarrassedly: "You are so considerate. The road is full of potholes... I won't ask you to cross the road. Mr. Lu, just walk by yourself?"

Lu Shicheng was silent. He was mute, not blind.

"I'm just afraid that I haven't entertained you well enough." She quickly crossed the street, turned around and stood on the steps, waiting for him with a smile.

After Lu Shicheng passed by, Wen Tingli handed her little notebook to Lu Shicheng with both hands.

"During the meal, if you find anything wrong, Mr. Lu, please write down your opinions here. I promise that you will be satisfied with the meal."

Lu Shicheng took the notebook and Wen Tingli smiled.

At this time, a car drove by on the road, with Meng Qiguang and Xiao Gao sitting in the car.

Xiao Gao was puzzled when he thought about what happened last night. "Mr. Meng, we still have two ships of goods from Boss Cao. We could have helped Miss Wen out last night. Why did you pretend to be clueless in front of Miss Bao Xin? Do you want to wait a little longer?"

"Wait?" Meng Qiguang flipped through the newspaper nonchalantly. "Relationships between people are nothing more than an exchange of interests. I give what I have to the other person, and then get what I want from the other person. If I don't have what she wants, even if I take the initiative to help her a hundred times, she will only say thank you to get rid of me."

Xiao Gao seemed to understand but not quite.

Meng Qiguang sneered: "Don't you understand this? A great favor cannot be exchanged for an equal amount of friendship. This is a bad habit that everyone has. You have been with me for so long, and I have never seen Meng Qiguang do anything at a loss. Since she refused to ask me last night, why should I try to please her? I can just pretend to be nice to Baoxin. Don't worry, Qiu is afraid of my relationship with her, and he dare not do anything to Miss Wen."

Xiao Gao was about to speak again when he looked up inadvertently and saw Wen Tingli and a young man walking on the street.

Xiao Gao opened his mouth instantly, it was actually Lu Shicheng!

Because they were too far away, I couldn't hear what the two people were saying. I only knew that Miss Wen was talking and laughing with Lu Shicheng.

"Mr. Meng?!" He was so surprised that he didn't know what to say.

I thought Meng Qiguang would be unhappy, but he just looked at that place with great interest. After staring for a long time, he smiled and said, "Very good. You have clear goals and great ambitions. You are better at seizing opportunities than I am."

As he said this, a car just passed by the two of them. Meng Qiguang looked at Wen Tingli's profile with sharp eyes. Seeing the two of them walking into the alley, he turned his head and continued to stare back until the two figures disappeared. Then he withdrew his gaze with a calm face.

***
The Guangyaju that Wen Tingli mentioned is not far from Ci Xin Hospital, and the owners are a middle-aged couple.

The proprietress treated Wen Tingli very warmly, but she kept secretly looking at Lu Shicheng while talking. This young man was not only tall and handsome, but also dressed very decently. If such a person walked into a small roadside restaurant rashly, anyone would take a few more glances.

After entering the store, Lu Shicheng just looked around quietly. When he noticed the proprietress's gaze, he was not annoyed at all. Instead, he nodded politely to her.

Wen Tingli had long witnessed Lu Shicheng's self-control, but the proprietress blushed and put on an awkward smile, inviting the two of them into a private room.

The two sat down opposite each other.

"Do you like this?" Wen Tingli asked Lu Shicheng with the recipe.

Lu Shicheng nodded.

Wen Tingli smiled and said, "Look at me, how can a host keep asking guests questions?"

There was silence for a long while.

Lu Shicheng couldn't help but look up, and saw Wen Tingli lowering her head and frowning as she studied the recipe. Her serious expression was more rigorous than her studies. After a while, she raised her head and said to the outside, "Boss."

She ordered seven dishes in one go, plus a bowl of red amaranth soup with rice wine to relieve the greasiness. But just when she had ordered half of the dishes, Lu Shicheng suddenly waved at her. Wen Tingli blushed suddenly: "You don't want to--"

[No, I don’t want it.]

He wrote a sentence in a small notebook.

[You ordered too many dishes.]

Wen Tingli breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that she didn't need to wash her hands, but she immediately shook her head firmly, "I ordered a few more signature dishes because I wasn't sure about your taste. Mr. Lu, please try everything. If you find something you like, eat more. Don't worry about not being able to finish it. I can pack up the leftovers and take them home."

After ordering the dishes, Wen Tingli wiped the table with a handkerchief in front of Lu Shicheng, and then turned the handkerchief over for him to see.

"Look, this store is small, but it's surprisingly clean. I've been to their kitchen, and it's just as clean as the outside."

Lu Shicheng reached out to take the dishes and chopsticks on the table, but Wen Tingli rushed to put everything neatly in front of him.

At the same time, ask the proprietress to bring an extra set of bowls and chopsticks to be used when picking up food later.

Then she poured him a cup of tea herself.

"It's just that the taste of the tea is a little off. Mr. Lu, just have a sip first. I'll ask them to buy you a few bottles of iced orange juice."

【Thank you.】 He was thirsty.

"You're welcome!" Wen Tingli said happily, "The weather is really too hot. I can't eat without drinking something cold."

She asked the shop assistant to help her buy some iced soda, then she folded her arms on the table and faced Lu Shicheng. After being silent for only a few seconds, she began to find conversation again with great interest.

"I have lived near here since I was a child. I have eaten in every restaurant here. None tastes better than this one. If Mr. Lu is still not satisfied——"

She patted her chest and said, "Why don't you just tell me what type of restaurant you like? I'll treat you again next time I have a chance. What happened just now is all thanks to Mr. Lu, so I deserve a reward no matter how much."

Lu Shicheng seemed to casually pick up the notebook and wrote a sentence on it.

[If I hadn't arrived in time just now, would Miss Wen have anyone else to turn to for help? ]

Wen Tingli's scalp tingled. He really knew how to hit the nail on the head. Of course, she couldn't tell him that Li Chengying's men arrived right after he arrived.

"Then I'll ask my friends for help. I have a few classmates whose families are not afraid of the White Dragon Gang. I really don't want to trouble them, so I used Mr. Kuang's business card to scare Qiu. But if I'm forced to no avail, I won't care so much. I will call my classmates."

Lu Shicheng looked at Wen Tingli quietly.

Wen Tingli looked back frankly.

She blinked her long eyelashes, picked up the cup and took a sip. Then, perhaps feeling bored, she studied the cup in her hand as if she were appreciating a famous painting.

Lu Shicheng studied Wen Tingli as if she were a famous painting. Her expression and eyes did not show any guilt at all. However, this was the first time she had not spoken for half a minute since entering the box.

Unfortunately, the waiter's footsteps broke the brief silence. "The orange juice is here."

Wen Tingli's expression immediately became lively.

"Touch it, isn't it cold?" She pushed a bottle of orange juice in front of him, "Quench your thirst first, the food should be ready soon."

Lu Shicheng pretended not to notice that she was eager to change the subject. After drinking a whole bottle, he still felt a little dry in the mouth. Wen Tingli took the initiative to push the second bottle in front of him.

Then she started to open her own bottle, but this time she couldn't open it for a long time.

His hands suddenly felt empty, so Lu Shicheng took her soda bottle and helped her unscrew it.

"Thank you." Wen Tingli said sincerely, "Mr. Lu, you are so careful and considerate."

Lu Shicheng turned his face to the side and drank soda.

The dishes were finally served. The first dish was braised pig lungs. Lu Shicheng thought it would be greasy, but after tasting it, it was surprisingly light, tender and smooth.

"How is it?" Wen Tingli looked at him without blinking. Lu Shicheng nodded slightly, picked up the spare chopsticks and picked up another piece.

Wen Tingli smiled and two dimples appeared on her face.

The second dish was flat-pointed bean curd sheets. Wen Tingli didn't say a word when she helped Lu Shicheng serve the soup, as if she was very confident in this soup.

The soup was really delicious. The winter melon and tomatoes were cooked to be tender and juicy, and the tofu skin didn’t have any bean smell, which was rare.

Before he knew it, Lu Shicheng had finished half the bowl of soup.

The happiest thing when inviting guests to dinner is that the guests like the dishes you ordered. As the host, Wen Tingli felt extremely satisfied. She stopped talking and just concentrated on eating.

The box finally quieted down, and it stayed quiet for a long time. After the meal, Wen Tingli happily asked the waiter to bring some towels for the two of them to wash their hands. The proprietress took the bill with a smile and said, "The total is eight and a half dollars. Miss Wen is a regular customer, so the half dollar change will be waived."

The price was not cheap. After all, a table of banquet for an ordinary family would only cost ten dollars (note). It was just that they ordered too many dishes and the ingredients were very fresh. Wen Tingli was prepared and said "OK" quickly. She took out a palm-sized blue cloth bag from her school bag, poured out all the money and counted it, but there was only six dollars.

Wen Tingli searched her school bag again in disbelief, but still couldn't find a penny.

The atmosphere in the box suddenly became awkward.

"Wait a minute." Wen Tingli tried to stay calm. "It must have fallen in a corner. I'll look for it again."

Lu Shicheng knew how to save other people's face. At first he just sat there and watched her look for the money. Seeing that she was getting more and more anxious, he naturally took out his wallet from his coat pocket and prepared to pay the bill for her.

Wen Tingli hurriedly stopped him: "It was agreed that I would treat you."

Then he said to the lady boss, "Please don't let this gentleman pay the bill. Wait a moment. I'll be back soon."

She stood up and left the small box. Lu Shicheng, out of curiosity, couldn't help but look outside the door, and saw Wen Tingli walking hurriedly along the corridor.

She returned in just one minute with a large bill in her hand. She handed it to the proprietress and said generously, "Help me find it."

After searching for a while, they found a large pile of silver dollars, but at least they settled the bill smoothly. The proprietress then carefully packed up the leftovers and gave them to Wen Tingli.

When the two of them came out, Lu Shicheng looked towards the small corridor. At the end of the corridor was a bathroom. Of course, there would be no banknotes hidden in the bathroom. So there was only one possibility...

The moment their eyes met, there was a strange silence in the air.

Wen Tingli was feeling uncomfortable about what happened just now. She clearly remembered that she still had ten dollars in her pocket, but somehow four dollars were missing. When she was paying the bill, she remembered that she had called a taxi from Xiangsheng Car Dealership when she went to Huayuanfang the night before, and left some money for Zhou Sao and Xiao Taozi when she left this morning. She had a rough idea of ​​these expenses, but she forgot them after that old man Qiu Dapeng made a fuss.

Fortunately, I had sewed some large bills into my underwear a few days ago, so I could go to the bathroom to take off my clothes and get some money for emergency.

She was afraid that Lu Shicheng would ask too many questions, but fortunately, he was considerate enough not to ask anything, which made her feel a little more at ease. She felt relieved and became active again.

"We just agreed to treat you to dessert." She said happily, "The shop is next door. The pigeon egg dumplings there are really good for cooling off. We just had the hot soup, so now is the perfect time to eat them."

Having said that, she was unsure whether Lu Shicheng would agree. Unexpectedly, he looked in the direction she pointed. Wen Tingli was surprised and hurriedly led the way. The two of them walked to the door of the dessert shop. Just as Wen Tingli was about to go in, Lu Shicheng stopped and looked at the street.

It turned out that several rickshaws had appeared on the street at some point.

A man got out of the car in front, and it was Kuang Zhilin.

Kuang Zhilin walked straight across the road towards them.

"Hello, Mr. Kuang." Wen Tingli took the initiative to greet Kuang Zhilin.

Kuang Zhilin looked at Wen Tingli and then at Lu Shicheng, his eyes full of doubt, but his attitude was as polite as usual: "Miss Wen, what are you doing--"

Wen Tingli said hurriedly, "I was just about to treat Mr. Lu to pigeon egg dumplings."

She smiled sheepishly and said, "I should have invited Mr. Kuang when I called earlier. It's all my fault that I was too stupid to react. It's just right that you're here. I'll treat you to a taste of the desserts in this shop."

"I appreciate Miss Wen's kindness." Kuang Zhilin smiled, "But it's really unfortunate right now. The manager of Lixin Bank is still waiting to meet Mr. Lu and Kuang."

Wen Tingli nodded regretfully and turned to say goodbye to Lu Shicheng, only to find that Lu Shicheng had no intention of leaving.

He seemed to be waiting earnestly for her to take him to eat pigeon egg dumplings.

Wen Tingli was surprised and delighted: "The weather is too hot, please ask Mr. Lu and Mr. Kuang to wait at the door, I will go in and buy it by myself."

Soon, he came out with a few food boxes and handed them to Kuang Zhilin: "The guy put a lot of ice cubes in the food boxes, but don't keep them for too long. It's best to eat them right away."

She didn't say anything else. Lu Shicheng waited for a long time, but didn't see any suspicious people around her. As if he suddenly lost interest, he took the food box, nodded to thank her, and turned to get in the car.

Wen Tingli stood beside the car and said goodbye: "Goodbye."

***
After returning to Kuang Zhilin's apartment, Lu Shicheng looked at the food box on the coffee table with a thoughtful look on his face.

Kuang Zhilin asked Lu Shicheng: "What did Miss Wen say to you during the meal?"

It was because he didn't say anything that Lu Shicheng found it unbelievable.

She didn't take the opportunity to ask him anything during the meal, nor did she take the opportunity to ask for the business card back. Even when she was delivering the dessert just now, she didn't try to create an opportunity for the next meeting.

But this did not dispel his doubts. After all, Miss Wen had appeared in front of him too many times recently. In fact, he had been suspicious of Wen Tingli since that night when she auctioned the dress under his name.

The last time he set up a trap against Lu Kejian at the Golden Theater, she ran into the gun, and he felt it was too coincidental afterwards.

The moment he saw the group of suspicious old ladies in the evening, his suspicion of her reached its peak. A martial artist like that could not be controlled by an ordinary person, so he immediately decided to give her a try.

During the meal, he intentionally or unintentionally gave her many opportunities to take action or speak, but Wen Tingli never took any further action.

He couldn't quite see through her.

Kuang Zhilin didn't wait for Lu Shicheng's response, and he knew that Wen Tingli didn't reveal any flaws at the dinner table. He hurriedly took out a file from the study: "I have checked Miss Wen's background these days. Please take a look first."

Lu Shicheng took over the file. Kuang Zhilin was very meticulous in his investigation of people, and this time was no exception. He started from the year Wen Tingli was born, to how she had entered Shishi to study a while ago, including some experiences that Wen Tingli herself had long forgotten, all of which were written down in the file in front of him.

"We have investigated the Beiping area several times, but neither Miss Wen nor her father Wen Desheng has ever had any contact with them. Even if Miss Wen is suspicious, it doesn't seem like she was sent by the master in Beiping."

Lu Shicheng didn't react for a while. He knew his uncle's style very well. If Lu Kejian wanted to hire someone, he would definitely use some means to win people's hearts. However, Wen Tingli's father had not been discharged from the hospital yet, and Qiu Dapeng, whom she regarded as an enemy, was even doing better and better. From these two points of view, she didn't seem like someone Lu Kejian sent to get close to him.

"There has been no suspicious income in the Wen family's account recently. However, Miss Wen's mother -" Kuang Zhilin said implicitly, "used to be a prostitute in Hongfenhualou in Nanjing, but that was more than 20 years ago. After Wen Desheng and his wife came to Shanghai, they have been working diligently in small businesses. According to our investigation, Mrs. Qiao also privately checked the details of the Wen family. It was because of the past experience of Miss Wen's mother that she firmly disagreed with Miss Wen being with her son."

Lu Shicheng also heard roughly about what the Qiao family had done.

He showed a rather disapproving expression.

However, what the Qiao family did had nothing to do with him. He only knew that Kuang Zhilin had never made a mistake in investigating people. So it seemed that Wen Tingli was just a girl with a very simple background.

By chance, he turned to the page where Wen Tingli participated in the drama competition. Inside was a photo of her winning the championship. Lu Shicheng picked up the photo and stared at the person in the photo. After dealing with her several times, he knew that Wen Tingli was very smart and quick to react. If she was really sent by someone, the fact that she didn't make any move this time didn't mean she wouldn't show up next time.

I still have to give her a good try.

Kuang Zhilin smiled and said, "There is another possibility. Miss Wen simply wants to get close to Master Cheng. There are many stories about how she met Master Qiao... Master Cheng, don't look at me like that. I don't mean to slander Miss Wen's character, but it is a fact that the Wen family has suffered a great change. In addition, the father and son of the Qiu family have always been eyeing her covetously. In this predicament, it is understandable that the girl is eager to find a backer. It's rare that Master Cheng is about the same age as her-"

Lu Shicheng thought of Wen Tingli's vocabulary notebook that was almost torn apart, flipped through her file thoughtfully, and quickly pulled out two transcripts from Shiwu Middle School from the back.

When Wen Tingli first entered Shiwu, she was ranked 36th, but most recently she has risen to 9th in the class. It has only been two months. It would have been impossible to make such rapid progress without hard work.

How could a woman who only wants to depend on a man be so diligent in her studies?

Therefore, he did not agree with Kuang Zhilin's speculation in his heart.

After thinking for a few seconds, he pointed to Wen Tingli's file, trying to create some "opportunity" for her.

Kuang Zhilin nodded. If the test revealed that Wen Tingli had problems, it would be easy to deal with. However, "What if the investigation revealed that Miss Wen had no problems?"

Lu Shicheng pondered, then, she is a talkative young lady.

Is it wrong to talk too much?
Obviously not. If she came to see him again, he would just have to stay away from this talkative girl.

Kuang Zhilin knew what was going on: "Okay, I will try my best to give Miss Wen the 'opportunities to take action'."

Lu Shicheng nodded, put the pen back into his pocket, and ended the topic neatly.

***
After returning home, Wen Tingli found a picture book and asked Xiao Taozi to read it while she sat on the bed, while she kept accounts under the lamp.

As soon as she returned to Ci Xin Hospital, she called Li Chengying to thank him, but she failed to provide any useful clues about Lu Shicheng.

After all, she didn't deliberately ask Lu Shicheng anything from beginning to end tonight.

Dean Deng’s matter was certainly important, and it was also a fact that Lu Shicheng rushed over to save her. Since she was inviting him to dinner, she should treat him sincerely.

(End of this chapter)