Sweetie, don't look at him, kiss me.

The sudden sound startled Lin Qingmian. She tried to struggle, but her body was unsteady, and she almost fell again.

Ji Linzhou, however, was much calmer than her.

The man frowned, deftly supporting her waist, and only released her hand indifferently once she had regained her balance.

Seeing this scene before her, Ji Xingqing was so shocked that her eyes almost popped out.

She came to the Imperial Kitchen to investigate the matter of her uncle being drugged.

We must find the culprit who drugged him before my uncle takes his anger out on Lin Qingmian.

I thought things would be simple, but the restaurant manager absolutely refused to hand over the staff member who had prepared the red wine for my uncle that day.

She was so angry that she called the owner of Yushanzhai directly and waited for him to come and explain to her.

After hanging up the phone, she was still thinking about what to say when the restaurant owner arrived.

But when I turned around, I saw my uncle standing at the restaurant entrance...

Holding Lin Qingmian?

She frowned: "What's going on...?"

"Bad eyesight?"

Ji Linzhou turned around slowly, his face showing no embarrassment or helplessness at having his secret discovered by a junior. His expression was indifferent, yet tinged with impatience: "She almost fell."

"Yes, yes."

Lin Qingmian snapped out of her daze and quickly explained, "I just lost my footing, but luckily Uncle Ji... luckily he caught me in time and helped me, otherwise I would have fallen flat on my face."

After speaking, she paused for a moment, then turned to Ji Linzhou with a smile and thanked him, "Uncle, thank you."

"I saw it, Mianmian almost fell, and Uncle was helping her..."

Ji Xingqing frowned: "I'm just really shocked, you two..."

She glanced at Lin Qingmian, then at Ji Linzhou: "How did you two end up here together?"

Lin Qingmian paused for a moment: "We..."

At this moment, the door of the Imperial Cuisine Restaurant was pushed open, and a middle-aged man with gray hair walked in, bowing and scraping: "Miss Ji, it's not that we don't agree, but your request is simply impossible to fulfill. It involves our restaurant's internal affairs..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw three people standing at the restaurant entrance.

The middle-aged man's gaze swept over Ji Xingqing and Lin Qingmian before finally settling on the aloof man in a suit.

In an instant, his eyes widened, and he asked in a flustered voice, "Mr. Ji... why did you come in person?"

Previously, the restaurant manager only said that it was the second young lady of the Ji family who was causing trouble here and demanded that they hand over the employee who opened the red wine for Mr. Ji that night, but he didn't mention that Ji Linzhou himself was also there!

Ji Linzhou frowned slightly: "Come and eat."

As the man spoke, he elegantly slipped his hand into his belt, his gaze indifferent: "You just said, what did Xingqing come here for?"

The restaurant owner paused, taken aback: "You... weren't you here with Miss Ji to investigate the incident where you were drugged that night?"

Ji Linzhou raised an eyebrow, then turned and gave Ji Xingqing a cold look: "You've learned how to solve cases, haven't you?"

Feeling the man's gaze, Ji Xingqing pursed her lips and shrank back slightly in fear: "I just... wanted to investigate a bit..."

Ji Linzhou coldly withdrew his gaze: "It seems I need to find an opportunity to have a good talk with my second brother about why you're so leisurely."

Upon hearing this, Ji Xingqing's face turned pale: "Uncle..."

"Boss Chen."

The man turned and glanced at the restaurant owner, his voice indifferent: "I already know who did what happened that night. From now on, no matter who comes to the restaurant to investigate the so-called truth, you don't need to pay any attention to them."

Mr. Chen felt instantly relieved: "Okay! Thank you, Mr. Ji!"

Ji Linzhou nodded slightly, then glanced at Lin Qingmian: "Let's go."

After saying that, he turned around and strode towards the private room that Bai Cheng had reserved.

Looking at the man's tall and straight back, Lin Qingmian paused for a moment, then lifted her leg to follow.

"Mianmian!"

Ji Xingqing quickly moved closer and grabbed her arm, lowering her voice: "Uncle just said he knows who did it... Is he already taking his anger out on you?"

Lin Qingmian shook her head: "No, him..."

"Don't hide it from me. Did he bring you here tonight so he could come back here and make you confess to drugging him?"

Ji Xingqing pursed her lips: "Otherwise, how come the two of you are together?"

Lin Qingmian was stunned, unsure how to explain for a moment: "Xingqing, you've misunderstood, we..."

"rest assured."

Seeing her troubled expression, Ji Xingqing became even more certain of her guess.

She reached out and took Lin Qingmian's arm, pulling her to keep up with Ji Linzhou's pace: "I will protect you."

"With me here tonight, your uncle won't do anything to you!"

"I'll explain it to you!"

Lin Qingmian lowered her eyes, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded: "Okay."

Since it's impossible to explain clearly, then let's just not explain it at all.

Moreover, with Ji Xingqing around, the atmosphere between her and Ji Linzhou wouldn't be so awkward.

The quiet, oppressive atmosphere inside the car before made her feel suffocated just thinking about it.

Soon, the three arrived at the reserved private room.

After entering and sitting down, Ji Linzhou realized that Ji Xingqing had also come along.

His brows furrowed deeply: "You have a lot of free time?"

"Uncle, what kind of attitude is this?"

Ji Xingqing smiled and pulled Lin Qingmian to sit down opposite Ji Linzhou: "You are my uncle, and Mianmian is my best friend. Since I happened to run into you two, I thought it wouldn't be a problem to come and have a meal with you."

"You two aren't on a date, so one more person like me won't make a difference, will it?"

Ji Linzhou narrowed his eyes slightly, exuding a chilling aura that seemed to lower the temperature of the private room.

Ji Xingqing knew he was unhappy.

But for her sake, Mianmian, she had to swallow her pride and stay!

Soon, the waiter brought the menu.

Ji Xingqing instinctively reached for it, but Ji Linzhou snatched it away with his long fingers.

After the man pointed at the menu a few times, the waiter repeated the names of the dishes to confirm.

Hearing the names of the dishes the male waiter mentioned, Ji Xingqing's small face scrunched up: "I don't like any of them."

She lowered her voice and whispered in Lin Qingmian's ear, "Mianmian, I'm staying here to eat a bunch of things I don't like just for you."

Lin Qingmian lowered her eyes, comforting her in a low voice while glancing at Ji Linzhou out of the corner of her eye a few more times.

The dishes he ordered...

Every single dish was one of her favorites.

Yesterday, Bai Chengming clearly said that he has never had any particular preference for food.

So... did Ji Linzhou specially order these dishes for her?

But how did he know what she liked to eat?