Chapter 230
Chapter 230
"Jealousy is unreasonable," Xie Shiqing said after a pause.
"It's okay." Zhong Ning leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "I like it when you're jealous."
"You can be jealous, be as jealous as you want. Being jealous means you like me, that you care about me."
"Don’t you ever get jealous?" Xie Shiqing looked down at her phone screen, her fingers sliding the control wheel. "Ning Ning, I’ve never seen you get jealous."
Zhong Ning froze for a moment, her character almost killed by the opposing hero. "Maybe it’s because... there’s no one really around you?"
"I trust that Shiqing only likes me, and won’t fall for anyone else, right? Would you like someone else? Would you divide the attention meant for me and give it to others?"
"No."
"That’s why I believe in you," Zhong Ning said. "Being jealous or not—it’s both a way of loving."
"Hmph."
"Hmph what? Then should I be jealous too?" Zhong Ning winked at her. "No more looking at your phone. I’m jealous now, look at me."
Xie Shiqing immediately put her phone down. "Okay, I won’t look at it."
"Hey hey hey hey! Just a glance! Just a glance! I’m in the middle of a match!"
"Weren’t you the one who said not to look?"
"I was just talking nonsense! Finish the match first, then stop looking."
The waiter brought over the pan-fried buns and side dishes they had ordered. Zhong Ning's eyes lit up. "Hurry up, Shiqing, pick up your phone, push the tower and let's eat. These buns taste best while they’re hot."
Xie Shiqing couldn’t help but laugh. "Then give me a kiss. One kiss and I’ll keep playing."
Zhong Ning quickly leaned over and gave her a loud kiss on the cheek.
Having received her kiss, Xie Shiqing picked up her phone again and began dominating the game.
The seafood pan-fried buns were incredibly fresh and flavorful, filled with crab roe, crab meat, shrimp, oysters and more. The freshness could make someone want to swallow their tongue. The classic beef pan-fried buns were firm and springy without being tough. With a bit of sweet onion, the taste was so divine it could make your eyebrows lift in delight.
Take one bite, sip out the broth, then chew down heartily.
Zhong Ning ate two in a row before leaning back in her chair, moving her chopsticks toward the side dishes, and sincerely sighed, "They taste this good every time. I could eat them for a lifetime and never get tired."
Xie Shiqing slowly swallowed the food in her mouth. "Should I buy out this restaurant, purchase the recipe, and have the family chef make it? That way you can eat it anytime, anywhere."
Zhong Ning burst out laughing. "No need! Are you planning to buy every restaurant I say is good?"
Xie Shiqing seemed to be considering it.
"No! Don’t do that!" Zhong Ning widened her eyes. "You’re actually thinking about it?"
"I feel like I’m a seductive consort whispering in the emperor’s ear."
"Then how about five locations?" Xie Shiqing thought for a moment. "That way Ning Ning becomes the boss and won’t need to make reservations anymore."
"That number isn’t too much, right?"
Zhong Ning: "…It’s unnecessary. But if any of the stores are struggling and want to sell, then we could buy."
"If they don’t want to sell, and we insist on buying, how much extra would that cost? It’s not worth it. Besides, I don’t have any interest in being a store owner."
"I don’t think it’s too much."
After saying that, Xie Shiqing added, "Not that the money isn’t a lot, but no matter how much I spend on Ning Ning, I’d never think it’s too much or not worth it."
"But I also don’t want you to spend so much," Zhong Ning said. "I already know you like me. Let’s just go with the flow—maybe in a couple of days a store will want to sell."
"…Hopefully the shop owner won’t hold it against us."
"Or we could open our own shop," Xie Shiqing said. "Buy a storefront and open a restaurant. How about that?"
"Why do you keep trying to get me to open a shop?" Zhong Ning rubbed her brow, as if something came to mind. "Is it still because of those gossipy people?"
Xie Shiqing silently nodded.
Zhong Ning let out a long sigh. "Fine, then let’s open one. Open however many you want."
Only then did Xie Shiqing smile again. "Then let’s open two more clubs. Don’t worry, Ning Ning, you won’t have to do anything—I’ll find someone to manage them."
Zhong Ning raised a brow. "Let Assistant Fang find someone?"
Xie Shiqing nodded.
Alright then, two hands-off bosses.
Zhong Ning had felt a little guilty at first, but then she thought of Assistant Fang’s salary, and suddenly sat up straighter, coughing lightly. "Should I send her a little red envelope or something?"
Xie Shiqing waved her hand. "I’ll send it. There’s extra compensation for this kind of additional work. I’m not the kind of boss who makes employees work overtime without overtime pay."
And her overtime pay was definitely generous.
Zhong Ning watched as she messaged Assistant Fang, asking her to find a good location and check for available shopfronts. They were going to open three restaurants and two clubs, and would later need to find suitable managers. The site selections had to be sent over before the end of next month.
Then she transferred 200,000 yuan.
Zhong Ning: …
If she were a salaried worker, she’d want to work for this kind of boss too.
But she wasn’t a salaried worker—she was someone who insisted on being pampered. That thought made her even happier.
Chapter 79
After finishing the pan-fried buns, they still had a few hours of free time, so the two of them drove to a jewelry store, planning to pick out a pair of matching rings.
This was a place where facial recognition could be used for entry. As soon as Xie Shiqing walked in, she received the warmest and most attentive service. Very soon, the manager personally came out to greet them and took on the role of guide, introducing the design concepts behind each pair of rings.
Every pair here was one of a kind—some restrained, some wild, some elegant. Just two slender bands, yet each with its own style, evoking a story in the viewer’s imagination at first glance.
Zhong Ning looked at each one carefully and took a liking to a pair of platinum rings in a bright finish, set with tiny sapphires.
They were like the ocean and its waves, like the night sky and its stars, reminding her of Xie Shiqing—her shifting moods and surging emotions.
Xie Shiqing kept her eyes on Zhong Ning and noticed where her gaze fell. She looked over and asked, "Ning Ning, do you like this pair?"