Chapter 375

After a long while, Tang Song reluctantly let go, then lifted Shen Ci's cheeks and kissed her lips lightly: "Did you miss me?"

Shen Ci nodded with a smile in her eyes.

Seeing this, Tang Song smiled with satisfaction, took Shen Ci's hand, and said: "Let's go, let's go eat first!"

After getting in the car and fastening her seatbelt, Lianxing's message followed: "Big sister, what's going on? Why is Jiang Lingchuan still standing downstairs?"

Shen Ci: "..."

After replying with a speechless emoji, she typed to her: "A pure-love warrior can't be driven away or knocked down. Have some pity on him!"

"I booked a newly opened Chinese restaurant."

Hearing this, Shen Ci raised her eyebrows: "Alright, I'll listen to your arrangements!"

The restaurant was very close to the school. Although it was approaching noon, there weren't many people.

Just as the two sat down, Tang Song's phone rang. He calmly handed the menu to Shen Ci before picking up the phone: "You order first, I'll take a call."

Shen Ci nodded, watched Tang Song get up and walk away to take the call, and then opened the menu to look through it.

This new shop was really not cheap.

She ordered a few dishes she wanted to eat. About ten minutes later, Tang Song returned. He had been gone for a while, so before Shen Ci could ask, he took the initiative to explain: "My grandfather wants me to go back for a meal tonight."

"Haven't you been back for a long time?"

Tang Song nodded lightly: "It's been two months, right? You know I've been busy lately, and whenever I have time to rest, I just want to see you."

As he spoke, he looked at Shen Ci with a mischievous smile.

Shen Ci glared at him and advised: "Then go back and visit tonight. The old man is getting on in years and tends to nag; you should spend more time with him."

"Don't you want me to stay with you tonight?" Tang Song looked at her and asked.

Shen Ci shook her head with a smile: "I don't need to compete with your grandfather, do I? Besides, we manage to see each other a few times a month anyway. He lives alone on the mountain and specifically called you, so you should go back for a trip no matter what."

Not going back for two months was really a bit exaggerated.

"I knew you would advise me like this." Tang Song had an expression of having guessed it long ago, his eyes full of affection: "So I promised my grandfather I'd go back later."

Hearing this, the smile on Shen Ci's face deepened a little.

Then she heard Tang Song suddenly lower his voice and ask tentatively: "How about you come back with me?"

Shen Ci's expression froze, and the smile on her face faded accordingly.

Before she could state her position, Tang Song hurriedly surrendered tactfully: "I'm just joking."

Shen Ci didn't feel any awkwardness. She and Tang Song had clearly stated this when they started dating: she was only dating Tang Song one-on-one, and it wouldn't involve his family.

As for Tang Song's interactions with his own family, that was Tang Song's own unilateral willingness; she had never forced the other party!

She only dated, a pure kind of dating, undisturbed by any external factors.

Tang Song understood her, but as his love grew deeper, he was always eager to try and take their relationship a step further.

He was a bit carried away.

But Shen Ci remained clear-headed and rational!

"Don't be angry, I won't mention it again." Tang Song said cautiously.

Shen Ci took a sip of water and chuckled: "You can mention it if you want, but the result will be the same."

Tang Song wasn't angry either, because he knew what Shen Ci cared about.

He also knew clearly that he couldn't force Shen Ci; if he pushed too hard, he might lose her.

Just then, Tang Song's brow suddenly furrowed tightly. His gaze passed over Shen Ci and looked toward the main entrance at the front of the restaurant.

"Baby, that person is your teacher, right?"

Hearing this, Shen Ci turned her head in surprise and saw Li Jianguo walking into the restaurant, accompanied by a woman wearing a red coat with long wavy hair.

"Eh? Li Dao?"

The woman looked like a stranger. Shen Ci came back to her senses and couldn't help but show a meaningful smile. Was Li Dao experiencing a second spring?

"A-Ci, that woman is not right!"

Tang Song said suddenly, his face serious.

Shen Ci looked at him, puzzled: "How do you know?"

"I ran into her outside while I was on the phone just now, but she had just walked out of the Western restaurant across the street with another man, and that man wasn't your teacher!"

Tang Song's tone was very firm, without any hesitation.

"Could it be that you saw wrong?"

"No!" Tang Song shook his head: "Your husband is a criminal police officer; how could I lack that bit of observation? Her red coat is particularly eye-catching—it's definitely her!"

At this time, Li Jianguo and the woman had already sat down at a window seat on the other side.

The waiter handed over the menu, and Li Jianguo very gentlemanly handed the menu back to the woman, letting her order first.

Shen Ci was a bit confused and muttered: "Just finished eating with a man at the Western restaurant across the street, and turned around to enter this Chinese restaurant with Li Dao. This woman can really eat!"

"No, baby, your teacher is married, right?"

"Divorced. I even helped him find the lawyer!"

As she spoke, Shen Ci's eyes lit up: "Oh, I know, it's a blind date. This woman must also be out on blind dates, meeting several at once for higher efficiency."

She had seen such blind dates before, like a revolving banquet, meeting several people in one day.

There were even more exaggerated ones, gathering all the blind date targets together for a meal for even higher efficiency!

But Tang Song still felt something was weird, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly felt strange.

Just then, Li Jianguo excused himself to go to the restroom. Tang Song hurriedly called the waiter over: "The air conditioning is blowing right here, and my girlfriend is a bit uncomfortable. Let's move over there."

Shen Ci blinked inexplicably. Where was there any air conditioning above her head?

But she still obediently followed Tang Song and moved to the seat next to Li Jianguo's.

And this time, the two didn't sit opposite each other; Tang Song and Shen Ci sat side-by-side, back-to-back with Li Jianguo's seat, less than two meters apart.

As soon as they sat down, they heard the woman on the phone.

"Yeah, the third one. But this one is just a university teacher, and he's not wearing any name brands. I feel like his financial strength isn't enough."

"Yeah, that's why I chose Chinese food. Just now at the Western restaurant, I ordered caviar and a bottle of red wine, and made a little bit."

"Let's observe first. If it doesn't work, find an excuse to leave quickly. There are two more later..."

The woman deliberately lowered her voice when speaking. Shen Ci only heard an ambiguous snippet, but Tang Song's hearing was incredibly sharp.

He tilted his head toward Shen Ci and said: "Your teacher has run into a 'meal tout'!"

"'Meal tout'?"

Tang Song chuckled and said: "This woman uses the excuse of a blind date to lure people to restaurants to eat, using high consumption to earn kickbacks from the restaurant. It's commonly known as a 'meal tout'!"

Shen Ci was stunned. What kind of profession was this?

But Tang Song had clearly confirmed the other party's identity and said in a serious tone: "The menu in her hand just now might be different from the one we're looking at. Restaurants that cooperate with 'meal touts' mostly use 'yin-yang menus'!"

The reason he was so certain was that this kind of racket was nothing new to him; it had been common all over the country for years, and public security organs had already taken down many of them. He had personally participated in operations to crack down on such illegal and criminal activities during his internship.

?? Happy May Day, babies!

? The double monthly ticket event is still ongoing. Members have a guaranteed monthly ticket at the beginning of the month, and with the double monthly ticket event, that's two tickets per person. Please vote for me, love you all!

? (End of chapter)