Chapter 22: Hotpot (Begging for Monthly Tickets)

"Are you here to pick up Accountant Jiang after work?"

Shen Siyuan was a little surprised to see Tao Guangxia as well.

Tao Guangxia nodded without denying it, but immediately went on, "Mr. Shen, are you free tonight? Dou Dou's mother and I would like to treat you to dinner."

"Treating me again?"

Shen Siyuan now realized too — Tao Guangxia wasn't there to pick Jiang Wenxin up from work, but had come specifically to wait for him.

But not tonight — he had already made plans with Jiang Tingyu.

"We're eating out today. I booked a table at the Cloud Top Restaurant."

Cloud Top Restaurant was the tallest restaurant in Binhai City. Dining there, one could not only gaze out at the sea, but take in the entire Jade Dragon Bay at a glance — an excellent spot for sightseeing.

Of course the price was certainly not cheap; Shen Siyuan had only ever seen it on TikTok and had never actually gone in to eat.

To tell the truth, Shen Siyuan did want to go and see what it was like, but he couldn't break his word.

So he simply shook his head and said, "Tonight won't work. I've already made plans with someone."

"I see…" A look of disappointment crossed Tao Guangxia's face.

Shen Siyuan chuckled softly, pinched his fingers into a hand-seal, and a gust of yin wind rose from flat ground, swirling around Tao Guangxia once like a mischievous little sprite.

"Dou Dou?"

Delight flashed across Tao Guangxia's face, and he shot Shen Siyuan a questioning look.

Shen Siyuan nodded, then said, "Alright, next time there's a chance, let's eat together. I'm off now."

So saying, he stepped into the waiting elevator.

As the master of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, even if Dou Dou were a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers away, he could summon her at will and send her away at will.

And the reason Shen Siyuan felt comfortable letting Dou Dou wander about, without worrying that she might reveal her form, hurt someone, or cause trouble, was also because of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner — to her, his words were effectively a command to be obeyed.

Even though Dou Dou was still a child, as long as it was something he said, she would absolutely never disobey.

Shen Siyuan went downstairs, hailed a car, and headed for the meeting place he'd arranged with Jiang Tingyu.

As for his e-bike, he had no choice but to leave it at the company; Lin Manzhi had driven in today, so he couldn't ask her to ride it back for him.

The place where Shen Siyuan and Jiang Tingyu were to meet was a hotpot restaurant called 【Old Qiao】.

The location was Shen Siyuan's pick. He'd eaten at this hotpot restaurant a few times before, and the flavor was quite good. And since Jiang Tingyu was a Sichuan girl, hotpot would surely suit her taste as well.

Sure enough, Jiang Tingyu didn't object to Shen Siyuan's suggestion and agreed right away.

Shen Siyuan got off work at six, but because of the rush hour, by the time he reached the hotpot restaurant it was almost seven.

Jiang Tingyu had already arrived long before, sitting in her seat quietly browsing her phone as she waited.

"Jiang Tingyu?" Shen Siyuan walked over and asked tentatively.

Jiang Tingyu looked up at the sound of his voice. Her eyes were like autumn waters, her brows like distant ink-dark hills, her cheeks rounded, her nose bridge high and straight, and her hair pulled up high — clean and crisp.

She broke into a smile, nodded, and said, "Shen Siyuan?"

"Yes, that's me. Sorry to have kept you waiting."

"No problem — I'm the one who came early. It isn't the agreed-upon time yet." Jiang Tingyu set her phone aside.

Shen Siyuan sat down across from her, glanced at the empty table, and asked, "Haven't ordered yet?"

"No — I didn't know if you had any dietary restrictions, so I didn't order."

Hearing this, Shen Siyuan simply scanned the code with his phone, opened the ordering app, then handed the phone over and said, "Order whatever you like to eat. We'll chat as we eat."

Jiang Tingyu didn't stand on ceremony, took the phone directly, and asked at the same time, "Can you eat spicy food?"

"I can."

"Then I won't order a mandarin-duck pot — I'll just order a straight red-broth pot?"

"No problem," said Shen Siyuan.

Then, while she was ordering, he took the chance to look her over again.

She was wearing a round-necked, off-the-shoulder blouse on top, revealing delicate collarbones and rounded shoulders — beautiful, yes, but not much flesh on her, making her look a bit slender.

Although she was sitting down, judging from her upper body she was at least over one meter seventy tall.

Jiang Tingyu handed the phone back to Shen Siyuan, and with a smile asked, "Am I good-looking? Are you satisfied?"

Clearly she had noticed Shen Siyuan's gaze sizing her up, which made Shen Siyuan feel a touch awkward.

So he said, "You're very pretty."

Then he lowered his head to look at what Jiang Tingyu had ordered.

And Jiang Tingyu, without the slightest hesitation, turned the tables and began sizing Shen Siyuan up carefully in return.

Shen Siyuan added a few more plates of meat, then placed the order directly, pocketed his phone, looked at her, and threw her own words back at her: "Am I good-looking? Are you satisfied?"

Jiang Tingyu laughed and said, "Since this is a blind date, naturally we have to see each other clearly."

Jiang Tingyu's personality was very frank and open. When she laughed, she showed two rows of pearly white teeth, looking hearty and generous.

"But you're really 26? You don't look it at all."

Jiang Tingyu stared hard at Shen Siyuan, especially at his eyes — pupils like autumn waters, glittering with starlight — and she could hardly tear her gaze away.

"Genuine goods, no fakes — how could I possibly kid you about that?"

"But you look a lot younger than your actual age. How do you take care of yourself?" Jiang Tingyu said with some admiration.

"Take care of myself? I'm a grown man — what would I be taking care of? I don't have that kind of leisure. I'm just naturally baby-faced, that's all."

"Your eyes are really beautiful. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul — with eyes that beautiful, the person can't be bad either." Jiang Tingyu stared at Shen Siyuan as she spoke.

"Does that count as a 'good-person card'?" Shen Siyuan joked with a smile.

Then he went on, "You're very pretty too. There must be plenty of people pursuing you — so how did you end up at the blind-date stage?"

Jiang Tingyu didn't answer that question, but asked back, "What about you?"

"Because I'm poor, but I really want to eat hotpot," said Shen Siyuan.

Jiang Tingyu burst into laughter upon hearing this; she understood the meaning behind Shen Siyuan's words. Shen Siyuan meant that because he was poor, he had no girlfriend, and the reason he came to this blind date was simply to find someone to share hotpot with.

"You haven't answered my question yet?" Shen Siyuan pressed.

"If I said I hadn't met anyone suitable, you'd surely think I was just brushing you off, but that is actually the truth. Of course, there is another reason..." Jiang Tingyu said.

Shen Siyuan was listening when the other party suddenly stopped speaking.

"Sorry." Clearly, she did not wish to say more.

Shen Siyuan shook his head, indicating that he understood.

Seeing Shen Siyuan's such magnanimity, Jiang Tingyu actually felt a bit embarrassed.

"I was just..."

She wanted to explain, yet did not know how to begin.

"You don't need to explain. Not everything requires a reason, nor does everything need to be explained to outsiders."

"Thank you~" Upon hearing this, Jiang Tingyu expressed her gratitude sincerely.

Shen Siyuan was momentarily stunned by her words, then smiled inwardly.

The person Lin Manzhi introduced was quite reliable. Judging from their current interaction, Jiang Tingyu was truly a very good Miss.

Therefore, Shen Siyuan's impression of her improved further, yet he also saw that Jiang Tingyu currently had no intention of dating. The reason she came to this blind date was probably because she could not refuse the favor owed to Lin Manzhi.

Nevertheless, as the two ate hotpot and conversed happily, Shen Siyuan shared amusing stories from his game company, while she recounted many people and events she had encountered while working at the aquarium.