Chapter 56: Chaotic My Dao Heart!

Yu Dazhang was caught off guard by the question.

Had he ever promised her anything?

“What did I say?” he countered instead of answering.

“You said you’d take me out to dinner—now you’re trying to weasel out of it,” came the firm reply from the other end of the phone.

He really had said it.

He’d waited all these days.

Isn’t it reasonable to nudge him a little~?

“Oh, right, right, I remember now—I got swamped and forgot,” Yu Dazhang laughed in agreement, though inside he was torn.

This young lady has terrible emotional intelligence.

Can’t she tell when someone’s just being polite?

Even picking any random restaurant is beyond my budget, you know.

“Then let’s go now,” Qu Tuotuo said quickly:

“I can tell—you’re out somewhere, just got off work.”

Since playing hard to get won’t work with you, don’t blame me for being blunt… Yu Dazhang clenched his teeth and replied in a low voice:

“Miss Qu, don’t you think our interactions are pointless socializing?”

Though steel wool symbolizes endurance and wealth, Yu Dazhang had his own limits.

He didn’t refuse the pleasures of rich women’s bites or nails, but psychologically, he couldn’t cross that line.

The gap is a gap—it can’t be erased by mere mutual attraction.

Besides, she’s not some middle-aged aunt.

“You mean eating with me is pointless socializing?” Qu Tuotuo could hardly believe her ears.

“What else? In China, our social statuses are too far apart,” Yu Dazhang decided to reason with her, adding an example:

“If I took you to eat street barbecue, would you go?”

If it were some rich young master eating street food, Yu Dazhang might believe it.

One, because it’s novel.

Two, because it’s easier to flirt—shows you’re down-to-earth.

But a rich girl like Qu Tuotuo? She’d never touch street food.

Especially since she’d returned from abroad—she’d only dine at upscale Western restaurants.

A single meal costing thousands, a bottle of wine over ten thousand… Just imagining the prices made Yu Dazhang’s liver tremble.

Forget it.

Isn’t home-cooked food from Mom far better?

Unexpectedly, he was wrong this time.

Upon hearing “street barbecue,” Qu Tuotuo immediately perked up:

“Great! I eat it often—do you have a favorite spot? Find one with draft beer, let’s have a drink.”

Yu Dazhang: ???

She eats it often?

Knowing about draft beer? That’s not fake.

If he hadn’t seen Qu Tuotuo’s personal profile, Yu Dazhang might have suspected she was faking being a rich girl.

“Then…”

His mind raced, desperately searching for another excuse. After a moment, he could only sigh and say:

“I know a decent place—I’ll send you the address. Let’s meet there.”

Fine, eat then—he couldn’t think of any better reason.

If the girl herself agreed to street barbecue, what was there left to worry about?

Street food was out—still, they’d need a proper restaurant.

Though Songhai wasn’t some mountain, better to be cautious.

With her looks, if some drunk guy made lewd remarks, Yu Dazhang truly feared Qu Tuotuo might get hurt.

What kind of hurt?

If she knocked someone out, that’d be intentional assault.

Twenty minutes later.

Yu Dazhang met Qu Tuotuo at the barbecue spot—she’d taken a taxi.

Yes, she’d taken a taxi.

And she was dressed in professional attire: a white blouse, a fitted blazer, a tight black skirt, her long hair pinned up, elegant and sharp.

The moment Yu Dazhang saw her, he froze.

Four words flashed automatically in his mind… beautiful and fierce.

How did she know he liked uniform seduction? Yu Dazhang was genuinely stunned.

For the first time ever, he truly appreciated a woman.

Damn it, Luanwodaoxin !

I’ll need to review a dismemberment case file later to calm down… Yu Dazhang silently warned himself.

After sitting down, Qu Tuotuo ordered several of her favorite dishes with practiced ease—no pretense at all. Yu Dazhang had already called his mother earlier, saying he wouldn’t be home for dinner.

When she pressed him, he simply said he was meeting friends for a small gathering.

Since he was paying, there was no need to be polite.

He pointed at the menu with authority, spending over two minutes just ordering.

“Can you two even finish all this?” the server kindly asked.

“No problem—we’ll pack the leftovers,” Yu Dazhang said casually:

“My standard for treating someone is to eat until there’s nothing left.”

Is that how you use that phrase…? The server gave him a blank look and stepped aside.

Ignoring the curious stares from other diners, Yu Dazhang sat like a rock.

Look, look—don’t you find this unbelievable?

Please… collect 6…9…books…!

Don’t you think a flower is stuck on a meat bun?

Today, I’ll teach you a lesson.

Who says a beautiful woman must be paired with a handsome man?

Pfft~ How cliché!

Beautiful women love beasts—I’m leading this trend.

Seeing Yu Dazhang’s calm demeanor, yet as if he were locked in silent combat, Qu Tuotuo asked curiously:

“Do you know anyone here?”

“Oh, no—I just got distracted,” Yu Dazhang quickly explained:

“Thoughts about work.”

“You don’t usually wear your police uniform?” Qu Tuotuo asked again.

Yu Dazhang nodded:

“Different job duties—I wear civilian clothes more often during investigations.”

They chatted intermittently, and soon the server brought out grilled skewers and draft beer one by one.

The other diners stared again in disbelief.

Today, they finally understood what real skewer-eating looked like.

Turns out skewers could be eaten together—meat and vegetables side by side, and that fat guy devoured them all at once.

They wanted to ask: Brother, aren’t you afraid you’ll burn your mouth? Your mouth’s practically a vacuum cleaner.

As they ate and talked, a few drafts down, their conversation flowed more freely.

As for drinking capacity:

Yu Dazhang knew he was a lightweight—five beers was his limit, no more.

But that depended on who he was drinking with. He didn’t know about others, but he was confident he could outdrink the girl across from him.

She’s just a girl—how could he lose to a woman?

People always get careless when they lower their guard.

Qu Tuotuo didn’t know how much she could drink.

Because… she’d never gotten drunk—not once!

Well, mainly because she rarely drank and didn’t know her own limits.

She’d had draft beer many times, though.

But always just a little, mostly with good friends like Su Mi.

“You’re a rich girl—why eat barbecue?”

Yu Dazhang’s speech was already slurred, his face flushed as he stared at Qu Tuotuo across the table:

“Oh~? You eat garlic? I’ll warn you—too much of that stinks.”

Qu Tuotuo paid no mind to his teasing, kept eating, and replied while chewing:

I think we’re not much different—I worked part-time while studying abroad, and I paid for my tuition myself in the later years.

This surprised Yu Dazhang; he asked curiously:

“Didn’t your father give you money?”

“He stopped sending much after I went overseas,” Qu Tuotuo said, looking somewhat gloomy:

“Now all my money comes from what I earn abroad—I study finance, so investing is basically my field.”

At this point, Yu Dazhang spoke without thinking—he asked almost instinctively:

“What do you invest in?”

“Stocks, futures, real estate, and anything else with a good project,” Qu Tuotuo answered without hesitation.

“Oh, you’d better be careful,” Yu Dazhang mumbled.

“A bull market’s coming soon.”

As he spoke, Yu Dazhang stood up, and as if fearing Qu Tuotuo wouldn’t understand, he spread his arms wide in an exaggerated circular motion.

“A huge, huge bull market!”

(End of Chapter)