"Qin Er, your hand is really soft."

As he shamelessly drew circles in the palm of Gongsun Qin's hand, Xu Fan glanced her way.

That one sentence nearly made Gongsun Qin cry out of frustration!

Without hesitation, she withdrew her hand, ready to slap Xu Fan hard across the face!

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, after taking advantage of me, now you hit me, heartless little Qin Er."

Xu Fan swiftly pulled back, easily dodging her attempt.

Seeing this stubborn woman ready to continue, Xu Fan said, "Don't forget, it was you who grabbed my hand."

"Moreover, knowing your bust size is simply a testament to my keen eyesight, stop daydreaming all the time."

"Hmph..."

Who could tell whether this guy was telling the truth or not, but even if he was, he had already taken his cheap shots.

Realizing she was still being toyed with and had a long way to go, Gongsun Qin had no choice but to forcibly hold back.

"Thanks... thank you for buying me the clothes."

Walking alongside Xu Fan, Gongsun Qin said her thanks with a trace of embarrassment.

Initially, she had planned to pay him back for the clothes once they returned, not wanting to owe him any favors.

But a whopping seventy thousand yuan – she honestly couldn't come up with that kind of money on short notice.

Thus, she had no choice but to thick-skinnedly express her gratitude to Xu Fan.

"Who told you that I bought you clothes for nothing?"

As she worried, Xu Fan narrowed his eyes and looked at Gongsun Qin.

Gongsun Qin was taken aback.

Could it be that this guy wanted her to repay the money?

Where... where would she get that much money!

If she had known it would come to this, she would have rather died than buy those clothes!

Realizing she'd been tricked by Xu Fan again, Gongsun Qin couldn't help but stomp her foot in anger.

This big swindler!

"Well, tell you what, you can treat me to a meal."

"That's not a problem, right?"

As she mulled over whether the clothes could be returned, Xu Fan stated his condition.

Gongsun Qin was flabbergasted.

He... he just wanted her to treat him to a meal?

That's... that's it?

"Of course, Qin Er, if you want to offer yourself to repay me, I could also reluctantly accept."

"Just remember to wear the lingerie I bought for you."

"Go to hell!"

If he hadn't taken her to that kind of place, how could she ever have picked such expensive clothes?

And he expects her to wear that kind of lingerie? In his dreams!

"Alright, we're here, let's go in."

Joking and bickering with Gongsun Qin all the way, they soon arrived at their destination.

The '97 Hong Kong-style Restaurant' was the very establishment Xu Fan had arranged for Zhong Xingyue.

Under the management of the Lu Family, the restaurant had been doing fairly well, and with Chef Chen's authentic skills, business seemed to have improved even more.

"Wait a sec."

Before she could walk in, Gongsun Qin pulled at her own sleeve.

Xu Fan, seeing her embarrassed appearance, couldn't help but frown.

"What's the matter? Having second thoughts?"

"No way! I'm not that petty! It's just..."

She found it a bit embarrassing to admit that, today, she didn't bring any money because Xu Fan had taken her out.

Besides, she didn't have much money with her, and she was worried she might not be able to afford the prices at this place.

Taking a deep breath and looking at Xu Fan, she said, "Give me some money, and then I'll treat you to a meal."

"..."

Only a straightforward woman like her could come up with the idea of treating someone to a meal with their own money.

Shaking his head with a smile, Xu Fan said, "Come on, I was just teasing you, this meal is on me."

"You can consider it as a formal welcome to cleanse away the past."

Looking at the smile on Xu Fan's lips, Gongsun Qin couldn't help but be a bit stunned.

She really hadn't expected that this guy, always scheming against her, could also have such a warm side.

First buying her clothes, then treating her to a meal, at this moment, Gongsun Qin even started to doubt whether this guy had become someone else.

"Thank you."

With a slight blush on her face, Gongsun Qin voiced a word of thanks.

Following that, she trailed behind Xu Fan, walking towards the inside of the restaurant.

"Xu Fan!"

Just as they entered, they saw Zhong Xingyue excitedly running over to their direction.

To be honest, the bustling business of the restaurant at present had quite a lot to do with its charming proprietress.

Now, having run up to Xu Fan and exchanged a few cordial words, Zhong Xingyue's curious gaze shifted toward Gongsun Qin.

Perhaps it was the nature of beautiful women, but seeing Gongsun Qin, who was in no way inferior to herself, Zhong Xingyue couldn't help but take several more glances.

"Who might this be?"

Xu Fan smiled and said, "Gongsun Qin, a friend who's just arrived in Shanghai."

"This is Zhong Xingyue, the proprietress of this restaurant."

After introducing the two, Xu Fan then sighed with emotion.

"Ah, speaking of which, Xingyue running this restaurant hasn't been easy. After selling all her family property, now she's depending on the business of this restaurant to live."

"What?"

Upon hearing Xu Fan's words, Zhong Xingyue couldn't help but be taken aback.

What was this guy going on about? Wasn't this restaurant a gift he gave to her?

How did it become about her struggling through hardship?

"It's... it's going alright."

Not quite understanding what Xu Fan was aiming to do at that moment, Zhong Xingyue managed to force a smile and responded perfunctorily.

"Alright, let me take you two to a private room to sit first."

Accordingly, led by Zhong Xingyue, they entered a private room.

"Today I'm treating her to a welcoming meal, so you decide what to bring."

"Understood."

After Xu Fan gave his instructions, Zhong Xingyue left the private room.

"Xu Fan, there's no need to order too much... "

Hearing Xu Fan's intent, which seemed to imply he was preparing to treat her quite lavishly, Gongsun Qin couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed at that moment.

Her look toward Xu Fan became friendlier by quite a bit.

"Don't worry about it, I'm not just doing this for you."

"It's not easy for Xingyue, and I seldom take care of her business, so it's only right to order a bit more."

Recalling Xu Fan's recent mentions of the challenges Zhong Xingyue had faced, Gongsun Qin's gaze toward Xu Fan couldn't help but fill with a bit of goodwill.

This guy, it seemed, wasn't as bad as she had thought.

Apart from being a bit mean, he was actually quite nice in other aspects.

"Xu Fan, I have misunderstood you in the past, and I would like to formally apologize to you now."

"I hope from now on, we can get along well."

With a sincere face, Gongsun Qin raised the glass of water in her hand.

It appeared she intended to substitute water for wine, and offer an apology to Xu Fan.

"No problem, no problem," Xu Fan said, seeing her completely unguarded demeanor, and couldn't help but sigh.

Qin Er, the path you have to walk is still very long.

Soon, the waitstaff began to bring in the dishes that had been ordered, one by one.

Xu Fan casually ate a bit and then looked over at Zhong Xingyue, who was eating her meal politely and properly.

"I'm going to use the restroom."

"Sure, go ahead, don't worry about me."

Seeing that Gongsun Qin wasn't paying attention to him, Xu Fan directly left the private room.

"Xu Fan, why have you come out?"

The food had only recently been served, and seeing Xu Fan walking over, Zhong Xingyue couldn't help but ask curiously.

Xu Fan smiled and then said, "Later on, I need you to do me a favor."

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