After Wu Wang went back to sleep, the rest of them left him alone. In the parking lot, they were walking side by side in perfect harmony when Li Qiao suggested, "Shall we grab some snacks before going back to the office?" It was an excuse since he didn't want to go back home.
He Jian and Ye Jie looked at each other before shrugging their shoulders nonchalantly, silently giving their consent. Li Qiao rolled his eyes at their equally stubborn nature and said, "Okay! So, how should we move from here?" Because in his opinion, each of them brought their own car, it was necessary to ask.
"My baby took my car. So, I don't have a ride." Ye Jie told him politely since he didn't even bother to ask Qi Guan to fetch him. But Li Qiao was roaring inwardly, 'Do you have to feed people dog food even when she's not here?'
"Shen picked me up from home. I don't have a ride either." He Jian also replied in an indifferent manner.
Li Qiao could only look at their faces and shake his head. "Fine! Then our problem is solved. Get on my car." He Jian took the passenger seat while Ye Jie sat in the backseat and Li Qiao took his position behind the wheel.
As the engine was revved up, they drove out of the parking lot and Li Qiao again spoke up, "Any suggestions for where to go?"
"I have no opinion," He Jian replied and looked out the window. Li Qiao had expected that much from his cold best friend. 'What man of few words? He's an iceberg!' Li Qiao thought to himself.
Li Qiao looked at Ye Jie through the rearview mirror. "Drive to the downtown." Li Qiao was pleasantly surprised that Ye Jie actually gave a suggestion and he listened to him.
After driving for 45 minutes, Ye Jie asked him to park the car on the roadside. After Li Qiao parked the car, the other two climbed out of the car and looked around at the bustling streets of the downtown and gave Ye Jie an inquiring look.
"Follow me," Ye Jie didn't mind their looks and took them through some small alleyway towards their destination. The place where he brought them had street stalls crowded with customers. Ye Jie found a small empty table and asked both of them to take a seat.
Although He Jian and Li Qiao both didn't have those pretentious habits, they still felt out of place. What surprised them was that Ye Jie actually knew about such hidden spot. They weren't at fault though, their aura definitely didn't match with the surroundings no matter how one looked at it.
"Three bowls of noodle soup!" Ye Jie ordered for them as well.
"How do you know about this place? Do you come here often?" Li Qiao asked the question which was running in He Jian's mind at the moment.
"Nope! I only came here once." The touch of a nostalgic smile on Ye Jie's face made both He Jian and Li Qiao squint their eyes in suspicion. "As for knowing about this place, my best friend brought me here. She's a foodie and I believe if one told her that hell has the best food, she might dig out a path to their as well." Thinking about Ru, Ye Jie couldn't help but grin.
Soon three bowls of noodle soup were placed on the table. The bowl of noodles was topped with chicken drum sticks and the soup seemed to be topped with chili and Sichuan pepper. Being reluctant was not an option, therefore, both He Jian and Li Qiao picked up their chopsticks to take a bite.
Surprisingly, the noodle soup was beyond their imaginations. It was a perfect combination of spices and it wasn't heavy at all. All in all, it was indeed a perfect snack.
"It's better than what I expected," Li Qiao remarked in appreciation.
"You can't judge a food by where it's sold," Ye Jie retorted with a smile and Li Qiao nodded agreeing with him.
"By the way, earlier I was serious. When are you planning on officially becoming a Zhu?" He Jian asked Ye Jie straightforwardly.
Ye Jie placed his chopsticks down and said, "I'll do it after my 'fake parents' come back from abroad," Ye Jie did the air quotation on purpose since at the hospital, He Jian was the one who named them as fake parents. He picked his chopsticks and added, "And I don't think I have to do anything. Mom is going to be enough for this matter." Ye Jie had subconsciously started calling He Susu as a mom with ease and it made He Jian feel happy.
"Can't argue with that," He Jian started. "I think aunt Su is gonna pull some hair."
"Ohhh! That'll be an epic one! Don't forget to invite me for the show," Li Qiao chimed in making He Jian slap him on the back of his head. Li Qiao scowled. "What? Isn't it going to be epic? You know Aunt Su's temper better than me."
Of course, He Jian was familiar with his aunt more than anyone. "You focus on the epic show going on at your place. Although Xiamu is back in the country, you're avoiding him on purpose. The only person he met is Yu Kim. Try focusing on your family's drama."
"You're hurting Qiao's feelings, Ge!" Ye Jie voiced out but he didn't realize that he called Jian as 'Ge' with a sense of familiarity and comfortability.
He Jian looked at him with a small smile and added, "My little brother, don't try to take his side. I'm hurting him because he's being a coward. Instead of facing everything, he's been running away from even facing his own cousin like he'd done some crime."
Ye Jie was a bit stunned to hear 'my little brother' but he smiled softly after a moment. He was always the eldest brother, it was a first being the younger one. "What are you running from Qiao?" Ye Jie asked looking at Li Qiao.
"I feel like I've betrayed him. Being his elder brother, I was supposed to protect him but instead, I fell in love with the person who he loved." Li Qiao answered getting up to leave.
Ye Jie paid for their meal and ran after him. When he exited the alleyway, Li Qiao was leaning against the car while He Jian was looking around aimlessly.
Coming close to them, Ye Jie asked, "But I don't think you're wrong. Since I believe even Yu Kim loves you, not your cousin."
"He knows that," He Jian answered on Li Qiao's behalf. "And perhaps, that's the reason making him feel more guilty."
Ye Jie frowned but after a bit of pondering, he understood clearly. He patted Li Qiao's shoulder and said, "Don't make that face. My baby will murder me if she got to know that I made her bro upset." After a pause, he added, "I have an idea. Let's go bowling. I'm also not in a good mood and both of you are the same. What do you guys think?" Obviously, he wasn't going to tell them that a certain soup became the reason for his bad mood.
"Sounds good to me," He Jian agreed to the idea. It was a rare opportunity for him to get close to Ye Jie and also cheer up Li Qiao. Killing two birds with one stone! How could he miss?
After they planned it out, they hopped inside the car and drove away to the bowling arcade. But in their own world, they didn't notice that a young man had been hiding at the corner, listening to their conversation.
The young man's face had turned pale and his body was trembling as tears were pooling into his eyes. If Xu Mey was here, she would recognize this young man to be Kaden; the new neighbor she met. But if Li Qiao had noticed, he would recognize the young man to be his one and only cousin; Xin Xiamu!