Chapter 23 — To Change Him

Lunch was a bit stifling. Afterward, when the four returned to the company together, they were not surprised to see a few reporters hanging around the entrance. The reporters held up their cameras and launched into a picture-taking frenzy, but they finished and fled before Su Yanyi could open her mouth.

Su Yanyi and the rest watched as black lines slid down their foreheads.

Reporters nowadays sure were proficient. They'd even grasped the notion of guerrilla warfare, knowing how to shoot and then switch locations.

"Should I go deal with it?" Jiang Xiaobin asked. He was the only one suitable for the job since he was an assistant. He just didn't know if he would be able to catch up with the reporters.

"No." They'd disclosed their relationship already, so a few pictures were nothing to be afraid of. She confidently strode into the company. Qin Jiran hesitated for a second before quickening his pace so he could walk by her side.

However, there was still a tiny bit of distance between their bodies, making them look close and intimate when they were actually not.

Qin Jiran had decided to do this on his own initiative. Now that they had disclosed their relationship, he obviously couldn't act as distant and indifferent to her as he did before. Otherwise, the public would likely start to come up with all kinds of weird speculations. They might even bring up the possibility of divorce.

At the same time, he couldn't be too intimate. This was mainly for Su Yanyi's sake, as he didn't want to do anything that she would unkindly to. It might make her assume he was trying to reach for a yard after taking an inch.

As for the people inside of the company, they were a little surprised to see the couple appear together, but they had already gotten over it. Nonetheless, watching the husband-wife pair enter and exit the company still turned people green with jealousy.

In the wake of Su Yanyi and Qin Jiran's increased public interactions, more and more news about them came up on television, newspapers, and magazines. Mother Su worked on controlling the direction of the news, but she no longer suppressed the quantity.

As the matter of fact, she was fanning the flames instead. Before long, the pictures of her daughter and son-in-law standing together seemed to be everywhere. There were many heated debates on whether Qin Jiran and Su Yanyi's relationship was "the man is capable, and the woman is beautiful" or "the woman is beautiful, and the man is capable." However, that was the minority.

The masses hadn't stopped discussing the couple's marriage yet. The topics that garnered the most discussion were "Who pursued who?" and "Are they happy together?" Qin Jiran's official webpage had long been flooded by messages from his fans.

Because both he and Su Yanyi refrained from openly responding to the discussions, the reporters had to resort to tailing them. The difference was that the reporters were smarter this time and stuck with only taking pictures instead of asking questions.

Su Yanyi and Qin Jiran parted in the elevator. She watched him get off and spoke up just before the doors closed, "We're eating dinner together."

Meals should not be skipped, no matter how busy work was. Even if he couldn't cook for her, he should at least be able to eat with her, right?

Maybe it was because every single point she'd gotten so far was during meal times, but she became especially persistent about eating. She thought it was the best way to get closer to Qin Jiran.

Qin Jiran and his group returned to the office. Guo Zekai started blinking at Qin Jiran, and he kept doing it until the actor's expression darkened. He said coldly, "If you have something to say, say it."

"Tut-tut. Queen Su, ah. She accompanied you to lunch, and now she's waiting for you to eat dinner. In order to disclose your relationship, she put herself in the spotlight too. Oh, this kind of love is so enviable," Guo Zekai said sincerely. Listening to him, Qin Jiran felt a bit awkward.

Love? Although he didn't know why Su Yanyi was so insistent about eating with him, their reactions were not lovey-dovey at all. They'd said no more than five words to each other during lunch. Often times, he felt like she was unwilling to eat with him. It was as if she was doing it for a certain reason.

Qin Jiran pondered over what the reason might be and decided that it was probably for the public. When he got back and saw the photos the reporters had taken of them earlier, he was all the more convinced of his speculation.

Was there something Su Yanyi had to show their "love" to?

By the end of the afternoon, Qin Jiran and Guo Zekai had finalized most of the main cast. Now they just had to see if the people they'd selected were open. As dinner time neared, Qin Jiran began to lose his concentration. Time and time again, he would check his watch and then glance at the doorway. Clearly, he was waiting for Su Yanyi.

As Guo Zekai and Jiang Xiaobin watched, they secretly rolled their eyes.

"Okay, okay, I'll be going then. I'll contact these actors and tell you if I get any news back." Guo Zekai quickly fled.

"Brother Qin, I'm going too. I wish you and sister-in-law a happy dinner." Jiang Xiaobin didn't want to be a lightbulb anymore, so he also slipped away.

Qin Jiran fell into a slight daze. Jiang Xiaobin's "sister-in-law" filled his heart with sweetness. Although he hadn't really made any progress with Su Yanyi, after disclosing their relationship, there were some things that had changed.

For example, the attitudes of those around them. Sometimes, their gazes would pull Qin Jiran into the illusion that he and Su Yanyi were truly in love with each other, but those illusions would only last for a fleeting moment. Nonetheless, those fleeting moments of happiness and sweetness were enough to keep him satisfied for a long time.

How nice would it be if they could become a real, loving couple one day?

This extravagant wish had become the greatest wish of his life.

Su Yanyi unceremoniously pushed open the door, and when she stepped it, the first thing she saw was Qin Jiran sitting there, deep in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" He seemed to be hopeful yet troubled at the same time, which puzzled her.

"You're here. Should we eat out, or go home and eat?" He was clearly trying to change the subject, as he was genuinely afraid to tell her what he was really thinking.

Occasionally, he would think about what the outcomes might be if he confessed to her, and none of them were ever ended happily. Based on his understanding of Su Yanyi, she would reject him and then alienate him even more.

It wasn't that he didn't have the courage to confess his feelings, it was that he didn't have the courage to accept a more tragic treatment from her. Even if she didn't love him, he didn't want to be detested more.

Su Yanyi looked at the troubled Qin Jiran and decided not to prob. Instead, she gave a nod and prompted, "Let's go home, your food is good."

The man's mood was heavy, and he was bad at expressing himself. On top of that, he didn't seem willing to share his worries with her either.

This was a bad habit. Very bad. She wondered if there were any good ways to change it?

VIN: One day, before we know it, this novel might become a mini culinary novel.

A lot of you probably want to know when the story is going to start picking up, so I put some little benchmarks (based on the chapter titles) in the Read More. I don't read ahead though, so the chapter titles might be trolls from the author.

Chapter 31 — One Side For You, And One Side For Me

Chapter 45 — Confession

Chapter 50 — Jealous

RELEASE SCHEDULE: 5x a week. Why? Because chapter 65 begins the 8k (in raws) chapters, so I'll need time to stockpile those.