His voice was slightly louder than it had been when he spoke to Hake earlier, loud enough for the people by the counter to hear.
And with Fu Qian looking in that direction, it was easy to mistake who he was talking to.
Jane, who seemed to have been waiting for him to say something, appeared to have made just such a mistake. She stood there, dumbfounded.
"Pink... But don't expect that sort of expense to be reimbursed here.
"And don't say I didn't warn you: Rachel's husband is strong, and very sensitive."
Hake was the complete opposite.
Faced with this sudden, absurd turn of events, he merely followed Fu Qian's gaze, then actually gave him an answer.
"Then I'm not surprised. So what color flowers does Tina like?"
Fu Qian nodded slightly, acknowledging the possible risks implied by his earlier thought, and genuinely changed the subject.
Throughout it all, his gaze remained fixed on Jane.
"Tina..."
This time, Hake's expression finally changed. He seemed surprised that, after their chance encounter earlier, Fu Qian would bring up her name again.
"She doesn't pose any risk, but unfortunately, I don't know what color she likes."
It was hard to say how many times he had scrutinized his partner like this, but Hake's eyes seemed full of bafflement and amazement at the younger man.
"So you're not going to ask what color I like?"
And amid this increasingly bizarre conversation, the waitress Jane walked past, meeting Fu Qian's gaze with slightly stiff steps. She "casually" made a joke, even more stiffly.
"No."
Fu Qian shook his head, as if he were treating her question as a serious multiple-choice question.
Anyone would have cursed up a storm in that situation.
At least, judging by the expressions of Maggie, the restaurant's manager, and