Guilt

(Thanks to I Love the Governor for the monthly vote and tip.)

"How did lunch with your goddess go?" Ye Wanqing asked as she turned over the barbecue.

"It was okay..." Xiao He replied absentmindedly. But honestly, Huang Ling's remark at noon—"Things between those two won't work out"—had been weighing on him. He had a feeling Huang Ling still minded the situation between him and Ye Wanqing.

Of course, he could understand why she thought that way. After all, who would want the person they were flirting with to already have a girlfriend?

But there was nothing he could do. Xiao He couldn't exactly tell Huang Ling about the contract between him and Ye Wanqing.

"Sigh, maybe you were right." Xiao He sighed dejectedly. "I should've held out for a few years and waited until the contract was over."

"What's wrong? Did it not go well?" Ye Wanqing asked curiously.

"If it were you, would you mind if the person you were going on a blind date with already had a boyfriend?" Xiao He ate the barbecue on his plate, but it tasted like ash in his mouth. Ye Wanqing thought about it. "If there were deeper reasons like ours... maybe I could accept it. But saying I wouldn't mind at all would be impossible."

"Right?" Xiao He said, scratching his head anxiously. "She probably feels the same way."

"..." Ye Wanqing fell silent for a moment, then asked, "What happened to your theory that if you miss this one, you'll never find another?"

"Guess we're fated to meet but not to be together. What else can I do?" Xiao He said with a curl of his lip. "I'll find someone better after the contract ends."

At that moment, Ye Wanqing felt a little guilty. She felt as though she had broken the two of them apart, but she also felt she had her reasons. After all, they were bound by a contract. They ought to show a little self-restraint.

But what truly made her feel guilty was that she actually seemed a little happy about it.

Of course, Xiao He had no idea about all the palace intrigue going on in a girl's heart.

"Don't be too pessimistic. Just let nature take its course." Without showing anything on her face, Ye Wanqing placed a slice of barbecue onto Xiao He's plate.

"Sigh, I guess that's all I can do." Xiao He sighed, then looked at Ye Wanqing. "What are you doing?"

"I need to keep track of the calories. I can't go over my limit." Ye Wanqing placed slices of meat onto her plate one by one. After calculating the calories, she nodded in satisfaction. "Mm, this is fine."

"Why bother? Eat a little more now, and we can just walk more afterward," Xiao He said helplessly.

"Mm... I suppose that works too." Ye Wanqing thought for a moment. "But I can't eat that much anyway. The couple's set you ordered was already enough for two people, and you also ordered this seafood set..."

"Seafood is white meat. It's low in calories, and it doesn't fill you up..." Xiao He said with a frown.

"Come on, I can't eat any more." Ye Wanqing frowned and pushed the oysters and squid toward him. "You eat all of these. I'll be full after I finish this barbecue."

At that moment, the girl from the couple seated next to them glanced over and snickered, then pushed the oysters on the table toward her boyfriend and teased, "Honey, you should eat more oysters too."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure to serve you well later," the man replied as he confidently accepted the oysters.

Ye Wanqing looked at the couple in confusion, then softly asked Xiao He, "What's with oysters?"

"I don't know either... Maybe they just like seafood?" Xiao He shrugged. Ye Wanqing blinked, looking rather cute, but she did not pursue the matter and lowered her head to eat her barbecue.

After they finished dinner and paid the bill, Xiao He and Ye Wanqing walked home, completing their after-dinner stroll.

The two chatted idly along the way. Forty minutes passed in a flash, but they still had not reached home.

Xiao He looked up and realized they had arrived beneath a movie theater near their residential complex.

"Want to watch a movie?" Xiao He asked, pointing at the theater overhead.

Ye Wanqing thought about it, then lifted her handbag. "Let's go up and see if there's anything good first. If there is, we'll watch it. If not, we'll just go home. Spending money on lousy movies is worse than watching dramas at home."

So Xiao He and Ye Wanqing went upstairs and looked around, eventually buying tickets for The Prince and the Coroner.

The film advertised itself as a "historical mystery detective story," which piqued Xiao He's curiosity a little, so he followed Ye Wanqing into the theater. However, he fell asleep halfway through...

"You are unbelievable!" After they left the screening room, Ye Wanqing glared at Xiao He irritably. "You were the one who invited me to the movies, but you fell asleep halfway through! What was that supposed to mean?!"

"That movie was way too boring... What historical mystery detective story? It was completely a historical domineering CEO drama." Xiao He rolled his eyes so hard they nearly reached the back of his head. "That Prince An was the textbook domineering CEO! Handsome, high-ranking, capable, overbearing, and utterly devoted in love. Isn't that just a domineering CEO? And that character setup was completely absurd."

The more Xiao He spoke, the angrier he became. "Look at that prince normally—sharp-eyed, brilliant, able to deduce what the dead man's father did for a living with one glance. But the moment he's in front of the female lead, he becomes stupid as a pig. He needs her to tell him details as obvious as calluses on someone's hands? What utter nonsense! If you ask me, all the female lead had to do was shut up and stand there looking pretty. But the writers weren't satisfied with that, so they just gave her an intelligence-draining aura. Prince An automatically turns stupid whenever he's around her."

"Well, that..." Ye Wanqing hesitated. She realized Xiao He did make a lot of sense, but she was unwilling to admit it just like that, so she replied, "Oh, come on, it's just a sweet romance movie. Why are you taking it so seriously?"

"That's why I fell asleep..." Xiao He muttered, smoothing down the tuft of hair sticking up on his head.

"Sigh, forget it. Let's go home." Ye Wanqing did not continue getting angry with him.

Having eaten her fill and watched a movie, Ye Wanqing seemed to be in a much better mood. She even skipped a couple of steps now and then as she walked.

"Look, a cat!" Ye Wanqing exclaimed in delight, pointing at a tabby cat in an alley by the roadside, then hurried over.

She's usually so sweet. Why does she get so awkward around me? Xiao He could not help thinking as he watched Ye Wanqing crouch by the roadside and play with the stray cat. After stroking the cat's head, Ye Wanqing took a packet of cat treats from her pocket and fed it to the tabby before finally continuing on, satisfied.

But when they went upstairs and opened the door, Ye Wanqing immediately realized something was wrong.

The moment the door opened, Tuantuan was standing on the shoe cabinet by the entrance, staring at the two of them with a wary expression.

"Oh no, I touched another cat today..." Ye Wanqing muttered. She extended her other hand, and Tuantuan carefully sniffed it. Then Tuantuan frowned, bared her teeth at her, and let out a low, hissing growl. Ye Wanqing hurriedly explained, "Come on, it was just a little stray cat I met by the roadside!"

But Tuantuan would not listen at all. She raised a paw and smacked Ye Wanqing's hand.

"I'm going in first. You take your time explaining." Xiao He snickered as he walked past her.

Meanwhile, Ye Wanqing remained at the entrance, locked in a standoff with Tuantuan. One woman and one cat battled wits until Xiao He came out of the shower, and only then did she finally pass Tuantuan's inspection and enter the house.

"You vicious woman. I serve you food and drink, and you still bite me..." Ye Wanqing muttered indignantly.

You're no different yourself... Xiao He thought.