Not a penny more or less

"I'm hungry. Let's eat first."

Pei Jinghe spoke briefly, then got out first.

Wu Jiangyuan sat in the car watching for a good while. He had meant to tell Pei Jinghe to go eat by himself if he was hungry, only for his stomach to betray him with a growl.

Resigned, he opened the car door and followed.

There was no helping it. Right now, filling his stomach really was important to him.

The staff had the good sense to find them a private room for two.

"Hello, here's the menu."

Pei Jinghe had been looking at his phone ever since he sat down, seemingly replying to work messages.

Wu Jiangyuan took the tablet from the server. "Thank you."

His stomach really wasn't feeling well now. Seeing that Pei Jinghe showed no intention of ordering, he urged, "Weren't you hungry? Hurry up and order."

Pei Jinghe didn't even glance at him, merely replying, "Anything's fine with me. You order."

Wu Jiangyuan gave a cold scoff. "Anyone who didn't know better would think I'd begged you to come eat."

He couldn't be bothered to ask Pei Jinghe's opinion again. He scanned the menu, his gaze settling thoughtfully on a few rice dishes.

Two minutes later, he handed the menu tablet back to the server.

Once the server left, he propped his chin on his hand and stared at Pei Jinghe without blinking.

He said nothing, just stared fixedly at him. It was rather creepy.

Pei Jinghe finally shifted his gaze from the screen to his face. "If you have something to say, say it."

Wu Jiangyuan raised an eyebrow teasingly. "I'm curious. Are you really hungry?"

Pei Jinghe said, "Do you need me to demonstrate?"

Wu Jiangyuan said, "No need for that. I'm just curious. When you were little, you wouldn't complain about being hungry even after two days without food or water."

Back in middle school, Pei Jinghe had been involved in a minor incident.

He had been locked in an abandoned equipment room without food or water and wasn't rescued until two days later.

Wu Jiangyuan had been the one who found him. When he saw the guy, he had actually looked perfectly calm and composed, without so much as a tearful complaint.

From that moment on, Wu Jiangyuan had known this guy's mental resilience was far beyond ordinary.

And now someone like that had volunteered that he was hungry?

Wu Jiangyuan didn't believe it at all.

Pei Jinghe said mildly, "I didn't understand when I was little. Only after growing up did I realize that endurance alone is useless for some things. You have to take actual action."

There was some deeper meaning to his words, as though he was alluding to something else as well.

But Wu Jiangyuan had other things on his mind and didn't catch the implication.

The main dishes arrived.

Pei Jinghe looked at the seafood rice before him without picking up his chopsticks for a long time.

Chewing his beef, Wu Jiangyuan glanced at the seafood rice in front of him and deliberately asked.

"Why aren't you eating? You told me to order whatever for you, and I thought this looked pretty good."

Pei Jinghe hated seafood, probably because its fishy smell was too strong.

After all, he had been sensitive to smells since childhood.

Wu Jiangyuan had deliberately ordered him seafood rice. Annoying him was secondary; the main point was getting revenge for having waited so long earlier.

In any case, Pei Jinghe wouldn't eat it if he really didn't like it.

Wu Jiangyuan made a point of saying, "If you don't like it, just leave it there. I'll eat it later."

Pei Jinghe glanced at him.

Then he picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, and explained unhurriedly.

"No, it's just a little hot."

Wu Jiangyuan gave a soft laugh of surprise. "Looks like those years abroad even cured your bad eating habits."

Pei Jinghe didn't answer, eating in silence.

Wu Jiangyuan also noticed that the guy was avoiding the seafood entirely and only eating the rice.

Sure enough, he still didn't like it.

Pei Jinghe only ate a few bites before setting down his chopsticks and going back to handling his affairs.

Wu Jiangyuan stopped paying attention to him and ate quietly.

When they were nearly finished, Pei Jinghe stood up and headed out, leaving him with a remark.

"I'm going to the restroom."

Full and satisfied, Wu Jiangyuan was in a good mood and gave a lazy murmur of acknowledgment.

After Pei Jinghe left, he sat for a while before getting up to pay.

He even made a point of putting on his sunglasses and cap before leaving the room.

Because he disliked Pei Jinghe, Wu Jiangyuan would feel as though he owed him something if Pei Jinghe paid for this meal.

Paying for it himself would also make him look magnanimous.

What he hadn't expected was for the cashier to tell him that the meal had already been paid for when the food was served.

That guy Pei Jinghe had beaten him to the bill.

Damn it. Didn't that mean he owed him a meal now?

Wu Jiangyuan didn't like taking advantage of other people, especially when that person was Pei Jinghe.

"How much was the meal?"

"Your total was 1,860.50 yuan."

"Okay."

Wu Jiangyuan lowered his head and tapped straight onto Pei Jinghe's profile picture.

[Transfer to the punchable guy who's always pulling a long face (**he)-¥1,860.50]

Any more and Wu Jiangyuan would feel shortchanged; any less and he feared Pei Jinghe would be shortchanged.

Not a penny more or less. Just right.

Note: This meal's on yours truly.

There was no reply for a long time after he sent the message. Wu Jiangyuan knew he must have seen it.

A slight stir arose around him, and Wu Jiangyuan turned to look.

A tall figure walked slowly around the corner. Dressed in a suit, Pei Jinghe instantly became the focus of everyone's attention.

In all fairness, Pei Jinghe had a better physique and bearing than every male model Wu Jiangyuan had ever seen, mainly owing to the presence of his six-foot-three frame and that cold, expressionless face.

Enigmas were naturally attractive, and now every gaze in the restaurant was glued to him.

Wu Jiangyuan suddenly felt a little irritated. Standing beside Pei Jinghe, surrounded by all those stares, if anyone recognized him as a celebrity, he would probably be used for publicity again.

"Don't stand next to me next time."

After tossing out those chilly words, he swiftly fled the place and its troublesome gazes.

Pei Jinghe watched his retreating figure in some confusion.

"Um... these are the complimentary after-meal desserts..."

The cashier from earlier held out two packaged little cakes as she spoke.

One was mango, and the other was strawberry.

There were also a few pieces of orange on top of the mango one.

After one look, Pei Jinghe swallowed the refusal he had been about to voice and took only the bag containing the Mango Cupcake.

"Thank you. I'll just take this one."

Watching the man walk away, the cashier looked amazed and envious, then turned to whisper with her coworker.

"My gut tells me they're definitely a couple."

"Each one's more handsome than the other. I'm jealous."

"But you know, that handsome guy in the cap earlier looked a little familiar."

"Hmm? Actually, I was too embarrassed to say it either, but I thought he looked just like a celebrity."

Standing beside the car, Wu Jiangyuan took a cigarette out of his pocket.

He had just opened his mouth and caught it between his teeth when a hand plucked it away.

His eyes widened slightly in surprise as he stared in disbelief at the culprit, Pei Jinghe.

How dare this bastard?

Just as he was about to speak, a bag holding the Mango Cupcake was dangled in front of him.

The curses Wu Jiangyuan had been about to utter stopped short.

He took the bag instinctively, looking a little bewildered.

"It's from the restaurant. You can throw it away if you don't want it."

Pei Jinghe's calm voice passed by his ear as he opened the car door and got in first.

Wu Jiangyuan was left holding the little bag, still not quite processing it.

Mango Cupcake... was his favorite dessert.

He instantly forgot the grudge over his confiscated cigarette.

Fine. For the sake of the Mango Cupcake, I'll forgive this bastard's behavior for now.

He opened the car door and got in.

On the way, Wu Jiangyuan wasted no time eating the little cake.

Its light sweetness offset the greasy feeling in his stomach, and even his mood improved.