Wen He dug in, mixing the borscht into his rice to balance out the flavors and make it even tastier~
Seeing how happily he was eating, Jiang Ye hesitantly struck up a conversation. "Do you still remember what I said on the Ferris wheel that day?"
Wen He looked up and set down his fork, looking at him seriously. "I remember. Lawyer Jiang, you asked if I could vote for you."
Jiang Ye smiled and took off his glasses. Everything in his vision blurred, as though adding a natural filter to Wen He.
"Mm... I didn't mean that I wanted you to vote for me... what I meant was..."
Jiang Ye summoned the courage to come clean, only to be interrupted again.
A ringtone sounded in the quiet night. Wen He raised a hand to interrupt him and asked politely, "Lawyer Jiang, may I take this call?"
Jiang Ye put his glasses back on, bringing Wen He's features into clearer focus. "It's fine. Take the call first. They might need you for something."
Only after receiving his permission did Wen He answer.
It was Ji Chi. His voice was very calm; it didn't seem like anything urgent.
"Are you eating?"
"Yeah, I'm eating with Lawyer Jiang."
Wen He had put the call on speaker. The moment Jiang Ye heard the voice, he knew it was Ji Chi calling, his voice as arrogant as ever.
So arrogant it was irritating. Unfortunately, Wen He didn't seem irritated.
"Oh... I was just asking whether you were coming back for dinner. I bought some little macarons. Want some?"
Little macarons... were they the ones he'd had last time? Ah... he kind of wanted some, but he was eating right now.
His answer was slow in coming; he was clearly hesitating. Ji Chi continued coaxing him. "It's fine. I can put them in the fridge, but you'll have to come back early to eat them. Otherwise, the filling will go bad, and they won't taste good anymore."
"Then I'll come back early to eat them. Save some for me..."
"Mm-hmm, I'll save them for you. Hanging up now."
Ji Chi hung up. Wen He couldn't help feeling happy at the thought of having delicious macarons that evening too. His eyes sparkled as he looked at Jiang Ye, signaling for him to finish what he had been saying.
Jiang Ye asked him with a smile, "You like sweets?" His metal chopsticks were clenched tightly in his hand.
Wen He swung his dangling lower legs beneath the table and smiled a little. "A little..."
It had clearly been a very ordinary conversation, yet Jiang Ye could detect a hint of provocation... along with a different atmosphere unique to those two.
At least Wen He didn't unconsciously act a little coy when speaking to him...
"Oh, right, Lawyer Jiang, what were you going to ask me just now? I remember the Ferris wheel... it was really, really high."
The utensils Jiang Ye set down clinked against the porcelain plate. The explanation he had wanted to give just moments earlier was swallowed back down.
Not the Ferris wheel, but our conversation inside it. And I didn't want your vote-I wanted you to choose to vote for me...
Jiang Ye shook his head. "Nothing. Let's eat. This beef and soup taste pretty good."
Wen He thoroughly agreed. The beef hot pot was delicious, tender without being greasy, and the soup was pleasantly tart and tasty too.
But he couldn't eat too much. He still had to save room for macarons...
The meal ended amid their quiet questions and answers and the sound of the sea breeze.
Afterward, Jiang Ye never asked him about those things again, instead asking about his preferences.
He knew he couldn't compare to Ji Chi right now, but there was plenty of time. He could take his time getting to know him.
[Aaaaah! Jiang Ye, you wimp!]
[What do I do? I'm both hurting for him and mad at him. I'm mad at how timid and hesitant he is, but my heart aches for that same timidity and hesitation, sob sob sob.]
[It was such a good opportunity!]
[Jiang Ye, you coward. Oh well, Jiang Ye, may you get your wish.]
[Everything changed after Demon Dragon called! Everything changed, whether it was the atmosphere or anything else!]
[I think Ji Chi did it on purpose. Calling when someone else is clearly on a date-isn't that kind of disgusting? He knew perfectly well they were on a date.]
[Ji Chi didn't necessarily know they were on a date. Besides, didn't he go out? How would he know Male One was on a date with someone else?]
[Hasn't anyone noticed something? Where did Demon Dragon get Xiao He's number? Aren't they forbidden from exchanging contact details after entering the house?]
[I don't think the production team mentioned that rule? I don't remember seeing it.]
[The production team really doesn't seem to have said that.]
[But aren't they worried they'll exchange information during dates and end up mutually choosing each other?]
The production team had already thought of this. They had made preparations precisely to prevent them from exchanging information.
Jiang Ye only suddenly realized this himself when parking at the house, and he caught hold of Wen He as he was about to get out.
"Um, could we add each other as friends?"
"Sure."
Wen He showed him his QR code to scan.
"Done."
After Wen He accepted the friend request, the two returned to the house together.
The curry chicken on the table hadn't been touched, so Jiang Ye had thought to pack it up and bring it back. Perhaps someone at the house hadn't eaten dinner yet; it could serve as an extra dish.
When they returned to the house, the others weren't back yet. Only Jiang Yu was in the living room watching TV. After greeting him, Wen He headed straight for the kitchen fridge, not forgetting to take the packed food from Jiang Ye's hands.
The last place the macarons had appeared on his phone was inside the fridge.
There had also been a little cake in the photo Ji Chi sent... but he didn't know whether it was his.
The macarons were delicious; he didn't know about the little cake yet.
Seeing him in such a hurry, Jiang Ye could guess he was going to the fridge for dessert.
Jiang Yu remained seated on the living room sofa, watching the two in the kitchen without a word. Empresses in the Palace was playing on TV.
Wen He took out the neatly wrapped little gift box, carried it to the dining table, and carefully opened it.
Inside sat four macarons in different flavors.
Looks like Ji Chi saved me lots...
He took out a pink one and offered it to Jiang Ye, who was in the kitchen.
"Lawyer Jiang, have this."
Jiang Ye shook his head without taking it. "I don't like sweets. You have it..."
"All right, then." Since he didn't want it, Wen He stopped standing on ceremony and popped the entire little macaron into his mouth, rolling it from side to side. The macaron stretched his thin cheek out, making one side bulge.
Very cute.
Wen He then carried the gift box over to the coffee table in the dining room. He pushed the macarons toward Jiang Yu and looked up at him, blinking.
He hadn't finished what was in his mouth yet, so he couldn't speak...
Understanding what he meant, Jiang Yu took a blue macaron from the box and put it in his mouth.
It was unexpectedly delicious? Much better than the ones he usually bought at the bakery; even the jam inside had a molten center.
"Thanks, Xiao He."
Wen He didn't speak, still chewing away... chewing away... He got up and sat beside Jiang Yu, and the two looked at the big screen together.
The drama had now reached the scene where Zhen Huan came across the puff well.
Only after swallowing the last mouthful did Wen He slowly respond to what he had said earlier. "They're not mine. Ji Chi bought them. Jiangjiang, you can thank him."