Chapter 69: This is not normal
While the two of them were chatting, on the other side, Qin Hao was indeed on a blind date.
“See if there’s anything you want to eat. I come here often; the food’s pretty good.”
He pushed the menu across the table and said to the girl sitting opposite him.
The girl looked at the menu for braised chicken rice and, after a brief pause, ordered the signature dish.
“The signature’s good; you’ll see when you taste it.” Qin Hao nodded approvingly at her choice and ordered the same dish for himself.
“You’re a police officer?”
“Yeah, just finished my probation period.”
“Oh.”
“……”“……”
“Is being a cop tiring?”
“It’s alright. I wouldn’t say it’s exhausting, but the early mornings and late nights can really wear you down.”
“Oh.”
“……”
“……”
The conversation was half-hearted, with awkward pauses. It could barely be called chatting.
The girl quickly realized that although this chubby guy was enthusiastic, he didn’t seem to have any romantic intentions.
Coincidentally, neither did she.
There were no questions about salary, benefits, housing, cars, or savings. Everything was clear.
It stayed that way until the food arrived. They both started eating without ceremony. Qin Hao even got a rice refill. The atmosphere didn’t feel like a blind date at all. It wasn’t until they finished eating and Qin Hao wiped his mouth that it felt like they were on a date again.
“Were you forced into this blind date too?” He gathered his courage to ask.
Yes or no, it didn’t really matter. They probably wouldn’t meet again.
“You too?” The girl repeated his words.
“Uh…”
Just as Qin Hao scratched his head to apologize, the girl continued, “Yeah, I was.”
His face lit up, then he quickly composed himself. “What a coincidence.”
“It really is.”
“There’s going to be another one in a few days.”
“So annoying.” The girl nodded in agreement, still sitting there.
“So…”
“……”
They exchanged a look. The girl seemed to understand what he was getting at and raised an eyebrow.
This one seemed reliable.
…
“Really reliable.”
Wang Zijun took a bite of the food, lowered his head, and gave Xu Qing a thumbs-up.
No wonder he hadn’t been going out lately. Staying home with good food, warmth, and comfort—what a life.
“Eat up, have more.”
Xu Qing grinned. Jiang He was quite talented at cooking. In just two months, she had already gotten the hang of it.
It wasn’t amazing, but home-cooked food was several times better than takeout. Plus, the satisfaction of making food at home made it ten times better.
Jiang He ate quietly, glancing at him occasionally.
This felt… like they had a guest at home, with the husband chatting while the wife cooked and served food.
It was weird.
Xu Qing didn’t seem to mind. Ever since Jiang He arrived, everything had been weird. She herself was the weirdest part, and he had gotten used to it. After the meal, he sipped some tea and then started hinting for Wang Zijun to leave.
Now that there were two people living here, things were different. When he lived alone, Wang Zijun would treat this place like his own home—playing games on the computer, raiding the fridge, or even crashing in his bed. It was normal.
But now Jiang He was here. Even if she was just a temporary housemate or a fake girlfriend, her feelings had to be considered. An unfamiliar person lingering around would make her uncomfortable.
“Don’t forget the computer thing. The sooner, the better.”
Wang Zijun reminded him before leaving, wrapped in his coat, clutching his documents, and ready to go—giving the "couple" some space.
“I’ll get it done soon.”
Xu Qing saw him out, wearing only a sweater. He shivered in the cold and quickly retreated inside. Jiang He had already cleaned up the dishes and moved to the kitchen.
“I’ll do it, I’ll do it.”
“Hmm?” Jiang He turned around.
“Go take a break.” Xu Qing rolled up his sleeves, turned on the hot water, and grinned at her. “Go on.”
“Oh.”
“That paperwork I filled out earlier proves that you exist here. He sent me the address, and in a few days, I’ll take you there. You might need it, or maybe not. But starting now, you’re not just someone who appeared out of nowhere.”
As he washed the dishes, he continued talking to Jiang He in the living room. “Your name is Jiang He, you’re eighteen… You’re eighteen, right? You don’t remember much from earlier. No parents, used to wander around the mountains near Zhejiang. A few years ago, you came to Jiang City with a friend you met while drifting, and you’ve been doing odd jobs here ever since.”
“So that’s my identity?” Jiang He memorized it carefully.
“That’s the plan for now. We can fill in the gaps later. Then, a couple of years ago, you met me. We became good friends, and you’d occasionally come over to hang out. Eventually, we got close, fell in love, and had a great romance.”
Xu Qing turned to look at Jiang He in the living room. “Do you know what a great romance is?”
“Yes.”
“Ha, it means we’re a couple. Then I found out you didn’t have an ID, so I tried to help you find your parents. But we couldn’t. Eventually, I convinced you to move in with me—back in September.”
After washing and putting away the dishes, Xu Qing dried his hands and walked out. “This makes it reasonable. I’m not just pretending to be your boyfriend. If we weren’t dating, it wouldn’t make sense for me to go to so much trouble. Only love is that powerful.”
Helping someone unrelated move in just seems suspicious. Even Aunt Cheng could tell something was up, let alone the police. They’d probably think he had other intentions… Though now, maybe he did, just a little bit.
Xu Qing sat in front of Jiang He and, after a pause, asked, “Got it?”
“Yes, a great romance.” Jiang He nodded.
“Exactly.”
Seeing her sit upright so seriously made Xu Qing smile. He instinctively tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. When he noticed her startled expression, he awkwardly cleared his throat and looked away.
“And we’ve been living together for a while… We don’t know how long it’ll take for you to fully settle here. When that time comes, we’ll say we were planning to get married, but we ran into the ID issue, so we went to the police for help.”
“It probably won’t be that easy, but we’ll figure it out. As long as people get used to you being here, you’ll be fine.”
“Were you… flirting with me just now?”
Jiang He blinked, unsure how to respond.
“No!” Xu Qing denied it. “That wasn’t flirting.”
“That wasn’t normal.”
“Uh…”
Xu Qing scooted a bit farther away. “We’re a couple. It’s normal for me to fix your hair.”
“But we’re fake.” Jiang He wasn’t buying it.
Her heart had raced a little just now, the same feeling she got before a fight. She tried to calm herself down.
This wasn’t right.
“As the saying goes,” Xu Qing scooted even farther, “once the show starts, you have to finish it—even if no one’s watching. So, you’re my girlfriend… No, I mean, I’m your boyfriend.”
“You’re my benefactor. You can’t just touch me.” Jiang He was serious.
“I won’t, I won’t. Just unclench your fist.”
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