Chapter Seventy-Three Dinner Party

  The living room is decorated in a simple and elegant style, spotlessly clean everywhere, but it looks a bit cold and empty, as if there's no one around.

  "What would you like to drink?" Ning Lan asked Lin Zi casually as he sat on the sofa.

  "Just give me a glass of water." Lin Zixian replied casually. In front of him, on the large glass tea table, there was a pile of things, obviously just bought back, with fruits and vegetables.

  Ning Lan put down the cup of water in front of him and sat beside him, pointing to a large handbag on the tea table: "Try it out, see if what I bought is suitable or not. If it's not suitable, I'll take it back to exchange."

  "What?" Lin Zixian looked at her with some suspicion, and casually pulled the bag over to take a look. To his surprise, it was a complete set of men's clothes from head to toe, including a pair of casual shoes, and even underwear.

  "Did you buy it for me?"

  "I knew you wouldn't change clothes after work, so I bought some groceries for you too. Otherwise, it would be awkward to have dinner at home with a guy wearing a security uniform." Ning Lan said with a playful smile.

  "Hmm... I know I'm handsome and elegant, but... Ning Lan, you wouldn't really have a crush on me, would you?" Lin Zixian asked somewhat unnaturally as he looked at the things on the tea table.

  He found that on the tea table, there was also a brand new ashtray, with a metal lighter placed beside it, and a pack of cigarettes that had obviously been opened not long ago. The cigarette box was half open, revealing a row of neatly arranged cigarette heads that hadn't been touched yet. What great service!

  "Since it's a kept relationship, of course there should be a kept style. What's the big deal about buying you something?" Ning Lan said with a relaxed expression.

  "Ah..." Lin Zixian lazily picked up the men's underwear and swung it back and forth, his face twisted in a bitter smile. "It really is true that birds of a feather flock together, you're just like Meng Zidan, but Meng Zidan only talks big, while you've actually done something about it. To be honest, I've already misunderstood you."

  "Go wash up and change into something for me to see, if it's not suitable I'll go exchange... I'll go cook first, the bathroom is on the right." Ning Lan threw down a sentence, carrying big bags and small bags of ingredients went to the kitchen.

  As soon as she entered the kitchen, she was terrified and took deep breaths, so tense that she couldn't bear it. Others can't imagine how much courage it takes for her to make such a move, despite her calm appearance.

  Actually, Meng Zidan had been urging her to say that if she liked him, she should be bold and confess, otherwise, for a man who could do everything with ease and lightness, there would not be many things that he truly appreciated in his eyes. Wealth, honor, and beauties might all seem like fleeting clouds to him, and if she didn't take the initiative to grasp them, she would miss her chance... This was the standard analysis of a close friend and partner-in-crime, as women always liked to hide behind their friends' backs and help them make decisions and analyze men. If you asked her to do it herself, she might not be any bolder than her friend.

  Meng Zidan said it lightly, but Ning Lan didn't have the courage at all. She was afraid that once she spoke up, what if Lin Zixuan refused? How would they face each other afterwards? However, she was also afraid of missing the opportunity, so she could only try to probe the other party with actual actions amidst her nervousness.

  The kitchen was bustling with activity, Lin Zi idly looked at the things in front of him, shook his head and sighed, then picked up his stuff and went to the bathroom.

  After finishing the bath and coming out, I found that there was a pair of clean cotton slippers at the bathroom door, which looked new.

  When Lin Zixian appeared in the kitchen wearing a clean and tidy casual outfit, Ning Lan's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise. It had to be said that when Lin Zixian dressed up properly, he was quite presentable and had great potential for being a kept man.

  "Does it fit?" Ning Lan asked, wearing an apron and holding a kitchen knife.

  "You're holding a kitchen knife and asking questions, do I dare say it doesn't fit?" Lin Zixian had a reluctant look on his face, then smiled meaningfully and said: "You have a good heart, just right."

  Ning Lan's eyes sparkled with excitement, it would be strange if it didn't fit. Before today, she had seen Lin Zixian's casual attire and had been wanting to buy him a set of clothes as a gift. She had done her homework many times, afraid that what she bought wouldn't fit him well.

  She was delighted in her heart, but pretended to be nonchalant and turned around to continue with her own business, turning her back on him and saying: "You go sit down, I still need some time here."

  "If you don't mind, I'd like to take a look around your house."

  Ning Lan hummed in agreement.

  Lin Zixian had just walked out of the living room when his phone on the coffee table rang. It was a call from Zhang Beibei, saying that Tong Yunan had cooked lunch and asking if he would be back to eat it. He could only say he had a dinner engagement.

  Hung up the phone, lit a cigarette prepared by Ning Lan, and started wandering around.

  The villa has two floors. On the first floor, there is a living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, one guest room, and a gym with some simple exercise equipment. The second floor has three bedrooms, one bathroom, and a study. Lin Zi Xian found that on the desk in the study, there were two books: one was a cookbook, and the other book's title was "To Capture a Man's Heart, You Must First Capture His Stomach". He casually glanced at the author's name, which was "Yue Qian Chou".

  Outside there was a small platform with a white long chair swing on it, and Lin Zi sat idly on it to enjoy the view.

  At this time, the night had already fallen, and the two banks of the Yangtze River were bustling with cars, neon lights flashing, but the island was very quiet, contrasting with the two banks of the river like two worlds. There were ships coming and going on the river, the river wind gently brushing against the face, and the occasional sound of the ship's whistle made people feel as if they were in a dream.

  After a while, Lin Zilei was hungry and his stomach growled. Ning Lan changed into a white strapless cheongsam after washing off the smell of oil smoke on her body and called him to come and eat.

  The warm lighting in the restaurant, the clean tablecloth was set with seven or eight dishes, and there was a flavor that was both colorful and fragrant. Lin Zilei was very skeptical of Xiao Hua's claim that Ning Lan couldn't cook.

  Ning Lan asked him what wine he drank, Lin Zi Xian said casually, Ning Lan went to the wine cabinet and opened a bottle of red wine.

  Two people sat facing each other, Ning Lan had a shoulder strap, her skin was white and smooth, her long hair fell on her shoulders, a typical intellectual beauty. Looking at Lin Zilei tasting the food he made, Ning Lan asked somewhat nervously: "How's the taste?"

  Lin Zile tried a bit of each dish and nodded: "Not bad!"

  Ning Lan put down his guard and smiled: "I've only just learned it, and this is the first time I'm taking it out to show off. If you think it's delicious, eat more; if not, don't force yourself."

  "Don't worry, the sky is big and the earth is wide, eating a full stomach is the biggest. I won't be polite." Lin Zixian opened his mouth and ate a big meal, then sipped some wine and asked: "You live alone in such a big house, don't you feel cold and deserted?"

  "Who says I don't feel scared at night when I'm alone... Before, Zidan used to live with me for a while, but later she moved back to the hotel for convenience. Now it's just me, a lone wolf. Zidan is advising me to move to Ivory Coast, but I think it's inconvenient to live in a business place for a long time. If I move somewhere else, I won't be able to find a satisfactory place to live for a while. To be honest, I envy you living in Sakura Yuki apartment, it's both quiet and lively. Say, do you have any empty rooms left in Sakura Yuki apartment? If so, I'd like to move there too." Ning Lan stuffed another piece of foie gras into her mouth with some expectation.

  Lin Zi said with a sigh: "There is indeed, last time you saw that quarreling couple, the man moved away, but the woman hasn't come out of the shadow yet, and you're coming in like a magpie occupying a cuckoo's nest, it's not very good, let's talk about it later!"

  "Great! That's settled then. When you think the timing is right, just let me know and I'll move over there to live too."

  "Where are your parents? Why don't you live with them?" Lin Zixian asked curiously.

  Ning Lan's face darkened, and he shook his head. "When I was still a minor, they died in a car accident, leaving me alone. There were several relatives at home, but none of them wanted to take care of me, thinking I was a burden. What happened afterwards is hard to mention, and later I lost contact with them. I remember that when I was about to graduate from high school, it just so happened that Mr. Qiao came to our school to donate money. After hearing about my situation, he had been supporting me all the way until I graduated from university, and then arranged for me to join the Ming Hua Group."

  Lin Zi suddenly said "oh" and changed the subject.

  The two of them chatted while eating until they were full, and just as Lin Zixian was about to bid farewell, Ning Lan asked him to wait a moment, ran upstairs for unknown reasons, and came back down with a set of keys which she placed in front of him.

  "What does it mean?" Lin Zixian looked at the bunch of keys in astonishment and asked.

  "The key is here." Ning Lan sat back in front of him, smiling: "Didn't we agree that I would support you? Can't let you not even enter my house?"

  "Don't bother me, I'm happy." Lin Zixian threw down a sentence and ran away.

  Before long, the sound of motorcycles driving away faded into the distance. Ning Lan looked at the leftover dishes on the table and the key with a sense of loss...

  In the suburbs of Donghai City, a group of people got out of seven or eight cars that drove into an abandoned factory warehouse. They all had guns holstered under their open clothes. Among them were Hóuzi, Gāo Yúnliàng and Huáng Máo. The three walked to a van in the middle, someone opened the door, and inside, several women from the Sakura Apartments were lying around, including Tóng Fēifēi. They all breathed evenly, showing no signs of injury, but they were unconscious with their eyes closed.

  Someone looked at several women and swallowed their saliva, saying: "Brother! These few women are really beautiful, why not let us brothers have some fun first."

  "Old Six!" The monkey patted Gao Yunliang's shoulder and smiled at the speaker, "Let's help Brother Gao take care of the important things first. Once we're done, everyone can play as they like."

  Gao Yunliang glanced at the guns on the waists of these people, and with some tension, nodded to everyone and forced a smile: "Sorry to trouble you brothers."

  To be honest, he now regrets hanging out with this group of people and is worried that things will get out of hand. Some things that made him angry at the time don't seem so strong after a while. Since he's leaving the country to study abroad in a few days, he had planned to just let things go and pretend nothing ever happened once he was overseas. But who would have thought that as soon as he finished his hospital discharge procedures, the monkey would take the initiative to find him, with three words and two sentences containing intimidation, making it impossible for him to hide.