Chapter 60 - Truly Not Tempted? (1/2)

Tang Qiu remained unaware of the professor and principal’s heightened scrutiny of her. “Shall I treat you to a meal with your friend?” her husband asked as they left the school.

“I thought you had to go back and take your medicine.”

“I just wanted to get out of there. I don’t even need medicine anymore.”

To Xie Qingqing, he said, “Are you free? You should get your injury treated too, shouldn’t you?”

Xie Qingqing blinked in surprise. She hadn’t forgotten how this man had all but come to their rescue earlier; without him, she and Tang Qiu would still be in hot water. Luckily, she wasn’t vain, so she touched the handprint on her face and said, “It’s nothing. And yes, I’m free–whatever you choose to eat will be fine.”

“How about beef noodles?” Tang Qiu suggested.

Xie Qingqing gaped. “How stingy of you, Tang Qiu. Your husband agreed to treat us, and you choose beef noodles?”

“Take it or leave it.”

“Fine.”

Jiang Shaocheng knew his wife was thrifty by nature, but now wasn’t the time. “I can afford it, Qiu,” he whispered to her.

.

“We were going to eat beef noodles anyway,” she replied quietly.

He said nothing, choosing to leave it at that. He had offered to treat them partly to change Xie Qingqing’s opinion of him, so she would stop badmouthing him to Tang Qiu. They arrived at the noodle shop and bought a few boiled eggs, which Tang Qiu rubbed gently over her friend’s face. The red handprint faded, slowly but surely.

Throughout their conversation, Xie Qingqing studied Jiang Shaocheng. She was just pondering the reason for his mask when he removed it–and she understood. She managed to clamp down on her cry of alarm in the nick of time. In her discomfort, her gaze darted to Tang Qiu.

When the food arrived, Jiang Shaocheng gave all his beef to Tang Qiu, the affection in his gesture unmistakeable. With a smile, he said to Xie Qingqing, “Don’t stand on ceremony.”

“Around her? Of course not.” She lowered her head and dug into her noodles, trying to spare herself the sight of him. Even still, she had to admit that the man–scars or not–treated Tang Qiu well, which was more than she had expected from a member of the Jiang family. No wonder Tang Qiu thought he was a decent man.

After they were done, Tang Qiu still had classes in the afternoon, so she sent her husband off as he boarded his car. “Stay strong, dear. You’ll recover in no time.”