The next day there were more things to inspect, in addition to the papers about the bank loans, the statements of the company departments must also be verified. The five people who had gone to inspect had not left the meeting room since the morning, Xia Yiyang bought food for everyone in the afternoon.
Shen Luo raised his head from the large pile of documents, his expression somewhat tired, looked Xia Yiyang in the eyes, and said:
Xia Yiyang:Â ââEat first.ââ
Shen Luo seemed to hesitate for a moment, in the end he put down the documents and asked:
ââYou already ate?ââ
Xia Yiyang was very proud:
âOur bank has a cafeteria.ââ
Shen Luo raised his eyebrows mockingly, feeling too lazy to respond to his nonsense.
Xia Yiyang saw him open the container where his food was, after separating the chopsticks he seemed to have remembered something, he took out his cell phone and was about to take a picture.
Xia Yiyang couldnât take it anymore.
âAre you a woman?ââ
Shen Luo ignored him, minding his own business, after he took the photo he started eating.
Xia Yiyang put a hand on his chin as he watched him eat, after staring at him for a long time he couldnât help but say:
âYou havenât changed much.ââ
Shen Luo raised his head from his food and said, âHow is that possible? Iâm getting older.ââ He placed his finger at the corner of his eye. âLook, I have wrinkles.â
Xia Yiyang leaned in for a closer look and comforted him:
âYour eyes are small so itâs hard to tell.â
Shen Luo looked at him, not very pleased.
One of Shen Luoâs colleagues jokes:
âDoes Manager Xia have such a good relationship with our Chief Shen?ââ
Xia Yiyang was stunned for a moment, he wanted to clarify that it was not like that when he heard Shen Luo say:
âYes, we were classmates in college.ââ
Xia Yiyang wisely decided not to speak and wait for the others to finish eating, after Shen Luo threw away the food container, he left for the rest room, the two met at the door and he didnât let him go.
âWhere are we going to eat tonight?â
Shen Luo was a little taller than Xia Yiyang, who felt oppressed when the door was blocked, Xia Yiyang did not understand why he was asking that question at that time, after discreetly looking around, he barely answered:
Shen Luo raised his eyebrows.
âWhatâs scaring you?â
Xia Yiyang was a little anxious, he quietly said:
âDidnât you say that a social meeting was different from a personal one? Since youâre here to inspect, arenât you afraid of being overheard?ââ
Shen Luo pouted, looking a little offended:
âI am the leader. What is there to fear?â
Weâre sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so weâre going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Wlj Tlsjcu tjv cb mtblmf yea ab rjs:
âAre we going to eat Huoguo?â
Vtfc Oeb: âTbeg agfja?ââ
Wlj Tlsjcu gbiifv tlr fsfr, tjnlcu rmbivfv Vtfc Oeb lc tlr tfjga wbgf atjc afc alwfr obg yflcu ralcus, tf olcjiis rjlv:
Ktlr alwf, Wlj Tlsjcu vlvcâa ajxf ibcu ab ifjnf kbgx, lcrafjv tf gjc ab atf qjgxlcu iba, Vtfc Oeb jirb ifjgcfv ab yftjnf yfaafg, tf vlvcâa yglcu tlr agemx, rb atf akb bo atfw uba lcab Wlj Tlsjcuâr Zfgmfvfr-Dfch J-Jijrr.
âAs expected of a manager,â Shen Luo said as he fastened the seat belt, âI expected you to have a Mercedes.ââ
Xia Yiyang: âI also have to keep up appearances in front of customers, I couldnât have something as troublesome as your pickup.ââ
Shen Luo did not refute him this time.
Actually there is nothing wrong with men looking at trucks, Xia Yiyang is a mature man who acts according to the norms of society, therefore he chose a stable car, Shen Luo is not like that, even in a small town he had to drive a big car to show off from time to time.
Xia Yiyang never got off work early at the bank, he really didnât want to go to Haidilao to wait for a table, so he just took a detour and drove to Dezhuang, let Shen Luo order and he really didnât hold back, dish A was the more expensive, it includes two animal brains, the red meat was neatly stacked on a big piece of dry ice and the smoke was lingering around, it looked really beautiful.
Shen Luo has the habit of taking photos with his cellphone, Xia Yiyang really couldnât understand this habit mostly seen in women, so he just let it be.
Halfway through the meal, Xia Yiyang couldnât help but start talking about work:
âHow many points were reduced?ââ
Shen Luo: âNot many, you guys have good management procedures.ââ
Xia Yiyang thought that since this is the second meal he did the invite for, there must be some result:
âDid you deduct fewer points?â
Shen Luo ate one of the brains and did not raise his head.
âThis bribe of yours is too casual.ââ
Xia Yiyang: ââŠâŠââ
âSpit the meat out of your mouth!!â he thought.
Shen Luo wiped his mouth.
âShall we have dinner together tomorrow?â
Xia Yiyang took a deep breath, clenched his teeth and said:
In fact, according to Xia Yiyangâs opinion, inviting for some meals is not a big deal, itâs not like he never went out with girls before, and back then he didnât earn as much as now, go out to eat, pay for gas and buy gifts, he couldnât afford to spend more than 5,000 yuan a month, as a result, he was always dumpedâŠ
Now instead of being a girl, it was Shen Luo⊠but the son of a bitch sure could eat!
When Xia Yiyang went to work, he discreetly connected to Instagram using a VPN, he was so angry that he almost spit blood.
Shen Luo is almost like a food blogger, one day it was Japanese food, the next it was Huoguo, the next it was steak, a subang restaurant dish, a Huaiyang style dish, Sichuan cuisine, and a big tieguo northeast style, they had all been posted in the damn night, Xia Yiyang thought âAll those dishes look so expensive and delicious, how can you have the conscience to post them to deceive your numerous ex-girlfriends?!â
Xia Yiyang, who has been inviting for meals for more than half a month, and has an annual salary of more than 500,000 yuan, feels a lot of pressure on his pocket and canât complain, Shen Luo canât help but take photos to show off, there was this inexplicable feeling of: «I spend a lot of money to buy food and drinks but you show your âwealthâ in your circle of friends» that made him feel full of dishonor.
He hadnât finished working yet when Shen Luo entered his office.
âWhat are we going to eat today?ââ
Now he acts more and more familiar and doesnât treat himself as an outsider, all the documents inspected that day were casually piled on Xia Yiyangâs desk without any scruples, the latter couldnât help but look at them several times.
âHow many points did you deduct today?â
That was what Xia Yiyang was most worried about at the time.
Shen Luo: âToday youâve got the highest score, tell me, what are you going to treat me to today?ââ
Xia Yiyang ââŠâŠââ
âI heard that there are some very famous skewers on Xueshi street.â Shen Luo unlocked his phone, he seemed to be looking at the map. âShall we try it?â
Xia Yiyang thought to himself:Â âVery well, shameless, you finally learned how to choose your food!â
Two middle-aged men, sitting together at a small table and chairs eating skewers really wasnât a particularly natural look. Xia Yiyang was fine, he was wearing a shirt and jeans, although the shirt was a checkered one like the ones you see on uncles, but when he wore it he didnât look bad. Shen Luo was the least fortunate, he was wearing a very formal suit, his hair was gelled and several hairs from his bangs were on his forehead.
As they waited for their food, Xia Yiyang couldnât take it anymore.
âTake off your suit jacket.â
Shen Luo took off his jacket, folded it and placed it next to him. He had on a blue striped shirt that was several times more colorful than Xia Yiyangâs shirt.
There were many female students eating skewers, many of them were looking at Shen Luo.
âHave you been exercising?â Xia Yiyang envied the otherâs shoulders, his chest muscles were also very large, so his shirt looked somewhat tight.
Shen Luo rolled up his sleeves, revealing his strong forearms.
âI used to exercise in the United States but I havenât done it since I got back.ââ
After the skewers arrived, he ordered five more pig brains.
Xia Yiyang was frustrated.
âYou ordered everything that could be ordered.â
Shen Luo smiled in satisfaction.
âIf youâre not going to eat then the five are for me.â
Xia Yiyang ran out of patience:
âIâm tired of you!â
Shen Luo used his chopsticks to remove the food from the bamboo, his movements were very fluid, his hands looked very white against the red chili broth.
âEat.â Having removed everything from the skewers, he hurried Xia Yiyang to eat.
Deeply moved, Xia Yiyang said, âYou rarely serve others.â
Shen Luo was expressionless, his gaze lowered as he took the chicken wings, after a while he lightly said, âIâve already served you before.â
Xia Yiyang almost choked on the broth and stretched out his hand to reach for the bottle of water, Shen Luo also took it at the same time, the two of them clenched their hands on the bottle and didnât let go. Xia Yiyangâs throat was really itchy, he started to point to his throat for Shen Luo to remove his hand, Shen Luo pouted and grabbed the bottle harder.
He was freaking out and stuttered, âY-you, w-why are you so childish!?â
Shen Luo unscrewed the bottle cap, then handed it over to Xia Yiyang and said carelessly: âI will serve you again.â
Xia Yiyang was completely speechless, muttering to himself as he drank, âYouâre crazy.â
After eating the pig brains and skewers, Xia Yiyang took the initiative to go to pay, seeing that the bill had been less than 200 yuan, he was almost crying with joy, Shen Luo was very pleased with himself: âI can also save money.â
Xia Yiyang looked at him with narrowed eyes.
Shen Luo pushed him by the shoulder: âCome on.â
Before getting into the car, Xia Yiyang asked, âDo you want to eat tomorrow too?â
âInstead of skewers,â Shen Luo said matter-of-factly, âLetâs go eat Mi Xian.â
Xia Yiyang had asked that question in hopes of escaping from the life where he has to treat meals, but the other person was not fooled at all, so he asked a question again: âHow long is the inspection?â
Shen Luo: âTwo months.â
Xia Yiyang thought that very soon he could no longer support himself financially.
âIt is very lonely to eat by myself,â Shen Luo fastened his seat belt, the dim light from the street shining through the window on his face, his smile was very soft, almost like that of a child: âKeep me company.â
Xia Yiyang opened his mouth and found out that he really couldnât say anything to refuse.
When he started driving, he first dropped off Shen Luo, and then returned to his apartment, Xia Yiyang before going to bed, rarely held back from going into Shen Luoâs Instagram.
He started joking âBeing in the main palace is also very exhausting, I have to keep an eye on the harem every day, I worry so much that my hair is going gray.â But even if he didnât, it didnât mean he didnât have to worry about other matters. Chen Hui sent him a voice message in the middle of the night, yelling with such force that everything seemed to shake: âWhere did you go?!â
Xia Yiyang obediently replied: [Invited Inspector Shen to a meal]
âHow many meals have you treated him to already?â Chen Hui said, or rather roared, âHave you got any results?â
Xia Yiyang: [What do you want me to accomplish in these meals, leader? Make me part of his family?]
Chen Hui continued to roar: âThat would be fine too, see if selling your ass can get him to deduct fewer points.â
Xia Yiyang sent a sticker showing the middle finger.
Chen Hui finally wrote: [Cai Cai just told me that Shen Luo took a loan for a house today, remember to help him tomorrow]
[Loan for a house?] Xia Yiyang was puzzled [He didnât tell me about it]
Chen Hui: [And how the hell was I supposed to know that he didnât say a damn thing to you?! What good are so many meals together if you havenât gotten close?!!]
Even if he doesnât send voice messages to him, President Chenâs exclamation points were very loud.
The next day, when he arrived at the bank, Xia Yiyang took the initiative to ask Shen Luo about his loan, and the latter made no secret of it.
âI plan to buy a house.â He normally smoked an e-cigarette in the hallway at lunchtime, but when he saw Xia Yiyang he stopped, âDoesnât your bank have a low discount interest rate?
Xia Yiyang: â15% discount, give me the papers, I will help you apply.â
Shen Luo smiled: âManager Xia is frank and direct.â
Xia Yiyang accepted his flattery and casually asked, âWhere are you going to buy it?â
Shen Luo took out the electronic cigarette and played with it in his hand: âYou will know when the time comes.â
In the end, it was a real estate agent who went to apply for the loan for a second-hand house. It was a very beautiful woman, with the property papers, and as soon as she entered the office she recognized Xia Yiyang.
âWeâre old acquaintances.â The great beauty smiled casually, âI know normally the discount is 10%, but is it 15% when it comes to Inspector Shen?â
Xia Yiyang laughed: âHeâs our bank supervisor, we have to give him face.â
The owner of the house gave all the documents to Cai Cai, she checked them again, she suddenly let out an âAh!â sounding surprised.
Xia Yiyang looked at her: âWhatâs wrong?â
Cai Cai: âIts in Yu Yuan, is he going to live with you?â
Xia Yiyangâs expression was a bit subtle, he turned to look at Shen Luo, who was also looking at him.
âIâll be your neighbor in the future.â Shen Luo signed the contract and smiled at Xia Yiyang, âIâll also be able to walk more often.â
Translator misadventures: Sorry for the late chapter, since iâm also tranlating this novel in spanish is kind of hard, i donât know why i did this to myself lol anyways big thanks to my friend Kuchiki Risa for giving me encouragment this weekend that i was crying because i didnât have the chapter, my other friend Leileis (even tho i know that you are not reading my translation) for answering my question, hope one day i reach your chinese level TT and as always my editor! Overlord Shay for bearing with me <3