Qi hadn’t expected her own clothes to be thrown away just like that, forcing her to continue wearing this princess dress.
The black-haired girl walked ahead alone, looking a bit sullen.
The bags of dresses they had bought earlier were all being carried by Bai Qiaoyu, who followed behind her.
Bai Qiaoyu didn’t have any complaints about this.
In fact, she looked quite happy.
“You still haven’t finished that coffee. It must be cold by now. Why don’t you throw it away?”
Her gaze fell on the coffee that Qi had been holding the entire time, speaking as if she were trying to start a conversation.
“Why do you care?”
The black-haired girl huffed.
Although Qi maintained a tough attitude, she felt a bit guilty in her heart.
After all, she had kept this cup of coffee specifically as a weapon to throw in Bai Qiaoyu’s face if the woman actually tried to do something.
‘Even if my fate would be miserable after throwing it, at least it might buy me a small window to escape instead of letting Bai Qiaoyu have her way.’
So far, the attitude Bai Qiaoyu displayed suggested she didn’t intend to do anything excessive, but Qi would never let her guard down.
The other woman was keen on playing the role of a friendly person, but that didn’t mean she had to be a good person.
One could infer a person’s choices most of the time through their preferences, but it wasn’t absolute.
At the very least, Qi could feel the Malice Bai Qiaoyu felt toward her at all times, and it hadn’t diminished in the slightest.
After leaving the mall, Bai Qiaoyu put all the dresses in the car and rubbed her slightly sore wrists.
“It’s almost noon. Let’s go have lunch together.”
Bai Qiaoyu reached out her hand toward her again.
This time, however, the black-haired girl had no intention of taking it.
She simply walked past her in silence.
“I bought seven-seven six dresses, and in the end, I’m not even allowed to hold your hand? I’m so heartbroken~”
Faced with her complaining words, Qi crossed her arms and replied quite righteously.
“To me, hand-holding is something only couples should do. I already gave you a special exception earlier, so don’t push your luck.”
Bai Qiaoyu smiled helplessly.
Whatever small amount of dissatisfaction she had felt in her heart vanished after hearing that sentence.
“So, seven-seven and I were a couple for a little while earlier. What a pity. I wasted such a great opportunity.”
At least the little thing was willing to soften her tone, which meant today’s date hadn’t been entirely fruitless.
“Come on, let’s go eat.”
Bai Qiaoyu didn’t force the hand-holding.
She stepped forward to lead the way for the black-haired girl.
Soon, they pushed open the doors of a Western Restaurant and chose a seat by the window.
From the level of luxury in the decor, one could tell that the prices here would definitely not be low.
When Qi was still a man, he had accompanied several girlfriends to Western restaurants, but the prices on this menu were even more expensive than those times.
Qi actually liked Western food for a simple reason: the portions of meat dishes weren’t too large, which was exactly the intake she could handle.
Being able to finish a meal without wasting it was something Qi appreciated.
However, truthfully, spending money to eat in a place like this was a waste in itself.
She could understand that for a wealthy person like Bai Qiaoyu, coming here for a meal was no different from Qi buying a steamed bun in the morning.
‘If I have money in the future…’
“Have you decided what you want to eat?”
Bai Qiaoyu’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
Qi stopped daydreaming and pointed at the menu.
“Vegetable salad, french fries, and a Lava Chocolate Cake.”
“No steak?”
The black-haired girl shook her head vigorously.
The thing she liked least about Western food was steak.
She had an instinctive aversion to undercooked meat, and if it was too well-done, it was too tough to chew.
She would rather just eat chocolate cake.
Bai Qiaoyu smiled and took the menu from Qi, ordering her own food from the nearby waiter.
“Oh, and we’ll need two glasses of juice. Thank you.”
After politely finishing the order, she handed the menu back to the waiter.
Bai Qiaoyu looked at the black-haired girl across from her.
The little thing was currently staring out the window, her fingertips subconsciously swirling the coffee straw.
She didn’t speak to disturb her, enjoying this moment of tranquility with Qi until the food they ordered was brought out.
Looking at the chocolate cake in front of her, Qi used a spoon to poke it open from the top.
The molten chocolate center flowed out from the gap, looking mouthwatering.
She couldn’t wait to take a bite.
The delicious flavor made her forget her current troubles, and a look of bliss appeared on her face.
“You seem to really like eating cake,” Bai Qiaoyu said, having been watching her expression the entire time.
“Haven’t you already gotten all my information? You don’t know what I like?” the black-haired girl asked back, biting her spoon.
“It’s obviously more interesting to discover these things in person. I feel like I understand you a little bit more now.”
Qi didn’t respond, instead sending spoonful after spoonful of cake into her mouth.
“If you like it, I can bring you here often. I also know a particularly good cake shop. If you become my girlfriend, I can have them deliver cakes directly to the house every day. You could taste all kinds of delicious cakes without even leaving the house.”
“That’s a very tempting offer,” the black-haired girl said while eating the cake and swinging her small feet.
“But unfortunately, I don’t actually like cake.”
Bai Qiaoyu was silent for a moment, then she suddenly smiled.
“Is that so? Seeing how happily you’re eating, I thought you were already head over heels for it.”
“There’s just one thing I’ve never understood. Even if we set aside the 150,000 Debt, seven-seven still needs money quite badly, doesn’t she?”
She said, sounding casual.
“In this city, you have no backing, no background, and no relatives. You’re the type who has to work hard just to afford living expenses.”
“And now, I can be your backer. As long as you become my girlfriend, you’ll never have to worry about money again. You can eat any food you want, buy any dress you want, and have more time and energy to enjoy life.”
“It’s clearly a win-win situation with no downsides. Why have you been resisting so much?”
The black-haired girl looked into Bai Qiaoyu’s eyes and realized that these few sentences seemed to be a genuine question.
She sighed somewhat helplessly.
‘Of course. If she could actually notice her own Malice and realize what was wrong with her actions, she wouldn’t have to bother putting on a friendly act.’
“I’m a conservative girl. I can’t just start dating someone I just met.”
“Then we can try starting with a more conservative way of dating, like holding hands and hugging,” Bai Qiaoyu continued. “And you can still enjoy everything I mentioned. How about it?”
‘It sounds really nice,’ Qi thought.
‘It’s just like how I used to date other girls. I could make money just by providing simple companionship.’
But many things only required a single opening to be completely conquered.
Just like how she had been hounded by Bai Qiaoyu because of the 150,000 Debt, with an aggressive person like the CEO Sister, once she agreed to this “opening” of dating, it wouldn’t matter anymore if the relationship was supposed to be “pure.”
Qi would be destined to end up pinned to the bed by her.
This opening could absolutely not be made.
What troubled Qi now was that in order to prevent Bai Qiaoyu from using forceful methods, she couldn’t reject the dating request completely and directly.
She could only slowly pull and push, leaving the other person with some hope and a sense of progress while refusing, so that Bai Qiaoyu would maintain her patience.
But this was, after all, a stalling tactic.
Eventually, she would be found out.
If she couldn’t escape Bai Qiaoyu’s control, the final outcome would remain unchanged.
She had to find a way to break the deadlock.
Qi could only place her hopes on Luo Qing now, wishing that the God who wanted to be her mother could help her.