"Hello, your order is served." The waitress enthusiastically arranged the plates for Shen Yin and Fang Cheng.
Fang Cheng smiled and took the two plates of steak from her. "Put them on my side. I'll cut them and serve her."
"Aiya, Miss, your boyfriend is so considerate!" The waitress teased Shen Yin enviously, causing her to blush. She was about to protest when she thought of Meng Heng. She also thought of giving herself a chance, so she kept quiet.
Meng Heng looked at Fang Cheng with a fake smile. "I've never heard Sister mention that she has a boyfriend."
Fang Cheng smiled ambiguously. He looked at Shen Yin, his eyes calm. "Will Yin Yin mention me in front of her colleagues in the future?"
Shen Yin smiled and said tactfully, "I don't like to mix personal matters with work."
"Me too." Fang Cheng carefully sliced the steak before setting the plate back in front of Shen Yin. "The steak here has great texture and the ingredients are all carefully selected. You're going to love it."
"Thank you." Shen Yin was about to pick up her fork when the Fang Cheng beat her to it.
He speared a steak which he had cut to just the right size and held it to her lips. He raised an eyebrow. "Try it."
Shen Yin's blushed, but seeing how persistent he was, she could not refuse. She had no choice but to eat a piece of the steak.
Fang Cheng turned around with a smile and looked at the steak in front of Meng Heng. "Why aren't you eating? Don't you like steak?"
"I like the steak on Sister's plate." Meng Heng stood up smugly. Before Shen Yin could react, he suddenly took away the plate of steak that Fang Cheng had cut for her and replaced it with his own. "Sister, try mine. The taste is different from yours."
Shen Yin smiled awkwardly.
She finally finished her meal as the two men vied with each other. Shen Yin could not wait to get up and leave. Fang Cheng offered to send her home. When she saw Meng Heng leaning over, she quickly waved her hand and refused. She would take a taxi home alone.
Shen Nian was ready to leave long before Shen Yin had finished eating.
This man was very much to Shen Nian's liking. He was polite, gentle, generous, and not bad-looking. He was worthy of his mother.
He stepped around the pillar and ran anxiously into the street to hail a cab. He had to get home before his mother. He must not let her find out that he had secretly followed her.
But Shen Nian was running too quickly and bumped into the man who had his hands in his pocket and a cigarette clenched between his teeth.
"Uncle, I'm sorry." Shen Nian quickly apologized, not wanting to waste time.
The man turned around angrily. "Child, don't you know how to watch where you're going? Who are you calling uncle? Am I that old? Where are the adults who brought you out?"
He rubbed his aching lower back and turned his head. When he saw Shen Nian's face, his eyes widened.
It was too similar…
"Uncle, I have something urgent to attend to. I have to go." Shen Nian did not want to argue with him. He lowered her head and apologized sincerely before turning to leave.
To his surprise, the man quickly grabbed his hand. Shen Nian looked over in surprise. This person looked like a ruffian. Could he be a human trafficker?
He glanced to the side. They were on a street lined with bars, and there were plenty of people coming and going. Presumably, if he shouted for help, someone would rescue him.
With that thought, Shen Nian felt more confident. He said in a childish voice, "Uncle, I've already apologized to you. What else do you want? If I have hurt you in anyway, I'll think of a way to compensate you.
"Child, how are you going to compensate me?" The man let go of him in amusement and sized him up carefully. The more he looked at him, the more he felt that the child was from the same mold as someone else.
He pretended to be an amiable big brother and squatted down. His gaze was level with Shen Nian's as he asked, "Uncle doesn't need you to pay. Just tell me who your father is, okay?"
"My father is dead," Shen Nian replied without thinking.
That man had not treated Mom well. He had left her alone and pregnant, to work and earn money in a foreign country. After so many years, he had never attempted to find them. In his heart, his biological father had died long ago.
The man frowned, not quite believing him.
Dead? From the looks of it, his father was the one sitting in the private room in that bar?
He still wanted to ask for more details, but Shen Nian was unwilling to give him the opportunity. When he was distracted, Shen Nian seized the opportunity and nimbly ran away.