Chapter 43

"Stop thinking the wrong way. I'm just feeling a bit乱, and I want to find someone to quietly accompany me and blow the wind," Qin Lan said, realizing that even though Xia Yunjie was still young and their statuses were vastly different, making it impossible for anything beyond a friendship to happen, the timing and the place could easily lead to misunderstandings, causing her face to turn slightly red with a hint of annoyance.

"Ahem, I just found it a bit surprising, I really didn't think the wrong way," Xia Yunjie said, looking at Qin Lan, the beautiful deputy director, whose expression was full of womanly charm, feeling guilty and hurriedly explaining.

But Xia Yunjie, being a recent vocational school graduate who had never dated a woman, knew nothing about how to interact with women. His explanation only made Qin Lan's face turn even redder.

If he didn't think the wrong way, then wasn't it implying that she, Qin Lan, was the one who thought the wrong way?

Fortunately, Qin Lan knew that Xia Yunjie had just left school and wasn't like those slick-talking men. Although his words made her face red, they also showed his simplicity. As she looked at Xia Yunjie's flustered expression, she felt a strange sensation in her heart and said with a roll of her eyes, "Anyway, just accompany me to blow the wind, no wild thoughts!"

"No problem, no wild thoughts!" Xia Yunjie said very seriously and solemnly.

In Xia Yunjie's view, Qin Lan was the deputy director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, a sexy and mature beauty. The fact that she thought of finding him, a bar waiter, to accompany her to the seaside to blow the wind when she was feeling troubled meant that she trusted him and considered him a friend. He naturally couldn't let her down and couldn't have any inappropriate thoughts about her.

As for thoughts, they were beyond his control, but at that moment, Xia Yunjie hadn't even considered them.

"Ha!" Qin Lan, seeing Xia Yunjie's serious expression as if he were taking an oath to join the party, couldn't help but laugh. She then rolled her eyes at him and said, "Alright, alright, get in the car quickly."

Qin Lan was a very beautiful and sexy woman, but because of her distinct facial features and cold expression, she gave off a cold and distant aura, making people hesitant to approach her. Now, with her smile, it was like a flower blooming, exuding an indescribable charm and beauty, making Xia Yunjie's heart race uncontrollably. He quickly lowered his head and started moving the bicycle onto the jeep again.

Watching Xia Yunjie fumble with the bicycle, Qin Lan couldn't help but smile. It wasn't until Xia Yunjie sat in the passenger seat that Qin Lan returned to her usual cold demeanor, but the troubles that had been weighing on her mind were unconsciously forgotten.

The traffic was good both in the city and the suburbs at night. Sitting in the jeep, it took only about twenty minutes for Xia Yunjie to see the sea still immersed in darkness and the long beach in the distance.

On the beach, there were bonfires, red lanterns hanging from the stalls like a long dragon, vacation hotels and villas, and more couples, some holding hands, others cuddling and embracing.

Qin Lan found a place to park the car, and then the two of them got out.

As the cool sea breeze blew, they hadn't taken a few steps when Qin Lan's stomach suddenly growled loudly, especially noticeable in the quiet night. Due to her mood, she had barely eaten lunch or dinner, and after getting off the plane and being busy until now, her stomach finally protested.

Xia Yunjie instinctively looked at her, his eyes filled with surprise.

Qin Lan was a woman who cared a lot about her image, and the strange sound from her stomach was naturally embarrassing and damaging to her image. Seeing Xia Yunjie's surprised look, her face couldn't help but turn red, and she rolled her eyes at him, saying, "I'm a bit hungry, let's go eat something."

"Okay, let's go eat something," Xia Yunjie nodded, puzzled. He didn't understand why it was so strange to eat when you were hungry. Why did she roll her eyes at him?

It was already 3:30 AM, and there were few people out at this time to eat seafood, drink, or take a walk. The row of stalls by the sea, which had been bustling in the evening, was now quiet, with only a few people still enjoying seafood and beer.

Qin Lan and Xia Yunjie found an empty table with no one around, ordered five fresh seafood dishes like conch, clams, and shrimp, and four bottles of cold beer.

When the beer arrived, Qin Lan didn't even use a bottle opener. She simply took a chopstick and deftly pried off the cap, opening the bottle.

Using chopsticks to open a bottle cap wasn't unusual, and many people could do it. But for someone with Qin Lan's elegant demeanor, who looked like a white-collar beauty, to do it so smoothly and confidently, the stall owner had never seen it before, almost staring with his mouth open. Xia Yunjie, who had seen Qin Lan cleanly knock out men in the bar, wasn't particularly surprised.

Qin Lan handed a bottle of beer to Xia Yunjie and then opened another one for herself.

"Drinking on an empty stomach isn't good. Why don't we order some stir-fried noodles or crab with rice cakes to fill our stomachs first?" Xia Yunjie said, concerned, seeing Qin Lan pour herself a full glass.

"You seem to care a lot, but a little beer is fine," Qin Lan said, looking up at Xia Yunjie. She then raised her glass and insisted on clinking glasses with him.

Qin Lan, being the deputy director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau and much older than him, Xia Yunjie had no choice but to follow her lead, pouring himself a full glass of beer and clinking glasses with her, saying, "Thank you for today, Sister Lan."

"We don't need to say thanks to each other," Qin Lan said without thinking. After the words came out, even she couldn't explain why she said that. Had their relationship become so intimate that they didn't need to say thanks?

"Right," Xia Yunjie said, slightly taken aback, then nodded as if it were natural.

After the words were said, both of them fell silent, looking at each other. Neither of them could clearly explain why they didn't need to say thanks to each other. Was it because he was the first man to see her body, and she was the first woman to see his? But in this day and age, many people could become strangers the day after they slept together. If it wasn't for that reason, then what was it?

"Drink!" Qin Lan quickly raised her glass again, a hint of indifference on her lips.

What's wrong with you, Qin Lan? He's just a recent vocational school graduate, a young boy!

"Drink." Xia Yunjie smiled and raised his glass to clink with Qin Lan.

Drinking to forget one's sorrows often just makes the sorrow deeper. Qin Lan, drinking two glasses of cold beer on an empty stomach, felt her mood sink again under the influence of alcohol.

Once her mood sank, she habitually drank glass after glass, not even bothering to eat the food.

Xia Yunjie had rarely been alone with a woman and had no experience comforting a woman. Seeing Qin Lan's low mood and her continuous drinking, he didn't know how to comfort her. So, every time she drank a glass, he followed suit. After drinking, he was worried that Qin Lan would hurt her stomach, so he took a chopstick, inserted it into the back of a boiled shrimp, and deftly peeled off the shell, revealing the white, tender flesh. He then silently placed the peeled shrimp on Qin Lan's plate.

Although Qin Lan's mood was low, she knew Xia Yunjie's good intentions and looked at him gratefully before picking up the shrimp to eat. However, her eating speed was far slower than Xia Yunjie's peeling speed, and soon her plate was piled high with white, tender shrimp.

A graceful lady is a gentleman's ideal. The stall owner, a middle-aged man, had nothing to do and couldn't help but secretly admire Qin Lan, the mature, sexy, and elegant beauty, occasionally glancing at her prominent chest. Of course, if he knew she was the deputy director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, he wouldn't dare to look.

But soon, the owner's attention was drawn to Xia Yunjie's deft technique. Although shrimp was delicious, the shell had sharp edges, and it was easy to cut one's mouth if not careful. There were experts who knew how to use chopsticks to peel the shell, but because the shrimp meat was tightly connected to the shell, even the best experts would inevitably get some shrimp meat on the shell when peeling. Seeing Xia Yunjie peel the shell so cleanly and deftly without any shrimp meat, the owner was amazed and wondered what the relationship between this man and woman was and who they were.

One could easily open a beer bottle with chopsticks, and the other could deftly peel shrimp with chopsticks.

"Hey, are you trying to feed me until I become a fat girl?" When the stall owner noticed Xia Yunjie's deft technique, Qin Lan, who had been in a low mood, finally noticed the pile of white, tender shrimp on her plate, while Xia Yunjie's plate was piled with shrimp shells. Not only that, but they had both finished a bottle and a half of beer. A warm feeling flowed through her heart, and she couldn't help but scold him.

"Sister Lan, you are naturally beautiful. Even if you become a fat girl, you would still be a beauty like Yang Guifei," Xia Yunjie said, relieved that Qin Lan had stopped drinking alone.

"I thought you were a honest man, but you're also good at flattering women!" Qin Lan rolled her eyes at Xia Yunjie, but her mood improved mysteriously.

Xia Yunjie smiled shyly, knowing that his words were a bit exaggerated.

Perhaps Xia Yunjie's smile was charming, or perhaps the alcohol made her feel dizzy. Looking at Xia Yunjie's shy and simple smile, Qin Lan's heart fluttered, and she couldn't help but pick up a shrimp with her chopsticks and say, "Open your mouth, this is a reward from your sister!"

Seeing Qin Lan's elegant, white hand holding the shrimp and her face flushed with alcohol, she looked incredibly charming and beautiful under the light. Xia Yunjie's gaze couldn't help but become a bit dazed.

He forgot his promise not to have wild thoughts, remembering the white, plump body he had seen that night and imagining what it would be like to embrace Sister Lan...

"Sister, I want one too!" Just as Xia Yunjie's gaze became dazed and Qin Lan's heart started to race, an inappropriate and disgusting male voice suddenly interrupted.