Chapter 55

The midday sun was so intense that it made people drowsy. Li Jingming was sitting in his car with his eyes closed, deep in thought about life, when he suddenly heard someone tapping on his car window. Opening his eyes, he saw a young girl, her face pressed against the glass, peering inside.

"Is there something you need?" Li Jingming rolled down the window and looked at her. She was quite cute.

"Hello, senior, I'm Jung Sooyeon's younger sister. My name is Jung Sooyoung." Krystal bowed.

Li Jingming unlocked the back door and gestured for Krystal to get in. "Where's your sister?"

Feeling the cool air from the car's air conditioning, Krystal let out a comfortable sigh. "Sister is still putting on makeup."

Krystal had originally planned to wait for Jessica, but she soon grew impatient and decided to come down to find Li Jingming first. She remembered the car clearly from the last time she saw her sister get out of it, and it was easy to spot on the streets of Korea, where imported cars were rare.

"Hello?" Li Jingming called Jessica again.

"What's up? Isn't Little Crystal already down there?" Jessica was still putting on makeup.

"Who's Little Crystal?" Li Jingming glanced in the rearview mirror. The little girl was Little Crystal?

"That's my sister. Have you seen her?" Jessica explained.

"Oh, she's in my car. Hurry up." Li Jingming urged, "Anyway, we're going to have barbecue soon. The smoke will ruin any makeup, so you're not putting on smoky eye makeup, are you?"

"Ah, it's just sunscreen!" Jessica said impatiently, "Bye."

Huh, does sunscreen need to be applied all over the body? She's been in there for so long, Li Jingming thought to himself.

After observing the car's interior, Krystal began to look at Li Jingming carefully. After hesitating for a moment, she asked, "Are you my sister's boyfriend?"

"No, just a friend," Li Jingming said naturally, without a hint of lying.

But the more natural he was, the more Krystal found it strange. Her sister never used polite language with this senior. According to her sister, he was born in 1986, a senior who had already debuted. In Korea, only people in a romantic relationship would use informal language. Krystal had noticed the change in Jessica's expression when she talked about Li Jingming. It wasn't just respect for a senior.

The car fell silent. The heat of early summer and the midday crowd seemed to have no effect inside the car, which had become a small, isolated space. In the quiet, both Li Jingming and Krystal were lost in their own thoughts.

"Bang!" Jessica opened the car door, sat in the passenger seat, and quickly closed the door. She complained softly, "It's really hot outside."

Jessica was very sensitive to heat. Just a few steps had made her feel like she was about to collapse. The car's air conditioning revived her, and she said this without thinking. The words themselves were nothing special, but to Krystal, they sounded like a coquettish complaint. Her sister liked this senior, she was sure of it.

"Are you still going to eat barbecue in this heat?" Li Jingming said with a laugh, reaching over to fasten Jessica's seatbelt for her. His tall stature and long arms made the gesture natural.

As Li Jingming reversed the car, he turned to look out the rear window, giving Krystal a clear view of his face. At first glance, Li Jingming looked young, like a friendly neighbor's big brother, but his actions were considerate and gentlemanly. His cute appearance and mature behavior made him the type of man women found very appealing.

Research shows that men are most charming when reversing (according to the internet), and Li Jingming was in his most charming pose. Jessica pretended to be curious about the car's interior but was actually using her peripheral vision to observe Li Jingming. Li Jingming, of course, noticed, but remembering the lesson from his encounter with Li Zhiyan, he decided to pretend he didn't.

"Why did it take so long to put on sunscreen? Did you spend a long time on your makeup?" Li Jingming asked as he drove onto the main road.

Jessica was unhappy with the question. "Is it wrong for me to be slow?"

"You are a bit slow," Li Jingming thought Jessica was indeed a bit slow.

Jessica's breathing grew heavier, but she didn't speak. She was afraid that if she spoke, she would say "ah" and ruin her serene demeanor. Since her visit to SS, Jessica had realized that she suited a pure and serene look and had been paying attention to makeup techniques in that style. Today's light makeup was good, not as good as the master at SS, but it was perfect for her. However, the person next to her barely glanced at her, which made Jessica feel a bit dejected and gloomy.

"But slow and steady wins the race. You look very beautiful like this," Li Jingming added, turning his head to look at Jessica.

The push and pull tactic in romantic relationships made Jessica wonder if Li Jingming had feelings for her. Her face turned slightly red.

Seeing that Jessica didn't seem to want to talk and Krystal was pouting, Li Jingming didn't try to find more topics to chat about. He turned on the car radio, which was playing a song by Rachel Yamagata: "Be.Be.Your.Love." It was a song about unrequited love.

The barbecue restaurant Jessica had chosen was in Nonhyeon-dong, not far from their dormitory. Li Jingming only drove for a few minutes to get there. The restaurant was a traditional Korean barbecue place with low tables where people either knelt or sat. Inside, many people were dining, but there was no air conditioning, only old fans swinging back and forth, making the place both crowded and hot.

Krystal's cold expression from the car changed to a smile as bright as a blooming flower when they entered the restaurant. She sniffed the air, filled with the scent of barbecue, and thought to herself, "This is the smell of happiness."

Fortunately, there was an empty seat, though it was in a corner where the fan didn't reach. But Krystal, eager to eat, looked at Jessica with pleading eyes and hugged her waist, acting cute. Jessica, who had a bit of a younger sister complex, couldn't resist. It was a bit hot, but they would have to take a shower when they got back anyway.

Looking at the menu with a pained expression, Jessica handed it to Krystal first. Krystal, who wasn't completely naive, ordered a portion of beef and nothing else. She knew the money her mother gave her was limited, and her sister's expenses were high since she was about to debut. Jessica ordered a portion of pork belly, and then Li Jingming took the menu. Unlike the sisters, he ordered four portions of beef and two portions of pork belly. Jessica, watching from the side, almost fainted. How much would this cost? Li Jingming not only ordered a lot of meat but also a pile of side dishes. Jessica couldn't even calculate the total.

"I'll pay. Why are you looking at me like that?" Li Jingming found Jessica's stunned expression particularly amusing. It was the kind of look people had after a major shock.

"No, I said I would treat you," Jessica said, shaking her head. She couldn't let Li Jingming pay again.

"That's right. You treat, I pay." Li Jingming filled out the order form. "Are you a senior who has debuted, or my older sister? With me here, it's not your turn to pay."

"But, but..." Jessica didn't know what to say.

"Then let's add another portion of beef. I want to see how much you can pay the owner." Li Jingming really did add another portion of beef.

Jessica's face turned red. "If you do this, who will dare to invite you out for a meal again?"

"Come on, sister, it's only right for a brother-in-law to pay." Krystal was overwhelmed by the surprise. There would be six portions of beef and three portions of pork belly on the table. What a spectacular sight! It would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

"Brother-in-law?" Li Jingming and Jessica turned to Krystal at the same time, their movements perfectly synchronized.

"Admit it, sister. Haven't you always liked Jingming OPPA? Since you were ten." Krystal's mind was dominated by the thought of barbecue.

"Ah, you're selling your sister for a few plates of barbecue? Don't forget who brought you here today!" Jessica laughed in frustration. This kid must have been a monk in a past life, how could she be so obsessed with meat? When Jessica and Li Jingming were ten, they were on opposite sides of the world and didn't even know each other. Was it worth it just for a meal?

"How can it be selling? I'm giving the brother-in-law a chance to impress. To win a woman's heart, you have to win the little sister's heart first." Krystal suddenly decided that Li Jingming would be her brother-in-law and started spouting nonsense. This attitude caught Li Jingming off guard. How could coming out for a meal result in someone insisting on being his little sister?

Jessica glared at Krystal, who was talking nonsense. Fortunately, she saw that Li Jingming wasn't overthinking it and was treating it as a child's joke. Otherwise, she would have given this disrespectful girl a piece of her mind.

"Ah, what a coincidence." Just as Li Jingming was feeling frustrated, he heard a familiar voice from the entrance of the barbecue restaurant. He looked up, and indeed, it was quite a coincidence.