Chapter 605: Chapter 605

Even Qin Zhe and An Ke, upon hearing Song Qiao’s words, turned their gazes towards Ji Sifan, though the former remained calm and composed, the latter appeared somewhat astonished as he looked at him.

Ji Sifan likewise noticed the reactions of Qin Zhe and An Ke, but he did not answer immediately. Instead, he poured another cup of tea for both Song Qiao and himself, took a sip, then looked up at Song Qiao with a slight smile and a hint of teasing, "Are you asking me for help now?"

Song Qiao was momentarily stunned, not immediately grasping the meaning behind Ji Sifan’s words. It took her a while to slowly come to a realization.

She narrowed her eyes and fiddled with the teacup in her hand, her voice slightly hoarse as she did not deny the fact, her face still wearing a smile, "Given our good relationship when we were children, you surely wouldn’t expect me to do something for you before you would help me, right?"

"If possible, I would naturally not let go of such a great opportunity."

The man’s eyes continuously held a smiling expression, never diminishing.

Ever since childhood, aside from often bullying her which was kind of mean, Ji Sifan as a person was actually quite gentle.

If speaking of gentleness, compared to Lu Jingchen, Ji Sifan is the true definition of genteel and refined.

After all, although Lu Jingchen also gives off that refined gentleman impression initially, the more you’re acquainted with him, the more you would sense his resolute and stern, detached and indifferent qualities, emanating from within him.

But Ji Sifan is different; it may be due to his upbringing that made the gentlemanly demeanor most apparent in him from start to finish.

Looking at Song Qiao, Ji Sifan found it somewhat difficult to associate the woman in front of him with the skinny little girl from the past, if not for that familiar face.

He took a sip from his teacup then placed it back on the table, looked at her and spoke in a mature, gentle tone, "If I refuse, would you really sever ties with me?"

Song Qiao, "..." Do I look like that kind of person? Although I’ve had countless impulses to cut ties with this man due to his bullying that nearly traumatized me.

Slightly tilting her head, Song Qiao placed one hand on the table playing with the cup and the other flipping through a menu, then raised her delicate face to look at him, her smile charming and sly, "Of course not, how could our relationship be severed so easily."

When Lu An’an arrived, Song Qiao and Ji Sifan had already reached a consensus. Ji Sifan’s family company was planning to launch a new product soon and they hadn’t found a spokesperson yet, so it was very likely, as arranged by Qin Zhe and An Ke, that they would take the two for an audition in a few days.

Perhaps because Ji Sifan gave a more approachable impression, An Ke, initially somewhat restrained, became much more talkative under Song Qiao’s influence. In addition, the girl was sweet-tongued and knew her way with words, and soon began asking Ji Sifan for advice, to which he responded with smiles.

Compared to An Ke, Qin Zhe was truly so quiet that one might almost forget about his presence, just quietly sitting there, seldom speaking, only helping to pour tea when he noticed everyone’s cups were empty.

Occasionally, Ji Sifan would direct his gaze at him, ask him a question, and he would politely respond.

"Qiaoqiao, who is this?" As the waiter led Lu An’an into the private room, the first person she saw was not Song Qiao, but Ji Sifan.

Gazing at the extraordinarily handsome man in front of her, it was only after Song Qiao called her name several times that she slowly returned to her senses and asked.

Seeing Lu An’an’s reaction, Song Qiao suppressed the urge to laugh, introducing seriously, "An’an sis, this is the brother I grew up with... um, Ji Sifan... Ji Sifan, this is..."

Before Song Qiao could finish, Lu An’an had already quickly walked up, grabbing Ji Sifan’s hand, her face full of smiles, her tone cheerful as she introduced herself, "Handsome, hello, my name is Lu An’an, this year’s beautiful singleton at eighteen, yet to have a boyfriend..."

"An’an sis," Song Qiao, holding her forehead, couldn’t bear to listen any longer and abruptly interrupted her, "Are you really eighteen this year? If I remember correctly, isn’t your age supposed to be nearly a decade more?" The rıghtful source is Nov3lFɪre.ɴet

Lu An’an chuckled, still not letting go of Ji Sifan’s hand, somewhat embarrassed as she spoke, "Can’t I be an eternally blooming eighteen-year-old?" Followed by, Lu An’an continued her pursuit of Ji Sifan, "Actually, I am twenty-seven this year, and handsome, you look about my age, right? Do you have a girlfriend? If not, how about I introduce one to you? If you do, one more shouldn’t be a problem, right? See, how do I look?"

When Song Qiao first met Lu An’an, she thought she was a goddess; but upon witnessing her uncontrollable behavior towards a handsome guy for the first time, an apt quote came to her mind that perfectly suited Lu An’an, ’At first sight, you’re a goddess; later on, I realized you were actually mentally godly.’

Lu An’an is obsessed with looks, unable to resist asking handsome guys for their phone numbers, ages, home addresses, marital status... In short, she just can’t help checking their backgrounds.

So much so that to this day, the company dares not let Lu An’an manage male artists; they’re afraid her personality might scare them off.

At this moment, Lu An’an’s aggressive nature reemerged, not only frightening Qin Zhe and An Ke, but even the experienced Ji Sifan was taken aback, his mouth opening but no words coming out. Instead, he looked towards Song Qiao for help.

Song Qiao was also startled by Lu An’an’s fierceness, catching Ji Sifan’s glance. It was the first time she saw this man appearing so helpless, a sly glint flashed through her eyes, and she remained silent.

The message was very simple and brutal: solve it yourself.

However, Song Qiao still underestimated Ji Sifan. Having been abroad for so many years and gone through so much, how could he not handle this if he were to take over his family’s corporation?

Quickly regaining his composure, Ji Sifan looked at Lu An’an, whose eyes were bright, and smiled gently, saying, "I’m Ji Sifan, pleased to meet you. My family is also from An City, and about having a girlfriend... I don’t have one currently. If Miss Lu would like to know more, perhaps we could sit down and have a good chat."

Why did she feel man had become even more scheming than before?

Lu An’an nodded, reluctantly letting go of Ji Sifan’s hand and plonked herself down next to him, then turned to Song Qiao, smiling brightly, "Qiaoqiao, you knew such a handsome guy and didn’t tell me?"

Song Qiao sat down, glanced sidelong at Ji Sifan who had returned to normal, and naturally replied, "He’s been abroad for many years, and we just ran into each other today."

Lu An’an understood and stopped bothering Song Qiao, continuing to chat and skillfully fish for personal details from Ji Sifan.

Ji Sifan calmly poured tea for Lu An’an, sipped his tea with an elegant smile ever-present on his face, politely keeping a distance through his answers, skillfully deflecting many of Lu An’an’s questions without giving away much, leaving her without a real fault to find.

Throughout the meal, it was Song Qiao who ate the most heartily, yet everything remained peaceful.

When it came time to pay, Song Qiao with a coy smile said, "How about I pay for this meal? I just remembered I still owe you a meal from a few years ago."

Ji Sifan, looking at the smile on her face, didn’t pause as he pulled out a card from his wallet and handed it to the waiter, saying with a gentle smile, "Why should a girl pay when we go out to eat? You can keep owing me that meal, until one day when I forget my wallet, then you can treat me."

Song Qiao knowing that they would meet again many times, didn’t refuse and simply nodded.

After getting Ji Sifan’s phone number, a smile never left Lu An’an’s face. She turned to Song Qiao, "Qiaoqiao, are you heading back to the office now? I drove here, so I can take you all back."

"Not going back yet, I still have to take them for an outdoor shoot this afternoon, might go straight home after work."

Lu An’an uttered a sound of acknowledgment, then glancing at the time, suddenly exclaimed and hastily grabbed her bag, urgently saying, "I’m going to be late, can’t wait for you guys, I’ll go ahead."

Like the wind, by the time Song Qiao and the others reacted, Lu An’an had already greeted and left.

Ji Sifan also stood up, looking down and asked, "Where do you need to go? I can give you a ride, my car is outside."

Just as Song Qiao was about to refuse, her phone suddenly rang. Picking it up, she saw ’Husband’ displayed on the screen.

She gave Ji Sifan an apologetic smile, not refusing his offer to drive her, "I’ll answer a call first, could you please give us a lift after that?"

Since he was standing up, he caught a glimpse of the name displayed on the phone, his eyes darkened but he still smiled warmly, "Okay, we’ll wait for you outside."

Song Qiao hummed a response, swiping to answer just as the ring was about to end.

"Where are you right now?" The deep, husky voice of a man from the other end of the phone echoed in her ears.

Song Qiao walked to the end of the corridor, her expression calm, looking outside through the corridor window, though she didn’t feel like answering, she still spoke lightly, "I’m outside, just finished eating and ready to go to work, what’s up?"

Listening to her words, Lu Jingchen first stayed silent. Then after a while, with a trace of cold sarcasm, he said, "Are you out having a meal with another man?"