Following Tao Feiyan’s request to dine somewhere befitting one of his stature, Zhe Huo took the opportunity to ogle him yet again, then brought him to a restaurant with elegant décor and an antique sort of appeal, subdued and refined all throughout.
This was the kind of place where one could sit down and enjoy some music, sample some teas, and tuck into an assortment of delicate treats. It was the perfect place for an angelic beauty like Feiyan—perhaps less so for a brutish tramp like herself.
But reality has a knack for defying expectations. When they arrived, Feiyan took one look at the place and tittered, “Zhe Huo, is this the kind of place you like to frequent? A bit drab, isn’t it?”
Zhe Huo averted her eyes. “It’s not my sort of thing—but didn’t you ask me to find a place that was worthy of you?”
“A place like this can hardly make the cut.” Feiyan arched an eyebrow at her, with an air of indignance.
This triggered Zhe Huo. She almost lost hold of her senses, but for Qinghan suddenly gripping her finger and muttering, “Suit yourself. Zhe Huo, let’s go.”
“Now, don’t be hasty. Here, I know a nice place nearby. I’ll take you there.”
Since Feiyan was going so far, it was obviously impossible for Zhe Huo to decline. There was nothing for it but to stroke the boy’s ears a little, which would hopefully placate him.
However, when she saw what Feiyan considered a place worthy of his stature, she was downright flabbergasted.
It was magnificent, a heaven on earth. Gentle laughter spilled out from cozy little alcoves here and there.
The moment she stepped inside, she was stunned. Honestly, it was the first time she’d ever been to a place like this. She’d only heard things before. It was true that she’d been thinking about how Feiyan might dominate in such a setting, how many fans he’d garner even in Tiancheng City. Now her idle delusions had been made manifest—except that Feiyan was actually here as a client.
All this while, she’d failed to notice the hostility Qinghan had been fostering towards Feiyan since he first appeared. Since they came in here, however, that animosity had been gradually fading away. Eventually, Qinghan simply looked up at him and asked, “You like guys?”
Zhe Huo blinked, rooted to the spot, and it was a while before she could make sense of what had just happened. Then she clapped a hand over Qinghan’s mouth and began apologizing frantically to Feiyan. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! He didn’t mean anything by it! Please don’t be cross with this child!”
“It’s quite alright.” With the ghost of a smile on his face, Feiyan watched Qinghan watching him, fathomless blue eyes swimming with indecipherable meaning, pointed ears twitching about restlessly. “With all the queers in this world, one more of me doesn’t amount to much. That kid is gonna become someone special one day. If not because he’s still too young for my tastes, I might have liked to eat him up right now.”
Qinghan’s eyes narrowed, and he snorted faintly. Before he could deliver his biting reply, however, Zhe Huo managed to recover from the impact of Feiyan’s words, and hurriedly pulled the child behind herself. Her eyes wide with alarm, she stammered, “Um, Mr Tao… please turn your attention away from my little Qinghan, otherwise you’ll have me to contend with!”