TRBDM -Chapter 144 Boss Qin

Xie Wanrou lowered her gaze to the tea leaves floating in her cup and nodded lightly. “That will do.”

Jiang Yuelin could hardly suppress the smile at the corner of his mouth and had to sip his tea to cover it.

After a moment, having composed himself, Jiang Yuelin asked, “What did you buy at the Silk and Satin Shop today?”

His tone was so natural it was as if the two of them had known each other for years.

“I picked out two pieces of fabric.”

“I notice the colors are rather dark—are they for your two younger brothers?”

Xie Wanrou felt embarrassed to say they were for him, so she nodded along with Jiang Yuelin’s assumption.

“They are indeed lucky,” Jiang Yuelin said, a hint of envy hidden beneath his sentiment.

“Master Jiang, these two pieces were chosen by my young lady for you,” Xiao Die interjected at just the right moment. “Miss said there was no suitable fabric for you at home, so she came specifically to pick them out.”

“Xiao Die!” Xie Wanrou shot her a reproachful glance.

Unfazed, Xiao Die stuck out her tongue at her playfully.

“Well… Master Jiang, don’t listen to Xiao Die’s nonsense. I didn’t—”

Jiang Yuelin arched a brow.

“Didn’t what? So these two pieces weren’t picked for me?”

Step by step, he pressed, giving Xie Wanrou no room to retreat.

Resigned, she had no choice but to admit, “They were for you.”

A deep laugh escaped Jiang Yuelin. “I really like the colors. Thank you, Wanrou.”

It was the first time Jiang Yuelin had called her that way. His voice was smooth like jade, carrying a barely perceptible warmth and lingering affection.

Xie Wanrou felt as if she were soaking in a warm spring, her entire being turning into a little blush of red.

Her fair cheeks were tinged with pink, utterly captivating.

Sensing the mood, Xiao Die left the room, giving the two of them some privacy.

Afterwards, neither spoke much. Xie Wanrou forced her gaze onto her tea cup, while Jiang Yuelin’s eyes remained fixed on her.

About half an hour later, Jiang Yuelin escorted Xie Wanrou back to the Mingde Marquisate.

As he left, Jiang Yuelin said, “Wanrou, I look forward to the sachet you’ll make with your own hands.”

Standing in front of the marquisate gate, Xie Wanrou watched him depart.

She had seen him off at the gate many times, and each time, her feelings were different.

This time, her heart beat a little faster.

Xie Lan had a mild fever and rested in the Lan Courtyard for two days, but today he had fully recovered.

Youthful illnesses came and went quickly. Feeling strong again, and seeing that Xie Yu was almost done with school, he left early to buy him some sweet drinks.

Xie Lan arrived at Qin’s Sweet Drink Shop.

“Boss, I’ll have a portion of iced almond tea and sour plum soup.”

After a while, a voice called from inside.

“Coming! Just a moment.”

Following the voice, Xie Lan looked inside.

A striking woman emerged. Though dressed in coarse linen, her inherent nobility could not be hidden.

Xie Lan stared at her, feeling she looked familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before.

Zhao Lingchen arrived at the stall and, seeing Xie Lan standing across from her, instinctively glanced behind him.

No one was there.

It wasn’t yet time for Xie Yu to finish school, so Xie Lan was alone.

Disappointment crossed Zhao Lingchen’s face, and the smile that had been there vanished in an instant.

She scooped the soup skillfully with a long ladle, pouring it into wooden jars without a single drop spilled, like a seasoned veteran.

When it came time to pay, Xie Lan deliberately gave extra silver, and she returned the change exactly, not missing a bit.

Xie Lan observed her every move carefully and realized that she was completely different from the description Xie Yu had given the day before.

Boss Qin was a shrewd businesswoman, not at all clumsy.

Why such a stark difference between public and private behavior?

Xie Lan stared into Zhao Lingchen’s eyes, the more he looked, the more something felt off.

They had clearly never met before—so why did it feel so familiar?

“Here, take it. Take care.” Zhao Lingchen’s tone was indifferent.

Xie Lan took the jar of sweet plum drink and turned to leave.

Zhao Lingchen, lost in frustration over not seeing Xie Yu, would never have lowered herself to personally serve Xie Lan the sweet drink—if she hadn’t known it was meant for Xie Yu.

Because of that, she never noticed the scrutinizing gaze Xie Lan cast.

Xie Lan carried two jars of sweet drink and waited outside the Dong residence for Xie Yu.

When school was over, Xie Yu walked out of the Dong residence. The moment he stepped outside, he saw Xie Lan standing next to the carriage.

“Third Brother?” Xie Yu ran over excitedly. “Why are you here?”

“Here, sweet plum drink from Qin’s shop.”

“Wow~ Third Brother, you went to buy drinks!”

Xie Yu’s eyes lit up. He eagerly took the jar and took a couple of big sips.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he sighed with satisfaction: “So sweet… so refreshing.”

Xie Lan watched him quietly.

With his head slightly lowered, Xie Lan, from a certain angle, looked very much like the Boss Qin they had seen earlier.

No wonder Xie Yu had felt that Boss Qin seemed familiar at first glance but couldn’t recall where he had seen her.

It turned out she and Xie Yu shared exactly the same pair of eyes.

Xie Lan’s emotions grew complicated.

On the way home, Xie Yu excitedly recounted the amusing things from recess. Xie Lan listened patiently, occasionally responding with a soft “Mm.”

“Fourth Brother,” Xie Lan interrupted.

“Hm?”

“What do you think of Boss Qin?”

Mentioning Boss Qin, Xie Yu suddenly remembered. A couple of days ago, he had made an appointment with Boss Qin to visit her shop again the next day, but Xie Lan’s fever had delayed them.

For two days in a row, Xie Yu had been thinking about Xie Lan and hadn’t gone back to the shop.

“Ah, Third Brother, if you hadn’t asked, I would have forgotten. I was supposed to visit Boss Qin’s shop the next day, but I got busy and forgot.”

“You two made an appointment?” Xie Lan asked in surprise.

“Yep!” Xie Yu nodded. “Boss Qin doesn’t just make tasty drinks, she’s also gentle, and her smile is really pretty. Right, Third Brother?”

Gentle? Pretty smile?

Xie Lan felt none of that.

What he had felt instead was Boss Qin’s aloofness and an indescribable sense of pressure from deep within.

“And also, Third Brother,” Xie Yu lowered his voice, “Boss Qin is kinda clumsy. She can’t even calculate her accounts properly.”

“…”

The Boss Qin Xie Yu described was a completely different person from the one Xie Lan had encountered.

“I’ve really never met such a scatterbrained boss before. From now on, let’s visit her shop often, okay? Otherwise, I’m afraid she won’t be able to keep it open for long and it’ll go out of business.”

Suppressing the doubts rising in his heart, Xie Lan nodded. “Mm, after school tomorrow, I’ll go with you to get drinks.”

“Mm!”

When the two returned to the Marquis residence, they happened to run into a certain lady.

She was fuming, storming out with her head down, nearly colliding with Xie Lan and Xie Yu.

Madam Shen looked up and saw two young masters in fine attire.

Her mind immediately went to her son, Shen Tianci. Back then, he had never worn anything but embroidered robes and fine clothes, every bit the noble young master.

But now? He didn’t even have a proper outfit to show off.

Madam Shen’s heart had long been twisted; she could not bear to see others in a good position.

She spat violently toward the two of them. Luckily, Xie Yu’s quick reflexes pulled Xie Lan to the side just in time to avoid it.

After spitting, Madam Shen prepared to leave in a huff.

“Stop right there!”

Wei Zhaorong’s angry shout rang out from behind the crowd.