Please Be More Serious | Chapter 22

Yin Ting pulls Qiu Zheng Qing with her, taking him to the dining table. She points out which food is good, which food is just okay, which food that she dislikes but thinks that he can still try. She also laments that he is late and that he must be hungry. She talks on and on while he tries to maintain an act of calmness while eating.

That little realization earlier makes him feel rather surprised.

His ideal partner is definitely not someone like Yin Ting. When his colleagues made assumptions about their ambiguous relationship, he even found it unbelievable. He even once thought that their pairing would be on the top ten of the most incompatible couple ranking.

But just now, his heartbeat and feelings are suggesting another thing altogether.

Perhaps it is only a mistaken feeling. He finds excuses to placate himself.

Perhaps it is because he finally has some expectations about his marriage and each time he encounters Yin Ting, it is under the same expectations. That is why he is affected. He keeps on spooning food into his mouth, mentally evaluating the matter.

He and Yin Ting are not compatible, he is very sure of this.

Their interests and hobbies, their ambitions and approach in life, is completely and utterly different. Right now they do not meet often and do not have much opportunity to interact, so they can still be rather good friends. If they really interact as lovers, she will resent him for being boring and he will dislike her noisiness.

It should be like this, shouldn’t it?

Using common sense, if she finds him boring, she will continue talking and keep on requesting him to stop being boring. That way, she will definitely be very noisy. Contradictions are often created in such situations.

She is too outgoing, so she is not rational enough. It is obvious judging from the way she can befriend anyone and everyone. She is not rational, so she would cause him problems. He does not have that much time and effort to help his other half’s problems. He is very busy working but she is very idle. Judging from how she can leave work and visit Qin Yu Fei, he already can tell. If she is dating, she must really be a 24/7 lover but he does not have that much time and effort…

Either way, anyhow, they are not compatible.

Back to the topic on hand, his analysis of the situation is a waste of time. There is no need to worry at all, there is one clause that is enough to settle this sale order – Yin Ting will never like him. So there is really no need to consider anything at all.   

She likes guys like Gu Ying Jie: gentle and tender, frank and protective, playful and sporting prince charming. Those types and her types are only considered as citizens of the same nation.

So Yin Ting has no feelings for him whatsoever. He can tell from her expression and behaviour with him.

He glances at him and gets a little shock. Miss angel is looking at him seriously.

“Why are you blanking out when you are eating? Whether or not it is good or not, do you need to put so much thought into considering it?” she asks.

He composes himself and answers, “No, I’m just thinking about the success rate of a project.”

Yin Ting sighs. “So this piece of chicken chop, is it good or not?”

“Good.” He picks up another piece to prove his point.

Yin Ting is very happy. “Then your taste is the same as mine.”

Is it? What is there to be happy for, there are a lot of people who likes to eat some type of food. He begins eating the pan-fried fish on his plate, this is also recommended by her earlier. Then he notices she is staring at him again. “Can you not stare at me?” he politely requests. Her staring at him will make overload his mind with thoughts, and he thinks those thoughts are too unnecessary.

Yin Ting raises an eyebrow, her eyes a little wide. “I am only seeing if you also like this one. If you don’t want me to stare, then I’ll just don’t stare.” She really turns her head away and looks at the direction of the dance floor. She is even mumbling under her breath, “So he will even get shy if someone is watching him eat.”

Who is shy! Qiu Zheng Qing stuffs the fish meat into his mouth to refrain himself from retorting her words. Retorting would make him look childish.

“Xiao Ting!” A well-dressed woman greets as she approaches them.

Shen Jia Qi.

When she notices Qiu Zheng Qing, she happily greets, “Director Qiu, you’re also here.”

Because he overstuffed his mouth, he couldn’t swallow everything in time. So he could only pathetically nods at her. Shen Jia Qi smiles and turns towards Yin Ting. “Xiao Ting, have you seen Will? He and his girlfriend is here.”

“I saw. I also said hi to them.”

“Back then he rejected you so bluntly, but now his girlfriend is completely like your type.”

Yin Ting flashes her a fake smile and then turns around. “I want to eat now.”

“What’s wrong?” Shen Jia Qi asks, still wanting to tease her. “Don’t you think so? Don’t keep on eating all the time, how can you court any guys if you’re fat.”

“You’re too fussy. Leaving to eat means I don’t want to bother with you. You must understand such in-depth meaning to my words,” Yin Ting replies.

“I can understand but I cannot accept.” Shen Jia Qi is still laughing, arm over Yin Ting’s shoulder. “Master Xu is also here. He didn’t bring a girlfriend. Do you want to give it another shot?”

Yin Ting rolls her eyes at her.

Shen Jia Qi squeezes Yin Ting’s cheeks. “Your expression is so funny.”

“Not funny.” Yin Ting slaps her hands away.

“In this entire place, there is at least a few guys that you have courted before. This situation is also very funny.”

“Not funny.” Yin Ting rolls her eyes again.

“I also don’t find it funny.” A man’s voice rings out. It is Qiu Zheng Qing. He can no longer restrain himself, Shen Jia Qi acting like this is really annoying. Yin Ting and Shen Jia Qi also looks at him with similar expressions of surprise. He puts down his plate solemnly, wipes his mouth with napkin, and then asks Yin Ting, “Do you want to dance?”

“Okay, okay.” While promising, Yin Ting picks up a few more food and then forces the plate onto Shen Jia Qi’s hands. “No need to thank me. You must finish everything, wasting food will be very embarrassing. You must be a little fat so you can chase guys easier.” She pulls a face at Shen Jia Qi and then pulls Qiu Zheng Qing onto the dance floor.

He turns around to look at Shen Jia Qi but she does not appear to be upset. Even though she is still staring at them, she is obediently eating the plate of food.

“You two are friends?” he asks, twirling Yin Ting around.

“Yeah. Even though her words are a little malicious but she is not a bad person. She just likes to rub salt in others’ wounds, it is during these times that she’s a little annoying.”

“Is that so?” If it is him, he would probably have fallen out with such a friend? Female friendships are truly an enigma to him.

“Thank you.”

“En.” He nods, accepting her thanks. He has helped her so he does deserve her thanks.

“But I forgot that you dance like a block of wood.” Does this mean that if she remembers then she would not have dance with him?

“…” Are all angels so frank in pointing out others’ weak points? Even though she just said that Shen Jia Qi likes to jab at others’ weaknesses, she is also the same. He does not have the mood to argue so he simply says, “Thank you for your comment.”

She laughs. “Let’s find another place to dance.” She twirls him around, dancing until they reach the side of the dance floor before pulling him into the terrace. “It’s okay now, there’s no one here. You don’t have to nervous anymore. Let me tell you, the more nervous you are, the more it will affect your dancing. Relax a little.”

Is he nervous? He has forgotten how much of a block of wood he resembles when he is dancing. He is just thinking of how to help Yin Ting out of the situation while leaving Shen Jia Qi some face. So he is not nervous about dancing.

“Come, come, let’s start over. I’ll teach you.” Yin Ting places his hand on her waist. She places her other hand on his palm. Then she asks, “Do you know what’s the number one trick to dancing?”

“What is it?” His dance instructor once told him something similar, he remembered it quite clearly. But now looking into her eyes, he no longer remembers.

“That is, don’t look down on yourself. If you don’t mind, you won’t be nervous anymore.”

“I have never looked down on myself.” What he said is the truth. The ones who looked down on him are the others. He has no need to look down on himself. Usually those who asked him to dance would never ask a second time. This is just right for him, so he is satisfied with his dancing skills.

Yin Ting’s lips curved into a smile, giving him a I-knew-you-would-say-this look. “But right now you are very nervous,” she says, exposing him. “Look at your arms, they are so stiff.” She pats the arm that is holding her waist. “Your palm is also very hot.” She lightly squeezes the palm that she is holding.

Therefore he is even more nervous. Her waist is very thin, her hand is also very small. He can also smell a faint perfume fragrance from her. He actually wants to hug her a little closer.

Trouble alert.

Yin Ting sees his expression. “Actually you don’t want to dance, right?”

He nods.

“Then let’s not dance.” Yin Ting takes a step back, hand leaving his palm. “Don’t do things that you don’t want to do. At least, on the topic of dancing, you can still do this. I didn’t know and even pull you here. I’m sorry.”

“No. I’m only…” His empty palm suddenly feels disappointing to him. “I have a very troublesome project to consider, so I’m a little out of it.”

“Oh.” She stares at him and then looks out at the garden. So if she leaves him to consider his project, would that be considered impolite?

“Gu Ying Jie said he’s going to find you a partner?” he asks.

“Yeah, he said many of his good friends here today and to tell him if I see anyone suitable. He will introduce us.”

“Is there?” he then asks.

This reminds her. “Do you mind if I go and observe a little more?” This way he can consider his project, she can go seek for her partner. They wouldn’t be troubling each other.

He nods, and watches as she runs inside.

The way she looks at him, the frank manner she treats him, she really… has no interest him at all. So this is really an impossible sale order. The strategic decision would be to renounce it and find a new target. He takes a deep breath. This is how simple it is, what is there to be worried about.

He regathers himself, and then returns to the ballroom.

He does not see Yin Ting anywhere. It is Shen Jia Qi who approaches him. “I didn’t expect Director Qiu to show up at such leisurely events.”

“It’s only right to congratulate Miss Qin and Master Gu,” he answers courteously.

Shen Jia Qi bursts into laughter. “You speak as if today is their wedding.”

“I’ll congratulate them again on their wedding day.”

Shen Jia Qi looks at him. “And if I invite Director Qiu to a private date, will you come?”

“This question is a little awkward,” he says. With a light smile, he asks, “Do you want to dance?”

Shen Jia Qi stares for a moment and laughs even louder. “Nope.” She has danced with him before, she knows his skills. Today all of the guests are her friends, she does not want to embarrass herself.

“How honest,” he praises. Therefore Xiao Ting made a mistake. He really does not look down on himself, he is in fact very satisfied with his dancing skills.

“Director Qiu’s method of rejecting people is quite original.”

“You flatter me.”

She laughs. “I’m going to look for Xiao Ting and ask how she deals with rejections.” Having said that, she leaves.

Qiu Zheng Qing frowns. Is she going to take advantage of this issue to tease Yin Ting again? This habit of hers is truly irritating. So he goes and looks for Yin Ting as well. Even though he has no fate with the angel but he is not willing to see her bullied.

He walks around the ballroom but there is no sight of Yin Ting. Only when he turns around does he sees Yin Ting dancing with another guy. They are very compatible, the guy can match her every step and movement with ease. He stares at the smile on her face. He likes her smile but he does not like that the guy is hugging her too close.

He really dislikes dancing.

Yin Ting twirls around on the dance floor but manages to see him. She smiles at him and he also returns that favour. He wants to leave now, leisurely events like this truly does not suit him. The moment he wants to bid his farewell to the hosts Qin Yu Fei and Gu Ying Jie, the dance music stops. Yin Ting hurries over to him. “Great Director Qiu.”

Thanks to dancing, her cheeks are tinted pink. She looks as cute as apples. Some of her fringe has fallen, making her seem even more energetic. “En,” he acknowledges her. His heartbeat is a little erratic but he tries to manage it. He suppresses the urge to push aside her fringe.

“When are you leaving?” she asks.

“Why?” He completely throws away his intention to leave.

“I can only stay here for another half an hour. I already promised my dad to go home early but they still want to play around longer. I want to ask you when are you leaving?”

“I can send you home,” he readily promises. His heart would not feel at ease allowing her to take a taxi home dressed like this. Yin Ting’s face reveal a brilliant smile. “Thank you.” Her smile is very sweet, even her voice is sweet. So sweet that it makes him hesitates about the project again. “Then when you want to leave, tell me. I’ll leave with you,” she says.

“I’ll just wait for you.” Waiting for her is only right as a gentleman.

“Deal.” Once she finishes saying that, she runs for the dance floor again.

A few minutes later, he thoroughly regrets his decision. He should not have said he would wait for her, what the heck is courtesy. He should have said he wants to leave immediately, so she should pack up and leave with him. The consequences of pretending to be generous is that he is forced to watch Yin Ting dance with one guy after another, song after song.

The people waiting to dance with her are endless. He can understand why, because Yin Ting is very cute and she looks lovely dancing. The sound of her voice is pleasant, the things she talks about is very interesting. The fact that everyone likes her, he can understand.

He also likes her.

So his heart is now wrestling with jealousy.

Regarding this project, he is seriously debating about it.