I Really Didn’t Want to Increase My Favorability!

Chapter 273

Back at home, his parents had gone out for something, so he casually grabbed a piece of ham and some bread for dinner. Then he opened the fridge and saw five boxes of snow princess cakes—one each for Su Qingwan, Qin Yunhe, Zhu Zhaoxue, Bai Xiaoxiao, and Jiang Zimeng.

However, aside from Jiang Zimeng and Bai Xiaoxiao, whose homes were relatively close by, the others lived at a bit of a distance. Leaving Qin Yunhe’s place, he could take the main road to Zhu’s pastry shop, then turn off toward Bai Xiaoxiao and Jiang Zimeng’s neighborhoods. Su Qingwan’s house was closer to his, so he could visit her last. Besides, Su Qingwan had been urging him to come over, and he wanted to reassure her parents that they hadn’t broken up. That day, they’d just had a minor argument but made up quickly.

After deciding on the route, he put on a thicker coat and stepped out. As soon as he left, Xu Lin glanced up at the overcast sky and opened his phone to check the weather.

“Will it snow? The first snow of the year…”

Xu Lin took the path leading away from home. The air grew increasingly chilly, and he realized he probably should have brought a mask.

Hailing a cab, Xu Lin headed to Qin Yunhe’s place first. Originally, he would’ve gone there last, spending the night chatting endlessly with Miss Qin. But he still had videos to edit and novels to write, so he figured he needed to adjust his work-life balance a bit once the store opened.

When he arrived outside Qin Yunhe’s apartment complex, he spotted a small hotpot restaurant nearby and suddenly felt he could eat a bit more.

Inside, Qin Yunhe stared at her fridge, resigned to the fact that she’d be ordering takeout again tonight.

“So pitiful… working overtime every day, coming home without even a warm meal or tea waiting for me.”

“Maybe I should call Xu Lin? But he’s probably busy tonight too. Would it really be okay to bother him?” She hesitated, unsure of what to do.

And then there was Su Qingwan, who’d said she was too tired from half a day of driving to come over for dinner.

“Forget it. Instant noodles it is. I’ve still got that spicy fire noodle packet—just one bite, then I’ll shower and sleep.”

Just as Qin Yunhe was about to tear open the noodle packaging, someone knocked on the door. She hurried over.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me.”

“Xu Lin?!” Upon hearing Xu Lin’s voice, Qin Yunhe’s eyes instantly lit up, her exhaustion melting away. But the very next second, she quickly schooled her expression. She couldn’t let him see how happy she was, as if she’d been hoping he’d come all along.

Feigning a cold expression, she opened the door and saw Xu Lin standing there with a bag in his hand.

“What are you doing here?”

“Brought you dinner. You haven’t eaten yet, right?”

“I have.”

“Huh? Well, I guess I brought it for nothing.” Xu Lin shrugged, and two guys in bright red uniforms behind him stopped in their tracks.

Qin Yunhe looked outside and saw one of them holding a copper pot, the other a large box, plus a bag of vegetables.

“What’s all this?”

“I saw a hotpot restaurant downstairs. It’s pretty cold tonight, and I didn’t want to make you come down, so I had them bring it up instead.”

“Well, come in then.”

“I thought you said you ate already?”

“I didn’t. You two, come on in.”

Qin Yunhe shot Xu Lin a glare but then turned her head and couldn’t help smiling.

A few minutes later, the two delivery guys had set everything up—the stove, the pot, and the ingredients—before packing up to leave.

“We’ll head out now.”

“Alright, thank you for your hard work.”

Xu Lin pulled out 400 yuan and handed it over. The delivery guys took it and prepared to give him change.

“No need. This stuff’s heavy, and bringing it up here wasn’t easy. Just take the 30 or 40 yuan as a tip.”

“We can’t accept that.”

“It’s fine. Go on, don’t interrupt our dinner now.”

“Well then, enjoy your meal. You can return the pot whenever you’re done, no rush.”

“Thanks a lot.”

As the two delivery guys left, Qin Yunhe stared at the bubbling tomato broth.

“Why tomato soup?”

“You’re not supposed to eat anything spicy or cold these days.”

“But I don’t like tomato soup… Hotpot has to be spicy.”

The confident air around Qin Yunhe disappeared as her face drooped, and she slumped onto the sofa.

“Just bear with it for now. I’ll take you out for spicy hotpot later.”

“Fine. Speaking of which, why are you sitting so far away? Come over here.”

“Alright.”

Xu Lin obediently scooted over to sit beside her, then began putting the meat into the pot.

Without warning, Qin Yunhe leaned over and bit his wrist. He instinctively wanted to pull away but ultimately didn’t move, letting her bite him lightly. She didn’t bite hard, just nibbled a little before letting go and then tilted her head to rest it on his lap.

“What’s up with you? Acting like a kid, being all clingy with me?”

“Who’s being clingy? I’m just a bit tired. Something came up at work recently.”

“A case?”

“Yeah, but it’s classified. I can’t tell you.”

“Hmm.”

“‘Hmm’ what? Aren’t you going to cheer me on?”

“Haha, it’s not all on you. A case needs teamwork. Don’t start thinking you can solve it all by yourself. Are you falling back into that mindset again?”

Hearing this, Qin Yunhe fell silent. Xu Lin had hit the mark. Ever since her promotion, she’d been feeling a little impatient. Many people thought she was too young to handle the criminal investigation unit, and she was desperate to prove them wrong… But she couldn’t rush it. She realized she had been a bit too restless.

After all, ambition is a good thing, but she needed to keep a level head.

“Still, it’s great to be ambitious. If you ever run into trouble—say, you need muscle—just call me.”

“Alright. Next time, I’ll get you registered as an assistant.”

“The meat’s ready. Eat up.”

“Feed me.”

“Fine.”

Xu Lin picked up a piece of meat, dipped it lightly in sesame sauce, and brought it to her. Qin Yunhe opened her mouth, and with a flick of her tongue, she took the meat, leaving Xu Lin momentarily frozen.

“Qin Yunhe, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

“Nope. I want more.”

“Get it yourself.” Xu Lin fished out more meat, put it in her bowl, then reached into a bag and pulled out a box.

“This is for you.”

“What’s that?”

“Snow princess cake.”

“What? You made it?”

“Yeah.”

“I knew it. I saw your celebrity post about it earlier today, saying it was made by a family member…”

“Damn, why is everyone following her?”

“I’m not. My colleague told me about it. I don’t even have Weibo installed. Apparently, it’s trending.”

“This made it to the trending list…”

But then again, stranger things have gone viral. Xu Lin figured getting on the hot search for food wasn’t all that shocking anymore.

“What else is in your bag?”

“A few more boxes. I’m handing them out to everyone.”

“Hmm.”

As Xu Lin spoke, Qin Yunhe glanced sneakily into the bag and noticed her box had four pieces, while the others only had two.

“Xu Lin, this isn’t right.”

“What’s wrong?” Xu Lin thought she was upset he hadn’t made a box just for her.

“Why’d you give me so many?”

“Because you like them.”

“But everyone else got two, and I got four. That’s not fair.”

“What’s unfair about it? If not making a special batch for you is a problem, that’s on me.”

“Well, next time, make a batch just for me.”

“Alright. You can post it on Weibo too. If I post, no one will see it anyway.”

“Have Chu Qingchan repost it for you. Give it a like while you’re at it.”

“Please, don’t drag me into a direct showdown with a celebrity who has 40 million followers.”

“Wait, so you’re carrying all these boxes to hand them out tonight?”

“Yeah. But since you probably hadn’t eaten, I came here first.”

“Thanks. Now hurry up and go.”

“Why are you kicking me out already?”

“There are so many stops to make, and some people might want to rest.”

“True, but at least let me have dinner with you first. Let’s eat, let’s eat.”

“Keep feeding me. I don’t feel like using my hands.”

“Alright.”

“Wait! Why are you feeding me with your mouth?!”

“Your chopsticks are too hard to use,” Xu Lin replied, looking perfectly innocent.

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