Chapter 382 - 237: Without You, What’s the Meaning of This Bloom? (2)

’But without you, what meaning does this bloom hold...’

A long while later...

Shen Qingqiu’s sobs gradually subsided.

Lin Jiang handed her another tissue.

"President Lin, I’m sorry you had to see me like this."

"It’s only human. If it were me, I’d probably be crying even harder than you. Besides, letting it all out helps."

Lin Jiang drove Shen Qingqiu back home.

"I already told the two of them you’ll be busy this week. I’ve postponed their lessons for a week, so you don’t have to worry about tutoring them right away."

[You have gained favor with NPC Shen Qingqiu. Affinity +10]

[Affinity: 30]

[Reward: 1,000,000 in dedicated NPC development funds. Deposited to your account.]

"I’m fine. Their fundamentals are weak, so we can’t afford to waste too much time."

"Just relax. Think of it as a vacation for yourself. Get some proper rest."

Shen Qingqiu froze. The words "get some proper rest" struck a chord deep in her heart.

"Thank you for your help. I don’t think I could have handled all this on my own."

"You’re welcome."

"Let me take you out for a meal."

"Do you have the appetite for it?"

Shen Qingqiu gave a wan smile, not answering directly.

"There’s no rush. Tongtong is your student, so we’ll have plenty of opportunities to meet. We can make plans another time."

"Okay. And about the money... I’ll pay you back as soon as I can."

Shen Qingqiu got out of the car. She watched Lin Jiang and gave him a wave.

Lin Jiang drove off and took a deep breath. ’After all the grief of life and death, life must go on!’

...

The next few days passed in a flurry of activity for Lin Jiang.

The barbecue restaurant finally had its grand opening.

That morning, a red carpet was rolled out in front of the restaurant, flanked by congratulatory flower baskets.

The women in his life had also sent gifts, adding to the festive atmosphere.

[New Map Unlocked: Ning’an District]

At 9:58 AM, the barbecue restaurant officially opened, and a new notification appeared in Lin Jiang’s mind.

The new map had expanded to the entire Ning’an District, a massive area.

Unlike the noodle shop, the barbecue restaurant didn’t attract many customers right after opening.

By noon, however, a crowd had started to form.

The customers who came in were astonished when they saw the quality of the meat.

"Are you sure this plate of meat is only 88? Any other place would dare to charge me 158 for this."

"You must be using this high-quality beef just to boost sales for the grand opening, right?"

"If you can always maintain this quality, I’m never going anywhere else for barbecue. I’ll only come here."

"You can rest assured, sir. The quality of our meat will always be consistent, and we’ll only strive to make it better. We won’t let you down."

With the new restaurant just opened, Li Yuanyuan had been transferred over. She skillfully handled the various customers with ease.

That afternoon, Li Yueting and Xu Yingjun arrived as well.

To Lin Jiang’s surprise, they weren’t alone—Shen Qingqiu was with them.

From the look of her, she seemed to have emerged from the shadow of her grief. You could even see a hint of a smile on her face.

"Come on in, have a seat," Lin Jiang said, welcoming them inside.

"Bro, you’re being too formal. You don’t need to act like that with your own sister."

"The kitchen’s swamped. Go help out."

Li Yueting’s face scrunched up in a mock glare.

"If you say that again, I’m gonna start biting people."

"I asked them to have lunch with me to plan their lesson schedule," Shen Qingqiu explained. "When they told me your restaurant was opening today, I decided to tag along."

Shen Qingqiu took a red envelope from her bag. "This was all rather sudden, so I didn’t have time to prepare a proper gift. I wish you great success with your business."

Lin Jiang accepted the envelope with a smile and took a single bill from inside.

"It’s the thought that counts. You can take the rest back."

Li Yueting chimed in to smooth things over.

"Teacher Shen, don’t be so polite with my brother. He’s a capitalist now. Today, we’re going to eat till we burst!"

"Go on, have a seat. You can scan the code on the table to order whatever you like."

’Shen Qingqiu knew that the money in her red envelope was nothing to Lin Jiang. Besides, she already owed him so much; it was pointless to argue about it.’

With the three of them there, Lin Jiang wasn’t in a rush to leave. He stayed to chat and ended up having a bite with them, taking care of his own lunch in the process.

After the meal, Lin Jiang drove the three of them to the faculty apartments.

Shen Qingqiu usually tutored the two girls either at their rented apartment or at her own home.

Her place was more convenient, as she had plenty of teaching materials readily available.

Before getting out, Xu Yingjun seemed reluctant to leave, as if she wanted Lin Jiang to give her some "private tutoring" of her own.

"Teacher Shen, aren’t you coming back with us?" Li Yueting asked.

"You two head back to the dorm and study. I’m going to the bookstore to pick up a few books, and I’ll meet you there later."

"We can go with you."

"Don’t waste your time. You should focus all your energy on studying."

"Okay, we get it."

After Li Yueting and Xu Yingjun left, Lin Jiang, still in the driver’s seat, gestured with his chin toward Shen Qingqiu.

"Come on, I’ll drive you to the bookstore."

"Okay."

Shen Qingqiu got in the car. "This is for you," she said.

"What is it?"

"I wrote you an IOU. We need to keep things clear. I can’t be ambiguous about this."

"That’s not necessary. It’s not a huge deal, no need to be so serious."

"When it comes to money, we have to be."

As she spoke, Shen Qingqiu took a pen from her bag.

"I’ve already signed it. All you have to do is add your signature."

"Fine."

Lin Jiang didn’t argue over the small detail. He signed his name and placed the IOU in the center console.

"The hospital refunded the deposit, so I can pay you back a portion of it now."

"I’m in no rush. You can hold onto it for now."

"My salary is more than enough to cover my living expenses, so you don’t have to worry about that."

’Shen Qingqiu works at Jiaoda, and with her stellar resume, her salary is definitely not low. I don’t have to worry about her finances.’

"Just hold onto it for now and save it up. Pay me back when you have the full 300,000. Otherwise, we’ll have to draw up a new IOU."

"Okay, that works too."

Lin Jiang drove to the bookstore.

While Shen Qingqiu went to pick out her books, Lin Jiang sat down in the bookstore’s cafe and ordered two coffees.

As if she already knew what she was looking for, Shen Qingqiu was quick. Before long, she returned with a stack of more than a dozen books and sat down across from Lin Jiang.

"Perfect timing. The coffee is still nice and cool."

"Thank you."

Without any fuss, Shen Qingqiu picked up the coffee and took a sip.

"I remember last time we ran into each other at the bookstore, you picked out a set of English materials for Yingjun for her graduate school entrance exams. You even aced one of the practice tests. Your English seems to be quite good."

"What if I told you I secretly looked at the answer key? Would you believe me?"

"But the plastic wrap on the answer key was still intact."

Shen Qingqiu studied Lin Jiang. "There’s no need to be modest. That’s a real skill you have there."

"To receive praise from Teacher Shen is my greatest honor."

"I’m honored that you trust me enough to teach them."

RING RING RING—

Just then, Shen Qingqiu’s phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Someone’s looking for me?"

Lin Jiang saw Shen Qingqiu’s brow furrow and her expression darken.

"Alright, I’m on my way back now."

After hanging up, Shen Qingqiu gathered her books and looked at Lin Jiang. "We should head back."

"Okay."

After paying for the books, they returned to the car.

"Where to now?"

"My place."

When they drove back to the faculty apartments and had just gotten out of the car, they saw a dark-complexioned, middle-aged man walk out of the security guard’s booth.

Shen Qingqiu got out of the car, her expression unreadable.

"What are you doing here?!"