Chapter 502 - 501: What-if: Did the Big Boss Vie for Favor Today? 70

Chapter 502: Chapter 501: What-if: Did the Big Boss Vie for Favor Today? 70

"No, it’s no trouble at all."

Hearing this, Jiang Xia only grew happier.

’Just as I thought,’ he mused. ’Shi Lan is single.’

He carefully put on the shoe covers and stepped inside.

When Shi Lan first adopted Ping’an, he was a bit timid. But after a while, and with frequent visits to the cat café to meet different people, he had become much bolder.

Now, seeing a new guest in the house, he trotted over to Jiang Xia like a happy little host, wanting to rub against him affectionately.

Shi Lan was in the kitchen getting a bowl and chopsticks for Jiang Xia. When she turned and came out, the sight startled her. She raised her voice and called out, "Ping’an, get away from him! Don’t go near him."

Hearing his name, Ping’an blinked in confusion. He glanced back and forth between Jiang Xia and Shi Lan before decisively choosing his owner, proceeding to rub all over her instead.

To prevent any mishaps, Shi Lan decided to lock him in the pet room first. Then she washed her hands again before grabbing the bowl and chopsticks.

Jiang Xia blankly followed suit, washing his hands as well, then asked her in confusion, "Miss Shi, why did you lock up the cat?"

Ping’an was rarely locked up by Shi Lan, and he was now meowing from the pet room. Shi Lan looked at Jiang Xia, speechless, and blurted out instinctively, "Have you forgotten? You’re allergic to animal fur..."

The moment the words left her mouth, she froze. It was too late to cover her mouth.

’It all came back to that time when Jiang Xia was sent to the hospital because of me—back when I was Onyx. It had been terrifying. I was genuinely afraid I’d killed him. Thankfully, it was just a false alarm.’

’But I think I’ve revealed too much.’

Sure enough, even someone as dense as Jiang Xia couldn’t help but ask, "Miss Shi, how do you know I’m allergic to animal fur?"

Shi Lan laughed awkwardly and quickly came up with an excuse. "Oh, sorry, I wasn’t sure. I just wanted to ask first. A friend of mine had the same issue once. They didn’t tell their host about their allergy and ended up in the hospital. It’s made me a little more cautious whenever I see Ping’an get close to someone."

"Oh, I see."

Jiang Xia nodded. Although he found her explanation a bit strange, he didn’t think too much of it at the moment.

Shi Lan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. ’Thank goodness it’s Jiang Xia and not He Hanshi.’

"Let’s eat."

She quickly changed the subject. The two of them returned to the dining table and began to eat.

Jiang Xia was never a picky eater. Shi Lan had originally thought this meal would last for two servings—she could eat the leftovers for dinner—but Jiang Xia finished everything.

She wasn’t upset about it, though. ’If you invite someone over to eat, you shouldn’t be stingy about how much they have.’ On the contrary, she was happy to see her guest enjoy her cooking so much.

After finishing, Jiang Xia let out a contented burp. Noticing Shi Lan’s gaze, he blushed, immediately sucking in his stomach to hide how full he was. Belatedly mortified, he stammered, "Actually, Miss Shi, please don’t mind me. I-I’m not usually like this. It’s just... your cooking is too good..."

Shi Lan could testify that he was, in fact, *always* like this. He ate like a storm, leaving his plate sparkling clean every time.

Jiang Xia still wanted to maintain some semblance of a good image in front of his crush, but he was out of luck. Having been his cat, Shi Lan had long since figured out his personality.

Suppressing a laugh, she played along. "Mhm, it’s okay. I’m glad you finished everything."

Hearing this, Jiang Xia peeked up at her expression. After confirming that she wasn’t annoyed or displeased, he breathed a sigh of relief and eagerly began clearing the plates. "Miss Shi, I’ll help you with the dishes."

Young Master Jiang had never done such a thing, but that didn’t mean he’d never seen it done.

Wang Xiaotao, for example, did it all the time. Whenever he ate their food, he would diligently help them wash the dishes.

But he was a guest, so of course Shi Lan wouldn’t let him do the dishes. Besides, she had carefully selected all her plates and bowls herself. She was worried that Jiang Xia, being a pampered young master, would accidentally break one.

And yet, the more she worried, the more likely it was to happen. As Jiang Xia was stacking the dishes, the top plate slipped right off the edge of the table. It shattered into pieces with a shrill CRASH. The noise was so jarring that even Ping’an, in the pet room, fell silent.

Jiang Xia froze, his eyes wide. A mix of anxiety and the fear of being scorned made his eyes well up. He didn’t dare look up at Shi Lan’s face.

But Shi Lan just pulled him away anxiously, her eyes darting to his legs with concern. "Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt, did you?"

She didn’t blame him for trying to help. A broken bowl was no big deal.

Hearing her concern, Jiang Xia’s eyes grew even more moist. He looked at her with a crestfallen and guilty expression, sniffling. "I’m sorry. I was clumsy and broke your bowl. I’ll pay you back for it."

Shi Lan hadn’t expected him to get teary-eyed over something so minor. She sighed, finding it both amusing and exasperating. "Come on, it’s just a bowl. As long as you’re not hurt, it’s fine."

He was wearing shorts for the summer. Shi Lan glanced down and saw no scratches or cuts.

Jiang Xia shook his head. "I’m not hurt. You’re so nice, Lanlan."

Shi Lan raised an eyebrow. "Not ’Miss Shi’ anymore?"

Jiang Xia blushed. "I could, but I like your name better."

Shi Lan decided to stop teasing him, worried she would give him the wrong idea. While sweeping up the broken pieces, she said, "Don’t get the wrong idea. I only invited you over because I heard you had tickets for Yan Huoshui. My best friend is a huge fan, and I guess I’m half a fan myself. We both really wanted to go to his concert, but we couldn’t get tickets."

"Thank you for getting them for me. I’ll pay you three times their face value."

Tickets were incredibly hard to get these days, and scalper prices were through the roof. At three times the price, Shi Lan was probably still getting a bargain.

Of course, Jiang Xia didn’t expect Shi Lan to fall for him that quickly. If she were that easy to win over, she wouldn’t still be single.

When it came to pursuing the goddess of his dreams, he had all the patience in the world.

Jiang Xia didn’t look too disappointed; in fact, he seemed more happy than anything. The only downside was that he hadn’t made a great impression today, having broken one of her bowls.

So, once he saw she had finished cleaning up, he felt it was best not to overstay his welcome. He gave her the tickets and left quickly. Shi Lan didn’t even have a chance to transfer him the money. Later, when she saw the seat locations, she realized they were insider tickets and sent him 10,000 yuan via WeChat.

The ticket prices for Yan Huoshui’s concert weren’t that expensive. The best front-row seats were 1,666 yuan, and the cheapest were 366. For a star of his caliber, that was a steal.

Shi Lan had calculated three times the price for two tickets at the 1,666 yuan rate.

Jiang Xia didn’t accept the money. He sent her a sincere message: [Miss Shi, please don’t overthink it. I like you, and I want to pursue you. This is just a simple show of my sincerity. I can’t just rely on words.]

[I hope you understand, and I hope you don’t feel burdened by it. Everything I do to pursue you is of my own free will. Please just accept it with a clear conscience, Miss Shi.]

After that, he sent a few cute cat sticker memes. Mixed in among them was one of Onyx.

Shi Lan was about to say something, but her attention was immediately diverted when she saw Onyx’s familiar eye-roll.

’That jerk! When did Jiang Xia sneak a picture of me rolling my eyes? Onyx was already ugly enough, but rolling his eyes just makes him look creepy. I can’t even look at it.’

Jiang Xia also realized he’d sent the wrong sticker. He immediately recalled it, afraid Shi Lan would get the wrong idea. [Miss Shi, I accidentally sent the wrong one just now. That’s my cat.]