We Barely Know Each Other, but I'm Living with a Stone-Faced Mechanic! - Chapter 20

Steamed milk custard with honey and osmanthus?

Tao Ying’s gaze lowered.

Inside an understated white porcelain cup rested a smooth, tender custard. Dried osmanthus and honey blended into one golden shade across its milky surface.

She had thought he was joking. He had actually made it.

“Stop staring.” Qin Zheng pushed the tray closer. “Eat.”

“Why did you make this for me?” Tao Ying looked up. “Qin Zheng, don’t you think you’re too good to me?”

The smile at his lips stiffened.

If he revealed even a hint of his feelings now, the relationship they had worked so hard to build would collapse overnight.

During their time together, Qin Zheng had discovered a stubborn streak deep inside her. For some reason, she had avoided him like the plague at first.

It had taken several acts of help for her to lower her guard. Their relationship had now advanced a great deal, but she felt nothing beyond gratitude.

“What are you imagining? Everyone got some.” Qin Zheng smiled. “Go downstairs and see if you don’t believe me. Xiao Fang is probably almost finished.”

“…Oh. All right.” Tao Ying paused, then felt ashamed. He had helped her so much, yet she still suspected him.

She took the spoon and tasted it. Silky and rich, with the light sweetness of honey, the custard dissolved on her tongue, leaving the fragrance of osmanthus behind.

“It’s delicious,” she praised freely. “I shared some of the cookies with Ms. Qu. She said you should open a dessert shop.”

Qin Zheng laughed. “It’s only a hobby. I make things when I have time.”

Tao Ying looked around. The terrace carried the deep marks of everyday life.

Running a small shop of his own and indulging his hobbies when free—Qin Zheng knew how to enjoy himself.

“Did Mr. Zhou send you the agent’s number?” Qin Zheng glanced at her.

“Mm. I’m viewing places tomorrow.” An almost imperceptible frown crossed her face.

“What is it?” He caught the tiny shift. “You’ve set a time, so why are you still troubled?”

“I ran into plenty of rental traps the last time I searched. A colleague came with me then, but she quit to become a content creator.”

“I’ll go with you,” Qin Zheng said at once. “I can look for myself while we’re there.”

“You’re renting too? This place is actually quite nice.”

“You like it here?”

Tao Ying nodded. “It’s not bad.”

Qin Zheng grew thoughtful.

Tao Ying didn’t want to impose for long. She decided that if she couldn’t find a suitable apartment within a week, she would stay at a hotel.

So she canceled her outing with Shu Ran on the last day of the holiday and went apartment hunting instead.

She hadn’t told Shu Ran about Jinhua Gardens. Even now, Qin Zheng’s analysis sometimes returned to her mind and raised goose bumps she couldn’t control. Shu Ran was timid, and Tao Ying didn’t want to frighten her.

Eager to find somewhere quickly, Tao Ying accepted Qin Zheng’s company. Whether she owed him one favor or a hundred, she was already in his debt. Besides, he surely wanted her to move out soon too.

They left early the next morning.

The first apartment resembled the one at Jinhua Gardens and was also on the third floor. But the tiny kitchen had no window and felt oppressive. Tao Ying rejected it.

The second was decent, with a small balcony, ready to move into, and reasonably priced.

Qin Zheng leaned against the balcony railing and pointed below. “That’s a food street. It’ll be noisier than my shop. If you live here, you might as well pay me the rent. I’ll give you a room and throw in an enormous terrace.”

Tao Ying stared at him.

He had a point.

The moment they entered the third apartment, Tao Ying knew it wouldn’t work. The long, narrow layout compressed the space. Living there would be uncomfortable.

After a full day, not one place felt right.

Tao Ying bent to rub her legs, then said goodbye to the agent. She planned to view more after work tomorrow.

“Qin Zheng.” She stopped the man walking half a step ahead. “Let’s have dinner. My treat.”

“Sure.” Qin Zheng smiled. Tao Ying’s determination to repay every favor—and the way she used his name—was adorable. “Let’s eat something good, Ms. Tao.”

Tao Ying laughed. “All right. What do you want?”

She was staying at his shop, and he had accompanied her all day. A good meal was only right.

“Cantonese.”

Tao Ying knew a place that averaged five hundred yuan per person and offered excellent service. She told him about it immediately.

“Restaurants at that price in Lincheng usually require advance reservations,” Qin Zheng said. “And it’s a holiday.”

Tao Ying paused. She had already promised to treat him.

After thinking, she took out her phone. “Wait a moment. I’ll make a call.”

“All right.”

Qin Zheng leaned against the car door with one leg bent and watched her.

Tao Ying called Tao Xi for help, surprising and delighting her sister.

“So all my networking wasn’t for nothing. Getting you to ask for something is nearly impossible.”

“Sis.” Tao Ying was embarrassed.

“How many people?”

“Two.”

“Fine. I’ll text you the address.”

“Thank you.”

“Look at you. What’s there to thank me for?”

Tao Ying ended the call and returned to Qin Zheng. “Let’s get in.”

“Who did you call?” He was curious.

“My sister. She can get a table.”

Qin Zheng opened the passenger door for her.

Tao Xi sent the address moments later, followed by a note: *Put it on my account, or it’ll cost half your monthly salary.*

Tao Ying was speechless.

With base salary, performance and class-hour pay, housing fund, and other allowances, she earned over ten thousand a month.

“Nanyan Pavilion…” Tao Ying murmured and gave Qin Zheng the address.

Surprise flashed through his eyes. Nanyan Pavilion was a private dining club serving only established clients.

The average bill wasn’t three or five hundred per person. It was three or five thousand.

Tao Ying’s sister… Qin Zheng considered the implications.

He remembered Tao Ying’s blind date with Pei Jinnian. The Pei family wasn’t one ordinary people could easily approach.

Yet Tao Ying lived in a shabby old complex, worked a nine-to-five job for ten thousand a month, paid off a car loan, and couldn’t even rent exactly where she wanted.

Inside the private restaurant, the service was attentive in every detail and every dish exceptional.

Qin Zheng tested the waters. “Your sister is impressive. I hear this place only serves regulars.”

Tao Ying nodded. “She’s married. Her husband’s family runs a small business, and they’re doing all right.”

He recognized the understatement. Taking out his phone, he messaged Pei Jinnian: *Who introduced you to Tao Ying?*

Pei Jinnian replied instantly: *One of the Mo family’s aunts. She’s a close friend of my mother.*

The Mo family? In a flash, Qin Zheng thought of someone—Mo Jingchuan, heir to Mingyu Group and its prince in everything but name.

What the circle talked about most, however, was Mo Jingchuan’s early marriage. Supposedly, his wife had been his first love.

Could Tao Ying’s sister be married to him?

Qin Zheng rolled his eyes in private. Mo Jingchuan was several years older, and Qin Zheng’s father had used him as an example throughout Qin Zheng’s childhood.

He had been sick to death of the man. He hadn’t expected another connection between them.

They left after dinner, full and satisfied.

It was the first time Tao Ying had eaten without paying, and she felt as though she had skipped out on the bill.

After viewing apartments all day, she was exhausted. They returned to the shop in silence. Tao Ying told Qin Zheng she was going to rest, showered, and went to bed.

She generally slept well. After what happened at Jinhua Gardens, the traffic outside now made her sleep even more deeply and securely.

Qin Zheng cooked again the next morning, this time an elaborate Chinese breakfast: steamed buns filled with pork and scallions, millet congee with Chinese yam, chilled crisp bamboo shoots, and soy-braised quail eggs.

Tao Ying admired him enormously, praising him between bites.

One couldn’t tell from her appearance. Most people thought she was so aloof she subsisted on dew, but she met Shu Ran every week largely for the food.

After breakfast, she hurriedly washed the dishes, picked up her bag and laptop, and slipped out the back before circling to the neighborhood’s east gate and heading to the university.

Over the next week, every day except Tuesday found her either viewing apartments or traveling between them.

Whenever she considered renting one, Qin Zheng found some flaw serious enough to make her walk away.

Tao Ying was physically and mentally drained. She had even lost her appetite.

On a perfect Friday night, she should have been relaxing at home with a movie. Instead, she lifted one weary leg to climb into the passenger seat.

Someone caught her wrist and pulled. Tao Ying stumbled with the force and landed directly in front of Qin Zheng.

“What?” she asked weakly.

They had become much more familiar lately. Her tone no longer held its former distance.

Qin Zheng gave a quiet laugh. “Ms. Tao, how about helping me with the rent?”