Chapter 190: Date with Liu Yang (Part 1)
Dating.
Once, it was a special event where a man and a woman had to evaluate each other and understand if they were suitable partners.
In the modern world, dating plays a more informal role, but it is still considered something that should be between close people or those who want to become closer.
Xie Qing looked at Liu Yan with a calm expression.
“Lady Liu, I told you, this is just an ordinary walk. Although I called it a date, you know that there is no such relationship between us,” explained Xie Qing, seeing her annoyance and… tension?
“Then why did you call it a date, you brat?” Liu Yan grumbled unhappily.
“I couldn’t find a more appropriate name.”
“…”
Liu Yan twisted her lips. For her, a woman of the old school who was conservative about relationships, such an invitation was maximally uncomfortable.
Although by agreeing to this little walk she was able to get 10% of the profits, there was something wrong with this date.
“I only agreed because you offered me 10%!” said Liu Yan, returning to her usual smiling state. She approached Xie Qing and gently pinched him, saying in a low voice: “But Xu Mei must not find out. Got it?”
“Oh, you want to keep this between us? It’s even exciting that we have a shared secret…”
“Why do I feel like you’re steering the conversation in a strange direction?”
“You feel like it…” Xie Qing replied nonchalantly, faintly smiling.
Liu Yan watched his expression out of the corner of her eye and shook her head.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re hard to talk to?”
“No, you’re the first.”
“…that sounds strange”
“Hehe… Maybe…”
The woman sighed heavily. Did she ever imagine that even in her life there would be such an awkward moment?
Even if Xie Qing didn’t call it a date, she was still sure that it was one.
“Do he like me? It’s strange to invite a girl on a date who you don’t care about…” she thought.
Such thoughts and worries… were charming, considering how she fiercely resisted it.
Xie Qing, meanwhile, found a moment to admire her beauty.
Silver hair tied into a neat braid and bright, golden eyes gazed at the luxurious buildings.
Her lips, so tenderly cherry-colored, possessed incredible attraction, beckoning to them as if asking for a kiss.
Liu Yan’s usual strict hanfu was replaced with a light summer dress, which hardly revealed any skin, but looked very cute and beautiful.
Together with her youthful appearance, one would never guess that Liu Yan was older than their most distant ancestor.
Xie Qing, to be honest, did this out of whimsy. Sacrificing 10% of the income was painful, but he wanted to give a face to his Master’s friend.
And the date was just a way to have fun. Although he tried to restrain himself, his character was free-spirited and he loved spending time with beauties the most.
“Lady Liu Yan, do you like cakes?” Xie Qing asked casually as they walked through the central square.
“Cakes? Well, I rarely eat them because I don’t particularly like sweets… but occasionally I do have them with tea,” she replied.
Remembering Lu Yin, a gentle, caring smile appeared on her face, like a mother’s.
Even Xie Qing was charmed by her for a second. But he quickly came to his senses.
“You care a lot about Lu Yin, Miss Liu Yan,” said Xie Qing, faintly smiling.
“Of course. Besides talent, she is very polite and caring. And in her childhood, she called me ‘Sister Liu’…”
As she talked about this, Liu Yan had a happy and cheerful smile on her face that dazzled everyone around them.
Xie Qing noticed that they were getting a lot of attention even because they were wearing special bracelets.
The young man faintly smiled and led her to a pastry shop. Here, not only did they bake good cakes, but they also served special tea.
“Lady Liu Yan…”
“Miss,” Liu Yan said with unusual firmness in her voice, and seeing Xie Qing’s confusion, she gently smiled: “I’m not that old… and be simpler, since we’re on a ‘date’…”
“Oh…”
Xie Qing was taken aback but still nodded.
“Not that old? With that logic, I should still be sucking on a milk…” Xie Qing thought but did not voice it out loud.
While he was lost in thought, the usually calm Liu Yan surprisingly quickly made an order.
Xie Qing didn’t particularly like sweets, so he limited himself to tea and a pastry with bitter chocolate and blackberry filling.
“Thank you for your order!” the waitress said slightly excitedly and rushed inside.
“Well…”
Liu Yan sighed. She looked at the carefree Xie Qing, who was sitting and looking at her.
“Do I have something on my face?” Liu Yan raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“No. I just see that you’re more relaxed than usual,” he honestly answered, being as straightforward as a railroad track.
“Hm?”
When it was pointed out, Liu Yan felt a slight shame. After all, with her age, she always tried to show her serious side and even in the presence of family, she behaved like an older sister.
“I can’t believe I let myself relax in front of this sleepyhead…” Liu Yan thought with shame.
For some reason, she felt a sense of calmness around this young man, as if all problems disappeared at once.
And the most amazing thing was that this feeling was shared not only by Liu Yan but also by other women.
Apart from his natural beauty, he had a confident aura, as if nothing in this world could shake him.
…although, usually he behaved carefreely and this aura was almost unnoticeable.
“But I’m surprised,” Liu Yan suddenly said.
Xie Qing blinked, noticing the presence of chatter around them that isolated their conversation.
“Surprised by what?” he asked, sipping his tea.
“This recipe… I’ve had enough time to study it, but I still can’t understand its full depth,” Liu Yan honestly replied, looking a little disappointed: “I must admit, this is the second time I’ve found it so difficult.”
“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. The pill has an extremely complex recipe and requires the right, elegant approach. It’s like a woman you’re courting – you need to be gentle, and aggressive, but not too pushy,” Xie Qing said what he had in mind.
“A pill… like a woman?”
Liu Yan was speechless. This was the first time she had heard of such a thing.
But, although many would simply laugh, Liu Yan thought about it. High-ranking pills required a refined approach, so Xie Qing’s description was quite accurate.
“You’re right,” Liu Yan nodded after thinking for a bit and looked at the young man curiously, showing a gentle smile: “How did you come up with that?”
“Well… I haven’t tried it on myself, but when you’re too aggressive, there’s a high chance that the pill will turn into charcoal, right? The same goes for a woman…” he mumbled with slight embarrassment: “I was just joking, I didn’t know you’d take it seriously…”
“Hehe…”
Liu Yan laughed more at Xie Qing’s embarrassed face than at his words.
“…”
Xie Qing shook his head.
—
You know…
Xie Qing had not lived for very long, but he had seen a lot. And, uh…
“Miss Liu Yan…”
Crunch.
“Yes?”
Crunch.
“Are you… not full yet?”
Crunch.
“Not yet…”
“…”
Xie Qing shook his head when he saw Liu Yan eating… a fifth serving of noodles with such an appetite.
Since he loved spicy food and Miss Liu Yan didn’t seem to mind, he brought her to a noodle shop that made excellent spicy noodles.
He, of course, knew it was delicious, but… who would have thought that she would like it so much that she would order ten large servings?
What was even more surprising was that she looked elegant while doing so, and even the owner of the establishment gave her a big discount.
Xie Qing smiled. By the way, he still hadn’t finished his serving…
“I didn’t know she liked to eat so much,” he thought.
Generally speaking, from another perspective, this was normal. Cultivators had a strong metabolism and quickly absorbed food.
Moreover, thanks to Qi, they did not gain weight, and eating could even have a good effect on cultivation.
“Delicious…” he thought, feeling a slight spiciness on his tongue.
Actually, this food was dangerous to eat if you had a weak stomach. Moreover, there were cases where people’s hearts stopped because it was so spicy.
But as a cultivator, Xie Qing had a high tolerance for spiciness. So he enjoyed it.
“By the way, the owner of the establishment said that he could prepare something even spicier than this,” the young man said, eating his noodles.
“Really?! I want to try!”
Liu Yan’s eyes widened when she heard this news, but seeing Xie Qing’s gaze on her, the woman became saddened.
“I mean… I want to, but next time… I’m already full.”
“Sure? I don’t mind waiting, you know…”
“N-no, it’s fine…”
Xie Qing smiled gently. One didn’t have to be a genius to understand Liu Yan’s mood.
It seemed that she was very embarrassed about showing this side of herself to Xie Qing.
“Let’s go for a walk!” she exclaimed and left the payment in the form of a Spiritual Stone.
The owner of the establishment wanted to refuse, as he sensed that these two were powerful cultivators, but they disappeared very quickly.
And from that moment on, this establishment attracted a lot of attention.
