Yan Shuyu, focused on what she was doing, did not notice a group of guests who had just finished their meal and were walking out of a private room. One of the men, when he saw their table from afar, his eyes bulged out so much that his eyeballs almost fell out of his sockets.
The man looked to be 2-3 years younger than Zhou Qinhe and was also the youngest in the group. He did, however, appeared to be the leader among the group.
The group of them were laughing and smiling, but one by one, they stopped in their paths as they noticed his odd look.
"Boss Qin, what's the matter?"
Boss Qin didn't say anything, so everybody looked in the direction that he was looking at. Some of them looked at a loss and some others were shocked.
"Isn't that Boss Zhou? One of them must be the little prince of the Zhou's?"
The group of business elites started gossiping. "I thought Boss Zhou only has one son. Why are there two kids over there."
"The woman sitting across from him doesn't look very familiar. Is she a socialite from one of the prestigious families?"
Qin Sirui, the young master of the Qin's, hearing the gossiping behind his back finally recollected himself. He waved at the people behind him and said, "You guys go first. I am going to say hi to Boss Zhou."
Everyone behind him were upper management of the Qin's, and they were all aware that the Qin's and the Zhou's have always had a good relationship with each other. Now that they have run into Boss Zhou, it'd only be polite to say hi. But, looking at Boss Zhou spending time with his "family", there was no reason for the rest of them to walk up to him also.
The group agreed and left Boss Qin behind at the restaurant.
Qin Sirui walked over to Yan Shuyu's table and greeted Zhou Qinhe in a familiar voice, "Brother He, I've heard that you won't be attending the art show today. I see you are here for seafood instead."
He was referring to his cousin's art show. Xie Yuxuan, his cousin, returned from overseas six months ago and ran into Boss Zhou once at a banquet. It was love at first sight for her. His aunt knew that he was friends with Boss Zhou, so she had asked him to help with setting them up. Qin Sirui would be happy to see the two work out. His company has some business projects with the Zhou's recently, so if his cousin could become a couple with Boss Zhou, it would naturally be a win-win for him.
Plus, his cousin wasn't half bad.
Xie Yuxuan was a somewhat famous and beautiful artist. Her career notwithstanding, she was pretty and kind and never even had a boyfriend while she was studying abroad. Compared to the other socialites where one was more wanton than the next, she was relatively pure.
As a man, Qin Sirui has already had a string of girlfriends, but when it came to marriage, he'd definitely look for someone who's docile and drama-free like his cousin. He had sort of grown up with Zhou Qinhe. Boss Zhou had become more and more unpredictable as of late, but Qin Sirui had a rough idea of where his standards were and his cousin should be able to make the cut.
His cousin might not have come from the most prestigious rank of families, but his uncle's side of the family had been scholars for generations and he was a college professor. His aunt had some of the Qin Corporation's shares and also held an important role at the Qin's, but she was, after all, married. Thus, she wasn't really considered as part of the Qin's anymore as far as others were concerned.
Since Boss Zhou already has an heir, marrying a woman from a prestigious family would make things more awkward. Qin Sirui felt that his cousin was perfect for Boss Zhou. She'd complement him greatly during social events, but she also would not become an issue later on. Boss Zhou would have no reason to turn her down.
Which was why Qin Sirui had accepted his aunt's request.
Zhou Qinhe seemed a bit hesitant when Qin Sirui had first broached him about it, but had finally accepted it for the sake of Qin Sirui. Qin Sirui didn't think much about it. He figured that Boss Zhou was probably worried that his cousin would be just like any other spoiled socialite in the circle, but that was fine. As soon as he met her, Boss Zhou would learn that his cousin was gentle and cute and a very good match for him.
As he felt that it was a done deal plus men were usually not too attentive to details, Qin Sirui hadn't been paying it much attention ever since he had set them up. After all, the two of them need to work on their relationships themselves. His cousin, however, did tell him after their first meeting that Boss Zhou seemed a bit cold to her and possibly already has a girlfriend. Qin Sirui had asked around and learned that Boss Zhou did not have any woman. He had reassured his cousin and told her that she could be a little more proactive.
This was his cousin's first art show since she had returned to China. She had spent a lot of time and effort in preparing for it. Qin Sirui had even asked a few friends to attend with him once they were done with work.
He felt that his cousin would have invited Boss Zhou long time ago, so he never checked on it. He didn't expect Boss Zhou to be having lunch with another lady and they didn't seem like they were just friends. Qin Sirui, who had hoped that Boss Zhou could potentially become his cousin-in-law, was surprised. Staring at the table and at loss for a while, he finally decided to walk up and found out the details for his cousin. Perhaps they were just friends or relatives.
Qin Sirui was disappointed when he noticed that Boss Zhou didn't seem concerned at all when he purposefully brought up his cousin's art show but merely nonchalantly shook hands with him. "Yeah, I want to try something different over the weekend. What a coincidence that you are here too."
Boss Zhou's look had always been unfathomable. Qin SIrui already had a bad feeling, but he must ask one more question. "Yeah. This place is pretty good, except that they are by reservation only. That's kind of a hassle."
"It's not too bad to make reservations in advance. You can make sure that you will get the rare dishes."
From his answer alone, Qin Sirui could tell that Zhou Qinhe had, indeed, made a reservation ahead of time. And it looked like he even made the reservation himself. It's just lunch; he wouldn't have done that if they were just friends or relatives. He couldn't help but take another look at the woman sitting across from him and teased, "Yes, you are right. Brother He knows how to make the best out of it. Hahaha."
Zhou Qinhe showed no reactions to any of Qin Sirui's subtle prodding at all. Yan Shuyu was the one who had paid the most attention. Unfortunately, without knowing the background story, she couldn't make much of what he was saying. She did, however, look up and gave the boss a curious look when Qin Sirui first mentioned the art show. She thought to herself that it was never mentioned in the novel that Zhou Qinhe had interests other than making money and being manipulative. That was cool.
Then, her attention had switched to Qin Sirui. She figured anyone who could affectionately refer to the boss as "Brother He" and not "Boss Zhou" must also be a young master of a prestigious family. He was good looking too. Thick brows, large eyes, and a tall nose. He was an all-round Tall, Rich, and Handsome.
Perhaps the boss has caught sight of the way that she was studying Qin Sirui. She heard the boss introduce her to the Tall, Rich, and Handsome. The Tall, Rich, and Handsome extended his hand to her and said, "Good afternoon, Ms. Yan. I am Qin Sirui."
Yan Shuyu quickly got up and shook hands with the Tall, Rich, and Handsome. "Hi, Mr. Qin."
The little male lead, next to her, also looked up, greeted Qin Sirui, and even introduced his little buddy to him. "Yuanbao, this is Uncle Qin."
Zhang Yuanbao, too, looked up and said, "Hi, Mr. Qin."
Qin Sirui patted both of them on their heads and said, "Hi, you two. Are you enjoying the food here?"
The two kiddos nodded forcefully and both of them replied with a "yes". Yan Shuyu suddenly remembered that she was not done feeding them and went back to what she was doing.
As the boss had introduced her to Tall, Rich, and Handsome Mr. Qin, Yan Shuyu's curiosity was satisfied and she stopped trying to glean more information. She went back to focusing on feeding the two kiddos and missed the way that Comrade Tall, Rich, and Handsome was looking at her - Qin Sirui looked at her, then at the two kids next to her, and seemingly figured out something.
He turned around, patting Zhou Qinhe on his shoulder, and said in a low voice, "Don't worry, Brother He. I will let Yuxuan know."
He was disappointed that his cousin couldn't become a couple with Zhou Qinhe, but relationships are always unpredictable. It didn't take long for Qin Sirui to accept the truth. Mainly because he had taken a good look of Yan Shuyu and would agree with Zhou Qinhe's choice. He had no idea where he found a beauty who was so charming yet not a bourgeois.
With someone like that around him, it'd make sense that Boss Zhou didn't care for his cousin.
Zhou Qinhe raised his brows. He had no idea what kind of details Qin Sirui filled in in his head, but he had no intention to explain anyway. Contrarily, he smiled and said, "Okay, thanks."
"No problem. No problem." And that was how Boss Zhou had stomped out the very last shred of hope he had of him becoming his cousin-in-law. Qin Sirui had come to terms with it. He even winked at Zhou Qinhe and said to him, "Okay. I am taking off then. Wouldn't want to take more of your time."
Yan Shuyu, who was busy feeding the two cuties, did not notice the profound look of the Tall, Rich, and Handsome at all. All she heard was that he was leaving, so she just waved at him and said, "Bye."
The two kids next to her also waved with her. "Bye, Uncle Qin."
Seeing that, Qin Sirui felt even more at peace. He had no idea whether the other child has any relationship with Boss Zhou, but he knew for sure that if his cousin and Boss Zhou had worked out, the little prince who already had the air of distance between him and others would never be as affectionate to his cousin as he was now with this woman.
His cousin has lost the battle to a woman who was both pretty and more manipulative than her. It was all fair and game.
Yan Shuyu had no idea of all the thoughts that had gone through Qin Sirui's mind, so she only treated him as any other Tall, Rich, and Handsome. After she had waved goodbye, she quickly forgotten the entire incident. She painfully fed the two children the very last bite, and when they finally announced that they were full, she almost wanted to jump up from the chair and rejoice. "Oh, you are finally done. Your Majesty!"
Zhang Yuanjia rubbed his round tummy and said, a bit embarrassed, "I ate a bit too much today."
Zhou Yi had on a suit and a tie, so his stomach was even more obvious than his buddy. He mimicked Zhang Yuanjia and patted his stomach and said, "I am stuffed."
Yan Shuyu knocked on both of their stomachs and said, "Let me see which watermelon I want to open up first today..."
Zhou Qinhe smiled as he watched them mess around for a little while before he waved down the server for the check.
Seeing that it had already passed 1 PM, Yan Shuyu stood up with one kid in each hand and said, "Time to head to our next destination!"