Chapter 108

Chapter 108

Xie Lanchen: ?

Ning Xi, however, said with complete seriousness, “This lawyer has a pretty carefree personality. I think loosening the collar would fit his character better.”

Ning Xi swore on her middle finger that when she made that suggestion, she was genuinely thinking from the character’s perspective. She had absolutely no ulterior motives.

But after Xie Lanchen lifted his wrist and tugged at his collar with a casual, lazy air…

Ning Xi suddenly felt like the temperature around them had risen a little.

Xiao Xie… Xiao Xie was actually this sexy?

The black suit, the pale bones of his wrist, the veins standing out on the back of his hand, the extreme contrast of colors…

Was this really a proper lawyer?

[Ning Xi really knows what netizens want to see]

[A living goddess. She eats the meat herself, but she doesn’t forget to let us sip the broth]

[So anxious I scratched my butt twice]

[Boys need to be careful when they’re out alone too (specifically Xie Lanchen)]

[Ning Xi, I’m only fake-playing with other people. With you, it’s real]

“Is this… okay?” Xie Lanchen looked at Ning Xi, his brow lifting slightly, the end of his sentence trailing off lazily.

There was a chilly, early-spring sort of sex appeal to him.

“Ahem, ahem… yes.” Director Ning coughed twice before nodding a little unnaturally.

Then she silently condemned herself in her heart: A dirty mind sees filth in everything. Xiao Xie is being perfectly proper and following your instructions, and here you are with a head full of garbage!

After an intense internal struggle, Ning Xi calmed down and continued preparing the skit’s materials with Xie Lanchen.

Ning Xi pointed at the script. “I think this part could use a little more content…”

Xie Lanchen passed his phone screen over. “I’ve already searched some up. Teacher Ning, see if you need any of this material.”

A while later.

Ning Xi said, “Hehe, I’ve got a great idea!”

Xie Lanchen had already taken out a notebook and pen.

Ning Xi: “@…%*”

Xie Lanchen pondered while taking notes.

[Xiao Xie really is Ning Xi’s little assistant incarnate]

[What little assistant? This is clearly husband and wife teaming up so work doesn’t feel tiring!]

[No wonder Ning Xi only invited Xie Lanchen as her partner. His emotions are so stable]

[I want to date]

Before they knew it, evening had arrived.

“All done!” Ning Xi stretched and went out to the courtyard to relax.

Then she discovered that Xie Lanchen, who had just said he was “stepping out for a bit,” had somehow finished making dinner in that short half hour!

Dinner was simple: rattan pepper beef shank, stir-fried broccoli, roasted pumpkin, and boiled eggs.

Perfect for people who had to perform tomorrow and were trying to cut fat.

Ning Xi peeled a boiled egg. “I have this weird habit. I don’t eat the yolks in boiled eggs…”

Xie Lanchen looked at Ning Xi in surprise. “I’m the opposite. I don’t eat the whites.”

Ning Xi let out a delighted “wow,” then tacitly traded egg whites and yolks with Xie Lanchen.

“Xiao Xie, I like you so much!” Ning Xi exclaimed despite herself as she ate the egg white and drank the freshly squeezed fruit-and-vegetable juice Xie Lanchen had specially made.

Xie Lanchen’s heart abruptly skipped a beat. Even his breathing stopped as he looked at Ning Xi.

Ning Xi continued to sigh with feeling. “How can someone be good-looking, cook delicious food, and have such a good temper on top of that?”

If she could eat Xie Lanchen’s cooking every day, she’d even be willing to live in a villa and drive a luxury car.

So it was that kind of like…

Xie Lanchen let out a soft breath. The heartbeat that had shot up because of her casual remark gradually returned to normal.

He shook his head with a helpless smile. “I’m not as good as you say.”

“You are.” Ning Xi looked at Xie Lanchen very seriously and affirmed it.

Xie Lanchen paused slightly.

“Your cooking is really good. Even someone like me, who’s eaten at tons of top restaurants, can still clean my plate when you cook. You’re also very patient when you do things. You never get angry, never complain. I feel especially at ease being on a team with you, because I know we definitely won’t fight, and even if we have differences, we’ll be able to resolve them. And you never nitpick or keep score. You quietly take on a lot of the group’s work…”
Ning Xi kept talking without pause.

Xie Lanchen’s expression slowly eased from its initial stiffness and helplessness.

Warmth welled up in waves from his heart. He felt as if someone had dragged him out of the shadows and into the sunlight, patted him down, let him bask there, and warmed him through. Every part of him seemed to come alive again.

[Holy crap, so Ning Xi actually noticed that many details.]

[“If someone denies you, then I’ll affirm you twice as much.”]

[I really love Ning Xi’s personality, the way she openly praises people and expresses what she likes. Does anyone get me?]

[Right? What Ning Xi said sounded so much like a confession. I just got another hit of Xi-Lan Flower.]

“So don’t put yourself down, okay? You’re really, really, really great!” Ning Xi patted Xie Lanchen on the shoulder and praised him in the most straightforward way.

Maybe it was her imagination, but Ning Xi always felt that Xie Lanchen was a little too modest. Almost… modest to the point of low self-esteem.

But then Ning Xi felt that this idea didn’t make sense.

After all, with Xiao Xie’s qualifications, he was practically an all-around powerhouse. He was more likely to make other people feel inferior. How could he possibly have low self-esteem?

“So I’m that good in Teacher Ning’s eyes.”

A faint curve appeared on Xie Lanchen’s tense lips. His eyes stirred slightly, like moonlight reflected on the gentle ripples of a lake.

Ning Xi nodded frankly and corrected him, “It’s not that you’re this good in my eyes. It’s that you were always this good.”

“I understand. Thank you, Teacher Ning.”

Ning Xi chuckled.

By now, the two of them were almost done with dinner.

As someone who pursued the healthy habit of taking a walk after meals-cross that out-as someone who loved joining in on the fun, Ning Xi couldn’t help saying,

“How about we go see how the other groups are preparing?”

Xie Lanchen nodded and praised her, “Teacher Ning really is very responsible as Team Leader. You even care about how the other guests are getting ready.”

Ning Xi, who really just loved joining the fun, was extremely curious, and couldn’t sit still: …

What was going on with Xiao Xie? After she praised him once, it was like some switch had been flipped!

The first place the two of them sneaked over to was the house of Fu Zhi and Jiang Sheshe.

The front door was half-closed. With just one glance through the gap, they could see the entire courtyard.

At that moment, Fu Zhi was wearing headphones and practicing dancing silently in front of a mirror.

“Shh.” Ning Xi raised a finger to her lips, signaling Xie Lanchen not to make a sound.

Xie Lanchen didn’t understand why they had to act so sneaky, but Teacher Ning always had her reasons, so he quietly followed beside Ning Xi and peeked at Fu Zhi with her.

Facts proved that someone who couldn’t sing well probably wasn’t much good at dancing either.

Fu Zhi’s dance style could be summed up as: make himself laugh to death, make the audience laugh to death, make everyone laugh to death.

Even after Fu Zhi finished dancing alone, he couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

“Hahahahahahaha!”

As a confident boy, Fu Zhi naturally didn’t think there was anything wrong with his dancing.

He just thought that one particular move, where he squinted and twisted his hips, looked demonic and deranged, like he was sleepwalking.

At that thought, Fu Zhi keenly swept a glance around him, including toward the entrance.

Ning Xi quickly pulled Xie Lanchen one step back, keeping Fu Zhi from noticing the two of them.

Inside the courtyard.

After making sure Jiang Sheshe wasn’t there, Fu Zhi’s inner drama king took over, and he began pretending he was sleepwalking.

Fu Zhi wandered back and forth through the courtyard like a zombie. Then, facing a succulent plant placed in the yard, he opened his mouth wide like a bloody maw-

“I’m going to eat you raw!”