NOVPUBChen Nan stared at Nie Xiaoyu with a stunned face, clearly not expecting her to ask such a question, which caused a hint of embarrassment to spread across his face: "What I meant to say was, you have a grain of rice on the front of your shirt!"
The expression on Nie Xiaoyu’s face instantly froze, and she looked down at her chest. After seeing the grain of rice, a blush instantly spread to the tips of her ears, and then she ran into the bedroom, covering her flushed face.
Smack!
Watching Nie Xiaoyu return to the bedroom with her face red, Chen Nan raised his right hand and gently slapped his own face, unable to help but sigh, "Chen Nan, oh Chen Nan, you’re given a chance and you don’t take it!"
He knew.
If he had just said he wanted to be a kept man by Nie Xiaoyu, she definitely wouldn’t have refused.
But in the end, he didn’t do so.
It wasn’t that he was above temptation, but rather he didn’t know how to maintain his relationship with Nie Xiaoyu.
Of course.
He also rather liked their current status—more than friends, but not quite lovers!
After cleaning up the dinner table, Chen Nan changed into a clean robe, then went to Nie Xiaoyu’s bedroom door and said, "Shall we go check out the shop?"
"Oh, okay."
The girl’s voice came from inside the room.
A moment later, Nie Xiaoyu walked out wearing a white strap dress. The thin straps gently rested on her fair shoulders, outlining the soft lines of her shoulders and showcasing her graceful figure. 𝓃ℴ𝓋𝓹𝓊𝓫.𝒸𝓸𝓂
Her skin seemed even more delicate against the white dress, her eyes as clear as water, with a hint of shyness and unease, giving off an aura of pure and alluring charm.
She gave off the impression of the girl-next-door, who had just blossomed into a young woman.
"Let’s go!" Chen Nan said with a smile, then led Nie Xiaoyu out of the luxurious dwelling and walked towards Pingyang Road to the west.
Pingyang Road had Jizhou’s busiest commercial street and was only a traffic light away from Jizhou First Middle School.
Chen Nan shared his idea: "I’m thinking about finding a store in the commercial street. Although the rent will be a bit higher, the heavy foot traffic means that as long as our pricing is reasonable, business should be good."
Nie Xiaoyu agreed with Chen Nan’s proposal, and the two of them entered the bustling commercial street, shopping for clothes while looking for the desired shop space.
Eventually, they found a shop that was available for rent. It was only a little over forty square meters, but the annual rent was as high as two hundred thousand.
Chen Nan immediately contacted the commercial street’s management office to view the space, and after ensuring there were no issues, he arranged to sign the rental contract the next morning.
Though he could afford the two hundred thousand in rent, his bank balance would be nearly emptied after paying this sum.
Fortunately, he had formulated two kidney-tonifying pills that could sell for a hundred thousand, so he wasn’t worried about the renovation expenses.
Meanwhile.
It was already evening.
The originally spacious street also saw the arrival of several three-wheeled electric vehicles. Nearly every one of these had a flag; some read cold noodles, others said grilled skewers, and there were yet others that said mung bean noodles, frog fish, grilled oysters, scallops, and more!
These tricycles were orderly parked in the middle of the commercial street, making the originally wide street feel a bit more crowded, and dividing it into two lanes.
With that, the scents of cooking gradually rose into the air, and the different aromas filled the entire commercial street.
Although this created a stark contrast with the prosperous commercial street, giving a strong sense of incongruity, these street foods were memories for generations of Jizhou residents.
It was these night vendors that came first, and then the commercial street.
"I feel like eating barbecue, do you want some?" Nie Xiaoyu turned to Chen Nan.
Chen Nan: "Sure, I haven’t had barbecue in a long time either."
And just like that.
The two arrived at the barbecue stall and took a seat on the ground.
"You go order," Chen Nan said to Nie Xiaoyu, then pulled out his phone and sent a message each to Wang Guodong and Wu Mei, asking them to send someone to pick up the medicine.
Soon after he sent the messages, Nie Xiaoyu finished ordering and came back. She sat beside Chen Nan and they talked about the renovation, such as what style to decorate in and the name of the shop and the like.
Chen Nan couldn’t help but say, "Xiaoyu, this is your business. I’m only providing the startup capital. For everything else, just follow your own ideas. You don’t need to ask me."
He could feel Nie Xiaoyu’s strong sense of entrepreneurship, so he didn’t want to interfere with the herbal tea shop’s business. He just wanted to provide her with a platform and let her take it from there.
Nie Xiaoyu nodded solemnly.
Soon enough.
The barbecue that Nie Xiaoyu had ordered was brought to their table.
Lamb kidneys, lamb penis, oysters, grilled leeks.
Beyond those.
There were also some lamb skewers and fatty pork, along with two bottles of strong liquor.
Seeing this, Chen Nan’s mouth twitched involuntarily, and he looked at Nie Xiaoyu with a look of wounded pride, "Do you really think I’m that weak in your eyes?"
Nie Xiaoyu’s brows flashed with shyness, "How would I know if you’re weak or not? I just think that it’s better to start nourishing the body sooner rather than later."
"Don’t waste food. Let’s eat!" she said, pushing all the nourishing barbecue in front of Chen Nan.
Chen Nan sighed helplessly.
Given the situation, he had no choice but to finish off all the food.
However, he didn’t know if he would feel uncomfortable after eating it all!
At that moment.
A mocking laugh suddenly broke out, "Beauty, your boyfriend seems a bit weak. Why not let me be your boyfriend instead!"
Despite the bustling commercial street filled with noise, this sentence was particularly jarring, making both Chen Nan and Nie Xiaoyu’s faces change.
Chen Nan looked at the young man who had spoken. The guy looked to be in his mid-twenties, dressed in luxury goods, and wore an expensive watch on his wrist.
Behind him were two other similarly aged youths who clearly were not good news.
Nie Xiaoyu showed a hint of nervousness and didn’t bother with them at all.
"I’m in a good mood today and don’t want to stoop to your level. Get lost!" Chen Nan said coldly, picking up a skewer of lamb kidneys to eat.
The leader of the youths’ face was full of malice, "Fuck, you dare to call yourself ’dad’ in front of me? Are you tired of living? Do you know who I am?"
A cold gleam flashed in Chen Nan’s eyes, "It seems you prefer punishment over a toast."
Before the youth could respond, one of his companions shouted angrily, "The one who’s going to be punished is you! Apologize to Qian Shao immediately, or you will regret it big time!"
The other one added, "That’s right, Qian Shao is the young master of this business street. All of this is his territory; with just a word from him, you’ll pay a hefty price!"
As soon as these words were uttered.
A trace of apprehension appeared in Nie Xiaoyu’s eyes. She immediately clutched Chen Nan’s arm and couldn’t help but say, "Chen Nan, we can’t afford to provoke this kind of person. Let’s just leave quickly!"
Qian Xiaojia looked at Nie Xiaoyu with an amused gaze and a sleazy smile, "Beauty, today, you won’t be going anywhere but my bed!"
Chen Nan stood up and slapped Qian Xiaojia hard across the face!
Slap!
Qian Xiaojia glared at Chen Nan, "You motherfucker actually dare to hit me?"
