"No, I learned it from TV," Candy said, glancing slyly at the girl next to her, Xiao Qing. "When men and women are dating, don’t they like to go to coffee shops? Sit and have a cup of coffee, chat for a while, get to know each other, then see about getting serious."

As soon as Qi Longbing heard this, his eyes rolled in exasperation. He felt like surrendering; his little daughter really knew too much, acting like a little adult.

Xiao Qing, already blushing, grew even redder. Realizing Candy’s intentions, she said, "Candy, perhaps we shouldn’t have coffee? Let’s go back. You’ve been playing for so long, you must be hungry. Why don’t we go home and have your mom, or your family’s maid, make you something to eat?"

"Well, why bother going home to eat when Uncle could treat us to a meal instead? Uncle, how about you take us out to eat?" Candy asked Qi Longbing with a smile.

Looking at Candy, Qi Longbing also responded with a smile, "What’s the problem with that? Let’s go eat right now." Then he turned to the girl beside him. "Why don’t you join us as well!"

"Then, I’ll impose on you, President Qi," Xiao Qing replied with a nod, her cheeks tinged with a shy blush. She couldn’t believe she’d met him today; it felt like fate. She was so happy; she’d genuinely had a wonderful time.

「So the three of them went to a Western restaurant together for dinner. Qi Longbing ordered two steaks, a serving of curry rice, and some seafood. During the meal, they unexpectedly encountered Hua Xiaomo, who was also dining there with some of her clients.」

When Hua Xiaomo saw President Qi having dinner with Xiao Qing and Little Candy, her expression changed completely. She quickly rushed over and grabbed Little Candy’s hand.

"What is the meaning of this? Who let you out? Why are you so disobedient? Do you want to make Mom angry? Just wait and see how I discipline you when we get home!" Hua Xiaomo said angrily. A sudden anxiety gripped her; she was terrified that certain secrets deep in her heart might be exposed.

"WAAH! WAAH! Mommy is mean! Mommy is mean!" Little Candy burst into tears, her arm aching where it had been grabbed. She looked at Hua Xiaomo, her eyes wide with what seemed like immense pain.

Qi Longbing immediately seized Hua Xiaomo’s arm and forcefully pulled it away. "You’ve hurt the child!" he said sternly. "What do you think you’re doing? We’re just having a meal together. Is there any need to be this uptight?"

Qi Longbing was at a loss for words. He suddenly suspected Hua Xiaomo was afraid of him getting too close to the child. The more she showed her fear, the stronger his suspicions grew. If the child really was his, then by what right could she prevent him from getting close to her?

Seeing the sudden change in Hua Xiaomo’s expression, Xiao Qing grew worried. "President Hua, please don’t be angry," she interjected. "We were just playing with Candy. There was nothing more to it. Candy has been really happy all day, truly, she’s been very happy."

Hua Xiaomo looked at Qi Longbing and Xiao Qing. She was at a loss for how to react to them. Of course, if the man was interested and the woman reciprocated, she had no right to interfere, did she? But why did they take her daughter out like this? Who gave them that right?

"Come back with me." Hua Xiaomo said no more. She pulled Candy’s arm again and swiftly gathered the child into her embrace. After a few quick words to the clients who had accompanied her, she hurried out of the restaurant.

Qi Longbing’s face showed a hint of resentment, his eyes narrowing slightly. It seemed there were some things he would have to confront. Hua Xiaomo’s behavior was just too suspicious.

Seeing that Qi Longbing also seemed somewhat unhappy, Xiao Qing couldn’t help but offer some consolation. "President Qi, don’t be angry. Director Hua is just affected by some matters. She’ll be fine in a while." After all, their two companies had signed a contract, hadn’t they? It wouldn’t be good if any unpleasantness arose during this period of cooperation.

Qi Longbing glanced at Xiao Qing but said nothing. He briskly walked past her and went straight to the counter, where he dropped a card. After the cashier swiped it, Qi Longbing took his card back and left without another word to Xiao Qing.

Xiao Qing was left standing awkwardly alone, not knowing what to say or do. Had she done something wrong today? Said something wrong? Why was everyone so unhappy? And Candy, the only one who had seemed happy, was gone. She remembered Candy had even tried to set her up with Qi Longbing. Unfortunately, it seemed CEO Qi wasn’t particularly interested in her. She wasn’t a fool; she could sense it. But if one could control whom they liked, she wouldn’t be feeling this way now. She truly didn’t know what she had done wrong. All she wanted was to have a pleasant interaction with him, but it felt incredibly difficult.

"Forget it. I won’t think about anything. I’ll just go home and get a good night’s sleep. Today was really tiring," Xiao Qing thought. She then took a taxi back to her place alone. Suddenly remembering something, she flipped through her phone and found the number she had seen at the company: Qi Longbing’s contact information. It was a distinctive phone number, the kind with repeating eights at the end. She clutched the phone, looking at the number in her palm for a long, long time before finally giving in and dialing it.

The call went through, and Qi Longbing answered. "Hello, who is it?"

However, Xiao Qing suddenly became nervous and didn’t dare to speak. She abruptly hung up. After hanging up, she felt so foolish. Why couldn’t she even say a word? She claimed to like him, but at this rate, forget about liking him, she couldn’t even express the simplest thing!

Qi Longbing stared at the disconnected call. Something crossed his mind, but he didn’t call back. Instead, he tossed his phone aside and collapsed onto the bed. His mind was full of the expression on Hua Xiaomo’s face at the Western restaurant. She had seemed extremely agitated. When Hua Xiaomo saw Candy with him, she was very unhappy, just like the last time he’d visited their home. Back then, when she saw Candy interacting and laughing with him, she had become visibly awkward and displeased. Why was Hua Xiaomo so agitated? Could it be that this child really had something to do with him? If there was a connection, then why did Hua Xiaomo give birth to her? And after giving birth, why did she insist on keeping her distance from him? What on earth was the reason? These thoughts made Qi Longbing so restless he couldn’t sleep properly. He ended up pouring himself another bottle of aged Lafite and drinking it down fiercely.