Chapter 19: Self-Deception

Sang Tian’s hand holding the chopsticks paused. She didn’t pick up the squirrel fish, her favorite dish, from the center of the table. She retracted her hand and picked up the pickled cabbage and potato shreds in front of her, lowering her head to eat.

She had been self-deceived again.

Jiang Wantang was waiting for him at Xi Garden.

All the delicious food on the table tasted like wax.

Bo Si pushed the squirrel fish towards her, “Why aren’t you eating?”

Sang Tian didn’t look up, her voice was soft, “I’m tired of it, I don’t want to eat.”

Bo Si stared at her for a few seconds. In the past few days, she had lost weight. Her face, which was already the size of a palm, was even smaller now.

Her eyes were lowered, the light shone through her thick, long eyelashes like crow feathers, casting a shadow under her eyelids, making her dark circles even more obvious.

Seeing that she kept her head down, as if she just wanted to finish eating and leave as soon as possible, Bo Si leaned back, reached out and took a handkerchief to wipe his hands.

“Finished eating? Leave when you’re done.”

Sang Tian put down her chopsticks, “Okay.”

The restaurant manager came over with a packed food box, bowing and smiling obsequiously, “Fifth Master, the pastries and dishes you asked to be packed are all here. They’re packed in a thermal box, they won’t get cold for a few hours.”

Bo Si put his hands in his pockets, he gave a faint “Mm,” glanced at Ouyang Heng beside him, the manager immediately understood and handed the food box to him, then retreated to the side.

He respectfully saw them off.

Sang Tian lagged behind, her gaze fixed on the food box that kept swaying in front of her, she didn’t look away.

In the past, Bo Si would often bring her late-night snacks, all kinds of delicious things, he could even have people deliver them from the farthest restaurants.

Including this membership-based private kitchen, Shuxia Courtyard.

It was an hour and a half drive from Xi Garden, just because she loved their squirrel fish, sweet and sour pork ribs, roast suckling pig, and so on, he would come over after work to pick them up and then deliver them to her.

Just like today, he came out of the Bo family’s old mansion so late, drove for an hour just to buy late-night snacks for the people at Xi Garden.

She had heard Jiang Wantang’s last words, she was talking about all the dishes—crystal dumplings, coconut-flavored buns, roasted mutton…

Suddenly, with a thud, Ouyang Heng tripped over a stone in front of him, he almost fell flat on his face. Fortunately, he was agile and quickly regained his balance, but the food box in his hand hit a nearby rockery because of his stumble, making a loud noise.

Sang Tian and Ouyang Heng were just a step behind each other. The sudden change caught her off guard, she was about to bump into Ouyang Heng, but she braked in time and grabbed the tree next to her, preventing herself from falling, but she still stumbled, her heart almost jumped out of her chest.

Bo Si was walking in front, he heard the noise and turned his head to see Sang Tian clutching her chest and breathing heavily, looking as if she had been quite scared.

“If you can’t see when you walk, then go dig a hole!” This was said to Ouyang Heng.

Ouyang Heng hadn’t recovered from the accident just now, he was scolded by Bo Si, and he shuddered.

Bo Si’s temper these days was like a tornado, no one was spared, everyone was ruthlessly swept away.

Today was a good example, all day long, Ouyang Heng hadn’t seen his boss smile, he hadn’t even curled his lips, his face was gloomy, even Old Madam Bo was being contradicted.

Ouyang Heng had been on edge, afraid of doing something wrong and being sent to a remote place like some people who had run into the muzzle of a gun, whether he would be able to come back was still a question.

He quickly stood up straight, his attitude of admitting his mistake was excellent, “Mr. Bo, I was wrong! I almost dropped the late-night snacks you packed! You’re right to be angry, I’ll definitely pay attention next time, I’ll never drop the late-night snacks you bring again, I’ll protect them like I protect my own child.”

“I just checked, none of the seven or eight food boxes have any soup spilled out, they shouldn’t have been damaged.”

Bo Si pinched the bridge of his nose, looking at him like he was an idiot, his eyes were filled with annoyance, “Pay attention in the future!”

His gaze went past Ouyang Heng to Sang Tian behind him. She was calm, cold and aloof, standing there, as if she hadn’t been the one who was just now terrified.

Bo Si walked over, he restrained the anger on his face, and asked softly, “Did you twist your ankle?”

Sang Tian shook her head, “No.”

Her words were concise, her whole body exuded detachment. Bo Si noticed her indifference towards him, he looked away, “If you didn’t, then hurry up, I have something to do, don’t waste time.”

Sang Tian’s fingers clenched tightly, her knuckles turned white.

A person who didn’t show his emotions was actually angry because of a few packed food boxes?

It was truly interesting.

Sang Tian gave a self-deprecating smile, then followed.

Bo Si sent Sang Tian back to the hotel and left.

In the car, the smoke curled.

His long fingers pressed the switch, the car window opened, and the cold wind poured in, dispersing some of the smoke.

The man half-closed his eyes, the ends of his eyes were long and slanted upwards, as beautiful as silver hooks.

His nose bridge was high, his features were sharp and angular.

His black suit was unbuttoned, casual and natural, but the man’s aura was terrifyingly heavy, like a lurking beast, if you weren’t careful, you would be bitten and lose half your life.

Ouyang Heng was on pins and needles in the driver’s seat, he couldn’t figure out what had made his boss unhappy. He smoked for half an hour downstairs at the hotel.

In his eyes, everything had gone smoothly today, except for the fact that he almost fell.

Just when he was racking his brains and still couldn’t figure it out, the person in the back seat spoke.

“How’s the matter going?”

The man’s voice was low.

He had finished all the company matters and had reported them. Only Miss Sang’s matter hadn’t been reported today.

“The bar will be able to resume business tomorrow. The mastermind behind it has also been found out, it’s Miss Qi Nuan of the Qi family. The purpose is unknown, Miss Sang and Qi Nuan don’t know each other, and they haven’t had any conflicts.”

“Qi Nuan?”

Through the rearview mirror, he met Bo Si’s questioning eyes. Ouyang Heng explained, “She’s Miss Jiang’s best friend, the one who had a fight with Miss Sang last night. The Qi family is in the cultural industry, and they have a lot of integration with the Jiang family’s education industry, they are jointly developing. They also have some cooperation with our group.”

The Qi family, if you counted carefully, was just a second-rate family in Jin City. It was normal for Bo Si not to know them.

After he finished speaking, Ouyang Heng looked at Bo Si in the rearview mirror again. Seeing that he seemed to be thinking, he asked, “Do you suspect that this matter is related to Miss Jiang?” Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to find a connection, Qi Nuan wouldn’t have bothered Miss Sang for no reason, the two of them didn’t know each other.

Bo Si crushed the cigarette butt in the car ashtray, his tone was firm, “It’s not her.”

Ouyang Heng’s reasoning was stuck in his throat, his eyes widened in shock. He didn’t expect his boss to trust Miss Jiang so much.

If it wasn’t Miss Jiang, then who could it be?

Could it be that Qi Nuan didn’t like Miss Sang at first sight?

That wasn’t possible either!

He had checked, Miss Sang and Qi Nuan had only met for the first time last night when they fought.

No matter how you thought about it, it couldn’t be separated from Miss Jiang.

Ouyang Heng scratched his head, he wanted to say what he was thinking, but when he saw Bo Si’s cold gaze, he swallowed his words back.

He changed the subject, “Then what do you think is the reason why Qi Nuan is targeting Miss Sang?”