Chapter 38: Dinner

A perfectly good candle-lit dinner was ruined just like that by the psychologist's sudden appearance. Dave was a rather talkative person and asked Chu Qin about all sorts of things out of curiosity. He was an expert in psychology, hence he enjoyed researching about these sorts of bizarre diseases. He wasn't willing to travel to China at the start. After all, he was also very busy at America. However, after hearing of Zhong Yibin's situation, he grew curious and came over.

"Only remembering one person after losing one's memories, this is my first time seeing such a case!" Dave was extremely interested and he took out a small booklet to start taking notes, "When did you guys meet?"

Zhong Yibin rolled his eyes and ignored him, s.h.i.+fting the strawberry pudding in front of him to Chu Qin, "Eat strawberries."

Chu Qin glared at him, feeling happy yet exasperated, "I don't eat strawberries." Why was this guy so fixated on strawberries.

"……" Zhong Yibin's face reddened suspiciously for a moment. He pa.s.sed him the yellow peach pudding instead and polished off the strawberry one.

"Are strawberries some special memory point?" Dave had some knowledge of Mandarin and could roughly understand their conversation by making a few wild guesses.

"……" Chu Qin choked on the yellow peach pudding.

"Dave, my boyfriend needs to eat his dinner, he's had a difficult day at work. If you have questions, can we talk about it after we finish eating?" Zhong Yibin couldn't endure it any longer and took the initiative to ask.

"Oh, I'm very sorry," Dave blinked innocently and obediently retracted his small booklet. He heard that the East had a rule of 'not speaking when eating and lying down', which he learnt through watching Chinese TV dramas. He had a.s.sumed it was an ancient rule and hadn't expected it to still be relevant now. He was truly lacking in manners. "But please allow me to observe your interactions in detail, try your best to treat me as non-existent."

This meal was done western-style. Chu Qin's main dish was Boston lobster and Zhong Yibin's was snowflake steak. Since Dave was only here in pa.s.sing, he was given a portion of Italian spaghetti.

The roasted lobster glistened with oil. Its back had been sliced open, with shallot powder sprinkled on it. The delicate lobster meat paired with the green shallot powder looked especially appetizing. Chu Qin skewered a piece of lobster meat and upon tasting it, found that the meat was fresh and tasty. So he skewered another piece for Zhong Yibin to eat.

"The taste is not bad," Zhong Yibin beamed as he chewed on it. He cut a piece of steak for Chu Qin to eat as well. He preferred his steak five parts cooked while Chu Qin liked his seven parts cooked, so he specially cut a piece from the side of the steak that was more cooked for Chu Qin.

"You still remember that I like to eat my steak more cooked?" Chu Qin was a little surprised. Seeing the beef meat delivered to his mouth, he stared blankly as his mouth opened to chomp on it.

"Oh, I didn't deliberately remember it. The thought suddenly popped up in my mind while I was cutting the meat," Zhong Yibin smiled as he cut a large piece of meat for himself.

After hearing the two words 'remember' and 'cooked', Dave quickly took out his small booklet and noted it down. [The patient remembers the relevant details of people to whom he is attached to, such as preferring more cooked steak. But he will also remember certain things wrongly, such as strawberries…]

After he finished writing, Zhong Yibin had already picked up a piece of bread that had been grilled till it was yellow and crisp. He dipped it into thick and fragrant bacon-potato soup and fed it to Chu Qin, "This restaurant is the one we ate at with Yu Tang the other day. The food was quite tasty so I made sure to remember it."

Chu Qin crunched down on the bread, producing a crisp sound. When paired with thick bacon-potato soup, the garlic-scented bread was delicious. He had to admit that this restaurant's western food was the best he had eaten recently. It would be great if there wasn't a psychologist opposite constantly staring at them.

Zhong Yibin took back the piece of bread Chu Qin bit into, dipped it into the potato soup and very naturally finished it off. Chu Qin glanced at him and laughed secretly. Whenever Chu Qin lowered his head to eat, Zhong Yibin would sneak a peek at the red scars on his neck and raise his brows in delight. The atmosphere between the two of them was saturated with pink bubbles, like that of a first love.

Dave felt his teeth aching and fiercely inhaled a large mouth of Italian spaghetti. These two guys really treated him as non-existent!

After they finished their main dishes, desert was served, which was also when Dave could finally open his mouth.

"Do you remember all of the memories involving you two or only a portion?" Dave asked gravely. He had already obtained a rough understanding of the situation today at Shengs.h.i.+, but Zhong Yibin wasn't willing to speak about Chu Qin in front of his father and brother so he could only ask now.

"Only a portion at the start but I started recalling a bit after coming into contact with relevant things," Zhong Yibin said after thinking for a while. For example, the 'strawberry flavor' and 'seven parts cooked'. Originally, he only remembered the person Chu Qin, as well as the love in his heart, and not anything else. However, after seeing Chu Qin, he could recall a few moments when they were together.

"Interactions can trigger backup memories, en…" Dave noted it down diligently, "When did you two meet?"

Zhong Yibin thought for a while before shaking his head vacantly.

"Eight years ago," Chu Qin reached out and gripped one of Zhong Yibin's hands under the table, "We only confirmed our relations.h.i.+p about three years ago."

"Why weren't you together during the other five years?" Dave seemed like the host of an emotion-discussing program, his gaze luminous as he looked at them.

"Does this have any link to his treatment?" Chu Qin asked back. This psychologist seemed less and less reliable.

"Oh, of course there is a link. Crazy Dave must understand the things set up in the garden and the battle duration before he can prescribe the tools to battle the zombies," Dave smiled jubilantly as he mimicked the action of a peashooter spitting out peas.

The corner of Chu Qin's mouth twitched.

They had only gotten to know each other during the first two years and didn't interact much. The process of attraction and wooing took up the next three years. After all, this sort of love was not blessed by people. The both of them had never thought of liking another man in the past and confronting their own hearts required a significant amount of time.

……

"Chu Qin, are you free during the weekend to go swimming with me?" The Director dressed in Western-style clothes smiled as he posed this question to the host who had just got off the stage.

"Okay, I'm free during the weekends," The youthful Chu Qin smiled without any vigilance.

The sunlight during summer was extremely beautiful. He had originally thought that Zhong Yibin invited a bunch of people but didn't expect the two of them to only be accompanied by a maid in an exquisite villa.

The swimsuit-clad Zhong Yibin revealed an undoubtedly rugged yet pretty body as he swept his wet, slightly long hair back. In the process, his bright forehead was exposed, along with a handsome aura that n.o.body would contest.

"My swimming isn't that good," Chu Qin stood ash.o.r.e with some hesitation. These days, his heart would pound quickly when he got close to Zhong Yibin and he would always feel at a loss whenever they were alone.

Zhong Yibin stood in the water and held open his arms, "It's fine, I'll save you if you drown."

The cooling water alleviated the blistering heat of summer. Chu Qin sighed in comfort when he was suddenly hugged from behind. Shocked, he quickly turned around and b.u.mped his nose bridge against Zhong Yibin's st.u.r.dy chest.

"Scared me…" Chu Qin stretched out a hand and pressed against that nice-to-touch chest. After making contact, he couldn't bear to take away his hand, almost as if there was some force of attraction binding them.

Zhong Yibin lowered his head and used his thumb to stroke Chu Qin's wet lips, "Chu Qin, I want to kiss you."

"Ah? What?" Chu Qin raised his head blankly. He hadn't reacted when a pair of slightly cold, thin lips pressed against his, causing his eyes to immediately widen. It was only three minutes later that he regained his senses and pushed Zhong Yibin away, wiping his mouth as he retreated, "You… Why did you kiss…"

"I like you," That deep, melodious voice resounded in the swimming pool, firm yet br.i.m.m.i.n.g with suns.h.i.+ne. Chu Qin could no longer recall how he answered him, only knowing that the Zhong Yibin that day smiled as brightly as the summer sun.

……

"I like you too…" Chu Qin muttered and hugged the warm body beside him tightly.

Zhong Yibin, who was immersed in his dreams, didn't even open his eyes. Yet, he subconsciously tightened his arms and hugged the person deeper into his embrace.

That night, Dave asked a whole bunch of questions before returning to the Zhong family with creased brows. For the next few days, he vanished without leaving even a shadow. Hence, Zhong Yibin pushed that unreliable outsider to the back of his mind. He was currently very busy, given that both

and

were about to be launched. He needed to keep a close eye on his collaboration with Yu Tang, and the manpower his father had given him had also arrived.

"Based on the current situation, it is impossible for Zhou Zimeng to have done everything so perfectly given her abilities. Eldest young master even received a threatening call a few days ago…" The person speaking was the a.s.sistant given by Father Zhong, Zhong Lou. His name made it seem like he had some blood relation to the Zhong family, but in actuality, they were five generations apart.

Zhong Yibin looked down for a long time with a cold expression on his face, "Have you checked on the person who stopped the police bureau from handing out the phone?"

"The people higher-up have retrieved the bank statements of those two police officers, as well as the manager. But no suspicious transactions have been found, they should have dealt in cash," Zhong Lou said somewhat apologetically.

Destroying all evidence promptly and dealing in large amounts of cash - only a calm veteran could have carried out such hatred so steadily. Perhaps it was Father Zhou who acted or perhaps it was Zhou Zimeng's partners who were capable.

"Act according to the plan," Rage burned in the depths of Zhong Yibin's eyes. On the surface they acted as friends, yet they harmed his baby in the dark. These people must pay the price.

On that day, Wu Wan, who went to work under his sister's supervision, received Zhong Yibin's call, "8pm, Hilltop Fireworks Terrace. Are you going?"

"Going, of course I'm going," Wu Wan excitedly cried out, peeking at his sister from the corner of his eye.

"Call those few out, I have something to say," Zhong Yibin finished what he wanted to say and hung up.

The author has something to say:

Small theater:

Er Bing: Then?

Qin Qin: What then?

Er Bing: That dream, what happened after the kiss

Qin Qin: Nothing happened

Er Bing: How is that possible, shouldn't you have been pressed against the poolside and [beep–] under those circ.u.mstances?

Qin Qin: →_→

h.e.l.lo everyone, I'm the lord of the ma.n.u.script box. The chick has gone on a trip, so I'll be taking care of everyone the next two days~ But I won't look at the tickets[1], let's be grateful together when the chick returns~

[1] A way for readers to encourage and support their favorite novels

Translator's corner: Something tells me that if Dave weren't a psychologist, he would be giving Chu Qin a run for his money rofl