"I... you..."
Shang Honglian was bewildered by Qin Chuan's nonsensical answer, her mind filled with descriptions of "indirect kissing" her classmates used to tease each other with during school.
The grilled meat skewer had her saliva on it, yet Qin Chuan picked it up and ate it, as if he had also eaten her saliva. Such an intimate act was something she had never experienced since she could remember.
For a moment, she didn't know if it was the spice or her shyness, but her oval face turned even redder, appearing exceptionally alluring in the dim light.
"Oh... I get it!"
It was then that Qin Chuan finally understood: "You college students nowadays, do you have some trendy saying like 'indirect kissing' on campus?"
Although Qin Chuan hadn't gone to college, he had lived two lives and had similar experiences.
"You... you shut up, someone might hear!"
Shang Honglian was startled and stood up anxiously, wanting to cover Qin Chuan's mouth. They were locals, and in such a busy street, they might run into someone they knew.
If someone heard or saw this, she would be utterly humiliated!
"It's okay, at worst I'll give it back to you, then we'll be even!"
Qin Chuan casually picked up a skewer without spice, took a bite, and offered it to her.
"You're annoying, take it away! Who wants to eat your leftovers!"
Shang Honglian immediately dodged far away, seemingly afraid that Qin Chuan would force her to eat the skewer.
"Haha, just teasing you, you actually took it seriously?"
Qin Chuan laughed heartily, grabbed the beer on the table, and took a big gulp, feeling refreshed.
Just as he was about to continue teasing Shang Honglian, he suddenly looked back. For some reason, ever since they entered this food street, he had a feeling that someone was following him.
That feeling reappeared, but after checking several times, he couldn't find any suspicious individuals.
"That's strange, could it be my imagination?"
Qin Chuan was somewhat puzzled.
It was already past nine in the evening, and the entire food street was crowded, a mix of people.
Out of caution, Qin Chuan felt he couldn't stay any longer. Han Shifei had been silent for over twenty days since he returned.
This reaction was too unusual; Qin Chuan felt the other party was planning something big.
Moreover, tonight it was just him and Shang Honglian out, making them vulnerable. If Han Shifei made any small moves, he would be in trouble.
"Honglian, come and finish the rest, I'll take you home!"
With this thought, Qin Chuan decided not to delay any further. Better safe than sorry.
"It's only nine o'clock, it's still early, why go home, I don't want to go home!"
Shang Honglian shook her head like a rattle drum, and seeing Qin Chuan's small move to pull her back, she retreated while grinning, "Qin Chuan, come and catch me! If you catch me, I'll go home with you!"
With that said, she turned and disappeared into the bustling street in an instant.
"Damn it!!"
Seeing Shang Honglian's playful mood, Qin Chuan forgot about eating and stood up to chase after her.
These were critical times, and Shang Honglian's identity was also special. Any accident would have dire consequences!
The ten million loan from Shang Bingrong was a resource Qin Chuan valued greatly. With this ten million, he dared to venture into the sandpit business and expand his real estate holdings.
Without this ten million, the sandpit business was out of the question. He would have to wait for the funds to return after the houses were sold before slowly developing.
At past nine in the evening, the food street was bustling with people, with groups of people everywhere.
"Hee hee, you can't catch me! You can't catch me!"
Amidst the crowd, Shang Honglian, dressed in red, was like a fiery sprite in the dark night, weaving agilely through the crowd. She occasionally looked back and made a face at Qin Chuan, who was chasing her.
Qin Chuan glared, wanting to speed up, but the narrow and crowded street didn't allow for it. He could only keep his eyes fixed on the red figure ahead.
Fortunately, Shang Honglian was wearing a red dress, making her very conspicuous. Otherwise, if she had been wearing ordinary clothes, there would have been a high chance of losing her.
The two of them, thus, chased and fled through the narrow and crowded food street, enacting a scene from a dramatic romance film.
After running for a while, the area ahead suddenly became spacious. Shang Honglian was also tired, bending over and gasping for breath.
Qin Chuan appeared from behind and found that without realizing it, they had run out of the food street and reached the mouth of a secluded alley.
The surroundings were filled with dilapidated houses, and there were no streetlights. It was dark and a bit spooky.
"Had enough running? Can you come home with me now?"
They had chased each other across half the food street, and Qin Chuan was also a little out of breath.
"Hee hee, I just didn't want to go home so early. You're such a person. I thought you were interesting during the day, but why have you become so boring at night?"
Shang Honglian giggled. Even in the dim night, one could feel the mischievous spirit of this girl.
Just as Qin Chuan was about to say something, his expression suddenly changed, and he quickly turned around.
He saw several figures emerge from the shadows behind him at some point.
These individuals were all dressed in black, wearing masks that only exposed their eyes, mouths, and noses.
There were four of them in total, all burly and menacing, carrying weapons like clubs and daggers.
The sudden turn of events startled Shang Honglian, who stared blankly at the four black-clad figures who had suddenly appeared.
"Qin... Qin Chuan, who are they?"
Shang Honglian stammered in fear.
"Heh heh, what a pair of lovebirds. It's quite romantic to be playing a cat-and-mouse game this late at night!"
"It made us brothers chase for a long time!"
Before Qin Chuan could speak, one of the black-clad men spoke first, his voice sinister.
"Friends, in this world, everyone encounters difficulties at times!"
"If you are short of money, I can give you some. Please do not hurt anyone!"
Qin Chuan slowly retreated to Shang Honglian's side, trying his best to remain calm.
He couldn't figure out if these four suddenly appearing individuals were genuine bandits operating in various places, or if they were people sent by Han Shifei, disguised and targeting him.
The most important thing now was to protect Shang Honglian and himself.
Qin Chuan now completely understood. His earlier feeling of being followed likely came from these four, who had been watching them in the food street.
"Oh, brother, you're quite sensible. Well said!"
Another black-clad man chimed in.
"My brothers are indeed in need of money. We're new to this area and a bit short on cash..."
Qin Chuan swiftly took out his wallet, showing his ID and some business cards to everyone, then tossed the wallet over.
"Friends, there's about a thousand yuan in here. As you can see, I haven't touched a cent!"
"Take it all, and let's pretend today's incident never happened, how about it?"