My Youth Began With Him

“My wife will never do that, she has a lot of trust in me,” Qin Chu said with emphasis.

Before Zhang Manlin could continue, Sun Xiaoxiao followed up, “Yes, President Qin and his wife are considered to be a model couple within our company. They’re very affectionate.”

“Honestly, things like love… all have an expiry date. After a while, the freshness will be gone, and the pillar for support will also be gone. Often, during a time like this, people will fight over the smallest things and will give each other the silent treatment. Some of them might even get a divorce. For those couples that have not gone through this phase, they might look calm on the outside, but deep down, they’ve already secretly turned infatuation into family love. After several years, the man will start swaying and begin to look for a new love outside. After all, they can no longer find that same feeling with their wives anymore. So, a lot of the times, when people reach middle-age, a lot of families face the issue of a cheating partner,” Zhang Manlin rambled on, seemingly to make sense to the point that Sun Xiaoxiao didn’t know how to reply.

Qin Chu didn’t even give Zhang Manlin a glance, and he simply said, “Miss Zhang seems to be very knowledgeable. For those who know, they will think you’re in finance, for those who don’t, they would probably think that you’re a relationship expert.”

“Hehe, President Qin is very humorous. Us girls like to gossip, so I like to browse Weibo when I don’t have anything to do. So, naturally, I’d see more stuff, and understand things a little better than others.”

“President Qin, have some food. You haven’t eaten much since you walked in. I ordered a lot of dishes, but I don’t know if they are to your liking,” Sun Xiaoxiao said anxiously, she was nervous about being a bad host to her boss.

The table was filled with appetizing dishes; there were even some luxurious lobster and mitten crabs.

Looking down, Qin Chu ate slowly, and only had a couple of bites of veggies.

His side profile looked very handsome, Zhang Manlin couldn’t help but throw a couple of side glances at Qin Chu’s face. After a little bit, she picked up a mitten crab liberally and munched on it like no one was watching.

“I love seafood. When I was young, I’d always go to the ravine near the farm to fish out some tiny lobsters. Back then, we didn’t have any money, so I never had any precious seafood like this. It wasn’t until after I started working that I was able to buy some. Last time, when my mom visited me, she was laughing at me and saying maybe I should just marry a seafood seller,” Zhang Manlin said.

“Miss Zhang’s mom is so humorous,” Sun Xiaoxiao cooperated to keep the conversation going.

“President Qin, do you like to eat seafood?” Zhang Manlin asked.

“I don’t eat a lot of seafood unless my wife eats it. Then, I will have some with her.”

“Your wife likes to eat seafood too? Our vice-director?” Zhang Manlin asked in surprise.

“Uh-huh.”

“Ha, that’s easy then. Next time we want to bribe our vice director, we can just gift her seafood,” Zhang Manlin half- joked.

As a young girl, it was a miracle for her to be so comfortable in front of strangers. She ate without a worry in the world, wasn’t pretentious, or dramatic. To Sun Xiaoxiao, Zhang Manlin was very amiable and easy-going. At least in her eyes, Zhang Manlin was not deliberately trying to ingratiate President Qin, nor was she trying to cotton him up. She acted rather normally, unlike all the other girls that tried to get close to Qin Chu.

The entire meal was relatively easy-going, and in general, everyone was having a good time.

“President Qin, thank you again for saving my life with Miss Zhang,” Sun Xiaoxiao gave a toast.

Qin Chu rarely drank and used tea in the replacement of alcohol.

Zhang Manlin, on the other hand, drank quite a bit. Her flushed cheeks stood out on her face.

Sun Xiaoxiao got up after the meal. “Bill, please.”

“Mr. Qin has already paid.” The waitress smiled.

“Uh… President Qin, we agreed that I would be treating, how can I take this gesture from you?” Sun Xiaoxiao was overwhelmed by Qin Chu’s action.

“It’s fine. I don’t have the habit of letting women pay. Let’s go.” As the three of them walked out, Qin Chu led the way. Perhaps Zhang Manlin was a little dizzy, she lost her balance and tripped forward. Sun Xiaoxiao quickly grabbed her. “Miss Zhang, are you okay?”

“Yes, ha, I’m fine.”

“Where do you live? I will drive you home,” Sun Xiaoxiao said.

“Oh… my home is in the same direction as our vice director, haha…” Zhang Manlin chuckled.

As she finished her sentence, Qin Chu stopped in his tracks and gave her a glance.