Turning Antagonist to Protagonist: He is Both Soft and Fierce-Chapter 241 - 236: The Villain’s EQ Is Beyond Saving

Chapter 241: Chapter 236: The Villain’s EQ Is Beyond Saving

"Don’t want to sit, Sister-in-law, have a pancake." Song Tingfan handed the pancake to her.

"Haven’t you eaten yet?"

Seeing him shake his head, Lin Qiao sighed inwardly. He’s really too considerate. She handed him a pancake, "Don’t wait next time. If you’re hungry, just eat. I won’t scold you."

Song Tingfan didn’t avoid eating out of fear of her reprimand. He just wanted to wait and eat together with her. He quickly explained, "It’s not fear of being scolded, I just wanted to wait for Sister-in-law to eat together."

Lin Qiao didn’t take it to heart and didn’t continue the topic.

Both had a pancake each. When it was almost noon, Manager Li came calling them for lunch, apologizing, "I was busy till now and just got free. Must be hungry."

Lin Qiao shook her head, indicating it was fine.

The three of them went down, and Manager Li called out to a young woman in a green dress below, "Zhen’er, come here."

The woman in the green dress wasn’t extraordinarily pretty, but she was charming enough. Her eyebrows and eyes were nicely shaped, slightly rounded, and her gaze was bright and very pleasing, the kind that elders would like at first glance.

However, despite being charming, there was still a significant difference between her and Zhang Danou.

Thinking of this, Lin Qiao turned to gauge Song Tingfan’s expression beside her, only to find him looking at her, "..."

This antagonist’s emotional intelligence is beyond saving. No wonder the original character in the dream didn’t last, and the heroine never appeared.

Caught off guard, the young man’s eyes momentarily showed panic and then uncomfortably shifted his gaze away.

Once again, the two of them were not on the same page.

Manager Li noticed Song Tingfan’s reaction and assumed he was just shy. He cheerfully introduced, "Zhen’er, this is Miss Qiao, and her uncle, Song Tingfan."

Li Zhen had already heard about him being the guy for matchmaking earlier. She glanced over, finding him to be quite handsome and tall. She was somewhat shy, "Miss Qiao..."

Not knowing how to address Song Tingfan, she paused.

Lin Qiao quickly came to the rescue, "You can call him Tingfan or Xiao Fan,"

Li Zhen nodded, "Xiao Fan."

Song Tingfan glanced at her and politely nodded, "Sister Zhen’er."

Although Li Zhen indeed was a year older than Song Tingfan, calling her "Sister" was rather unnecessary. Lin Qiao was like, "..."

If a matchmaking prospect called me "Sister," I probably wouldn’t be too pleased.

Afraid of any misunderstanding, she aimed to smooth things over, "Just call her Zhen’er, no need to be so formal."

Manager Li saw nothing wrong, agreeing with a smile, "Just call her Zhen’er, that’s fine. Come on, the waiter just called."

Upon exiting, they bumped into Wei Yun, who was also leaving the shop. Manager Li immediately greeted him with respect, "Boss, have you eaten? Want to join us?"

"Hmm." Wei Yun was indeed headed out for a meal. Glancing over the group, he eventually nodded?

Manager Li, not expecting the young master to nod, was momentarily taken aback but recovered quickly, extending his hand, "This way, Young Master."

The group of five arrived at a nearby inn, not expecting the young master would join, so Manager Li had reserved a table in the main hall.

He worried that the young master might not like the noise, so he asked the waiter, "Is there a private room available?"

Given the time was noon, naturally, there weren’t any. But the waiter recognized Wei Yun, owner of the Ruyi Shop and eldest son of the Wei Family, he eagerly said, "I’ll check right away, please hold on a moment." He then ran to ask the shopkeeper.

After a while, he returned a bit out of breath, "There is one, Mr. Wei, please follow me up."

Compared to the heat outside, the private room was much cooler. Lin Qiao glanced at the ice blocks placed on the ground, indeed money talks.

After they sat down, the waiter served the dishes.

With Wei Yun present, Manager Li didn’t feel comfortable speaking much, and the private room was quiet.

Wei Yun seemed to notice, pursed his lips, "Feel free."

Manager Li nodded repeatedly, "Okay."

Then he urged Lin Qiao and the others, "Eat more, order whatever you want."

"Okay."

Lin Qiao didn’t feel awkward, but she found it difficult to converse with Li Zhen. She glanced at Song Tingfan beside her who was just eating plain rice without even reaching for the dishes.

Probably afraid of embarrassing her.

She reached out and placed a piece of fish in his bowl, "Eat more."

Wei Yun glanced at the two, finally resting his eyes on Lin Qiao, but soon looked away.

After the meal, a fruit platter was brought in. Song Tingfan took a fruit and handed it to Lin Qiao, happily signaling her to eat.

This shows that the antagonist’s emotional intelligence isn’t entirely lacking; it just needs a different person. Lin Qiao accepted it and handed it to Li Zhen, "Here, Zhen’er, you have it first."

She could be described as an all-capable mother, adept at making money, cooking, and even matchmaking for the antagonist.

Li Zhen glanced at Song Tingfan, her cheeks slightly flushed as she accepted it, "Thank you, Miss Qiao."

Judging by her expression, she seemed to have a good impression of Song Tingfan. Lin Qiao’s smile deepened at this thought.

However, Song Tingfan beside her wasn’t pleased. Sister-in-law gave away the fruit he offered, so he quickly took another fruit for Lin Qiao, "Sister-in-law, you eat."

Don’t give it to others.

Lin Qiao nodded without much thought, took a bite, the fruit was sweet, juicier than wild fruits.

When she found out how much this meal cost, she realized why the good things were so delectable.

The inn’s shopkeeper personally came over to calculate the bill, spending quite some time on the abacus, "It’s a total of five taels and three hundred twenty cents. Just give five taels of silver."

Lin Qiao wasn’t someone who hasn’t seen good things, but common dishes costing five taels of silver were indeed exorbitant, "..."

She inadvertently glanced at Song Tingfan beside her, who likely also heard five taels of silver and was "startled."

Despite showing no signs on his face, Manager Li felt a pinch. If not for being in a private room, it might have been just one or two taels of silver.

Still, it was acceptable.

Wei Yun didn’t even bat an eyelid and said plainly, "Put it on my tab. I’ll settle it later at Ruyi Shop."

The shopkeeper nodded with a smile, "Thank you, Young Master."

"No, I’ll settle it." Manager Li didn’t dare let the young master pay, quickly took out the silver to cover the cost.

The inn’s shopkeeper looked at Wei Yun, signaling whether to accept it or not. Wei Yun spoke again, "Settle it later at Ruyi Shop." With that, he looked at Lin Qiao, as if waiting for her to eat the fruit.

Lin Qiao didn’t notice, but Song Tingfan did, awkwardly pursing his lips, he didn’t like this person.

Just like Xu Hu.

Seeing no one intended to take the leftover fruits, Lin Qiao thought about asking to pack them, but held back the words.

If she packed them, would Manager Li and Li Zhen see her as stingy?

Actually, if Wei Yun weren’t here, Manager Li would also pack them. The fruits were expensive, one piece costing dozens of cents.

...

With Wei Yun in company, no one said much. Upon reaching Ruyi Shop, Wei Yun went upstairs to rest.

Manager Li intended to ask his niece a few questions, but since the shop was busy by then, he could only let her go home first.

Lin Qiao still had some things to discuss with Lady Yun, so she couldn’t leave yet. She said to Song Tingfan, "Uncle, go find a room nearby to take a nap, and come over by dusk so we can go out for dinner." Saying this, she handed him the money bag.