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Chapter 18

"Brother Qiao!" Seeing Lin Qiao suddenly, Rika was both surprised and excited, "Why didn't you call me when you came to live?!"

Lin Qiao smiled at her: "I went out to play with my colleagues, I didn't know they booked this place."

"Lawyer Lin, do you know the proprietress?!" Emily on the side scolded, "If I knew it, I wouldn't have to go through so much effort to book a room. Fortunately, someone here just checked out."

"Someone checks out at this time?" Lin Qiao raised an eyebrow at her, "That's really lucky."

With a thought in her mind, Rika suddenly understood why the person who really helped to book the room asked her not to mention her name.

"Isn't it? It's just such a coincidence." Sighing silently in her heart, Rika took over the conversation, "Brother Qiao, please let me know first, I won't accept your money."

Lin Qiao shook her head: "What was reimbursed by the room rate office must be used up—can you treat us to dinner tonight?"

"Okay, okay, of course," Rika agreed with a smile, "Go to your room and rest first, I will cover all lunch and dinner."

Emily went ahead and flattered her: "Lawyer Lin is so embarrassing, I just wanted to ask the proprietress where to eat."

"I'll ask the restaurant next door to deliver the food later," Rika said while handing a stack of key cards to Emily. "You guys rest first, and I'll call you for dinner."

Emily thanked her, took the key card and went to assign a room to her colleagues.Seeing her walk away, Rika took out another card and handed it directly to Lin Qiao.

"Brother Qiao, I have reserved a room for you."

When Lin Qiao opened the door of room 201, the noon sun was shining into the room through the osmanthus tree outside the window, leaving a mottled light and shadow.

A few years ago, standing in this position, Lin Qiao looked at the light and shadow, and thought of "an inch of time is an inch of gold".

After "Time" opened, the former boss left this beautiful place for himself to live in.Compared with when Lin Qiao left, the tatami mats were removed in the room, and a King Size double bed was added.

Lin Qiao threw the luggage bag on the ground, closed the door with his backhand, and lay face up on the double bed.

Looking at the snow-white ceiling with wide eyes, he suddenly wanted to laugh.At this moment, what should I think about?Should we reminisce about the sweet words in the bright weather, or leave the slowly gloomy weather that day?

The memory is too full and heavy, how can his brain be enough?

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During lunch time, Rika set up a table of dishes in the yard outside to entertain Lin Qiao and his party.The food is ordered from a familiar Hangzhou restaurant nearby. It is light and delicious, which is very suitable for enjoying on such a spring day.

Everyone had to go out to play in the afternoon, and there was no drinking during the dinner. The desserts of "Time" are very famous. After the meal, Rika served them Longjing tea and western desserts, which won praise from everyone.

According to Emily's plan, after eating and resting for a while, everyone will set off to climb nearby mountains.Lin Qiao was not interested in spending his energy with them, so after dismissing his subordinates, he stayed in the hotel to chat with Rika.

"Business is okay?"

"It's not bad." Rika made a cup of coffee for Lin Qiao and put it in front of him. "With the reputation you have gained in the past few years, the business must be good... You and the boss asked me to take over 'Time' at this time. I I don't even know how to say thank you."

"We thank you," Lin Qiao bowed his head and took a sip of coffee silently, "Thank you for keeping this place going."

Rika looked at his slightly sad look, and suddenly didn't know what to say.

"By the way, where's the cat?" After a while of silence, Lin Qiao raised his head and looked around - until now, he hasn't seen the tabby cat that likes to lie on his lap.

"'Little Qiao'?" Rika yelled slyly, "The boss is reluctant to take it to Shanghai."

Lin Qiao curled her lips: "It's not called Xiao Qiao... it's called a cat."

Seeing his preoccupation, Rika laughed secretly, and changed the subject casually: "Brother Qiao, how are you doing? Work is going well?"

Lin Qiao cleared his throat: "I've been busy recently, and the whole group of colleagues have worked hard, so I went out for a trip to relax."

"Well, I'll discuss the route with Emily tonight...you guys will have breakfast here tomorrow, right?" Rika pinched her fingers and counted the number, "Seven?"

Seeing her counting the number of people, Lin Qiao suddenly remembered something. He lowered his head, turned on his phone, and clicked on an app.

"Add another, a friend may..."

Before the words were finished, the sliding door in the lobby was pushed open with one hand, and the sunny doll hanging in front of the porch rang loudly.

Lin Qiao turned her head to take a look, and sighed inwardly—as expected, Xie Rui came indeed.I saw him sitting in front of the bar, striding over.

"Hi, Rika," walked a few steps to the bar, Xie Rui put one hand on Lin Qiao's shoulder, and took out his passport from his pocket with the other and put it on the table, "Please help me to register for the accommodation."

Rika was confused by this sudden plot.She looked straight at Xie Rui, and suddenly pointed at him and said excitedly: "Ah, I remember! You are Brother Qiao's friend, and you lived here at this time last year!"

Xie Rui smiled at her, and hugged Lin Qiao a little tighter: "Thank you for taking care of me, and helped me book a train ticket to Shanghai when I was leaving."

"That's right, that's right," the handsome guy in front of him was so eye-catching that it was hard for Rika to forget, "You used to have long hair, but you look handsome even if you cut it short."

When she said this, Lin Qiao also remembered that she accompanied Xie Rui to cut off her long hair at a nearby barbershop last year.

At that time, Xie Rui flew to look for him from the other side of the ocean, but he couldn't respond - he thought he just missed it. In the end, it was thanks to Xie Rui's efforts that the two finally got together.

Thinking of this, Lin Qiao raised his hand to cover Xie Rui's on his shoulder: "Rika, let me introduce you formally. This is my husband Xie Rui."

After his words fell, Rika opened her mouth and looked at them without any concealment, before holding back a sentence after a while: "Brother Qiao, are you married?"

Lin Qiao nodded, and Xie Rui on the side added: "My wedding with Lin Qiao was held in Chicago last year."

"Then... congratulations." Rika murmured congratulations with complicated emotions.

At this moment, a customer came to the bar to order coffee.Seeing this, Lin Qiao stood up, said to Rika "you go first", and then dragged Xie Rui away.

The spring was just right in the yard, Lin Qiao looked outside the fence, and saw Xie Rui's black sports car as expected - this guy must have been driving all the way here, and I don't know if he got a ticket on the highway.

"Have you had anything for lunch?"

"No..." Xie Rui said cheekily and coquettishly, "I'm hungry and thirsty now."

Lin Qiao rolled his eyes at him, turned around and went in, took a bottle of water and threw it to him.

Xie Rui took the water and unscrewed the cap, raised his head and drank most of the bottle in one breath.

Looking at the "hungry and thirsty" narrow-minded people around her, Lin Qiao said helplessly, "Give me the car keys, and I will take you to dinner."

The car went down the mountain from Manjuelong, detoured three times and entered an alley in the city.There is a small noodle restaurant in the alley, which only does business for half a day every day, and closes the shop for rest during winter and summer vacations.

Lin Qiao led Xie Rui in to find a seat familiarly, and ordered two bowls of "Pianerchuan" with the boss.

"It's a coincidence," Lin Qiao said as he slowly moved the noodles in his bowl, "The noodle restaurant won't accept orders in another 5 minutes."

Hangzhou's famous folk snack "Pianerchuan" uses fresh spring bamboo shoots, plus the store's secret "Daoducai" and freshly fried shredded pork as toppings for noodle soup, which is extremely delicious.

The noodle shops deep in the alleys cannot afford advertisements, and rely on word of mouth from the local population to bring in business.Xie Rui raced all the way to Hangzhou on a hungry stomach, and at this moment a bowl of warm noodles was placed in front of him, and he finished it in a short while.

Lin Qiao just had lunch and couldn't eat at all.Seeing that he had almost eaten, Lin Qiao pushed his noodle bowl over.

Xie Rui raised his head and smiled at him, changed the noodle bowl and continued to move his chopsticks.

Lin Qiao sat across from him, unconsciously turning the wedding ring on her hand.After admiring Xie Rui's eating for a long time, he suddenly asked:

"Aren't you so tired?"

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