The Onion-Cutting Ninja's Secret Crush

139 Adrift in the Ocean

While the four of them were waiting, Fan Mei and Si Qi had made their way over to a nearby restaurant, managing to get a table. Usually, the places around the hotel where 'Golden Spoon' was being filmed, were fully booked but it seemed that they had gotten lucky and snatched up the one table that had still been left unoccupied.

Si Qi almost heaved a sigh of relief when they sat down. Even though he had resolved to talk with Si Shi Qi's sister, that didn't mean that he was eager to spend more time with her than he needed to. After all, there was always a certain liability in interacting with her.

Fan Mei was a suspicious person. Every word you said to her would be considered twice and then for a third time if she found any new information related to it at a later point. At the moment, this whole story surrounding their master was already something that she had sunk her teeth into.

After running into a wall again and again, most people would be dissuaded from continuing but for her, it would even make her be more reluctant to give up. No, she would continue to investigate until she found the 'truth' or whatever she could accept to be the truth.

Really, he wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing. Maybe he should have left it at what he had said in the studio. But then, if somebody was open and honest with her and actually had a calm conversation, then maybe she would be more likely to accept what they said.

Fan Mei might sound unhinged to casual bystanders but actually, she had a keen intuition. She had grown up in a family with a huge secret. Her own father and brother had a secret identity that was being kept from her. Even if she didn't know, she had always felt it. This was likely what had inspired her to become a reporter in the first place.

In a way, he couldn't even be angry at her. Yes, she continuously made trouble for them. Yes, she was working on exposing them and their master. But he understood why she was doing this.

She had been lied to her whole life and she had realized early on enough that it had deeply affected her. In a way, this was a self-fulfilling prophecy: Because she caught onto the fact that something was wrong, she became suspicious and began to investigate. Because she investigated, her father grew more cautious, not wanting to expose anything to her because he couldn't trust what she would do with the knowledge. But the more he tried to hide it, the more she wanted to know. And thus, they had landed themselves in this never-ending cycle of her interference.

He didn't know for sure but he hoped that showing her some sincerity would break this cycle. Even if she wasn't told everything, it might be enough for her to put her suspicions to rest. At the very least, that was what he hoped for.

The two of them didn't start talking immediately and instead ordered their food first. Even after the waiter left, Si Qi didn't start the topic immediately and instead tried to ease into it by mentioning the show. "It's been the first day of 'Golden Spoon' today. Compared to the casting, I felt that it was much more difficult. Suddenly being confronted with the tasks ... it made me realize how lacking my skills actually are."

Fan Mei looked at him, not sure what to think. This person seemed more open than her brother or that Si Jin and his assistant who she had been eating with the last time. Even compared to her brother's wife, there was more of a conversational tone to what he was saying. Well, of course, she would try to make use of that. "You know my brother, don't you?"

Si Qi looked at her, not surprised in the least that she would directly get to that question. He gave a faint nod. "Not very well but you could say that he's an acquaintance."

Fan Mei gave a hum. She kept quiet for a moment but then propped her arms up on the table and leaned forward, feeling that she might as well inquire further. "How do you know him? Through your job?"