Why is the system taking my request to photograph a cosplayer seriously?

Chapter 8: The Girls' Families

In the restaurant's seafood section, the sound of flowing water filled the air as various kinds of fresh seafood swam in huge, transparent glass tanks.

Ding Heng, with his back to the corridor, leaned slightly forward, examining a magnificent lobster waving its large claws in the tank, hesitating whether to steam it or serve it with garlic.

Suddenly, a figure appeared on the smooth glass tank wall, silently approaching.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

A gasp escaped Ding Heng's lips, accompanied by the sudden magnification of a pretty face's reflection, which appeared abruptly before him.

Ding Heng was startled by the sudden "face-to-face kiss" and shrugged slightly. He turned his head and met Zhao Yanxi's clear, bright eyes.

"You scared me!"

Ding Heng chuckled, watching Zhao Yanxi's smug little expression as she watched her prank succeed.

"whee."

Zhao Yanxi turned her gaze to the seafood tank and pointed to one of the fish without hesitation: "Brother Ding Heng, let's eat that!"

Ding Heng looked over and saw an ugly fish.

Its grayish-brown body is pitted and covered with nodular protrusions and algae-like deposits, making it look like an underwater reef, lazily lying at the bottom of the tank.

Stonefish, including processing fees, easily fetches over four figures per kilogram.

Ding Heng raised an eyebrow: "Why this one?"

Zhao Yanxi said matter-of-factly, "Because it's ugly!"

Ding Heng was amused by the reason of "serving according to appearance" and didn't say much. He waved to the waiter to take out a fish to weigh, and then looked behind Zhao Yanxi.

Zhao Yanxi noticed Ding Heng's gaze and pouted, "Don't look. Xiao Jing is as shy as paper. She was too embarrassed to come along. Otherwise, just looking at the prices would have filled her up."

Ding Heng withdrew his gaze and continued selecting seafood: "Has Wenjing always been like this? A bit introverted?"

"It's more than just introverted."

Zhao Yanxi sighed, "Sometimes I wonder if she's a little autistic, but once you get to know her, you'll find that she's a really nice person, just easily shy and has too many worries."

Ding Heng then asked, "What do her parents do?"

Zhao Yanxi did not answer immediately, her gaze was drawn to a large, energetic creature next to her.

Wow! Australian lobster!

She excitedly tapped the water tank: "I've never eaten it before, I've only seen it in videos!"

Ding Heng understood and gestured to the waiter to take one out for weighing.

Zhao Yanxi then turned back, satisfied, and continued the previous topic.

"Her parents are both state-owned enterprise workers in Zhuzhou. They have stable jobs and decent pay, but... there are just too many people in her family, and the expenses are huge."

Ding Heng asked again, "Are there too many people in your family?"

Zhao Yanxi's gaze drifted to the other side: "Ugh, that fish is so ugly too!"

Ding Heng was both amused and exasperated: "Hey, you're really not being polite."

"Hmph! Wenjing is my best friend, my sister, someone I grew up with. She thinks I'd betray her!"

Zhao Yanxi put her hands on her hips and raised her chin slightly: "I need to pay more!"

Ding Heng felt no pressure and signaled the waiter to continue scooping the fish up for weighing.

For him, the immediate need is to understand Wenjing better and figure out how to "purify" her.

As the third seafood was caught in the net, Zhao Yanxi began to slowly recount her story.

"Besides Wenjing and her parents, Wenjing's family includes an older sister who graduated from university but failed her postgraduate entrance exam and is now a stay-at-home mom, a younger sister who didn't do well in school and was assigned to a vocational high school, and..."

She paused, then sighed softly.

"A younger brother who just started elementary school."

Ding Heng reacted almost instantly.

The phrase "carrying on the family line" carries too much weight.

As a dual-income family working for a state-owned enterprise, having so many children must have come at a considerable cost!

In such a family structure, being the "second child" almost inevitably leads to personality flaws.

Ding Heng didn't delve any deeper into the topic, but Zhao Yanxi's eyes darted around, and she moved even closer.

"Brother Ding Heng, you're asking so many questions... do you really want to pursue our Xiao Jing?"

Did I ever say I was going to pursue her?

"Tch!" Zhao Yanxi scoffed. "Why are you being so attentive if you're not even pursuing her?"

Ding Heng smiled and offered no explanation.

He was also aware that his series of actions might seem suspicious to outsiders.

Zhao Yanxi suddenly put on a stern face, pretending to be fierce as she pointed her right hand at Ding Heng as if it were a pistol.

"I'm warning you, my dad's a policeman! If you dare bully Xiaojing because she's honest, or behave inappropriately towards her, I'll have my dad arrest you!"

She tried to make a fierce expression, but her clear, watery eyes revealed a touch of naivety and cuteness.

Ding Heng asked in surprise, "Your dad's a policeman?"

"Didn't expect that, did you?"

Zhao Yanxi chuckled and put down her "gun": "My mom is a Chinese language teacher at our top high school in Zhuzhou, and she's taught so many students who went on to get into Tsinghua and Peking Universities!"

Ding Heng suddenly realized that it was both unexpected and perfectly reasonable.

He truly hadn't expected that the unconventional Zhao Yanxi would come from a traditional family of police officers and teachers.

But it is often in this relatively stable, orderly family environment, where a lot of love and expectations are likely poured into the only daughter, that a cheerful, sunny, and poised daughter is born.

After selecting their seafood, the two returned to their private room.

The meal went fairly well.

During the meal, Ding Heng and Zhao Yanxi mainly steered the conversation, chatting about their future university life, their respective interests and hobbies, reminiscing about fun times in high school, and complaining about a certain classmate...

Wenjing mostly listened quietly, only occasionally answering a question in a soft voice, and she didn't move her chopsticks much.

Zhao Yanxi seemed to have completely forgotten about adding Ding Heng on WeChat, and she maintained a very good sense of propriety while chatting and laughing.

We had almost finished eating, but there was still more than half of the food left on the table.

Zhao Yanxi waved to the waiter: "Waiter, please pack this up!"

Wenjing seemed a little flustered: "Yanxi, isn't this... a bit inappropriate?"

Ding Heng paid for this meal, so how could they, as guests, eat and take things with them?

Zhao Yanxi said nonchalantly, "What's wrong with that? This whole table is full of money! It only takes us an hour to get back to Zhuzhou from Xingcheng. The food will still be warm when we get home. It's perfect for your sister to try."

Soon, several large, elegant takeout bags printed with the hotel logo were filled to the brim.

The two girls each carried two or three items and stood at the entrance of the private room. At first glance, they looked just like delivery girls who had come in a hurry to pick up their food.

Zhao Yanxi waved goodbye to Ding Heng with a bright smile: "Brother Ding Heng, remember to look us up next time you come to Zhuzhou!"

Wenjing stammered, "Thank you...you've gone to so much trouble again."

Ding Heng responded gently, "Be careful on the road."

As the two girls stepped into the elevator, Sister Sun suddenly caught up with them, smiling, and asked, "Xiao Ding, your friend was in a hurry to pay the bill earlier, so he didn't ask if he needed an invoice?"

Ding Heng was startled. He took the bill and looked at it. After the 20% discount, it was just over 10,000 yuan.

He turned his head to look at the elevator, and the elevator doors began to slowly close.

Through the crack in the door, Zhao Yanxi made a V sign with one hand and winked mischievously with her right eye.

(◕‿↼)＜！

His smile was sly and adorable.