Overnight Hit: Vicious Stepmother and Genius Son
Chapter 366 Sorry to Keep You Waiting!

Chapter 366: Chapter 366 Sorry to Keep You Waiting!

Who is she chatting with that she’s smiling so happily?

Even when he walked up to her, she didn’t realize...

Ye Zhenzhen felt an intense, chilly presence and looked up. Seeing the man, her eyes flickered slightly before she looked behind him. Not seeing Xiao Chen, she asked, "Where is Xiao Chen?"

Just now, Aunt Li had mentioned that he had taken Xiao Chen out, so she assumed that when he returned, Xiao Chen would naturally be back.

"Grandpa took him fishing, and he won’t be back this weekend," the man replied indifferently, without any particular emotion.

Ye Zhenzhen showed a hint of disappointment, "We promised to take him out to play, but I woke up late. Was it you who turned off the alarm clock?"

Song Jinze sat down next to the woman, bracing himself on the sofa and faced her. "Yes, dad contacted me this morning wanting to take Xiao Chen out. Since you were so tired, I cancelled the alarm clock."

At that moment, Da Mi’s WeChat message came back;

[Are you sure you want to meet with me?]

She sent Da Mi a reply earlier to arrange a meeting. The original host’s memory wasn’t complete, with some parts remembered and some forgotten. The other party had helped her so much, and yet she didn’t know who it was. It was only right to meet up and personally thank them.

While Ye Zhenzhen was reading the message, Song Jinze caught a glimpse of the few words on the WeChat screen. Who was she planning to meet with?

And that WeChat profile picture did not look like one of a woman’s.

His right brow raised slightly. His dark eyes fixed unblinkingly on the woman in front of him. Before he could speak, another jarring WeChat notification sound came through.

Da Mi: [12:30 PM at Lanyun Pavilion, if you stand me up again, don’t contact me anymore.]

Ye Zhenzhen glanced at her phone. What did he mean by ’don’t contact me anymore if you stand me up again’?

Could it be that the original host had made a prior appointment with Da Mi and then failed to show up?

Song Jinze, sitting beside her, saw everything crystal clear.

Lanyun Pavilion, planning to invite his woman to a meal?

Ye Zhenzhen put away her phone, "Do you... need something?"

It was nearly 12 PM. If she left now for Lanyun Pavilion, she could almost arrive by 12:30.

The corners of Song Jinze’s lips turned up slightly, "Not much, I just wanted to take Mrs. Song somewhere, to have lunch together along the way."

Initially, he had planned to have lunch at home and then let her rest before taking her out later in the afternoon; this was a last-minute, forced change of plans.

"But I’ve made plans with a friend now, how about this afternoon or evening?"

The WeChat message already said not to contact again if she stood him up, so naturally, she couldn’t fail to show. In any case, she had to meet this person named Da Mi.

Song Jinze’s lips parted slightly, his voice smooth and gentle, betraying no hint of his emotions, "What friend? Where did you plan to meet? I’ll drive you there."

Uh...

Ye Zhenzhen’s eyes faltered for a few seconds before she nodded slightly, "Okay, Lanyun Pavilion."

He hadn’t said he wanted to join her for the meal and was only offering a ride. It would hardly be polite to refuse. To do so would seem as though she had something to hide, as though she had issues where there were none.

Although she had never been in a relationship nor experienced romantic feelings, she had acted them out in many scripts. In such matters, ambiguity could lead to a whole series of unnecessary misunderstandings.

Seeing how readily the woman agreed, the slight wariness in Song Jinze’s heart relaxed considerably. It wasn’t that he was overthinking; it was actually because of the conversation he had with the little guy when dropping off Xiao Chen at Yunxi Li earlier;

"Daddy, it’s not okay for you to always send me away because you like mommy. You need to chase mommy, or else she might be snatched away by someone else~"

He wasn’t surprised that Song Yuchen could say such a thing. The kid always was smart beyond his years. He asked, "Who else is chasing your mom?"

"Of course, it’s Mommy’s boyfriend, you’d better watch out. Mommy really likes her boyfriend!"

He knew nothing about this ’boyfriend’ the little guy mentioned and didn’t believe any of these tall tales at all.

The information Secretary Zhang had gathered for him didn’t indicate any past romantic relationships; it was a blank slate.

Even if there really were a ’boyfriend,’ since she could calmly allow him to give her a ride, it must mean nothing.

...

Lanyun Pavilion.

When Song Jinze parked at the entrance, he glanced at the time; it was just a few minutes shy of 12:30 pm.

He sighed softly, seemingly offhandedly remarking, "It’s noon already, time for lunch."

Ye Zhenzhen: ...

It seemed she read a different implication in the man’s words: We’re at the restaurant entrance, aren’t you going to invite me to lunch?

"So, do you want to...together..." Before she could finish her sentence, the man in the driver’s seat responded.

"Sure."

Ye Zhenzhen turned her head to look at the man’s handsome profile, a sense of being tricked suddenly overwhelming her.

She was just being polite, her sentence wasn’t even complete yet, and he just...

Song Jinze pursed his lips, his dark eyes flickered, and he got out of the car, walked around to the passenger side, and opened her door for her. "Mrs. Song, please get out of the car. Since you kindly invited me, I shall stay and join you."

Kindly invited?

Ye Zhenzhen’s eyes shifted slightly, she pushed away his extended hand and got out of the car, her lips moving slightly, "That really puts President Song at an inconvenience!"

His expression was open and unguarded, the Adam’s apple in his suddenly cold throat slid down, and his thin lips curved into an indifferent smile, "It is indeed inconvenient, but for Mrs. Song’s sake, I suppose I can reluctantly accept."

Closing the car door, he tossed the car keys to the valet.

Ye Zhenzhen: ...

As expected, that scoundrel always has to get the upper hand when he speaks.

They entered the restaurant one after the other, the waiter came up to greet them, "Good afternoon, does the gentleman have a reservation?"

The waiter was addressing Song Jinze.

Lanyun Pavilion is a Western-style restaurant with a strong dining atmosphere; most of its patrons are couples, and non-members have to book in advance.

Ye Zhenzhen nodded, "My friend made a reservation here, Da Mi."

The waiter glanced at the tablet in hand, a hint of surprise briefly flickered in his eyes, quickly concealed, then he respectfully said, "Alright, sir and madam, please follow me."

Following the waiter into the private room, Ye Zhenzhen walked ahead of Song Jinze. When she saw the man inside the room, there was no particular emotion in her eyes, only a smile, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

She hadn’t been late; the other party had arrived earlier. Her words were merely polite.

Da Mi sat by the dining table, dressed in a sky-blue loose knit sweater, with a face that was clean and distinguished. His head was topped with thick chestnut hair, and he wore gold-rimmed glasses. The sharpness in his eyes behind the lenses was not to be underestimated.

As Da Mi saw Ye Zhenzhen walk in, his face carried a warm smile. But as Song Jinze came into view, the smile faded away, and his gaze turned to Ye Zhenzhen, "Why did you bring him along?"

Song Jinze frowned, what did he mean by ’bringing him along’?

He really wanted to retort immediately but restrained himself; he wanted to hear how Zhenzhen would answer.