"Let's go." Qingyi got up nimbly and signaled for Ye Qingfeng to set off.
Ye Qingfeng made a point of holding the door open and waiting for Qingyi to walk out before silently following behind her. This action earned him an approving glance from her.
His affection score didn't increase, though. He had more or less figured out the mechanism for raising affection by now: before 40%, just chatting and such, making the other person happy, would increase it.
After 40%, unless you deliberately did something meaningful, it was hard to raise affection. Zhu Yuan was a typical example!
Because of her work, they usually had few opportunities to meet in person. Chatting on Inter-Knot no longer increased affection much anymore, unless he made a direct move.
Ye Qingfeng suddenly realized that wasn't such a bad idea either.
Qingyi noticed Ye Qingfeng quietly following behind her. It gave her a feeling like leading an inspection with a subordinate.
With anyone else, she would have been quite content with this — quietly strolling around and getting it over with.
But Ye Qingfeng was different... how to put it...
Before, the only person she cared about besides Zhu Yuan was no one else. But now it was different; she was very curious about this person named Ye Qingfeng.
Maybe it was also related to Zhu Yuan. After all, someone who could earn her good opinion was at least not a bad person. Of course, it could also be an act.
Qingyi remained skeptical about that. As for the second point, it was Ye Qingfeng's attitude towards her.
Although her appearance made her look no different from a child to most people, in her long memory, she really hadn't experienced being treated like one. Maybe it was also partly due to the uniform she wore...
But from the very first moment Ye Qingfeng saw her, he seemed to regard her as a child.
The last time he had spotted her on the street, he had treated her like one too. It had only improved a little after he learned her real age.
But she could still detect a faint trace of that feeling in his eyes even now. Was he outwardly pretending to be respectful, while still privately thinking of her as a child?
Qingyi wasn't entirely sure; it was just her intuition.
If that were really the case, she was very curious about why he thought that way.
Fortunately, it was now close to noon. Many officers had already headed to the cafeteria, leaving only a few on duty.
Seeing Zhu Yuan's rumored boyfriend walking through the Public Security Bureau alongside Qingyi, the remaining officers all cast curious glances.
"Can I just call you Qingfeng, like Zhu Yuan does?"
Ignoring the surrounding gazes, Qingyi turned and asked softly.
"Uh... of course you can."
Ye Qingfeng was a bit surprised by the question, but agreed immediately.
"Can we find somewhere to chat?"
After a brief pause, Qingyi decided being direct was better. She could tell Ye Qingfeng was the sharp, perceptive type.
If you beat around the bush with someone like that, they'd beat around the bush right back. Better to be straightforward.
"I'm quite curious about you."
Qingyi stated her purpose plainly.
Hearing that Qingyi wanted to have a chat, Ye Qingfeng's eyes immediately narrowed like a sly fox.
He guessed it most likely had something to do with Zhu Yuan. He had some basis for that guess.
Walking with Zhu Yuan through the Public Security Bureau, people would occasionally come to greet them. Walking with Qingyi, it was the complete opposite; no one approached at all.
Generally, there was only one reason for a result like that... Qingyi was probably regarded as little more than a tool by the people here.
Ye Qingfeng's thinking wasn't strange. Most people's conception of robots was that they were tools. For someone like Qingyi, who had genuine self-awareness, she was at best treated as a high-functioning one.
He didn't see it that way. As long as there was advanced self-awareness, whether robot or otherwise, they deserved to be treated as equals.
But ultimately, this was still just his guess.
What he could see clearly was that Zhu Yuan's attitude toward Qingyi was unambiguously that of a friend.
And apart from seeing Qingyi chat and laugh with Zhu Yuan, he hadn't seen her like that with anyone else here — just polite greetings and nothing more...
"Okay."
Ye Qingfeng had no reason to refuse. In this situation, refusing might make Qingyi think he had something to hide — as if he were guilty of something and didn't dare agree — which would only make her warier of him.
Seeing him agree, Qingyi turned decisively and led the way. "Follow me."
She didn't particularly concern herself with whether he would follow or not, simply walking ahead. Ye Qingfeng pursed his lips and followed in silence.
Shortly after, Qingyi stopped at the entrance to the reception room, pushed the door open, and walked in. Ye Qingfeng followed closely behind, stepping into this place once again.
Qingyi didn't rush to sit. Instead, she walked to the water dispenser, picked up a disposable cup from the table beside it, dropped in a small handful of tea leaves, and bent slightly to fill it with hot water.
"Want some tea?" When the water was about right, Qingyi asked without looking up.
Ye Qingfeng replied politely, "Yes, please. Thank you."
If he had known Qingyi's situation from the beginning, he wouldn't have treated her the way he had before.
That had created some distance between them, and regardless, he needed to get along with her as well as possible now. After all, more friends opened more doors.
Especially when one of them was from the Public Security Bureau.
And when he eventually made a name for himself alongside Nicole, having some goodwill built up within the Public Security Bureau too — wouldn't that mean he could navigate both worlds?
Soon, Qingyi walked over with two cups of tea, set one on the table in front of him, then pulled out a chair and sat down.
Only after seeing Qingyi sit did Ye Qingfeng follow. He picked up the teacup with both hands, brought it to his lips, and took small occasional sips, waiting for her to speak first.
Qingyi similarly wasn't in a hurry. At this time of day, no one would come in for a while. She wasn't anxious. Besides, leaving the other party to sit in silence was a small technique used when interrogating suspects.
Letting someone sit alone with the quiet for a while created psychological pressure. It gave them time to think about their situation, helped to erode their composure, and often led them to speak first.
During that silence, you could also observe their reactions carefully.
Qingyi didn't hold out much hope for the former working on Ye Qingfeng, but it gave her a good opportunity to study him.
She took small, unhurried sips of tea while quietly watching his every movement.
If this had been the Ye Qingfeng of three years ago, he would probably be growing anxious by now. But after three years of prison life, his character had been tempered into something steadier.
Moreover, he understood the situation perfectly well. Qingyi was hoping to use this silence to put psychological pressure on him, to make him speak first so she could hold the upper hand.
And Ye Qingfeng had easily caught the sidelong glances she kept stealing at him. Or rather, she hadn't made much effort to hide them.
"Mmm~ Not bad!"
Ye Qingfeng let his mind settle as much as possible. After thinking it through, he simply decided to act naturally. He crossed his legs, picked up the cup with one hand, blew on it a few times, took a generous sip, and offered his sincere appreciation.
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