Chapter 2191 - 2194: The Ice Queen's Awkward Limit (Fifth Update)

When the stunning Jinli Qianning finished recording the show and left the studio, she noticed that Shen Qiang, who had been sitting in the audience smiling at her the whole time, was already gone. It left her feeling a little lost and scattered.

Because she'd gotten used to Shen Qiang's smile, and she also knew very clearly that without him, she would've been eliminated and sent home long ago.

But even though she understood all that, she still had no idea how she was supposed to get along with Shen Qiang. So whenever he was around, she racked her brains thinking of ways to dodge his gaze.

And the moment Shen Qiang wasn't there anymore, her mood actually dipped out of nowhere, and she felt a bit down.

Even getting a great result of three hundred and ninety-nine votes wasn't enough to make her genuinely happy.

"Are all men this petty? Why didn't he wait for me? Is he mad because I ignored him? Or was he just here by coincidence today and doesn't actually like me at all? What a total lack of gentlemanly manners."

She furrowed her brows, muttering internally as she walked in the direction of the subway.

But just as she turned the corner, she froze.

Because right in front of her, wearing jeans, a white shirt, and sneakers, looking clean, fresh, and sunny, Shen Qiang was standing there holding two ice cream cones, looking straight at her.

"This is for you."

Smiling, Shen Qiang walked up to her and handed her one.

She blinked, then blurted out nervously, "I don't want it. I'm not eating."

Shen Qiang's eyes curved with his smile. "Just take it. It's only an ice cream. If you feel like you shouldn't accept it for nothing, then next time I go to your bar for a drink, you can buy me a drink. We'll call it even then."

Jinli Qianning was stunned for a second. "The drinks at my bar are more expensive than this."

Shen Qiang laughed. "Then I'll treat you to a few more cones. Just keep track—once it adds up to the price of a drink, you can buy me one."

Qianning froze for a moment, her gaze complicated as she looked at Shen Qiang.

"It's really sweet."

Shen Qiang smiled. "If you keep hesitating, it's going to melt."

At his words, a faint hint of what might have been a smile flickered across her cheeks, but it vanished in an instant.

Even so, that snow‑white, slender, spotless hand, as if carved from white Jade, still reached out from Shen Qiang's hand to take the cone. Then her expression turned a bit hesitant, like she wasn't sure if she should eat it, which thoroughly amused Shen Qiang.

"Can you please be a little more down‑to‑earth? Is it really that embarrassing to walk down the street eating an ice cream cone?"

Hearing that, her beautiful eyes, shy and nervous, snuck a quick glance at Shen Qiang. Then she turned her head aside, opened her small mouth, and gently took a bite of the cone in her hand. Instantly, her pretty eyes lit up in surprise. "It's not very sweet, but there's this really unique flavor. Smells amazing. What kind of ice cream cone is this?"

As she spoke, she curiously examined the ice cream in her hand, as if trying to find a logo or brand.

Shen Qiang laughed. "The reason it's not very sweet is because I used Malt Sugar for this ice cream, and it's not exactly traditional. Classic Malt Sugar is made by fermenting wheat and glutinous rice, but the sugar I used for this ice cream is made from wheat, glutinous rice, corn, millet, and a tiny bit of Gancao Sweet. So the taste won't be overly sweet, but it has an aroma that sucrose could never match."

Hearing this, Jinli Qianning was stunned.

"You made it?"

Shen Qiang raised a brow with a smile. "Do you like it?"

In that instant, as she looked at Shen Qiang's sunny smile, her delicate face flushed red. She turned her head away completely, refusing to look at him. Even though she was practically dying of delight inside, she forced herself to sound calm. "It's okay."

Shen Qiang smiled, feeling utterly helpless.

In fact, the cone looked very simple.

But in reality, both the ingredients and the process were incredibly particular. The first time he made it, Jinchan had eaten a whole small bowl in one go and only stopped when her brain froze and started to ache. And yet Qianning's reaction was this lukewarm.

"Your review is seriously crushing my soul."

Shen Qiang chuckled.

For no reason at all, Jinli Qianning suddenly felt like laughing too, but she wasn't used to it. So she looked away at the traffic passing by and said, "I'm taking the subway back."

Shen Qiang laughed.

Feeling completely helpless.

Because honestly speaking, Qianning was great in every way. She was gorgeous, stunning, her figure was top‑notch, and her voice was beyond reproach. If she would just stand there smiling without saying a word, she'd absolutely be a top‑tier Goddess in this world.

In ancient times, she'd be that kind of femme fatale who could topple cities and ruin kingdoms.

But the moment she opened her mouth, Shen Qiang couldn't help feeling like he was staring at an overgrown baby.

What a romantic setup this was.

A sunny handsome guy, a delicious ice cream cone, walking together on the street—this is practically the gold‑standard scene from countless romance dramas.

And she opens her mouth only to say she's going to take the subway home.

If it were someone who didn't know her well, or one of those slightly shy guys with an especially strong sense of pride, they'd honestly just shake out their sleeves and walk off then and there, relationship over.

But Shen Qiang was different.

He knew this was just who she was. Hoping she'd giggle sweetly like Bai Jiao, or be as full of sultry charm as Zhimei Weisheng, was absolutely impossible.

"The subway's there every day. You can take it whenever you want." Shen Qiang smiled. "But I'd like to take you somewhere a bit different to celebrate you successfully making it into the top sixteen."

Jinli Qianning blinked. "It's not like I won the championship. What's there to celebrate?"

For a moment, Shen Qiang was so exasperated he almost laughed out loud.

People are always calling guys who don't know how to date "straight male disease" patients, like their brains are full of iron rods. But hearing Qianning say that, Shen Qiang suddenly felt that even if those straight‑male‑disease patients have iron rods in their heads, at least there are still some gaps between them.

This Jinli Qianning's brain was basically one solid chunk of iron, the Fine Steel kind, forged with zero gaps at all.

Because anyone with even the tiniest bit of sense should know that the whole "celebration" thing was just an excuse. What Shen Qiang was really trying to say was: I want to ask you out.

It was the perfect awkward conversation. The instant she opened her mouth, the atmosphere plunged straight into sub‑zero.

If she doesn't stay single for life, then there's really no justice left in this world!

Looking at Jinli Qianning's utterly baffled expression, Shen Qiang couldn't help but laugh. "Let me put it more directly, then. I'm asking you out to eat. Everything's already set up. If you don't hate me, I'd like to invite you to come with me."

In an instant, the breathtaking Jinli Qianning was struck dumb. Not only did her beautiful eyes stare at Shen Qiang in shock, but her slightly parted cherry lips revealed her small white teeth clearly.

"You're asking me out?" Jinli Qianning said.

Shen Qiang smiled. "Yes."

Right away, Jinli Qianning's face flushed scarlet. She turned her head with an utterly serious look. Even though the corners of her lips were practically bursting with joy, she didn't dare look at Shen Qiang at all.

Seeing this, Shen Qiang laughed. "Are you coming or not? Give me a straight answer."

Her palms were sweating, and she was so nervous she didn't even dare speak too loudly, afraid her heart might leap right out of her throat.

"If it's just… just eating, then that's fine."