I never thought this way even though we hadn't seen each other for so long before.
Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared before Jiang Lai. She thought she was seeing things, blinked, and realized it was indeed that person.
She took out a napkin to wipe her mouth and was about to go up and say hello when she saw a man walk in and head straight for Lin Zhi before she even got off her seat.
The man took off his overcoat, revealing a navy blue suit underneath. His tie was neatly tied, and he was wearing glasses, making him look very cultured.
Jiang Lai's smile froze, and she couldn't even hear Luo Heng calling her.
Is it that relative? But they shouldn't be eating out alone; shouldn't they be dining together as a family?
It didn't seem like a business negotiation at all. Who would come out to discuss business on the second day of the Lunar New Year, let alone in this kind of environment?
What does it look like?
Blind date.
Jiang Lai could only think of this one word.
Her heart ached, and her nose stung with tears. She didn't mind Lin Zhi having dinner alone with a man; the two seemed to behave appropriately. What hurt her was that Lin Zhi had lied to her. They had clearly agreed... She had even planned to...
Jiang Lai didn't touch the pasta after eating half of it. She pulled up her mask, lowered her hat, took off her earphones, and held her phone to her ear. Then, as if nothing had happened, she walked past Lin Zhi like a model on a catwalk.
As she passed Lin Zhi's table, she deliberately spoke up: "It's been so long since we last met. Want to have dinner together? ...Sure, I'm all set. I'll go to your place."
Stepping out of the restaurant, Jiang Lai breathed a long sigh of relief, as if a heavy weight had been pressing on her chest, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
Luo Heng looked completely bewildered: "What are you talking about? We just met a few days ago! You can't come to my house, that's not allowed!"
Luo Heng was planning to rekindle his old flame with Xu Dongdong, so how could he leave behind such a high-wattage third wheel?
"It's nothing, I ran into someone I know, I didn't talk to you."
Luo Heng was terrified and quickly patted his chest, saying, "That's good, that's good."
"I'm not talking to you anymore, I have to go, I'm hanging up."
"Hey! No!"
Before he could finish speaking, the other party ruthlessly hung up the phone, showing him no respect whatsoever. He had just found an outfit to show her.
"Miss Lin? What are you thinking about?"
"Huh?" Lin Zhi came back to her senses: "Sorry, I think I ran into someone I know just now."
Actually, Lin Zhi was quite nervous about coming to this area to eat. After all, this was the mall where she and Jiang Lai had planned to have their date. But the man in front of her insisted on eating in this area, saying that he hadn't been back to China for a long time and had played in that area since he was a child, so he wanted to reminisce.
What a load of rubbish!
Lin Zhi was speechless. Her mother was pressuring her, not exactly pressuring her, but her pitiful appearance made Lin Zhi feel that there was something wrong with her as a daughter.
She finally arrived, but she deliberately lingered for a long time before leaving, hoping she wouldn't run into Jiang Lai.
The voice, the figure... were all very similar, even the breeze she fanned as she walked by smelled of milk, but she had never seen Jiang Lai wear that dress before.
Of course I've never seen it before; Jiang Lai bought it in advance specifically to see her.
Feeling guilty, she still sent a message to Jiang Lai, who replied quickly.
Jiang Lai: [I'm home now. I wanted to play, but I'm worried about being found out.]
Lin Zhi was relieved this time, because if the child had really found out, he would definitely have come over and questioned her.
Seeing that she was looking down at her phone and not saying anything, Lu Rendong assumed that she didn't like Western food. To show his magnanimity, he said, "Ms. Lin, although I have studied in the United States for many years and am used to Western food, I can still eat Chinese food if you don't like it."
This person's way of speaking is annoying; his words always imply: I am very rich, I am very talented, and I am a returnee from overseas.
Since she knew his mother, she didn't want to offend him too much, so she forced a smile and said, "It's okay."
Lu Rendong pushed up his glasses and said, "That's great, let me order. I'm worried you'll order something bad."
He raised his hand and called out, "waiter."
Lin Zhi was immediately taken aback. She looked up and saw that the waiter's expression was also somewhat stiff, but she still walked over and asked, "Sir, would you like to order?"
Lu Rendong pointed to the menu. Lin Zhi had no idea what he had ordered when she saw him close the menu, then push up his glasses and say, in what she thought was an elegant manner, "Another bottle of 1982 Lafite."
Lafite's English, with its high-pitched ending, sounded like he was mentally challenged.
The scene became awkward. The waiter looked at Lu Rendong and then at Lin Zhi: "Sir, we... don't have 1982 Lafite here."
Lu Rendong was very angry: "How is that possible? Any restaurant in the US has it. I always drank it when I was studying at Cambridge."
“Sir, Cambridge is in country Y. That little shop can’t accommodate you. You can go back to Cambridge to eat.”
The waiter was already very polite; Lin Zhi wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground.
Lu Rendong: "What kind of attitude is this!"
Lin Zhi: "Hello, I'd like a lemon grapefruit sparkling water."
The waiter's smile returned: "Yes, ma'am."
After saying that, he put away the menu, as if he didn't want to stay a second longer, since he was about to burst out laughing if he stayed any longer.
Lu Rendong was still angry and said indignantly, "Is this the quality in China? I never met people like this when I was in the US. If you hadn't stopped me, I would have definitely gone to find their manager!"
Lin Zhi raised an eyebrow: "Since Mr. Lu thinks life abroad is better, then don't come back to China. The country has plenty of talented people; we don't need you."
Lu Rendong's lips twitched, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.
Lin Zhi thought that after scolding him, he would shut up obediently, but she didn't expect him to turn around and change the subject, talking about everything from taking the postgraduate entrance exam in college to pursuing a doctorate.
Lin Zhi interrupted him: "So how come you went to study in the US and still got into Cambridge in the UK? Taking a plane to class every day? That's really impressive."
Lu Rendong coughed twice, feeling a little embarrassed, but he was thick-skinned and quickly changed the subject.
"After we get married, you won't need to work anymore. It's not good to hang out with a bunch of actors. All you need to do is give me a son, and then stay home to do laundry and cook, and that'll be fine!"
Lin Zhi took a breath: "Mr. Lu, this is not a blind date. I am not interested in you. Please be more respectful in your words, otherwise I will end this meal immediately."
He's not talking anymore; maybe he didn't use enough vocabulary on Baidu last night.
Everything was fine until Lin Zhi finally had some peace and quiet. But then Lu Rendong started causing trouble again when the steak was served.
He called the waiter over again, indignantly shouting, "Manager! Get your manager here! Why aren't these eggs cooked?! How are we supposed to eat this?!"
Before the waiter could speak, Lin Zhi couldn't hold back any longer. She stood up, flipped the egg over with her fork, and said coldly, "This egg is fried separately."
A seemingly ordinary sentence made the person blush with embarrassment, and the waiter finally couldn't hold back and turned away to chuckle.
Lin Zhi got up, put on her coat, picked up her bag, and walked up to Lu Rendong. Her condescending gaze sent chills down one's spine.
"Mr. Lu, let me be frank with you! I have absolutely no interest in you. You don't need to bother searching for information on Baidu. I'm just treating this dinner as a social obligation, and a social obligation that brings me no reward and makes me feel disgusted."
"you!"
"Shut your mouth, your breath is irritating me. By the way, just a reminder, 'waiter' is an disrespectful word, so don't say it again. Also... if you ever say 'waiter' one word at a time again, I'll beat you to death. I won't, but my little one will."
Lu Rendong blushed furiously, and the veins on his forehead throbbed. However, the woman in front of him was so imposing that his legs went weak.
"You have a boyfriend?"
Lin Zhi chuckled dismissively: "Whether it's your business or not, I suggest you study more English and expand your vocabulary so you don't have to use junior high school vocabulary when you talk to others. Oh... you're a clinic doctor, you don't need such a rich vocabulary."
Lu Rendong sprang up abruptly, his hands trembling as if they were on fire: "You! You investigated me!"
"Yeah, but investigating you is the lowest thing I've ever done."
The waiter chuckled, and as expected, he received a sharp glare from Lu Rendong: "Sorry, you can talk to me."
Lin Zhi took a sip of sparkling water, then strode toward the door without changing her expression. Just then, she heard a barking sound behind her, like a dog barking. She stopped, turned around, and put on a professional fake smile.
"Want to pretend to go home"
After saying that, she tossed her curly hair over her shoulder and walked away gracefully.
Lu Rendong glared at the waiter: "What do you mean!"
The waiter pursed his lips and said, "You're not allowed to say things like that while you're at work."
Lu Rendong, who had been holding back his anger with nowhere to vent it, opened Baidu Translate on his phone and slammed the phone on the table: "Type it out for me!"
The service staff were perfunctory, not even bothering to fake a smile, and handed the phone to him after they finished.
What do you mean by pretending to go home?
"Sir, that lady meant she wanted to show off at home."
--------------------
Author's Note:
Jiang Lai: You stood me up because of this guy?
Lin Zhi: I was wrong.
Jiang Lai: What's wrong with that?
Lin Zhi: My mistake was not throwing red wine in his face; his suit was probably genuine. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2022-05-08 21:03:07 and 2022-05-09 22:38:34!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Yu (3 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 68
Jiang Lai wandered aimlessly through the streets. The shopping mall was long gone from her sight. The snow piled up on both sides of the road was beginning to melt.
Jiang Lai then realized that she had parked her car in the mall's underground parking lot, and had no choice but to turn back.
After taking a few steps, a black Maybach slowly stopped at the side of the road. The sunlight reflected off the car body, making it somewhat dazzling.
If Jiang Lai hadn't recognized the car, she would have definitely run away; that's how kidnapping scenes in TV dramas always go.
The person inside waved to her, signaling Jiang Lai to get in the car.
We still have to walk back to the mall anyway, so getting a ride wouldn't be a problem.
Once in the car, Jiang Lai took off her mask, and her breathing became much easier: "Dad, if I get photographed getting into your car, I don't know what the paparazzi will write."
Jiang Chuanmin chuckled: "What's wrong with a daughter getting into her father's car! I'd love for them to write it so I can openly say, 'This is my daughter, Jiang Chuanmin!'"
Jiang Lai shook her head, casually resting her hand on the armrest, and slumped back in her seat: "I'd rather not, we haven't achieved anything yet."