“Heh….”
Pei Ge had just finished speaking when the man opposite her chuckled.
“Eh, why are you laughing?” she softly asked, looking at Chen Zhengchu in confusion.
“Nothing much. I just find Miss Pei to be very sincere. I’ve been on a couple of blind dates before, and you are the first to present yourself as you are – a frank, candid, and sincere woman.” He beamed at her, clearly in a good mood.
His words inexplicably warmed her cheeks in embarrassment.
“I don’t know if Miss Pei is on a diet or has something you don’t like to eat?” he asked lightly, seemingly not noticing the blush coloring her face.
She shook her head and then, as if she had thought of something, hurriedly asked, “I heard that raw meat is included in the Japanese cuisines?”
“Yes, would you like to try it? The sashimi here is pretty good.” He smiled.
“No, no. What I mean to say is that I only eat cooked food, and I don’t like raw meat,” she quickly clarified.
“Oh, I see. That’s a pity.” He nodded and expressed his regret.
Looking at the man, she could not resist asking, “Dr. Chen, aren’t you a doctor? Don’t you know that eating raw meat is not healthy? It’s better if you don’t eat it, too.”
Chen Zhengchu saw the serious expression on the woman’s face and briefly lit up.
Just like in their first meeting when he warned her about eating too much sugar, she felt that he was a decent person, and they could try it out.
He was also moved by the sentiment behind her words.
“Miss, don’t worry about the health issue; all our sashimi has been chilled for sterilization,” the waitress explained with a gentle smile.
“Oh, sorry,” she swiftly apologized and smiled.
She should not say this kind of stuff in front of the restaurant staff as it was not a polite thing to do.
“Miss, you are too polite; you don’t have to apologize to me.” The waitress was taken aback by Pei Ge’s apology and quickly bowed her head.
Pei Ge looked at the waitress’s behavior and the corners of her mouth twitched. She was suddenly curious of whether she was Chinese or Japanese.
Her Mandarin was fluent but her behavior was like a Japanese’s.
Soon, Chen Zhengchu finished ordering. Pei Ge was not familiar with those dishes, but their names did sound nice.
“Alright, Mr. Chen, we will prepare them now,” the waitress gently informed, picked up the menu, and stood up to exit the room.
“Hang on.” Chen Zhengchu suddenly stopped the waitress from leaving.
The waitress in kimono halted her footsteps and turned to look at Chen Zhengchu curiously. “Mr. Chen, is there anything else?”
“Add a portion of beef sukiyaki. The beef must be Kobe.”
As soon as Chen Zhengchu ordered this, Pei Ge’s eyes opened wide in shock.
She then recalled Pan Xinlei’s words….
‘If he orders that for you, then it means that not only is he loaded, he even sees you as someone important.’
Eh… There’s no way, right?! This is only our second meeting. There’s no way….
“Miss Pei, what are you thinking of?” He smiled at the dazed and wide-eyed Pei Ge . This woman is rather interesting – more interesting than those women I’ve met before.
“Ah? Oh, nothing!” She shook her head and smiled. How could she let him know the connection she was making between the Kobe beef and her?!
The two chatted while sipping on their sakura wine. Very soon, their order arrived.
The waitress served the hors d’oeuvres, and although they were considered as appetizers, she, who was a layman in this, already thought of them as restaurant-level dinner.
The petals of the porcelain bowl bloomed with swirls of green. The green leafy vegetables were combined with the crispy mushrooms, which were sprinkled with thin, dried shrimps. The dish’s light and faint savory smell filled the air.
Besides the white leaf-shaped dish, there were grilled squid, salmon steak, konjac cake, and egg rolls. In the blue bowl was the smooth and tender Japanese tofu, and the tofu was topped with a delicate egg yolk.
Be it the plate or the food, everything looked exquisite and beautiful.
Pei Ge looked at the plates of the so-called appetizers and began to salivate.
The next dish to be served was what the waitress termed as Japanese-style egg tart.
The dark-red container holding the dish had a lid with floral patterns. Opening the cover, steam escaped from the egg tart. The egg tart looked fresh and delicious, and hidden within it were minced meat and mushrooms, which lent an infinitely smooth and savory taste to the dish.
The plates of food were like works of art being served on a table. Pei Ge’s eyes widened at the sight of the dishes and felt that what she was about to eat was not food but art.
The table was full of dishes. Be it the arrangement or the food itself, nothing overlapped; every beautiful plate holding each exquisite dish was beautiful. This was not a feast for the taste buds but for the eyes.
“These dishes are too good to look at.” She blinked and involuntarily expressed her awe.
“He he!” Her dazed look caused Chen Zhengchu to chuckle again.
The sound of his chuckle snapped Pei Ge out of her amazement.
Embarrassed, she smiled and lightly said, “Sorry. This is my first time eating Japanese cuisines.”
Ah, ah, ah! Why didn’t I watch my image?! She admonished her commoner attitude.
“No worries. These dishes are indeed beautiful and can almost be considered as works of art,” he said with a smile.
Her cheeks were aflame with embarrassment. I should go wash my face in the toilet to refresh myself, lest I continue to make a fool of myself in front of Dr. Chen.
“Dr. Chen, I’m so sorry. I need to make a trip to the bathroom,” she excused herself with a light smile, moistening her lips.
“Sure, you go ahead; I’ll wait for you.” He gently nodded in the affirmative.
At the waitress’s direction, Pei Ge was soon in the bathroom. Inside, she opened the tap and splashed cold water on her flushed face.
“Pei Ge, don’t make a fool of yourself in front of Dr. Chen. He is such a nice guy, so you must impress him! You may not get lucky to meet such a decent guy next time!” She gave her mirror reflection a pep talk before exhaling deeply and exiting the bathroom.
However, on her way back, she met someone she had never expected and never wanted to encounter.
“… Pei Ge….”
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