Chapter 28: Going Home
Gu Chenxi drove Kong Liu into the downtown area, stopping in front of a three-story European-style villa built in the old Zhonghai architectural style.
This little villa was called Peace Residence. It was the former residence of Mr. Chen of the Chen family—one of Huaxia’s four great families back in the day. Now, it operated as a private-kitchen restaurant featuring only eight private dining rooms, requiring reservations a full day in advance. Kong Liu’s absolute favorite dishes here were the house-style sliced local white-cut chicken and the stewed squab with Tianshan snow lotus.
If you were to ask Kong Liu how he knew this private-kitchen restaurant so well, he would tell you—this damn place was part of his own family's business!
*Good grief,* Kong Liu thought to himself, *I came out for a meal, and I've eaten my way straight back home.*
If he went inside with Gu Chenxi, wouldn't his carefully concealed identity at school be exposed?
Gu Chenxi had already stepped out of the car. Seeing Kong Liu still sitting in the passenger seat in a daze, she walked around, pulled open the door, and said, "Get out. We're here."
Remaining in the car, Kong Liu played dumb and asked, "Aren't we going to eat? There are no restaurants around here."
"This is it. We're having private-kitchen cuisine." Hearing this, Gu Chenxi smiled and pointed at the small villa behind her. "Come on, let's go."
As she spoke, Gu Chenxi actually leaned her upper body right into the passenger seat and reached out to unbuckle Kong Liu's seatbelt.
A stray lock of her soft hair brushed playfully against the tip of Kong Liu's nose. The pleasant fragrance of orchids instantly enveloped him, and the tickling strands brushed against his skin, making his nose itch and sending a warm, tingling sensation rippling through his entire body.
Gu Chenxi turned her head sideways to look at Kong Liu, the distance between them once again painfully close. "I've already undone your seatbelt for you," she murmured. "Do you really expect me to carry you out?"
"Ah... um..."
Kong Liu could feel his face burning hot. He instinctively shifted his gaze away from Gu Chenxi's face and looked elsewhere. *Something is wrong! Gu Chenxi is acting very wrong today! Terribly wrong!*
Watching Kong Liu blush yet again because of a single sentence she said, Gu Chenxi smiled and straightened up.
Blushing aside, Kong Liu still showed no intention of getting out. "This place must be really expensive," he said. "Shouldn't we go somewhere else to eat?"
"Don't you worry about that. My treat anyway."
With that, Gu Chenxi reached out with a formidable display of dominance, grabbed Kong Liu right out of the car, and dragged him toward the small villa.
Following closely behind, Kong Liu hurriedly used his hand to shield his face.
As soon as they stepped inside, a well-groomed and elegant receptionist immediately greeted them. "Good evening, sir and ma'am. Welcome to Peace Residence. Do you happen to have a reservation for today?"
The receptionist must have been new, as she failed to recognize Kong Liu, merely offering a polite smile as she inquired about their reservation.
"No." Faced with outsiders, Gu Chenxi reverted to her usual icy demeanor. "Are there no tables left?" she asked.
She had dined at this private-kitchen restaurant once before with her family and remembered the food being quite good. Since Kong Liu had mentioned wanting Chinese cuisine, she had made a spur-of-the-moment decision to come here, meaning an advance reservation was entirely out of the question.
"No reservation..." Hearing that they didn't have one, the receptionist immediately looked troubled. "Then I am terribly sorry, miss."
Kong Liu tugged at the hem of Gu Chenxi's sleeve and said, "Well, that's a shame. Let's go somewhere else to eat."
"No need. We're staying right here."
Gu Chenxi waved a hand dismissively, then reached into her handbag, pulled out several red banknotes, folded them neatly into triangles, and tucked them right into the handkerchief pocket on the chest of the receptionist's uniform. "Could you please go fetch your manager?"
The people who dined here were wealthy, and the receptionist was both attractive and well-trained in customer service, so she was certainly used to receiving tips. But most tips consisted of loose change; receiving a customer who casually handed over several red banknotes as a tip before they'd even exchanged three sentences was virtually unheard of.
Seeing Gu Chenxi's such extravagant generosity, the receptionist dared not slack off. Having pocketed the money, her attitude instantly became even more deferential and flattering. With a smile, she showed the pair to a sofa in the lobby and hurried off to find the manager.
In less than a minute, a chubby middle-aged man came rushing out from the back rooms in a panic. The reason he came running wasn't because of Gu Chenxi, but because of Kong Liu!
When the two of them had walked in, he happened to be inside the security monitoring room. Seeing the receptionist make his own young master sit on the lobby sofa, he was so frightened he bolted straight out of the control room.
"You—"
As the manager ran, he almost blurted out "Young Master," but right as the words reached his lips, he caught sight of Kong Liu standing behind Gu Chenxi, making a shushing gesture and glaring at him as a warning not to talk nonsense.
Having climbed his way up to the position of manager, he wasn't completely devoid of situational awareness. He instantly understood Kong Liu's intent.
He swiftly pivoted his attention toward Gu Chenxi. "I am Wang Wu, the lobby manager here. Might I ask what issue the two of you have encountered?"
Gu Chenxi pressed her lips together and said, "We didn't make a reservation in advance, but we'd like to have dinner here. Is that possible? We don't mind paying an extra service fee."
Upon hearing this, Wang Wu immediately confirmed his own suspicion: *The young master is concealing his identity to woo a young lady! Thank goodness I kept my mouth shut just now, or my job would have been goners.*
At that thought, Wang Wu felt a chilly breeze sweep across his back—*Man, you were sweating bullets there, little buddy.*
Seeing that Wang Wu was still deep in thought, Gu Chenxi added, "If there truly are no empty tables..."
"There are, there are, there are!"
Before she could finish her sentence, Wang Wu hurriedly blurted out, "We do have one VIP private room. The guests who reserved it couldn't make it and just called to cancel it. I can take the two of you right there now."
"Alright."
Led by lobby manager Wang Wu, the two of them headed up to the third-floor VIP private room.
Calling it a VIP private room was an understatement; the entire third floor consisted of just this single room, which was normally closed to the general public and reserved exclusively for members of the Kong family.
Looking at the massive round table that could easily seat twenty or thirty people, Gu Chenxi asked, "Isn't this table a bit too big? There are only two of us."
Kong Liu pointed toward a windowsill not far away. "It's fine. There's a smaller table over there."
Gu Chenxi took a look and sure enough, there was. "Huh, how did you spot that?" she asked.
"Uh..."
Kong Liu scratched his head. "I have pretty good eyesight."
Once they were seated, Gu Chenxi handed the menu to Kong Liu. "Order whatever you like. Don't worry about saving money on my account."
Kong Liu immediately waved his hands. "I've never been to a restaurant like this. You should order."
"It's fine, I said order whatever you want."
After a bit of mutual politeness, the menu ultimately ended up back in Kong Liu's hands. He glanced at Wang Wu, who was still standing nearby, and handed the menu straight to him. "Manager, why don't you pick out a few signature dishes for us?"
"Oh, oh, certainly."
When Wang Wu heard Kong Liu address him as "Manager," a wave of absolute awe and trepidation washed over him.
*What manner of man am I, that the young master would address me like this? This is simply a blessing cultivated over eight lifetimes! I must perform brilliantly tonight and help the young master win the beauty's heart.*
Thinking this, Wang Wu bowed at a ninety-degree angle to accept the menu, nodding repeatedly as he said, "Then allow me to recommend our house specialties..."
Kong Liu waved a hand. "No need for recommendations. Just bring out whatever you think is best. I trust you."
"Very well, very well."
Hearing this, Wang Wu thought to himself, *The young master is testing me! Since he trusts me this much, I absolutely must arrange a luxury candlelight dinner for him!*
With that thought in mind, he immediately turned and scurried off.
Watching Wang Wu's retreating figure, Gu Chenxi remarked, "The lobby manager seems to have a pretty good attitude."
Just as her voice trailed off, the tall and attractive female restaurant manager personally walked in carrying a fruit platter and some pre-dinner desserts. "My deepest apologies to you both. The new receptionist is young and inexperienced, so our hospitality fell short. Please forgive us. These are complimentary pre-dinner desserts on the house. Please enjoy."
Though the restaurant manager's words seemed addressed to Gu Chenxi, they were actually meant for Kong Liu's ears. Since Kong Liu already knew her position as restaurant manager, she didn't bother reintroducing herself in front of Gu Chenxi.
Gu Chenxi nodded and offered a polite "Thank you."
The restaurant manager set down the fruit and desserts, cast a smiling glance at Kong Liu, and without lingering any longer, turned and left the private room.
Gu Chenxi had caught that fleeting exchange, and a sudden wave of fierce jealousy surged within her. *Daring to eye my man? If I'd known, I wouldn't have eaten here. Hmph!*
***
Chapter 29: I'm a Student, Shower Me with Gifts!
The two of them barely had to wait before dishes began being served one after another.
A lingering sense of doubt stirred in Kong Liu's heart. He knew full well that the ingredients used in the restaurant were fresh items delivered and reserved the day before, and every dish was prepared from scratch by the kitchen staff. The preparation process for each dish was far from simple, making it impossible for the food to be served this quickly.
In truth, Wang Wu had orchestrated all of this. Fearing that Kong Liu would grow impatient and displeased if he had to wait, Wang Wu had redirected all the dishes originally prepared for reservations at other tables straight to Kong Liu's room. Since Kong Liu hadn't ordered anything specific, whatever dishes the kitchen finished first were immediately brought over.
Wang Wu had even specially selected the prettiest female waitstaff in the restaurant to serve the two of them. As each dish was served, Wang Wu would stand nearby providing commentary: "This is the 'sweet words and honeyed lotus root,' symbolizing a sweet and affectionate love; the 'mandarin ducks playing in water roasted squab,' representing everlasting companionship; and this is the 'love is stronger than gold crabmeat soup'..."
"Enough." Listening to Wang Wu randomly making up dish names and tying totally unrelated things to romance, Kong Liu felt a wave of black lines cross his forehead and waved a hand. "What kind of nonsense is this?"
"Ah, er." Seeing that Kong Liu looked somewhat displeased, Wang Wu immediately stopped reciting the names. He bent down and asked in a low voice, "I'm sorry, sir. If there is anything I've done to displease you, please do not hesitate to point it out."
Kong Liu countered, "How come none of these dish names match the menu? Are these even on the menu?"
"This..." Wang Wu paused to collect his thoughts before replying, "These are special dishes meticulously prepared by our restaurant for two distinguished guests, so as to better highlight your honorable status."
"..."
Kong Liu finally understood. This fellow had completely resorted to making up ridiculous dish names just to suck up to him.
"If the dishes are all served, the manager can step outside now." Kong Liu waved his hand, signaling that he could leave, and casually added, "Next time, don't go altering the dish names."
"Understood, understood. I'll take my leave now. Please enjoy your meal, you two."
Wang Wu had originally hoped to put on a good performance in front of Kong Liu, but it had backfired and annoyed him instead. With no other choice, he hurriedly led the waitstaff out of the private room.
As they stepped outside, Wang Wu offered a wry, bitter smile. "Had I known the young master didn't care for this routine, I wouldn't have meddled."
Wang Wu instructed two waitstaff members to stand guard at the door of the private room while he headed back to the kitchen to figure out some other way to pamper his young master and help him vent his frustration.
After Wang Wu left, Gu Chenxi looked at Kong Liu across the table with a suspicious gaze and asked, "How come I feel like... that lobby manager seems utterly terrified of you?"
"Huh?" Kong Liu scratched his head and played dumb. "Really?"
"Isn't his attitude toward you a bit overly deferential?"
When Gu Chenxi had free time to kill, she liked to read novels. She found herself wondering: *According to stories, shouldn't someone dressed like Kong Liu be looked down upon by waiters when visiting a luxury restaurant? Why is the lobby manager of this place treating him with such high regard? Turns out novels really are all lies, aren't they?*
In reality, Peace Residence maintained a very polite attitude toward ordinary customers as well, but certainly not to the extent where the lobby manager personally handled everything. Today's exceptional treatment was entirely due to Kong Liu's presence.
Not wanting to dwell on this topic with Gu Chenxi, Kong Liu quickly diverted her attention. "I'm getting a bit hungry. Let's eat."
Hearing this, Gu Chenxi dropped her line of questioning. "Quickly taste the food and see if it's to your liking."
The quality control on the dishes at Peace Residence was remarkably consistent. Coupled with Wang Wu's secondary inspection before the food was served, every single dish hit the absolute sweet spot in terms of color, texture, and even temperature upon serving.
Gu Chenxi took a small bite and felt that today's dishes were somehow even more delicious than the time her parents had brought her here.
*Has the food gotten better? Definitely not!* Gu Chenxi thought, her gaze drifting toward Kong Liu seated across from her, who was delicately nibbling on a slice of honeyed lotus root.
She thought he looked incredibly dashing while eating. *It must be because I'm out eating with my baby, which puts me in such a wonderful mood that everything tastes better,* she concluded internally.
"Is... is there something on my face?"
Having eaten a few bites of the lotus root, Kong Liu looked up and found Gu Chenxi staring at him with that same peculiar expression she'd worn earlier that afternoon.
"Ah, no, no, no." Gu Chenxi waved her hand, urging him on. "Just eat your food, or it'll get cold and won't taste as good."
Her face flushed red, Gu Chenxi lowered her head and enthusiastically dug into the crispy duck in her bowl.
*She is acting so weird today. I really should have listened to Gu Chenxuan and stayed away from her.*
Though Kong Liu thought this way, watching Gu Chenxi chew the duck meat with her cheeks puffed out, he suddenly found her... surprisingly cute.
*An illusion! It must be an illusion. For me to think a fierce woman like Gu Chenxi is cute, I must have lost my mind.*
Kong Liu shook his head, casting this horrifying thought to the back of his mind. He picked up a piece of pancake wrapper, added a slice of crispy duck, threw in some condiments, and expertly rolled them together in three swift motions.
Just as he reached out to dip the wrap into the sauce on the plate, Gu Chenxi looked up again.
Seeing Kong Liu's reaching motion, Gu Chenxi assumed he had rolled the wrap specifically for her.
She felt utterly flattered. *Such a big dummy,* she thought. *Being so good to me while acting so calm—it must be really hard on him.*
"Thank you!"
With that, Gu Chenxi eagerly reached out and grabbed the exact wrap Kong Liu had just rolled.
"Er... you're welcome."
To be honest, Kong Liu experienced a brief second of complete bewilderment when his wrap was snatched away by Gu Chenxi. He realized she had likely misunderstood, but since she had already grabbed it, he felt too embarrassed to point out the truth. So he simply went along with it and let her have it.
Kong Liu picked up another piece of duck, rolled another wrap, and prepared to dip it in the sauce once more.
*The wrap my baby made for me is so delicious! I love him even more now,* Gu Chenxi thought as she bit into the fragrant roasted duck wrap that she was convinced Kong Liu had made "just for her." She felt absolute bliss, and the corners of her mouth curled up in a smile that was harder to suppress than a Gatling gun.
Seeing Kong Liu make another one and extend it toward her, Gu Chenxi felt even more delighted. She reached out her hand and said, "Thanks!"
"???"
Watching Gu Chenxi hold out her hand expecting him to hand her the wrap, Kong Liu was suddenly reminded of an internet meme: *I'm a student, shower me with gifts! Don't be ungrateful, thanks.*
Kong Liu was left utterly speechless. *No wait, are you legitimately addicted to freeloading? All you know how to do is reach out your hands for food? Don't assume I'll keep spoiling you just because you're pretty!*
As he thought this, Kong Liu shoved the wrap from his own hand... right into Gu Chenxi's palm, silently telling himself: *Whatever, I'll forgive her one more time.*
No sooner had he finished comforting himself than Gu Chenxi told him, "Don't just make them for me, eat some yourself."
*Pfft...* (He coughed up a mouthful of metaphorical blood internally.)
Kong Liu expertly rolled another wrap. This time he learned his lesson—he skipped the sauce, packed it tightly, and shoved the whole thing straight into his mouth.
*Knock, knock, knock.*
While the two of them were eating, someone knocked on the private room door.
Interrupted, Gu Chenxi instantly wiped away her smile and said coldly, "Come in."
Wang Wu entered followed by two waitstaff carrying dishes. "These are two complimentary specialty dishes from our restaurant for the handsome gentleman and beautiful lady."
With a wave of Wang Wu's hand, the two dishes were placed on the table.
One was Kong Liu's favorite stewed squab with Tianshan snow lotus, and the other was golden soup peony silver cod.
Looking at these two exquisitely plated, expensive-looking, and clearly high-end dishes, a flash of surprise crossed Gu Chenxi's eyes. She remarked calmly, "Your restaurant really knows how to do business."
They served free desserts and fruit before the meal, and now gave away two extra dishes at the end. When her parents had brought her here previously, they didn't seem to have received treatment this good.
Flattered by Gu Chenxi's praise, Wang Wu smiled happily. "If you find our restaurant's service good, you simply must come patronize us often, haha."
Gu Chenxi nodded and replied readily, "Alright, I'll go downstairs later and sign up for an annual membership card here."
While waiting in the lobby earlier, Gu Chenxi had inadvertently seen the promotion for Peace Residence's membership cards. Buying an annual card only cost 88,000, and cardholders were entitled to 20,000 yuan in complimentary monthly dining credit at the restaurant for twelve months starting from the date of issue. It was actually quite a good deal.
She figured she would buy a card and gift it to Kong Liu so he could come here to improve his diet, sparing him from having to eat terrible food at the First Cafeteria every day just to save money while dating her online.
"Er..." Wang Wu hesitated.
Hearing Gu Chenxi's words, Wang Wu's gaze involuntarily drifted toward Kong Liu. This was the young lady the young master was trying to court; letting her spend her own money to buy a membership card in his own restaurant felt somewhat inappropriate.
Kong Liu maintained a calm expression as he ate the food in his bowl, appearing entirely indifferent to Gu Chenxi's decision.
To curry favor with Kong Liu, Wang Wu immediately said to Gu Chenxi, "I'll gift you one on the house. Consider it making a friend."
"No need." Gu Chenxi shook her head, pulled a bank card from her bag, handed it to Wang Wu, and said, "It's just 88,000, just swipe it directly. Go ahead and settle the bill for this meal at the same time, and put the card..."
"I'd like to see just what kind of VIP is being so damn arrogant! I've been waiting for nearly an hour, and not a single dish has been served to my table, yet food keeps getting brought over here endlessly!"
Before Gu Chenxi could finish her sentence, a commotion suddenly erupted outside the door.
***
Chapter 30: Picking a Fight
Chen Junjie had invited a junioring female student to dine with him at Peace Residence today. Although the junior was quite attractive, his mood was far from wonderful.
After returning home following his birthday banquet last time, Chen Junjie had immediately gone to investigate Kong Liu's background, only to find absolutely nothing. After careful consideration, he remained convinced that Kong Liu's clothing and style didn't resemble a wealthy person at all; there was no way he could afford to gift Gu Chenxi a watch worth millions, especially since the watch was clearly a men's model.
Therefore, he concluded that Gu Chenxi had deliberately hired an actor that night just to make him angry, intending to test his limits—and he had actually taken the bait and stormed off in a rage.