The Peak Cafe lived up to its reputation, indeed.
The ambiance was elegant and high-class. The scenery that was composed of the high-rise buildings surrounding the place was magnificent.
He Huaiguang had long ago reserved a table by the windows. After they were seated, he asked her if he should ask Ding Baoyi along.
Yan Nian waved the idea aside with her hand.
Their buddy was working right now. For a sales manager, Fridays were usually the busiest day of the week — she'd be meeting customers and checking reports. She would surely pick a fight with anyone who dared to bother her at this moment.
He nodded in understanding, and anyway, this suited him well. He wanted to spend some time alone with her. "Take a look at the menu and see what you want to order."
She scratched her face sheepishly.
"Why don't you order instead? I believe the food here should be nice. I'm not fussy."
In any case, whoever was going to foot the bill later should be the one to order.
He smiled and proceeded to order whatever he felt would be nice.
Pretty soon, the waiter put an hourglass on their table. According to the cafe's tradition, all dishes had to be served before the last drop of sand had fallen through the hourglass. If not, the meal would be on the house.
She could not help quipping, "If I had known earlier, I would have ordered everything on the menu! Let's see if the cafe could serve all the dishes within the time limit."
The man was amused. "Do you think it'd be this easy? The boss isn't stupid, you won't get a chance at a free meal."
"Hmph. That's true."
She looked relaxed with her eyes dipping low and her brows looking soft and gentle. It was as if she was currently soaking in a warm, steaming bath.
His eyes were fixed on her; at the same time, he could feel his heart melting.
"Yan Xiaonian."
"Yes, what is it?"
She was picking up a small piece of crispy meat with her chopsticks. Looking at the little piece of delectable meat in the same way that he was looking at her, she was oblivious to the man's stare from across the table.
"Actually, I—"
"What do you want to tell her?"
There was a low, crisp voice coming from beside him. The tone was cold, but it had a clear intonation.
This voice sounds familiar…
She glanced through her periphery.
The piece of crisp meat clipped between her chopsticks fell down the table.
"Jiang Beiyuan?"
His broad and huge frame overshadowed her head and frame. Without saying another word, he pulled her from the seat. "Follow me."
"Hey hey, where are we going? I haven't finished my food!"
"Something happened to your shop. Let's go."
She stopped struggling once she heard that. As she was being dragged away by Jiang Beiyuan, she looked over her shoulder at He Huaiguang apologetically. "You have the food by yourself today. We'll come together for a meal next time!"
Still thinking of a next time?
Jiang Beiyuan's face sank to the pits.
...
Inside the black Aston Martin…
The ambiance was rather sullen.
"Did you see the messages I sent?"
The eyes of the man sitting in the driver's seat were cold and sharp. On his wrist, the classic Breguet designed for men sparkled dimly.
"Eh… I've seen them."
"Then why didn't you reply to my messages?"
She looked up at the car roof and uttered dully, "I — didn't — want — to — reply."
Hearing that, the man tightened his knuckles that were wrapped around the steering wheel. He did not reply, but the vehicle picked up speed.
The scenery outside the car window flashed past speedily.
Very quickly, she could tell that they were not heading in the direction of the shop.
Why are we heading toward the hospital? Didn't he say that the shop is in some trouble?
And it was not the Central Hospital that they were going to, it was the Republic Hospital.
"Hey, didn't you say that the shop is in trouble?!"
He did not answer. Instead, after unbuckling the safety belt, he told her without any expression, "Get down."
Yan Nian: "…"
The "business" at the Republic Hospital was not as brisk as the Central Hospital's, so much so that the cashier boy manning the counter was dozing off, propping his head against the elbows folded across each other on the tabletop.
A curled, slender fingertip reached for and tapped lightly on the desk in front of him.
The little lad woke up.
Noticing the walk-ins, he quickly wiped away the saliva drooling at the corner of his mouth and called out respectfully, "Brother Jiang!"
All that was missing was an honoring bow.
Jiang Beiyuan acknowledged him nonchalantly and gazed momentarily at the woman standing beside him. She was sizing him up through her squinted eyes.
He knew that she was unhappy.
And unfortunately, so was he.
"This is your sister-in-law."
"Ah?!"
The boy was caught off guard but quickly recovered to give a few successive nods. "How are you, sister-in-law? May longevity and prosperity be with you always!"