Chapter 12-The Great Grill
''Miss Shen, I would like to apologize for our incompetence in resolving the situation .I will assure you that it will not occur again.''
The manager was very clever in resolving the situation .He effectively took blame for allowing the situation to escalate and subtlety assured Shen Xue that they would ban Tan Niu from their store.
Since the manager had resolved the situation Shen Xue let it go without complaints before turning back her attention to Song Xia.
''Xiao Xia, it's so nice to see you again!'' Shen Xue said enthusiastically. She had been thinking of inviting Song Xia out to have fun but had not gotten the chance.
''Shen Xue, it's good to see you again! This time you saved me. Thanks for your help.'' Song Xia really was thankful that Shen Xue was ready to help her after only on encounter and that she was a person who really cared for her friends. Song Xia had to admit that the look on Tan Niu's face after getting slapped was priceless!
Song Xia suddenly remembered Jin Yu and pulled her over to Shen Xue .
''Jin Yu, this is my friend Shen Xue .Shen Xue, this is my best friend Jin Yu . ''
Shen Xue smiled at Jin Yu in greeting before sticking out her hand ,''Hi nice to meet you . You can call me Xue Er.''
Jin Yu was slightly overwhelmed but still politely shook Shen Xue's hand and said, ''Hello, you can call me Xiao Yu.''
''Why don't we go to 'The Great Grill' it's my elder brother's restaurant that he started with his friend from the States .It has really some really delicious western food, today it's my treat .''
Song Xia ,Jin Yu and Shen Xue headed to "The Great Grill' it was decorated with barn wood and had lot of low lighting and wooden floors .It gave the feeling of an elegant ,ranch house in America .When Song Xia and Jin Yu got the menu's they noticed that the food was a bit more expensive than a regular restaurant because everything was gourmet. They tried to protest on paying their share but Shen Xue said that even she wouldn't pay today because her brother would not allow her or her friends to pay at his restaurant. Jin Yu felt little bit aggrieved since Song Xia and both Shen Xue had treated her today. They later decided they would go to have dessert and then Jin Yu could pay.
They had chosen the Parmesan cheese stuffed fillet chicken burger with mushroom chili sauce .The burger came with its own portion of fries with a honey mustard sauce. All three of them ordered that burger on Shen Xue recommendation but with different drinks. Shen Xue ordered a bubble gum milkshake, Song Xia a chocolate milkshake and Jin Yu a toffee vanilla milkshake.
They all spoke and got to know each other. Song Xia and Shen Xue spoke to each other about fashion ,of course, with Jin Yu chipping in with some knowledge that Shi Qi had shared with her.
'' Xiao Xia, did you see ' Lijuan ' launched their new silk scarf collection two days ago. The ' Dangerous Love' chiffon scarf was absolutely to die for. Even , Fan Ning posted on Hao Wen *, that she loved the unique floral prints.''
'Lijuan' was a new brand that was quickly gaining popularity. It could be classified as upper second tier brand hovering to low first tier.
Fan Ning was an A-list up and coming actress .Well known for a very famous popular historical drama 'The autumn leaves of past lives' were she played the second female lead.She also played a variety of roles in romantic movies .Song Xia had not watched any of her movies before but had done some research about the entertainment industry and Fan Ning's name came up. She was the media's darling and had die- hard fans so anything she promoted would became an instant hit.
Surprisingly even Shen Xue and Jin Yu got along very well .They spoke about music as well as which stars they liked.
Jin Yu realized that even though Shen Xue was confident ,bold and a bit rash , she was a good person who was down-to-earth and genuinely funny. Shen Xue had a blast and for the first time in a long while she had a good time with people who weren't her close family .Song Xia and Jin Yu did not speak behind people's backs, they didn't needlessly gossip or complain every few minutes. She concluded that this is what true friendship was like .Not toxic the relationships she had with Shen Chenying and her friends.
''Xue Er,'' Shen Xue ,broke off her conversation in surprise .Looking up she broke out in a grin, ''Colton,'' she gave half -hug to a young, cute blonde foreigner. They had a brief conversation in English before she switched back to Huxian.'' Colton ,these are my friends Song Xia and Jin Yu. Girls, this is my brother's friend and part-owner of this restaurant, Colton Monroe.''
''Hello ,nice to meet you.'' Probably noticing their look of surprise at his excellent pronunciation, ''My mother is Huxian but I look American like my father .As a child she insisted that I learn her mother-tongue so I'm bilingual .'' He explained with a boyish smile.
Colton briefly joined them and had a very charming personality. Shen Xue extended an invitation to her birthday party to Colton, Jin Yu and Song Xia in two and a half weeks .Then they went their separate ways after ice-cream as it was already 4 p.m..
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*In this world 'Hao Wen' was the equivalent of' Twitter ' or 'Weibo' in Song Xia's previous world.