Helen strode ahead, akin to a proud princess, while Jin Muchen followed behind, carrying the cardboard box.
Though initially uncomfortable, watching the woman ahead sway her golden locks with each step and sway her hips inexplicably lifted his spirits.
Exiting the steakhouse, Helen, walking ahead, suddenly changed expression and cursed under her breath, "Excrement!" Jin Muchen raised his eyes and caught sight of a police officer affixing a ticket to the window of a white Cadillac CTS-V around the corner of the street.
"Excuse me, officer, I'll leave immediately, please don't..." Helen jogged ahead, shouting, but when she reached the officer, a plump policeman with a small mustache, he had just torn the ticket from his notebook.
"Apologies, miss, don't you know you can't park here?"
"I'm sorry, sir, I'll leave right away." Helen struggled to put on a pitiful pleading expression, but not everyone bought into her beautiful damsel act.
The chubby policeman shrugged and firmly affixed the ticket to the window before heading towards another police car on the opposite side of the street.
Watching the policeman walk away, Helen tore the ticket off fiercely, muttering curses under her breath.
"Damn fatty, must be gay."
Seeing her fierce expression, Jin Muchen couldn't help but laugh.
"What are you laughing at?" Helen turned her head again, glaring at Jin Muchen, who could only suppress his laughter obediently.
"Alright, hurry up and open the trunk. The stuff has been delivered, and I should be heading back."
"Oh, why so hurried? Your car is parked there. Let me take you to pick it up?"
Helen clicked the remote to open the trunk, then said with a twinkle in her eye. Jin Muchen, at this moment, was busy putting things into her car's trunk and didn't see her expression.
"Well, that works. My car is parked in a parking lot over in SoHo."
"Alright, get in!" Helen snapped her fingers and opened the car door, and Jin Muchen got in as well.
The Cadillac CTS-V was a luxury sports car carefully crafted by Cadillac, specifically to compete with the BMW M Series. The car's acceleration performance was impeccable, but sitting in it was somewhat uncomfortable, especially for someone like Jin Muchen, who was quite bulky.
Helen's driving did not match her gentle appearance at all; she almost constantly floored the accelerator and slammed the brakes, quickly arriving at Madison Square Garden.
"Hey! Miss Helen, this doesn't seem to be the way to SoHo, is it?"
"Hehe, you're right. I'll take you back later. In gratitude for waiting for me for so long and delivering my things, I'll treat you to dinner!" Helen said with a smile, leaving Jin Muchen feeling speechless, unsure of what scheme the girl had up her sleeve.
"But I've already eaten! Please..."
"Hey! Can't you behave like a gentleman? Especially when there's a beauty like me inviting you to dinner!"
But I just ate, though Jin Muchen didn't voice it, he could only quietly think to himself.
The car soon arrived at the entrance of a restaurant on the side of Eleventh Avenue near Madison Square Park. The restaurant was called Eleven Madison Park. Despite it being past the peak dining hours, there was still a long line outside the door.
At the entrance was a pergola with a middle-aged white man standing beneath it, presumably of Mediterranean descent, with black hair and somewhat yellowish skin.
Helen drove directly to the front of the restaurant, got out of the car, and threw the car keys to the middle-aged white man named Silo. Silo caught the keys and then opened the red rope barrier in front of him, allowing Helen and Jin Muchen to enter the restaurant.
Seeing the two swagger into the restaurant, those who had been waiting in line for a long time outside were not pleased.
Someone even shouted loudly at the doorman Silo, "Hey! Buddy, why? We've been waiting here for half a day! Why let them in first?"
Silo rolled his eyes. "Because this restaurant belongs to their family. If you have shares in this restaurant, I can let you in now too."
The person who shouted could only obediently shut his mouth. Silo picked up the intercom and called for a valet, who drove Helen's car away. Silo remained standing at the door, still sneering. Helen, leading Jin Muchen, swaggered into the restaurant, leaving behind the envy-filled queue in the chilly wind outside...
The restaurant wasn't large, but it was exquisitely decorated and made excellent use of space. In the center was the order counter and service area.
Around it were small round tables, with long sofas under each wall, and tables in front. At this time, every table was packed with people.
Helen led Jin Muchen directly to the second floor, where there was a table by the window, unoccupied. When they walked in and took a look, they saw a sign on the table that read "Reserved".
It seemed that this was a reserved spot for Helen and her family. This spot was quite nice, right by the window, and quite far from the other tables, so they wouldn't be disturbed by others. Through the window, you could see Madison Square Park across the street.
Soon, a waiter brought them two glasses of water and a small card. On the card were written maple, cranberry, fennel, and apple.
Jin Muchen looked at the card somewhat dazedly, not sure what it meant.
But seeing him dazed, Helen smiled and said, "This represents the restaurant's mastery of four different flavors. You choose which one you like, just tear off that piece, and when the dishes come later, they'll be tailored to that flavor."
So particular. These rich people are really troublesome. Jin Muchen muttered silently to himself. He had just had a big bowl of soup and a large piece of steak at the steakhouse, and now he was already seven-tenths full, not really hungry.
"How about it? What do you want to eat? It's on me! Foie gras? Scallops? Or oysters? Or caviar? Whatever you like!"
Helen smiled and looked at Jin Muchen. Jin Muchen lost interest immediately upon hearing these items, typical of delicate and refined Western cuisine.
The dishes were beautifully crafted and tried to preserve the original flavors of the ingredients as much as possible. They sounded upscale, but in reality, they didn't quite suit the discerning palate of a Chinese person, not to mention, eating these dishes didn't really satisfy one's hunger!
"I'll pass. I just had a steak, and I'm quite full, really not hungry!" He politely declined, though at this moment, he really wanted to go back and enjoy the feeling of being a millionaire.
Helen chuckled, "Alright then, I noticed you didn't have dessert earlier. The desserts here are also famous! How about a Baked Alaska for this gentleman!"
She turned to the waiter standing nearby, with a flattering smile on her face, and instructed, the waiter hurriedly took note.
"What about you, Miss Helen?"
Helen tossed aside the card in her hand, "I'll have the Lemon Roasted Sturgeon, nothing else for now."
"Understood!"
The waiter turned to place the order, while Helen looked at the other diners around their tables, with a somewhat mocking expression, "Those people never know that the best dish here is the Lemon Roasted Sturgeon."
Jin Muchen didn't know how to respond. The world of the wealthy, he truly didn't understand.
"Oh, by the way, where's Candice? How come you two aren't together?"
Helen asked casually.
"She has class today. Oh right, aren't you in the same major? Didn't you go to school today?"
"Hehe, I was sick today."
Helen said mischievously. This was hard to believe, but for a wealthy girl like her, even if she was sick every day, she would still manage to graduate.
"Hey! Helen, is that really you? Haha, didn't expect to run into you here. You said you had something going on when I called earlier?"
A somewhat rough voice came from afar, and Helen, sitting across from Jin Muchen, slouched as if trying to avoid someone.
Jin Muchen could even catch a glimpse of the flash of panic on her face, but when she raised her head again, she had a smile on her face. However, with his extraordinary hearing, he could still clearly hear Helen muttering under her breath, "Damn Texas redneck."
A strong, somewhat pungent cologne scent, followed by a sudden dimming of the light beside him. Jin Muchen turned his head and saw a burly man beside him.
This guy was about two meters tall, with curly golden hair, even his eyebrows were golden, and his muscular figure was intimidating. He looked very much like a wrestler from the wrestling league, Brock Lesnar. His face was very red, just like Helen described, even his neck was very red, giving people a very intimidating feeling.
"Hello, Curtis, what are you doing here?"
Helen greeted the burly man with a smile, her acting skills were really... Jin Muchen could only silently roll his eyes.
"A few of us, Judy, Dean, and Daniel, went to see a concert this afternoon, and then came here for dinner. It's quite a coincidence to run into you at this time."
Curtis smiled and said to Helen, who nodded.
"How was the concert?"
"Not great. That band was a bunch of idiots, a complete waste of time. Oh, you guys haven't eaten yet, right? Why don't you come over and join us?"
Curtis didn't even glance at Jin Muchen. At this moment, his eyes were only on Helen.