Chapter 39: A New Male Guest Makes His Appearance
Right at this moment, another figure sauntered through the doorway.
“Qing Qing Qing! It really is you!”
A tall young man wearing a casual shirt strode in, a bright, hearty smile on his face. Without any hesitation, he opened his arms wide, intending to give Jiang Qing a passionate hug.
Jiang Qing’s reaction was incredibly fast. Before the other party could pounce on him, he raised his hand and pressed it against his shoulder, the movement as practiced as a conditioned reflex.
“Xia Yinhan,” Jiang Qing’s tone carried a bit of helpless familiarity.
The young man named Xia Yinhan didn’t mind being blocked. Taking advantage of the posture, he patted Jiang Qing’s shoulder, smiling so widely he bared a mouthful of white teeth:
“It’s been so long, what’s wrong with a hug?” It was only then that he noticed the other people at the table, his eyes lighting up. “Wow, Qingqing brought friends today? This is…”
His gaze lingered on Jiang Linmu for an extra moment, carrying obvious curiosity.
Jiang Linmu instantly became vigilant.
Lin Siyu’s line of sight swept briefly over Xia Yinhan’s hand resting on Jiang Qing’s shoulder, then he picked up his water glass and took a sip.
“These are all my friends,” Jiang Qing glossed over it simply, changing the subject to ask, “Is Yinlan in the kitchen?”
“She is, she is. She’s preparing your specially reserved little cake right now,” Xia Yinhan said, very naturally taking the empty seat next to Jiang Qing, completely not treating himself as an outsider.
“What would you all like to eat? It’s my treat today!”
Watching this man whose level of overly familiar forwardness rivaled the beautiful woman from just a moment ago, Jiang Linmu couldn’t help but mutter quietly:
“Why is there another one…”
Xia Yinhan heard him, and not only was he not angry, but his smile grew even more radiant. He reached out a hand towards Jiang Linmu: “Little kid, you’re quite cute. I’m Xia Yinhan, one of the owners of this restaurant.”
“Who are you calling a little kid!” Jiang Linmu bristled, but under Jiang Qing’s warning glare, he reluctantly shook his hand.
“Bringing so many friends today? You always used to come alone before,” Xia Yinhan said, his arm very naturally draping over the back of Jiang Qing’s chair.
This action caused the expressions of several people present to subtly shift.
“Mm… give them some recommendations,” Jiang Qing said, handing the menu in his hand over to them.
“I think the ones ticked on here are all pretty good. Take a look and see if there’s anything else you want to add,” Jiang Qing said, gently pushing the menu, which already had several items ticked off, toward the center of the table.
Chi Jiong was the first to reach out and take the menu. His gaze quickly swept over the dishes Jiang Qing had selected—Salt and Pepper Mantis Shrimp, Steamed Scallops with Minced Garlic and Vermicelli, and Scalded Kuruma Shrimp. They were all classic seafood preparations, and there were even specific notes added on the side: “Less spicy” and “No cilantro,” meticulous and thoughtful.
“Your recommendations naturally wouldn’t be wrong,” Chi Jiong said, his fingertip tapping lightly on the menu. “Let’s add a Steamed Leopard Coral Grouper, keep it light.”
Lin Siyu took the menu: “I’m not very knowledgeable about seafood, I’ll just follow your recommendations.” As he spoke, his gaze fell on Jiang Qing, “But since we’re at a seafood restaurant, shouldn’t we order some wine? I remember you have a good tolerance for alcohol.”
Before Jiang Qing could answer, Xia Yinhan eagerly chimed in:
“Our restaurant just got a new batch of white wine, it pairs perfectly with seafood! I’ll go get it!” He said, making a move to stand up.
“No need.” Jiang Qing pressed down on his arm, “I drove here today, no drinking.”
This touch made Xia Yinhan’s eyes light up, and he smoothly sat back down. Meanwhile, Lin Siyu looked at Jiang Qing’s hand pressed against Xia Yinhan’s arm, his eyes darkening slightly.
Jiang Linmu snatched the menu and stared at it for a long time, finally pointing at the most expensive lobster and declaring: “I want this one!”
Lin Siwu leaned over to take a look, whispering: “Can you finish all that…”
“Someone else is treating anyway!” Jiang Linmu raised his volume, shooting Xia Yinhan a provocative look.
Xia Yinhan wasn’t offended at all; instead, he laughed even more happily: “The little kid has a great eye, this is our special Blue Lobster for today, guaranteed fresh!”
“Who are you calling a little kid!” Jiang Linmu bristled again.
At this moment, Lin Siwu finally lifted his head from the diverse pictures of delicious food on the menu and asked curiously: “Does Brother Qing come here often?”
“More than often,” Xia Yinhan answered quickly, his tone carrying pride. “He’s our VIP among VIPs! Comes at least once a week, just to eat my fried rice and the little cakes my sister makes.”
“And every time he comes, the other little girls in the shop always ask for his WeChat…”
The table fell silent for a moment.
Jiang Qing’s expression remained unchanged, his tone flat: “You’re remembering it wrong, they were asking for your WeChat.”
“I did not!” Xia Yinhan took a teacup and laughingly retorted, “They were clearly all aiming for you. That girl with the ponytail last time, didn’t she specifically ask if you were single…”
“Ahem.” Jiang Qing cleared his throat lightly to interrupt him, a warning in his eyes.
Xia Yinhan knew when to stop while he was ahead, changing the subject: “But our Qingqing is very aloof, he never gives it out.”
“Hehe, but he gave it to me…”
He said this with deep ambiguity, even deliberately winking at Jiang Qing.
The table instantly plunged into a dead silence.
Jiang Qing suspected this guy was doing it purely on purpose, and he couldn’t hold back from kicking Xia Yinhan.
“Aiya, I’ll stop talking for now, I’m going to see if my sister’s cake is done.” Xia Yinhan nimbly dodged Jiang Qing’s second kick and smilingly slipped toward the back kitchen. Before leaving, he didn’t forget to wave to everyone else seated, “Eat and drink well, everyone, it’s my treat today!”
Lin Siyu, who hadn’t spoken for a long time, put down his teacup. “I didn’t expect you to come here so often.”
“After all, I’m a loyal fan of desserts and seafood. How should I put it, the food at this restaurant also perfectly suits my taste.” Jiang Qing smoothly picked up the conversation, his fingertips gently twirling the teacup in front of him. “If you’re interested, we can come together next time to try their Sea Urchin Steamed Egg.”
Hearing this, Chi Jiong smiled slightly, “Qing, you should have said earlier that you like seafood and cakes. We have them at ‘Zero Six’ too.”
“Give it a rest.” Jiang Qing said with a smile, “Your seafood is okay, but the cakes are truly hard to describe in a single word.”
Chi Jiong was actually a bit surprised.
Because he had never actually tasted the cakes at his own establishment.
As the boss, his focus had always been on the quality of the alcohol and the overall operations; details like desserts from the back kitchen had never crossed his mind. Being directly pointed out by Jiang Qing for this inadequacy right now, not only did he not feel embarrassed, but a sense of novelty actually arose within him—so this Second Young Master Jiang, who seemed indifferent to everything, was actually this picky when it came to food, especially desserts.
“What type do you like, what flavors, do you have any favorite pastry chefs? I can poach them over.”
Chi Jiong said this with breezy nonchalance, but the rest of the people at the table were all stunned by this wealthy and imposing declaration.
Hearing this, Jiang Qing raised an eyebrow, a trace of amusement flashing through the bottom of his eyes: “Is Boss Chi planning to completely overhaul the dessert line at Zero Six just for me?”
“Since you’ve pointed out Zero Six’s shortcomings, then as the boss, I naturally have to show some initiative.”
Lin Siwu didn’t expect that Zero Six, which was so incredible in his eyes, actually had shortcomings, and they were spotted by Jiang Qing at a single glance! What surprised him even more was that Chi Jiong actually accepted the criticism so calmly, and even said he would overhaul the dessert line for Brother Jiang Qing!
The way he looked at Jiang Qing was full of admiration—not only was Jiang Qing incredibly good-looking, but even his taste was so unique and precise!
———Author’s Note———
Everyone, remember to stay warm. It seems like it’s the peak season for Influenza A recently.
The streamer laid in bed all day today, feeling dizzy and achy. I didn’t think much of it and thought it was just a normal cold.
The streamer has always been very confident in her body. Because back in high school, every time I wanted to make myself get a fever so I could ask for sick leave, my highest record was 37 degrees [Celsius]. I think you need 37.3 degrees to get a sick note approved, so even when I wanted to get one, I couldn’t.
Just now I felt something was a bit wrong and took my temperature.
Wow, 40 degrees.
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