Chapter 113: This Is a Reward

Liang Zheng walked over to her and sat down with her. “It’s only a meal. Why would I want your kidney?”

Qi Meili gave him a suspicious once-over. He still seemed like a plant hired to lure customers in.

She turned to the manager. “He’s paying for this meal today. You heard that, right?”

The manager nodded. “I heard you, ma’am.”

Qi Meili held up her phone to record her. “So you’re not going to make me pay later, are you?”

The manager continued nodding. “Don’t worry. Absolutely not.”

Mr. Liang still had over a million yuan in unused credit at their restaurant. There was no way they would ask Qi Meili to pay.

However, before coming over, Liang Zheng had contacted the manager online and instructed her not to mention his name.

Although the manager couldn’t figure out what kind of game he was playing, the customer had made a request, and they had to accommodate it.

After all, this was what they were paid for.

So when Qi Meili pointed her phone at her, the manager merely turned slightly and offered the camera her attractive left profile.

“Rest assured, ma’am. We are absolutely not the kind of shady restaurant that hires dining companions to trick customers into spending money. This meal was reserved by the gentleman. We will only charge him, and we won’t make things difficult for you.”

Hearing that, Qi Meili finally relaxed.

In the past, she wouldn’t have hesitated to order whatever she wanted. At worst, she could have stayed behind to wash dishes.

But she couldn’t do that now. She really had forty-eight thousand yuan in her phone.

Curious, she asked the manager, “What does ‘one-head abalone’ mean? Does this abalone only have one head? Are there abalones with eight heads? What would those be called—eight-head abalone?”

A single one-head abalone already cost forty-eight thousand yuan. How much would an eight-head abalone cost?

Four hundred thousand?

Good heavens!

The manager smiled and explained, “The term ‘one-head’ usually refers to how many dried abalones there are in one jin. A one-head abalone means that a single dried abalone weighs an entire jin, which makes it especially rare and precious.”

Qi Meili nodded earnestly. “I see. I’ve learned something new.”

Liang Zheng looked at the manager. “How many one-head abalones do you have today?”

“Four,” the manager replied quietly.

Liang Zheng closed the menu. “We’ll take all of them. As for the rest, serve whatever you think is appropriate. You know my preferences.”

“Of course.”

The manager took the menu and was about to leave when Qi Meili grew so anxious that her voice turned hoarse.

“Why did you order so much?”

Four of them would cost nearly two hundred thousand yuan!

Liang Zheng replied, “I’ll have one packed up for your friend to take home. Isn’t that a good idea?”

Qi Meili was instantly rendered speechless.

Well, yes... Of course it was a good idea...

“Um... Ordering two would be enough. One for the two of us to share. They’re so expensive...”

Even if she wasn’t the one paying, she couldn’t bring herself to take advantage of someone to this extent.

Liang Zheng smiled faintly. “My younger brother likes them too. I’ll have one packed up for him.”

Qi Meili had nothing left to say. She could only nod. “All right, then.”

The manager left, and soon the private room held only the two of them.

Her gaze drifted over Liang Zheng’s face of its own accord. No matter how many times she looked, she found every part of him pleasing.

“How did you end up with such a face?” she murmured. “Every inch of you is beautiful.”

His deep-set eyes met hers, carrying an almost hypnotic allure.

“Really?” he asked. “I’m that good-looking?”

Meili nodded vigorously. “Really. I couldn’t be more serious. Your eyes are beautiful, your nose is beautiful, and your mouth is even better. It looks so soft... I want to kiss it.”

“Then do you want to kiss me?”

“What?”

Qi Meili was stunned for a moment. “Things are moving that fast?”

She had never met such a handsome guy who was so forward!

Her eyes immediately lit up. “Sure!”

With a quick scoot, she sat down beside Liang Zheng and leaned her face toward him, squeezing her eyes shut. “Come on!”

Looking at her tightly scrunched-up face, Liang Zheng couldn’t help laughing.

That posture looked less like she was about to kiss someone and more like a child getting ready to be punished.

He asked, “You’ve never kissed anyone before?”

Qi Meili felt terribly guilty and scrunched up her face even more. “Who said that? I kiss people all the time! I’m an expert!”

Yet her eyelids trembled several times despite herself. The sight made the corners of Liang Zheng’s lips turn upward. “Then I might not be as experienced as you. Why don’t you kiss me?”

“Huh?”

Qi Meili opened her eyes in surprise. Liang Zheng was still sitting right where he was, without leaning toward her at all.

Was she supposed to make the first move?

She—she was only all talk!

Back when she used to hang around the alternative scene, she’d dated a few times, but not a single relationship had lasted longer than one bowl of spicy hot pot...

She and Huanhuan had been poor back then, and those edgy young guys were even poorer.

Three people would share one bowl of spicy hot pot, and the guy would eat the most while still refusing to pay the bill. No matter how handsome he was, that was impossible to put up with.

So although she’d drifted through a whole field of flowers, she had never actually kissed anyone...

After hesitating for a moment, she leaned a little closer. Her heart began pounding uncontrollably.

A chance this good didn’t come along often. Come on, Qi Meili, do yourself proud!

The closer she got, the more his sharply defined features filled her vision. She couldn’t help stopping mid-motion. “Huh? You look awfully familiar...”

“Do I?”

His deep-set eyes fixed intently on her. “Do you know what this kiss means?”

“What?”

“It means confirmation—and it’s the reward for keeping busy all night.”

“What do you mea—”

A large, well-defined hand covered the back of her neck, and soft lips followed, pressing against hers.

Her heart clenched. They had actually kissed!

Her mind instantly dissolved into a tangled mess, leaving her unable to think of anything.

Her eyes were wide open, fixed stupidly on the person right in front of her.

Then her senses suddenly returned. She sat bolt upright. “Liang Zheng! You tricked me into kissing you!”

A smile spread all the way into his eyes. “You finally recognize me?”

Qi Meili glared at him. “How could you do that? You lied to me!”

His sharply defined face moved close again, his magnified good looks making her head spin. “Did I ever say I wasn’t Liang Zheng?”

Qi Meili shook her head. “I don’t think so...”

She was the one who hadn’t recognized him...

“Was I the one who said I wanted to kiss you?”

Qi Meili continued shaking her head. “I was the one who said it...”

But she’d only been running her mouth. She had never expected them to actually kiss...

His lips pressed against hers once more, giving her a light peck. “That’s for the meal.”

Qi Meili tried to retreat. “But you said you’d pay!”

“Didn’t you say you were treating me to dinner?”

Qi Meili felt guilty. “I did say that, but...”

His soft lips pecked her again. “That’s payment for my hard work.”

She had owed several people favors in the course of one evening. The least he could do was collect a little compensation for all his trouble.

Gu Jingchen, that big-tailed wolf, actually thought he could fob me off with a single meal.

Hmph. As if.

Qi Meili had no idea what he was talking about. “What trouble fee? I never asked you to do anything!”

The large hand moved away from her neck, and Liang Zheng sat up straight. “You’ll find out.”

The next second, someone knocked on the door.

“Sir, your food is here.”

“Come in.”

The door was gently pushed open. The manager stood in the doorway, carrying an enormous porcelain platter.

“Sir, your whole abalone is ready.”