Chapter 114: Rest assured, you won't be held responsible.
The manager carefully set the plate on the table. “We’ve prepared it in the most classic style—abalone slices in scallion oil. Please give it a try...”
Before she could finish, the manager tactfully noticed the hint of disappointment on Meili’s beautiful face and quickly asked, “Do you not like this preparation, ma’am? The other two haven’t been cooked yet. We can prepare them however you like.”
Qi Meili looked at her earnestly. “Didn’t you just say the special thing about these abalones is how big they are?”
The manager nodded. “Yes.”
Meili’s gaze grew even more sincere. “Then why did you slice it? Once it’s sliced, how are we supposed to tell how big it was?”
She’d been planning to take a picture and post it on her social media to show off.
The manager smiled considerately. “Would you like a picture of the dried abalone or of the finished dish? Would you like a video of the cooking process as well? The kitchen can take one for you.”
So thoughtful. Almost too thoughtful.
At 48,000 yuan, half the price was probably for the service.
Liang Zheng nodded at the manager. “Please prepare one of the remaining two whole and slice the other.”
“Of course.”
Only after the manager had left did he smile and explain to Meili, “A whole abalone is too large. Cooking it whole doesn’t bring out the best flavor.”
“Huh? Then tell the manager to slice both of them. It’s so expensive—don’t waste any.”
Meili was about to get up and call the manager back, but Liang Zheng tugged her down into her seat. “It’s fine. The other one is for Xiao Ye. His tongue is practically numb—he won’t be able to taste the difference.”
For Liang Ye? Then never mind.
Qi Meili sat back down. “He deserves to eat the inferior one. If it weren’t for him, would I have downloaded that stupid app? Would I have been catfished?”
A flicker passed through Liang Zheng’s eyes. “Xiao Ye told you to download the app?”
His little brother had taught her how to date online?
Meili nodded angrily. “He wanted to learn English but didn’t want to pay for lessons... The picture he used was really handsome! Blond, blue-eyed, and incredibly good-looking!”
To prove her point, she pulled up the fake photo and handed her phone to Liang Zheng. “Look. Isn’t he gorgeous?”
Liang Zheng glanced at the screen. The man in the photo was blond and blue-eyed, with deep, well-defined features. There was no denying that he was handsome.
He helplessly lifted his eyes to the woman beside him. This woman, whose heart was filled with handsome men from all over the world, seemed to have completely forgotten that they had just kissed.
He reached over and turned off her phone, then stared at her seriously. “What did we just do?”
Meili was perfectly composed. “We kissed. So what?”
Kissing might have been a little embarrassing while it was happening, but once it was over, it was over.
Now that she was talking about it, she wasn’t embarrassed in the slightest.
Her gaze even swept suggestively over Liang Zheng’s lips. “Your lips are soft. You’re pretty good to kiss. Hehe...”
...
His gaze tightened on her. “And what happens after people kiss?”
How were things between them supposed to progress?
The expression on his face was far too serious. Meili’s eyes immediately widened. “Wait, what? It was just a kiss, big guy. Are you expecting me to take responsibility for you?”
Before Liang Zheng could reply, she hurriedly picked up her chopsticks, stuffed a slice of abalone into her mouth, and chewed it several times with great determination. Then she clapped her hands and announced, “Anyway, I’m full. I should get going.”
He wanted her to take responsibility? No way!
She would never give up an entire forest for a single tree!
She rose to leave, but Liang Zheng didn’t stop her. He merely sat there and asked, “Is the abalone good? Aren’t you taking some for He Huanhuan?”
Oh, right. She still had to take one home for Huanhuan.
Meili stood there with a frown, caught between sitting down and leaving.
Then a soft laugh came from behind her. “Relax. I’m not asking you to take responsibility.”
She dropped right back into her seat. “Hey, it’s not that I don’t want to take responsibility. It’s just that, you know, right now I...”
“We’ll talk about it if I really ask you to.”
Meili instantly shut her mouth and obediently began eating the abalone.
She buried her head in her food and ate with great enthusiasm, completely unaware that in the eyes of the man beside her, his apparent retreat was merely a calculated step toward getting what he wanted.
After dinner, Liang Zheng drove her back to the Gu residence.
When they reached the intersection, she immediately spotted Han Mo’s car parked by the roadside and hurriedly said, “You can let me out here. I’ll go straight to Huanhuan!”
As soon as the car stopped, she pushed open the door and got out without a hint of reluctance.
“Meili.”
“Hmm?”
She turned around. Liang Zheng was sitting in the driver’s seat, looking at her. His eyes seemed to hold a great many emotions, and yet perhaps none at all.
Either way, she couldn’t make sense of them.
“What is it?” she asked.
Liang Zheng shook his head and smiled. “Next time you feel like kissing, come find me first. I’m always available.”
He would make sure no one else was.
Meili waved him off perfunctorily. “Got it, got it...”
Honestly, he was acting like he’d become addicted to kissing her. Tsk, tsk, tsk...
After finally sending him away, she carried the takeout box along the road for quite a while before running into the two people returning from their stroll.
Like a cannonball, she shot straight toward He Huanhuan and held out the takeout box. “Look what delicious food I brought you!”
Han Mo glanced at the box, the corners of his mouth lifting in a teasing smile. “Young Master Liang is pretty generous.”
A meal at Dream Garden was far from cheap.
Qi Meili shot him a look. “You know this place?”
Han Mo nodded. “I’ve eaten there a few times.”
The restaurant only accepted reservations, and the prices were truly exorbitant. He didn’t go often.
Meili gave him a sidelong glance. “Capitalist scum. You’re not allowed to eat any. It’s all for Huanhuan.”
She opened the box. Inside, the abalone slices had been arranged perfectly, just like they had been on the plate, stacked in neat, orderly layers. They looked incredibly satisfying.
She eagerly handed He Huanhuan a pair of chopsticks. “Try it! One piece costs 48,000 yuan. It’s insanely expensive!”
He Huanhuan was stunned. “Did Liang Ye’s brother get caught committing murder by you?”
What kind of crime would require spending that much money to buy Meili’s silence?
Meili giggled. “I traded a kiss for it. Hurry and eat. It’s delicious.”
“What?”
He Huanhuan jumped to her feet. “What did you trade?”
“A kiss.”
“How many times did you kiss? How did it happen? Why did you kiss? How did you two just suddenly start kissing? Why did you kiss him at all?”
Whenever a woman started seeing a man, the first person to lose her mind was always her best friend.
What kind of shameless man had taken advantage of her Meili?
She and Han Mo had known each other for so long, and they’d only ever held hands.
Who was Liang Zheng, anyway? What gave him the right to kiss her Meili?
“He kissed you and you didn’t refuse? Did he force you? Boo-hoo...”
Meili stuffed a piece of abalone into her mouth and, feeling guilty, fed her another one. “Oh, stop asking. Don’t worry—I only kissed him. I’m not going to take responsibility for him.”
“Really?”
He Huanhuan eyed her suspiciously. Somehow, those words didn’t sound very reliable.
“Truer than gold!”
Cradling the takeout box, Meili began ingratiating herself with her friend. “Don’t worry. My heart belongs to my girlfriends, not men.”
With 48,000-yuan abalone in her mouth and her best friend’s sweet assurances in her ears, He Huanhuan couldn’t help feeling pleased.
She picked up a slice and fed it to Meili. “No wonder this stuff is so expensive. It really is delicious.”
Meili nodded. “Exactly! One abalone costs 48,000 yuan, and they even sliced it for us. I didn’t even get a picture!”
He Huanhuan frowned. “What? Then you ate it for nothing?”
Something that expensive had to be photographed properly and posted on social media!
Han Mo explained from the side, “Slicing it before braising it with scallions gives it more flavor. If you braise it whole, the flavor can’t seep in, and the texture won’t be as good.”
Meili was astonished. “Liang Zheng said exactly the same thing! Oh my God! You rich people are so pretentious!”
Han Mo: ...
He hadn’t even gotten to eat it, let alone kiss anyone. How was he being pretentious too?