Chapter 77: Would you like to go shopping at the mall with me

7:00 PM, Jinshan Dragon Restaurant.

Seeing the woman approach, the waiter bowed respectfully and gestured with his hand.

"Miss An, right this way, please."

"Okay."

An Ling sent a message to Jiang Mai and put her phone back into her bag.

Following the waiter to the table, she saw a man already sitting opposite her seat.

Seeing her arrive, he stood up, smiled, and politely extended his hand. "Hello, Miss An."

The man was dressed in a gray suit, his hair styled meticulously. With a flawless smile and a lean face, he wore silver-rimmed glasses resting on his nose bridge, giving off a gentle and refined aura.

An Ling smiled and shook his hand. "Hello, Mr. Wen. I apologize for being late."

Wen Yuche's gaze fell upon the woman in front of him.

She was wearing a long white silk dress with a grayish-white fur coat draped over her shoulders. Her long black hair was pinned up, and the diamond necklace around her neck refracted a dazzling light, making her fair, beautiful face look even more exquisite. Her eyes curved when she smiled, and her aura was gentle, carrying a pure innocence.

Wen Yuche was momentarily stunned, a trace of surprise flashing through his eyes.

It seemed his mother really hadn't lied to him.

His smile deepened as he gestured with his hand. "Not at all, I just arrived early. Please, have a seat."

An Ling sat down and placed her bag aside.

Wen Yuche handed the menu to her. "I don't know what you like to eat, Miss An, and I haven't eaten here before either, so I went ahead and ordered some of their signature dishes. See if there's anything else you'd like to add."

"It's fine, I eat anything..." An Ling took the menu, but then her movements paused.

She looked up with a helpless smile. "You ordered so much; I don't think the two of us can finish it all."

"Is that so?"

"Yes." An Ling looked up and pointed it out to the waiter. "Please cancel this fish and the soup. We already have similar dishes."

After saying that, she turned to ask for Wen Yuche's opinion. "Is that alright?"

The man smiled and nodded. "That's fine."

"Certainly." The waiter took back the menu.

The moment An Ling turned her head, she caught Wen Yuche looking at her.

She blinked. "What's wrong?"

Wen Yuche smiled and leaned back in his chair. "I just feel that you're quite different from the Miss An I knew before."

"From when we were kids?" An Ling's eyes curved in a smile. "My mom said we used to play together when we were little, but I don't really remember."

Wen Yuche smiled but didn't answer directly. He simply raised his hand to pour her some red wine. "I don't really remember either. This wine is quite good, you should try it."

He had read the news about the An and Shen families, so his initial impression of An Ling wasn't very good.

When his mother first mentioned this blind date, he knew she had already made a promise to Auntie An.

He hadn't really wanted to agree, but he couldn't withstand his mother using excuses like "you played together as kids" and insisting that the news was all fake.

Playing together as kids didn't guarantee a person's character as an adult.

Looking at her now, however, there were indeed some discrepancies from the news.

An Ling took a sip of the red wine. Remembering her face blindness, she didn't dare to drink too much; if she got drunk, recognizing people would become very troublesome.

Holding her wine glass, she looked at the man across from her. After thinking for a moment, her long, curly eyelashes fluttered as she leaned in and asked in a low voice, "Were you forced to come here too? Did my mom tell you this was just to make friends?"

Wen Yuche was slightly taken aback, and then a laugh escaped his lips.

"She did."

So they were in the same boat.

An Ling smiled at him, her eyes curving. "No need to be so formal. You can just call me by my name."

"Alright, An Ling." Wen Yuche turned and pulled out a gift box from beside him. "For our first meeting, this is a gift for you."

An Ling took it and opened the box to find a Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet. She immediately pushed the box back. "There's no need, this is too expensive, and I didn't prepare anything for you."

The main reason was that she already had several of these.

Among the luxury goods Shen Linyan had given her before, she had one in every color of this collection.

"It's fine. If you don't accept it, my mom will scold me."

"Alright then." An Ling held up the gift and smiled at him, raising an eyebrow. "Then I'll owe you a gift in return for later."

Swallowing his words of refusal, Wen Yuche smiled and nodded. "Okay."

When the waiter came over to serve the food, An Ling picked up her phone and glanced at it, seeing a message from Jiang Mai.

[I see him! He's quite good-looking. Are you guys going on a date after dinner? Hehe.]

Where did she see them?

Seeing that Wen Yuche was also looking down at his phone replying to messages, she typed quickly.

An Ling: [What date? I'm going straight home after dinner.]

She had deliberately cut down on the dishes just so she could go home early.

Just as she sent the message, the clattering sound of a glass tipping over suddenly rang in her ears, accompanied by the waiter's exclamation.

"I'm sorry, sir! I'm so sorry!"

She looked up to see a messy scene on the table. The man's glass had tipped over, and red wine was dripping down the edge of the table right onto his suit.

The waiter beside them bowed repeatedly, apologizing in a panicked tone. "I'm so sorry, sir... I-I didn't mean to."

Wen Yuche quickly stood up and grabbed a napkin to wipe it. The smile on his face was a bit forced, but he tried his best to keep his tone gentle. "It's fine..."

Before An Ling could figure out what had happened, the lobby manager heard the commotion and hurried over, his face full of apology. "I'm so sorry! Sir, this waiter is new and a bit clumsy! We will cover the cost of cleaning your suit and your meal tonight. We are truly sorry!"

Wen Yuche looked at the red wine stain on his clothes and sighed. "Forget it..."

He looked at An Ling. "An Ling, did you get splashed?"

An Ling looked down. "No."

Wen Yuche put his hands on his hips helplessly and chuckled. "I'm really sorry. With this happening so suddenly, I'm afraid we can't continue our dinner."

An Ling quickly waved her hands and stood up. "It's totally fine, it couldn't be helped. You should hurry back, Mr. Wen."

This was great! She could go home early!

Suppressing her joy, An Ling picked up her bag and the gift, smiling as she said, "You don't need to see me off. Go home early and change your clothes so you don't catch a cold."

Just as she was about to turn around, the man's voice sounded from behind her.

"If you have time, Miss An, would you like to go to the mall with me?"

"..."

An Ling paused in her tracks and turned around to meet the man's gentle smile.

"The main thing is, if I go back too early, my mom will definitely scold me, and she might just set up another date. It just so happens I need to buy a new suit for work tomorrow, but unfortunately, my fashion sense isn't the best. Isn't this perfect timing? You can return the favor for the gift now."

An Ling blinked, then smiled and gave him an "OK" gesture.

"No problem, let's go."

After they left, the manager looked at the spilled red wine on the floor, patted the waiter on the shoulder, and lowered his voice.

"Good acting. Thanks for your hard work."

He walked to the side, took out his phone, and dialed a number.

Out on the street, a Maybach was parked quietly by the curb.

A man in a sharp suit sat upright inside the car. His long, slender fingers pressed the button to hang up the phone. He slowly lifted his gaze, his dark eyes staring at the car driving away in front of him.

Secretary Chen sat in the front seat, bracing himself as he spoke respectfully:

"I've looked into it, Chairman Shen. That is the youngest son of the Wen family, Wen Yuche. He studied abroad for several years and just recently returned from London."

He paused for a moment before adding:

"Also, this Wen Yuche works together with Damian."

As the words faded, a heavy, frozen silence spread through the interior of the car.

The man lowered his gaze, nonchalantly tapping on his phone screen. His calm voice betrayed no trace of emotion.

"Send a message to Damian and tell him I will be having dinner with him tomorrow."