The Linjiang Teahouse is not far from the Bai family's residence, nor is it far from the Chu family's. It only takes about half an hour by car.
However, the Linjiang Teahouse is extremely far from the central airport of Kyoto. It takes an hour and a half to drive there, and there is often traffic congestion outside the airport. So, it's not even certain that one can reach there within an hour and a half.
Rong Lan's face was still gloomy. "I feel like I've made a huge loss now!"
Chu Hengyuan tried to suppress his smile and comforted her, "It's okay. Arriving a bit later is also good. The night view of the Linjiang Teahouse is the most beautiful. If our table is by the window, we can enjoy the dinner while admiring the night view."
With her "money power", Rong Lan naturally wouldn't fail to reserve a window seat. The seat she reserved not only had a window but was also in an independent private room.
The interior of the private room was decorated in an antique style. There was a small wooden round table, wooden chairs, and even a wooden bookshelf. The windows were just like those in ancient times, giving people the illusion of traveling back to ancient times.
When Chu Hengyuan entered the private room and saw the exquisite decoration, he pondered, "Miss Bai must have spent a fortune to secure this private room, right?"
Although he had never dined at the Linjiang Teahouse, he had heard that a meal there was quite expensive. Moreover, this was a private room with a direct view of the river. Just reserving this private room probably cost a lot.
Rong Lan looked at the night view outside the window and knew that the money she spent was worth it. "It's okay. I didn't spend too much."
It was just 50,000 yuan—
There were only nine private rooms in the entire Linjiang Teahouse that offered a view of the river, and almost each of them was usually reserved half a month in advance. God knows how much effort she had put in last night to buy this reserved seat.
But she didn't feel bad about spending just 50,000 yuan.
Because it was the money she had swindled from Bai Rongran, not her own hard - earned money.
Looking at the scenery outside the window, the gloom in Rong Lan's heart dissipated. She pushed the matter of Bai Rongran, that ungrateful girl, to the back of her mind and stopped thinking about it.
She sat down on the wooden chair and pushed the menu towards Chu Hengyuan. "Young Master Chu, take a look and order whatever you like."
Chu Hengyuan pushed the menu back to the girl. "It's better for Miss Bai to do it. I'm not picky about food, and I don't have any particular favorite dishes."
Rong Lan's gaze on Chu Hengyuan was meaningful. Not picky about food? Was he so easy to feed?
She wasn't too polite either. She opened the menu, selected a few dishes, and then pressed the remote control on the table. Within half a minute, a waiter knocked on the door and came in. The waiter registered the food she had chosen without saying a single unnecessary word and left after the registration.
Chu Hengyuan poured a cup of hot tea for Rong Lan and pushed it in front of her. He also poured a cup for himself, picked up the delicate and small teacup, and took a small sip. "Miss Bai should know what I want to talk to you about when I invited you out. So, here's the question. Do you want to talk slowly over tea after dinner, or shall we start now?"
The reason he invited her out today was nothing more than to talk about her views on the arranged marriage.
If she was willing to marry him, he would be happy to cooperate. It would be like getting a smart and good - looking little wife for free. He would only gain and not lose.
If she just wanted to deceive Bai Rongran and cancel the engagement, he could also cooperate with her plan.
Rong Lan glanced at the time ticking on her phone screen. "How about we talk after dinner?"
Of course, she knew what Chu Hengyuan wanted to talk to her about. It was nothing more than the fact that he had someone he liked, and he didn't want to fulfill the engagement between the Chu and Bai families as the elders of the Chu family wished.
The surprise she had arranged for Chu Hengyuan would take another hour to arrive. It would not be too late to talk to Chu Hengyuan then.
She always had to let Chu Hengyuan see her sincerity.
"Okay." Chu Hengyuan smiled and subtly shifted the topic to daily matters, no longer talking about anything related to the arranged marriage.
Rong Lan followed Chu Hengyuan's topic.
It was still comfortable to get along with this person. After all, he knew the appropriate degree of conversation between two people who were not particularly familiar with each other, and he could grasp that degree well.
Half an hour later, all the dishes Rong Lan had ordered were served at once.
Rong Lan couldn't help but glance at the time on her phone screen again.
It was perfect. The timing was just right. In half an hour, they should be almost full. By then, they could hold their teacups and watch the performance outside.
And then talk about business.
Chu Hengyuan didn't know that Rong Lan was secretly timing. When he saw the dishes on the table and counted them, he couldn't control his curiosity anymore. He pretended to ask casually, "Miss Bai, do you like chicken very much?"
The dishes on the table should be all the ones she had just ordered. Among the six dishes and one soup, the soup was chicken soup, and traces of chicken could be seen in each dish. The two most obvious dishes were sliced cold chicken and soy - sauce chicken. The others were stir - fries, but they were all related to chicken.
Rong Lan shifted her gaze from the phone and looked at the dishes on the table. She tried hard not to show her eagerness. "It's okay. I think chicken tastes good."
As a fox, even a fox that had cultivated for 500 years and was just one step away from becoming an immortal, she still had a genuine love for chicken.
When asked to order dishes, wasn't this the rhythm of having a whole - chicken feast?
"Doesn't Young Master Chu like chicken?" Rong Lan asked politely.
Even if Chu Hengyuan didn't like chicken, it was too late. She had already ordered.
Chu Hengyuan shook his head with a smile. "No. I just wanted to ask. If Miss Bai likes chicken, next time we go out for a meal, I'll take Miss Bai to a place where the chicken is cooked very deliciously."
Rong Lan's eyes lit up slightly. "Really? Where is it?"
She thought she could go there by herself.
Seeing her excited look, Chu Hengyuan somehow felt that if the girl had a tail, at this moment, it should be wagging left and right. He lowered his eyes and didn't look at her anymore, afraid that he would imagine some strange scenes again. "The location is a bit complicated. It's hard for me to explain. If we have a chance to go out for a meal together next time, Miss Bai will know."
Her sudden excitement didn't seem like her love for chicken was just at the level of "it's okay".
He had already planned in advance where to go for a meal next time.
"Okay. Let's talk about it next time." There would surely be many opportunities for them to go out for a meal together in the future.
Thinking so, Rong Lan didn't force herself to get an answer. She picked up her chopsticks. "Let's eat! The food won't taste good if it gets cold later."
Although it was October, the food wouldn't get cold so easily.
Chu Hengyuan also picked up his chopsticks. With a gentle look on his face, he said, "Okay."
Neither of them was talkative while eating. They didn't make small talk but quietly enjoyed the delicious food. They only chatted about something interesting from time to time, and the atmosphere was harmonious.