"This is so wonderful! Quickly, help me grind the ink. The scene before me requires my lifelong skill to describe!"
"Master Fuli is watching over!"
Master Fuli and Lin Ying were dining together. The artist, with an intense enthusiasm, was engrossed in painting, starting with a draft. Lin Ying desired a wall-mounted oil painting, but both were dressed in traditional Hanfu attire. Seeing this, the artist couldn't help but want to create an ink painting as well.
To capture the essence of Master Fuli merely in an oil painting would be a pity.
"Why must I grind the ink? Do you think I can handle such a task?"
With a face full of complaints, Lin Shu reluctantly helped grind the ink. The last time she did this was in the school calligraphy club during elementary school. If she messed up such an important task, Miss Lin would probably send her off to Africa.
However.
In the entire restaurant, apart from Lin Shu, there was indeed no one else available.
The restaurant was filled with acquaintances. Lin Bingyun was primarily responsible for overseeing the quality from the kitchen and relaying the dishes, with servants delivering them to the tables.
The menu arrangement, besides featuring local specialties and appetizers, focused mainly on Huaiyang cuisine and seafood, albeit in very small portions.
Each dish consisted of at most three small bites or a large one.
Lin Bingyun's intention was simple: to allow Master Fuli and Miss to taste more delicacies.
Of course, this was just the surface meaning. More deeply, it was to use the dishes as topics to encourage more conversation between the two alone, such as discussing the dish's flavor and culinary skills used, both of which are excellent conversation topics.
Discussing knowledge with confidence, isn't that a kind of elegance too?
Although Lin Ying didn't know how to cook, she belonged to the long-term trained and systematically studied category when it came to eating.
Even though, in her Fox Lady state, Lin Ying might not really need the butler's assistance.
But as a butler, these were things she had to consider and even arrange meticulously.
"Uh...the fish is so bitter." Master Fuli picked up a piece of fish to taste, but upon entry, his brows instantly furrowed with some bitterness apparent: "It tastes like fish gall..."
"Huh?"
Lin Ying was taken aback, picking up her piece of fish and tasting it. No off-flavor was present. The pan-fried hairtail, while not as fresh and sweet as freshly caught seafood, had its seasoning and crispy cooked flavor, offering sweetness worth savoring.
"Then... Master Fuli should try mine, right? My portion should be fine." Lin Ying picked up a piece of fish from her plate, offering it in front of Master Fuli: "Ah~"
"Indeed..." Eating the fish from Lin Ying's plate, Master Fuli showed a clearly delighted expression.
The fox ears on Lin Ying's head twitched, and the white-tipped fox tail swayed happily from side to side.
No matter what color the fox is, they all share an obvious common trait.
The tips of their tails must be white.
Lin Bingyun, hidden behind the screen, oversaw the entire scene, nodding slightly in the direction of the kitchen.
"I'll cover the cost of the returned dishes later."
......
Dining with Lin Ying took an hour, and when it came time to settle the bill, excluding additional expenses and deductions for returned dishes, it came to just over four thousand.
"Next, shall we go shopping?" Lin Ying smiled and suggested to Master Fuli: "Winter is coming; Master Fuli needs some new clothes."
"Otherwise... I'm really worried that Master Fuli might step with his paw pads into the northern snow and freeze his little feet, rubbing on his tail for warmth."
"Impossible, there's floor heating in the north." Master Fuli waved confidently, assuring Lin Ying not to worry.
In her Fox Lady state, Lin Ying was very chatty, with some motor-mouth tendencies, and her tongue was somewhat sharp.
It always gave Ansheng a sense of déjà vu.
"Yes, there's floor heating in the north, but only six cities in the Qinling area have it. The Xinxing Agricultural Science College is located in one of those districts without floor heating." Lin Ying, with a face full of joy, leaned against Master Fuli and lifted her hand to pat his head:
"I'm very sure of this because when we bought the house, the property didn't ask us for heating fees."
"???"
Upon hearing this, Master Fuli was bewildered, looking at Lin Ying in surprise, he said: "So... are we considered in the south or the north now?"
"I couldn't enjoy floor heating in Xia Dong, and now in Chang'an City, I still have to burn firewood, right? Playing Sunzi's Art of War here, huh?"
"Another day, I'll organize the Qinling Bear Race and the Fox Fox to protest with banners in front of the principal's office."
Learning there's no floor heating, Ansheng's worldview was somewhat overturned.
By logic, Chang'an is indeed in the north, and the whole province should be heated, but ironically, the College of Agriculture wasn't.
However.
Ansheng muttered a few complaints, then didn't mind anymore, as the hideout was already borrowing electricity from the cafeteria.
If need be, by the end of the month, he'd just ask the Security Bureau for a few electricians to connect the wiring from Ah Qing's dormitory to the principal's office to borrow electricity for heating.
Exiting the hotel, Lin Ying, dressed in Hanfu, grasped the door of a convertible, swung herself inside, and waved Master Fuli to get in quickly.
"No speeding!"
Sitting in the passenger seat, Master Fuli turned to Lin Ying beside him and reminded her.
"Don't worry! With a 2.0 low-power engine, even if I floor the gas pedal, it won't speed up a bit, really old-fashioned..."
Lin Ying replied nonchalantly, resting one hand on the car's door as she drove towards the shopping mall.
Lin Shu and Lin Bingyun sat in a business car, following Lin Ying, with her fox ears, into the shopping mall.
Entering the underground parking garage, Lin Ying did not park in any designated spot but drove straight to the entrance, tossing the car keys to a man in a suit.
"President Lin, please this way..."
A welcoming sales associate stepped forward, her gaze lingering momentarily on the fox ear decoration atop Lin Ying's head before discreetly withdrawing her gaze, saying nothing.
"Get him a membership card and add his WeChat. You can recommend any new apparel to him, charge it to my account."
Lin Ying patted Master Fuli on the shoulder and instructed the shop attendant to arrange for a card.
"Alright..."
Upon entering the store, the sales associate picked up the stainless steel barrier line set at the door, blocking the entrance so that two other shop attendants could guard the entrance and stop any further guests.
When attending to top-tier members, the store provides excellent services. Typically, when members purchase items, they're delivered directly to the member's home using special vehicles by the staff, allowing free choice for the clients.
Alternatively, members are entertained within clubs rather than requiring them to visit in person.
At President Lin's membership level, whatever she instructed, the staff would only agree without a second word.
After all....
President Lin's membership card was somewhat special.
"Sister Lin!"
Just as Lin Ying reached the second floor, visible from the external corridor of the shopping center, a shout sounded out.
Following on Lin Ying's side, Master Fuli froze, stiffly turning his neck to look toward the large window. Ah Qing, holding a McFlurry ice cream cup, was outside, waving happily at Lin Ying inside.
Momo, Lingren, and Tang You were present too, though instead of ice cream, they held milk teas.
"Ah Qing? What are you guys doing here too?"
Lin Ying visibly froze upon seeing Ah Qing, evidently not expecting her at the shopping center, lifting a hand to signal the staff to invite Ah Qing and her companions inside.
"......"
Master Fuli, with a peculiar expression, glanced at Lin Ying and then at Ah Qing outside.
It seems... I shouldn't be here, right? Is it still time to hide under the car?