Chapter 27: Chapter 26 The Highest Good is Like Water (Combined Volume)_2
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Until arriving at the door of the Mountain and River Hall, Lu Jin was about to push open the door of the private room when he saw Bella suddenly stride ahead and then open the door of the larger Jinxiu Hall next door.
“Mr. Zhou, it’s this room, please come in, I’ll go notify Chef Luo.”
Lu Jin just stood there, staring blankly as Zhou Wang walked to the door of the Jinxiu Hall, and then Zhou Wang turned around and smiled at him.
“Even though I’m not here to attend the birthday party, I still appreciate your kind gesture… Hmm, I’ve just realized today, you’re actually quite interesting.”
After Zhou Wang finished speaking, he entered the private room, and Bella helped him close the door while pressing her earpiece, speaking something unknown.
...
Then Lu Jin saw a young waiter jogging over and standing guard at the door of the Jinxiu Hall.
“Don’t let anyone disturb Mr. Zhou while he dines.”
Bella instructed, then quickly walked toward the kitchen.
Only at this moment did the somewhat bewildered Lu Jin come back to his senses, though his mind was still buzzing.
He looked at the wary eyes of the young waiter and realized that the “others” Bella was referring to was clearly himself.
But what mattered to him now wasn’t that, but the words the woman and Zhou Wang exchanged just now.
Chef Luo?
Which Chef Luo?
Could it be…
Lu Jin couldn’t believe it, yet the situation before him didn’t seem fabricated.
At this moment, he recalled the texture of Zhou Wang’s clothing when they brushed against each other earlier, and it seemed, perhaps, not entirely fake…
But… Zhou Wang?
Why him!
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Lu Jin was perplexed without an answer.
…
“Senior Sister Jiang, we actually saw you at the hotel entrance just now.”
Inside the private room of the Mountain and River Hall, after exchanging names with Jiang Mo, Yu Peipei said with a smile.
“Really?”
Jiang Mo was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.
“Yeah, we saw you get out of that Alphard, and speaking of which, the friend who dropped you off looks quite like one of our classmates.”
Li Cheng joked.
“That’s quite a coincidence.”
Jiang Mo replied politely, and the conversation once again came to a halt. Li Cheng and Yu Peipei exchanged glances, both seeing the slight helplessness in each other’s eyes.
This Senior Sister Jiang’s personality was as cold as her appearance. They had been trying hard to find topics to talk about, but the effect seemed minimal.
Jiang Mo lowered her head, perhaps because the word “friend” they mentioned hit a nerve. She instinctively checked her phone.
After they added each other on WeChat, Jiang Mo took the initiative to send a message over. The content was simple, just her name: “Jiang Mo.”
It seemed mundane, but actually, it was already a breakthrough move for Jiang Mo.
But what unsettled her was that Zhou Wang had yet to reply, meaning she still didn’t know Zhou Wang’s name.
With such a relationship… could they really be considered friends?
As Li Cheng and some other classmates were trying to strike up a conversation with Jiang Mo to avoid the awkward atmosphere, the private room door was pushed open, and Lu Jin walked in with a complex expression.
“Lu Jin, you’re finally back, everyone’s starving, can we start serving the food?”
Ding Yi hurried over.
Her voice was unrestrained, and everyone else in the room taking photos and chatting couldn’t help but look over.
It was nearing 7 p.m., and those who had come early had been sitting for over an hour and were indeed a bit overwhelmed.
“Lu Jin, is it because that Chef Luo is preparing something amazing for us that it’s taking so long?”
A young man from an inside table walked over, rubbing his stomach and chuckling, “For this meal, I even skipped lunch, and if there aren’t two king crabs or something, don’t expect me to be satisfied.”
“Yikes, Young Master Zhang, is that all you aspire to? What’s king crab compared to the renowned Chef who won a national competition? We ought to expect something as grand as dragon liver or phoenix marrow today for everyone to taste!”
Another girl in an evening dress giggled as she joined in, teasing.
“Hey, Little He, don’t underestimate it, chefs of this caliber might be preparing court cuisine, and there’s a famous dish called ‘Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix’!”
“Wow, then we’re in for a treat…”
Because Ding Yi had already hinted in the birthday group chat, more and more people joined the conversation with smiles, evidently very excited about the legendary chef cooking personally.
And at this time, Fang Lu, who had been socializing around when Li Cheng and the others hadn’t yet arrived, was also explaining to the classmates:
“This person is Lu Jin, his family is quite wealthy, and he’s the one who organized this banquet for Little Ding. They say the hotel’s executive chef will personally cook for us…”
“Executive Chef?”
Although everyone wasn’t quite familiar with the term, they still naturally exclaimed in amazement.
Yet no one noticed that Lu Jin, who had not spoken for a while, was growing increasingly upset.
He originally intended to explain to Ding Yi privately, but now with everyone watching him, even with his composure, he didn’t know what to say.
And Ding Yi wasn’t oblivious; she had sensed something was off from Lu Jin’s prolonged silence, and her smile was fading.
“Lu Jin, what’s going on exactly?”
“The thing is, Chef Luo had an emergency, so…”
Seeing Ding Yi’s term of address change, indicating her anger, Lu Jin quickly mustered up the courage to explain, “I didn’t expect this to happen either, but rest assured, the restaurant has another very famous chef taking over, and the dishes will be served soon!”
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