Zong Jinghao narrowed his gaze while a hint of joy hid in his eyes.
Did she get jealous? You’ll only feel that way when you really care about someone.
Chen Shihan felt a little embarrassed as she was a daughter of a prominent family. Naturally, most people would try to fawn on her and please her. Even her circle of friends were people who were her cliques. No one had ever dishonored her in her life.
She suppressed her emotions and stated, “Why? Are you upset, Mrs. Zong?”
Lin Xinyan responded eloquently, “I don’t know what you mean, Ms. Chen. Why do I have to be upset? Did you do something that might irk me? Considering that you’re from a distinguished family, I doubt you’d do anything unscrupulous that might make me unhappy, right?”
After seeing Lin Xinyan’s pure and innocent face, Chen Shihan thought the former was like a harmless rabbit that could be easily teased. But by no means, the latter knew she would be retaliated by the first-mentioned.
At last, Chen Shihan’s smile vanished. Her face turned ashen at Lin Xinyan’s words.
Even Wen Qing looked somewhat surprised, as Lin Xinyan had always carried herself with modesty and was the quintessence of a homemaker.
I thought Chen Shihan was enough to deal with her. But she’s way beyond my expectations. It seems like I’ve underestimated her.
To break the awkward tension, he declared, “Alright, it’s my treat today. Let’s enjoy ourselves here, okay?”
Without delay, he beckoned to the server to take the order, then passed the menu to Chen Shihan and said, “Order whatever you want.”
He then flipped through the menu and ordered a few dishes that were to Zong Jinghao’s liking. He was deliberately neglecting Lin Xinyan.
Chen Shihan finally saved her skin, so she glared at Lin Xinyan while raising a smirk on her face. So what if you’re good with your words. Hmph!
Wen Qing had never liked her. Furthermore, he had openly expressed his negative feelings about her and wished for her to leave Zong Jinghao.
The other day, Chen Shihan had overheard Wen Qing’s conversation through the phone with her father about his desire for Zong Jinghao to get a divorce from Lin Xinyan.
At that time, she was rather shocked to know that Zong Jinghao was married. Her father, however, wasn’t taken aback. Her surmise was that Wen Qing had him notified in advance.
Later on, Wen Qing suggested to her father that she should be married to Zong Jinghao. After a momentary contemplation, the latter finally agreed to his proposal.
Since Zong Jinghao’s marriage with Lin Xinyan was a secret, Chen Shihan could be married to him in an open and aboveboard manner. Their marriage would fortify the standing of the Wen family as well.
It involved the interests of several notable families. Apart from that, Zong Jinghao was an accomplished young man. It wouldn’t be a loss for her father if Chen Shihan were married to that man. It would be a practical choice, no matter how anyone views it.
Even so, she was against the idea in the beginning. The only reason she had agreed to deliver the documents to the hotel was so that she could reassess her decision after meeting him in person.
Yet, after getting to know him personally, she came to realize that he was different from what was portrayed on television.
Before she met him, the only two things she knew about him were his immense wealth and good looks. But she soon noticed that beyond the materials and appearances, he was matured man who had been through countless hurdles in life – it increased his masculinity.
Thus, she agreed to Wen Qing and her father’s arrangement out of curiosity.
She wanted to see if this man could remain unmoving and resist the temptation in the face of a beautiful woman.
Additionally, Chen Shihan was convinced that she was better than Lin Xinyan in every aspect.
Just then, she intentionally raised her voice to order several dishes that were palatable to her, while some were not. Her motive behind all these farces was so she could be deemed as a well-respected person.
“Is that all?” The waiter asked.
Chen Shihan handed over the menu and answered, “Yes, that will be all. Serve the food at the earliest.”
“Okay, sure!” The waiter put the menu away politely. Zong Jinghao called out to him right when he was about to exit the room.
Then, he came to a halt, walked over, stood beside Zong Jinghao, and inquired, “Is there anything you need, Sir?”
Zong Jinghao took a sip of water from his glass without looking up. After putting his cup down, he ordered, “I would like to have a sweet and sour fish, and I want it prepared with a reeves shad.”
The reeves shad was a highly rated ingredient, and it was recognized as the best among the three famous fish species of the Yangtze River. It was also used as a tribute during ancient times. The taste of its meat was said to be savory, full of umami, and succulent.
“A sauteed pumpkin with salted egg and a crispy sweet and sour pork.”
After that, he lifted his eyes to look at the server. “My wife likes sweet stuff. Do you have any sweet specialty?”
As an experienced server in the restaurant, the server knew all the dishes like the back of his hand.
“Yes. We have sweet and sour pork ribs, griddle shredded cabbage, and Cola chicken for the main dishes. As for dessert, we have milk jelly cake with desiccated coconut, candied banana fritters, and Chinese yam with blueberry sauce. These are our sweet specialties which are also a little sour.”
“I would like to have those,” Zong Jinghao stated.
“Sure! Right away, Sir!” After the waiter spoke, he gave a slight bow of his head, then exited the private room.
After living together with Lin Xinyan, he knew more about her preferences and that she had a sweet tooth. On top of that, she had the kind of physique that would make anyone jealous, the one that wouldn’t gain weight regardless of how much she ate.
Lin Xinyan turned to glance at him but remained silent. After a while, she shifted her eyes back to her glass.
On the other side of the table, Wen Qing and Chen Shihan had a sullen expression on their faces.
Chen Shihan was feeling infuriated as her plan to humiliate Lin Xinyan had been thwarted. Also, what she least expected was Zong Jinghao’s covering for the woman.
Feeling exasperated, she clenched her fists tightly. If it wasn’t for her barely sustaining reason, she would’ve left the restaurant already.
If I leave now, that would basically mean I’ve admitted my defeat. No, I’m not such a miserable person. I will never back down. With my strong family background and Wen Qing’s support, it would be unthinkable that I will lose to a woman with nothing.
When the thought crossed her mind, she lifted her head arrogantly. Her confidence was built on the foundation of her powerful family background.
The private room door was pushed open a while later, and a group of waitresses dressed in cheongsam stood in a row. At once, they took turns placing the dishes in their hands onto the table.
Soon, the huge dining table was filled with assorted delicacies.
Wen Qing’s original plan was to wait for Zong Jinghao’s arrival, then make up a reason to leave them alone. But Lin Xinyan’s presence had thrown him off and disrupted his scheme. He couldn’t leave anymore since she was here, as he was afraid that Chen Shihan couldn’t handle her and gave herself away in front of her husband.
All of them were distracted by their personal agendas, which caused them to lose appetite for the sumptuous food in front of them.
The sound of chopsticks coming into contact with the plates could be heard from time to time.
Chen Shihan was chewing food in her mouth with her eyes locked on Lin Xinyan.
The person who enjoyed the meal the most among the ones at the table was Lin Xinyan.
All the dishes that Zong Jinghao ordered were placed in front of Lin Xinyan. Yet, he ate only a little, focusing merely on picking up the food for her.
Are we transparent? They don’t even care about us!
“I didn’t know you both have such a good relationship. I feel like I’m playing gooseberry here. I’m put in a dilemma of deciding if I should leave you alone or not,” Chen Shihan remarked in a rather sarcastic tone.
At her remark, Zong Jinghao set his chopsticks down and lifted his head.
Without hesitation, Lin Xinyan clutched his hand from under the table, by which he turned to peer at him. Immediately, she raised a smile to show that she could handle Chen Shihan – he didn’t need to speak up for her.
Since I’m his wife, it should be my job to take care of women with ulterior motives.
