The restaurant Tang Yi-Bai had chosen was a specialty restaurant whose selling point was greens and organic food . The restaurant claimed to be collaborating with an organic farm — all their plant-based foods were free from chemical fertilizers and pesticides, their meats were sourced from animals fed with organic feed, and all their eggs and dairy were certified safe and secure .
As the cost for these food products was high, the price-range of this restaurant was also very high .
When Yun Duo arrived at the entrance of the restaurant, Tang Yi-Bai and company had also just arrived . The five people in his group had taken two cars over, and the tall men unfolded themselves out of the cars one by one . Tang Yi-Bai saw Yun Duo and waved at her .
Yun Duo walked over and asked curiously, "With so many of you, why didn't you all borrow a car from the team? Wouldn't that be more convenient?"
"Ahem," Tang Yi-Bai seemed rather embarrassed, "We are all unlicensed . "
So that's how it was .
Yun Duo saw that two of the five people were sporting sunglasses and face masks, their entire visage covered up securely . Although she couldn't see their faces clearly, Yun Duo could identify one of them as Qi Rui-Feng from the person's height . As for the other person, they were a head shorter than Qi Rui-Feng, about the same height as Ming Tian; Yun Duo really had no clue who it could be .
Tang Yi-Bai introduced her . "This is Elder Sister Yang, you've seen her before . "
" . . . ah?"
That person waved to Yun Duo, "Hello, I'm Xiang Yang-Yang . " The person's voice was somewhat muffled coming from behind the mask .
Yun Duo gaped . So she would be eating together with two Olympic champions and three national champions today? She suddenly felt like she was standing at the peak of life . . .
Qi Rui-Feng noticed Yun Duo spacing out, and in his typically arrogant tone, he said, "You should be honoured to eat with us . What is there for you to be dissatisfied with?"
Whack! Xiang Yang-Yang's palm thumped onto Qi Rui-Feng's head . "You're butting in here for a free meal . Be a little more humble, will you!"
Yun Duo's eyes were as wide as saucers — Xiang Yang-Yang actually smacked Qi Rui-Feng's head? She had swung her palm freely and cleanly, without any hesitation whatsoever . How domineering! That's Qi Rui-Feng, you know!
Qi Rui-Feng rubbed his head and grumbled, "Can you stop hitting my head?"
"That's fine . I'll spank your butt next time . "
Qi Rui-Feng: " . . . "
Sponsored Content
Yun Duo stared at Xiang Yang-Yang with a look of worship until Xiang Yang-Yang felt a little embarrassed and explained, "I've never spanked him before . "
Qi Rui-Feng felt that a childish word like 'spanking' was really damaging to his heroic image . He ignored the two women and took the lead to walk towards the restaurant . "Let's go . I'm starving!"
The shortest ones among the group was Ming Tian and Xiang Yang-Yang, and they were still at least 1 . 7 to 1 . 8 metres tall . Walking amongst them, Yun Duo felt as if she had stumbled into the world of giants .
Qi Rui-Feng and Xiang Yang-Yang were carefully covered up, obviously concerned about being recognised . They were public figures after all, these were the kind of things they always had to worry about . They had believed that even their mothers would not be able to recognise them dressed up like this, that they would be able to rest easy . . . unexpectedly, as soon as they entered the restaurant, they were recognised .
Oh, not them, but him — Tang Yi-Bai .
As soon as the lady receptionist in her pretty cheongsam saw them, her hands flew to her face and she squealed, "Ah, Tang Yi-Bai!"
Tang Yi-Bai was taken aback . He took a closer look at the girl and then asked dubiously, "Do I know you?"
"No . I'm a fan of yours . "
Tang Yi-Bai was a little surprised . So he had fans now?
The lady then looked at the tall man next to Tang Yi-Bai and she instantly realised, "You're Qi —"
"Shhh —!" Tang Yi-Bai made a shushing motion at her, his index finger before his lips . "We're just here to eat . Please don't make a scene . "
The girl looked at his clear lake-water eyes and her face reddened . She stammered, "S-sorry . "
"It's fine, thank you . "
"Y-you're, um, welcome . Then, can- can I . . . "
Tang Yi-Bai helped her finish her thought, "Get an autograph?"
"Yup!"
"Okay . Where should I sign?"
Sponsored Content
The girl ran to the front desk to get a pen and a pastel-coloured purse . "Please sign on the purse!"
Tang Yi-Bai signed then returned the pen to her . Then, Qi Rui-Feng sauntered up coolly and asked, "Need me to sign?"
The girl was smiling blissfully as she cradled the purse in her hands . "No need!"
Qi Rui-Feng's broad back stiffened for a moment, looking ever so cold, bleak, and lonely .
Yun Duo smothered a smile . Even though Qi Rui-Feng was wearing a face mask, she could just imagine his expression right now . All this while, he was the one who had refused to sign autographs, but this time, he was unexpectedly the one to be refused .
Their private room had been booked in advance . The overall decor of the room was retro in tone . Upon entry, the first thing they saw was a carved screen . After making their way past the screen, the original wood-coloured walls and ash-grey woven carpet came into sight . Right in the middle of the room was an old-fashioned table set for eight, and there was a cabinet and an antique rack in the corners of the room . Several imitation craftworks were displayed on the rack . The ceiling was slightly darker in colour than the walls, and several egg-shell ceramic flower lamps of varying sizes hung down from it at varying heights . Filtered through the egg-shell thin porcelain, the lamp light was soft and delicate, and the lotus motifs painted on the porcelain was exceptionally bright and beautiful .
Ming Tian cupped his cheeks and sighed, "This place is really very posh and nice . Big bro Yi-Bai was really thoughtful!"
Yun Duo walked over to a window, and there she saw a short ceramic pot with a diameter of about half a metre . In the pot, water lilies were planted . The verdant round leaves floated on the surface of the clear water, and a few pale pink lotus blossoms raised their heads up proudly from their midst, like young maidens shrouding their bashful faces . Yun Duo cried out in surprise, "These water lilies are actually real! No wonder I could smell something fragrant!"
Xiang Yang-Yang came over to see as well, and the two of them stared at the pot of water lilies in curious fascination . It should be noted that water lilies were a little more delicate and fussy — they had very strict requirements in terms of water temperature . It was really quite troublesome and difficult to get water lilies to bloom in winter . Right now, the temperature outside was below zero; the entire world outside was grey and dreary . Entering this room to see this pot of blooming water lilies was truly a great boost to one's mood .
"Yun Duo, Sister Yang, come sit," Tang Yi-Bai called out to them .
He had already pulled out chairs for them . Yun Duo and Xiang Yang-Yang were seated next to each other, with Qi Rui-Feng on the other side of Xiang Yang-Yang and Tang Yi-Bai on the other side of Yun Duo . The two Olympic champions had already removed their face masks and their sunglasses . Xiang Yang-Yang sported a clean bob, and she had dark eyebrows and large eyes, cool and charming .
After they were seated, Tang Yi-Bai said to Yun Duo, "If you like them so much, why not raise a pot of your own . "
When Yun Duo heard this, she sighed . "Too poor . "
"Are water lilies very expensive?"
"It's not water lilies that are expensive . It's rent . The house I'm living at right now is very small, and I'm still sharing it with other people . If I want to keep some water lilies, I think I can probably only keep them in the toilet bowl . . . "
Almost every youth who first steps foot into society would have experienced the dilemma of being short on cash, and Yun Duo was no exception . This was why her current goal was just to save and save and save, so that she would have enough money to upgrade to a house with better conditions next year .
Sponsored Content
Tang Yi-Bai looked at her contemplatively for a moment and then asked carefully, "Do you need help?"
"No need, no need . I'll move next year . Speaking of which, my article made the headlines last time, giving me quite some reward money . If you want to help me, then make it onto the headlines more . Hahaha . "
Tang Yi-Bai smiled . "Okay, let's work hard together . "
The dishes they ordered were served one by one, and the young people chatted as they ate . Perhaps due to the ingredients, the dishes were all very delicious .
Among the six people, Zheng Ling-Ye was as quiet as ever, but what surprised Yun Duo was that Ming Tian also had very little to say this time . He sat quietly and ate calmly and sedately, looking very well-behaved . Yun Duo found it a little strange . "What's up with Ming Tian?"
Xiang Yang-Yang said, "His tooth is aching!"
So that's why . No wonder he wasn't sucking on a lollipop today . What a pitiful child . Yun Duo wanted to pass the bowl of beef stew in front of her to him . "Here, eat some meat . This one has been cooked till it's very soft . "
But Tang Yi-Bai stopped her . "Don't give him meat . "
"Why?"
Xiang Yang-Yang gave her a simple explanation . There was more and more meat containing Clenbuterol on the market these days, and there was stimulant-positive substances inside Clenbuterol . In other words, if one accidentally consumed meat with Clenbuterol in it, there was a risk of their urine testing positive for stimulants . Therefore, the national team had always discouraged their athletes from eating out . Especially during times when there were competitions, this discouragement was pretty much an outright rule .
The more Yun Duo heard, the more confused she was . "So why can you all eat then?"
"We're adults, so even if we occasionally happen to eat some meat with Clenbuterol in it, we'll be able to metabolize it very quickly . Ming Tian is still young and his body is still growing . Who knows whether any of that crap will remain in his body after he eats it . That's why we never let Ming Tian eat meat products outside, not even once . This is a matter of principle . "
Yun Duo then asked, "Didn't the restaurant say that everything served here is green and organic?"
Qi Rui-Feng threw a contemptuous look at her . "You believe everything others tell you? How stupid!"
Alright, so she was being called 'stupid' by Qi Rui-Feng now . How rare . Yun Duo suddenly recalled that post she had seen not too long ago . Some netizens said that Qi Rui-Feng had "a face of someone with late-stage Chuunibyou syndrome, treatment not recommended" . Now, as she looked at Qi Rui-Feng, the description made more and more sense, and so she could not help but giggle behind her hands .
Qi Rui-Feng huffed . "Don't look at me so adoringly . "
. . . Fuck, what kind of description is this?!
At one side, Xiang Yang-Yang suddenly pushed aside the glasses filled with juice which had been set out on the table . "Why don't we drink something alcoholic?"
The eyes of the four boys lit up . Big sister had spoken! They would naturally obey . Very soon, the waitresses had brought over several bottles of beer and helped them pop the caps . Zheng Ling-Ye accepted the bottles and began pouring the beer out for everyone . Ming Tian had already poured away the juice in his glass, and filled with expectation, he moved forwards with his empty cup, especially quick . However, when the mouth of the bottle Zheng Ling-Ye was holding reached his glass, Zheng Ling-Ye directly skipped over it to pour for someone else .
Ming Tian: = . =
Xiang Yang-Yang said, "Ming Tian, you're still underage so you're not allowed to drink . Waitress, give him a glass of warm milk . "
"Alright . "
Ming Tian puffed out his cheek and said sulkily, "I don't drink milk . "
"Be good and listen, or else I'll beat you up . "
" . . . "
Yun Duo finally realised that Xiang Yang-Yang was pretty much the boss of the swimming team . Even Qi Rui-Feng dared not cross her — someone at Ming Tian's level was basically small fry .
When Zheng Ling-Ye moved to pour a drink for Yun Duo, Yun Duo took the bottle from him and said, "Thanks, thanks, thanks! Let me do it on my own!"
However, Tang Yi-Bai stopped her and took the bottle, and after pouring till her cup was about one-fifth full, he said, "This much will do . Girls shouldn't drink so much alcohol . "
Yun Duo was indignant . She squinted at Xiang Yang-Yang's brimming glass and said, "Then what about sister Yang?"
"She's not a girl . "
. . . fine .
Done pouring, Tang Yi-Bai stared at her . His eyes were as cool as the autumn waters under the light of the porcelain lamps . He asked softly, "Why were you laughing earlier?"
"Ah?"
"Just now, why were you laughing when you looked at big bro Feng?"