Free Web NovelChapter 182: Chapter 182: The Blind Date
"What Qin Sitong just said, about you guys hiring two part-timers every weekend, is that true?"
Li Cui was still a little skeptical, so she asked Yun Zijin again.
"If Tongtong said so, then it’s true. She manages everything at the shop."
In any case, Yun Zijin hadn’t asked about the shop’s business operations at all since the soft opening ended.
Even when it came to profit sharing, she just had Qin Sitong discuss it with Mei Lin.
"Tomorrow is Saturday. I’ll come by."
Li Cui had thought it through. Earning some money from a part-time job was better than having nothing at all.
She used to follow Ren Hui around all the time, and her living expenses for the month were already pretty much gone.
Now that Ren Hui wasn’t helping her out anymore, she had to earn her own living expenses. Otherwise, she’d starve in her dorm this month.
"Suit yourself. Just talk to Tongtong."
It was just a part-time job, so Yun Zijin didn’t mind at all.
"You’re completely different from the Yun Zijin I used to know."
Before the end of summer break, Yun Zijin had always been quiet and reserved, even a bit of a pushover.
Ren Hui had been causing trouble for her for so long, but Yun Zijin never seemed to react.
But after the summer break, Yun Zijin was like a completely different person.
Not only would she stand up to Ren Hui, but she also refused to be taken advantage of in the slightest.
"Maybe... it’s because I have money now."
Money was the source of Yun Zijin’s confidence.
Li Cui didn’t say anything, but money was indeed a good thing.
*
The weekend was the day Yun Zijin had agreed to go on the blind date with Lu Yunque, arranged by Fang Shuxin.
Lu Yunque had sent Yun Zijin the details for their meeting: 5 p.m. at Lan Gui Fang.
Lan Gui Fang was some distance from Jade Lake, so to avoid being late, Yun Zijin left at 3 p.m.
Although Lu Yunque had told Mo Bin to clear only his Saturday afternoon and evening schedules, Mo Bin, knowing his boss’s love-obsessed personality all too well, ended up postponing all of his appointments for the entire day.
As a result, Lu Yunque had been in his walk-in closet since he woke up, picking out outfits in front of a full-length mirror.
If anyone had been watching, they would have likely exclaimed that it was like watching a male version of a dress-up game.
At 3 p.m., it wasn’t yet Dijing’s evening rush hour, so Yun Zijin’s car and her bodyguards’ Randomly Spend-brand nanny van arrived at Lan Gui Fang smoothly before 5 p.m.
However, Lan Gui Fang was a members-only club, and since it was Yun Zijin’s first time here, she didn’t have a membership card.
So, when her car pulled up to Lan Gui Fang, Yun Zijin gave Lu Yunque a call.
Lu Yunque had arrived half an hour early and was already waiting inside.
The wait felt like an eternity; Lu Yunque was literally checking his watch every two or three seconds.
Finally, at 4:50 p.m., he received Yun Zijin’s call.
Lu Yunque answered instantly.
"Zijin! You—"
"I’m here, but I don’t have a membership card. Could you perhaps—"
"Wait right there, I’m coming down to get you now."
Lu Yunque blurted it out without a second thought.
"Okay, I’ll wait for you in the first-floor lounge."
With that, Yun Zijin hung up.
Lu Yunque had wanted to say more, but Yun Zijin had hung up too quickly.
With no other choice, he hurried out of the private room and took the elevator down to the first floor as fast as he could.
In the first-floor lounge, just as Yun Zijin sat down, a waiter approached her.
"Good evening, miss. Do you have a reservation?"
"I do, with a Mr. Lu. But it’s alright, he’s coming down now. I’ll just wait a moment."
Yun Zijin had called Lu Yunque before even checking with the front desk. Knowing he was coming to get her, she hadn’t bothered going to the reception, so she was surprised when a waiter came over to ask.
But Lu was a common surname, and there were several people with that name who had reservations today. The waiter wasn’t sure which Mr. Lu she was referring to.
"Very well. Please let me know if you need anything."
Yun Zijin nodded without another word.
Fortunately, Yun Zijin had only been sitting for a short while before Lu Yunque arrived.
Seeing Yun Zijin sitting alone in the lounge, Lu Yunque’s expression softened.
"Mr. Lu, you..."
Lu Yunque waved his hand, signaling the waiter to stop talking.
Just then, Yun Zijin turned her head, her gaze meeting Lu Yunque’s deep, ink-black eyes.
"Lu Yunque!"
Seeing Lu Yunque, Yun Zijin’s eyes lit up as she stood to greet him.
"Yes. Let’s go."
Yun Zijin picked up her bag and walked alongside Lu Yunque.
The waiter who had just asked about her reservation watched the scene unfold, his eyes wide with astonishment.
’You should have just said you were meeting Mr. Lu! I wouldn’t have even needed to check; I could have taken you straight to his private room!’
’In the end, that incredible stroke of luck passed me by.’
Lu Yunque’s face was highly recognizable in Dijing’s high society.
The scene of Lu Yunque coming down specifically to greet someone was witnessed by quite a few people. Some even recorded videos and shared them within their private circles.
Although Yun Zijin was wealthy, she was still just an up-and-coming figure in Dijing, so not many people recognized her.
Lu Yunque and Yun Zijin quickly entered an elevator. Several bolder individuals followed them in.
After all, the elevator was a public amenity, and Lu Yunque had no right to stop others from using it.
"Well now, if it isn’t President Xiao Lu. It’s been a long time. And this is..."
The person who had followed them into the elevator was already quite bold, and seeing that Lu Yunque seemed to be in a good mood, they quickly struck up a conversation.
"Yun Zijin, my friend."
The blind date hadn’t officially started yet, so Lu Yunque couldn’t just assign himself a title.
However, the fact that Lu Yunque would publicly acknowledge a woman as his friend made people take a few extra glances at her.
Unexpectedly, that one glance earned them a glare from Lu Yunque, so they immediately straightened up and behaved themselves.
When the elevator finally reached the floor of Lu Yunque’s private room and the two of them stepped out, the other person finally breathed a sigh of relief.
’He won’t even let me look at her. Don’t tell me she’s the one he’s in love with... Holy crap! No way!’
The man felt like he had just stumbled upon some earth-shattering secret.
「Outside the elevator.」
"He seemed really scared of you."
Yun Zijin felt that Lu Yunque held a rather intimidating level of authority in the eyes of Dijing’s people.
"He probably has a guilty conscience. Don’t worry about him."
Lu Yunque walked ahead of Yun Zijin and opened the door to the private room for her.
Yun Zijin didn’t act coy and walked right in as he held the door.
Upon seeing the decorations inside, Yun Zijin was silent for a moment.
"This is..."
’These frilly pink decorations... there’s no way Lu Yunque would have come up with this.’
"It was my grandmother and my maternal grandmother... I tried to resist, but... you know, my standing in the family isn’t exactly high."
Yun Zijin blinked. ’Alright, I can tell,’ she thought.
’Definitely the lowest on the family totem pole.’
"So after they left, you didn’t think about having someone take it all down?"
’This isn’t my style, either.’
"It’s not so bad once you get used to it. Besides, it was a heartfelt gesture from my grandmothers. If I took it down, you wouldn’t have been able to see it, right?"
As he spoke, Lu Yunque smoothly poured Yun Zijin a cup of tea.
