Chapter 196

"... I'm fine with anything. What would Teacher Guan like to eat?"

This meal was her treat, so of course, it had to be centered around the other person.

Guan Weizhi gripped the steering wheel, looking ahead. "Then let's go have Japanese food." After saying that, he looked at her expression in the rearview mirror on the right.

Qiao Suisui naturally said okay, nodding obediently, though she was a bit anxious inside.

One had to know that for Japanese food, the price range wasn't easy to gauge; a few hundred yuan could get you a full meal, while thousands might only buy a single bottle of wine.

The Tesla speeding on the road drove straight to the city center. It wasn't the crowded commercial district she had imagined, but rather a private garden tucked away in the bustle, with guards even standing at the gate.

Qiao Suisui got out of the car and looked around. Pavilions, waterside structures, the sound of flutes drifting leisurely—it was a very elegant Suzhou-style garden architecture. In this land where every inch was worth gold, this place didn't look like a restaurant open to the public, but more like the backyard of some wealthy or noble family.

Guan Weizhi led her to the entrance, where a lady wearing a kimono spoke in not-very-standard Chinese and bowed deeply to them.

"Oh my, Mr. Guan, it's been a long time since you've come. How have you been lately?"

Guan Weizhi didn't show much expression, just nodded, which counted as a greeting. He said: "I heard from Yamamoto that fresh bluefin arrived today, so I brought a little one to taste it."

Qiao Suisui was startled upon hearing this, blinked twice, and only then realized that she was the "little one" in Guan Weizhi's words.

The kimono-clad woman's face instantly blossomed into a smile, her gaze enthusiastically fixed on Qiao Suisui, and she made an elegant "please" gesture.

"Welcome, it's a great honor, please come in."

Qiao Suisui had seen many cars parked outside the garden when she walked over, so she asked a bit uncertainly: "Do we need to wait for a table?"

The kimono-clad woman was stunned, looked at Guan Weizhi, covered her mouth, and laughed. She said gently to Qiao Suisui: "The seat Mr. Guan likes, we always keep it reserved for him. There is always a seat whenever he comes."

She followed the kimono-clad woman to a room in the deepest part. Two doors were pulled open from both sides, and what came into view was a cherry blossom garden scene outside the floor-to-ceiling window.

In the center of the room, a low lacquered wooden tea table stood quietly, with a set of exquisite ceramic tea sets placed on it. The surrounding decor was also quite artistic. Qiao Suisui walked in, and when she sat down, she recognized at a glance that the painting hanging on the wall was an authentic work by Song Huizong. In the past, she had only seen works of this level in museums; she hadn't expected to see one in a restaurant today, which showed that the restaurant's owner wasn't just rich.

And an owner of this status kept a seat reserved for Guan Weizhi at all times... Thinking of this, Qiao Suisui glanced at the man opposite her.

The two sat opposite each other. Guan Weizhi drank tea quietly, his gaze occasionally glancing over.

At this moment, their eyes met. In a split second, Qiao Suisui moved her eyes away first, looking out the window.

Guan Weizhi thought she was attracted by the cherry blossoms outside the window and said: "It's still early cherry blossoms now. If we come later, it will be even more beautiful."

Actually, Qiao Suisui wasn't looking at the cherry blossoms; she was just watching the cherry blossom petals blown down by the wind, recalling whether her savings were enough to pay for this meal.

Private garden, city center, exquisite landscaping, famous calligraphy and paintings, luxury cars parked one after another... After eating this meal, she would become a gambler coming out of Las Vegas—penniless was the best-case scenario; she prayed she wouldn't be in debt.

Eating with Guan Weizhi was too expensive; she wouldn't do it again. Qiao Suisui thought silently in her heart.

Guan Weizhi didn't talk much, or rather, in the past, in any occasion he attended, he didn't need to say much; there would always be someone to warm up the atmosphere, flatter him, and find topics so the scene wouldn't fall into silence. He only needed to be himself.

But it was clear that the young girl in front of him was not like those people.

She was very quiet. Only when he asked a question would she answer briefly. She didn't talk much, nor did she take the initiative to ask questions. Therefore, Guan Weizhi was in a bit of a bind.

Just like now, seeing she wasn't eating much, he couldn't help but ask: "Don't you like Japanese food?"

Qiao Suisui was slightly startled. "How did Teacher Guan know?"

Guan Weizhi paused for a second, looked away, and said: "I guessed. Don't little girls all love to eat these?"

Actually, the so-called Japanese food Qiao Suisui liked was the 299-yuan fast-food Japanese set meal from Weibo lucky draws. In Guan Weizhi's eyes, it probably didn't even count as Japanese food.

She had only known him as a teacher who taught Art Appreciation. Later, she learned that his family was a titan in the financial world. Now, eating a meal with him, her understanding of Guan Weizhi as a person truly became three-dimensional. It turned out that the mundane things in his world were places ordinary people might not even be able to step into or see in a lifetime.

Thinking of this, Qiao Suisui felt that the meager sincerity she wanted to use to thank him was really not enough.

So she just gave a simple reply and continued to lower her head, focusing on eating the natto in front of her.

Guan Weizhi, however, couldn't sit still anymore.

Some time ago, he had accidentally discovered Qiao Suisui's Weibo, so he specially registered an account to follow her. Her homepage was very clean; no selfies, no "hahahahaha" ten times a day. Her frequency of posting was very low, usually once every few months, and basically, they were all photos of clouds in various weather conditions. The latest Weibo post was the lucky draw post for the free meal that Lin Xixi had asked her to retweet. She had heard from somewhere that a newly opened izakaya was having an event, and she had promised Qiao Suisui that if she won, they would go and feast.

"Actually, I don't come to this shop often." Guan Weizhi suddenly spoke.

"Oh, is that so?"

"I don't like Japanese food either."

"Then shall we change to somewhere else now?"

Guan Weizhi sighed.

He suddenly felt that there was nothing more difficult than having to take the initiative to show favor to someone.

He said: "Let's put it this way: I thought you liked Japanese food, which is why I brought you here. If you don't like it, you have to tell me. I'll take you to eat what you like."

Qiao Suisui's hand holding the chopsticks paused in mid-air. She said in confusion: "Teacher Guan, my preferences aren't important. This meal is to thank you; what you like is the most..."

"Important." Guan Weizhi looked into her eyes and said: "Your preferences are very important to me."

Qiao Suisui's breath hitched, her gaze somewhat flustered. She felt that such words coming from the mouth of an iceberg like Guan Weizhi, who had a somewhat ascetic feel, felt strange. She put down her chopsticks and asked: "Teacher Guan, are you... are you..."

The words reached her lips, but Qiao Suisui felt that no matter how she asked, it felt wrong. Are you what? Setting aside the fact that their identities were student and teacher, could a Guan Weizhi of this class and status like her?

She lowered her head, dispelling the messy thoughts in her mind, and said sincerely: "Teacher Guan, I really want to thank you for helping me secure that spot, and I'm also very happy that you're willing to bring me to such a nice place to eat. If you don't like Japanese food, how about I treat you to something else another day?"

This time it was Guan Weizhi's turn not to pick up the thread. He was silent for a while, looked at her, and asked: "Do you really not remember?"

(End of chapter)