Chapter 18: Eating Barbecue

The two took the subway for two stops and arrived at the mall Yang Mi had mentioned.

It occupied a large area, and the goods inside were very complete. After arriving, the two went straight to the men's formal wear store on the second floor.

After browsing a circle, Yang Mi tugged on Chen Nuo's clothes and asked tentatively, "How much money have you prepared? The things here are quite expensive. Should we change to another place?"

Chen Nuo still had over 40,000 in his card, and his budget for buying clothes this time was within 5,000. Having walked around just now, buying an average suit should be more than enough. But he didn't say it explicitly, only saying, "Since we're already here, why don't we go in and try some on?"

"Uh, yeah, a friend went with me."

Finally, the two chose a store that didn't look too opulent and walked in. The salesperson was very enthusiastic and didn't look down on them because of their age. Chen Nuo took a fancy to a vibrant light yellow suit, but Yang Mi firmly opposed it, insisting he try on that black one.

When Chen Nuo walked out of the fitting room wearing that slim-fit suit with straight trouser creases, the salesperson couldn't help but say to Yang Mi, "Your boyfriend is so handsome, he's even more handsome than Hanazawa Rui."

Yang Mi smiled and said, "He's not my boyfriend, but I think he's the same type as Domyoji."

"Domyoji isn't as good-looking as him; his face is much longer."

"Indeed."

Chen Nuo walked closer and saw Yang Mi and the big sister selling the clothes talking about something, their expressions quite strange, so he couldn't help but ask, "What are you chatting about? So happy."

Yang Mi said, "Chatting about *Meteor Garden*. Do you like Hanazawa Rui or Domyoji more?"

"I don't like either." Chen Nuo walked to the mirror, looked left and right, felt it was quite average, and asked Yang Mi, "Does it look a bit old-fashioned?"

Yang Mi frowned and said, "Do you have some misunderstanding about 'old'? I think it looks quite good."

"Yeah, handsome, if you walk out wearing this, your head-turning rate will be at least 99 out of 100." The young lady salesperson seemed to be from Guangdong, with a bit of an accent from there, speaking enthusiastically, "I think you look like a star wearing this, you could even film movies. Everyone says a man must have a good suit in his wardrobe. Handsome, this is the one for you. And the mall just opened, there's a promotion, 20 off for every 999, it's very cost-effective."

Yang Mi shouted, "How is that cost-effective? Only 20 off!"

The clerk said, "One 999 gets 20 off, but two 999s get 40 off. Let me see how much this suit is. Ah, 5,999, that's 120 off. 120 is a lot."

Yang Mi shook her head and said, "Not much, not much."

While Yang Mi and the clerk were haggling, Chen Nuo looked left and right in the mirror and felt it was okay. He was too lazy to browse anymore and said directly, "I'll buy this set, please wrap it up for me."

Yang Mi turned her head, her eyes wide: "Ah? You're really buying it?"

What else? Did this girl think he went in to try it on for fun?

Although it slightly exceeded his budget, Chen Nuo felt it was acceptable; after all, there was a discount.

The two bought the clothes and came out, preparing to find a place to eat in the mall. As they walked, Yang Mi suddenly said, "Chen Nuo, is your family quite rich?"

"Well-off, I guess."

"Bullshit. You spent 6,000 on a suit. You must be a big spender. I should have thought of it earlier. Uncle Zhang is so rich, your family must be too!"

"It's really different."

"What's different? Oh, are you pretending to be a poor noble son? Actually, you don't need to pretend. If you really are a noble son, you don't need to pretend to be poor, I wouldn't mind."

Chen Nuo had actually always felt quite awkward with Yang Mi. She hadn't lived here for such a long time before, and Chen Nuo didn't quite believe her claim about going out to work. He thought she still couldn't save face and felt awkward being in the same room with him.

Today, he called her out to accompany him to buy clothes, actually wanting to use this as an excuse to treat her to a meal, to further ease the atmosphere between them after practicing singing together. Now, Chen Nuo felt the atmosphere of their conversation was much more natural than before, because Yang Mi had started joking.

Chen Nuo couldn't help but laugh: "Fine, then I won't pretend. I'm showing my cards: I am a big spender. Let's go, the big spender will treat you to a meal."

"Fine, then I won't be polite to the noble son."

The two walked and talked to the floor with restaurants. Chen Nuo picked a barbecue restaurant with a good storefront and walked in with Yang Mi.

Although she said she was eating at a big spender's expense, after they were seated, Yang Mi still felt soft-hearted. She looked at the prices on the menu, stuck out her tongue, and whispered to Chen Nuo, "Wow, so expensive. Do we really have to eat here?"

"It's fine, let's eat."

Yang Mi looked very happy, flipping through the pages of the menu, and finally ordered two meat dishes, both of the cheapest grade.

Chen Nuo ordered the most expensive ones and then called the waiter to take the order.

In the gap while waiting for the food, Yang Mi sipped hot tea in small sips and asked, "By the way, I haven't asked you yet, are you not taking the film academy exam anymore?"

"I am."

"Then what are you going to do? Why buy such an expensive suit?"

Chen Nuo said honestly, "Going for an interview, to film a movie."

"A movie?" Yang Mi unconsciously raised her voice. She was startled herself and immediately looked left and right. Seeing no one was paying attention, she eagerly asked, "What movie?"

"I don't know what movie. My training class teacher introduced it to me, saying it's a Hong Kong director."

"Hong Kong?" Yang Mi's voice was even louder than before. "Really or fake!?"

"Hey, it's not even a sure thing yet. Right now, they just want me to go over for them to see, and it's just a small supporting role."

Yang Mi curled her lips and said, "That's also very impressive. Is this hair of yours really shaved for filming?"

"Yeah."

"What movie? Period drama?"

"No, just a modern drama. A senior from the film academy is the director. I don't know what he saw in me. Small production, filmed here in the capital for over a month."

"Oh." Yang Mi nodded. The expression on her face was unclear whether it was relief or disappointment. "I thought it was... Never mind, let's work hard together. Sooner or later, we will film a big director's movie. You play the male lead, I play the female lead! Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, and those from Hong Kong, Wang Jiawei, Chen Kexin, Xu Ke's movies, we'll act in them one by one!"

"Deal!"

At this time, the meat was served. Yang Mi seemed to be really hungry; she didn't say anything more, grilling and eating, almost never stopping her chopsticks. The Wagyu beef here was quite authentic, melting in the mouth, tender and juicy. Although Chen Nuo wasn't hungry, he couldn't help but eat several pieces. In the end, several plates of beef were almost all wiped out by Yang Mi alone. From this, it can be seen that some things really require eating meat to grow up.

Finally, when checking out, the two spent over 600. When Yang Mi heard this number, her face turned a bit red. After leaving, she said to Chen Nuo, "In the future, if I become famous and make money, I will definitely treat you to a better meal."

Chen Nuo smiled: "It's a deal."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 19 =====