Reserved

During the National Day holiday, Zhang Yang once again witnessed the true strength of the Four Seasons Hotel, a landmark in Yinghai.

In terms of catering and banquets, both the large and small banquet halls were fully booked well in advance, and every seat was taken.

At the same time, he also used this opportunity to further assess the capabilities of the new management team.

The holiday is like a major test.

The assessment resulted in all participants passing.

From staff scheduling and service coordination to the guest experience, the Four Seasons Hotel has achieved perfection, living up to its reputation as the pinnacle of the Yinghai Hotel brand.

He could then prepare to leave with peace of mind.

Before leaving, Zhang Yang unexpectedly received an invitation from Meng Baihan, who said he wanted to treat him to dinner.

"Old classmate, you'll be coming back quite rarely these days, you're practically a guest now. It's not too much for me to treat you to a meal, is it?" Teacher Meng said with a smile on the phone.

"Well... alright, then you make the arrangements." Zhang Yang readily agreed.

"Okay, then wait for my message." Even over the phone, Zhang Yang could feel Meng Baihan's joy.

In the afternoon, Zhang Yang received a message from Meng Baihan as promised.

He glanced at the approximate location; it was a rather quiet lakeside restaurant in Yinghai.

"Meeting at this restaurant?" he muttered to himself.

Who goes to this restaurant with just casual friends of the opposite sex?

Zhang Yang suddenly remembered that Mid-Autumn Festival night when he completed his mission to find a member of the opposite sex with a 90% affinity rating... Little did he expect that, by sheer chance, Teacher Meng would be one of them.

As evening approached, Zhang Yang set off from the Four Seasons Hotel and headed straight for the Lakeside Restaurant.

It was a little past six in the evening, about ten minutes before the agreed time.

Zhang Yang leisurely parked the Cullinan in the parking lot in front of the restaurant, and then glanced at the foreign singer performing outside the restaurant.

Not far away is the shimmering lake.

The music in my ears, the sound of the wind on the lake, and the gentle breeze blowing against my face...

He leaned against the station and saw a figure with long black hair sitting by the restaurant's floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing absently at the lake.

It was Meng Baihan.

"Arriving so early?" Zhang Yang muttered to himself as he walked straight into the restaurant.

A moment later, at a window seat in the restaurant.

Zhang Yang sat down directly in front of Meng Baihan. "Sorry I'm a little late."

"No, I'm just too early." Meng Baihan looked up and smiled. "I didn't know what you like to eat? Why don't you order?"

"Hmm, let me see." Zhang Yang took the menu and glanced at Meng Baihan a couple more times.

Today, Teacher Meng was dressed quite elegantly and gracefully, and her school beauty face remained as fresh and pure as ever. With that kind of temperament and looks, she was a force to be reckoned with in class back then, and now, after all these years, she's back at her alma mater as a teacher, and she's still just as captivating.

"Are you ordering food, or are you looking at me?" Meng Baihan asked shyly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You're beautiful but you can't let people look at you? By the way, what do you want to eat?" Zhang Yang asked with a smile.

"Me? Anything's fine, just something light is good," Meng Baihan said with a smile.

"Okay." Zhang Yang casually ordered some dishes, closed the menu, and called the waiter to bring the food.

The restaurant played melodious piano music in the evening, and the lake shimmered with lights under the darkening night sky.

While waiting for their food, Zhang Yang and Meng Baihan sat facing each other and chatted about their recent lives.

Meng Baihan talked a lot, about interesting things at school, his former teachers, and the recent situation of a certain classmate, and so on.

"By the way, what about you?"

"Me?" Zhang Yang smiled. "Busy with all sorts of things."

He spoke casually and nonchalantly, but between the lines lay boundless confidence in controlling billions of assets and managing thousands of employees.

Meng Baihan stared blankly at the figure in front of him, his heart inexplicably trembling. He quickly lowered his head to drink tea to hide his strangeness.

"Well... you're quite busy, coming out with me won't interfere with your work, right?"

"It's not that bad. I can still find time to have a meal with my old classmates," Zhang Yang said. "If you have the chance to go to Magic City, I'll treat you to a good meal."

"I can't wait!" Meng Baihan's eyes lit up, and then she suddenly extended her hand. "It's a deal. I'll show you the luxurious life of the rich."

Zhang Yang smiled and gave her a high five as a pledge.

A moment later, the food was served.

Zhang Yang tried a small portion and was surprised to find that the food at this restaurant was actually quite good.

Across from him Meng Baihan, while taking small bites of a salted egg yolk lobster ball, casually remarked, "Zhang Yang, do you think I'm still considered old at this age?"

Zhang Yang knew that Meng Baihan was a year younger than him, and was twenty-four years old this year.

"It's not big."

"Then why have people around me been constantly trying to set me up with potential partners ever since I started teaching?" Meng Baihan said.

"Who introduced you to someone else?" Zhang Yang asked with a smile.

"This time it's my mom," Meng Baihan complained softly. "She raved about that person, insisting I meet him, but actually... I don't want to."

As she spoke, her eyes were fixed on Zhang Yang, a hint of expectation in them.

I don't know what I'm expecting.

"The person Auntie introduced must be a promising young man, excellent in both character and work." Zhang Yang took a sip of water, feeling the somewhat intense and hopeful gaze from Teacher Meng. "It's no big deal for us to get to know each other."

Upon hearing this, Meng Baihan's eyes immediately dimmed.

"Right?"

"Well, if it's a good match, we can develop the relationship further, date for a few years, and get married when we're at the perfect age," Zhang Yang said.

"You..." Meng Baihan hesitated, then suddenly looked away, seemingly discouraged. "Everyone around me says so, even you."

Zhang Yang didn't respond to her comment; he just smiled and looked at her.

"You're still looking? You're still laughing? I might be someone's girlfriend or wife soon." Meng Baihan scoffed. "How can you stand watching like that?"

"Why can't you stand it? Everyone has a love for beauty, right?" Zhang Yang said with a smile.

"Alright, alright, I'll let you see as much as you want." Meng Baihan suddenly leaned forward, his face very close to Zhang Yang's.

Their eyes met, their breaths almost touching.

Zhang Yang did not react.

"You really are... towards me..." Meng Baihan stared blankly at Zhang Yang's calm, handsome face for several seconds, then sat down, feeling somewhat discouraged and defeated. "I want to go back."

"The dishes have just been served? Why are you in such a hurry?" Zhang Yang asked in surprise.

"Mm." Meng Baihan nodded gently, her voice low and soft. "Zhang Yang, no matter what, thank you for coming today... Actually, there were some things I wanted to say, but now I think it's probably unnecessary."

"Teacher Meng, actually..." Zhang Yang was about to say something.

"You don't need to say anything, I understand." Meng Baihan looked at Zhang Yang, her eyes still showing some regret. "By the way, we'll still be friends, right?"

"Yes, I think so." Zhang Yang nodded.

"That's fine then." Meng Baihan smiled with relief, looked up and waved to the waiter in the distance, "Then let's call it a day, see you next time, um... you can bring your girlfriend."

A moment later, she paid the bill and got up first.

"How did you get here? Let me see you off?" Zhang Yang also got up and put on his coat.

"Thanks, but I've already taken a taxi." Meng Baihan smiled and waved his phone. "Look, the phone's ringing."

She smiled at Zhang Yang, answered the phone as she walked, and headed out of the store.

Zhang Yang walked out unhurriedly and watched as Meng Baihan got into a taxi.

"No... how did you know what I was going to say?" Zhang Yang muttered to himself, shaking his head with amusement. "Never mind, never mind."

He turned around, got into his Cullinan, and went straight back to the Four Seasons Hotel.

It was midnight, inside a large suite at the Four Seasons Hotel.

Zhang Yang took a shower, wrapped himself in a towel, and came out of the bathroom. He took out his phone, scrolled through it for a while, and was just about to go to sleep.

"Huh?"

He saw that just ten minutes earlier, Meng Baihan had shared a song on his WeChat Moments, which was Wang Tianhou's "Restraint".

In the dead of night, Zhang Yang didn't think much of it and casually turned on the TV to listen.

In the quiet suite, only Wang Tianhou's ethereal singing voice remained for a moment.

I have never been able to resist your charm.

[Although you've never been infatuated with me]

I always look at you with a smile.

My affection always overflows from my eyes easily.

··

The next morning, Zhang Yang opened his eyes and realized that he had been listening to music on repeat the night before and had accidentally fallen asleep.

"That's really..."

He shook his head, unsure of what to say.

Early in the morning, he drew back the floor-to-ceiling curtains, letting the morning light flood the room. He then headed straight to the bathroom to take a shower and start his day feeling refreshed.

This afternoon he prepared to temporarily leave Yinghai and return to Magic City.

As for his parents, their careers are now completely on track, and he doesn't need to worry about them at all.

With Haiqin Restaurant's second branch able to establish itself on Dongyuan Road, its subsequent development can be described as smooth sailing; it only needs to proceed step by step.

Running two stores at the same time kept Zhang Zhaohai and his wife very busy.

It doesn't really matter whether his son goes back or not.

So, he planned to spend the morning exploring the Four Seasons Hotel, since he wouldn't be there for quite some time later.

The morning was spent visiting everything from the lobby to the guest rooms and the restaurants.

Surrounded by a group of hotel executives, he toured the entire hotel, inside and out. Before he knew it, it was almost noon, and Zhang Yang had just finished visiting all four restaurants at the Four Seasons Hotel: Chinese, Western, Japanese, and Korean.

"Isn't that a buffet restaurant upstairs?" Zhang Yang asked.

The Four Seasons Hotel's buffet restaurant is quite upscale, offering a wide variety of fresh seafood, tuna, lobster, sashimi, teppanyaki, and more, with prices starting at over 300 yuan per person.

At least in Yinghai, this is considered the pinnacle of self-reliance.

"Yes, Mr. Zhang, would you like to have lunch at the buffet?" Anderson asked with a smile.

After spending these days together, he had gained Zhang Yang's initial trust, and during this time, he had done his best to show off in front of Zhang Yang.

"That works too." Zhang Yang nodded.

The group headed straight for the buffet restaurant.

Earlier, it was also the Four Seasons Hotel.

Having given up hope, Teacher Meng had just met this exceptionally talented young man, whom her mother had praised as one of the most outstanding men in the world, arranged by her mother.

"Ms. Meng, what would you like to eat for lunch? I heard that the head chef of this hotel's Chinese restaurant used to study under a famous chef at Lei Garden in Hong Kong Island and also worked at the Ritz-Carlton. He's especially good at Cantonese cuisine." The refined and handsome young man gazed gently at Meng Baihan, who had long black hair, beside him.

"How about we make it ourselves?" Meng Baihan suggested.

"Self-service?" The handsome young man hesitated for a moment.

From his perspective, for a first meeting, it's essential to find a quiet place. This helps both parties get to know each other better and makes it easier to leave a good impression.

However, if the girl brings it up herself, then there's no problem.

Moreover, the Four Seasons Hotel's buffet is of a high standard; it's not the noisy and chaotic environment of a typical buffet restaurant, but rather a very upscale experience.

"That works too, let's have the buffet then." He nodded with a smile.

The two headed straight for the Four Seasons Hotel's buffet restaurant.

At this time, the buffet restaurant wasn't too crowded, but there was plenty of food.

From king crab to baby lobster, from sashimi to tomahawk steak, and even freshly sliced Chaoshan beef hot pot.

The two carried their trays to get the food.

Along the way, the young man kept observing what dishes Meng Baihan was picking up, trying to quickly memorize her tastes.

In reality, Meng Baihan, a girl, was eating at a buffet because it was convenient and easy, and since it was their first meeting, she deliberately didn't want to be in a too private or quiet environment.

That's why I suggested eating at a buffet.

Along the way, she casually grabbed some sashimi, fruit, and some freshly sliced beef, preparing to make individual hot pots later.

"Why are you eating these too?" Meng Baihan paused slightly, looking at the handsome young man's plate with some surprise.

"What a coincidence, I happen to love all of these things you're eating," the handsome young man said with a smile.

"Okay." Meng Baihan shook his head and smiled, then walked straight to the seat by the floor-to-ceiling window.

A moment later, at the dining table.

The hot pot was boiling, and the freshly sliced beef was cooked instantly in the broth.

Meng Baihan gently scooped it out, dipped it in the satay sauce, and then looked up to listen to the handsome young man across from him.

This young man is named Wang Lei. In terms of qualifications, he is indeed quite outstanding. His father is a university professor, his mother is the director of a top-tier hospital, and he himself has a bachelor's and master's degree from a 985 university. He is currently working in a public institution in the city through a talent introduction program.

In Yinghai, this condition was not merely respectable, but rather signified genuine status and social standing.

Frankly speaking, in the marriage market, guys like this are definitely in high demand.

But··

"Teacher Meng," Wang Lei said, sipping hot pot and putting a piece of beef coated in satay sauce into his mouth, "I've always envied you teachers. You have so many vacations every year. We don't have that. If the boss tells us to work overtime, we have to."

"It's alright," Meng Baihan replied politely with a smile.

"At least we have plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful scenery," Wang Lei said with a smile. "I have a younger sister who is also a teacher, not in a major subject. Every year during the holidays she just travels around, exploring all of China and then going abroad."

Wang Lei described it vividly.

Meng Baihan listened more and spoke less, occasionally asking questions out of politeness.

She wasn't really interested in the topic of travel, because her parents had already taken her all over China and abroad since she was a child.

"Teacher Meng, I won't hide it from you." After talking for a while, Wang Lei suddenly looked at Meng Baihan, his eyes filled with undisguised admiration.

"Actually, I had a very good impression of Teacher Meng from the first moment I saw her."