Inside a luxurious Western restaurant.
The dim lighting was like a bright moon at dusk, and incense scented the entire space.
Jiang Wang did not like this kind of setting. He preferred the ink-wash charm of the East, the subtle washes of color beneath oiled paper.
Besides, as he ate the exquisitely prepared food, he felt it tasted nowhere near as good as the cooking of the Western friends Jiang Yang had taken him to visit back then.
For a start, the ingredients were far inferior.
He could not say why he felt that way, but he simply knew.
He did not dwell on it. In any case, his father, Jiang Yang, the Coffee Shop Owner, had known quite a few people back then.
At the table.
Gabriel, dressed in a youthful outfit, swirled her wineglass. The contrast had a beauty of its own, drawing frequent glances from the successful people nearby.
But her presence was far too commanding, nothing like the internet-addicted girl Jiang Wang had seen at her home.
Gabriel asked Jiang Wang.
"Jiang Wang, what are your plans for the rest of your life?"
With Jiang Yang's request in mind, she did show Jiang Wang some care and patience.
"Auntie, I don't have any long-term plans yet, but I intend to focus on my studies for the next few years. I want to finish my doctorate before graduating!"
"I have the coffee shop my father left me, so I'm not particularly short of money. I still want to finish doing the things that interest me."
Jiang Wang answered earnestly.
"That's fine. It's only ten years or so, after all."
Gabriel smiled.
"By the way, is there a girl you like? You mustn't follow your father's example and wait until you're so old before getting together with someone,