Xie Zhengci had figured out the camera and successfully turned it off. The sounds from earlier had accidentally been recorded; if the recording spread online and went viral, it would be trouble if the other party came looking for them.
Ji Chi kept one arm around Wen He, only releasing his restraining hold once they had left the deck and reached the restaurant.
"I booked you a single room. After dinner, you're going straight there to sleep. You're not allowed to share a room with him, understand?" Ji Chi took a key from his pocket and pressed it into Wen He's hand, then took him by the arm and found an empty table.
The restaurant on the fourth floor was entirely different from the deck outside. A bartender was mixing drinks at the bar in the center, soft music played around them, and the brightly lit dining room bustled with servers moving about, busy but orderly.
Ji Chi placed their order on his phone, and a server soon brought over three cups of tea.
Wen He looked at Ji Chi. He was very different today. Instead of his usual simple clothes, he wore a black suit with a blue medal pinned to his collar, and even his hair had been carefully styled...
Not far away, Quan Chongnian was walking toward the three of them with Xiao Guai in his arms.
"Hi~" He raised Xiao Guai's paw to greet Ji Chi and Wen He.
Wen He paused, then raised his hand in response.
"You don't mind if I sit here, do you?"
Wen He had no say in the matter... He lowered his head and played dumb.
Quan Chongnian was only being polite. He did not care whether they agreed and plopped straight down.
None of the three spoke, and Quan Chongnian found it awkward to speak too. He did not know Xie Zhengci well, and as for Wen He... it was hard to strike up a conversation with him.
Xie Zhengci stood, apologized to the three of them, and left to take a call.
Once Xie Zhengci left, Wen He had even less idea what to say.
Quan Chongnian, on the other hand, became livelier after Xie Zhengci left.
He put Xiao Guai on the floor and chatted with Wen He. "My name's Quan Chongnian. You can just call me A-Nian. What about you?"
"Wen He... Just call me Wen He." Wen He hesitated a moment before adding the last part.
Something soft rubbed against his feet. Wen He looked down to find a little white bichon frise wagging its tail at him. The little bichon wore a pink dress and had a diaper wrapped around its bottom. Wen He was just about to bend down and stroke its head when Ji Chi grabbed his collar and pulled him back. A little displeased, Wen He pursed his lips slightly and looked at him with discontent in his round eyes.
Ji Chi met his gaze with an unyielding look.
"We're about to eat. Play after dinner." Then his tone shifted as he looked at Quan Chongnian. "Wash your hands."
"Wash your haaands~~~" Quan Chongnian pulled a face and mocked him.
Look at him putting on airs...
Quan Chongnian picked Xiao Guai up from the floor and left the restaurant.
"Is he your friend?" Wen He watched him leave, puzzled.
"Mm. Eat."
The server had already brought the dishes over one by one: lobster fried rice, steamed crabmeat, stir-fried pork with peppers, raw marinated sweet shrimp, and an assortment of other dishes, though most were seafood. A server stood beside them, helping peel the shrimp.
Ji Chi had already filled Wen He's bowl to the brim with fried rice.
"Aren't we waiting for them?"
"No need. Just eat."
Another chopstickful of crabmeat followed.
"All right..." Wen He had actually wanted to wait for them, but he was terribly hungry.
At some point, Ji Chi had suddenly grown fond of watching Wen He eat.
He ate slowly, alternating between mouthfuls of rice and other dishes, chewing carefully. He would only speak to Ji Chi once he had finished what was in his mouth. Otherwise, he would just look at you with those innocent eyes, bewitching you, only willing to speak once he had swallowed his food.
The server had peeled the sweet shrimp and arranged them in rows over a bowl of ice. Ji Chi picked one up with his chopsticks, dipped it in sauce, and placed it on the plate in front of Wen He.
Staring at the pearly-white sweet shrimp with its red flesh, Wen He hesitated...
Eat it raw? It'll give me diarrhea...
Seeing the worry in his eyes, Ji Chi picked up a piece of sweet shrimp first and put it in his mouth.
"It's sweet. You'll like it."
Although Wen He still had his doubts, he did not dwell on them. Copying Ji Chi, he picked up some shrimp with his chopsticks and cautiously put it in his mouth to taste it.
It was crisp and sweet on his tongue, with no hint that he was eating something raw. Paired with the sauce, it was unexpectedly delicious-neither cloying nor fishy, with a slightly sweet flavor.
After just one bite, Wen He's eyes brightened.
Seeing that he liked it, Ji Chi put all the sweet shrimp the server had peeled into his bowl.
"Holy crap! The sweet shrimp I ordered! Ji Chi, you're heartless!"
Quan Chongnian's furious voice rang out as the young man strode over and clamped a hand around the back of Ji Chi's neck.
Looking at the sweet shrimp heaped in his bowl, Wen He lowered his head in embarrassment and avoided looking at him.
The little white dog he had been holding earlier was nowhere to be seen either. He probably had not brought it.
"Can't I just order another portion for you? Why all the nonsense?"
"Hmph, that's more like it!" Hearing his friend's promise, Quan Chongnian told the server, "Two more portions of sweet shrimp, and one shaved snow."
"Two," Ji Chi added.
"Certainly. Please wait a moment."
Before the sweet shrimp arrived, Wen He felt too embarrassed to eat any more of it and turned to his egg fried rice instead.
Ji Chi took a shrimp from his bowl. "Eat the peeled sweet shrimp while it's fresh. It won't taste good if you leave it too long, and then it'll go to waste."
Can't waste it.
"Mm-hmm..."
Wen He began picking up the sweet shrimp one by one again and biting into them. Crunch, crunch-so crisp~
The server soon brought over two servings of shaved snow and the sweet shrimp. Ji Chi pushed one of the desserts in front of Wen He.
The clear cup was piled high with white shaved snow, topped with a generous layer of strawberry sauce. Ji Chi had ordered it.
He ordered it for me...
Wen He swung his lower legs beneath the table, his brows and eyes lifting as he accepted the shaved snow and began eating it in gentle scoops with the little spoon.
Cold and refreshing, sweet and tart... So good!
Even after the three had finished the entire meal, Xie Zhengci had not returned. When Ji Chi said he had booked a room, he really had. He told Wen He to fetch his belongings and follow him back to the room.
Wen He led Ji Chi, with Quan Chongnian following behind him, to the room to collect his paper bag.
Then he followed Ji Chi to room 2-6.
"I'm staying right next door in room five. Come find me if you need anything."
After setting his paper bag on the sofa, Ji Chi took him by the arm again and led him outside.
"Where are we going?"
"To have some fun."
Quan Chongnian came out of his room with Xiao Guai in his arms again.
Xiao Guai took to Wen He as soon as it saw him, eagerly trying to rub its head against him.
Wen He took Xiao Guai from Quan Chongnian and held it carefully. "What's its name?"
"Xiao Guai. Cute, right? Our Xiao Guai is the cutest dog in the world!"
Wearing its soft pink dress, Xiao Guai lay obediently in Wen He's arms, neither squirming nor fussing, its fluffy forehead resting on his arm.
It stood out especially brightly against the three men's black, white, and gray outfits.
Xiao Guai was a small bichon frise, both cute and well-behaved, and had been a coming-of-age gift from Quan Chongnian's father.
"This little dog is very good and obedient. I'm sure you'll love it."
It was not only obedient dogs that he liked, but people too-obedient people.