McDonald's's is on the street corner, its neon sign glaringly bright.
Pei Jingshu pushed open the door, and a strong smell of fried chicken and fries wafted out.
She took a deep breath, her eyes lit up, and her expression was as if she were smelling some delicious delicacy.
"It smells so good!" she said happily.
Cheng Che followed behind her, glancing around the store.
There weren't many customers at this time; there were only two or three people queuing in front of the counter, all of them locals.
A few young people were in the corner, with hamburger boxes spread out on the table, eating and looking at their phones.
Pei Jingshu walked to the counter, looked up at the menu, and although she couldn't understand the French, she could understand the pictures.
She pointed to a picture of a hamburger meal, glanced back at Cheng Che, and her eyes sparkled.
"Two of these." She held up two fingers, her tone very confident.
Cheng Che nodded and ordered another chicken leg and two more Cokes.
Pei Jingshu, growing impatient, stood on tiptoe and shouted towards the counter, "Large fries, please!" Then she turned and stuck her tongue out at Cheng Che.
The two of them, carrying trays, found a seat by the window and sat down.
Pei Jingshu opened the hamburger box, sniffed it, raised her eyebrows, and then took a big bite.
The juice from the beef patty smeared the corners of her mouth, but she didn't bother to wipe it away. She chewed a couple of times, her eyes narrowing into slits.
"It's delicious," she mumbled, her mouth still stuffed with food, her cheeks bulging. "It's better than the seven dishes we had before."
Cheng Che unwrapped the chicken leg and took a bite.
The outer layer was crispy, and the meat inside was very tender. It was definitely more satisfying than those seven delicate small dishes.
He took a couple of bites, then saw Pei Jingshu staring intently at his chicken leg, her eyes fixed on it like a cat eyeing its prey.
"Want some?" He raised an eyebrow.
Pei Jingshu nodded vigorously, with hamburger sauce still on the corner of her mouth.
Cheng Che handed her the chicken leg, and she took it, took a bite, and a little oil got on the corner of her mouth.
She ate to her heart's content, and as she returned the chicken leg, she licked her lips and added, "Your chicken leg is better than my hamburger."
"Shall we change it?"
"No trade." Pei Jingshu immediately clutched the hamburger to her chest, shifting her body slightly to the side, her face wary. "I'll just take one bite."
Cheng Che smiled and continued eating.
The two sat by the window, overlooking the Paris street scene, with the streetlights casting the shadows of plane trees onto the glass.
Pei Jingshu ate with great concentration, occasionally glancing up at Cheng Che, her lips still glistening with oil, before lowering her head again to continue munching on her hamburger.
Halfway through the meal, Cheng Che caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye.
A young man with Asia face sat at a table diagonally opposite against the wall, holding a mobile phone in his hand.
The phone's camera was pointed out the window, but at a slightly off angle, pointing towards their table.
Cheng Che noticed it, glanced at the man, and his gaze sharpened.
Taking photos secretly.
The man was looking down at his phone screen, his expression slightly excited, with a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth.
A girl was sitting next to him, also looking at her phone. The two seemed to be talking to each other, and the girl even tapped on the screen.
Cheng Che put down the chicken leg in his hand, turned his head and whispered to Pei Jingshu, "Don't look up. Someone's filming."
Pei Jingshu paused for a moment, still chewing on her hamburger, her eyes suddenly becoming a little tense, and she slowed down her chewing.
She didn't turn her head to look, but simply asked softly, "Where?"
"The table diagonally opposite, against the wall. Asia faces." Cheng Che's tone was calm, as if he were talking about something unimportant.
Pei Jingshu hummed in agreement, put down the hamburger, picked up a tissue to wipe her mouth, the action was very natural, but after wiping her mouth, she pinched the tissue with her fingers.
Cheng Che glanced at the restaurant's layout. The side door was next to the counter, leading to an alley that connected to another street.
"Leave after you finish eating," he said, his voice low. "From the side door."
Pei Jingshu nodded and sped up her eating, stuffing the rest of the hamburger into her mouth in a few bites, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster's.
After the two finished eating, Cheng Che stood up, took Pei Jingshu's hand, and walked towards the counter.
As he passed the counter, he smiled at the clerk, pointed behind him, and said in English, "The restroom is over there," before turning into the side door.
Pushing open the side door, you enter a narrow alleyway. The streetlights are dim, and there are a few fallen leaves on the ground.
Cheng Che pulled Pei Jingshu along quickly for several dozen meters, then turned a corner and merged into the crowd on another street.
Pei Jingshu breathed a sigh of relief, glanced back, and then patted her chest. "Did you shake them off?"
"They probably didn't get a clear picture of her face," Cheng Che said, letting go of her hand and glancing towards the roadside. "Let's go, the car's over there."
The two got into the car, and Cheng Che told Zhao Gang, "Back to the hotel."
As the car entered the main road, Pei Jingshu leaned back in the back seat, pouting, looking somewhat unhappy.
"My dinner was ruined," she muttered, crossing her arms.
"It's alright," Cheng Che said. "I'll order room service for you when we get back."
Pei Jingshu snorted, glanced at him sideways, then curled her lips into a smile and held up one finger, "Then you have to buy me ice cream."
"Okay." Cheng Che smiled. "Two balls."
"Three." Pei Jingshu held up three fingers, her expression very serious.
Three it is.
Pei Jingshu leaned back in her chair with satisfaction and took out her phone to start scrolling.
Meanwhile, in China, a post appeared quietly on a social media platform.
"I bumped into Cheng Che and Pei Jingshu at McDonald's's in Paris. They were sitting together eating, very intimate, and even feeding each other."
The accompanying photo was blurry, but it showed the view out the window; all that could be seen was a blurry reflection on the glass and two indistinct figures.
The comments section appeared quickly.
[Do you have a picture? What's the point of talking if you don't?]
[You can't even make out a human shape in this photo. You're saying this is Cheng Che? I'd say it's Federer!]
Cheng Che is currently competing, Pei Jingshu is in South Korea; how could they possibly be eating at McDonald's's in Paris?
[Keep making things up. Is the cost of spreading rumors this low now?]
[Hilarious! No picture, no proof. This level of making things up is getting higher and higher!]
[I also said I saw Cheng Che and Ning Qing on a date under the Eiffel Tower, where's the picture?]
[Next time, remember to bring a camera that can clearly capture your face before spreading rumors.]
[This photo is probably of a streetlamp outside the window; there's not a single person in it.]
The person who posted the message added, "They didn't get a clear picture of their faces, but it really is them, I recognized them."
The comments section became even more lively.
[You recognized him? How did you recognize him? From his back? His hairstyle? Or a sixth sense?]
[Dude, you need evidence to identify someone. You can't even get a clear picture of their face, how can you identify them based on your gut feeling?]
The level of rumor-mongering these days is getting worse every day.
Is my Che Baby's popularity now being maintained solely by these low-quality rumors?
[You're talking nonsense without a picture, let's move on]
[OP, next time you make something up, could you at least make it believable? Like, "I took a picture, but I lost my phone," something that would be more believable.]
That post was quickly reported and deleted.
Inside McDonald's's, the young man who had been secretly taking photos flipped through his phone's photo album, looking somewhat annoyed, and swiped his finger across the screen twice.
He did manage to take the picture, but the angle was bad; the image only showed two blurry backs and half an arm.
He had intended to post it, but after reading the comments, he put his phone back in his pocket.
"Forget it," he said to the girl next to him, sounding a little dejected. "I didn't get a clear picture of her face, so nobody will believe it if I post it."
The girl glanced at his phone screen, pouted, and said, "Then why are you still taking pictures?"
"I just feel it's a pity," he said, scratching his head.
In the car, Pei Jingshu had already forgotten what had just happened. Leaning on Cheng Che's shoulder, she scrolled through her phone and saw a McDonald's's coupon. Her eyes lit up, and she excitedly showed him her phone. "Want to come eat again tomorrow?"
Cheng Che glanced at her, then at the coupon on her phone screen, and smiled, "Are you sure?"
"OK." Pei Jingshu nodded vigorously, counting on her fingers, "I want a double beef burger and two chicken drumsticks tomorrow."
Then she looked up at him, her eyes sparkling, and said, "Please."