Am I Very Thin
Chapter 4/14
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It was rare for peace to be within the same area as Yang Chen and Lin Ruoxi. Yang Chen felt that this was the perfect opportunity to further their relations.h.i.+p. In an attempt to please Lin Ruoxi, Yang Chen asked her what she wanted to eat for dinner.
But Lin Ruoxi failed to come up with an idea. She had her meals at home and in the office all the time, or visit hotels when she had to eat out. There was no need for her to eat at such a high-cla.s.s restaurant when she was with Yang Chen alone.
Yang Chen tried his best to think of something. He found it meaningless to always bring Lin Ruoxi to roadside stalls. The fresh experience wouldn’t still be present, while roadside stalls would never be able the serve food as good as a proper restaurant. Furthermore, Yang Chen finally had the opportunity to eat with her alone. Roadside stalls would not do for such rare occasions.
Having pondered for a while, Yang Chen made a U-turn and drove to the seaside of Zhonghai.
Although Lin Ruoxi drove almost every day, the places she drove to basically consisted of work related areas only. Thus, she had no clue where Yang Chen was bringing her to. She got slightly nervous and asked, “Aren’t we going to have dinner? Why are we heading to the beach?”
“You’ll find out later. Don’t worry Babe, your husband won’t starve you to death,” Yang Chen said with a smile.
Within 15 minutes, the car was parked outside a seafood hot pot restaurant near the seaside. It wasn’t half bad of an idea to have hot pot nearing the end of winter and the coming of spring .
Lin Ruoxi looked at the hot pot restaurant which was filled with steam and neon lights. She then inhaled the smell of seafood which was blown over by the wind. She was first curious and a little bit nervous, but soon felt more and more hungry.
“How do you know of this place?” Lin Ruoxi asked.
Yang Chen only recognized this place because of Tang Wan. The place he met Tang Wan the other day was near the seaside, so he had pa.s.sed by the restaurant before. However, there was no way in h.e.l.l that he was going to tell Ruoxi that after the An Xin business. “I’m always so bored. It’s no wonder that I wander around all the time.”
“Do they serve hot pot?” Lin Ruoxi asked.
“Of course. Why did you ask?” Yang Chen was confused as to why she asked such an obvious question.
Lin Ruoxi blushed slightly. “I… I’ve never tried hot pot before, so I asked.”
What? Is she serious?! he thought. This time, Yang Chen had once again witnessed for himself what a young lady of a wealthy clan was like. But it actually made sense when he thought about it. Lin Ruoxi had grown up around ladies all her life. There had been no reason
for her to eat in such manly manners. Furthermore, it was common knowledge that consuming too much hot pots resulted in blemishes.
“I shall take your first time then,” Yang Chen said in a serious manner.
Lin Ruoxi gave him an angry stare. She managed to get the implied meaning in Yang Chen’s words.
Isn’t it just a hot pot? I see that a lot in Korean dramas. Don’t underestimate me, Lin Ruoxi thought.
Immediately after entering, they were ushered to a table near the window. As they walked in, Lin Ruoxi received numerous gazes, which despite the frequency of the occurrence, still made her uncomfortable. It was her first time witnessing a scene where smoke filled the room and people were chatting loudly.
Yang Chen was dissatisfied when he saw how small the table was. He saw that the most he could pile onto the table were five to six plates. Frowning, he said, “Get us a bigger table. How can you expect me to eat comfortably like this?”
The server was a young man. How troublesome. Aren’t you two the only ones eating? Why would you need a big table? he thought. However, when he looked at Lin Ruoxi’s appearance and how well she was dressed, he figured that they were not part of the common folk. Thus, he smiled and said, “Sir, although the table is small, we provide trays to accommodate for the extra dishes should it be necessary.”
Yang Chen shook his head. “It’s rare for my wife to come here. It’d be tiring for her to take the plates up and down. Get me a round table, it’d be best if we could get one for ten people. If possible, give me an entire room.”
“Sir, as it is, we have very limited rooms to offer. We may not be able to provide for customers with larger groups should we choose to give you this room,” the server explained with a smile.
Lin Ruoxi had no clue what was going on. When Yang Chen seemed to be having an argument with the server, she wanted to ask him to forget about it, but she stopped herself from doing so when she realised that it seemed important.
Taking out his credit card, Yang Chen said to the server, “I’ll pay immediately. I want a room to ourselves no matter what. I don’t care if I have to pay twice the price.”
This time, there was no reason for the server to reject him. Although he felt that this customer was being unreasonable, he took the credit card and went to the counter to discuss with the manager. At last, he accepted Yang Chen’s request.
After the two walked into a room, Lin Ruoxi asked, “Why did you request for such a large table? A smaller one would have been fine. Does it not feel weird for the both of us to use a table meant for ten people?”
Yang Chen smiled and said, “It’s your first time having hot pot. First impressions are the most lasting impressions. So I must make it the best. It’s not like my Babe Ruoxi lacks money, the increase in spending isn’t significant. Also, although it’s a little weird, it’ll make this meal more memorable, won’t it?”
Lin Ruoxi was too lazy to reply to Yang Chen’s absurdity, but felt a hint of sweetness in her heart.
In fact, although eating at a crowded place would be a newer experience to Lin Ruoxi, she would attract way too many gazes which would then make her feel awkward. Lin Ruoxi was an introvert. She was rather afraid of eating hot pot for the first time in front of so many people.
Yang Chen had obviously taken these into account. Why would he insist on getting a private room otherwise?
After the hot pots were served, although there were just the two of them, Yang Chan had devoured the amount equal to five or six times the normal portion. He had ordered ten rolls of lamb alone, which shocked the server who was taking the order.
Lin Ruoxi’s face reddened slightly as she ate the hot and spicy hot pot. Sweat exuded on her forehead causing some hair to stick on her face. This made her look more haggard than usual. Compared to her usual coldness, she appeared much more lively.
Lin Ruoxi repeatedly puffed hot air from her mouth as her eyes started to water. Yang Chen felt that she currently looked like a young lady in her twenties, appearing incredibly adorable. When Lin Ruoxi wasn’t paying attention to him, he leaned toward her and kissed her on her pinkish cheek.
Lin Ruoxi rolled her eyes. Frowning, she said, “There’s oil on your lips. Don’t do that.”
“Does it mean I can kiss you when oil is absent?” Yang Chen let out a wicked smile.
Lin Ruoxi pouted and moved to two seats away. Ignoring Yang Chen, she continued dragging the vegetables in the hot pot.
“Eat more meat, it’s not like you’re fat. You’ll look prettier with more flesh,” Yang Chen said before putting a bunch of lamb and beef into her plate.
Lin Ruoxi blinked her eyes a couple of times as she felt confused. She asked, “Am I considered a very thin person?”
Yang Chen shook his head. “Your figure is just right.”
It was the first time Lin Ruoxi had ever talked about her figure to Yang Chen. She no longer found the hot pot spicy. However, since the subject had been started, she had nothing to fear for. “Then why do you still want me to grow more flesh?” she asked.
Yang Chen giggled and answered, “I like to look at slim women, but I like to touch fleshy ones more.”
Lin Ruoxi had the urge to slam her plate into Yang Chen’s face. Never have I ever met anyone so shameless that they spout nonsense such as this! she thought.
However, Lin Ruoxi silently chewed the meat Yang Chen placed in her bowl.
They left the room soon after completely stuffed to the brim.
“Sir, it’s 1206 yuan in total.” When the lady working at the counter said this amount, she was a bit shocked. She knew that Yang Chen and Lin Ruoxi insisted on getting a private room with only two people. However, they managed to eat an amount that even ten people wouldn’t necessarily finish.
Yang Chen suddenly pointed at two men sitting nearby and said, “I’ll pay for theirs as well.”
The lady was surprised, but still nodded and allowed Yang Chen to settle two bills.
After exiting the hot pot restaurant, Lin Ruoxi asked, “Did you know them?”
“Nope, I don’t” Yang Chen shook his head.
“Then why did you pay for them?”
After getting into the car, Yang Chen turned on the engine and pointed at the restaurant’s entrance. “Look. There they come now.”
Lin Ruoxi instantly understood what he meant. “Are you trying to say we’ve been followed?”
“More accurately, they’re watching what we’re doing,” Yang Chen said with a smile.
Lin Ruoxi was puzzled. “Who would do that? Why are they watching us?”
“Think Ruoxi, who else is so interested in our relations.h.i.+p that they felt the need to stalk us?” Yang Chen asked.
“Ning Guodong?” Lin Ruoxi immediately thought of the troublesome fellow. He was the only one who knew she came out for dinner with Yang Chen. He also had the capability to send someone to watch them.
“Did you insist on getting a room to avoid being seen by them?” Lin Ruoxi suddenly asked.
Yang Chen smiled and answered, “This is one of the reasons, but I did that mainly to please my dear wife. Babe Ruoxi, how’s the meal tonight?”
Lin Ruoxi ignored Yang Chen’s joke. Worried, she asked, “By paying, was that your way of calling Ning Guodong out? Doesn’t that mean you’ve become Ning Guodong’s enemy? No doubt he is not a good person, but he’s the premier’s son. What if he really wants to do harm to you?”
Yang Chen said happily, “If I was afraid of him, I wouldn’t have called out his actions so obviously. I’ll entertain him for doing this today. If he really ends up on my bad side one day, i’ll make sure he pays in ways unimaginable to a person.”
Lin Ruoxi felt slightly relieved to see Yang Chen’s confidence before sighing again. Other married couples would understand more about each other as time pa.s.sed. However, the more she spent time with her husband, the more she realizes that she knows so much lesser than she thought.
It was almost ten o’clock at night when they arrived at home. Guo Xuehua, w.a.n.g Ma and Hui Lin who went out for a facial treatment had returned home. Zhenxiu who was out for tuition, had returned as well, and was currently doing her revision upstairs.
Guo Xuehua let out a kind smile when the two walked into the living hall. “You’re back. Have you had fun just now?”
Lin Ruoxi pouted as she kept quiet as she signalled Yang Chen to do the talking.
Yang Chen nodded. “It felt more lonely when just the two of us were eating. You guys don’t need to go out all at once anymore in the future.”
“Mom is thinking on your behalf. You two are not close enough, it’s better if you can spend more time together.” Guo Xuehua didn’t try to hide her intention.
Yang Chen smiled in acknowledgement. He then saw a large number of plastic bags by the sofa. “You guys went shopping as well?”
Embarra.s.sed, w.a.n.g Ma answered, “Yeah. Young Master, I didn’t expect us to get so many clothes at once. When we looked them through after reaching home, a lot of them are actually unnecessary.”
“No they’re not. w.a.n.g Ma, you look great in these s.h.i.+rts,” Hui Lin said sweetly.
“I am but an old woman. New clothes are for the young,” w.a.n.g Ma replied. Crow’s feet formed beside her eyes when she smiled.
After they chatted for a while, w.a.n.g Ma made tea for Yang Chen and Lin Ruoxi. She was then reminded of something. She said, “Miss, after Miss Zhenxiu moved in, our house seems to be rather occupied. Madam Guo raised a rather true statement while we were shopping. You and Young Master will have your children in the future. Families like ours definitely need more children. When that comes, there won’t be enough rooms in the house to accommodate for us all. Why don’t we move to a bigger house now when we still can?”
“Children?”
Lin Ruoxi’s mind came to a halt. All she heard was the word ‘children’. Stunned, she looked at Guo Xuehua who was nodding happily before glancing at Yang Chen who was rubbing his nose in innocence.
Lin Ruoxi was sure that she had never wanted the floor to open up and swallow her this badly in her life.