A+A-Chapter 28
Chapter 28 — h.e.l.lo, I am called Heart. Today is my first day at work.
After the exchange program’s attendees were finalized, the company pa.s.sed on the news to the managers of the corresponding restaurants.
When Tang Mi learned that she was given the opportunity to be sent abroad for a exchange program, she was stunned speechless for nearly half a day.
This type of opportunity to go abroad in an exchange, wasn’t it usually given to the employees who had contributed the longest to the company? Not to mention her newcomer status, 『Sweet Dream』 was also a newly established restaurant under Yu Zhi, so how come this meat pie was dropped on her head?
“What, you don’t want to go?” The restaurant manager saw that she remained silent for a long time and raised an eyebrow in query.
“No, but I feel…somewhat…like this is a dream.”
The restaurant manager laughed lightly. “This is a very good learning opportunity, so grasp it well. Besides, the exchange program lasts for ten days, so you can take advantage of this opportunity to have some fun abroad as well.”
“Ah, if I go, what about the restaurant?”
“You don’t need to worry about this. The head office will transfer another pastry chef over to lend a hand when the time draws near.”
Tang Mi nodded. “Oh, okay. Then what should I prepare?”
The restaurant manager said, “The company will handle the formalities. When the moment comes, you just need to provide your travel information before leaving. Oh, by the way, the other person joining you is the pastry chef from『Twilight』, Jonathan. The macarons he makes have been in the top three of Yu Zhi’s most popular desserts for years on end.”
Tang Mi heard this and somewhat excitedly exclaimed, “I know of him. I especially like to eat his macarons. Furthermore, 『Twilight』’s macarons can be bought to-go as well.” She had once gone there intentionally to buy a case.
The restaurant manager seemed to be inspired and said, “Actually, I had previously thought about how our restaurant could also provide to-go desserts like them. For example, cookies or chocolate—the caramel cheesecake we sold last time can be a luxurious mini dessert gift; it’ll be received very well by guests. Ah, but we’ll talk about this more after you come back from the exchange program. Jonathan is an experienced pastry chef. You can learn a lot from him.”
“I will. Thank you, restaurant manager!”
The restaurant manager chuckled. “The one you should be thanking is CEO Yu. I heard from a.s.sistant Luo that CEO Yu respects
you a lot.”
Tang Mi’s heart began palpitating with fear as she said, “Oh, that…thank you, CEO Yu!”
Restaurant Manager: “…”
When she returned that evening from work, Tang Mi impatiently rushed to the living room and flopped down beside Fu Xin. “Xiao Xing Xing, I’m going to j.a.pan!”
“Ah?” Fu Xin bit into the dried sweet potato in her hands and stared at her blankly. “Why on earth are you going there?”
“I’m partic.i.p.ating in an exchange program.”
“Haha, don’t joke around. You can’t even f.u.c.king speak j.a.panese!”
Tang Mi: “…”
“Western-style pastry exchange program,” she stressed.
Fu Xin thought for a moment and then seemed to understand, as she excitedly grabbed Tang Mi’s hands. “Is that this year’s annual exchange program? The one that Yu Zhi sends people to attend every year?!”
Upon gaining Tang Mi’s positive reply, Fu Xin became even more excited. “So an all-expenses paid trip? Holy s.h.i.t, Tang Tang, you’ve only been working there for two months, yet you can already go on an all-expenses paid trip?! Is your restaurant recruiting? I read that universities guarantee acceptance for those who studied Human Behaviour!”
Tang Mi: “…”
“You can phone the human resources department.” Tang Mi gave her the number and then got up to head to her bedroom. After she took a bath, Fu Xin rushed into her room with a note.
“Tang Tang, these are the things I want to buy. Remember to help bring them back for me. Muah~!”
Tang Mi frowned as she looked at the note. Cosmetics, face masks, clothes, snacks…she even wanted instant noodles.
“Too much. My suitcase won’t have room.” Tang Mi shoved the note back into Fu Xin’s chest.
Fu Xin volunteered, “It’s alright. Use my suitcase, it’s huge!”
Tang Mi raised her head to glance at her. “Even if I buy them, your creditor will not approve.”
Upon the mention of her creditor, Fu Xin suddenly wilted. She looked at Tang Mi tearfully. “Tang Tang, after you become a wealthy woman, you will surely help me ruthlessly throw money in their faces, right?”
“Why? I don’t owe them money.”
Fu Xin: “…”
What happened to being each other’s angels?
Laden with grief, Fu Xin removed half the things from her shopping list before foisting it onto Tang Mi again. “Okay, these then. You can also take advantage of the opportunity to buy a lot of clothes in j.a.pan. Does your wardrobe have any decent clothes?”
Tang Mi flattened her lips. “But buying clothes is expensive. Where do I get so much money from?”
“Even then, there should be at least one item of clothing you can take out. Next time
time you need some clothes, I will not lend any to you.”
“Eh, either way, your clothes are a size too big at the waist and don’t fit well if I borrow them.
Fu Xin: “…”
She nonchalantly returned to her room to do sit-ups.
Several days later, Tang Mi submitted the relevant information to the head office and just happened to run into Jonathan, who was also submitting his information. The two of them chatted in the corridor for a while when Yu Yi and Luo Hao walked by.
Tang Mi subconsciously straightened up and courteously called out to Yu Yi, “h.e.l.lo, CEO Yu.”
Yu Yi nodded at her and chatted a few lines with her and Jonathan next to her. Tang Mi was a bit surprised. As it turned out, Yu Yi’s French was really good.
Jonathan soon left the workplace, and Tang Mi intended to follow him in leaving, only for Luo Hao to call out and stop her. “I didn’t expect your French to be so polished.”
Tang Mi giggled. “Before I went to France, I did my best to learn the language. If I had the energy to study English back then, I might have pa.s.sed the university entrance exam to a famous school.”
Luo Hao chuckled. “Fortunately, you didn’t. If you had, we would be short a pastry chef.”
Tang Mi smiled at this, whereas Yu Yi stood to the side silently. When he saw Tang Mi prepare to leave, however, he asked, “This year’s exchange program is a very good learning opportunity, so make the most of it.”
“Mn, I will.”
“Pay close attention to your safety when abroad.”
“Okay, thank you for your concern, CEO Yu.”
Yu Yi fell silent, as if he was thinking of saying something. In the end, he simply said, “Mn, see you later then.”
“…Oh, see you later.”
Tang Mi watched Yu Yi leave. When Luo Hao walked past her, he was smiling for some reason she could not fathom.
Tang Mi: “…”
Like before, days pa.s.sed by in a flurry of work and routine. Unknowingly, the day of departure arrived.
Tang Mi did not know Lu Yu was going to j.a.pan as well until she saw Lu Yu at the airport.
“I need to report the happenings of the exchange program from the beginning to the end. I need to update the official Weibo with the latest progress every day,” Lu Yu explained.
The three of them boarded the airplane together. Yu Yi had, in fact, boarded a plane long before them.
Luo Hao had very considerately arranged it so that Yu Yi’s abroad inspection would coincide with the
with the exchange program.
On the airplane, Lu Yu talked with Tang Mi in high spirits. Although she didn’t know French, she had self-studied j.a.panese. If Tang Mi wanted to go anywhere for fun, Lu Yu could act as a tour guide.
Tang Mi thought of the shopping list Fu Xin had given her and had been worried about not knowing where to go to buy them. Now, she had Lu Yu, but she still planned to omit a lot of the items from the list.
The two of them chatted throughout the flight. Very soon, they reached their destination. When the airplane descended, the exchange program person in charge of greeting them was a pet.i.te j.a.panese girl. She spoke English with a heavy j.a.panese accent. Lu Yu, after hearing it, really did not want to continue hearing her speak English and beamed as she asked in j.a.panese, “Can you speak j.a.panese?”
Tang Mi could clearly read an ‘ellipsis’ expression from the girl’s face.
After learning that Lu Yu could speak j.a.panese, the girl no longer used English. For the entire trip, she explained everything to them in j.a.panese.
The car first brought them to the hotel. Jonathan and another French pastry chef shared a room, while Lu Yu and Tang Mi shared another.
The exchange program officially began tomorrow. After the two received their room cards and arrived at their rooms, they began unpacking their luggage. Tang Mi took out Fu Xin’s shopping list and said to Lu Yu, “My friend wants me to help her buy some things. Can you accompany me?”
“Of course I can.” Lu Yu placed her suitcase in a corner and turned to look at Tang Mi. “We’ll buy them before we leave. My boyfriend also wants me to bring him back stuff.”
Tang Mi: “…”
Why does Lu Yu always play her ‘my boyfriend’ skill every time?
Tang Mi silently continued unpacking.
Once Lu Yu finished unpacking, she ran over to Tang Mi’s side. “We’re relatively free today, so we can go out and have some fun. How about we go eat seafood in Ginza?”
Tang Mi: “…”
She felt that Lu Yu’s wages were definitely very high.
“Can we eat some commoner things? I actually want to eat ramen at the moment.”
“Sure!” Lu Yu took out her phone and logged into the hotel’s wifi. She opened Weibo to show Tang Mi something. “I used this foodie travel guide the last time I came to j.a.pan. I still have it bookmarked. Wait a minute, I’ll share it to you.”
The two of them planned an itinerary according to the guide. Becausethe guide. Because they ate as they walked, they did not feel especially full. When the sky was nearly dark, Tang Mi suggested returning to the hotel.
Lu Yu firmly opposed this suggestion. “It only just begins when it’s dusk. Why return so early to sleep?!”
Tang Mi blinked rapidly. “Then where do you still want to go?”
Lu Yu’s rippling laughter rang out. “How can you not go to a host club when in Tokyo?”
Tang Mi’s lips suddenly slanted. “Don’t you already have a boyfriend?”
Lu Yu looked at her and solemnly scowled. “What place are you thinking about; this place is just for drinking alcohol! Your thoughts are too dirty!”
Tang Mi: “…”
Her? Her thoughts were dirty?
While she reflected upon herself, the pure Lu Yu had already led her to the doorway.
Upon entering, a row of handsome guys greeted them in unison, which scared Tang Mi and nearly caused her to rush out the door. Lu Yu actually appeared fairly calm and very quickly began talking with them.
Tang Mi, meanwhile, was in a state of complete panic. Muddleheaded, she was dragged by Lu Yu to sit on the sofa and remained muddleheaded even as a handsome guy sat down beside her and began talking to her.
Tang Mi: “…”
She asked in Chinese, “Can you speak Chinese?”
The handsome guy blinked at her with wide eyes, a smile on his lips.
Tang Mi tried again in French. “Can you speak French?”
The handsome guy continued to blink and smile at her.
Tang Mi originally wanted to try English, but she recalled that girl’s English when she greeted them at the airport and swallowed her words. She originally thought of asking Lu Yu for help, but who expected Lu Yu’s phone to suddenly ring?
“This is the organizer calling. Something might have come up, so I need to take this call. I’ll be right back.”
Tang Mi: “…”
With this, the handsome guy who was previously talking enthusiastically with Lu Yu also began blinking his eyes at her.
Tang Mi used the same effective expression to reply to these two handsome guys.
When Yu Yi entered the host club, he happened to see this scene.
Tang Mi was still staring at these two handsome guys when a bright voice rang out from in front of her. “h.e.l.lo, I am called Heart. Today is my first day at work.”
He spoke in j.a.panese, so Tang Mi still didn’t understand him. This voice, though…
She raised her head and looked at the man in front of her, who was smiling with two dimples showing. She stiffened.
CEO…Yu? No, Yu Xin?