Yi Xing took the menu, nodded slightly to the waiter to express his gratitude, then looked at the person sitting opposite him. Ju Jingyi had already taken off her mask, revealing her delicate little face.
"Do you want to see the paper version or the electronic version?" He picked up his phone and scanned the QR code on the table, asking.
"Electronic."
"Alright."
Ju Jingyi took his phone and looked at the menu. She first ordered their signature dish, then browsed for a while longer, ordering some dishes that the person opposite her liked to eat.
It wasn't the first or second time she had eaten with him, so she had a good understanding of his taste, knowing what dishes he liked. He was a pure carnivore, but if vegetarian dishes were delicious, he would also eat some.
"Alright, I'm done ordering. Do you need to add anything else?"
She was about to return the phone when it happened to ring. She subconsciously glanced at it, discovering that Li Feier had sent him a message, asking when he would be coming over and waiting to eat with him. Suddenly, she felt a little unhappy.
She silently picked up the coffee next to her and took a sip, observing the expression on his face, afraid that he would prepare to leave and go eat with someone else the next second.
"No need, just these. There's too much, and the two of us won't be able to finish it."
When Yi Xing got his phone back, the message notification had already disappeared. He didn't know that someone had contacted him. After placing the order, he put his phone aside.
If he was alone or going out for a meal with a large group of people, he would definitely play on his phone, eating for a while and playing for a while. But if he was with friends and family, he would basically not touch it, unless it was something extremely urgent.
But Ju Jingyi didn't know that. She simply thought he hadn't seen it, and a wave of hesitation immediately welled up in her heart. She didn't know whether to say someone was looking for him. She took another sip of coffee, trying to suppress this hesitation, but it was useless.
"What's wrong? You look like you want to say something but are holding back. Is there something you want to say?" Yi Xing noticed she wasn't quite right. She had opened her mouth several times without making a sound, so he asked with concern.
"I just saw someone sent you a message. Don't you need to reply?"
"Really? Let me see."
He unlocked his phone, opened WeChat, and saw the message from Li Feier, chuckling softly.
In Ju Jingyi's eyes, he seemed very happy to see Li Feier's message. She nervously picked at her hands. Of course, she knew who this Li Feier was.
Wasn't she a guest on the show with Yi Xing?
They had only been there for half a month, and their relationship was already this good?
She also really wanted to go on a trip with him, preferably without anyone else!
No, no, she was an idol now, how could she have such thoughts? She shook her head fiercely, expelling this terrifying thought from her mind, and took a big gulp of the drink in her hand to calm herself down.
She drank too quickly, causing herself to choke, and quickly coughed twice: "Cough, cough!"
Seeing this, Yi Xing didn't even bother to reply to the message. He quickly stood up, walked around the table to her side, and gently patted her back, his tone full of concern.
"How can you be so careless? Are you alright?" Then, with his other free hand, he pulled a few tissues from the table and handed them to her.
Ju Jingyi coughed for a while before she recovered. Her small face was flushed from the rapid coughing. She took the tissues and wiped her mouth, her voice still a little abnormal: "I'm fine. Have you finished replying to your message?"
"Not yet. Let's talk about it after we eat."
"Why?"
"Because I'm meeting them tomorrow."
"'They' refers to?"
"Our Hua Shao Group, the people who are filming the show with me." Yi Xing was afraid she wouldn't understand Hua Shao Group, so he specifically explained.
"Oh ~ so that's it. I thought..."
Hearing this explanation, Ju Jingyi suddenly understood. It was all his fault for not explaining it clearly earlier, causing her to misunderstand so much. She smiled again, then suddenly seemed to realize something and swallowed the words she was about to say.
"Thought what?"
"Nothing, nothing. Let's eat, haven't the dishes already arrived!" She quickly changed the subject, but her technique was truly clumsy.
It was only because Yi Xing didn't want to delve deeper. He greatly respected Ju Jingyi's thoughts. As long as she didn't want to say it, he wouldn't ask. He smiled and replied, "Alright, alright. I want to see how delicious this place you highly recommend really is."
As he spoke, he picked up a chopstick full of the signature dish and put it in his mouth. He hadn't eaten domestic delicacies for twenty days, so even West Lake Vinegar Fish in front of him now would make him pick up his chopsticks without hesitation and say it was delicious, let alone this dish that was perfect in color, aroma, and taste.
"How is it?"
"A delicacy of the human world."
"Your description is too exaggerated."
"Not exaggerated at all. The feeling of that delicacy dancing on my taste buds repeatedly, it deserves that title." He ate while giving a thumbs up.
"Then try this one."
Ju Jingyi used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat and put it into another bowl. She also really liked this dish and wanted to hear what a certain person thought of it.
"Alright, I'll try it. Hmm, not bad, a delicacy of the human world."
"What about this one?"
"A delicacy of the human world."
"This one."
"A delicacy of the human world."
"This... forget it, I won't ask anymore. I guess you'll just say 'a delicacy of the human world' too."
"Wow, you've even learned to answer quickly! Congratulations, congratulations!" Yi Xing continued to tease her with words, unafraid of death.
It wasn't that he was at a loss for words. With his Cambridge scholar level, how could he not even think of a few words?
Actually, he answered that way on purpose, wanting Ju Jingyi to snap out of the emotion of misunderstanding him. Although she wanted to punch him now, it didn't matter. It was normal for friends to bicker, and besides... he couldn't make it up anymore. Alright, he was just at a loss for words.
"Alright, you dare to perfunctorily deal with me!" Ju Jingyi left her seat, waving her small fists, but retracted all her strength before they touched him.
"Ah! Your Royal Highness, spare my life, I won't dare again." Yi Xing fell to the other side, then raised both hands in a gesture of surrender, pretending to cry out in pain.
"You're faking it so badly. This Royal Highness didn't even use force. For the sake of you making this Royal Highness happy, I'll let you off this once. Don't let there be a next time."
"Yes, Your Royal Highness."
After a little impromptu acting, the two looked at each other and laughed at the same time. Yi Xing's laughter was unconsciously led astray, just like Ju Jingyi's, a clear and resonant "hahaha" burst from his mouth.
Next, they returned to their eating nature. The dishes on the table visibly decreased. Who could blame a certain person for not having eaten for too long and missing it so much? After the plates were basically cleaned, he stood up and put on the jacket that was placed next to him.
"I'm done eating. Let's go, I'll take you back."
"Okay, where are you staying tonight?"
"There, that hotel."
Yi Xing, who had walked out the door, pointed to the hotel he had booked.
Ju Jingyi looked in that direction and nodded, "It's quite close to my dorm."
"Yes." He silently added the unspoken words in his mind, 'Of course it's close, I specifically chose it.'
A short while later, they arrived at the back door of Star Dream Theater. This was usually where staff and group members entered, and few people knew about it.
"So, I'm going in?"
"Go ahead."
"Is there nothing you want to say to me?" Ju Jingyi looked at him with her captivating big eyes.
"I don't think so."
"Oh, okay."
Not hearing what she wanted to hear, the light in her eyes dimmed considerably. She slowly turned around, and just as she was about to open the door and go in, Yi Xing's voice came from behind her.
"Jingyi, this is for you." He took out the little rabbit pendant that had been in his pocket all night.
"Wow! Did you bring this back from abroad?" Ju Jingyi took it. One look and she knew it wasn't a domestic craft.
"Yeah, I saw it in Spain and thought it was pretty, so I bought it."
"Thank you, I love it!"
"I'm glad you like it. Go on in, good night!"
"Mmm, good night!"
Yi Xing watched her push open the door and go in, then turned around and walked towards the nearby hotel.