Under meals

Chapter 28 Cake

Jing Ci arrived at the restaurant earlier than Tao Mingzhuo.

Today is a working day, and this restaurant has always adopted a reservation system, so logically speaking, there should not be too many guests coming to eat.

However, when Jing Ci entered the door, she found that there were many more guests than she expected.

Just as the waiter ordered her to sit down, Jing Ci received a message from Li Yupo.

Li Yupo: "I'm always uneasy if I don't give you something, so I ordered a bouquet of flowers for you as before."

Li Yupo: "Oh, by the way, after your sister-in-law reminded me, I ordered a sweet cake for you and your partner to share together."

Finally, he added another sentence: "I forgot to write the most important sentence on the card, happy birthday, Xiaoci."

Jing Ci knew that Li Yupo belonged to the type of person who would always feel uncomfortable if he didn't spend some money recklessly.

He didn't have time to correct the word "object" in the sentence, so he could only reply helplessly: "Thank you."

Jing Ci shook her head with a smile, put down her phone, took a sip of water, and was about to send a message to ask Tao Mingzhuo where he was, but suddenly found that the decoration on the table looked a bit wrong.

Not only are the flowers decorated with roses, some ambiguous English phrases are embroidered on the napkins, and even the bases of the candlesticks are heart-shaped.

Jing Ci hesitated for a moment, but finally called the waiter over and asked what was going on.

The waiter explained: "Because tomorrow is 520, most of the seats that day have been booked in advance, so there are also many couples who choose to have dinner tonight."

"We have replaced all the double seats with such tableware in advance, which can be regarded as a warm-up." She observed Jing Ci's expression and said, "Of course, if you need it, we can also help You switch back to plain decoration."

Jing Ci was stunned for a moment, and said, "It's okay, let's do it first."

He lowered his eyes, looked at the words "Iwasenchantedtomeetyou" on the napkin for a moment, then smiled and shook his head.

Jing Ci has been living abroad for the past few years. The only festivals related to couples that she knows are White Valentine’s Day and Qixi Festival, but she never thought that the Chinese homophony of the original numbers can also turn a certain day into a festival to commemorate love.

While in a trance, Jing Ci saw Tao Mingzhuo appear at the door of the restaurant.

Under the guidance of the waiter, Tao Mingzhuo first looked at where Jing Ci was, then nodded to the waiter, raised his legs and walked towards Jing Ci.

Tao Mingzhuo wore a dark shirt today.

He was originally tall and long-legged, so as long as he wore a slightly more formal clothes like this, he would look extraordinarily handsome and upright. Many young girls couldn't help but sneak sideways glances at him.

Jing Ci smiled and said to him, "Good evening."

Tao Mingzhuo nodded stiffly, took a seat opposite Jing Ci, and said after a while, "Good evening."

Jing Ci handed him the menu, and said softly: "Their set menu is more classic. If you want to order some other dishes, we can add them at any time."

He saw Tao Mingzhuo flipping through the menu absently.

After a while, Tao Mingzhuo closed the menu again and said, "The set meal you mentioned is ready."

Jing Ci said, "Okay."

The dishes of French cuisine are relatively complicated. Appetizers, soups, main courses and desserts are served one after another, and the waiters at each table are very conscientious. Begin to enthusiastically introduce the raw materials used in each dish and the chef's handling techniques.

Tao Mingzhuo kept his head buried in his meal, which resulted in the two having little time to have a conversation after the whole meal.

Dessert is a very small mousse, the overall diameter is no more than five centimeters, served in a small glass spoon.

Jing Ci saw Tao Mingzhuo slowly picked up the spoon, looked at it for a moment, and then directly stuffed it into his mouth.

The amount of French food is very small. According to Jing Ci's understanding of Tao Mingzhuo's meal intake, he feels that Tao Mingzhuo should only eat about [-]% full by conservative estimates.

It happened that Jing Ci also planned to order a birthday cake, so she directly greeted the waiter and asked, "Excuse me, what kind of cakes do you have here?"

When saying the word "cake", Jing Ci felt that Tao Mingzhuo's body froze slightly.

Before the waiter had time to speak, Tao Mingzhuo suddenly raised his head and said abruptly, "I think I'm already full."

Jing Ci was startled, and asked hesitantly, "Are you sure?"

Tao Mingzhuo didn't look at him, but staggered his gaze, gave a low "hmm" and said, "I, I ate a lot at noon today, and I've never been particularly fond of sweet things."

"So don't order it, it should be a waste." He paused, and then said, "If you want to eat, you can order one for yourself."

Jing Ci ordered the cake to share with Tao Mingzhuo, and then told him that today is her birthday, and she was very happy to have him to spend it with her.

Tao Mingzhuo seldom showed such a firm rejection attitude towards food, so Jing Ci felt that he might be really full.

Jing Ci is not a very traditional person either. Although he feels a little regretful, it doesn't really make a big difference to him whether he has a birthday cake or not.

Jing Ci hesitated for a moment, then nodded, and compromised: "Then I won't order."

They were quiet for a while, Jing Ci continued to eat the dessert on the plate, Tao Mingzhuo was silent opposite him, and drank the red wine in the glass bit by bit.

Jing Ci always felt that Tao Mingzhuo's mood didn't seem particularly high today.

After finishing the dessert, Jing Ci put down the tableware, called the waiter and asked for the bill.

After swiping the card, Jing Ci asked softly, "Shall we go home?"

Tao Mingzhuo was staring at the wine glass in a daze, he was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously asked: "Now... shall we go back?"

Jing Ci was also taken aback for a moment: "...do you want to do anything else? We can also go for a walk outside together."

Tao Mingzhuo didn't speak for a long time, and Jing Ci always felt that his expression looked a little strange, as if he was waiting for himself to say something.

Jing Ci asked: "What's wrong?"

Tao Mingzhuo pursed his lips: "You—"

He seemed to have something to say for a long time, but seeing Jing Ci's blank face, Tao Mingzhuo opened his mouth slightly, and finally lowered his head and said, "Let's go."

Jing Ci felt that Tao Mingzhuo was in a very strange state today, even after getting out of the car, the steps towards the gate of the house were a lot longer than usual.

After opening the door, Jing Ci saw the huge bouquet of flowers placed in the center of the coffee table in the living room, and immediately showed a look of astonishment.

There was no expression on Tao Mingzhuo's face, he said to Jing Ci: "You, wait a moment."

Jing Ci watched Tao Mingzhuo enter the kitchen, and when he came out again, there was a square cardboard box in his hand.

"When I went home to change my clothes today, I met the courier," Tao Mingzhuo said bluntly, "They said that someone brought you flowers and cakes."

"But I think he wanted to give you a surprise, so he didn't tell you just now." He said, "...to you."

He put the cake box directly in Jing Ci's hands.

Tao Mingzhuo let go of his hand very quickly, as if he didn't want to touch the handle of the cake box for a second, and Jing Ci almost missed it.

Things happened so fast, no matter how clear-headed a person is, it would be difficult to sort them out in a short time.

Jing Ci hesitated for a moment, put the cake on the tea table first, then glanced at the card on the bouquet, and immediately realized that Li Yupo should have ordered it for herself.

In the afternoon, he had been talking with his partner. After the conversation, he found two more calls from unknown numbers on his mobile phone, but he didn't pay attention. Now that he thinks about it, it should be the call from the courier.

Jing Ci looked into Tao Mingzhuo's eyes and said, "Thank you for signing for me."

Tao Mingzhuo stared straight at his face for a while, then turned his gaze away after a while, and said, "You're welcome."

"I'm sleepy." He took a few steps back in a panic and said, "I, I'm going to bed first."

Jing Ci was startled, and saw that Tao Mingzhuo seemed not very interested, but after hesitating for a moment, he still asked softly: "Can you accompany me to have a bite of cake before going to bed? Because today is——"

Tao Mingzhuo interrupted him dryly: "I don't want to eat, I'm quite full, and the cake was given to you by someone else, so it doesn't feel good if I eat it."

Jing Ci froze for a moment.

"I, I don't mean anything else. But if you don't like a person, you should make it clear to him earlier." Tao Mingzhuo paused, then whispered, "He has given you so many years Hua, every time it is on such a day, you, you..."

Tao Mingzhuo choked for a moment, and couldn't speak anymore.

He realized his gaffe, and also realized that what he said sounded like an angry child, so he didn't dare to look into Jing Ci's eyes for a while.

"Forget it, this is your own business, and it has nothing to do with me." He turned around hastily and said, "I, I'm going to sleep first."

Tao Mingzhuo took a deep breath, lowered his head, and when he was about to walk towards the room, he heard a soft "ah" from Jing Ci behind him.

"But," he heard Jing Ci say, "today is my birthday."

Tao Mingzhuo's footsteps stopped abruptly.

He froze for three seconds, then turned around in disbelief, and stared blankly at Jing Ci: "...you, what did you say?"

Tao Mingzhuo saw the bright smile in Jingci's eyes.

"That person has not only sent me flowers and gifts for many years, but will continue to send me flowers and gifts in the future." Jing Ci said, "Because he is my brother."

Tao Mingzhuo's eyes suddenly widened.

"And, if it's just like what you said," Jing Ci walked up to Tao Mingzhuo step by step, raised her face slightly, "If my matter has nothing to do with you—"

"Then why are you upset, Tao Mingzhuo?" He asked softly.