11:30 AM…
As a massive corporation worth several trillion, Bingning Corporation owned an enormous complex in the city center. It had over 50,000 employees and covered a total area of 3,500,000 square meters. In the land-scarce Magic City, this was simply unbelievable.
The entire complex consisted of 15 buildings. The tallest one, an 88-story skyscraper, served as the headquarters. The remaining buildings, each around 50 to 60 stories high, included administrative buildings, office towers, residential buildings, dining buildings, entertainment buildings, leisure buildings, research buildings, production facilities, and various other functional structures.
Among them, the dining, entertainment, and leisure buildings, along with parts of the complex itself, were open to the public. These housed world-renowned hotel brands and luxury labels, forming an integrated hub of dining, leisure, and entertainment. It had become a famous commercial sightseeing destination in the Magic City.
Today, Leng Bingning was hosting lunch for her unfortunate husband Zhu Tianfan and her doting seventh brother Leng Xingche, so naturally, they went to the dining building.
The interior of the dining building was extravagantly decorated. In addition to countless international hotel brands, Bingning Corporation’s own catering department was also located inside.
This catering department was no ordinary cafeteria. It employed renowned chefs from all over the world.
There were chefs specializing in East Asian and Southeast Asian Chinese cuisines, represented by Dragon Nation dishes. There were also chefs focusing on Western cuisines from Europe, the Americas, and Oceania, centered around French cuisine. In addition, there were chefs specializing in Turkish cuisine and dishes from Central Asia, South Asia, West Asia, and Africa.
No matter what kind of cuisine existed in the world, the catering department could prepare it. They had even hired members from African grassland tribes and Amazon rainforest tribes to recreate authentic tribal dishes.
According to Bingning Corporation’s employee benefits, as long as employees used their personal access cards to make purchases in the dining, entertainment, or leisure buildings, they would receive a 23% discount.
“Mr. Zhu, Mr. Leng, this way please. For today’s lunch, the CEO has arranged the highest-standard Western meal to host you both. I am honored to accompany you throughout the meal.”
As a competent secretary and assistant, Gu Qingcheng arrived right on time at 11:30 to inform them.
Seeing Zhu Tianfan staring at her open neckline with eyes that were both clear and foolish, Gu Qingcheng’s curiosity deepened.
What exactly had happened between the domineering CEO and her husband that transformed a once useless man into someone with such strangely innocent eyes?
“Thank you! Thank you! Really, thank you so much, Secretary Gu!”
Even with his domineering CEO wife beside him casting cold, cutting glances, he simply couldn’t tear his eyes away from Gu Qingcheng’s exposed neckline.
[Waaah… the beautiful secretary really is both pretty and kind. Just look at that sweet, gentle smile—it could melt a person! Only a woman like this is worthy of being a wife! Tch! That vicious woman doesn’t even have such a smile, she just stares at me coldly all day long!]
[Tsk tsk… the Bingning Hotel run by that vicious woman’s catering department truly lives up to its reputation as the most luxurious hotel in the Magic City. Even the service staff all score above 80 in looks, and the managers easily hit above 90!]
[Hmm, they’re all beautiful, but they still can’t compare to my vicious woman or the beautiful secretary. One’s a perfect 100, the other a 99. If only I could stay here and spend a whole day cuddling with the beautiful secretary…]
[Wait, why is that vicious woman treating me to the highest-standard Western meal today? That doesn’t make sense. In my previous life, whenever I came to see her, I was always told to stay in the reception room and given a boxed meal…]
[I get it now! She’s actually treating that flashy seventh brother. I’m just here as a bonus! Tch! Treating your own husband like this… serves you right if the adulterer ends up tearing your heart out!]
…
Meanwhile, as Leng Bingning listened to her husband’s endless stream of resentful inner thoughts, she felt both furious and embarrassed… and a little wronged.
What a nonstop, nagging, resentful husband. And what a shameless man—thinking about cheating the moment he saw a pretty woman.
The boxed meal had been his own idea back then. He insisted on staying in the reception room and called it “saving money.” Now he twisted it into her abusing him by not feeding him.
And today’s top-tier Western meal… she had clearly arranged it to make up for those past meals, even bringing along the beautiful secretary Gu Qingcheng to accompany him. Yet in his mind, it had turned into her hosting her seventh brother instead.
In truth, the seventh brother was the one who had come along as an afterthought.
And he really had no shame. Earlier, he lay in the lounge pretending to sleep for an entire hour right under her nose, secretly glancing at her while cursing her in his heart, as if trying to vent years of resentment all at once.
Now, after seeing Gu Qingcheng’s sweet smile and alluring figure, he had completely forgotten about his own wife, his mind filled with fantasies of holding the secretary in his arms.
If not for the need to maintain a smile in front of employees dining nearby and the visiting tourists, Leng Bingning would have already kicked Zhu Tianfan into a cripple to vent her anger.
Suppressing the rage surging in her chest, Leng Bingning shot Zhu Tianfan a cold glance and stiffly led him to his seat.
This time, the highest-standard Western meal she prepared was a traditional 13-course French banquet made by a renowned French chef.
Served in sequence, it included a cold appetizer, soup, hot appetizer, fish, main course, hot dish, cold dish, sorbet, grilled items with salad, vegetables, dessert, savory pastries, and sweets—a full 13-course experience.
There were delicacies such as lobster, pheasant, foie gras, steak, snails, cod, oysters, and more. Each dish was presented on exquisite, one-of-a-kind tableware, making even the utensils themselves a visual display of luxury.
“Sister, this feast is incredible. I feel almost overwhelmed by your generosity! Come on, brother-in-law, eat more. Thanks to you, we get to enjoy these French delicacies—normally, they’re not easy to come by!”
Faced with such a spread, Leng Xingche completely forgot about his sister and brother-in-law not having started yet. He picked up his knife and fork and began eating elegantly yet quickly.
A four-person French banquet worth 3 million was something he only enjoyed once or twice a year. Opportunities like this were rare—after all, the catering department didn’t always have such premium ingredients available, and access was usually restricted by membership levels. Only Leng Bingning could ignore such rules.
Another reason was simple—he wanted to finish quickly and leave, before his sister got angry again because of his brother-in-law and forced him to sing and dance.
As for the adopted sister Leng Xiner, he wasn’t particularly close to her anyway, so he couldn’t be bothered to look for her.
At this moment, Zhu Tianfan held his knife and fork with clear dissatisfaction.
French cuisine was fine, but the utensils were cumbersome. No matter how elegant or beautiful they were, they couldn’t compare to a simple pair of wooden chopsticks.
“Waiter, bring me a pair of chopsticks!”
The moment he spoke, everyone’s attention turned toward him.
Before the staff could respond, Leng Xingche, who had been immersed in eating, awkwardly looked up and said softly, “Brother-in-law, you can’t use chopsticks for a French meal. You have to use the proper knife and fork set.”
Just as he finished speaking, a voice sounded nearby—one that made Zhu Tianfan frown instinctively.
“Bingning, you’re dining here as well? What a coincidence.”
“The finest steak is best enjoyed when cut with elegant knives and forks. That’s the proper etiquette of Western dining.”
“If you don’t understand, let Bingning teach you. Otherwise, embarrassing her in public wouldn’t be very good.”