The original spread of “delicacies from the mountains and seas” had been replaced with one local specialty after another.
Even the bottle of aged Moutai had been swapped out for locally produced liquor from Beijiang.
Sun Yuanshan was a little bewildered. He cautiously glanced at the people beside him, only to find the same astonishment and shock reflected in every pair of eyes.
Apparently, none of them had arranged this.
At that moment, Wu Song smiled and said, “So Chucheng actually has this many delicious local dishes. Looks like I’m getting to enjoy them too.”
Sun Yuanshan hurriedly chimed in. “Exactly, exactly! These are all Chucheng specialties. Please, Governor and everyone, have a taste! It’s just simple country fare, so I’m not sure if it’ll suit everyone’s palate.”
Li Yao cast an imperceptible glance at Wu Song, then picked up his chopsticks and reached for a bamboo shoot.
It was tender and crisp, with a hint of natural sweetness.
“This is much better.”
The Governor set down his chopsticks with a satisfied nod and gave the food a favorable assessment.
Only then did Sun Yuanshan let out a sigh of relief.
During the meal, Wu Song stepped outside to take a phone call. Sun Yuanshan immediately followed him out. After Wu Song hung up, Sun Yuanshan hurried over and repeatedly thanked him.
“Thank you for saving my life, Secretary Wu!” he said sincerely. “The waiter just told me—you were the one who asked the kitchen to change today’s menu. If we’d served what we originally prepared, we definitely would have angered the Governor!”
Wu Song smiled and did not take credit for himself.
“Don’t thank me. It wasn’t my idea. It was Reporter Qiao’s.”
Sun Yuanshan blinked in surprise. “That young woman?”
“Yeah, her.” Wu Song smiled. “Reporter Qiao is from Chucheng. She probably hopes her hometown will become a better place too.”
Or perhaps, she simply didn’t want the Governor to get angry again.
But Wu Song kept that second thought to himself.
After speaking, he nodded at Sun Yuanshan and returned to the private dining room ahead of him.
Sun Yuanshan scratched the few remaining hairs on his head, only now belatedly realizing what had happened…
Li Yao did not drink. No one at the table dared urge him to, though several people were eager to come over and toast him.
Li Yao picked up the bottle of locally produced liquor and looked at it for a moment before setting it back down.
“I still have to visit the town this afternoon, so I won’t drink.”
Everyone nodded in agreement, lifting their teacups and toasting him with tea instead.
Before long, Li Yao had drunk an entire stomachful of tea.
As the tea leaves drifted up and down in his cup, he suddenly realized that the amount of tea he had consumed was probably worth enough to pay for this entire table of dishes.
Just as he was thinking that, someone beside him asked, “Governor, do you smoke?” As he spoke, he offered him a cigarette.
A cigarette after a meal was said to be better than being a living immortal.
But they had not seen Li Yao carrying any cigarettes and assumed he simply didn’t smoke.
Li Yao shook his head. “No, thank you.”
“Is it because you’re not used to this brand?” the man asked again.
Rather than answer directly, Li Yao asked, “Are you married?”
“Over five years now!”
The man looked quite young, so no one had expected him to have married so early.
Li Yao smiled and asked, “No daughter?”
“No, just a son. He’s a real handful!” The young man chuckled. Thinking the Governor was simply taking an interest in his personal life, he continued, “I’m actually jealous of people who have daughters. Girls are so much better—well-behaved and obedient. Nothing like that little brat of mine!”
Li Yao shook his head.
“Once you have a daughter, you won’t be able to smoke so freely anymore.”
“Huh?”
The young man blinked, not quite understanding.
Some of the others at the table, however, understood immediately. They instinctively glanced at the only young woman at the table and quietly put away the cigarette packs they had been about to take out.
The Governor was telling them that there was a young woman at the table, so they shouldn’t smoke.
The young man realized it a moment later and awkwardly put his cigarette away.
“Sorry, sorry.”
Li Yao smiled.
“I mean, once you have a daughter, someone will be ‘supervising’ your smoking all the time. By then, you’ll be completely under her thumb.”
Everyone burst out laughing, but no one brought up smoking again.
They were, however, rather curious.
The Governor kept mentioning daughters. Could he already be married with children?
His background was extremely mysterious. All they knew was that he had come from the capital. And because of his unusual surname, they could vaguely connect him to a certain prominent figure frequently seen on television.
Beyond that, they could find out nothing.
Someone at the table finally worked up the courage to ask, “Governor, forgive me for being so presumptuous, but may I ask if you’re married?”
Li Yao instinctively glanced toward Qiao Yimian before answering honestly.
“No. I’m single.”
Qiao Yimian, however, had not been paying much attention to their conversation.
More accurately, ever since they had stopped talking about work, her attention had shifted entirely to the food.
She had been away from home for nearly a month and had not tasted the food of her hometown in a long time.
Although Linchuan and Chucheng had similar climates and eating habits, even when it was the same dish, something always seemed to be missing—the familiar taste of home.
And the food at this hotel really was excellent. While everyone else was talking, she quietly ate quite a lot.
As the surrounding voices gradually died down, Qiao Yimian looked up and realized that the rotating tabletop had stopped right in front of her.
It was a dessert: osmanthus yam.
Soft, white, fragrant yam was paired with sweet but not cloying osmanthus sauce. Though it was only early spring, the dish seemed to bring with it the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms in golden autumn.
Until now, she had only eaten whatever happened to be in front of her. The dish had never stopped within her reach before, and she had felt too embarrassed to reach across for it.
Now that the opportunity had finally presented itself, she quickly picked up her chopsticks and took a piece.
The sweet osmanthus sauce and soft, sticky yam melted together on her tongue, lingering deliciously.
So good!
Qiao Yimian’s eyes lit up.
When the tabletop remained still, she took another piece.
She ate three pieces in a row before the plate of osmanthus yam slowly rotated away.
Qiao Yimian couldn’t help looking after it, her gaze following the dish.
Before she could look away, a familiar male voice sounded.
“Is it good?”
The surrounding conversation had quieted considerably, and no one answered him.
Qiao Yimian realized something was off and looked up, only to discover that everyone’s eyes were fixed on her.
Only then did she belatedly turn toward Li Yao.
Their eyes met, and she realized that his question had been directed at her.
It was the first thing he had said to her since entering the room.
Qiao Yimian answered honestly.
“Mmm. It’s delicious. Would you like to try some?”
Li Yao shook his head.
“I don’t really like desserts.”
“Oh.”
*Then why did you ask?*
She complained silently but didn’t dare say it aloud. She simply assumed the Governor was showing some concern for the young reporter accompanying him in front of everyone.
What she hadn’t expected was that his “concern” didn’t end there.
Qiao Yimian watched as the marble tabletop that had just rotated away slowly came back around.
The plate of osmanthus yam stopped right in front of her again.
Li Yao gently reminded her, “Go ahead and eat.”
Qiao Yimian: “…”
Everyone’s eyes immediately converged on her face.
Her earlobes began to burn. The heat gradually spread to her cheeks, while the little flame in her heart started shooting upward uncontrollably.
*How am I supposed to eat with everyone staring at me like this?!*
Qiao Yimian was torn. She couldn’t bring herself to take another piece, but she couldn’t simply leave it untouched either.
Fortunately, the door opened at that very moment, and Wu Song and Sun Yuanshan entered one after another.
Qiao Yimian let out a quiet sigh of relief.
After entering the room this time, Sun Yuanshan was clearly paying much more attention to Qiao Yimian.
While the others were toasting Li Yao with tea, he took the initiative to strike up a conversation with her.
“Reporter Qiao, are you a local from Chucheng?”
Qiao Yimian shook her head. “I only lived in Chucheng for a while.”
“That still makes you half a Chucheng local! Then we’re practically fellow townspeople!” Sun Yuanshan picked up his teacup and walked over, conveniently taking the empty seat beside her.
“Meeting is fate. You look barely twenty. I’ll call you little sister! If you ever run into any trouble, come to your big brother. As long as it’s nothing illegal, I’ll take care of it for you!”
Qiao Yimian gave an awkward smile.
The man hadn’t even had a drop of alcohol, so why did he seem drunk already?
Sun Yuanshan lowered his voice and added, “You helped me earlier, so I’ll definitely return the favor!”
Only then did she realize that he was referring to the change of menu.
Qiao Yimian smiled without saying anything more and raised her teacup to clink it against his.
“We’re all doing it for Chucheng’s development.”
If they had angered the Governor again today, things would have been difficult to salvage.
She couldn’t quite figure out Li Yao’s temperament, but she could tell that he hadn’t liked the town’s extravagant welcome.
Sun Yuanshan was genuinely touched. He even reached out and patted Qiao Yimian on the shoulder, rather forcefully.
“Little sister, you’ve got guts!”
Qiao Yimian discreetly dodged his hand, somewhat speechless. The spot where he had slapped her actually hurt.
The deputy sitting beside Sun Yuanshan nudged him under the table.
Sun Yuanshan turned around in confusion.
“What?”
The deputy gave him a meaningful look.
Sun Yuanshan followed his gaze and happened to catch Li Yao staring at him with a dark, heavy gaze.
He hadn’t been in the private room just now and didn’t know about the subtle interaction between the two. Assuming Li Yao wanted to speak to him, he immediately hurried over.
“Governor, is there something you’d like me to do?”
Li Yao looked him up and down before his gaze settled on the hand Sun Yuanshan had just used to pat Qiao Yimian.
“Mind your boundaries.”
Sun Yuanshan didn’t understand what he meant, but he firmly adhered to the principle that whatever the Governor said must be right. He immediately nodded.
“Of course. I’ll be careful!”
Li Yao suddenly lost interest.
It was about time to leave anyway.
He stood up.
“Let’s call it here. We still have to visit the town this afternoon.”
Once he took the lead in leaving, everyone else followed, filing out of the private room one after another.
Sun Yuanshan had already arranged accommodations for them upstairs in the hotel. He hurriedly said, “Then why don’t you go back to your room and rest for a while? You can come back down once we’ve finished making the arrangements.”
Li Yao nodded.
The group got into the elevator.
Qiao Yimian was walking at the back when Wu Song handed her a room key card as they stepped out.
“Room 502. You’re the only woman in our group, so you’ve got a room to yourself.”
“Thank you.”
Qiao Yimian found Room 502 according to the number, tapped her key card, and opened the door.
Her suitcase had already been brought up and was sitting in the corner of the room.
She closed and locked the door behind her, then immediately flopped onto the bed and rolled over.
Her phone rang at that moment.
She picked it up and saw a message from the Governor.
**[Big Leader: You can do whatever you like this afternoon.]**
Qiao Yimian immediately sat up and replied.
**[Don’t you need me to follow along and cover the visit?]**
The Governor’s response was brief.
**[Up to you.]**
Qiao Yimian found it rather strange. She wondered whether there was some special event scheduled for the afternoon that wouldn’t be suitable for her to attend.
Then another message came from the Governor.
**[If you’re tired, you can stay at the hotel and rest. That’s fine.]**
Oh…
Was the Governor actually concerned about her?
Qiao Yimian was a little flattered.
After thinking for a moment, she typed:
**[Thank you for your concern, Governor. If you don’t have any other arrangements, I’d still like to come along. It’ll be a good opportunity for me to learn more!]**
This time, he didn’t reply.
Instead, he sent the same head-patting sticker as before.
Qiao Yimian’s earlobes grew slightly warm.
She exited the chat and tossed her phone aside.
The room fell quiet, and her scattered thoughts gradually began to settle.
She thought back to what had happened at the dinner table and couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
The Governor seemed to treat her a little differently from everyone else.
As if… he was paying a little more attention to her?
But the thought appeared only for a moment before she dismissed it.
She decided she was overthinking things.
Qiao Yimian rolled over on the bed and sighed in frustration.
She waited in her room for a while, but instead of receiving word that they were leaving, she was greeted by a sudden downpour.
The rain came hard and fast, dense drops hammering against the window until everything outside was soon obscured by a white curtain of rain.
Amid the heavy sound of rainfall, the doorbell suddenly rang.