“What a coincidence!” Sun Heng said with a heartfelt smile. “Did your sister come along?”
“She did!” Su Nian excitedly pointed to where Shen Moran was sitting. “Not only my sister, but my mother is here too. We are all having a family meal.”
Sun Heng’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Oh, so that is your mother.” That nearly led to a misunderstanding earlier.
Su Nian did not grasp the meaning behind Sun Heng’s words. In fact, when Su Nian had shouted and rushed over earlier, Shen Moran had already noticed them. Sun Heng gave Shen Moran a bright smile and waved, then walked over with Su Nian.
“What a coincidence,” Sun Heng said, her eyes fixed on Shen Moran. “Are you all dining here? How is the food?”
Shen Moran was quite surprised to see Sun Heng. Seeing that the woman had changed into a different outfit and was clearly here for social purposes, she turned to Su Nian and said, “You really are something. Miss Sun Heng has things to do. Why did you drag her over here?”
Su Nian stomped her foot in grievance and tugged on Sun Heng’s sleeve. “My sister was just standing there alone. What could she possibly have to do?”
Shen Moran looked at her disapprovingly. “Is that any way to speak?”
Seeing that the two sisters were about to argue, Sun Heng smiled and explained, “Miss Shen, you have misunderstood. I actually own this restaurant. Since it just opened, I am here to do a routine check. There really is nothing urgent to attend to.”
Shen Qing’ai glanced back and forth between the three of them, her gaze lingering on Su Nian’s hand, which was still holding Sun Heng’s sleeve. Upon hearing that Sun Heng owned the place, she raised an eyebrow.
“A young lady like you is quite capable to own such a large establishment. That could not have been easy, right?” Shen Qing’ai said with a smile.
Sun Heng also smiled. “You are too kind, ma’am. Please, eat whatever you like today. It is my treat.”
Shen Moran hurriedly declined. “That is very kind, but we are fine paying for our own meal.”
“It is really no trouble. It is not much money anyway.” Sun Heng felt she had made her presence known enough. Plus, seeing the manager signaling to her from nearby, likely needing her to attend to other clients, she turned to Su Nian and said, “You should spend time with your sister now. I have to get back to work.”
Although Su Nian was reluctant, she knew that adults had work to do, so she watched dejectedly as Sun Heng followed the manager away, then slumped back into her chair.
As she watched Sun Heng leave, Shen Qing’ai asked, “Who is that?”
Shen Moran took a bite of her steak and replied, “Niannian’s online dating partner.”
Shen Qing’ai sat bolt upright, turned to Su Nian, and exclaimed, “You are dating?!”
Su Nian covered her ears and turned away, refusing to acknowledge her mother.
Shen Qing’ai lectured her for a long time about how she was only in her second year of high school and only seventeen years old; how could she be in a relationship? And if she were to date, why an online relationship? They were unreliable and prone to scams. Su Nian kept her ears covered and acted as if she could not hear a word, finally closing her eyes as well to pretend she was deaf and blind to it all.
Seeing her younger daughter’s reaction, Shen Qing’ai sighed and turned to grill Shen Moran. Shen Moran did not hide anything and gave her mother a full account of Sun Heng’s situation.
“So, are you saying that yesterday we owe it to her for taking Niannian in?” Shen Qing’ai asked.
Su Nian immediately uncovered her ears and began to praise Sun Heng. “My sister—I mean, her—she is amazing. She is beautiful, has a great personality, is compassionate, and she is an incredible cook. I have never eaten such delicious food before. She really is an outstanding person, Mom.”
Shen Qing’ai eyed her sideways. “Outstanding or not, it has nothing to do with you. You are not allowed to date.”
Su Nian, unhappy, insisted, “She said that once I graduate from high school, we can be together.”
Shen Moran frowned upon hearing this and asked Su Nian, “She actually said that?”
Su Nian hesitated, looking less than confident. Shen Qing’ai immediately saw through the lie, poked her temple with her finger, and scolded, “You child, you have learned to lie? She runs such a big business; surely she knows the importance of an education? You must have made that up. Do not think I do not know what you are thinking.”
Shen Moran looked at her mother and asked, “Mom, do you not think you are focusing on the wrong thing?”
Shen Qing’ai and Su Nian both turned to look at her, asking in unison, “What is wrong with it?”
Shen Moran: “Sun Heng is a woman.”
Sun Heng instructed the manager to comp the bill for Shen Moran’s table. The manager was a bit puzzled, but since the restaurant had just opened, frequenting guests often received such gestures, and it was the boss’s direct order.
“Thank you for your hard work lately.” It was past midnight when Sun Heng finished entertaining her clients. The Sky Garden restaurant was closed, leaving only the indoor dining area open. With few customers left, Sun Heng checked the day’s revenue and felt satisfied.
The manager was a young, thin, energetic woman who flashed a bright white smile. “Thank you, Sister Heng. Our business will surely get better and better.”
“Business is hard to predict. I will be happy as long as I can break even,” Sun Heng said, looking at her. She pulled out her phone, transferred some money, and said softly, “You girls have all worked hard today. Here is a little bonus for everyone.”
The manager’s eyes widened at the amount. “This is too much, Sister Heng.”
Sun Heng whispered, “Just take it. I am giving this to you privately, so do not let the accountant see, or they will complain that I am messing with the ledgers.”
The manager beamed and accepted it, promising repeatedly, “Thank you, Sister Heng. I will thank you on behalf of everyone.”
Sun Heng waved her off, reminded them to get home early, and left with her bag.
The streets were empty late at night. Sun Heng was in a great mood. She rolled down the window to catch the autumn breeze, then rolled it back up when it got cold, then opened it again when it got warm. She laughed at her own playful back-and-forth.
Between the hotel and the restaurant, she was providing over a hundred jobs, and with the support staff, she was ensuring at least two hundred people had work. She was not just burning money; she intended to turn a profit, so she would need to increase investment and marketing later.
Resting her hand on the car door, she waited at a red light and suddenly thought of Shen Moran. She wondered how their meal had gone. As the boss, should she reach out to ask?
Sun Heng decided this was a perfectly reasonable excuse, so she opened her phone and found Shen Moran’s profile.
She had changed her avatar.
It was no longer that cute, silly sunflower, but a family portrait of three.
Shen Qing’ai stood in the middle, smiling happily while holding both her daughters’ hands. Shen Moran looked as cold and detached as ever, wearing a brown trench coat and standing expressionless, appearing indifferent to the photo. Su Nian looked slightly aggrieved, as if she had just been scolded, and was not even smiling at the camera.
Sun Heng could not help but chuckle and saved the photo.
The light turned green, but Sun Heng did not rush. She stared at their chat interface. Their history remained the same few lines. This ice-queen goddess seemed to hate her; it had been half a day, and she had not replied with a single word.
Sun Heng thought for a moment and tapped out a message.
Sun Heng: “How was the meal today? Did the food at our restaurant suit your family’s taste? If you want to come back, let me know in advance next time. I will have the manager save you the best table. The night view is beautiful.”
She added: “It is too late, get some rest. I am heading home now.”
With two pings, Shen Moran’s phone, sitting on the table, lit up. She was wearing blue-light-blocking glasses, typing away at her computer, and thinking it was work-related, she picked it up, only to find it was Sun Heng.
She is still up at this hour?
Shen Moran looked at the text, her eyes cold behind the silver-rimmed lenses. After two seconds of hesitation, she closed the chat interface, set the phone aside, and went back to work.
Ever since meeting Sun Heng earlier, Shen Moran had been in a foul mood. Especially with Su Nian constantly praising the woman, it just made her more annoyed.
This person had reached out to her countless times today, asking for money or offering dinner, and now she said she could arrange a table if they came back.
If Shen Moran had known it was Sun Heng’s restaurant, she would never have stepped foot in it.
She did not know what was so special about the food; Shen Qing’ai and Su Nian thought it was delicious, but Shen Moran found it bland, no better than a street food stall, and yet it was priced so expensively.
It was a total ripoff.
When checking out, the cashier said it was not necessary to pay because Sun Heng had ordered them to be comped, but Shen Moran had paid with a dark expression and dragged her mother and sister away without looking back.
She did not want to be involved with someone like Sun Heng.
Now, this woman was pestering her again. Shen Moran felt more irritated the more she thought about it and decided to ignore her, hoping that after a couple of days, the woman would forget all about her.
But while Shen Moran ignored Sun Heng, others did not. Since Su Nian’s schoolwork was not too heavy lately, Shen Moran was busy at work, and Shen Qing’ai did not live with them, Su Nian, having nothing to do after getting home from school, found herself secretly reaching out to Sun Heng.
“Sister.”
Su Nian called Sun Heng while lying on the sofa, clutching her phone. “Are you working today?”
Sun Heng looked at the game booth in front of her, wondering if this counted as work.
“No,” Sun Heng told her. “Is something up?”
Su Nian rolled over happily, propping her head up and swinging her thin legs. “Tomorrow is the weekend and school is out. Can I come visit you at the shop?”
Visit the shop?
Sun Heng thought back to the Sky Garden restaurant where she had bumped into the Shen family, then looked at the game booth in front of her. She put one hand on her hip and said, “Do not come to the restaurant. How about this: tomorrow, you come out, and I will take you to the countryside to play.”