“Ah, that scared me to death.”
Just as Chen Qi was about to make a move, Xu Lu shrank back.
Chen Qi directly grabbed her hand and said, “Don’t be afraid, it’s not scary.”
Xu Lu’s slender hand was smooth and soft, incredibly pleasant to touch.
She didn’t pull it away, letting Chen Qi continue holding it.
Around them, couples in the surrounding seats had already started kissing, and the atmosphere instantly became subtle.
“Look at them… shouldn’t we do something too?”
“Brother Chen, they’re couples.”
Xu Lu didn’t want things to progress that quickly. Kissing on their second meeting… although many gold diggers could go all the way after just one meeting, she couldn’t do that.
Chen Qi had been stirred a little by the atmosphere and Xu Lu’s fragrance, but he wasn’t completely carried away yet.
After the movie ended, it was just in time for dinner.
“Let’s go eat. What do you want?”
The coffee Xu Lu had just bought wasn’t quite to Chen Qi’s taste, so she let him choose.
“What does Brother Chen want to eat?”
Actually, I kind of want to eat at that two-star Michelin restaurant.
Chen Qi hated being asked what to eat the most. Every time he went out with Li Ting, they would spend ages deciding—this wouldn’t work, that wouldn’t work.
Now that he heard Xu Lu’s thoughts, he immediately said, “Let’s go to Socrates, the two-star Michelin restaurant.”
Xu Lu was a little surprised. She wrapped her arm around his. “How did Brother Chen know I wanted to eat there too?”
“Isn’t that just telepathy?” Chen Qi replied.
It wasn’t that Chen Qi couldn’t afford a three-star Michelin restaurant—it was just that Donghai City only had one two-star Michelin restaurant.
Xu Lu suddenly thought of something. “Brother Chen, Socrates requires reservations. It’s already past 17:00, there definitely won’t be seats left. Maybe we should choose another place?”
Her previous suitors and ex had taken her there before, and reservations were always hard to get.
“I’ll call and ask.”
Chen Qi was staying in the Presidential Suite at Hildo Hotel. Butler Li had mentioned that if the hotel’s food didn’t suit his taste, they could have dishes delivered from Socrates.
This was called high-end “golden spoon service,” where Michelin restaurants partnered with luxury hotels to serve high-end clients.
“Butler Li, I’m planning to dine at Socrates later. Can you help me reserve a table?”
“Mr. Chen, please wait a moment. I’ll call you back shortly.”
About a minute later, Chen Qi received a call from Butler Li.
He smiled slightly at Xu Lu. “It’s settled. Let’s go.”
“Brother Chen is amazing. Such a hard-to-book restaurant, and you got it with just one call.”
Chen Qi had expected an increase in favorability, but there was no notification.
Sure enough, girls who had seen the world had higher thresholds.
About twenty minutes later, the two arrived at Socrates. After Chen Qi gave his name, a waiter led them to a window seat.
Chen Qi had seen on Douyin that Socrates was designed like an aquarium. Dining inside felt like being underwater.
From the window seat, they could see sharks swimming past, adding a unique charm.
Chen Qi glanced at the menu. The prices were outrageously high.
In a five-star hotel, a seafood fried rice priced at 300 yuan was already considered expensive. Here, it was 900.
“Lulu, you order. Just pick what you like,” Chen Qi said, handing over the menu.
“Then I’ll order. If you don’t like something, we can change it.”
“It’s fine. Just order whatever you want,” Chen Qi said generously.
Xu Lu had already seen Chen Qi’s financial strength. Since he said to order freely, he definitely wasn’t being polite.
“Then I’ll have the French blue lobster sashimi.”
The French blue lobster was considered the best among lobsters. It was said that only one appeared among 2,000,000 lobsters—a rare marine creature comparable to a living fossil, both exquisite and difficult to obtain.
One cost around 2,000 yuan, but with a Michelin chef preparing it, this dish was priced at 4,288 yuan.
“Alaskan king crab three ways, Canadian geoduck sashimi, black truffle, matsutake…”
Xu Lu ordered six dishes, totaling nearly 18,000 yuan.
“Brother Chen, is this okay?”
“Of course, but it’s still a bit little. Add one or two more.”
Seeing that most of the dishes were seafood, Chen Qi added two portions of Kobe beef and a tin of caviar.
“Sir, our caviar is sold by the gram—100 yuan per gram,” the waiter said.
“Is it not sold by the tin?”
“It is. One tin is 25,000 yuan.”
“Alright, bring one tin. One for each of us.”
The waiter was slightly shocked, but after working here for five years, he had seen many wealthy people in Donghai City.
Chen Qi’s order wasn’t even the most extravagant.
25,000 yuan for caviar… and one tin each? My god, is this how rich people spend?
This must already be about 70,000 yuan… I need to take more photos later.
“Sir, what kind of wine would you like?” the waiter asked.
Chen Qi didn’t understand wine, let alone high-end ones.
“Do you have any recommendations?”
“We recently received a few bottles of Château Pétrus from France. It’s from the same region as Lafite, but the taste is even better, and the price is slightly higher.”
“How much?” Chen Qi was curious.
“3,038 USD.”
Xu Lu quickly took out her phone to convert the exchange rate.
That’s about 22,000 yuan… damn, this meal is over 90,000 yuan.
[favorability +2. Current: 25]
Hearing the system notification, Chen Qi thought to himself—indeed, romance was the most effective way to move a woman.
No, correction… money was the most effective.
At Socrates, dishes were served one by one. Only after finishing one would the next be brought out.
“Brother Chen, can you help me take some photos?”
“Come, I’ll help you.”
Chen Qi took Xu Lu’s phone and snapped photos rapidly.
His photography skills were decent—honed through being scolded by Li Ting.
But now he wasn’t afraid anymore. If you dared say his photos were bad, then he simply wouldn’t take any.
“Brother Chen, you take such good photos!”
Xu Lu was very satisfied with the results. With just a little editing, they’d be ready for posting.
“You got it backwards. It’s because you’re beautiful that the photos look good. When someone is pretty, any angle looks good.”
“We haven’t even had dessert yet, and Brother Chen’s words are already this sweet.”
Xu Lu immediately sent the photos to her group chat.
“Girls, who understands this? This meal costs over 90,000 yuan!”
Sister Zhang replied, “Lulu, is it that handsome guy from yesterday?!”
“Yes, he asked me to accompany him to buy a car this afternoon. He paid 4.38 million yuan on the spot and bought a Ferrari 488.”
“Then we went shopping, and he bought me 66,000 yuan worth of La Mer.”
“Now we’re eating at Socrates. Just the wine costs 22,000 yuan, and the caviar is 25,000 yuan.”
Xiao Jing replied, “Oh my god! Lulu, this is the ultimate rich husband!”
“Your luck is insane, I’m so jealous.”
“I didn’t expect it either… he’s just so willing to spend.”
Sister Zhang said, “Is he the son of some listed company?”
“I don’t know, he hasn’t talked about his family.”
Dining at a Michelin restaurant was an experience. Each dish came with an introduction from the waiter.
The meal lasted over two hours. Watching fish swim by while listening to live piano music, it felt as if they were aboard the Titanic.