Chapter 31
Lu Yu ended up being extremely curious about host Lei Feng, even suggesting that they visit the host club again one day and try out her luck in receiving a stash of clothes.
However helpless Tang Mi was, she still kept her mouth shut. Lu Yu interrogated her all day yet being unable to squeeze any information out of her, she eventually gave up.
The exchange conference officially began. Participants came from seven countries, each represented by at least a dozen or so chefs. Tang Mi had never expected to see Lin Che within the crowd.
Seeing her walking over, Lin Che whispered a few words to the Korean chef beside him and happily headed towards her: “I didn’t think I’d see you all the way here overseas, would this be called “a meeting over a thousand miles”?
Tang Mi felt like she had been drowned in bad luck: “If I knew you were here, I would’ve preferred not to have come. “
Lin Che laughed a little, without any malice: “It’s a great opportunity to participate in the exchange conference, and seeing that Yu Yi had sent you here, he must have high hopes for you. “
Tang Mi turned her head away in silence. The organizer came over and asked everybody to take a seat, then spoke a few opening words before showcasing some delicate pastries for everyone to enjoy.
These were delicacies that the Japanese chefs had prepared beforehand. All participants of the conference were required to prepare some of their best pastries, and since Japan was hosting the event, they were the first to be showcased.
Lu Yu took photos of the cakes whilst walking through to post onto Weibo. Just as she hit the upload button, she caught sight of Yu Yi and Luo Hao walking over. She was so shocked that she almost dropped her phone.
CEO Yu was also participating in the conference? I haven’t heard about this before.
“Hello CEO Yu!” Lu Yu greeted Yu Yi with great enthusiasm. “Are you also participating in the exchange conference today?”
“No, I’m only here for an inspection, so I dropped by on the way. ” Yu Yi scanned the hall, where everyone was taste testing different cakes and occasionally exchanging a few words. The atmosphere was very harmonious.
His eyes patrolled the area before landing upon Tang Mi.
Tang Mi had her head down tasting a cake, before lifting her head to talk to Jonathan next to her. On her right was a blacked haired youth. Yu Yi’s brows moved ever so slightly at the sight of the man.
It was Lin Che.
He had been aware of Lin Che’s presence from the participant list.
Luo Hao looked in the direction of Yu Yi’s line of sight and his mouth formed a downward curve.
“Let’s go. ” Yu Yi turned around to head in the opposite direction. As he brushed past Lu Yu, he paused and asked her, “Are you familiar with Japanese culture?”
Lu Yu wasn’t quite sure she understood the question so she simply nodded: “Somewhat. “
“Then write an introduction manuscript on Japanese culture for me, no less than 30,000 words. “
Lu Yu: “…”
Wait wait, why do I have to write this? I’m in PR, not the Cultural Department!
“CEO.. ” Lu Yu watched as Yu Yi disappeared from view, and left the rest of her sentence unspoken.
The exchange conference continued until 3 o’clock, leaving the rest of the day free.
Tang Mi planned to return to the hotel but was stopped by Lin Che’s voice as she headed out, “It’s not easy coming all the way to Japan, so why don’t we go out and explore a bit?”
“No it’s okay, I already walked around yesterday so I’m a little tired. “
Lin Che kept persisting, “Then let’s go grab something to eat, I know a really good Japanese restaurant. “
“I’m not hungry. “
Tang Mi turned away from him. Lin Che subconsciously reached out to grab her arm but at that moment, he saw two tall figures heading towards them.
The man in the front was Yu Yi, wearing a grey three piece suit, carrying an aura that made him unapproachable.
A stark contrast to the person at the Italian restaurant.
Lin Che raised his brows and retracted his arm.
Yu Yi stopped next to them and tilted his head towards Tang Mi: “Let’s go, didn’t we already decide to go eat together?”
Tang Mi: “…”
When did we decide that?
…. Yu Xin? No no no, Yu Xin couldn’t be this handsome.
Yu Yi stared at her as if waiting for a reply. Tang Mi’s gaze met his beautiful obsidian eyes, and immediately responded, “Oh, right, dinner. “
Lin Che smiled at her and asked, “Didn’t you say you weren’t hungry?”
“I got hungry the moment I saw CEO Yu. “
…
It wasn’t until they got into the car and reached a street in the middle of Tokyo, did Tang Mi start to wonder how they had ended up in this situation.
As she looked over at the silent Yu Yi, she opened her mouth before closing it again.
Yu Yi caught sight of her small movements, and asked indifferently, “Are you on good terms with Lin Che?”
Tang Mi hastily answered, “Not one bit! It’s not even as good as our relationship!”
Yu Yi tilted his head to her but didn’t comment. Tang Mi’s heart skipped a bit and then added, “I just wanted to emphasise that my relationship with him is really not good at all. “
Yu Yi looked away and replied in monotone, “Using our relationship to show that your relationship with him is bad is implying that you think our relationship is also just as bad. “
Tang Mi: “…”
Aren’t you being too sensitive about it?
She gulped and then smiled, “You are my superior at work, our relationship can’t be defined as being ‘good’ or ‘not good’. “
“So I am just a superior to you?”
Yu Yi’s tone of voice carried no implication in particular, but the question still made Tang Mi’s heart beat quicken.
Yu Yi waited for a long while and took her silence as a yes. His pupils dilated a little as he asked, “How about Yu Xin?”
“Yu Xin?” Tang Mi laughed a little, “Didn’t you say he’s a little weird in the head? I just think of him as a little child hahaha. “
Yu Yi didn’t press on any further, simply shifting his gaze over to the window and they fell back into silence.
Tang Mi felt as if she narrowly survived from death nine times.
The car came to a stop shortly afterwards. Tang Mi thought Yu Yi would’ve taken her to a high class Japanese restaurant but instead they had arrived at a Japanese bakery shop.
The shop had a very traditional interior, and even the workers were wearing kimonos.
Similar to normal restaurants, there were also private rooms. A store worker welcomed them into one of these rooms.
The room had a low table that was longer than a usual Japanese style table, large enough to fit at least five people. Some Japanese cherry blossoms and a traditional style ink painting were hung on the wall that faced the entrance. The pink flowers were in full bloom, almost like a sky full of pink clouds.
Tang Mi followed Yu Yi’s actions as he sat down. He said a few words to the store employee who expressed surprise before bowing and leaving the room.
It was uncomfortable kneeling down so Tang Mi quietly shifted her position, but when she saw Yu Yi look over, she immediately sat up straight and quietly laughed.
Yu Yi poured her some tea and said, “You can sit whichever way feels comfortable. “
Tang Mi resisted for a bit, however, she couldn’t help but change into a cross legged position.
She heard some workers say something outside the door, before a line of people walked into the room.
Tang Mi watched as each person placed a different dessert on the table, realising why the worker had such a surprised expression on her face.
After everyone exited the room, Tang Mi stared with her eyes wide open at all the food on the table and asked, “Did you order everything on the menu by any chance?”
Yu Yi blandly responded with a simple confirmation, “Yes. “
Tang Mi: “…”
Strawberry daifuku, sakura cookies, dorayaki, gelatin desserts, dango… you wouldn’t even feed a pig as much food as this.
“This… can we finish it all?”
“We don’t have to finish everything. ” Yu Yi picked up a stick of dango and handed it to Tang Mi, “We’re only taste testing. “
“Taste testing?” She took the dango from his hands, still trying to understand his words.
“Have you heard of Starlight Plaza? The underground level is a hall going under reconstruction. “
Tang Mi nodded: “I know, I heard they were going to completely transform it. “
“Yes, I rented the space, and I’m planning on creating a dessert wonderland there. “
Tang Mi froze for a moment, then her thoughts started rushing around.
Shit! Did she just hear about an extremely secretive business plan!?
“I want to divide the area into various dessert stores, with each store selling desserts from different countries. This way, people don’t have to travel all the way to another country just to taste their local sweets. “
“That sounds amazing! “Tang Mi put the dango down, her eyes bubbling with excitement, “This idea can attract a lot of different people! It really will be like a dessert wonderland!”
Yu Yi looked at her, his eyelashes fluttering ever so slightly, “You also think this is a good idea?”
“Not just good, but brilliant! If it goes well, I will definitely visit and eat from every store!:
Yu Yi was also influenced by her excitement, and subconsciously curved his lips upwards, “However, in order to make sure the flavours are as authentic as possible, each pastry chef has to be picked carefully. The desserts are a factor that cannot be neglected and must also be thoughtfully chosen. “
“Mhmm,” Tang Mi nodded in agreement.
“I wanted to invite Yuuichi to run the Japanese store, but he refused. “
Tang Mi pondered for a moment, “Is Yuuichi the owner of the host club?”
“Yes. “
Tang Mi said comfortingly, “That’s okay, even though his cakes were delicious, there are sure to be other suitable people you can choose too. “
Yu Yi nodded, “This was the main reason for why I came to Japan. ” He stared at the table full of desserts and faced Tang Mi, “This store has a wide variety of Japanese sweets, however, there are too many to use them all, so let’s select a few. “
“Ah, I see. ” She finally pieced together that the reason CEO Yu brought her to dinner was also for work reasons.
She thinned her lips before picking up the dango again and biting into it, “Hm, the texture of this is very chewy. The thick sauce is also very rich, so I believe this could be very well received. ” She swallowed and then inquired, “What about assistant Luo? Why not let him come and share his opinion?”
Yu Yi picked up the sakura cookie and blatantly responded, “He has his own business to attend to, let us just eat as we are. “
Tang Mi: “…”
Assistant Luo really didn’t have it easy.
