CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 43 COULD IT BE THAT... I’M FALLING FOR HIM?

Zhang Jingdong chatted a few more sentences with Xiao Fei, then said, "Alright, I’ve been busy for a while now. You should go rest early upstairs, I must head back to the store."

Xiao Fei reluctantly nodded: "Okay, then... goodbye!"

Zhang Jingdong smiled, turned around, and was about to leave.

But suddenly, there was a voice from behind: "Wait a minute..."

Zhang Jingdong tensed up and slowly turned around: "What’s the matter?"

Xiao Fei said with a charming smile: "Mr. Zhang, could you reserve a private room for me on Saturday night at 7 o’clock? I’ll bring my dorm mates to support your restaurant!"

Perhaps her smile at the moment was too rare and too sweet, Zhang Jingdong subconsciously nodded: "No problem."

But just after he finished speaking, he had a mysterious regret, yet he couldn’t take it back, so he could only say: "Okay, I’m off, goodbye!"

He said and walked away without looking back.

He didn’t go to the restaurant but directly returned to Spring Breeze Garden.

After washing up, he spent about ten minutes looking at himself in the mirror.

"My eyes seem even brighter. There used to be four small moles on the left side of my face, now only one remains, and the acne marks have almost disappeared... tsk tsk, I’ve become more handsome!"

He went back to his bedroom satisfied and fell asleep within less than ten minutes of lying down.

These days had been so hot, and he had been running around all day, he was indeed a bit tired.

...

The next day was Friday.

After finishing his morning classes, Zhang Jingdong went directly to the store and stayed there until five in the afternoon.

He first checked the various etiquettes and service details of the waitstaff, then went to the kitchen to try the dishes made by Han Xu the chef and the other two main chefs.

After tasting the dishes, he finally had some confidence.

Because there are two keys to make a restaurant near the school a big hit.

One is the taste of the dishes, and the other is affordable prices.

Presently, Han Xu’s skills could almost match Chen Dalong, and although the other two main chefs were slightly inferior to Han Xu, they were certainly on par with the chefs at Sichuan Restaurant.

On the latter, Zhang Jingdong made a bold move by offering a discount of 30 yuan on a spend of 100 yuan, and a direct 50% discount for a card charged with 500 yuan.

Even more aggressive was that the price of similar dishes in his restaurant was generally 3 to 5 yuan cheaper than at Sichuan Restaurant.

Mao’s Braised Pork was sold for only 25 yuan, tasty shrimp for only 20 yuan, and chili pork for only 18 yuan.

In addition to that, what made Zhang Jingdong particularly confident was that he almost replicated all the advantages of a famous Hunan cuisine restaurant from his previous life, and moreover had strengthened many aspects.

At 9 p.m., after ensuring all the details for the opening tomorrow were set, he finally went back to Spring Breeze Garden.

Halfway there, his phone suddenly rang; it was An Lu calling, he answered directly: "Hello..."

"Are you busy right now?"

"I just finished being busy. Just came out from the store, tomorrow is the opening, so there’s a lot to do. What about you, what were you doing just now?"

"I... I was doing some yoga, then watched a TV series for a while."

Zhang Jingdong’s interest piqued instantly: "You do yoga?"

"I learned it with a colleague before, it felt pretty good, so I practice for an hour every evening."

"No wonder your figure is so good! Yoga is an excellent exercise indeed. Not only does it shape the body, but it also improves the flexibility of the limbs."

Zhang Jingdong had one more thing he didn’t say, which was that later on, she could also unlock various difficult poses with her boyfriend.

An Lu unsuspectingly and firmly agreed: "Hmm."

Zhang Jingdong, seeing that the atmosphere had suddenly turned a bit cold, promptly asked: "What are you planning to do tomorrow?"

"I don’t know... maybe... I can come help at your store?"

As soon as An Lu finished speaking, she suddenly realized something was off and quickly added: "I mean, I don’t have much to do tomorrow, and since your store just opened, it must be really busy, I..."

Zhang Jingdong could certainly tell what she was thinking, so he said: "I was just about to ask you, but I felt a bit shy about it. If you could come over tomorrow, that would be great!"

"Besides, just having you walk around the store a few times would help attract a lot of customers."

Upon hearing Zhang Jingdong not only agree but also actively invite her, An Lu responded: "Okay, I’ll come over first thing in the morning."

Suddenly, neither of them spoke, but there was no awkwardness—instead, a marvelous atmosphere enveloped them.

Zhang Jingdong suddenly asked: "You called me today, was it just to ask what I was doing, or... did you miss me a little?"

After a full half minute, a mosquito-like voice came from the other side: "...yeah."

Then she hung up the phone.

"Host successfully gained 10 goodwill points from the target character, with a reward of 20,000 yuan!"

Zhang Jingdong looked at his phone, feeling very pleased inside.

An Lu’s call the night before last let him know that her feelings for him were already beyond her control, and today’s call made him fully realize her affection for him.

He felt that as long as she came over tomorrow and he took the opportunity to express himself, he would definitely see some results within a month.

A bank teller with stunning looks, a gentle demeanor, who also practices yoga, has such meticulous thoughts, and cares so deeply about him.

Any two of those traits would be worth cherishing, let alone her having them all, so he must give her a place!

At this moment, An Lu was covering her burning face with both hands.

She couldn’t believe she had just said that!

The night before last, she felt a bit lonely, a feeling she rarely experienced before.

She didn’t know why, as before meeting Zhang Jingdong, she was single but felt fulfilled with work during the day and reading or watching TV at night.

However, after meeting Zhang Jingdong, although they had only interacted for a few days, the experiences with him felt... splendid!

Yes, splendid!

They met in a bar, then he rescued her and took her to the hospital. Downstairs in the hospital, he also...

Then she invited him to dinner, encountered Liu Guokang’s revenge, and then he helped her out like Bruce Lee, and later she helped him with job interviews at those restaurants...

All of this made her feel that this man’s life was exciting, and she felt a wonderful sensation being with him.

She couldn’t exactly describe the feeling, but it just felt beautiful.

Then, after not contacting him for two days, she suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of loss and impulsively sent him a message.

That led to these two phone calls.

At that moment, a bold thought suddenly emerged in her mind: Could it be... that I’m falling for him?

As this thought appeared, it seemed like two debating selves materialized in her heart.

The opposing side said: How is that possible? He’s still a student, and you’re several years older than him, plus he’s so outstanding, don’t be delusional!

The supporting side argued: In the face of true love, age is not an issue, and he, in both manner and approach, is much more mature than his peers, even surpassing myself in many areas.

The opposing side countered: But what if you like him, and he doesn’t like you?

The supporting side insisted: Would he spend so much money on a bag for me if he didn’t like me? Would he have teased me like that if he didn’t like me?

Moreover, he just asked me that, and I... so he must... like me!

Eventually, the two selves started fighting.

An Lu’s heart was completely in turmoil, and with a bite of her lip, she bury her head into the pillow, feeling both embarrassed and delighted.