Chapter 404: Chapter 324: Shen Qingning’s Suspicions

Cheng Zhu sat across from Lin Lu, listening to her response. While feeling slightly surprised, he also felt like something hit his heart.

He was just stirring up some ambiguity on purpose to see if he could steer the conversation towards “drunken words.”

But instead, she counterattacked straightforwardly.

He couldn’t defend against it, not at all.

Right at that moment, the waiter came to serve food, presenting a creative new dish consisting of a piece of roast duck on a slice of bread, topped with a bit of caviar.

The presentation was delicate, resembling pastry, and was served in a small box.

“Eat up, eat up,” Cheng Zhu said.

Previously, it was always him who had made Lin Lu’s heart flutter wildly.

Now however, after she went all out, she directly rammed into Cheng Zhu’s heart, creating chaos.

— Truly, a wild heart.

This feeling of an amateur beating the master made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

“Being sincere is the ultimate trick” was something Cheng Zhu never believed in before.

He even once said, “Sincerity is a suicide technique that kills oneself.”

But today, he started to believe it a little…

The two of them continued to eat and chat casually.

After a while, Lin Lu’s phone buzzed.

She picked it up and saw a WeChat message from Shen Qingning.

This aloof girl, after getting into the car at the KTV entrance and glancing at Lin Lu’s parked Land Rover, struggled internally for a long time.

She drove straight back to Xinhang Apartment, returning to the three-room flat she shared with Lin Lu.

After sitting on the sofa, she looked at the empty living room and sent Lin Lu a WeChat message.

“I see your car is still parked at the KTV entrance,” typed Shen Qingning.

“Yeah, didn’t drive it back yesterday,” Lin Lu replied.

“Are you at home?” she asked.

“Nope, I’m having dinner with Cheng Zhu,” Lin Lu responded frankly.

She had long told Ningning that she had fallen for Cheng Zhu.

Thus, actively inviting him to dinner was nothing she felt embarrassed to admit.

Although Shen Qingning had vaguely guessed this, seeing Lin Lu’s reply still plunged her into brief silence.

After a while, she simply replied, “Okay.”

From the content of their chat, it was clear Lin Lu had initiated the dinner with Cheng Zhu.

Meaning, it was she who took the initiative.

Cheng Zhu just accepted the invitation.

However, at this moment, Shen Qingning was pondering another question.

“Even my brother, who is so dense, asked me after the birthday gathering whether Lin Lu has some feelings for Cheng Zhu.”

“That means Lu Lu is already too obvious, anyone can see it.”

Poor Shen Minglang had no idea how he was regarded by his own sister.

The usually sober and arrogant girl had previously not dwelled on a question due to internal conflicts and avoidance.

But now, because of Shen Minglang, a thought emerged in her mind, “What about Cheng Zhu himself?”

Does he know that Lin Lu likes him?

“I don’t believe such a smart man wouldn’t know,” Shen Qingning slightly lowered her eyelids, convincing herself firmly!

…

…

Inside the restaurant, Lin Lu put down her phone and saw Cheng Zhu watching her, so she said, “It’s Ningning.”

“She just drove from KTV and saw my car still there, so she asked me about it.”

Hearing this, Cheng Zhu felt a chill in his heart but casually remarked, “Oh, is that so?”

“Does she know you’re not spending your birthday with her this year but with me instead?” This man found a good point to delve into.

You two are supposed to be close friends, but you chose romance over friendship this year, huh!

It was also a way to probe and convey some ambiguity.

“I told her that you treated me to a meal, and Ningning isn’t someone who would feel I chose romance over friendship,” Lin Lu answered.

After gathering the information, Cheng Zhu subtly nodded, “Alright then.”

This matter would definitely cause him trouble.

But he wouldn’t dwell on it today.

After all, it was Little Lu’s birthday, and with her causally landing blows like an amateur besting a master, making his heart flutter, her happiness was his priority today.

Today, Lin Lu’s happiness was paramount.

Naturally, her happiness seemed to come quite easily.

Her appetite seemed even better than usual, continuously eating without adhering to the so-called “self-figure management of a pretty girl” like usual.

Actually, Cheng Zhu always felt she carried her weight smartly, knowing where to grow.

After both had their fill, he asked Lin Lu, “Where to next?”

“Do you have anything busy this afternoon? If you have things to handle, go ahead, and I’ll just hang around without disturbing you,” Lin Lu asked first.

She knew Cheng Zhu was a busy man.

She had seen how some girls could be demanding, acting as if on their birthday or a holiday, their partner must revolve solely around them, putting all serious matters aside, otherwise they’d secretly deduct points in their hearts, even feeling unloved.

“Jiang Wanzhou said Cheng Zhu’s ex-girlfriend was like that?” Lin Lu thought to herself, “Not me!”

Cheng Zhu looked at her, pondered for a moment, and replied, “I need to stop by the teahouse briefly, but it won’t take long. Let’s go there later; I can make you a cup of tea.”

“Shh!” Lin Lu looked down at her stomach, inhaling sharply.

“Cheng Zhu, I was mentally prepared to ‘sin’ today, but I’m already stuffed from lunch, and tea in the afternoon too, isn’t that too sinful?” she asked seriously.

Cheng Zhu understood–she wanted to drink, but needed him to persuade her.

He smiled, “It doesn’t matter, you only have a birthday once a year.”

“That’s not true. I have two birthdays this year, one with my family on the lunar calendar and one with you on the solar calendar,” Lin Lu giggled.

“We are leaving?” he asked.itemId: Analyze text and provide answers with Emphasis on CSS

“Alright.”

After Cheng Zhu had paid the bill, he took Lin Lu to Star City.

Unfortunately, the shop was so crowded that there were no seats available for her to wait while he was busy.

“Why not endure a bit and sit at the Starbucks across the street?” Cheng Zhu asked.

“But I don’t feel like drinking coffee, I want the tea you make,” Lin Lu said.

“Then just order some dessert or a baked good,” Cheng Zhu suggested.

“No way, I can’t eat any more!”

“I’ll eat then,” Cheng Zhu said, unable to hide his amusement.

“Okay!”

Lin Lu went into Starbucks and started ordering.

After handling the business in the shop, Cheng Zhu also went outside to chat with the leader of the scalper group.

He had notified him previously that measures against scalping would be implemented in the shop after New Year’s Day, staying upfront about the unpleasant situation.

Given their cooperative background, which was quite pleasant, understanding was mutual between the parties.

For a popular teahouse like Youu Tea, not taking any action against scalping would be odd.

Over time, the complaints from consumers would only increase.

For this kind of viral tea, scalping could exist, as it was a convenience for the wealthy.

Time is money, some people’s time isn’t valuable, but for others, it’s precious.

But it shouldn’t be so blatant, so over the top.

After the chat, Cheng Zhu went into the production room to make the tea for Lin Lu.

The staff, noticing the boss had come in person, all thought the same thing, “Which beautiful girl came to the shop today?”

“Is it the one with the long legs, the cute one, or the one with glasses?”

“Enough… There’s a new face again!”

Cheng Zhu didn’t worry about what they were gossiping about.

He just stood there, texting Lin Lu.

“What do you want to drink?”

“I want to try something I haven’t had before!”

“Alright, then I’ll make you a new product that will be launched after New Year’s.”

“Yay!”

Lin Lu didn’t expect that the tea shop would be launching new products so soon.

She was a bit curious as she sat in Starbucks and texted, “Am I the first one to drink it?”

“Apart from the staff in the store, you are,” Cheng Zhu answered truthfully.

Lin Lu replied with a playful emoji of a kitten pawing at a cat toy.

Cheng Zhu smiled and put down his phone, starting to prepare the once massively popular drink–Fleshy Grapes.

Fleshy Grapes was one of the long-standing stars among fruit teas, as enduring as Cheese Mixed Berries, having stood the test of the market in a previous life.

Personally, Cheng Zhu preferred Cheese Mixed Berries more because he didn’t like the fruit… grapes in the tea.

But since this fruit tea had been a hit and remained a bestseller in various tea shops, it meant its market acceptance was very high, and many people really liked grape-flavored fruit teas.

And speaking of which, this tea’s name was quite suitable for Lin Lu.

Inside the production room, the staff watched as the boss personally made the Fleshy Grapes and exchanged glances.

The ingredients in the store weren’t abundant because it hadn’t been officially launched yet; these ingredients were there for them to practice after hours and familiarize themselves with the production process.

“The boss is making the new product!”

“Who is it for?”

“It must be for someone special.”

Soon, Cheng Zhu finished making the tea.

Looking at the Fleshy Grapes in his hand, he was satisfied.

“If all goes well, many eyes are already on Youu Tea,” he thought.

Hang City, as a major domestic city, also had its “venture capital circle.”

These people had no reason not to notice Youu Tea.

But many were still observing whether its popularity was temporary or sustainable.

After all, high-end viral tea shops like Youu Tea were the first of their kind nationally, making them somewhat unpredictable.

These days, some people had attempted to contact Cheng Zhu, but he felt they weren’t quite up to standard.

Like Hey Tea in his previous life, its takeoff began with that multimillion-dollar financing.

Cheng Zhu: Squatting for a big shot!

Introduction of new products after New Year’s was also a tactic of his.

My brand is capable of continuously launching new market-approved products, possessing this creativity!

At the opening, only launching Cheese Mixed Berries and Black Sugar Popo, these new market products, was entirely his intention.

…

(ps: Second release, asking for monthly vote.)