"I don't eat much. Small appetite, you know?"
Lynn Chen replied, her tone hard to pin down. She glanced at Evan Lin, who stayed silent, then added, "I could eat even less next time."
Once they left the apartment complex and hit the street, the two of them flagged down a taxi. Evan gave the driver the address, and with a stomp on the gas, they sped off.
Inside the cab.
Evan Lin and Lynn Chen sat together in the back seat, pretty close. Lynn crossed her hands, fidgeting with her fingers, sneaking glances at Evan every so often.
"You don't have to be so nervous. It's just a casual dinner, that's all."
Evan sighed. From the moment they left Lynn Chen's place until now, he could sense her mood shifting. No matter how calm she tried to act, she couldn't hide how tense she was inside.
"I'm not nervous at all. Honestly, it's your roommates who should be nervous."
Lynn blurted it out, then let out a soft sigh and turned her head to look out the window.
Lucy Lu's pep talk still echoed in her mind. If this was a war, there had to be winners and losers. Right now, Lynn could only hope Evan's two roommates weren't too overpowered.
Even though it was one against two, and Lynn was confident in her looks and figure, deep down she still felt a little intimidated.
Riversouth Garden Bistro was located in a bustling commercial district, with a distinctly classical decor. Each table was separated by redwood partitions.
"Let's sit over there. I'll call and check."
Evan led Lynn to a window seat and sat down side by side.
Outside the clear glass window was a bustling street. While Evan called Stella Huang and Irene Xu, Lynn kept glancing outside, adjusting her breathing and mentally cheering herself on.
At this moment, she really missed Yolanda Fang. If Yolanda were here, she’d already be charging ahead, blocking the enemy at the restaurant entrance and launching the attack.
But with Yolanda absent, Lynn could only fight alone.
"They’ll be here in five minutes. Go ahead and order whatever you like."
Evan handed Lynn the menu. She glanced at it, originally wanting to order Beggar’s Chicken, but remembering her mother’s advice about greasy dishes, she chose clear-stewed crab-roe meatballs instead. After weighing Dongpo pork and Longjing shrimp, she picked the shrimp, skipping the fatty pork.
No matter what, order dishes that look on the lighter side. Otherwise, you might end up with a reputation as an 'oily girl.'
Lucy Lu’s advice echoed in Lynn’s mind as she ordered.
Every dish Lynn picked felt like a cautious, high-stakes move.
After she finally chose five elegant, tasteful dishes, Evan asked, "Done ordering?"
She nodded, but before she could hand the menu to the waiter, Evan grabbed it, scanned the list, and quickly added Beggar’s Chicken, Dongpo pork, crystal pork knuckle, and other heavy, fatty, and clearly less refined dishes.
"Eat up, since we’re out. The food here should be pretty good."
Evan added dishes at lightning speed, basically ordering whatever came to mind.
The waiter was quietly surprised by Evan’s way of ordering.
Once Evan closed the menu and handed it over, the waiter confirmed the order and left. Just then, the restaurant door was flung open from outside.
The door swung open.
Two stunning figures appeared.
Two distinct perfume scents drifted in on the breeze from the doorway.
One was a gentle, intellectual scent, the other a bold, fiery fragrance of a mature woman.
The moment those scents appeared, many diners instinctively looked toward the door.
Damn!
So pretty!
Amazing! That one in the white lace off-shoulder dress—her chest is huge! And those legs, I could play with them for a lifetime and never get bored!
And the other one, the woman in the black hooded coat—her aura is insane, total big-company elite!
As the two women walked into Riversouth Garden Bistro, most men stared with burning eyes, while most women looked on with envy.
Quite a few men only looked away after their female companions stomped on their feet.
Stella Huang wore a black hooded trench coat, her hands in her pockets.
She’d styled her hair in a bun, and after years at the TV station, her confident, intellectual aura was even more striking than usual.
Irene Xu had put on flawless makeup, and her already stunning figure was shown off by a white lace off-shoulder dress she’d bought on a recent overseas flight. As she walked, the hem swayed, revealing glimpses of her gorgeous legs.
Two absolute stunners.
Stella pushed up her red-framed glasses, her gaze shifting, adding a cool edge.
"Over there."
When Stella saw Evan sitting by the window, her face softened a little.
Irene also spotted Evan and walked over.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Irene pulled out a chair and sat directly across from Lynn Chen, beaming.
Stella sat across from Evan.
The moment the two women sat down, every man in Riversouth Garden Bistro glared daggers at Evan.
Having a cute girl in a princess dress for company was already great—now there were two more!
That guy isn’t even that good-looking, how’s he so lucky?
With all eyes on him, Evan felt a headache coming on, surrounded by three women.
His gaze moved from Lynn Chen to Irene and Stella, and he could only smile wryly to himself.
They say three women make a drama. The meal hadn’t even started and the show was already underway.
Stella and Irene were clearly teaming up, ready to test Lynn.
Only now did Evan realize why, when he said he might be late, Stella and Irene sounded relieved—even a bit pleased.
They were probably busy with makeup, outfits, and hair.
"No worries, we just left home ourselves."
Lynn steadied herself and quickly responded.
She made sure to emphasize the word home.
She bit down hard on the word.
On one side was a naive student, on the other an experienced, smart reporter and a bold, beautiful flight attendant.
Stuck in the middle, Evan couldn’t help but wonder if he’d made a mistake inviting them all to dinner.