Rebirth begins with studying hard

Chapter 30 You like him?

The private room was booked at a private restaurant next to the sports center.

It's a private room with four seats.

After Shen Jin sat down, Lu Jie sat down opposite him.

After Shen Jin sat down, he pulled two of the three sets of bowls and plates on the table to his side, and prepared to invite Zhong Muqing to sit next to him.

Before he could even speak, he saw Zhong Muqing sit down opposite him with Lu Jie.

Then she pulled over a set of dishes that she had arranged: "Uncle, I'll sit here."

Shen Jin smiled but didn't say anything, pushing the menu on the table towards Lu Jie:

"Young man, order whatever you'd like to eat, don't be shy."

Lu Jie politely accepted the menu. Since the host had asked him to order, it would seem a bit deliberate to refuse.

But he definitely couldn't order randomly, since he didn't have much interaction with the other person and was a junior, so ordering expensive or niche dishes wouldn't be appropriate.

He glanced at the menu and then picked out a local home-style dish from Feicheng: "I'll order a Sanhe stir-fry."

After the waiter made a note of the menu, he handed it to Zhong Muqing: "You order, I'm not picky."

"Why did you only order one dish? Don't be so polite with us!" Zhong Muqing pushed the menu to Lu Jie, and when he didn't take it, she thought for a moment and then laid the menu flat between her and Lu Jie.

Then, opening the recommended menu page, I first addressed the waiter:

"Are all of these your specialty dishes?"

After receiving confirmation from the waiter, she pointed to the first dish and said to Lu Jie:

"Lu Jie, want to eat Huizhou stinky mandarin fish?"

"I'm not picky, as long as you like it," Lu Jie said.

Zhong Muqing nodded and said to the waiter, "Order the Huizhou stinky mandarin fish."

Then, pointing to the subsequent dishes, he confirmed with Lu Jie one by one:

"Would you like some braised wild mountain chicken?"

"How about braised abalone with deer antler mushroom sauce?"

"Would you like some braised beef brisket prepared using the traditional method?"

Lu Jie is actually not picky about food, so he just said, "Whatever you like is fine," and then Zhong Muqing ordered everything.

Seeing that she was about to ask for his opinion and continue ordering the featured dishes, he stopped her: "Let me ask you first... what kind of dish would your uncle like to eat?"

Then Zhong Muqing waved her hand and said, "My uncle isn't picky; he eats everything. See what you want to eat."

Shen Jin chuckled and replied, "I'll listen to Qingqing, I won't be picky."

Feeling the strange look in Shen Jin's eyes, even the usually composed Lu Jie felt a little embarrassed.

He stopped Zhong Muqing again: "I think we have enough food."

"Let's serve first, and we'll add more if it's not enough."

Zhong Muqing counted and ordered five dishes. After thinking for a moment, she added a matsutake chicken soup, making a total of six dishes. She felt that this should be enough, so she closed the menu.

After instructing the waiter to serve the food, Shen Jin took out a pack of cigarettes and asked Lu Jie, "Want a smoke?"

"Lu Jie doesn't smoke." Before Lu Jie could speak, Zhong Muqing answered for him, "Uncle, you shouldn't smoke either."

Shen Jin nodded, put away his cigarette, opened the menu, flipped to the drinks page, and said to Lu Jie again, "Want some baijiu?"

"Lu Jie doesn't drink," Zhong Muqing answered for Lu Jie again.

She paused for a moment, then emphasized, "He's a good student; he doesn't smoke or drink."

Lu Jie does not smoke, but he can drink with Zhong Muqing's uncle.

Since Zhong Muqing had already put it that way, he couldn't very well say he could drink, so he nodded in agreement: "Yes, I don't smoke, and I don't drink much either."

It just feels a little strange.

Shen Jin smiled and said, "Okay, let's have some drinks then."

While waiting for the food, Shen Jin chatted about everyday things.

"Lu Jie, are you from Feicheng?"

Seeing Lu Jie nod, he then went along with it and mentioned that he was from Feicheng and had lived and grown up there. He said that when he came to the sports center before, it was all vegetable fields, but now it's all a modern city.

After reminiscing for a while, he casually asked, "What kind of work do your parents do in Feicheng?"

Lu Jie was very frank: "My mother has a stall in the vegetable market where she sells fruit."

He didn't mention his father's matter either.

Shen Jin didn't ask any further questions, but simply nodded and praised, "The fruit business is doing quite well."

He always started each conversation by talking about himself, and then casually asked about Lu Jie's family situation.

Although she is like other elders, she likes to inquire about other people's lives and extend the conversation, but unlike others, she always stops short and doesn't say much or discuss anything further.

There was nothing that made Lu Jie feel uncomfortable or offended.

Without realizing it, Lu Jie felt as if he had revealed all the information.

In just a few words, the other party understood everything about him.

Shen Jin, meanwhile, was observing Lu Jie while chatting casually.

Lu Jie presented himself as composed, talkative, confident, and adept at gauging the appropriate level of intimacy in conversation.

There was no childishness or deliberate attempt to appear mature that was typical of children this age.

What surprised him most was that although Lu Jie's family was not well-off, he did not shy away from talking about his family or feel discouraged like other students in similar situations.

She spoke with great confidence about her mother, even with a sense of pride in her family.

Overall, he had a pretty good impression of Lu Jie.

Looking at Zhong Muqing, who was very close to him, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

In the morning, he heard Zhong Muqing say that some classmates would come to cheer her on, but he didn't pay much attention to it.

Even though the person who came was a boy, and not the girl she had expected, she didn't really care.

They thought it was Zhong Muqing's classmate in the sports class.

But when he saw her with her classmates during the breaks in the competition, he felt something was off.

I've never seen her be so close to any man.

While ordering and waiting for food, he had never seen her show such concern for any man.

He didn't even receive this treatment.

It was obvious that she treated this young man named Lu Jie very differently.

Are you in a relationship?

But it doesn't seem to have reached that level of intimacy.

However, it's also possible that she's being more reserved in front of him, her elder.

While he was observing Lu Jie, Lu Jie was also observing him.

He is gentle and refined, and his speech is pleasant to hear. Even when discussing potentially offensive topics, he speaks with the warmth of a spring breeze.

He has extremely high emotional intelligence, the best he has ever seen in both his lives.

Even though they only ate soft drinks instead of alcohol during the meal, the conversation led by Shen Jin still created a harmonious atmosphere reminiscent of having drunk several rounds of alcohol.

At the same time, he could also sense that Shen Jin doted on Zhong Muqing.

Afterwards, Lu Jie bid farewell to Zhong Muqing and her uncle:

"You're too kind, there's no need to see me off. It's just a few bus stops from home."

"It's right next to the sports center bus stop."

After agreeing to meet Zhong Muqing at the sports center the next morning, he headed towards the bus stop.

Shen Jin's car was parked at the sports center, in another direction, so he and Zhong Muqing walked towards the parking lot.

"Qingqing, do you like him?" After walking quietly for a while, Shen Jin suddenly asked.

"Yes, that's right." Zhong Muqing readily admitted, "You wouldn't believe me even if I said no, would you?"

This directness left Shen Jin speechless.

He knew that Zhong Muqing's temperament was not like that of an ordinary girl, but he did not expect her to admit it so readily.

After a moment of silence, he didn't continue the topic, but instead said:

"What are your thoughts on the matter I told you this morning, your father's plan for you to attend Stanford Graduate School of Business after your junior year of high school?"