"You're not eating anymore? Or maybe you should take it to go? It's such a waste, you barely took a bite out of some dishes..."
Lin Qiaoxia hesitated for a moment before persuading.
Mu Jinyu, picking his teeth with a toothpick, responded casually, "No more for me. That braised pork is a bit too greasy; I lost my appetite after a few bites. The steamed fish is tough, not fresh, and the pepper steak is too strong for my taste..."
Pointing out flaws in the dishes like a connoisseur, Mu Jinyu said, "If you want, you can try them yourself, they really taste terrible."
Having said that, he secretly swallowed his saliva.
In fact, those dishes weren't as problematic as he had described; he only said that to coax Lin Qiaoxia into trying them.
Like that braised pork, which Mu Jinyu really wanted to have a few more bites of.
Initially, seeing that Lin Qiaoxia was rather frail and seemed to suffer from malnutrition, he intentionally ordered more meat dishes. He had planned to only have a bite of this braised pork.
But after one bite, finding it irresistibly delicious, he couldn't help himself and ate a third of it, then forced himself to stop eating.
If he were to let himself eat freely, this plate of braised pork would probably be among the first three dishes to be finished.
Misinterpreting his remarks, Lin Qiaoxia thought they were indeed unappetizing, that Mu Jinyu didn't like them, nor did he want to take them home. At the aroma of the meat, she inadvertently swallowed her saliva, thinking how long had it been since she last had meat?
Should she try some? To see if it was as bad as Mu Jinyu claimed?
Lin Qiaoxia began to hypnotize herself.
So, she said, "Then I'll try some."
Then, she picked up a piece of appetizing, bright red braised pork with clearly defined layers of fat with her chopsticks.
As she picked up the braised pork, it trembled on her chopsticks. Lin Qiaoxia thought, it looked so appetizing; could it really be as greasy as Mu Jinyu had said?!
Why not try it?
It was as if a devil was whispering in her ear, urging her.
So, after glancing at the nonchalant Mu Jinyu, Lin Qiaoxia still opened her cherry lips and stuffed the piece of braised pork into her mouth.
"Mmm…"
The moment the braised pork hit her mouth, Lin Qiaoxia was enchanted by the long-lost aroma of the meat, involuntarily chewing; how could it be as greasy and unpalatable as described by Mu Jinyu? It was clearly rich but not greasy, melting instantly in the mouth, with distinct layers of meat...
It simply couldn't taste any better.
Reluctantly swallowing it down, Lin Qiaoxia quickly took a few bites of rice, then looked up at Mu Jinyu and said, "It's not at all as bad as you said, I find it extremely delicious, it's the best braised pork I've ever had."
Mu Jinyu gave her a glance and dismissively said, "Maybe it's because pork has been too expensive recently, and you haven't had much meat, so you think that way. Anyway, I find it quite horrible,"
He paused, then reminded, "If you think it's good, go ahead and eat it. If you don't, the waiter will just take it away and throw it in the slop bucket later."
Lin Qiaoxia was still hesitant about eating more, but Mu Jinyu's words immediately unsettled her.
Oh my, if she didn't eat it, it would later be taken away by the waiter and thrown into the slop bucket with such delicious braised pork...
Lin Qiaoxia found it unacceptable; that would be such a waste!
"Then I'll eat it."
Ultimately, Lin Qiaoxia was led by Mu Jinyu to accept the suggestion to eat his leftovers.
Following that, Lin Qiaoxia indulged in eating the dishes that Mu Jinyu particularly disliked.
To her, these dishes were clearly delicious!
Why would he dislike them?
Oh, perhaps the dishes were indeed unpalatable and not to Mu Jinyu's taste, but since she herself rarely had these dishes, she might find them delicious.
Lin Qiaoxia wasn't quite sure, and she faintly felt that maybe Mu Jinyu was deliberately taking care of her, but that didn't seem quite right. Mu Jinyu had indeed eaten a lot of dishes and should have been full...
Perhaps, he had intentionally ordered extra dishes from the start, so after he was full, he could still take care of her and make sure she got enough to eat?
Unable to figure it out clearly, Lin Qiaoxia also knew that if she asked Mu Jinyu, he probably wouldn't tell her the truth, so she just buried her head and ate earnestly.
Finally, she finished eating, and not a single dish was left.
Lin Qiaoxia rubbed her somewhat round stomach, feeling really stuffed.
She hadn't eaten this well in a long time.
Then, she looked up, her eyes firm as she said to Mu Jinyu, "Let's go Dutch."
"Huh?!" Mu Jinyu looked at her with a surprised expression, puzzled, "Didn't we agree to pay for our own? Why go Dutch? Oh, do you find you have too much money and want to treat me to a meal? Then why go Dutch at all, just say it outright."
Lin Qiaoxia's face turned red, she fidgeted with the corner of her clothes, somewhat embarrassedly, "I...I don't have enough money to treat you, going Dutch is very..."
Mu Jinyu immediately waved his hand to interrupt her, "If you don't have that much money then why even suggest going Dutch? It was just the leftover dishes I didn't eat, why spend the money? You really are silly!"
Lin Qiaoxia felt quite embarrassed by his comments, stammering, "But, after all, I did eat quite a lot..."
"Then you can treat me to a meal another day." Mu Jinyu interrupted again and made a decision.
Having said that, he did not waste words with Lin Qiaoxia. He got up and walked to the cashier, and they paid the bill together, without splitting the costs.
After all, they had agreed that next time she would treat, and since it was only about ten yuan for the meal, there was no need to pay separately.
Seeing this, Lin Qiaoxia pursed her lips and remained silent, no longer insisting on paying separately.
She just decided in her heart that once she got her salary and was a bit more financially comfortable, she would definitely repay him for this meal.
"Let's go, time to head back."
Mu Jinyu saw that she hadn't made a fuss, and smiled satisfiedly as he spoke.
"Yeah."
Lin Qiaoxia hung her head and murmured in response, then followed Mu Jinyu out of the restaurant.
They hailed a taxi at the roadside and returned to the company.
By the time they got back to the public relations department.
Everyone in the public relations department was also eating takeout; upon seeing them come in, they showed expressions of surprise.
"Huh, why are they fine?"
"Did they get scared of being beaten up, so they just took a round outside and came back?"
"..."
The crowd murmured among themselves.
When Manager Chen, who had assigned them the task, heard the buzz of conversation, her expression darkened. She walked over to them and demanded, "Did you get back the overdue debt from Hongmao Pharmaceuticals? Don't tell me you just went out for a stroll!"
"We didn't..." Lin Qiaoxia hurriedly explained.
Mu Jinyu simply and clearly answered, "We've already gotten it back."
"Got..." Manager Chen was about to scold them properly, then when General Gu inquired about it, she could shift the problem to them, but hearing Mu Jinyu's words, she paused, then scoffed and questioned, "Got it back? Where is the money then?!"
Mu Jinyu looked at Manager Chen with a cool expression, then pulled out the five hundred thousand yuan check that Liu Zhengguo had given him from his pocket and handed it to her.
Manager Chen reached out to take it, muttering to herself about how they were showing off, then glanced casually at the check.
Her eyes instantly widened, and she exclaimed in disbelief, "You...you really got it back?"