"Next is the restaurant opening. They offered one million RMB as endorsement fees." Seeing him lost in thought, she misunderstood his intention and added, "Okay, let's set them aside and talk about your upcoming movie shoot."
"It's fine. I'll take all these offers, but I have a few conditions. Add these clauses to the contracts, and if they accept them, I'll sign right away," said Chaithanya, his face calm.
"What?" She had thought he would reject every offer. She was ready to put them aside and discuss the new movie shoot scheduled in ten days. But something she hadn't expected happened—he agreed to every offer without hesitation. She stopped herself from mentioning the movie schedule and continued explaining the endorsement deals and prestigious invitations from industries and organizations, both large and small.
Grumble…
While they were discussing offers and invitations, the sound of her stomach growling broke the silence. She blushed slightly and lowered her head in embarrassment. He chuckled and said, "Let's go, I'm hungry too." He had wanted to try Chinese dishes for a long time after watching mukbang videos on Douyin.
It was finally time to experience the famous Chinese cuisine. He swallowed instinctively at the thought.
Xiuying frowned at his words. "I'll order food. It's not good for you to appear in public," she suggested firmly.
"No, let's go out and enjoy the meal. Do you know any good restaurants nearby?" asked Chaithanya.
"I don't. I'll call the security team and driver to see if they know a good place," Xiuying replied, dialing them to ask for recommendations.
Surprised but polite, the driver and guards responded. Since one was an A-list actor and the other his secretary, they quickly suggested the same place: Dragon's Broth. The restaurant had great ratings despite being new. It was a three-star place—still respectable for an A-list actor and his secretary.
Junhao didn't just own sports cars—he also had sports bikes. Choosing a low-key one, the two rode toward the address. Even this "low-key" bike drew envious stares from passersby. He felt a rush of satisfaction riding it, knowing he had even better ones waiting for another day.
He lived in Shanghai, and Jing'an District, famous for hotpot restaurants, wasn't far. Soon, they arrived at the entrance of the restaurant and parked the bike in the lot nearby.
The restaurant wasn't crowded. Built in a semi-rural area, not many locals could afford its prices daily. Spotting the branded clothes and bike of her new guests, the 28-year-old owner and manager's eyes lit up. She had bought the land cheaply and invested heavily in building a grand three-star restaurant. But she had overlooked one issue: most nearby residents were workers who could only afford to dine there for special occasions. She wasn't profiting, but at least not losing, so she clung to the business while brainstorming ways to attract more customers.
Signaling the servers to attend to other guests, she put on a warm smile and approached them. "Hello, welcome to Dragon's Broth Hotpot Restaurant. Please, have a seat."
She spoke with the warmth of an older sister and guided them to a quiet, well-lit corner. "Here is the menu. Please place your order," she said, producing it as if from thin air and setting it before him.
In his previous life, he had to think twice before spending even a rupee. But now, money was the least of his worries. Casually browsing the menu, he tried recalling details about the dishes. He remembered some of the expensive ones but not all. Still masked and wearing dark sunglasses, he turned slightly toward the young woman before him and asked politely, "Hello madam, my name is Junhao. How should I address you?"
The 28-year-old covered her mouth, smiling sweetly. "Hehe, little brother, no need to be formal. You can call me Sis Xia. I'm the manager and owner of this restaurant."
Chaithanya nodded calmly. "Sis Xia, could you bring us a sample of everything on the menu? Of course, we'll pay for all of it. I want to taste every dish in your restaurant. If I like any, I'll come back every day."
Though his voice and name felt oddly familiar to her, she couldn't place them. She didn't dwell on it. Xia's eyes lit up at his words, and she nodded eagerly before rushing off to instruct the servers to prepare samples of every available dish.
Within minutes, sample after sample was arranged neatly on the table. The sight nearly made him drool, but with the willpower honed over 25 years, he restrained himself and began devouring them one by one.
Xiuying swallowed hard, watching him eat so ravenously. Soon, her appetite gave in, and she too joined in, competing with him dish for dish.
After finishing his meal, he looked at the empty plates with satisfaction, only to be taken aback when he noticed even more plates stacked in front of Xiuying. Shocked by her appetite, he thought with a spark of determination, I'm not going to back down. Let's see who has the bigger appetite.
"Hello, miss. Could you bring pork dumplings, Peking Duck, Mapo Tofu with extra pork, Sweet and Sour Pork, and Kung Pao Chicken?" Chaithanya said in a suppressed, mild tone to avoid recognition. Still, several diners turned to glance curiously at him, but after a few seconds of staring, they returned to their meals and conversations.
The server who took his order was surprised by his polite manner and hurried back to the kitchen to pass on the request to the chef.
"Hush…" Xiuying signaled him to lower his voice. She didn't want any commotion breaking out in the restaurant—it would only bring trouble and headaches.
Chaithanya, still wearing his sunglasses, gave her a reassuring nod as if to say everything would be fine.
Hearing his voice so clearly while ordering suddenly triggered a memory for her. A light bulb went off in her mind. With disbelief written across her beautiful face, she quickly pulled out her phone, connected her Bluetooth headphones, and played a video on Youku. "It's him," Xia muttered under her breath, eyes fixed on the screen.
Chaithanya turned to her with a frown. "Why didn't you order any dishes?"
She hesitated for a moment, then replied firmly, "I'm already full, so… I don't want to eat anymore."
"You—who are you trying to fool? Do you think I don't have eyes? I can clearly see your appetite isn't normal for a girl," Chaithanya murmured while sighing and ordered the exact same dishes for her from the same server.