It was almost noon by the time they left the law firm.
Xu Yun was starting to feel hungry.
He said to Li Jinshu, "Are you heading back to the office now?"
"Yeah."
Li Jinshu asked, "Do you have something else to do?"
"Do you want to grab lunch with me before you head back?"
"Sure. If you're paying, I'd be a fool not to come."
Li Jinshu asked with a smile, "Where are we going?"
"How about that place from last time, Crane Garden?"
Xu Yun said, "I remember they have another signature dish called Phoenix Devouring Buddha Jumping Wall. I haven't tried it yet, so let's go check it out."
"You're really extravagant."
So, with Li Jinshu driving, the two of them arrived at Crane Garden once again.
Since it was lunchtime, they didn't need a reservation, and there were still private rooms available on the third floor.
Seeing that Xu Yun was heading for a private room on the third floor, which had a minimum charge of 20,000 yuan, Li Jinshu said, "It's just the two of us. There's no need to waste that money. We can just eat downstairs."
"I like to eat in peace." After saying this, Xu Yun followed the server upstairs.
Li Jinshu had no choice but to follow.
This was their second time here, and the private room was completely different from the last one.
This room had a red theme. Even though Li Jinshu was mentally prepared, she was still a little stunned by the ultra-luxurious scene.
If not for Xu Yun, she would have almost no chance of ever eating here.
Although Li Jinshu and Su Mu were best friends, there was still a considerable gap between them in terms of wealth.
A meal that cost tens of thousands of yuan was something she truly couldn't afford.
She had always wanted to save up to buy a big house and design the interior herself.
But unfortunately, in Jiangcheng, the housing prices for any decent property were too expensive, basically over 30,000 yuan per square meter.
So even buying a house of just over 100 square meters would cost more than 3 million yuan, with the down payment alone being over 1 million.
Not to mention a luxurious large flat like the one Su Mu lived in, which you couldn't get for less than five or six million.
But this time, Su Mu wasn't with them. In the huge private room, it was just her and Xu Yun, making them feel a bit like a couple on a date.
Previously, Li Jinshu had thought Xu Yun invited them here to curry favor with Su Mu, but seeing him today, she realized that wasn't the case at all.
'It turns out, for him, eating here is as casual and normal as it is for us to just go out for a simple meal. Perhaps this is what a truly wealthy person is like. They never worry about money; they just enjoy the best services and resources, whether it's eating here or casually buying a 500,000-yuan-a-year personal legal service that morning.'
Xu Yun took the menu but didn't look at it. He just said, "Bring us your Phoenix Devouring Buddha Jumping Wall. For the rest, you can decide. Just one requirement: we want to eat well and be full, and don't repeat any dishes from last time."
"Understood."
The server asked again, "Mr. Xu, would you like to have the wine you left here last time?"
"Yes, bring it over."
Li Jinshu said, "I'm driving, and I have to work this afternoon, so I can't drink."
"I'll just drink by myself then."
Soon, the dishes arrived: rose foie gras with imperial caviar, surf clams in superior broth, and more...
Finally, the Phoenix Devouring Buddha Jumping Wall was brought out by the head chef himself.
It was made by stuffing a whole chicken with various precious ingredients like soft-hearted abalone from Japan, solid sea cucumber, and three-year-old male fish maw, giving it a plump, round shape.
The head chef began his introduction as he helped carve the dish for them.
"Heaven provides food with five *qi*, Earth provides food with five flavors..."
"That's enough, thank you. You don't need to continue the introduction."
After Xu Yun politely dismissed him, Li Jinshu laughed. "I bet the head chef wanted to kill you just now. You didn't even let him finish before shooing him away."
"Nah."
Xu Yun smiled and said to Li Jinshu, "Actually, the chef doesn't want to say all that. He only does it as part of his job, to make us feel the dish is worth the price.
"Think about it. He repeats the same introduction many times a day. It must be tiring and boring.
"It's boring for us to listen to as well. Since that's the case, we might as well skip it.
"Our own mouths will know if the food is good or not. No matter how nice you make it sound or how pretty you make it look, if it doesn't taste good to me, it's all for nothing."
"I guess that makes sense."
Fortunately, the dish didn't disappoint them. It was actually quite good.
Xu Yun got up to pay the bill. The total wasn't too high this time, just over 20,000 yuan, which was much less than last time.
But Li Jinshu still found it outrageous. 'That's over 10,000 yuan per person! Coming here isn't about eating at all. It's about enjoying the most expensive service. It's about burning money.'
[By indulging in the same delicacy again, the Host satisfied his appetite in a Do as You Please manner. The experience was underwhelming. Reward: 30,000 yuan.]
'The reward is so small this time?'
Hearing the system's notification, Xu Yun couldn't help but wonder, 'Is it because my underlying desire wasn't that strong?'
"What are you thinking about!"
Seeing him lost in thought, Li Jinshu asked, "Are you going back to the office this afternoon? I can give you a ride."
"I'm not going."
Xu Yun smiled. "I happen to have some time today, so I'm planning to buy a car to get around. It's really inconvenient otherwise."
"Buy a car?"
Li Jinshu asked, "Do you know what kind of car you want to buy?"
"Haven't decided yet."
Xu Yun said, "I'll see when I get there. I'll buy whatever catches my eye."
"Perfect timing. There's a car show at the Jiangcheng International Exhibition Center today."
Li Jinshu said, "Why don't I go with you? I have a car, so I can take you there."
"That works."
Xu Yun nodded. "As long as it doesn't interfere with your work."
"It won't. We designers have flexible work hours."
Li Jinshu smiled. "You treated me to such an expensive lunch. Being your driver for an afternoon means I'm not getting the short end of the stick."
"Alright, thanks."
There were many brands at the car show, and a lot of people were there looking at cars.
But the most eye-catching part was, of course, the car models.
Li Jinshu knew nothing about cars; she could only tell if they looked good or not.
She walked around with Xu Yun, looking at the Audi A8, the latest BMW 7 Series, and the Mercedes S-Class. She was quite satisfied with each one.
But Xu Yun didn't seem to like them; his desire to buy wasn't strong.
However, as the two were passing the Porsche exhibition area, Xu Yun stopped and stared at one of the models, standing motionless.
He never expected that Ning Qian also worked part-time as a car model.
Li Jinshu thought Xu Yun had taken a liking to the Porsche on display and said, "What's wrong? Did you find a car you like?"
"Let's go take a look."
After registering at the entrance, Xu Yun led Li Jinshu toward the display car, guided by a salesperson.
Ning Qian was smiling for the various cameras when she turned her head and froze.
She never thought that she would run into Xu Yun while working part-time as a car model during her time off.
Then she also noticed the beautiful woman who had come to the car show with him.