The eight-day holiday ended, and the entire city returned to its fast-paced rhythm.
At eight in the morning, when Lu Jingming finished dressing and went downstairs, a hearty breakfast was already laid out on the dining table.
There were golden and tempting scallion pancakes, exquisite and translucent soup dumplings, chicken soup wontons garnished with shredded egg and chopped scallions, and a bowl of sweet, thick sesame paste.
This style... didn't look like Uncle Wang's handiwork.
He was just about to frown when Auntie Zhang explained from the side, "Old Wang learned how to make these from Xiaoxia this morning."
As soon as she finished speaking, Uncle Wang and Xu Yanxia happened to come out of the kitchen, carrying two cold dishes: vinegar-braised lotus root slices and sesame oil cucumber.
After placing the dishes on the table, Uncle Wang took the initiative to greet him, "Young Mr. Lu, you came down just in time. Please taste today's breakfast and see if you are satisfied. Many of these dishes are my first time making them."
Seeing that Xu Yanxia would be moving out in a few days, he had to take the opportunity to learn as much as he could.
So that was it.
Lu Jingming said "okay" and sat down to eat.
Soon, he nodded and said, "It's quite good. The flavors are all excellent. My parents should like it when they come back."
"That's good."
Uncle Wang felt relieved and thanked Xu Yanxia again, "This is all thanks to Miss Xu. She got up a bit past six this morning to teach me how to cook. It was really hard work."
"You're too polite, Uncle Wang."
Xu Yanxia said with a smile, "You already cook very well. Chinese cuisine is interconnected. If you look into other regional cuisines in the future, it'll be very easy to pick up."
"Aye."
Uncle Wang smiled and nodded, then returned to the kitchen full of confidence.
Lu Jingming then invited Xu Yanxia, "Eat some together."
"No need,"
Xu Yanxia told him, "I was tasting things while teaching Uncle Wang just now, so I'm already full."
Lu Jingming said, "Then I can't finish all this by myself. Wouldn't it go to waste?"
Xu Yanxia gave him an idea, "You can bring some to Assistant Wen and see if he can tell who made it."
"Good idea,"
Lu Jingming joked, "It'll perfectly repay the favor of him taking us to look at houses yesterday."
Saying that, he asked her, "Are you going to the company today?"
"Yes,"
Xu Yanxia told him, "I need to handle the dormitory paperwork and sign the transfer agreement. I'll also ask about the progress of the teppanyaki store."
The management of the Lu Group was very formal. Going from being the Lu family's private chef to the regional director of the food and beverage investment company involved changes in salary and other aspects, so the proper procedures still had to be followed.
And right now, Nine Meals was already on track, so her next main focus would be on her own teppanyaki place.
Especially since her brother and sister-in-law, who were just returning today, were also concerned about it and had reminded her to go check on it when she had time.
"Alright."
Lu Jingming nodded and said, "I'll probably be very busy today. Let's keep in touch. If we have time, let's have lunch together."
"Mm."
Xu Yanxia nodded. Seeing him finish breakfast and drive out, she went back to her room to tidy up a bit before setting off for the Lu Group.
On the first day of work after the holiday, being busy was normal.
Lu Jingming worked non-stop for the whole morning. By the time he finished the last meeting and returned to his office, it was already past twelve noon.
After resting for a moment, he took out his phone and sent a message to Xu Yanxia: When are you coming to the company? Do you want to eat together?
Who knew Xu Yanxia would reply to him: I already went this morning, and everything is sorted out. You eat by yourself.
???
Lu Jingming immediately typed back: Why didn't you find me when you came?
Xu Yanxia: Weren't you busy? When I went to your office after signing the contract, you weren't there, so I left first.
...Fine.
Lu Jingming had to ask again: Where are you right now?
Xu Yanxia quickly replied: Nine Meals.
Lu Jingming replied with an OK, then picked up his phone and left the office.
...
On the first workday, although the foot traffic at Nine Meals couldn't compare to the peak holiday hours, it was still much better than Xu Yanxia had expected.
It was not even twelve-thirty, but the seating rate in the main hall had already reached ninety percent, and the private rooms were at seventy percent, with guests still arriving one after another.
Most of these were business banquets and company gatherings, and they mostly ordered the restaurant's business set meals, which was quite friendly for the back kitchen in terms of prepping and serving dishes.
She kept an eye on both the front hall and the back kitchen for a while. Seeing that everything was proceeding in an orderly manner, she felt relieved.
Probably seeing that she was free, Supervisor Yang from the marketing department came over to her and said, "Director Xu, after we released the promotional video for the domestic Wagyu beef series last time, the sales volume of the corresponding dishes has increased significantly, which shows that the effect is quite good. I wonder when it would be convenient for you to shoot some new content."
"Today works."
Xu Yanxia nodded gladly and said, "I think the butter crabs these past few days have been great, and I was just thinking of doing a butter crab series. We can shoot it later when the lunch service ends."
"Okay."
Supervisor Yang quickly said, "Then I'll go prepare, and we'll shoot it for you in a bit."
Saying that, he returned to the office.
Xiao Zhong, a waiter from the cashier department nearby, casually chatted with Xu Yanxia, "Director Xu, you must have eaten a lot of delicious food when you went back to your hometown this time. I scrolled through your TikTok every day, and it made me so hungry."
"Is that so,"
Xu Yanxia smiled and said, "If you have time, you are welcome to visit our hometown. The food and scenery are quite different from here."
"Sure,"
The other party smiled again and said, "Your two cats are also so adorable. If there's a chance, I'd really love to go pet them."
"No problem,"
Xu Yanxia smiled and said, "If there's a chance, I'll invite you to my house to pet them. Those two aren't afraid of people; they are very affectionate."
As her voice fell, Xiao Zhong smiled and said, "I could tell. They were so well-behaved in Mr. Lu's arms. It's obvious they aren't afraid of people."
Xu Yanxia, "..."
Wait a minute, she didn't seem to have posted any photos of Lu Jingming with those two cats on TikTok.
She only posted some dishes made by her grandfather, the pan-fried buns and small cakes she ate in the old town, and some scenery photos...
Besides, she used his phone to take photos of Lu Jingming and the two little guys that day, so she didn't even have them on her phone.
Something wasn't right.
She took out her phone, opened the TikTok backend, and went through the content she had posted over the past few days one by one. She finally found the reason.
Lu Jingming had left a comment under every single one of her posts, and he had even changed his profile picture.
It happened to be a group photo of him with Big Orange and Little Tabby.
"..."
Moreover, every one of his comments had been pushed to the top by the shipping fans, and everyone excitedly left messages:
Ahhh couple profile pictures!!! Big Brother and Xiaoxia have couple profile pictures!!!
So did Big Brother spend the whole holiday with Xiaoxia!!!
Ahhh isn't this an official announcement!!! I'm crying to death!!!
Ahhhh finally waited until this day!!! The dawn has come for the shippers!!!
...
Xu Yanxia, "..."
She just knew it, why would he suddenly think of taking photos with two fat cats that day.
