Just as she was wondering what to say, Xiao Zhong let out a sound of surprise and said to her, "Director Xu, President Lu is here!"
Xu Yanxia looked up and, sure enough, saw Lu Jingming entering the lobby from outside. He was still wearing the dark grey textured suit he had on when he left the house this morning. The slightly tailored fit accentuated his excellent physique, and he was wearing his gold-rimmed glasses.
He was incredibly eye-catching.
After taking a few steps, an acquaintance who had just finished eating and was about to leave spotted him and called out, "President Lu."
He politely stepped forward, shook hands with the person, and chatted with a smile for a few moments.
Because of the distance and the bustling crowd in the lobby, Xu Yanxia couldn't hear what they were saying. She only saw that after a few more words, Lu Jingming raised his hand in her direction, and the other person waved goodbye to him and walked out.
Then, he walked toward her with a smile on his face.
When he drew near, Xu Yanxia asked him, "Why did you come over at this hour?"
Lu Jingming replied, "To have lunch with you, of course. Didn't we agree on it?"
He then added with a faint sigh, "You didn't keep your word, but I keep mine."
This caused Xiao Zhong and a few nearby colleagues to purse their lips to hold back their smiles.
Feeling both helpless and amused, Xu Yanxia told him, "How did I not keep my word? I just saw that you were too busy this morning."
She then asked, "What do you want to eat? I'll have the kitchen make something for you. It's not as busy right now."
Indeed, it was already past one o'clock. It wasn't easy for him to come all the way here on an empty stomach from nearly twenty kilometers away just to have lunch with her.
Lu Jingming, however, asked her first, "Have you eaten?"
Xu Yanxia said, "I had some of the staff meal with my colleagues right before the guests started arriving."
This was a standard practice in the restaurant industry. To ensure they had enough energy, the staff usually ate before the lunch and dinner rushes.
Hearing this, Lu Jingming said with a hint of resignation, "Alright, I guess I'll just have to eat by myself then. Just get me whatever is convenient."
He sounded rather pitiful.
Xu Yanxia turned to the colleague at the ordering station and said, "Serve President Lu a portion of black gold char siu, ginger and scallion baked mud crab, assorted fish tofu in rich broth, and a countryside stir-fry."
Whether professionally or personally, there was no way she could let him just eat whatever.
"Understood."
The colleague quickly placed the order and sent it to the kitchen. Xu Yanxia then said to Lu Jingming, "There are no seats left in the lobby. How about you eat in my office? I'll have a colleague bring it up to you later."
"Okay."
Lu Jingming was indeed hungry. Especially now, smelling the rich aroma of food in the lobby, he felt like his stomach was touching his back. He went up to Xu Yanxia's office to wait.
A while later, when Xu Yanxia went up to check on him, he had already finished eating and was sitting on the sofa, handling work emails on his phone.
Seeing her come in, he immediately put down his phone, patted the seat next to him, and said, "Come sit. My baby director is finally done with work."
Xu Yanxia closed the door, sat beside him, and asked, "How did it taste? The dishes I ordered for you were pretty good, right?"
"Excellent."
Lu Jingming nodded and said, "No wonder all the acquaintances and friends I've run into lately have been praising it."
"Of course."
Xu Yanxia said with full confidence, "Whether a restaurant's food is good or not, foot traffic and revenue are the most direct answers. Even though today is a weekday, our lunch service performance was still very strong."
"If we can keep this up, breaking twenty million in revenue by the end of the year won't be a problem. We might even break thirty million."
Lu Jingming gave a hum of agreement. "In that case, not only will we make back the acquisition costs, but the profit will likely double. Making that decision back then was definitely the right move."
"Yeah."
Xu Yanxia took the opportunity to report on her work progress from that morning. "The expansion department already has plans to open a branch, but I suggested that we still need to do thorough preliminary research. After all, the cost of opening a store like this is no small matter."
"Our main task right now is to stabilize the first store and build our brand reputation before moving forward."
"Mhm."
Lu Jingming nodded. "I'll tell them to listen to you more on this matter. After all, you're the boss here."
After he spoke, Xu Yanxia continued her report, "The progress on the teppanyaki side is also going smoothly. It should successfully open by the end of the month, and the marketing department has already started promotions."
"That's great,"
Lu Jingming added, "It seems you've had a very fulfilling day."
"Of course,"
Xu Yanxia said, her eyes shining brightly, "I like the feeling of being fulfilled. It makes me feel like I haven't wasted any time."
Heaven knew how important time was to someone lucky enough to live a second life!
Unexpectedly, after she finished speaking, Lu Jingming took her hand and called out softly, "Baby."
Xu Yanxia paused in surprise.
Then she saw him say, "There's something I want to seriously discuss with you."
She nodded. "Go ahead."
She watched as he said with a serious expression, "I think we can start making plans for the two of us now."
Things for the two of them?
Xu Yanxia asked, "Like what?"
"Like, when we can get engaged, and get married."
Lu Jingming said.
What...
Xu Yanxia couldn't help but laugh. "Aren't you rushing things a bit? We've only been together for a few days, and you're already thinking about marriage."
"Didn't someone say that dating without the intention of marriage is just playing around?"
Lu Jingming raised an eyebrow at her. "Aren't we quite aligned on this point?"
"But..."
Xu Yanxia frowned and replied seriously, "Marriage is a very important matter. After getting married, two people have to live together every single day. There are many things that need to be worked out beforehand. Like my brother and sister-in-law, they dated for years before they got engaged."
"They were childhood sweethearts who got together in their teens. We fell in love at first sight; it's different for us," Lu Jingming said immediately.
"What love at first sight?"
Xu Yanxia let out a soft scoff. "The first time I saw you, you didn't even look me in the eye, and you even gave the sandwiches I made to someone else."
"..."
Lu Jingming paused, then quickly apologized, "I was wrong back then. If I could do it again, I absolutely wouldn't let anyone else eat those two sandwiches."
Xu Yanxia remained noncommittal, looking as though she didn't quite believe him.
"..."
Lu Jingming simply pulled her onto his lap, cleared his throat, and said, "I was a dog back then."
Pfft...
Xu Yanxia burst out laughing.
Biting her lip, she looked at him. "I'm speechless. This is the first time I've ever seen someone call themselves a dog."
Lu Jingming laughed too. After the laughter faded, he looked at her seriously again and said, "Baby, you know I'm sincere. Even if you don't want to get married right now, it's okay. Just give me a goal to work toward."
"I know you love your work. Even if we get married, I will absolutely never stop you from working."
"You can also have your own space, and you can go back whenever you want."
"If you don't want to be a mother, then we won't have children for now. However..."
His voice paused for a moment as he tried to picture it. "I think with both of our exceptional genes, if we ever have a child in the future, they are bound to be a genius."
