As soon as Stephanie Ruan reached home, she dropped her shopping bag and got changed into a slightly more casual outfit – a navy blue satin top with white denim pants and a pair of sneakers.
Still as fashionable as always!!...
"Fifth avenue's street food market, please." She boarded the taxi and quickly conveyed her location to the driver.
It is a short 15 minutes drive down to the most popular street food area in the city!
Filled with all kinds of neon light signages, the hustle and bustle never stop for anyone throughout the night.
Upon alighting, Stephanie Ruan immediately spotted the popular hot pot restaurant that they are about to dine at and hurried towards it.
Back when she was in Country A, she would always crave for her favourite hot pot meal and would often ask Daniel Yan when they could come back to eat it together.
Today, her wish is finally fulfilled and she could not be more than happy about it!
Squeezing through the crowd at the entrance of the store, Stephanie Ruan stopped one of the waiters and asked, "Hello, my friend is already inside, can I enter first?"
"..."
-Ring-
"Daniel, the waiter wouldn't allow me to enter on my own. He said you'll have to come to the entrance to bring me in..."
"Alright, wait for me! I'm coming now!" Daniel Yan replied to her as he quickly head towards the entrance.
Within a few seconds, she spotted Daniel Yan rushing towards her. And as soon as he arrived in front of her, her originally smiling face turned into a 'frowning' look.
"Daniel!!... You took so long to come... I'm about to be squeezed into a flatbread already!" She pushed him gently on his arm while teasing him.
To which Daniel Yan instantly retorted, "Miss Ruan!!... Did you know how fast I ran out as soon as I got your call?? Can you see that I'm perspiring because of you??"
After saying his piece, he jokingly used the back of his hand to dap away the little perspiration that he has and acted as though he had specially ran a marathon for Stephanie Ruan, just to make her feel a little bad!
"Ha-ha!! Alright, I got it! You know that I'm joking." Stephanie Ruan reached for a packet of tissue in her bag and took a few out for him to clean up.
While walking into the restaurant, Daniel Yan suddenly remembered to update her, "Oh yes, by the way, I have a good friend who is joining us for dinner today."
"A good friend??... Is it a female??" Stephanie Ruan probed further with a smirk on her face.
Since they have been best friends for many years, they have long dropped the formalities of asking each other for permission to bring a friend along for their 'dates'.
Furthermore, it has always been Stephanie Ruan bringing her female friends to her 'dates' with Daniel Yan back in Country A.
Surprisingly, this is the first time that he has brought his friend to join them so, of course, she would be curious as to who it is!
With a wink, he replied, "I'll introduce you both to each other later!"
"So secretive!... Alright then!" With that, she did not pursue this matter any further.
...
Since the restaurant is not that huge, Stephanie Ruan could immediately spot their table from afar with just one glance.
However, she saw that the 'good friend' who is currently seated back-facing them, is actually a male!
Oh! So it’s a guy??...
But wait... why does he feel so... strangely familiar??
"??..."
Her heart became increasingly unsettled as they moved closer towards their seat.
To be honest, she has just arrived in Country C not long ago, and she has only met a few people so far!
Hence, it is not difficult for her to quickly recall who this person might be.
"..."
Upon having a sudden realisation, she instantly stopped in her tracks and widened her eyes in disbelief.
Don't tell me he is...
Chairman Zhong?!!...
This is madness...
"!!..."
"Stephanie, are you okay? Why are you standing over there??" Daniel Yan saw her pale face and asked worriedly.
Stephanie??...
The familiar name made Javier Zhong turn his head around as well.
With unavoidable eye contact, Stephanie Ruan once again plastered a fake smile and greeted him. "Chairman Zhong, nice to see you again..."
Hais... Such a horrible day indeed...
It is already more than enough to spend half a day with him today and right now, are you saying that her dinner time is not spared too?!
"..."
Darting his eyes from the left to the right, Daniel Yan was quick to break the awkward silence. "Hold up... How did you guys know each other??"
"Well, nothing much to say... just a business relationship." Stephanie Ruan casually responded while taking a seat and putting her handbag into the basket below her chair.
However, the minute she looked up, she noticed Javier Zhong's cold eyes glaring straight at her!
"??..."
What?? Did she say something wrongly??
Despite Daniel Yan being her best friend, she does not want him to know about the real reason why she has returned to Country C.
To her, it is better for fewer people to know about her secret investigation of her family's accident.
She did not want to complicate matters at the moment!
...
Meanwhile, Javier Zhong is relatively surprised to see Stephanie Ruan here.
When he got the call from Daniel Yan earlier to join him and his friend for dinner, he never expected that person to be her!
It could be said that Javier Zhong knew Daniel Yan for a much longer time as compared to Stephanie Ruan.
In fact, their friendship is dated back to their high-school days!
And when Daniel Yan told him earlier that he is going to bring the girl that he likes over for dinner tonight, he was genuinely happy for him.
After all, he has been single his whole life and it is about time for his buddy to get into a relationship.
But when he saw that the one he likes is actually Stephanie Ruan...
He did not know why, but his heart instantaneously dropped.
Is it because he is feeling guilty that she has now become his 'fiancé'?
Or...
Is it that he has unknowingly started to like her as well??