Su Yang saw Xu Lize take a slight step back and then hand his phone directly to Ren Sijia.
Ren Sijia glanced at him, took the phone, and ran straight to the car. She started chatting with Zhang Ruyin with concern.
Taking the opportunity, Xu Lize stepped forward and took Su Yang's hand. He introduced casually, "She's the daughter of a family friend. She's about your age. She just got back from a world tour abroad."
Su Yang's heart was still pounding. She was both surprised by Ren Sijia's appearance and Xu Lize's attitude.
She felt that the relationship between Xu Lize and Ren Sijia was probably what she had guessed, but somehow it also seemed different.
"I've never heard you mention her before," Su Yang nodded, suppressing the uneasiness and curiosity in her heart. "Has she been abroad all this time?"
"She's the lead violinist of a symphony orchestra. Their orchestra started a world tour at the beginning of the year and she hasn't been back since."
"She's really amazing," Su Yang said sincerely.
As they were chatting, Ren Sijia had already hung up the phone and walked over from the car.
"Third Brother," she first handed the phone back to Xu Lize, then tucked a strand of hair that had been blown by the wind behind her ear. "Auntie said she's booked a table at Fengyuan. She wants us to have dinner there before leaving. I told her I'll go visit her after dinner. Third Brother, will you come with me?"
"We'll talk about it later. I have a video conference tonight," Xu Lize said and led them into the garden.
He walked in the middle, holding Su Yang's hand with his right hand. Ren Sijia automatically stood on his left.
"That's okay. You can be busy with your work. If you don't have time, I'll go by myself first," Ren Sijia smiled and followed them into the main hall as if she were very familiar with the place.
Zhang Ruyin had already made a reservation for a small private room. It was at the end of the second - floor corridor, next to the window, a secluded corner. You could see the bustling scene downstairs when you opened the window, and enjoy the quietness inside when you closed it. It was a wonderful room.
As soon as Ren Sijia sat down, she exclaimed with a smile, "I haven't been here for half a year, and it really hasn't changed at all. When I came in through the lobby just now, I took a look at the vat in the courtyard. The koi in it have just gotten fatter, but there are still three of them, no more, no less."
"The vat is the boss's treasure, the lucky fish. He even picks out the extra leaves in the vat by himself. How could he add more fish?" Xu Lize responded naturally. He picked up the menu and handed it to Su Yang, then said to Ren Sijia, "You don't need to look at the menu, do you?"
Ren Sijia pretended to be surprised. "It's been half a year. Has the boss added any new dishes?"
"No, still the same old three," Xu Lize shook his head.
Ren Sijia spread her hands and said with a charming smile, "Then I don't need to look at the menu. Although I haven't been here for half a year, I still remember those dishes."
"Shall I order a fish cooked in fermented rice for you?" Xu Lize asked.
Ren Sijia nodded repeatedly, clasped her hands under her chin, and blinked at Xu Lize. "I'm not exaggerating at all. I've been craving this dish while I was abroad. Really."
"You can't get this kind of dish abroad," Xu Lize laughed. Just as he was about to call the waiter to place an order, his phone rang suddenly.
He flipped open his phone and saw it was an international number. He stood up, said "Sorry", and walked out of the private room.
Ren Sijia immediately pressed the service bell on the table, then said to Su Yang with a smile, "Let's hurry up and place the order, okay?"
"Okay," Su Yang nodded.
The waiter quickly walked in with a tablet. When he saw Ren Sijia, the young man was slightly stunned, then exclaimed in surprise, "Miss Ren, you're back in China?"
"Xiaojun!" Ren Sijia was obviously also a bit surprised. She stood up to greet the young man. "Are you still working for the boss here?"
"I've been promoted to be the shift leader," the young man scratched his head and smiled shyly.
"Great!" Ren Sijia patted him on the shoulder. "Then let Shift - Leader Xiaojun serve me today. Consider it as a welcome for me."
"Miss Ren, your world tour is over. You just got back to China?" the young man nodded and asked.
Ren Sijia sat back in her chair, stretched, then leaned on the table with one hand on her cheek. She said to him, "Yes, I'm going to take a break in China for a while. I've been flying all over the world for more than half a year. I've missed a lot..."
Just as she said this, Su Yang happened to look up from the menu. Their eyes met. Su Yang saw Ren Sijia glance at her sideways, then curl the corner of her mouth and smile.
Su Yang lowered her eyes and said to Xiaojun beside her, "Let's place the order."
"Okay, miss," Xiaojun said and immediately leaned towards Su Yang.
Su Yang shook her head with a smile and handed the menu to Ren Sijia. "Let Miss Ren place the order. She's more familiar with the dishes."
Ren Sijia pretended to be surprised upon hearing this, but quickly smiled generously. "Then I'll make the decision?"
Su Yang nodded. "Sure. This is supposed to be a welcome dinner for you. Congratulations on your return."
Ren Sijia sighed. "Hey, I never really thought Chinese food was that delicious before I went abroad. But after staying abroad for so long, I've realized that Chinese food is truly something you never get tired of!"
"Xu Lize said the same thing when we went to Paris before," Su Yang echoed symbolically. "French cuisine is okay for occasional meals, but eating it every day can be a bit hard to digest."
"Third Brother took you to Paris?" Ren Sijia raised her eyebrows and looked at her. "Did you go on vacation to the villa in the south?"
Su Yang shook her head. "We went on a business trip."
"Oh, Third Brother should take you to the south for a visit. We used to go there and stay for a while every summer. The grapes there are really delicious," Ren Sijia said while simultaneously gesturing to Xiaojun beside her to place the order.
Just as Su Yang was lost in thought about what A Liya had said, she suddenly heard Ren Sijia ask her, "Take a look at the menu. Do you want to order anything else?"
Su Yang glanced at the order list roughly. From cold dishes to hot snacks, Ren Sijia had ordered a rich variety of dishes, but there was one dish that Su Yang had been craving for a long time missing - stir - fried Shanghai greens with pig intestines.
So she turned to Xiaojun and said, "Add a serving of stir - fried Shanghai greens with pig intestines."
But as soon as Su Yang finished speaking, Ren Sijia exclaimed, "Oh, Third Brother never eats offal. He won't even touch things like large or small intestines."
Su Yang was taken aback for a moment and blurted out subconsciously, "I'll eat it."
In fact, since she started living with Xu Lize and having meals together, Su Yang had noticed that Xu Lize was very picky about food.
He didn't eat vegetables with stems or skins, didn't touch fatty meat or offal, only ate seafood, and never touched fried or starchy foods. The maid always complained that he was hard to please.
But Su Yang was hardly picky. As long as the ingredients didn't have a strange taste, she would basically eat anything.
Later, the maid figured out the pattern. Every time she cooked, she would accommodate both of their tastes at the same time and wouldn't ignore Su Yang's preferences just because of Xu Lize's food taboos.
So on the dinner table at the Wutong No. 1 villa, it was quite common to see dishes that Young Master Xu wouldn't touch, and even Xu Lize himself had gotten used to it.
But upon hearing Su Yang's retort, a cold look flashed in Ren Sijia's eyes, but she quickly smiled and said, "Oh, look at me. I was so focused on ourselves when ordering that I forgot about you."
Then she quickly greeted Xiaojun. "Then add a serving of stir - fried Shanghai greens with pig intestines."