CHAPTER 30
In no time, Luo Jinhai and Li Jing arrived in front of one of the most extravagant restaurants in the city. All through their drive there, no one spoke a thing to each other, they each sat silently and enjoyed the drive till they got to their destination.
As soon as he drove into the driveway and found a parking spot, he came down from the car and went to open the door for her to come out.
Li Jing did, stepping a foot out, one at a time and then held his outstretched arm with which he used in assisting her to her feet gently.
She stepped away from the car, leaving her box in the car and clutching unto her bag.
"Shall we?"
"Hmm," she nodded her reply and like that they entered the restaurant.
On getting there, they were taken by a waiter to their seats and their orders were taken down.
As they waited, he decided to bring up small talks to help her calm down as he noticed the way her eyes darted around like a scaredy little cat hiding from its owner after doing something bad.
"Li Jing," he started and she whipped her head to look at him almost immediately.
Luo Jinhai could not help the chuckle that escaped his mouth from just watching her behaviour. She creased her brows at him in a silent questioning manner.
"What?" Luo Jinhai asked in between small laughter.
"I should be asking you that. What's so funny?" Li Jing asked, putting on a funny puzzled face.
"Pff… Nothing."
She puffed her cheeks at his reply. She knew something was wrong but rather than tell her, he was making fun of her.
"Relax, I am not laughing at you."
"Then what are you laughing at? One second you called me and then the next you are in a fit."
'Was I really in a fit, Li Jing?' Luo Jinhai thought.
Just then a waitress arrived with their meal in a food trolley and served them. "Enjoy your meal ma'am, sir."
Not saying anything else, she pushed the trolley away and left them to their business. Luo Jinhai looked at her and gestured for her to eat her meal, rather she puffed her cheeks more and settled in her seat with both hands crossed in front of her chest.
"Let me guess, you would not eat until I tell you, right?"
She nodded, confirming his guess. "Okay, I would tell you if you eat. Take a bite of our meal and I would tell you."
She opened her mouth to protest when he raised his hand in front of her. "If you do not, then I won't tell."
Seeing that he was ready to be stubborn and that she was going to lose anyway, Li Jing finally gave in and picked up her cutlery and took a scoop with her fork and knife and opened her mouth to put it, before leaning back and silently chewing.
After chewing she swallowed and took her drink to rinse her mouth with before setting her glass cup down and staring right back at him.
All through this process, he kept his eyes locked on her, admiring her every move and elegance that he forgot to eat as well.
Now that she had fulfilled his request, the look in her eyes held curiosity and determination. Curious about what this whole laughter was for and determined not to let him cheat her again.
"Fine, fine." He raised both hands up like someone who was surrendering and smiled at her. "It was something simple," he said and put both hands down.
"I doubt that something simple would make you laugh that way, Luo senpai."
He rolled his eyes in his head. Hearing her say those words hurt him most times because it proved to him how she saw him but still he tried to keep that aside and be hopeful. Try to keep a positive attitude right?
"You laughed to the extent your smile reached your eyes. That was pretty much to be something simple, don't you think?" Li Jing leaned in placing both hands on the table in between them.
"I guess I have been caught red-handed. Well, like I said earlier. It wasn't much. It was the way your eyes were darting to and fro about the place like someone hiding from their parents, checking every single minute if she was going to be caught or not."
Luo Jinhai explained and proceeded to pick his cutleries and eat his meal as they conversed on.
"Oh," those were the only words, Li Jing could muster from her detached, wandering mind.
It was not really her fault to some extent as this was the first of being taken to a place like this. Even as an adopted daughter of the Li, she never had the opportunity to go to an expensive dinner with them.
Whenever such an occasion presented itself, Ding Jiaying always found a way to make her not go.
It was either she told her father, Mr Li, that she had homework to do and it would not be nice to make her leave it or that she did not do the chores she was given and as a way to make her grow into a good child, she needed to do it before having fun.
There was always one excuse or the other for her to give and her adoptive father never gave a damn about pushing or prying further.
If he had done that or even checked up on her once, then he would have found out that his darling wife, Ding Jiaying was telling lies. Unfortunately, he never did and so she never went.
Her useless fiancé on the other hand never took her to anything fancy, just normal restaurants even though he was the son of a wealthy family.
Now that she thought about it, it wasn't that he was trying to economize as she thought or wanted to see if she could enjoy a simple life before coming to join him in his big one has he used to say, it was that he did not want people to see her with him and thought they were dating.