naruto-story Chapter 312 How Much Cooked
Chapter 312 How Much Cooked
As the car came to a complete stop, a sycamore leaf landed on the windshield.
Song Huan opened the car door; the night in Xinjiekou was already brightly lit.
The glass curtain wall of Deji Plaza swallows and spits out all the streetlights, making it dazzlingly bright.
A waiter in a black uniform stood ramrod straight in the doorway.
A taxi stopped, and he went over to open the car door for the passenger, his movements as precise as if he had measured it with a ruler.
Song Huan glanced at the menu standing by the door.
Coated paper, gold foil lettering.
A steak costs 348 yuan, appetizers, soup, and desserts are extra.
For two people, it would cost at least a little over a thousand.
Lin Yue stood in the milk tea shop for a month, her feet developing calluses, and her take-home pay was just 1,500 yuan.
He turned his head to the side.
Lin Yue was looking up at the floor-to-ceiling window.
Her face was bathed in warm yellow light, and her eyes were bright, as if inviting him in for dinner was a very happy thing.
"Let's go!" She pulled him toward the door, her fingers cool but her grip tight.
"Let's go somewhere else." Song Huan didn't move, trying to keep her tone casual. "The Sichuan restaurant near the school gate is pretty good; their boiled fish is only a little over sixty yuan."
Lin Yue shook her head.
The way she shook her head was unique; her entire head and shoulders swayed together, her hair whipping around like a fan.
"No, I want to treat you to this today." She said earnestly, "I got paid, really. Don't try to take it from me."
Song Huan looked into those eyes.
There was anticipation, joy, and a little bit of deeply hidden nervousness, a fear that he might see through it.
He didn't say anything more.
Lin Yue immediately perked up, pushed open the door, and went inside.
The waiter led them to a window seat.
A small candle was lit in the candlestick, its flame flickering inside the glass dome.
Lin Yue sat down, unfolded the napkin and laid it on her knees, carefully smoothing out the four corners.
Then pick up the menu and open it.
The menu was thick, and the cover was made of leather.
She started reading from the first page, going down line by line, pausing her gaze on the number after each item.
She turned to the last page, pursed her lips, then looked up and smiled at him.
What would you like to eat?
"You order, I'm fine with anything."
She waved, her movements somewhat unnatural, her wrist a little stiff.
The waiter came over; his black uniform was perfectly pressed without a single wrinkle. His gaze lingered on Lin Yue for a moment.
Her knitted cardigan swept down to her pleated skirt, and from the pleated skirt down to her clean but slightly worn canvas shoes.
Lin Yue pointed to the menu, "Two of these."
Her fingertips just covered the price.
"Ma'am, how would you like your steak cooked?"
Lin Yue looked up, blinked twice, and asked, "What does 'well-done' mean?"
The man at the next table was wearing a dark blue suit, and the woman was wearing a watch with small diamonds on her wrist.
The woman covered her mouth with her hand and laughed, while the man picked up his glass of red wine and took a sip.
The waiter's lips twitched slightly. "It's about how well the steak is cooked. Rare, medium-rare, medium, medium-well, and well-done. For first-timers, we generally recommend medium or medium-well."
Lin Yue's lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.
She looked down at the menu, and the flame in the candlestick flickered.
Song Huan heard her thoughts.
[What does "well-done" mean? I've never had steak before. Will he think I'm embarrassing myself? The people around us are laughing, even the waiter is laughing. I just wanted to treat him to a nice meal, but I don't even know how well-done a steak is...]
Song Huan reached out and snatched the menu from her hand.
He leaned back in his chair, flipped to the page about steak, and looked up at the waiter.
"Two filet mignons, one rare and one medium-rare. For appetizers, smoked salmon and escargot. For soup, cream of mushroom soup and seafood chowder. For dessert, tiramisu and crème brûlée. And a bottle of Bordeaux, not too strong, but with a strong fruity flavor."
He closed the menu and handed it back, speaking at a moderate pace.
The waiter took the menu, his expression shifting from a slight smile to seriousness, and then to a cautious respect.
He quickly jotted it down in his notebook, gave a slight bow, and said, "Yes, sir. Please wait a moment."
The people at the next table stopped laughing.
The woman lowered her head to cut her steak, while the man put down his wine glass.
Lin Yue looked up at him, the candlelight reflecting in her eyes, making them shine.
Song Huan unfolded the napkin and laid it on her lap, picked up her water glass and took a sip. "The filet mignon here is good, medium-rare, and very juicy."
Lin Yue looked at him, and after several seconds, she smiled, washing away all the tension and embarrassment she had just felt.
"Have you been here before?"
"no."
"How did you know?"
"That's what it says on the menu."
He put down his water glass, winked at her, and said, "Appetizers are on the second page, soup is on the third, and desserts are on the last. There's an order to ordering; you didn't look carefully."
She paused for a moment, then burst out laughing.
She smiled, her eyes crinkling, revealing two rows of white teeth.
"What else don't I know? You can teach me all of that too."
Song Huan picked up a knife and fork and gestured to her, "Fork in the left hand, knife in the right. When cutting, the back of the fork should be facing up, cut one piece at a time, don't cut it all."
"Who made these rules?"
"I don't know, but if you cut it all off, the people at the next table will laugh at you."
Lin Yue glanced to the side and lowered her voice, "Were they watching us the whole time?"
"Because you're beautiful."
Lin Yue's ears turned slightly red. She lowered her head, picked up her knife and fork, and muttered, "Fork in the left hand, knife in the right. Got it."
The dishes were served one by one.
The smoked salmon is sliced so thinly it's almost translucent, and drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil.
Lin Yue picked up a piece with her fork, looked at it in the candlelight, put it in her mouth, and her eyes lit up. "It has a smoky flavor and a lemony sourness. It's so unique."
The French-style baked snails were served in small earthenware bowls, their aromas of garlic and butter mingling as they sizzled and steamed.
Lin Yue imitated him, using a small fork to pick the snail out of its shell, examining it for a second before putting it in her mouth.
He chewed it, then his eyes widened in surprise.
"Delicious! My deskmate used to tell me that snails were edible, and I thought she was lying to me."
When the cream of mushroom soup was served, she took a sip. The soup was thick, with the freshness of the mushrooms and the sweetness of the cream blended together.
She squinted her eyes.
The steak arrived, the hot iron plate still sizzling, the meat crackling on the plate.
Song Huan pushed the plate of medium-rare food in front of her.
Lin Yue picked up a knife and fork and cut a small piece, her movements still a bit clumsy.
The cut surface was pink, and juice seeped out, staining a small patch on the white plate.
She put the piece of meat in her mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and then froze.
When he chewed for the third time, his eyes widened even more than before.
"So this is what steak tastes like."
Song Huan cut a piece of her medium-rare portion and placed it on her plate, "Try this one too."
She cut off a small piece and put it in her mouth. "This is even more tender, like eating tofu."
She cut another piece, chewing as she spoke, her cheeks bulging, "I used to think steak was the kind that's fried until it's dry and you can't even bite into it. That's what they show on TV."
Song Huan didn't say anything, but cut a few more pieces of the steak left on her plate and put them on Song Huan's plate one by one.
"You eat it."
"That's enough."
"You're too thin."
Lin Yue lowered her head and looked at the pile of steaks on her plate.
The candlelight shone on the pinkish cut surfaces, making them sparkle.
She didn't refuse anymore and ate them piece by piece, chewing each piece for a long time.
Song Huan got up and went to the restroom halfway through.
He stopped when he reached the front desk and glanced out the window.
Lin Yue was cutting the last piece of steak on her plate, cutting very carefully, while muttering to herself, probably silently reciting "left hand fork, right hand knife".
He smiled, turned around, and said in a low voice to the waiter at the front desk, "For this table, the steak will be charged at the lowest price, and the difference will be paid by card."
The waiter opened his mouth as if to say something, but seeing Song Huan's expression, he swallowed his words back.
He took the card, swiped it, and a receipt was printed.
Song Huan took it, folded it, stuffed it into her pants pocket, and turned back to her seat.
Lin Yue had just finished eating the last piece of steak and was using the back of her fork to scrape the remaining black pepper sauce on her plate to one side.
"You've been gone for a long time."
"There's a line for the restroom." He sat down.
When the dessert was served, all the lights in Xinjiekou outside the window came on.
The neon lights, red, green, and blue, flashed in the night.
The traffic below the building converged into a river of light, flowing slowly like a silver river flowing across the ground.
Lin Yue scooped a spoonful of tiramisu into her mouth. The bitterness of the cocoa powder and the sweetness of the cream mingled together, and she held it in her mouth for a while before swallowing.
She looked out the window, her eyes reflecting the colorful lights.
"Song Huan," she suddenly spoke.
"Um?"
"It's nothing, I just wanted to call out to you."
She didn't turn around; she was still looking out the window.
The candlelight shone on her profile, casting a pale golden halo over the fine downy hairs.
She scooped up the last spoonful of tiramisu, put it in her mouth, and then turned to smile at him.
"It's delicious." She lowered her head and placed the dessert spoon in the empty cup, making a soft, crisp sound.
When it came time to pay, Lin Yue pulled out her bank card before he could.
She placed her hand on the back of his hand, pressing quickly.
"I promised to treat you. You can't try to take it from me today. You've helped me so much, and I'll be really upset if you won't even let me treat you to a meal."
Song Huan looked at her and put the bank card back in her pocket.
She handed the card to the waiter.
The POS machine dispensed a receipt. Her fingers touched the thin paper, and she glanced down at the numbers on it.
One thousand two hundred and eighty yuan.
Her gaze lingered on the string of numbers for a fleeting moment, then she folded the receipt.
She stood up and smiled at him.
"Let's go."
The two walked out of the restaurant.
The porch light shone on the steps, and the October night breeze carried the aroma of roasted sweet potatoes and chestnuts.
The shadows of the sycamore trees swayed gently in the wind.
A video of GG is playing on the big screen in Deji Plaza.
Lin Yue skipped and hopped ahead of him, her ponytail swaying over her shoulder.
After walking a few steps, she turned around, her face brightly illuminated by the streetlights and neon lights.
"Song Huan, when I make a lot of money in the future, I'll invite you to this place again."
Song Huan had his hands in his pockets, his fingers touching the neatly folded receipt.
"Okay," he said.
"I'll order two steaks, one rare and one medium-rare, and I'll also order six snails!"
She turned around and continued skipping along, her voice carried away by the wind into the night, "No, order twelve."
Song Huan walked behind.
The streetlights stretched her shadow to his feet, overlapping with his.
He pulled his hand out of his pocket, crumpled the receipt into a tiny ball between his fingers, and then put it back into the deepest part of his pocket.
She walked ahead, her ponytail swaying back and forth.
The lights of Xinjiekou fell on her, layer upon layer, red, green and blue, like a colorful veil draped over her.
She suddenly stopped, turned around, and waved to him. Her lips moved, but even from a distance of several steps, her voice was mostly swallowed by the city's noise. However, judging from her lip movements, she was probably saying...
Hurry up and catch up.