Rain poured over Elegancy as it did over Imperial. Lu Tian parks his car in an empty parking space and steps out with an umbrella in hand. After picking up his wife from An Qing, she suggested coming here since it had been a while.
He strides over to the passenger side and opens the door to help his wife out.
The couple leisurely walked hand in hand towards the restaurant.
"Ah Ling, is that you?"
Madam Zhao greets them with a vast and bright smile upon their entrance. Her smile was so bright that it was enough to overpower the gloomy sky outside.
She walks fast, almost like she is running towards Yue Ling. She takes the retired model by the hands, adding a few gentle squeezes.
"I'm so glad you came here. Have you eaten anything yet? How about I tell the old man to cook you something delicious?"
Yue Ling didn't know what to say. All she could do was smile after saying hello to the middle-aged woman.
This is because the moment Madam Zhao took her hand, the woman was already leading her to an empty table.
However, unlike her, Lu Tian held a sulking expression.
He stares at his aunt with eyes that could pierce a person's soul, then looks down at his empty hand. The warmth of his wife's hand in his still lingered, but it didn't feel the same.
"I should have picked the place…."
He murmurs with a sigh and lifts his head. When he saw that his wife had been seated and handed the menu, he walked over to the table.
He pulls the chair back and takes a seat across from her.
"Hello, Aunt Zhao."
Seeing that his aunt was still standing there, he reluctantly greeted her.
His voice took Madam Zhao by surprise. She looks at him, and realizing that it is her nephew, she laughs and hits him on the shoulder.
"Aiya, Tian. When did you get here? I didn't see you at all."
Lu Tian's eyes were heavy as he stared at his aunt. However, hearing her words, he rolled his eyes. He had been here the entire time, and yet, she didn't even notice him.
He looks away from her and decides to do what he does best. Pretend she isn't there.
His gaze lands on his wife, and his entire being changes with a sweet smile.
"What should we order for lunch?"
Yue Ling stares in utter disbelief at Lu Tian and Madam Zhao. Her eyes glance back and forth at the two individuals, then laughs at their behavior.
"I'm sorry. Please don't mind me at all."
She picks up the menu and scans through the list to see what she feels like eating.
Lu Tian and Madam Zhao knew where they had been wrong. The aunt and nephew duo glance at one another, then coming to a nonverbal conversation, Lu Tian picks up the menu in front of him while Madam Zhao storms away.
"Please take a look at the menu. Let me go get the water."
Madam Zhao didn't forget to relay before heading for the kitchen. She had been so excited to see Yue Ling that she forgot the girl must be dehydrated from working too much.
Yue Ling kept her head down, but if one were to take a closer look, one would see that she had a big smile on her face. She doesn't know why but she immensely enjoys the interactions between Lu Tian and his family members.
She looks up from behind the menu and locks eyes with Lu Tian. The corners of her mouth arc up into a smile that reaches her eyes.
"Are you craving anything in particular?"
Lu Tian gazes at his wife in silence before shrugging his shoulders in a nonchalant manner.
"I'm not a picky eater. Anything you pick will do."
Yue Ling gave him a doubtful look before taking up his offer. She looks back down at the menu and decides on what to order.
By the time she came to a decision, Madam Zhao had returned with two glasses of water. She sets them down on the table for the couple then smiles at Yue Ling.
Her entire being was as if her nephew was not seated at the same table.
"Ah Ling, have you decided on what you want to order?"
Yue Ling smiles a return at the middle-aged woman before placing her order. Once she was done, Madam Zhao hurried off to relay the order to the kitchen staff so that she could return to chat.
"Should we have lunch somewhere else?"
Lu Tian's deep voice suddenly sounds from across the table, and she looks at him. Seeing that his eyes were directed in the direction his aunt had gone, she knew what was on his mind.
She held her smile in place and shook her head.
"I've already placed our order. It would be rude just to get up and leave. Besides, this is your mother's restaurant. She would be sad."
Lu Tian pursed his lips at her response. His wife was right. As much as he wants to take her to have lunch somewhere else, it would be wrong to leave now.
He sighs inside and nods his head in understanding.
"I'll listen to you."
Yue Ling was glad to know that he didn't want to leave anymore. She glanced around the restaurant and noticed how empty the place was.
Other than her and Lu Tian, only five customers were dining inside. However, remembering that Elegancy isn't a typical restaurant, she pushes the thought away and looks at the man sitting across from her.
She hesitated on whether to ask him about a question on her mind before taking a deep breath.
"Tian, about our wedding, I know your mother said for us not to worry about it, but isn't there anything we can do?"
Lu Tian knew this question was bound to happen sooner or later. He reached across the table and held his wife's hand.
"Don't worry. My mother has everything under control. You don't have to worry about anything and focus on work."
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze seeing her face slightly change into one of worry.
"If you want, we can visit my parents."
Yue Ling felt a little down when she heard him say not to worry. She may not show it outside, but she was worried about their wedding, along with the engagement party as well.
She understands that Madam Lu wants to take the stress of planning off her shoulders, but she wants to be a part of the preparation as the bride. It's the least she could do for the family that is welcoming her.
However, when she heard Lu Tian's ending sentence, her eyes lit up, and her expression turned into one full of life.
"Really? We can go?"
Lu Tian couldn't help but smile upon seeing her expression. He nods his head and parts his lips to respond, but her following words take him by surprise.
"How about we go today after work?"
Yue Ling puts on a pondering face, then her bluish-green eyes look straight into his dark ones.
"After visiting your parents, we can stop by to visit yeye and Jingxu and bring Inu home."
"No."
Lu Tian abruptly interrupts her at the mention of Grandfather Ji. He swallows a hard gulp when he sees her slightly shocked reaction to his word.
He averts his gaze from her for a split second and shakes his head.
"I can't go today. I have to work late."
He spoke in the most normal voice he could make. He could not afford his wife to find any fault in his words.
If she did suspect him, he would have no choice but to tell her about Grandfather Ji.
Not only that, he had plans for them after work.
Yue Ling's eyebrows raised, and her heart stopped for a brief moment. She didn't think Lu Tian would reject the idea. However, hearing his reason, she didn't overthink and found it reasonable.
"I see."
A smile appears on her face and replaces the shocked look that was on her face seconds ago.
"We can go when you have time then."
Lu Tian gaze at his wife with a tight feeling in his chest. He knows that what he is doing is wrong, and it was killing him inside not to tell her.
If he hadn't promised Grandfather Ji, he would have told her in a heartbeat.
However, he can only let this guilt feeling eat him on the inside.
He let go of her hand and stood up from his seat. He doesn't leave but walks to her side of the table and sits down next to her.
Retaking hold of her hand, he brings it to his lip and places a kiss on the back.
"Everything will be okay."
He looks at her with eyes expressing his clear feeling behind his words. However, no one knew if those words were for his wife or him.
Yue Ling didn't know how to react to his sudden closeness, but she smiled at him, thinking his words were directed towards her worry about their wedding.
"Thank you for your reassurance."
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Madam Zhao returns to their table with a cart of the food Yue Ling ordered. She placed each dish in neat order, and Yue Ling couldn't help but inhale the delicious aroma.
"Wow. Everything looks and smells delicious."
She (Yue Ling) praises the perfect presentation of the food while Madam Zhao turns bashful at the compliments. The two women didn't forget to have small chats here and there.
However, Lu Tian's eyes never moved away from his wife. Even when he could only see the side angle of her face.
His expression held happiness to see her smile, but at the same time, there was an unfamiliar sadness that could be seen if one were to take a closer look.
He says that everything will be okay, but will this happiness around her still stay once she learns the truth?
