The private room at Cloud Restaurant was laid with cream-colored carpet.
The warm yellow chandelier cast diamond-like specks of light on the glass turntable.
The walls were decorated with embossed cloud patterns, and when the air conditioner breeze swept through, the sheer curtains swayed gently, revealing a corner of the neon sign outside the window.
In the corner of the private room stood a sandalwood screen, tassels hanging from the hollows stirred by the wind leaking through the door crack, casting swaying koi shadows on the wall.
“I don’t know what you like to eat, so I didn’t order.”
MOKA nervously looked at Su Li, handing the menu over to her, hoping Su Li would order instead.
‘If I say the wrong thing, she might get upset.’
‘If Su Li is unhappy, then everything I did at such a great cost will be meaningless.’
‘And… I’ve already invested too much in her. There’s no turning back now.’
‘Of course, that’s not the most important thing. The most important thing is that I can’t leave her anymore.’
‘Even if it costs me money, even if I have to pay other prices—as long as she stays by my side, that’s enough.’
‘I can adjust my schedule for her. I can do anything for her.’
Su Li took the menu, her expression calm. She showed no particular reaction to this scene.
‘The client’s attitude toward me doesn’t matter, as long as they pay.’
‘Opinions, attitudes—I don’t care. To me, it’s just whether something is troublesome or not.’
‘Either way, the time spent is the same.’
Su Li ordered a few dishes that were relatively reasonably priced.
She glanced at MOKA, who was nervously watching her.
She didn’t let MOKA spend too much, nor did she try to save her money.
‘These dishes look pretty good. Even if I can’t finish them, I can take them home for the cat to try.’
‘But judging by MOKA’s current state, she probably doesn’t have much appetite.’
Seeing Su Li finish ordering, MOKA breathed a sigh of relief.
She silently noted down all the dishes Su Li had chosen.
‘When the food comes, I won’t take a single bite from her plate.’
‘Now… she’s probably forgiven me, right?’
The words got stuck in her throat. MOKA couldn’t bring herself to speak them.
‘If I bring up my request now, will it seem like I have ulterior motives? Like I’m being too goal-oriented?’
‘If she gets angry again, it won’t be easy to coax her back.’
MOKA ordered some alcohol and a few snacks for herself. She kept warning herself not to get too carried away while eating.
‘Drink a little less. I can’t afford to get drunk and throw a fit that makes Su Li angry.’
The room fell silent again. Su Li did not offer the warm, attentive service she usually gave to MOKA.
‘MOKA doesn’t need that kind of service right now. If I’m too considerate, it’ll only make her uncomfortable.’
So Su Li sat quietly, waiting for the food to arrive.
This kind of relaxation didn’t make her feel awkward—it was one of the rare moments she could slack off.
“Su Li…”
MOKA hesitated for a long time. The atmosphere felt too awkward.
‘I should find something to talk about.’
But when she chatted with others before, she was never the one to start the conversation.
With Su Li, it was always Su Li who brought up topics.
So MOKA had no idea if what she chose would catch Su Li’s attention.
“I heard that someone left the Cloud Restaurant’s private room in a really sorry state a while back. I don’t know what happened.”
“I heard it looked like a fight.”
MOKA remembered the gossip she’d found when searching for restaurants to eat at.
She didn’t know if this would interest Su Li. She really had no other topics to bring up.
“Mm.”
Su Li nodded.
Seeing no significant change in Su Li’s expression, MOKA felt puzzled again.
‘Is she interested, or not?’
‘I regret my poor storytelling ability. I can’t even explain the whole sequence of events properly.’
The room fell silent once more. MOKA grew anxious.
Only now did she realize how difficult it was for Su Li to keep offering one topic after another while serving her.
If it were her, she could never do it like Su Li did.
Fortunately, not long after, the waitress brought up the dishes Su Li had ordered.
One by one, they were served on light blue porcelain plates.
The sea bass was steamed to snowy tenderness, its skin shimmering with an amber oil sheen.
Scallion and ginger shreds curled like clouds and mist.
The fish melted on the tongue, the broth clear and sweet with a faint hint of aftertaste.
The braised pork belly was tender and sticky, the sauce coating it like amber sugar.
The fat quivered like wisps of cloud; as soon as it was bitten, the meaty aroma mixed with a light wine fragrance bloomed in the mouth.
The spare ribs were fried into a crispy golden shell, then drizzled with a bright red sweet-and-sour sauce.
The tangy bubbles burst on the tongue, and the shreds of meat clung to the glossy sauce like honeyed clouds.
MOKA looked at the dishes Su Li had ordered but didn’t dare to reach for her chopsticks.
Even though she was the one paying, she suddenly worried that Su Li might not like other people’s saliva.
Even using the serving chopsticks embarrassed her.
She could only silently pray that the food she’d ordered would arrive soon.
But then she grew concerned again.
‘If I don’t eat any of Su Li’s dishes, will she think I look down on her? Will she get angry about that?’
MOKA secretly studied Su Li’s expression, trying to guess what she was thinking.
‘If only Su Li would give me some kind of hint… It’s fine even if I don’t eat anything today. As long as she forgives me, that’s enough.’
‘If I hadn’t been so stupid and tried to skip the bill back then, would I not have to worry about all this now?’
MOKA thought regretfully.
Su Li, of course, had no idea what was going through MOKA’s mind.
She simply thought MOKA wasn’t hungry, or maybe she was exhausted from work and zoning out.
‘If we were friends, I might have asked about it.’
‘But right now, I feel like doing nothing is better for her.’
‘I’ve seen this same state in other people before—it just takes some time and they get better.’
‘Since MOKA hasn’t brought up what she wants from this meal, I’ll just treat this as a regular dinner with her.’
Finally, the dishes MOKA ordered arrived. But she secretly glanced at Su Li, hesitating.
“Su Li, this Rainbow Cloud Shrimp is really good. Do you want to try it?”
MOKA looked at the large prawns in front of her—butterflied, coated with salted egg yolk sauce, and deep-fried.
They were plated with meringue molded into cloud shapes, the tails hanging like rainbow sugar threads, the crispy shell packed with a savory, flowing yolk flavor.
She thought about whether to peel the shrimp for Su Li, but worried Su Li might think she was too dirty.
Even though she had showered thoroughly at home and washed her hands multiple times, Su Li didn’t know that.
‘Should I just go ahead? What if it makes her angry?’
MOKA hesitated. She suddenly missed the days when she was with Su Li.
‘Back then, I didn’t have to consider all these problems. Why was I so arrogant before? I didn’t even understand the most basic way to interact with people.’