Liang Hai raised her right hand slightly and snapped her fingers at a server in the distance.
The server immediately stepped forward with deference. Liang Hai murmured a few instructions in fluent French, and the server gave a slight bow.
Soon, two pre-meal special cocktails with a faint aroma of fruitwood were brought to the table, and the server thoughtfully laid out napkins for both of them.
The whole process was seamless, exuding the bearing of a noble young lady in every gesture.
This…
I’m a country bumpkin from the sticks, I’ve never seen this kind of dining spectacle, why does a person gotta speak some bird language before eating?
No… no way… I can’t speak that bird language.
I can’t understand it, and if this old country boy gets the eating order wrong, are they gonna kick me out?
Don’t pull this kind of stunt on me, I don’t get it, I’m just a village hick.
Watching her impeccable manners, Chang Hansui found himself momentarily at a loss for words.
Wait, this script is all wrong.
She still isn’t humiliating him?
Generally speaking, those who love checking in and taking photos, after putting on a whole showy surface routine, shouldn’t they be throwing out insults and showing off?
Why hasn’t she opened with a battle cry like those Little Red Book socialites:
“AHHHHHHHHHH! How can you be so cocky, so cringe, you’ve never had French food, you country bumpkin, you don’t even understand basic etiquette?”
He had even blackened his own reputation by calling himself a streamer with no real job, and this young lady still hadn’t spat out a:
“Hmph, just a beggar scraping by on the streets” to mock him?
Looks like the battle isn’t over yet.
Sigh… whatever.
Honestly, Chang Hansui himself knew that the moment he stepped into this restaurant and saw that girl by the window, beautiful like a painting… no, even earlier.
The moment he saw the restaurant chosen for the meeting, he knew they might not be from the same world.
If it comes to a fight, I’ll be the first to run
If it comes to a talk, I’ll be the first to run
If it comes to running, I’ll be the first to run
There’s no way this can lead to marriage.
He truly wondered how much counterfeit liquor his grandfather must have drunk back in the day to arrange this betrothal. Was his grandfather trying to make his grandson’s life shorter, sentencing him to this torture?
Whether it was appearance, family background, or career, he was completely outclassed by her. Even if she was his fiancee, how was he supposed to talk marriage with her?
“Since Mr. Chang has already introduced himself, let me briefly share my own situation too. That way, we can get to know each other better.”
Liang Hai raised her goblet and took a gentle sip:
“I’m twenty-one this year. There are three siblings in my family besides me: one older sister, one older brother, and one younger brother. As for the number of properties and cars the family owns…”
She tilted her head slightly, as if genuinely pondering, then smiled with a hint of apology.
“My apologies, but I haven’t counted them precisely. I don’t usually manage the family’s accounts in that area. If I need to use something, I just go to the garage or grab the keys, so I really haven’t kept track.”
Silent flexing is the deadliest kind.
Chang Hansui felt an arrow strike his knee.
Liang Hai set down her goblet.
“As for work… I’m currently helping the family with some accounting tasks, reviewing contracts. Though it’s not full-time, since I’m only a junior in college, I need to balance my studies and… some other personal matters.”
(A red dragon far away sneezed.)
Chang Hansui listened, utterly dumbfounded.
She didn’t resort to the classic Little Red Book cocky PUA humiliation, but instead gave such a proper, even candid self-introduction?
This young lady didn’t seem as unreasonable as she’d been at the start.
Since she was treating him with courtesy, Chang Hansui had no choice but to steel himself and respond.
“As for me… my family runs an electronic components factory, and we also do some OEM work for computer power supplies. It’s a modest operation, just enough to scrape by. I’m the youngest in the family, with an older sister and an older brother.”
Chang Hansui took a deep breath.
“But I didn’t study electronic engineering, and I don’t plan to go back and take over the family business. Right now… I’m just a shut-in living in this city, scraping by as a streamer online.”
He deliberately concealed the fact that he was the moderator of “firemaru,” the largest magical girl forum on the internet, as well as his recent infamy as Grey Ivy.
After all, that identity was too sensitive. If it slipped in front of this young lady and leaked to the outside world, those magical girls would trace the internet cables straight to his house and dig up his ancestors’ graves.
Anyway, a streamer and a forum admin were pretty much the same: both were online jobs that required no going outside, just typing on a keyboard in front of a computer.
She was probably just here to go through the motions for her parents and call it a day, right?
Looking at Liang Hai, who was quietly listening across from him, Chang Hansui laughed at himself inwardly.
She was probably forced into this by her family, here to go through the motions, just going through the paces to satisfy her parents.
Liang Hai’s qualifications alone made him nervous. What did he, a shut-in nobody, have that could possibly match her?
Too oppressive.
A gold-rank player facing a grandmaster.
With the gentle sound of a cello playing in the background, waiters in black vests silently placed dish after dish of artwork-like cuisine onto the table.
Chang Hansui sat upright, his peripheral vision locked on Liang Hai across from him.
Watching the young lady elegantly pick up her knife and fork, her index finger lightly pressing against the spine of the knife as she cut into the Wellington steak with its pink center, her movements making not a single sound.
Chang Hansui swallowed hard and immediately mimicked her, adjusting his grip on the fork, trying his best to make his demeanor look less like a fresh-off-the-bus hick.
The two of them ate this dinner with its delicate atmosphere while engaging in idle, off-and-on conversation.
Chang Hansui cautiously broached a topic.
“Miss Liang Hai, what hobbies do you have in your spare time?”
Liang Hai set down her goblet, her fingertips gently wiping the condensation from the glass:
“…I play golf occasionally.”
G… Golf…
The hand holding Chang Hansui’s fork trembled slightly.
I’ve never even touched a golf club in my whole life!
The greenest grass I’ve ever been on is the landscaping strip in my neighborhood.
“And you, Mr. Chang?”
“I… I just play some online games at home occasionally.”
Chang Hansui let out a dry chuckle.
Since she was the kind of top-tier young lady who casually mentioned golf, Chang Hansui figured it was best not to embarrass himself further.
If he brought up the <sky record> he was grinding, she might look at him with utter contempt, like garbage, this sporty, golf-playing rich girl.
“I see…”
Liang Hai lowered her gaze slightly, cut a small piece of steak, and brought it to her mouth without further comment.
Watching her calm, unruffled reaction, Chang Hansui decided it was time to gracefully back off.
If they kept talking, she’d see right through him. Ending this proactively might be the only way to preserve what little dignity he had left.
Sure, this was an absurd marriage pact set by both their grandfathers, but the gap between them was simply too wide.
The family background, the looks, the mannerisms and attire… even if they were forced to marry, it probably wouldn’t last long.
Sure, the rich lady’s style of dressing and her face were absolutely hitting every single one of Chang Hansui’s buttons, but a man should know his place. Letting the lower head rule the upper head would invite divine punishment.
Still, he couldn’t reject her too bluntly. He needed to let her down gently.