"Judging by your assessment and focus on this delicacy, I can only say you're still a novice. It's clear you lack practical experience. For this dish, the sauce isn't the deciding factor. What's important is the stickiness to the knife; wherever the blade falls, it must stick tightly—that is the key point."
As she spoke, Chen Xueer still hadn't noticed anything unusual.
Under the dining table, however, Zhou Ying's legs felt a bit weak as she gave Jiang Cheng a kick.
Chen Xue replied, "You're right. I've had that super large lava abalone before. Back then, the chef sliced it piece by piece just like that, and the meat really did stick tightly to the knife handle. That texture was very firm."
Receiving Zhou Ying's signal, the corner of Jiang Cheng's mouth curled up.
He immediately speared a piece with his fork and put it into his mouth.
Seeing Jiang Cheng chewing, Chen Xueer looked at him with an expectant face.
She was eager to hear his evaluation of the dish's texture.
To her surprise, Jiang Cheng shook his head again.
After swallowing, Jiang Cheng shook his head with a look of disappointment. "Why does this taste so sickeningly salty? For this kind of thing, the biggest taboo is saltiness. Once it's salty, you can't even swallow it. Are you sure this is what you called 'very clean'??"
Seeing Jiang Cheng still causing trouble, Zhou Ying, who was beside him, could no longer maintain her composure.
She wanted to warn Chen Xueer, but it was a bit hard to bring up.
Meanwhile, Chen Xueer was still trying to explain in all seriousness, "Um, yeah, look, these two sides are scraped quite clean. The one I ate just now wasn't like that..."
"That's where you're wrong. Even if they're from the same place of origin, this kind of thing has a different flavor for every piece. Besides, why doesn't this taste fishy or musky at all? When you eat this, that's exactly the flavor you're looking for..."
The expression on Zhou Ying's face grew redder and redder.
She even nudged Jiang Cheng with her elbow to signal him to stop talking.
Seeing the strange look in Zhou Ying's eyes, Chen Xueer finally began to snap out of it.
She replayed the discussion she just had with Jiang Cheng in her mind.
A flush of heat instantly rose to her face.
She felt like she couldn't suppress the primordial power surging within her body.
She held it in for a long time, barely managing to keep herself from screaming out loud.
Amidst the embarrassment, Chen Xueer gave Jiang Cheng a huffy glare.
"You..."
"What is it, Manager Chen?? If you have any other good ideas, feel free to bring them up."
"President Jiang..."
If it weren't for so many people being present...
She felt she would definitely have been unable to resist sitting right on Jiang Cheng's face.
And then spray him right in the face.
In the end, Chen Xueer could only swallow her grievance and immediately left her seat using the excuse of going to the restroom.
A man sitting next to an employee who was seriously recording what the staff were saying noticed the employee had been on his phone the whole time.
He couldn't help but speak up to remind him.
"Hey, the boss is right next to you, and you're still in the mood to play on your phone."
Hearing this, the man smugly showed the knowledge points he had just recorded to the other man.
"Didn't you hear President Jiang's food review just now? It was brilliant."
"What? It's so noisy here, I couldn't hear clearly."
After saying that, the man glanced at the notes in his phone's memo app.
With one look, he couldn't help but swallow hard.
He complained, "Why are you taking these notes??"
"So I can use them next time I go out to talk to clients, of course."
"No, you're going to use these notes to talk to clients??"
"Yeah, what's wrong?? Is the class not high enough?? It sounded very professional to me. Rich people are rich people; they're even so particular about eating."
Looking at his colleague's serious face, the man burst out laughing.
"I suspect you don't understand the real meaning of those words."
"Hah, you're looking down on me?? I'm a graduate student; how could I not understand??"
"...Brother, is it possible it's because your majors are different?"
...A few minutes later, Zhou Ying glanced toward the restroom.
"Why hasn't Manager Chen come back yet?? My mom just sent a message saying she's still working and won't be coming home with me, so should I head home first?"
Jiang Cheng had long since grown accustomed to Zhou Ying's kitten-like appetite.
Seeing this, he asked, "Not going back to the villa??"
Zhou Ying's face flushed at his words.
She immediately thought of Jiang Cheng's review just now.
She said coquettishly, "Hmph, you haven't really eaten that many..."
Hearing this, Jiang Cheng directly played dumb and asked, "Eaten what??"
There was no better way to handle this question than playing dumb.
Could he really tell her that except for the dark-skinned ones he hadn't unlocked yet, he had already 'tried on' all the rest??
Zhou Ying wasn't Yu Xiaoxiao.
Usually, when the two of them were alone, she relied on her strong dance foundation.
So when it came to doing various flexible poses, Zhou Ying didn't hesitate at all.
But if you wanted her to discuss such sensitive topics with Jiang Cheng...
She really found it a bit hard to speak of.
Looking at Chen Xueer's behavior just now, her relationship with Jiang Cheng must be quite normal.
Thinking this, Zhou Ying felt relieved.
It was the same thought as before; she wasn't willing and had no way to look too deeply into it.
This kind of thing was impossible to guard against; it all relied on self-discipline.
Moving past the topic, Zhou Ying said, "I won't go. I haven't practiced much these past two days, so I want to go back and practice for a while."
"Alright then, I'll take you back."
Zhou Ying waved her hand and replied, "No need, it's not on your way. Just let the driver take me back. You go on with your business."
"Then I'll come find you tomorrow."
"Mhm, then tell Manager Chen that I've headed back first."
After Zhou Ying left, Jiang Cheng checked the time.
Seeing that Chen Xueer still hadn't returned, Jiang Cheng picked up his phone and gave her a call.
Soon, a busy signal sounded from the other end.
Something's not right. This Girl couldn't have gotten an upset stomach, could she?
Thinking this, Jiang Cheng stood up and walked toward the restroom.
Jiang Cheng stood up and headed toward the restroom.
However, before he reached the restroom, he faintly heard Chen Xueer's voice.
The voice seemed to be coming from a corner, and though it was a bit muffled...
Jiang Cheng could still tell it was Chen Xueer's voice.
Following the sound to find her...
He soon discovered Chen Xueer standing at the fire escape stairs.
She had her phone in hand, clearly in the middle of a call.
He heard Chen Xueer say coldly to the person on the other end,
"The contract must be revised tonight. If the other party doesn't sign, have the legal department prepare a breach of contract letter—"
Chen Xueer's tone was firm and decisive, leaving no room for negotiation.
Halfway through her sentence, she caught a glimpse of Jiang Cheng from the corner of her eye.
Chen Xueer quickly finished her instructions over the phone.
Then she hurriedly hung up and turned around to look at Jiang Cheng huffily.
"Manager Chen, I thought you had an upset stomach, but it turns out you were hiding here making a call."
Seeing Jiang Cheng, Chen Xueer replied through gritted teeth, "I can't help it. Who told me I'm just a poor, hardworking laborer?"
Seeing Chen Xueer like a cat with its fur standing on end, Jiang Cheng found it quite amusing.
With one hand in his pocket, he leaned lazily against the wall.
He said with a grin, "Zhou Ying went home first. She asked me to let you know."
Hearing this, Chen Xueer gave Jiang Cheng a huffy glance.
She teased him crossly, "Oh, why didn't you go back with her?"
Jiang Cheng replied unhurriedly, "No body can handle going home every single day. She's going back to her own home tonight."
Seeing Jiang Cheng answer so matter-of-factly, the tips of Chen Xueer's ears instantly burned.
She took a few quick, loud steps forward and then stopped abruptly in front of Jiang Cheng.
She extended her right index finger and poked Jiang Cheng's chest.
"You're really something! Discussing that kind of topic with me right in front of Zhou Ying. You scumbag."
Jiang Cheng had already performed this routine once with Zhou Ying.
Doing it a second time, he appeared even more practiced.
Jiang Cheng blinked with feigned confusion. "Which topic are you talking about??"
Chen Xueer clearly wasn't falling for Jiang Cheng's trick.
"Oh, you spoke so eloquently just now, and now you've forgotten? Your memory is truly poor. Do you want me to help you review??"
Jiang Cheng didn't mind; instead, he responded with a playful look, "Ahem, sure. Go ahead. I can take the opportunity to savor it properly."
Jiang Cheng actually missed how Chen Xueer was when they first met.
Back then, she simply saw Jiang Cheng as the boss.
She was more open in her behavior and speech.
Not like now, where she looked like she wanted to hit him but was afraid of making contact.
Seeing this, Jiang Cheng provoked her on purpose, "Why aren't you saying anything??"
"I..."
Provoked by Jiang Cheng, Chen Xueer suddenly felt a surge of humiliated anger.
Her face turned beet red, and the words she had prepared were now too embarrassing to say.
In a fit of rage, she actually opened her mouth and made a move to bite Jiang Cheng's wrist.
"Ouch, are you a dog?" Jiang Cheng was quick and caught her wrist.