Inside the VIP room, everything had already been arranged properly.
The table was filled with all kinds of dishes, each one prepared with great care. The food was rich and luxurious, and the atmosphere of the room was quiet and refined.
As soon as they entered, Huo Chengye looked at Shen Mingshan and said politely, "Old Sir, please take the main seat."
This was clearly a gesture of respect.
Shen Mingshan did not refuse. He nodded lightly and took the main seat.
Huo Chengye then sat at the side, while Shen Yueran calmly took the seat nearest to Shen Mingshan, directly opposite Huo Chengye.
Once everyone was seated, the waiters quickly finished serving the last of the dishes.
Near each seat, wine glasses had already been filled.
Shen Mingshan looked around the table and was just about to start eating when he suddenly heard a low mutter from beside him.
"Tch… feels like water."
The voice was not loud, but in the quiet room, he heard it clearly.
The old man turned his head at once and looked toward Shen Yueran's side.
Sure enough, the wine glass near her was already empty.
Shen Mingshan's eyelid twitched.
He gave her a look.
Shen Yueran pretended not to notice and simply sat there as if nothing had happened.
Shen Mingshan sighed inwardly, but in the end, he did not say anything.
On the other side, Huo Chengye had been watching everything from the beginning.
He had seen the wine in her glass disappear almost the moment she sat down.
Even the nearby waiter, who had also noticed the empty glass, was already about to step forward and refill it.
But before the man could move, shen mingshan spoke.
"That's enough."
The waiter stopped immediately.
The old man's expression did not change as he continued, "No need for alcohol for the two of us. You may remove the wine glasses from here."
As he said that, his eyes shifted slightly toward Shen Yueran.
It was not a harsh look.
But the warning inside it was very clear.
Shen Yueran met his eyes for a second, then lazily looked away.
Shen Mingshan thought silently to himself, It's not even the first day of work, and it's already like this.
His heart instantly grew tired again.
After that, everyone finally began to eat.
At first, the meal remained proper and quiet.
Shen Mingshan ate with the calm pace of an elder. Huo Chengye also ate neatly and with restraint. Xu Chen and Han Rui, who were seated a little to the side, maintained the same professional manner.
As for Shen Yueran, she also started eating.
But unlike the others, her pace gradually became more and more natural.
By the time the others had nearly finished, she was still steadily eating without the slightest shame or restraint.
The large shared dishes on the table had all been placed there so that everyone could take food onto their own plates.
Yet after everyone else slowed down, Shen Yueran simply continued.
What others had left behind, she calmly took.
Then she ate it all.
One plate after another, one dish after another, she cleaned up everything that remained on the table.
Nothing was wasted.
Not a single bite.
This time, Shen Mingshan did not look at her or stop her.
Because this habit of hers was not something that started after he adopted her.
It had been there even before that.
From the day he first brought her back, she had always been like this.
She might cause trouble everywhere else, but when it came to food, she never wasted anything.
And on this point alone, Shen Mingshan had always praised her.
So even though the scene looked a little strange in such a high-end VIP room, the old man remained quiet.
On the other side, Huo Chengye also watched her calmly.
And strangely enough, there was not even the slightest dissatisfaction in his eyes.
Instead, there was a faint satisfaction.
If she wanted to eat more, then let her eat more.
Even if she cleaned out another entire table of food, he could still feed her without any problem.
The atmosphere in the room remained quiet until, at last, the meal finally came to an end.
Shen Yueran leaned back slightly in her chair, looking perfectly satisfied.
The table had been cleaned so thoroughly by her that even the waiters outside would probably be shocked when they came in later.
At that point, Shen Mingshan finally looked toward Huo Chengye.
"Young man," he said, "it was a pleasure doing business with you."
"Our service will begin tomorrow. Our people will contact you then."
He paused before adding seriously, "We will not disappoint the trust you have placed in us."
Huo Chengye inclined his head slightly. "I look forward to it."
Shen Mingshan then stood up.
The others naturally followed.
The old man gave a final nod, clearly meaning to take his leave.
Beside him, Shen Yueran also stood up. She did not say much. She only gave Huo Chengye a small nod before turning to leave together with her grandfather.
From beginning to end, she had not truly looked at him properly even once.
Soon, under the lead of the staff, Shen Mingshan and Shen Yueran walked out of the VIP room.
The others from Mingxiao followed behind them and left together.
Inside the room, Huo Chengye remained where he was for a moment.
His gaze stayed fixed on the doorway long after Shen Yueran's figure had already disappeared.
Then, in his heart, he thought to himself:
No need to rush.
She did not even give me a proper glance from start to finish.
But that doesn't matter.
We will be spending much more time together from now on.
There will be many chances in the future to understand her better... and to connect with her.
On the way back, inside the car, Shen Mingshan sat with a tired face.
Beside him, Shen Yueran looked completely carefree.
She leaned there lazily, whistling some random tune under her breath.
Hearing that light whistling sound, Shen Mingshan turned his head and looked at her.
Then he sighed and looked away again.
Inside, he silently prayed to every god he knew.
Let this cooperation go well.
Let this little troublemaker not cause any disaster.
But after thinking that far, the old man could not help closing his eyes in helplessness.
Because even if Shen Yueran tried to avoid trouble, trouble always seemed to find her on its own.
And that was exactly what worried him the most.