He no longer likes street food, and just like that, he no longer likes her.

Jiang Ning understood Zhuang Yan's unspoken meaning. Her knuckles turned white as she clenched her fists, but she pretended not to understand: "Since you don't like snacks, there are other dishes around here."

Jiang Ning suddenly noticed something and pointed, "I didn't expect there to be salt gang cuisine here. I wonder if it's authentic or not. How about we eat here for lunch?"

Salt Gang cuisine is famous for its freshness and spiciness. To make it well, the first thing is that the ingredients must be fresh. Zhuang Yan has studied it because he likes to eat it, and he can also make a few signature salt gang dishes.

He loved eating spicy food not only in this life but also in his past life. However, due to his increasingly severe stomach problems, he could hardly eat any spicy food.

"Do you want to eat?" Zhuang Yan asked, after all, he wasn't eating alone, and on a date, he should consider the feelings of both parties.

"I want to eat it. It's been so long since I've had Shandong cuisine. You used to be so good at making it. Every time I ate it, it was so spicy that I had to drink water, but I couldn't stop eating it. I don't know when I'll be able to eat your Shandong cuisine again." Jiang Ning's tone and expression were full of regret as she finished speaking.

Zhuang Yan said, "I haven't cooked in a long time, and I've become rusty. If you want to eat Sichuan cuisine, the restaurants there are definitely the best. I know a few in Chengdu, and I can share them with you. You can order takeout."

He always rejected her without leaving any room for negotiation.

Jiang Ning stiffly said "okay," pretending not to care, but her heart couldn't pretend not to hurt.

The two entered the store, and a waiter came over enthusiastically with a menu: "Please make yourselves at home, and see what you'd like to eat?"

Zhuang Yan pushed the menu toward Jiang Ning: "You order."

Jiang Ning ordered a list of specialty dishes, all of which Zhuang Yan used to eat often.

Is that enough?

Zhuang Yan glanced at the menu: four meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and one soup. It was a bit much for two people, but they had bodyguards and a photographer with them, so there wouldn't be any waste.

"Can."

The waiter took away the menus and brought them a pot of tea.

Zhuang Yan had a habit of washing the tableware with tea. Jiang Ning, sitting opposite him, watched him intently, lost in her memories, until Zhuang Yan handed her the washed tableware.

She smiled and accepted it: "You're still the same as before, you haven't changed."

Zhuang Yan continued washing the dishes without looking up: "What hasn't changed is just the habit. People have changed. You can feel it too, can't you?"

After saying that, he stood up and said, "I'll go buy two cups of milk tea. What would you like to drink?"

"Same as before."

"As for the name, I've already forgotten it."

Zhuang Yan really doesn't spoil her at all. Jiang Ning smiled wryly and said, "Honey grapefruit, less sugar and less ice."

It would be a lie to say she didn't regret Zhuang Yan's cold attitude. If she had been more mature back then and had discussed things with him properly, explaining her situation, Zhuang Yan would definitely have understood her, given his personality.

But she chose to delay and conceal it, thinking that with time, those unpleasant things would disappear.

Zhuang Yan quickly returned with two cups of milk tea. He drank the room temperature one and handed the iced one to Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning, with her straw in her mouth, noticed Zhuang Yan glancing at his watch frequently while waiting for his food, and assumed he was hungry.

"There aren't many people here now, it should be our table's turn soon."

Zhuang Yan hummed in agreement, and the image of Lu Yan in a red dress appeared in his mind.

Dressed like that, where would she and Ling Xuan go on a date? What is she doing? Is she having lunch with Ling Xuan? What kind of food does Lu Yan like to eat? He seems to know nothing about her.

Ling Xuan is a year younger than Zhuang Yan, and is in his prime, full of energy and always jumping around.

Unlike him, who looks young but is actually quite old.

Zhuang Yan felt increasingly uneasy. He took a straw, stuck it into the cup, and took a deep sip. He had bought honey lemon, but he didn't know if the clerk had forgotten to add sugar; his mouth was full of sourness.

The food at this restaurant is served very quickly. A dish of liver and kidney stir-fried for only one minute is ready, along with fresh rabbit stewed with millet peppers, tender crucian carp with scallions, dry-fried pork intestines, stir-fried water spinach, and pickled cabbage and vermicelli soup.

Zhuang Yan hadn't had Shandong cuisine in a long time, and he definitely wanted to eat it, but he was afraid his stomach couldn't handle it.

So he only tasted a couple of bites of the meat dishes, and mainly drank the soup and ate the vegetables.

"This restaurant seems quite authentic." Since becoming an actress, Jiang Ning has been eating very lightly to maintain her figure. Suddenly eating something heavy on oil, salt, and spice opened up her taste buds, but she couldn't get used to the chili peppers and kept drinking water because of the spiciness.

Clearly, Jiang Ning didn't order these dishes because she wanted to eat them herself, but rather to cater to Zhuang Yan's tastes. However, after ordering, she discovered that neither of them could handle spicy food.

You can tell about relationship problems just by looking at what others are ordering. Trying to please others only makes things difficult for yourself.

Seeing that Zhuang Yan barely ate anything, even his favorite crucian carp, he only picked out two pieces.

Is it really that hard to eat when we go on a date? These are all dishes he likes.

Jiang Ning asked in a hoarse voice, "Isn't dating me boring?"

"No."

"Then why don't you eat any of these dishes? I remember..."

"Stop saying you remember." Zhuang Yan interrupted her. "Jiang Ning, people change. It's time for you to move on."

"But I can't get over it." Jiang Ning's throat stung, and she couldn't hide her sobs. "Xiao Yan, are you blaming me for not telling you before I entered the entertainment industry to film? I can explain."

Zhuang Yan put down his chopsticks: "Your future and love are not mutually exclusive. It's understandable that you chose your career. You have to put yourself first before others. You just want to become better, and I don't blame you."

Back then, he had just come of age and was immature. He resented Jiang Ning for changing her college application at the last minute, and he was also jealous of her filming with other men. He even broke his promise to her.

Later, he realized that if a relationship makes you unhappy or depressed, it means it's not suitable.

Jiang Ning chose her career for herself, and he, for the sake of his feelings, chose to break up with her and cut off all contact.

What's right or wrong about this? It's just a matter of perspective. Different angles lead to different viewpoints, different ways of looking at problems, and different thoughts.

Jiang Ning's eyes reddened: "Xiao Yan, I would rather you blame me... than see you so calmly. After we broke up, I was in a lot of pain. Back then, I would go to film movies, hoping to earn more money so that I could open a shop for my mother, buy a house in the city center, and bring my mother and your grandmother there... I thought that as long as I had money, I could go back to you and be with you openly."

Zhuang Yan was taken aback, and frowned, somewhat confused: "What did you take me for when we were together? Did you take me for a gigolo you wanted to keep?"

"No..." Jiang Ning explained hurriedly, "When we first got together, your dad came to see me once."