Chapter 83's luring the enemy has a seductive quality, like whispering sweet nothings without realizing it...

What is it about Qingfeng Pavilion that is worth coveting?

Everything that could be imitated was imitated; it's not a big deal if other dishes are slightly inferior in taste. But Phoenix Raises Nine Chicks is different.

A slight difference can mean a world of difference.

The only thing Zhuang Fuyao could think of for the time being was the secret recipe for raising nine phoenix chicks.

But the uncertainty is the most terrifying thing, like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, waiting for its chance to strike.

Zhuang Fuyao felt that rather than letting the other party hide in the shadows, it would be better to find an opportunity to "loosen up her tongue" and see what he was really up to.

While waiting at a red light, Liang Huaixu called. He seemed to have a lot of free time these past few days, picking her up every day after get off work. The two of them would eat out and then he would take her back to Qianyue Villa.

Tonight was an exception; he went to visit Old Yu, and as soon as he had a free moment, he called, "Are you off work yet?"

"I'm off, on my way home."

"I just came from my teacher's house and will be passing by Qianyue Manor. I'll come over here later."

"OK."

She quite enjoyed spending time with Liang Huaixu in the car after get off work, the two of them as affectionate as a young couple just starting out in love.

Knowing she was coming, Zhuang Fuyao didn't drive her car into the garage, but parked it on the side of the road. As soon as he arrived, she went into his car.

She sat on his lap, twirling his tie with her fingers. "Why have you been so clingy these past few days?"

Liang Huaixu lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on her full under-eye bags. She looked beautiful when she smiled, her eyes seemed to be studded with starlight, radiating love, just like when they first got married.

Liang Huaixu breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Regardless of why she reconnected with Yu Heng, at least for now, he still holds a higher place in her heart than Yu Heng.

He slowly traced the contours of her face with his hand, her nose and lips, his eyes filled with a deep affection that could drown you in it. "I miss you terribly when I can't see you, but I just happen to have some free time these past few days."

Zhuang Fuyao couldn't stand his gaze, let alone listening to him speak sweet nothings in that deep, magnetic voice.

When he says sweet nothings, it's not greasy at all; he has a captivating charm that comes from speaking sweet nothings without even realizing it.

She nuzzled against him tenderly.

Liang Huaixu drives a dark gray Maybach. They've done it three times in the last few days, and it's practically become half their bed.

This led Liang Huaixu to refuse to let anyone else drive the car.

Liang Huaixu stopped her from making trouble and calmly said that they had already reached the weekly recommended frequency.

Zhuang Fuyao: "..."

That's right, even someone as health-conscious as Professor Liang sets a certain frequency for such matters.

Seven times a week is acceptable.

But last time at Boya Bay, he came four times in one night!

In the following six days, there were only a pitifully small number of times!

The sudden shift from luxury to frugality was really hard to bear. She played with his fingers in a wronged mood, "You stingy guy."

Liang Huaixu looked at her gently the whole time, showing no sign of breaking his principles. He was well aware of the importance of sustainable development, so he would not give in to her in this regard.

She pretended to be angry and said, "Then I'm going up!"

"Shall we go up?" he asked, pulling her along.

"Why are you stopping me? Do you want to come up with me too?" Zhuang Fuyao asked provocatively, guessing that Liang Huaixu definitely wouldn't dare to go up with her.

Following her lead, Liang Huaixu said, "That's fine, it's a good opportunity to visit your uncle and aunt."

This time it was Zhuang Fuyao's turn to be surprised. How could Liang Huaixu be so bold today?

Noticing the doubt in his girlfriend's eyes, Liang Huaixu smiled and said, "I'm serious. I just happen to have some things that my aunt and uncle like in the trunk, so I'll bring them up with me."

"You prepared something else?"

“Yes.” Liang Huaixu was used to being prepared for any eventuality and making preparations in advance.

……

It wasn't until Liang Huaixu followed her to her doorstep that Zhuang Fuyao realized he really wasn't joking.

This happened suddenly, and both of them were nervous.

Liang Huaixu's nervousness is a feeling that every son-in-law would have in front of his future father-in-law and mother-in-law, especially when the mother-in-law is somewhat opposed to them.

Zhuang Fuyao was worried that if she brought someone home late at night, Ms. Ji might kick her out of the house.

But if she wanted things to work out with Liang Huaixu, she had to take this step.

She mustered her courage, thinking that tonight would be a test.

"Mom and Dad, I'm back. Liang Huaixu brought me here, and I invited him to come over for a visit."

...

Ten minutes later, Liang Huaixu was chatting with Zhuang Shaoping on the sofa, while the aunt was busy preparing tea and snacks.

Ji Lan glanced at her daughter.

Zhuang Fuyao guiltily looked away and picked up the tangerine next to her.

Ji Lan was speechless. Look at her, so pathetic. Where did all that energy she had when she argued with Liang Huaixu go?

Liang Huaixu naturally took the orange from Zhuang Fuyao's hand and carefully removed the pith from it. His movements were very skilled, probably because he practiced doing this often.

Ji Lan does spoil her daughter, but not to this extent. Even eating a tangerine requires removing the white pith…

But Liang Huaixu acted as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

This also reflects that Liang Huaixu usually treats his daughter very well, probably no different from serving her as a princess.

She had been about to say something sarcastic, but she swallowed the words back. The night passed relatively peacefully.

Once everyone had left, she began to look at the things Liang Huaixu had brought her, a smile on her face that she hadn't shown before.

When Liang Huaixu delivered the gift, he didn't say anything else, only that he saw it while on a business trip and bought it.

This was just the right purchase; it perfectly captured Ji Lan's heart.

Zhuang Shaoping shook his head and chuckled, "Look at you, you're clearly happy, but you insist on putting on a stern face in front of others."

"What do you know?" Ji Lan glared at him. "We are our daughter's support. At least one of us needs to be able to keep things in order so that others won't dare to treat our daughter badly."

-

During this week, Yu Heng would occasionally come to Qingfeng Restaurant for a meal, and Zhuang Fuyao treated him like an ordinary customer.

Once, Yu Heng happened to run into Zhao Zilin, and casually mentioned, "I came across him online. He's a pretty popular blogger. His video of working at Qingfeng Pavilion went viral."

That's a rather subtle statement.

If she treated them differently, it would seem as if she had something to hide, so Zhuang Fuyao simply took advantage of the situation and "relaxed her tone".

Instead of living in fear, it's better to act quickly, figure out what the other party wants, and then eliminate the hidden danger completely.

To lower Yu Heng's guard, she became much warmer towards him after he joined the company.

She even claimed to be her friend in front of the Qingfeng Pavilion staff. With this identity, plus Yu Heng's good personality, she quickly became friends with the people at Qingfeng Pavilion in just two days.

However, Zhao Zilin was an exception; he didn't like Yu Heng very much.

Yu Heng's attire didn't look like someone who needed to work for such a small amount of money. Yu Heng didn't seem like himself either. He had asked, and the other party wasn't involved in self-media.

As a man, he could sense the undercurrents and knew that Yu Heng likely had ulterior motives towards Sister Fuyao.

It's one thing that he lost to Uncle Liang, after all, Sister Fuyao and Uncle Liang have had a relationship for so many years, but where did this Yu Heng come from...?

Because of this, he had been secretly competing with Yu Heng.

Cheng Fan had no choice but to ask Sister Fu Yao for advice. "Zhao Zilin and Yu Heng are both quite outgoing. I thought they would get along well, but for some reason, they act like enemies. They can't stand each other and bicker every few days."

Zhuang Fuyao figured Yu Heng wouldn't be staying here for long, so she didn't take it too seriously. She just said, "Tell them to be careful. They can argue all they want in private, but they can't disturb the customers."

"Okay, sis."

No sooner had Cheng Fan left than Liang Huaixu called.

"What are you doing?"

"I just finished talking to Cheng Fan about work."

"Okay." Liang Huaixu responded, "The company isn't too busy lately, so I'll spend the day at Qingfeng Pavilion."

She hesitated and said, "How about in a while? Qingfeng Pavilion is quite busy lately, and I might not have time to spend with you."

"It's okay, I'll just find a corner to stay in."

Zhuang Fuyao frowned in distress, trying to think of a good excuse.

To avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, she didn't mention Yu Heng to Liang Huaixu. Based on her understanding of Liang Huaixu, she knew that if she told him about Qingyuefang and Yu Heng, he would likely use his own methods to resolve the situation, and he certainly wouldn't let Yu Heng stay under her nose.

But she didn't want Liang Huaixu to always help her with this and that. Qingfeng Pavilion was founded by her own hands and had her hard work on it. This time, she wanted to handle the matter herself.

If all goes well, it won't take too long.

“But I’m leaving this afternoon. I’m going to another city with Cheng Fan to select tea-producing areas in the next couple of days. I won’t be here, so you’d better not come.”

"Well, since you're not here, there's no need for me to come." His tone was normal, but his lowered eyes revealed that he was somewhat uneasy at the moment.

After hanging up the phone, Liang Huaixu lit a cigarette. White smoke drifted between his deep-set eyes, and his eyes behind the smoke were dark. He used the tobacco to dispel the vexation in his heart.

Actually, he had arrived a long time ago. His car was parked below Qingfeng Pavilion, but he didn't go up, and he was a little afraid to go up.

One time could be a coincidence.

But when he tried to pick her up a couple of days ago, she made up all sorts of excuses, as if she really didn't want him to come to Qingfeng Pavilion.

What exactly is inside Qingfeng Pavilion?

The following day, Ning Xi returned to China.

In Boya Bay, Liang Huaixu sat on the sofa, listening to Ning Xi talk about the new waiter who had come to Qingfeng Pavilion.

Ning Xi said with a grin, "Brother, aren't you feeling threatened? Everyone at my sister-in-law's restaurant is so handsome! This time, a young waiter came, and he's incredibly handsome and funny too..."

Liang Huaixu interrupted her, "Young?"

"Yes, I think they're about my age."

"What's your name?"

“Yu what?” Ning Xi remembered. “Right, his name is Yu Heng. Doesn’t it sound nice?”

Liang Huaixu pursed his lips, his expression unreadable.

But Ning Xi, being the troublemaker she is, had already thoroughly analyzed the meanings revealed by the subtle changes in her family members' micro-expressions.

She could tell that her cousin was a little unhappy.

Ning Xi opened her lips, then quickly closed them again.

I wondered if she had gotten into trouble again.

Her cousin's sudden call for her to return to China definitely wasn't because he missed her. He usually disliked her, especially when she caused trouble. It was more like he wanted to avoid seeing her altogether.

This time, not only was she allowed to return to China, but she was also given free rein to go out and play with her sister-in-law. Something is definitely amiss!

Could my cousin have sent her to be a spy?

Help! Did she just betray her sister-in-law?!

No wonder he was curious about a waiter's name just now!

But who exactly is this Yu Heng, that my cousin is so concerned about him?