Chapter 4: You'll Pay for the Button
When the waiter came in with the menus, Ke Miantang had already flipped hers open before he could set it down.
Japanese beef set, truffle foie gras, and some seafood soup she couldn't even name.
Every page came with glossy photos, and just looking at them was enough to make her mouth water.
Before transmigrating, she'd been a proper foodie, dragging friends out to try new spots every few days.
After landing in this world, she'd discovered the biggest perk was still the food—meals so good they made her want to cry.
"This one, this one, and this one." Ke Miantang jabbed at the pictures, her voice picking up an unmistakable lilt. "For dessert, the matcha one."
The waiter glanced at Rong She, who gave a slight nod.
Zhou Ran, sitting nearby, laughed. "Sister-in-law's got a real appetite."
No malice in it—just simple teasing.
Only then did Ke Miantang realize she might not have looked particularly elegant just now.
She cleared her throat, handed the menu back, and lifted her chin a fraction, trying to summon some heiress energy.
-
The appetizer arrived first.
The plating was almost too pretty to eat—thin, cicada-wing slices of raw beef fanned out on a small golden dish, edged with caviar and edible gold leaf that glittered under the lights.
Ke Miantang snatched up her chopsticks, grabbed a slice, dipped it in sauce, and shoved the whole thing into her mouth.
Tender, soft, melting the instant it touched her tongue. The salty umami of the sauce and the natural sweetness of the beef bloomed together, so good she squinted in bliss.
She went for another slice.
A soft laugh sounded beside her.
Ke Miantang turned. He Yaying was lifting a slice of beef to her lips with her chopsticks, taking a dainty bite, chewing slowly, then setting her chopsticks neatly back on the rest.
Every movement natural and poised, every detail steeped in the composure of someone raised on careful instruction.
"Miss Ke eats with such boldness," He Yaying said, eyes crinkling. "I'm honestly envious. I was taught to chew thoroughly and eat slowly since I was little. I'd love to try being as free as you, Miss Ke."
The system translated in her head: [Translation: Your table manners are atrocious. You eat like an uncultured nouveau riche.]
Ke Miantang paused mid-chew. She didn't have many skills, but reading between the lines was one she'd maxed out.
She beamed at He Yaying, voice soft as cotton. "How sweet of you to say, Miss He. Someone like you—a proper lady—should keep up the elegance. Leave the big bites and carefree eating to people like me."
She picked up a third slice, popped it in her mouth, and chewed with obvious relish. "After all, class isn't something you can just learn."
He Yaying's smile froze. That flicker of failed expression management—barely a flicker—didn't escape Ke Miantang's notice.
She savored the brief silence, mood soaring.
She picked up a piece of beef and held it out to Rong She's lips.
"Ahh~" A breathy little sound, lips slightly pursed, her tone sweet as honey straight from the jar.
The beef hovered at his mouth. Rong She lifted his eyelids a fraction, his calm gaze reflecting her grinning face.
Ke Miantang waited a few seconds. Her outstretched arm began to ache.
Her heart sank. Too late, she realized she'd gotten carried away.
In the original novel, the host body had tried to get close to Rong She plenty of times—feeding him things, for instance—and he'd always refused.
She felt a stab of regret. All this kissing and hugging lately must have given her some kind of delusion.
But He Yaying was watching from across the table like it was a show, and he just wouldn't take it. Was he really going to humiliate her in public?
Her cheeks puffed out, then flattened. Her pursed lips trembled slightly. She lowered her eyes, sighed internally, and was just about to pull the beef back and eat it herself.
The next second, Rong She lowered his head and bit down on the beef.
As his lips brushed the chopsticks, his lashes dipped. From this angle, his features looked softer than usual—less cold, almost docile.
Ke Miantang's eyes lit up, a smile bursting across her face.
Rong She raised his eyes and fell straight into that pool of warmth. His Adam's apple bobbed. There was something in her smile—the satisfaction of a kitten that had just gotten away with stealing fish—so soft it made a man want to grab her by the nape and devour her, bite by bite.
Then she dragged out her voice, syrupy enough to rot teeth: "Brother Rong She, this fish has so many bones. I don't dare eat it—what if I choke?" She pointed at the steamed yellow croaker in front of her.
At the form of address, Rong She's swallow hitched for half a beat before finishing. His Adam's apple rolled heavily, and those peach-blossom eyes slid sideways at her.
Ke Miantang blinked back, all innocence, lashes fluttering so the light shattered into tiny specks in her pupils.
The others hadn't expected this. They each dropped their gazes to their own plates—all except He Yaying, whose face had gone iron-blue.
Everyone assumed Rong She would refuse coldly. They'd known him for years, knew the temper of this Young Master. He hated being ordered around, especially in public, especially with this kind of intimate, almost showy familiarity.
But this time, Rong She picked up the serving chopsticks.
The dark chopsticks spun once between his fingers. He lifted a piece of fish onto his own plate and began checking it for bones—turning it over, examining it from every angle, until he was satisfied there wasn't a single fine bone left.
Zhou Ran's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.
Getting Rong She to debone a fish—unthinkable, even at Chengxin Academy.
Number one on the whitelist. The only son of the Xingyun Conglomerate. The man who stood at the top of the pyramid looking down at everyone else—deboning a fish for Ke Miantang, number seventeen on the whitelist.
Ke Miantang was a little surprised herself.
She'd only asked to annoy He Yaying.
From her understanding of the spoiled-girlfriend persona, publicly ordering your boyfriend to do something outrageous was the best way to show off arrogance.
She hadn't expected him to actually do it—or to do it so seriously.
Rong She pushed the deboned fish toward her, voice flat. "Eat."
Ke Miantang looked at the clean, carefully picked-over fish in her dish and decided this man was actually pretty obedient.
In a great mood, she picked up the fish, stuffed it in her mouth, and said to the system while chewing: "See? He's pretty well-behaved."
[Host, your definition of 'well-behaved' may differ from normal people's.]
"Whatever. I'm his girlfriend now. What's wrong with making him check for bones?"
Across the table, He Yaying's grip on her chopsticks tightened.
Watching Ke Miantang eat with that utterly unburdened face, what churned in her chest wasn't just jealousy—it was resentment.
She'd known Rong She for years. She'd seen him in all kinds of settings and considered herself one of the people who understood him best.
But she'd never seen him debone a fish for anyone. He simply wasn't that kind of person.
Halfway through the meal, Ke Miantang set down her chopsticks and turned to Rong She. "I'm going to the restroom."
Rong She was talking with Zhou Ran. He nodded without looking up.
As Ke Miantang pushed her chair back and stood, He Yaying stood too.
"I'll go as well." He Yaying smiled. "Let's go together."