Chapter 17: It couldn't be…

They reached the place some twenty minutes later.

Nana got out and widened her eyes in shock. It was a five-star hotel! She thought it would be a local restaurant or hotel like hers, but this was completely different than she imagined.

Why did he bring me here?

“Are you okay?” Chen Jianyu asked.

“H-ha? Yes, yes, I am okay.” Nana said nervously.

What is happening? Is there something that I should know about?

They went inside, and the manager greeted them with a big smile.

“Mr. Chen, it’s great to see you. As per your instructions, the room is ready. You can press the bell when you are ready to order. I will take you both over there.”

Room? What room? Aren’t we dining with the other customers? Am I seriously missing something?

Even though the air-conditioning was in full swing, a thin line of sweat still formed on her forehead. She had never come to a fancy place like this.

The manager led them to their room and said,

“Everything is set, sir. Have a delightful lunch.”

“Thank you.”

Both of them went inside the private room, which was very big and spacious. A table for two was set at the center.

Is this whole room booked for us? It looks so classy and luxurious. Something where rich people would eat. Just who is he?

“You take a look at the menu and decide what you want to order,” Jianyu said.

“Okay..”

Nana flipped through the menu.

“…”

She widened her eyes as if her eyeballs will jump out of their sockets.

S-So expensive! 700 Yuan per person!

She so wanted to faint right now.

“What’s wrong? You seem tense.” asked Jianyu.

Tense is an understatement, Mr. Chen, she thought.

“U-uumm, don’t you think it’s quite expensive here? I won’t be able to afford the bill.” She said nervously.

Chen Jianyu just stared at her.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

And then he laughed loudly.

What? Did I say something funny?

“Ahahahaha! I-I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t laugh like this. But I can’t help it.” He said in between laughter.

He finally composed himself.

“Why did you think you will pay the bill?” asked Jianyu.

“I thought we would split the bill in half. That’s why I said that. I cannot afford to pay even half of the bill so..”

Split? This is the first time Jianyu heard about this. Whenever someone in their social class goes to a five-star hotel, the guy always pays for his date as well or rather a friend in this case.

Wait a minute…

“Miss Nana?”

“Yes, Mr. Chen Jianyu?”

“Do you know who I am?” he asked, guessing the source of her confusion.

“Yes.Mr. Chen Jianyu?”, she said not fully understanding the question.

“Aa no, what I am asking is, do you know who I am as a ‘Chen’? Have you heard of the Chen Corporations?”

“Yes, I have heard about them. Sometimes the twins talk about them. They are one of the richest and largest business in Beijing and-“

Nana stopped suddenly. Her mind got blank. She seemed to get the answer to the question but was unable to process it. It was like she was flying high in the sky, and suddenly, she had a bad crash landing.

Then reality slowly sunk in. And yet, once again, she widened her eyes in disbelief.

No, it couldn’t be…

“Y-y-you are THAT Chen Jianyu?” she asked, pointing a trembling finger at him.

“Yes.” He simply said.

Oh, my God! Chen Jianyu!? The CEO of Chen’s Corporation? Is that him? Does that mean the lady that night was Madam Chen?

“I thought so.”

Nana was brought out of her stupor.

“I understand you did not recognize me because we don’t appear in front of the media very often. So common people don’t know how we look like. But I thought you might have known when we introduced ourselves that night. By our family name.”

Nana stammered, “I-I really couldn’t guess. I never expected the Chen family to visit my small restaurant. Don’t rich people usually go to high-class hotels? Mine is nothing fancy like those. How can I make the connection? Even the car we used today was quite a low key, so I thought you were a different person with the same name..”

So that’s why she wasn’t so shocked that night.

Jianyu didn’t know what to say. This is the first time somebody did not recognize him.

Silence.

After few seconds calming herself, Nana said,

“Mr. Chen Jianyu, after knowing this important fact, we possibly cannot think about d-dating.”

“Why?”

Is there still any need to ask?

“Why? Because you belong to one of the richest families in China. You are the CEO. Your social class is so very different from me, and I am only an ordinary girl. I don’t match your status. There are so many families you could choose from. Which have the same social standing as yours? How can we-“

“Miss Nana,” he cut off, “Yes, we are rich, but it isn’t necessary for us to always choose a rich girl from a noble family. We don’t mind their backgrounds as long as they are honest and sincere people. That is why my mom liked you so much.”

He then smiled and teased, “Or are you saying that you are not an honest and sincere person?”

“Ah? No! I mean, yes..”

“See? Isn’t that enough?” He chuckled.