Before Matthew and Erica entered the private room, two people walked over to them, heading in the opposite direction.
Erica didn't notice anyone special as she was taking in the luxurious decor. A man in a green suit greeted them. "Mr. Huo, Erica, what a coincidence!"
It was Watkins and his friend.
Erica was surprised to see Watkins there. She smiled happily and said, "Hi, Watkins. I didn't expect to see you here!"
Meanwhile, Matthew pulled her closer to him.
The four stood face to face and greeted each other cordially.
Matthew glanced at Watkins indifferently and just nodded at him.
But Erica was a great deal friendlier. She continued to chat with Watkins. "You also here for dinner?"
Remembering the last time they met up, Watkins put his hand in his pocket. He tried to shake hands with Matthew on that last occasion, and the rich young man turned him down. Watkins nodded at Erica. "Yeah. We got here earlier. We're done now! I thought we'd order some drinks. Have you eaten yet?"
"No, we just got here!"
"Then you go ahead. We're in the private club upstairs. You and Mr. Huo are welcome to join us." Watkins didn't dare look at Matthew, but stared at Erica.
Erica was excited to hear that they could drink and party. Now this was an evening out! But Matthew didn't like the way Watkins was staring at Erica. He quickly answered for Erica, "Thanks for the invite, Mr. Chai, but we really can't. We're going to watch the stars after dinner."
'Eh? Watch the stars?' Confused, Erica looked back at the calm man. Why didn't she know he had that planned?
Caught off guard by Matthew's refusal, Watkins was bewildered for a moment. Then he smiled warmly and replied, "Sounds like a romantic evening. Then we won't disturb you. See you later, Erica!"
"Okay! Bye!"
Watkins and his friend left first. As he looked back at the couple, a complicated light flashed through Watkins' eyes. He saw the way Matthew held her, almost like a possession.
Matthew had always paid careful attention to his image. He was always alone in public. It was rare to see a woman standing beside him, not to mention one he was holding so intimately.
Nonetheless, he was now holding his wife in his arms, possessively, as if he were afraid someone might snatch her away.
'Matthew seems to love her a lot!' Watkins thought.
The manager of the restaurant led the Huo couple to a well-decorated and secluded private room and held the door for them. "Mr. and Mrs. Huo, this is Mr. Tang's private room."
"Okay. Thanks." Matthew nodded slightly and walked in with Erica.
Once seated, the couple was treated to a beautiful view of the city at night, even the downtown office buildings of ZL Group and Theo Group.
The manager came by to check on them personally before pouring the wine. He asked the waiters to start serving Matthew and Erica.
When they were left alone in the private room, just the two of them, Erica couldn't wait to ask Matthew, "Are we really going to look at the stars? Where do we get a good view?"
This was intended as a surprise, a grand romantic gesture. But the way Watkins was looking at his wife was unsettling. So he showed his hand early.
"The top of Fragrance Mountain," he answered.
'Fragrance Mountain?' Erica thought for a minute. The name sounded familiar. "Are you talking about that place that's famous for stargazing? That Fragrance Mountain?"
"The same."
"Wow!" Erica was surprised, but then wore a frustrated expression. "But I didn't bring my large aperture wide-angle lens." The lens on her camera was for everyday use. This would have been a great opportunity to capture the night sky on film. If she didn't have the right equipment, it wouldn't turn out nearly as well as she hoped. Ah well, she could always adjust the shutter speed. 20 seconds should do it.
Matthew didn't want to disappoint her. With a smile altering the corners of his mouth, he said, "I brought along a professional-level camera and a lens. I trust that's acceptable?"
"Really? What kind of lens?" She wanted to check if Matthew had really done his homework on this.
"I consulted a professional photographer. He recommended a Stone Sea 24mm F1.4 Art. It's easier to operate."
Erica really wanted to hold Matthew in her arms and kiss him. She was so excited to capture the brilliance of the Milky Way and the night sky. "Then let's eat!"
"Do you still want to go drinking?" Matthew asked. The night was so wonderful, and a taste of wine would be just the thing. She'd wanted to go out and have some fun, but Matthew was kind of a homebody.
Erica picked up the glass of red wine in front of her decisively and smiled at him sweetly. "There's wine here. Why go somewhere else?" She lifted her glass in a toast. "To long life and happiness!"
Matthew smiled in satisfaction and clinked glasses with her. Erica tossed her glass back with aplomb, gulping it all down at once.
Then Erica poured another glass of wine for herself, and at the same time, she also filled Matthew's glass. She raised her glass again and said solemnly, "Matthew, thank you for your help. I don't know how to thank you. All I could think of was to invite you to dinner." The restaurant Matthew picked out was pretty high-end, and on the pricey side. She was afraid this meal might cost everything she had and then some.
Matthew didn't move. "Don't worry. The drinks can wait. Let's have dinner first." He was afraid that after a couple of glasses of red wine on an empty stomach, she would get drunk. He remembered what happened the last time she got drunk. It was burned into his brain. If she got drunk this time, Erica might wave at the night sky and said, "Matthew, look! This is the night sky I drew for you!" He really would rather have a romantic evening than a silly one.
Regardless, thinking of that made the smile on Matthew's face grow bigger and bigger.
She had picked up the wine of glass to make a toast to him, but he refused. Erica smiled awkwardly and sneered at Matthew's unromantic behavior.
It was so embarrassing. But she decided to let it go. There were only the two of them in the private room, and nobody was watching them anyway.
The meal was prepared in advance. Within two minutes, several waiters came in and put several plates on the table. The scent was mouthwatering.
"Mr. and Mrs. Huo, these are the fried crab claws made by our head chef. It's made from big meat crabs that weigh two and a half pounds. Only the freshest and most tender crab claws are used to make this dish. The claws are wrapped in smashed tiger prawn, and then we fry it up." Erica noted the golden yellow color, and nodded her approval. The waiter continued, "We added scallops, shrimps and crispy bamboo shoots too. The second course is sauteed pumpkin with scallop and dried lily bulb..." The manager described every dish on the table in detail.
In Erica's opinion, every dish was super delicious, but there wasn't enough of it. For example, there weren't enough fried crab claws to divide between them. It would be perfect if the portions were a little larger!
However, she knew this was business as usual in fancy restaurants like this. In order to show how rare these dishes were, they didn't give you much at all.
Since she hung out in fancy restaurants a lot, she wasn't surprised by that.
It took them two hours to finish eating. The two of them left the restaurant and headed for Fragrance Mountain. By the time they arrived, it was already nine o'clock in the evening.
It was a sunny day, and a clear night. The sky was full of stars.
At about ten o'clock, Matthew and Erica reached the top of the mountain.
There was no one else there. The lamp light was dim. Erica asked Matthew in confusion, "Why didn't anyone else come to see such a beautiful night scene?" She couldn't think of a good reason.
Matthew glanced at her and explained, "I asked the rangers to clear the place for us in advance."
There shouldn't be anyone else on their date.
"What? You can do that? How did you manage that?"
But she knew the answer as soon as she asked. Based on how Matthew handled Tessie, Erica realized he was quite powerful. He wasn't afraid to use that power, either. She was impressed.