23

e asked cautiously."It's me, open the door."Lian’s unexpected voice startled Yan Luoxi awake instantly; she just stared blankly at the door.Silence from inside prompted Lian to bang on the door twice...Chapter Twenty-Three

Li Yi led Ni Xuanyi into the largest book café in the city. For many years, Li Yi had been busy and hadn't entered a book café for a long time. Smelling the ink scent in the air made him feel refreshed and relaxed.

This afternoon, Ni Xuanyi and Li Yi spent their time leisurely and happily. The book café offered various foods that guests could help themselves to, such as ice cream, cakes, juice, and many cute snacks. The environment was bright and quiet with attentive service.

Looking at the different books and hearing Ni Xuanyi's occasional soft whispers beside him, Li Yi felt like he had entered another world while sitting here.

Before leaving, Li Yi gave Ni Xuanyi many books she liked, and this time Ni Xuanyi happily accepted them all.

After leaving the book café, Li Yi took Ni Xuanyi to have Western cuisine. Although he knew that Ni Xuanyi might prefer Chinese food, he wanted to introduce her to the upper-class lifestyle of society.

The top-tier revolving Western restaurant was exquisitely decorated with a luxurious atmosphere where pleasant violin music played softly, evoking an indescribable freshness and light-heartedness.

This was Ni Xuanyi's first time in such a place; she followed Li Yi somewhat awkwardly. Led by the waiter, they sat at a window-side table.

"Thousand Island Salad, Foie Gras Pan-Seared Scallops, Pepper Beef Steak, and Soup." With a casual glance through the menu, Li Yi closed it. As someone who often came here, ordering was easy for him.

Ni Xuanyi had never been to a Western restaurant before. She looked through the menu, but seeing all the colorful dishes made her unsure of what to order. Afraid that the waiter would mock her if she asked, she hesitated.

Liyi saw the look of difficulty on her face and smiled gently. He took the menu from her hands and softly said, "Their yogurt fruit salad, ribeye steak, and ham sandwich are delicious. Would you like to try them"

Ni Xuanyi nodded gratefully. "Sure! I'll give it a try!"

After the waiter left, Ni Xuanyi stuck out her tongue at Liyi.

"Don't be nervous; I just want you to experience the atmosphere here," said Liyi kindly as he looked at Ni Xuanyi.

"Okay, I understand." Ni Xuanyi took a deep breath. Today she had come to realize that if she wanted to get closer to Liyi, there was still so much for her to learn.

Soon after, the waiter came over with a tray, setting down a salad and thick soup on it. Ni Xuanyi swallowed hard, as the aroma in the air tantalized her senses — these dishes smelled incredibly delicious!

The French dining process was quite intricate; seeing all the utensils laid out neatly before her made Ni Xuanyi’s head spin. Mimicking Liyi's movements like a well-behaved child, she first placed the napkin on her lap and then followed his actions accordingly.

Ni Xuanyi took some salad and got ready with her left hand holding fork and right hand knife, waiting for the steak to arrive at their table.

Sighing at Ni Xuanyi's serious demeanor, Li Yi couldn't help but chuckle, saying in an indulgent tone, "Really eager to eat steak"

"I haven't had it before, so I want to taste what it is like," Ni Xuanyi blushed a bit bashfully.

The enticingly aromatic steak was finally served. As Li Yi cut the meat for her, he softly instructed Ni Xuanyi on how to eat it. When she put the first piece of steak in her mouth, she broke out into a sweat from all her efforts.

Seeing her flustered look, Li Yi smiled helplessly and placed the steak down before pouring juice for Ni Xuanyi. "Today I brought you here just to see what it's like; if you don't like it, next time I won’t bring you here anymore."

"It’s okay," Ni Xuanyi drank her juice in one go and started cutting the steak again. "Once I learn how to eat this, I’ll get used to it." Finishing her sentence, she put another piece of steak into her mouth with great satisfaction and said, "Brother Li Yi, this steak is really delicious! It tastes so good!"

Actually, Ni Xuanyi wasn't a fan of the dish as it was quite greasy. But seeing that Li Yi seemed to like it, she quickly finished her meal and even licked her lips longingly.

Li Yi escorted Ni Xuanyi out of the romantic and tranquil Western restaurant. By the time they left, the sky outside had darkened considerably. He drove her home, worried that she might not have eaten enough at the restaurant; he instructed the driver to buy two large bags of snacks from a nearby supermarket for her to take back to the dormitory.

By the busy entrance of the dormitory building, Ni Xuanyi waved goodbye to Li Yi in the car with a smile, drawing countless curious glances.

"Wow, what did you bring back this time" The moment Jì Yàn and Cóng Lěi saw Ni Xuanyi enter the room, they rushed over.

Now, they are already used to it. Ni Xuanyi's rich older brother treats her like a pet pig, and every time she comes back, she is brought with countless delicious foods.

Ni Xuanyi handed the bag in her hand to them, looking as if they could taste whatever was inside at their leisure. She then looked around and asked, "Is there any instant noodles left at home"

"Why do you need instant noodles Didn't your brother take you out for a fancy meal" Ji Yan rummaged through the bag and pulled out a bucket of potato chips, munching on them.

"I did have a fancy meal—real Western cuisine! But I still think it doesn’t taste as good as instant noodles!" Ni Xuanyi pouted. She finally found a packet of sour cabbage beef-flavored noodles in Ji Yan's storage box and started pouring hot water over it.

"You need to learn to adapt, do you want men to see women eating Western cuisine elegantly or slurping on instant noodles without any grace" Cong Lei tapped Ni Xuanyi's head with her finger. "Starting tomorrow, you have to start learning how to be an elegant woman. Grow your hair long, wear skirts and high heels—wherever you walk should be a beautiful sight that matches your rich older brother!"

"My brother isn't wealthy at all!" Ni Xuanyi laughed as she playfully hit Cong Lei, but deep down, she agreed with what Cong Lei said.

The next day, when Ni Xuanyi went to the library again, the books she read most were about how to be an elegant woman.

Before Ni Xuanyi could learn how to become an elegant lady, something happened at their school.

A female classmate from their neighboring Chinese literature department was attacked by a middle-aged woman accompanied by several other women. The reason for the attack was that this girl had been involved with the wealthy husband of the middle-aged woman, and when the legitimate wife found out, she led a group to confront her.a surprise that he was an actor; he could actually say such philosophical yet touching words. Yan Luoxi’s mouth gradually curled into a warm smile, and she had to admit that this speech from Ran Xu re...