The Stars In Your Eyes

This hotpot restaurant has a private room and table hall. Jian Kang Lu thought while he drove, he wanted to bring his kitten inside a private room. But maybe it will not be convenient for his kitten. After all, both of them just know each other and only meet for the second time today. So he chose the table for 2 people near the window.

This restaurant has a modern classic interior style. The Chinese style on the ceiling with thin red paint along the dark brown wood, combined with beige painting and dark brown wood pillar giving the warm classic Chinese architecture atmosphere inside. The large window framed with thin dark brown wood and thin red paint similar to the ceiling add the modern looks, but it blends well and lightens the restaurant well. The small garden outside completed the classy overall look for this restaurant.

The waiter brings the menu and asks for the soup choices for them.

Jian Kang Lu asked his kitten. "Do you want the 2 grid or 4 grid? If you want you can also order the 9 grid, though it's just both of us.."

"Mmm.. 4 grid maybe?"

"Okay, which soup that you want to try? I will order 2 of my favourites. Three delicacies and Sichuan spicy."

His kitten looked at the menu for a while, and asked him while still staring at the menu. "Is this mushroom soup good?"

"It's nice, good to boil the mushrooms and vegetables. Meat also, but depends on your preference."

"How about the jade chicken or the tomato soup?"

"Tomato soup is not suitable for meat, in my opinion. But great for fish. Jade chicken is neutral for all ingredients. The soup is clear and gives a clean taste. But you can try anything you want. All of this restaurant soup is good."

The waiter tries to open his mouth every time this young man asks. But this man across the young man always gives faster answers and even more accurately than what his answer will be. He feels that if he is just standing here without any function, he won't get any good tips. So he gives them the best customer service smile and adds his proffesional opinion.

"If you plan to order a variety of food, I suggest you go with jade chicken soup since it's neutral for all. But if you plan to order a lot of seafood, then tomato soup is the best. It's one of our best seller soups here. The pickled soup is also great for seafood, but a little bit sour."

This young man then silent for a while, and then choose jade chicken and tomato soup. The handsome man across him then ordered the special noodle, black pork, marble wagyu, pomfret fish, scallops, vegetables, tofu, and lotus root. He then asks the young man if he wants to order anything else. But the young man shook his head and said that they can order more if it is still not enough.

The waiter quickly taps their order into his order tablet, asking whether they already know how to mix the sauce and ask if they need the apron to protect their clothes from the soup spills. After catering their needs, the waiter leaves the table and prepares their order. In this weekend lunch hour, if he doesn't work fast the other customer will give complaints.

Jian Kang Lu stares at his kitten across him. From his looks, it seems that this is the first visit for his kitten. His kitten stares at the ceiling, at the ornaments in the sauce and salad bar, and even at the window frame. It's not a look from someone who never goes to the fancy restaurant, but the looks given when people are interested in something.

"Yutang, can i call you Yutang?"

His kitten startled a bit, and shifted his stare back to him. He looks a bit embarrassed since his eyes widen and his ear tips reddened. He answered him. "Yes you can."

Bai Yutang opened his mouth but then closed it again. Jian Kang Lu feels his kitten wants to ask something but is too shy. He decided to just ask him.

"Is there anything you want to ask me? It's okay."

Bai Yutang glanced at the corner then looked back at him. His voice is a bit low and sounds embarassed. "This is my first time coming here. This restaurant design is really mixed well between the function and the space utilization, the architect and the designer really did well. I wonder if I can look around more."

Jian Kang Lu laughed and said "It's okay, you can look around. The soup will come soon but will need a minimum of 10 minutes to heat and cook the ingredient. You can look around and come back here. I'll wait here. But be careful, it's getting crowded."

Bai Yutang nodded, and started to stand up walking around. First he goes to the salad bar, looking at the tables and ornaments, then he goes to the corner, looking at the pillar, staring at the small stairs in the opposite corner, then he even goes to the toilet too.

Jian Kang Lu noticed all the facial expressions made by his kitten. It is filled with wonder and calculating looks. This is the first time for him to look at so many different expressions from his kitten. It seems his kitten is interested in architecture and designs. He decided to ask more when his kitten came back.

The soup is served, and the waiter starts to boil the soup. The waiter left and back a little bit later with several of his orders. When his kitten came back, Jian Kang Lu already started boiling some of the vegetables.

"Come, let's eat. If you are really interested in the restaurant design, we can ask later whether we can take photos with our mobile phone."

"Really? It won't bother you? Is this restaurant giving permission to be photographed?"

Jian Kang Lu put lotus root into the jade chicken and delicacies soup, and the meat into all kinds of different soup while answering his kitten with a pampering tone.

"Of course, some of the people I saw here took some selfies and the restaurant never bothered by them. But if you want to take different photos around it's better to ask before."

Jian Kang Lu then put the cooked meat into his kitten bowl.

"Try this first, then later try all different kind soup. The noodles will be made here in awhile. You can try everything and later tell me which one you like the most."

His kitten lifts his chopstick and starts to eat, and from his face it is shown he likes the food here. He's glad. This is one of his favourite hotpot restaurants, and most of his acquaintances love to eat here. It's good if he knows one of his kitten's favourite foods.

"So, i can see you took great interest in architecture and design. Are you an architecture student? Or design?" Jiang Kang Lu asks with a light tone.

"Yes, I'm a third year architecture student."

His kitten started to try different kinds of soup, it seems he likes the delicacies soup and jade chicken the most. Jian Kang Lu noted that, and will remember it the next time he brings his kitten here.

"Where did you study?"

"T university, the same with your colleague's son."

"Really? That's my alma mater too. It's been so long since the last time I visited there. Does the cafeteria still sell that weird-tasting meat bun? We used to have those meat buns as a punishment for losers in our card game."

Bai Yutang lifted his head and stared at him. "You must be really smart to be accepted as a medical student in T university. The meat bun tastes fine, I often bought that for breakfast. I guess maybe they changed the chef if it tasted weird before."

Jian Kang Lu laughed when he remembered that meat bun from hell, and boiled the scallop and fish into the tomato soup and Sichuan soup.

"Well I guess i'm lucky to be accepted there. And good to know our tuition money is enough for them to change the chef. So you don't have to experience the horror of end of month poverty that pushed us to have that meat bun as our choice of food."

"Mmm.. The cafeteria food is good enough for me. I rarely eat outside except for some food stall around the dorm."

"Do you like to eat at the hotpot restaurant outside the 17th dorm? I used to love to eat there back then. Or is it close already now?"

"Yes! That Huxiang restaurant, right? It's quite cheap and the food tastes good. I thought it was the best hotpot I had until I tried this now."

"Oh, i miss the tastes though. For university students, I guess that restaurant is really the best one. Maybe we can eat together over there sometimes. I missed the ambience over there."

Bai Yutang's eyes look like he really loves the fish boiled in the tomato soup that he just put inside his lovely mouth. His face has already blushed from the hotpot heat, and his pale pink lips turn into the hot pink colour slightly swollen from the spicy Sichuan soup before. He looks enchanting.

Jian Kang Lu heart skipped a beat, and he really really.. Really trying hard to hold himself not to stare too long at that lips. He is afraid he will start to raise his hand, wanting to touch that soft pink petal. In Jian Kang Lu's mind, he starts to think all the dirty thoughts he wants to do with that lips.

'Kang Lu!!! I can't believe you turn into such a horny dog! This is just a pure young man who knows nothing! Don't you dare to turn yourself into an old perverted uncle with no dignity!!!'

While he was busy scolding himself, his soul dragged back to reality and flew to heaven when he heard his kitten say something.

"Okay, next time it's my treat. How about next week? Do you have free time next week?"