Chapter 6: Dinner Cruise, The First Time in Life

[Sun Yi's favorability +3]

Her favorability increased again?

Seeing the system notification, Wu Wei had a realization.

It seemed that Sun Yi actually wanted the ice cream, but due to its price and the long line, she said she didn't want it.

After he bought it for her, even though she was distressed about spending so much money, she still liked it.

So, when a girl says she doesn't want something, guys shouldn't care whether she means it or not, just buy it for her!

"Wu Wei, bring yours over too, let's take a picture together!"

While he was thinking, Sun Yi turned to Wu Wei and said.

"Okay!"

Wu Wei walked over to Sun Yi, took out his ice cream, and lifted it alongside hers.

In the picture, two hands—one large and one small—each held a creatively designed ice cream, poised as if clinking them together in a toast.

It was like something many couples would do.

After taking the picture, Sun Yi bit into hers somewhat reluctantly.

"Is it good?" Wu Wei asked.

"Yeah, it's delicious."

Sun Yi nodded and gave Wu Wei a sweet smile.

"If it's tasty, then it's worth it!"

Wu Wei also started to eat his.

Before long, they had both finished their ice creams.

"Hey, there's writing on the popsicle stick—'sudden wealth'!"

Sun Yi excitedly handed the stick to Wu Wei, saying, "These characters suit me so well. My wish is to become rich overnight, hehe."

Wu Wei grinned and thought to himself: Your wish might come true very soon.

"Interesting, let me check mine."

Wu Wei looked down at his own popsicle stick, which indeed had two characters on it.

Sun Yi leaned in curiously and blurted out, "Sudden hug!"

"Okay, a hug it is!"

Wu Wei said as he looked at Sun Yi and opened his arms wide in a hugging gesture.

"What are you saying?"

Sun Yi froze for a moment and once she realized what he meant, her fair cheeks instantly turned red: "I meant the characters on it!"

"Oh, I see."

Seeing Sun Yi's reaction, Wu Wei suddenly wanted to tease her: "Maybe if you hug me, you'll become wealthy!"

"Do you think you're the God of Wealth or something?"

Sun Yi laughed and playfully slapped his outstretched hands, "Let's go. We should go see the pig koi; they've gotten so fat!"

"Haha, sure!"

Wu Wei dropped his hands and didn't continue on the topic.

He had already achieved his objective of physical contact.

After that, the two of them continued to stroll leisurely around the Five Dragons Pond.

They chattered and laughed along the way.

Having visited Five Dragons Pond, they moved on to Yu Family Bridge.

Then they arrived at Jicheng's second famous attraction, Daming Lake.

Upon seeing Daming Lake, Wu Wei thought: Now I can finally spend more money.

He had done some research on the high-speed train coming to Jicheng that morning.

After all, only by knowing which places and activities in Jicheng are the most expensive could he spend more money and achieve the best effects.

While researching Daming Lake, one of the activities caught his attention, so he immediately reserved it.

The two had been walking for hours and were somewhat tired.

Wu Wei purchased tickets for a sightseeing car and took a tour around the lake.

Then they arrived at Nanfeng Theater.

They weren't there to watch a performance, but to enjoy the theater's popular internet-famous traditional tea set.

Seated by the lake, they ate pastries, sipped tea, admired the scenic views of Daming Lake, and chatted; it was extremely pleasant.

After an afternoon of companionship, Sun Yi opened up a lot and began to talk to Wu Wei about some recent troubles of her own accord.

Wu Wei listened quietly, occasionally voicing his support with a few words of condemnation.

As they chatted, time flew by, and it was almost six o'clock.

Wu Wei got up and said, "It's getting late, let's go have dinner."

"Now?"

Sun Yi glanced at the time, "The lights at Chaoran Pavilion are about to be turned on. Let's wait until after that to go, shall we?"

Chaoran Pavilion is a historic and iconic building on Daming Lake, known as the "No. 1 Pavilion north of the Yangtze River."

At the beginning of this year, a video of the pavilion's lights being turned on went viral online, attracting countless people to come for a visit.

To secure a good spot for the moment the lights come on, many people would arrive at Chaoran Pavilion hours in advance.

As the guide for the day, Sun Yi had naturally planned this part of the itinerary.

"Don't worry, you'll be able to see it."

Wu Wei said mysteriously, "Just follow me."

After walking for a few minutes, the two arrived at a high-end restaurant by the lake.

"Are we going to eat here? It looks expensive," Sun Yi said as she entered and saw the restaurant's decor.

"We're not eating here."

Wu Wei shook his head.

Sun Yi had just breathed a sigh of relief when Wu Wei added, "We'll dine in the lake!"

"Dine in the lake?"

Sun Yi blinked her beautiful eyes in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"That's exactly what I mean."

Wu Wei smiled and approached the reception desk, "Hello, I have a reservation for the evening boat dinner, I just got in touch with you."

The receptionist immediately said, "Is this Mr. Wu?"

"Yes!"

"Hello, Mr. Wu, please confirm your information here. Will you be boarding the boat for dinner now?"

"Yes, right away," Wu Wei said.

"We're going to eat on the boat?"

As she listened to their conversation, surprise was written all over Sun Yi's face.

She had been in Jicheng for over eight years and had visited the Daming Lake many times, never knowing there was such an option!

"Right, you don't get seasick, do you?"

"I'm not sure, I used to get a little seasick," Sun Yi shook her head.

"No worries, if you feel seasick, I'll just have them stop on the water since we've chartered this boat."

Wu Wei gave Sun Yi a casual smile.

"Dear guests, please follow me."

After confirming their information, a server dressed in a cheongsam led them to the restaurant's pier.

Several beautifully decorated boats were docked there.

The two of them boarded the largest and most exquisite one.

As they sat down inside the boat, a few servers immediately began serving dishes.

Before long, a long table was filled to the brim with a variety of delicacies.

Steamed king crab, Boston lobsters, black truffle abalone, Shandong leek-braised sea cucumbers, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall...

Without exception, they were all very expensive dishes.

"Hello, all the dishes are served. If you need anything, just call me; I'll be outside," the server said and stepped away, closing the door to give the guests a relatively private space.

Seeing the server leave, Sun Yi looked at Wu Wei with a complex expression, "Chartering a boat and ordering so many expensive dishes, how much does that cost?"

"A few thousand, I guess," Wu Wei answered nonchalantly.

As their relationship grew more familiar, Wu Wei felt it was time to show Sun Yi a glimpse of his financial capabilities.

To let her know, he wasn't the same person he used to be.

And to lay the groundwork for future spending.

"How much exactly in thousands?" Sun Yi pressed.

"Eight thousand," Wu Wei responded, gesturing the number eight with his hand.

"Eight thousand!"

Shock spread over Sun Yi's fair little face in an instant!

She expected it to be expensive, but not that expensive!

Sun Yi's expression didn't seem happy; it was more somber.

"That's too expensive, it's as much as my two months' salary back then!"

She looked at the food on the table, her eyes filled with burden and pressure.

[Sun Yi's favorability -6]

!!!

Seeing the system's prompt, Wu Wei couldn't help being startled.

Why would his favorability not increase, but instead drop by 6 points all at once!

He had only gained a total of 8 points today!

Wu Wei had indeed considered that asking Sun Yi to eat such expensive food might make her feel pressured and uncomfortable, but he did not anticipate such a significant decrease in favorability!

Indeed, if the relationship between two people hadn't developed to a certain point, spending too much money would only have the opposite effect.

Wu Wei felt a bit anxious inside, but he still kept his calm appearance.

"Don't think too much about it. I had reserved this dinner cruise a long time ago."

Wu Wei looked at Sun Yi with a serene gaze and said, "Even if you weren't here today, I would have come to eat by myself, so please don't feel burdened."

"Really?"

Sun Yi looked at Wu Wei skeptically, "I feel like you're bluffing me."

"Of course, it's true. I didn't know you would be joining me on this trip to Shandong. Yesterday evening, I was thinking that it would be just perfect if you joined me for dinner because I couldn't finish all these dishes by myself, and it would all go to waste."

Sun Yi thought about it and felt it made sense.

They had just reconnected unexpectedly after she commented on Wu Wei's social media post the day before, which led them to plan to hang out together today.

Before that, they hadn't been in touch for a long time.

"That's great! Then I'm really lucky today, it's my first time dining on a boat, and such an expensive meal, too!"

The tension on Sun Yi's face relaxed, and her smile returned.

At that moment, the painted boat slowly began to move, and both of them instinctively looked outside.

It was just past six o'clock, and the setting sun cast a golden shimmer on the lake.

The rippling reflections were breathtakingly beautiful.

"It's so beautiful, I've never seen Daming Lake's sunset from this angle before!"

Seeing such a beautiful scene, Sun Yi felt an unprecedented sense of ease.

All the worries and troubles of the past few days seemed to vanish in that moment.

[Sun Yi's favorability +9]