Signing the contract

Hearing Meng Hao mentioning the contract Wang Ming felt excited, finally the moment was here. Wang Ming wanted to write his name down on the contract as soon as possible and check out his new restaurant. He hoped that Meng Hao wouldn't use too much time mingling. Not that Wang Ming didn't like him or disregarded him as a friend. The only thing he could think about is the restaurant and what he would do with it.

"Thank you, Meng Hao. I will never forget this favor. I will never forget the people that helped me in my all-time low. I can't express to you how much this means to me. But you are one of my best friends forever."

Wang Ming truthfully meant every word he said. He felt his eyes starting to moisten and his lips quivering, but he had promised to himself that he would not cry anymore. So he pinched his hand to distract himself from his sad thoughts. Instead, he laughed and joked with Meng Hao.

"Though, why did you take me to this restaurant and dressed up also? You aren't gay by any chance?"

Hearing what Wang Ming sai, Meng Hao's face stiffened up. He could only laugh nervously. Meng Hao didn't know how Wang Ming knew, he thought he had covered it up good. Did he make it too obvious with how he acted? So Wang Ming knew he was his crush? Was his cover really blown? Meng Hao forced a laugh and said.

"Me, Gay? haha that's funny Wang Ming."

Seeing Meng Hao laugh at his joke, Wang Ming also cracked up and said. "In this world, if it's one person I know that does not like men, then that has to be you. You are so manly, I bet you slay girls daily."

If Wang Ming had been attentive, then he could have noticed that after Meng Hao heard his words, there was a flash of sadness on his face but he composed himself instantly. Knowing that to charm Wang Ming he would need to be patient, he was only in the friend zone it would be an arduous task to get further.

"You know me already, Wang Ming, if you ever meet a woman you like, then remember to tell me. In case I flirt with the sister-in-law and you catch us in bed together." Hearing this Wang Ming felt shocked, but then seeing the shit-eating grin on Meng Hao's face, he understood that Meng Hao was also only joking.

"I will not only bring you one sister-in-law but many, mark my words. But let's get down to business, where is the contract?"

Meng Hao then threw a bunch of paper at Wang Ming, grabbing the paper Wang Ming saw that the front page saw lease contract. Flipping the pages Wang Ming read through the contract carefully, he believed in Meng Hao business is business.

While Wang Ming was still reading the contract, the coffee finally came. Two cups of freshly made Civet coffee and over 20 plates of different desserts arrived. When the server entered the room, it shocked him to see that only two persons were in the room. She thought it had to be at least a group of 10 since they ordered so much food. But as long as they paid, it was not any of her business. The biggest taboo of a server was to be nosy.

Putting the food and coffee on the table, the server then made her way out. The moment the server closed the door was also when Wang Ming finished reading the contract. Satisfied and glad that there weren't any hidden clauses in the contract or that Meng Hao tried to scam him, he signed the contract.

"1st of July next year, I will pay you the 110 thousand yuan in total. Thank you for doing this huge favor for me, Meng Hao, I know your restaurant is worth a lot more. Once again you are one of my best friends and I will do almost anything for you from now on, this Wang Ming swears upon his life!"

Wang Ming said while giving back the contract to Meng Hao. Then he took a small sip of the coffee. The coffee was so good. It had a light earthy taste but a wonderful taste of coffee and what made it even better was it didn't have a strong aftertaste either. He could even taste a faint hint of caramel in it, even though there were no additives in the coffee.

Wang Ming couldn't help himself but keep sipping on the coffee, but after gulping down almost the whole cup he saw that there were lots of desserts on the table, some that would go well with the coffee. Looking at Meng Hao, Wang Ming realized he hadn't even touched his coffee or dessert yet, but was staring at Wang Ming.

"Why aren't you touching the food or drink? Even if I'm paying, you can still eat." Meng Hao was thinking about his battle plan that's why he wasn't eating-

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something let's eat."

Tasting his first dessert, which was a Napoleon cake, Wang Ming felt staggered by the person who invented this and the chef that made it. It had a great consistency. The cream in the middle was spongy and not overly sweet. But it was also sturdy enough to hold its shape. But the jewel of the crown was the sweet cream on the top. It made the cake go from a 8 out of 10 to a 10 out of 10 cake.

Wang Ming was soaking up a lot of knowledge on western types of desserts by eating here, and he loved it. He didn't eat more than a few bites of each dessert, since he didn't want to be too full. There were a lot of different desserts he tried out tiramisu, chocolate cake, pumpkin pie, cheesecake, macaroons and others.

He also finally understood why people liked to drink coffee with sweets. It wasn't something groundbreaking but Wang Ming had eaten little sweets before this so he didn't know. But it was to combat the bitterness of coffee with the sweetness of the dessert. The two items counteracted each other, but it gave them a much needed balance.

He would have loved to meet the chef and ask him about his experiences in making these dishes. But felt like it would be too much of a hassle for the chef, but he promised himself that some day he would go to Europe to taste these dishes but made by the country that invented them. He felt like that would give him the best experience, like how people go to Japan to get their best sushi experience he would do the same but with the desserts.

Meng Hao and Wang Ming barely talked when they ate, mostly because of Wang Ming, he kept eating and eating. The only thing Wang Ming could think about while eating was how the chef made it, the different tastes, and how he could replicate them for his restaurant and potential improvements.

Finally, both of them were full and done eating, but not knowing what to talk about now, they just stared at each other. Wang Ming broke the silence first.

"The food was great. We need to go back here sometime. Since we are both done, then let's go. I want to check out the restaurant. Seriously Meng Hao, thank you for this opportunity. If you ever need me or just want to meet, then call me or come to the restaurant!"

Seeing Wang Ming say goodbye, Meng Hao wasn't very willing but slow and steady wins the race. So he didn't push Wang Ming any further and elected instead to visit Wang Ming's restaurant in two days.

Bidding each other goodbye, Wang Ming made his way out of the restaurant and then facepalmed himself. He let Louzheng go earlier, so now he didn't have a car to go to the restaurant. Calling Louzheng, he told Wang Ming that he was on the other side of the city and couldn't get Wang Ming before an hour. Sighing, Wang Ming didn't know what to do. He could ask Meng Hao to drive him, but didn't want to bother him anymore.

So he called another taxi instead. It would be a fairly expensive ride, but sometimes you have to do what you need to do. But as he was on the call with the taxi company, a car stopped in front of him and a familiar face popped out of the window.

"Do you need a ride?"