Chapter 14: Be Discrete

Lu Minzhe sat inside the white Land Rover and was about to send Miyeon a text saying he had arrived when there was a knock on the driver's side window. He lowered down the glass to see a very attractive woman with a frown on her face.

"Mr Lu, I distinctly recall texting you that this is a working class neighborhood and you'll need to be discrete." Miyeon said exasperated.

"Yes. You did." Lu Minzhe nodded in agreement.

"And??" Miyeon prodded as if asking for an explanation.

"And, so I came in my most discrete vehicle." Lu Minzhe answered with a self-satisfied look on his face.

"..." Miyeon was rendered completely speechless. 'What was I even hoping for. He is the CEO of Lu Co. A Land Rover costing over 100,000 USD is considered discrete for his standard.'

Miyeon noticed several neighbors and passersby begin to stare and gossip about the luxury vehicle parked in front of the old and somewhat rundown apartment. If she becomes the subject of gossip of the neighborhood housewives, she might as well kiss her salted fish lifestyle goodbye! So, she made the split second decision and hurried inside the passenger seat.

Miyeon had hastily shut Lu Minzhe's passenger door, fastened her seatbelt and urged the person at the driver's seat.

"Mr Lu, Hurry drive!"

Lu Minzhe merely raised his brows at the extremely pretty but slightly distressed woman at his side. "Mr Lu?" He asked.

Miyeon noticed one of the aunties she was acquainted with began walking towards the white Land Rover. With urgency she faced Lu Minzhe, grabbed his arm and loudly spoke, "Minzhe-Ge, Drive!!"

"So, you do know how to call me properly," he answered with a broad smile and began to drive out of the district.

Miyeon could only look at the man in bewilderment. "..." 'Is he serious? He waited to start the car just because I didn't call him gege? Does he have some kind of mental condition or what.'

Outside District 4 the streets become more industrialized and retail stores can be seen in larger clusters. In fact, there are several large chain supermarkets in District 3 which was about a 15 minute drive away. Miyeon hadn't been paying attention and only realized they were on the highway and had passed the District 3 exit.

"Mr L...Minzhe-Ge, where are you going?" Miyeon asked.

"To the supermarket." Lu Minzhe replied.

"Yes, but we've already passed the exit." Miyeon tried to explain calmly.

Yet the man only smiled and confidently said, "Don't worry I know the way."

35 minutes later, they arrived at QG in District 1, the most high end supermarket in Y City.

Miyeon didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This posh supermarket is comparable to Waitrose in the UK; while regular people would go shop at Lidl or Aldi the rich would shop at Waitrose. Not only that, who in their right mind will drive 50 minutes to buy groceries?

Lu Minzhe had proudly parked the car and unbuckled his seatbelt. He turned to look at the woman beside him only to notice that she was staring at him with a look of resignation. Lu Minzhe became confused. Somehow he feels that Miyeon was unhappy but he had made sure to specifically ask Secretary Jin where the Lu household purchases their groceries. This should be the right place. He began to feel a bit nervous.

On the other hand, the woman bowed her head silently; she took a couple of deep calming breaths. When she was finally able to put on her normal face of indifference, she looked up and turned to Lu Minzhe.

"Minzhe-Ge, there was a supermarket 15 minutes from my home."

"..."

"Was there a specific reason we had to drive 50 minutes away in District 1 to buy groceries?"

"..."

"Nevermind that the prices at QG is twice as high compared to GU-Mart at District 3 but what time were you actually planning to eat?" Miyeon asked point blank with a poker face.

Upon her inquiry Lu Minzhe began to think, '50 minute drive one way plus an hour of grocery shopping plus another 50 minute drive back assuming there is no traffic, if we add the time to cook then they wouldn't be able to eat until close to 9PM.'

"That...I…" he began but stopped. Lu Minzhe was at a loss of what to say. In fact, the girl in front of him made perfect sense. CEO Lu of Lu Co could only hang his head apologetically.

'This person is known for his intelligence and business prowess but could it be he is lacking in common sense?' wondered Miyeon. However, she is also quite pragmatic and she knew when to express gratitude when it is due. Lu Minzhe was simply ignorant of where the supermarts are located and didn't seem to have any ill intention in specifically driving her here. She decided to just accept his goodwill. At the end of the day, he did drive her to the grocery store. With a shake of her head, she brushed away her initial misgivings and dissatisfaction. She pasted on her standard placid smile and said, "It's all right. We might as well shop since we are already here. Thank you for driving."

Lu Minzhe searchingly looked at Miyeon's face as if he was trying to determine if she was truly no longer angry. The latter just nodded at him and kept the tender smile on her face.

After a short while had passed, Lu Minzhe sighed in relief. 'Secretary Jin. you wait and see what I will do with you!'

Somewhere in District 3, Shi Jin who was eating dinner with his wife, sneezed.