35 You Must Be Too Hungry

There wasn't much work that day. The catering department was the busiest. Alice went to help there and found the manager there personally overseeing the overall coordination. Finally, she got a chance to take a break and saw a few interns sitting in the employee lounge chatting and watching TV, probably on their shift break.

A charity banquet hosted by a fashion magazine was on TV, and Alice paused for a moment, glancing and catching a familiar figure. A few young girls were excitedly discussing, "it's Mr. Williams! I once had sent him flowers, at Building Two."

The celebrities were auctioning off items, and he was sitting in the front row, in a silver suit, just as expected, with a neutral expression. His assistant, Peter was sitting beside him. Alice lost interest and walked away quickly.

Perhaps due to the Christmas, Alice was in a particularly good mood and the number of guest complaints was surprisingly low. She happily changed into her pajamas at home and was warmly wrapped in a down comforter and considered, "What shall I treat him for dinner?"

This question wouldn't have been a concern for others. There are so many options. But John's status was somewhat special. Ironically, the last two times they had dinner together. The first time, they ate instant dumplings; the second time, he cooked personally. Alice gave up, deciding to leave it up to the guest

At seven in the afternoon, Alice changed her clothes and was just about to step onto the street corner when a car appeared in front of her, startling her. She instinctively looked at her watch, worried that she had been late for a long time.

It was exactly seven o'clock. She got into the car and greeted cheerfully, "Hi!"

John looked at her as if he wanted to make a comment on her outfit - so student-like, just like that day when she was with Mike, wearing a simple jacket and jeans. Her hair was tied up high in a ponytail, no makeup. But he just smiled lightly instead of speaking.

Her first question was, "Where do you want to eat?" She swallowed back her second habitual phrase, "I'm starving." Although she had already lost her ladylike demeanor in front of him, she still needed to be a lady as much as possible.

John threw the difficult decision back at her, "You decide, I'm not picky." He genuinely didn't care what he ate.

Alice remembered the embarrassing situation last time and looked at her watch - it was peak hour again. She turned to look at him helplessly, "Where can we get a decent meal at this time?"

"How about Per Se?" John suggested. They both recalled their previous experience of looking for a restaurant everywhere.

Alice nodded and agreed. Such a luxurious place, Mr. Williams could go whenever he wanted. But she couldn't afford it. She was too shy to say that was too expensive.

Well, she could enjoy the delicious food and the good environment there with an empty purse in the following days.

The traffic was so bad. After encountering several red lights, Alice's mood started to turn sour. John glanced at her and sighed, "There's a parking lot up ahead. Let's park the car there and just find a place to eat." At this pace, driving all the way to the other side of the city to Per Se, they would probably starve to death. Even though it might not be possible to find a place to eat, it was better than driving to Per Se. America always had too many people. Anyway, they were lucky to find the last available parking spot.

They didn't walk side by side with him at first, but it was too crowded and easily pushed people apart. She was lightheaded from hunger, her steps wavered left and right. John reached out to pull her closer to himself. Alice didn't mind, her gaze lingered on the restaurants by the street, while the smell of street food made her mood even worse.

Oh, must she really end up like the Little Match Girl, freezing and starving to death on the streets? Alice's eyes suddenly sparkled brightly, "Let's eat here."

Alice wanted to go in very much, but she looked at the man beside her. Thank goodness, he said, "Yes, of course."

"Great!" She breathed a big sigh of relief.

Finally, there was a table. Alice pushed the menu towards John, but he waved his hand, "Please go ahead and order what you like."

Alice ordered several dishes with the server's recommendation. The server kindly reminded me, "Miss, our portions are quite generous. Two people can have enough with just four dishes."

"Yes, I know." Alice nodded. The restaurant was noisy and crowded, with the air conditioning on, making it too warm. The small restaurant didn't have a special cloakroom like an expensive cafe, and the chairs were oily. John took off his coat and said to Alice, "Take off your coat, or you might catch a cold when we go out."

Alice took off her white jacket as John suggested, and was about to put it on the chair beside. John suddenly got her coat, "Give it to me." He placed his coat on the chair and then put Alice's jacket on top - so natural and considerate. Alice stared at his classic British brand trench coat for a long time, unable to say a word.

"What's wrong?" John looked at her suspiciously, "You must be too hungry. Sorry for my terrible suggestion Per Se"

"Not at all." She smiled to cover up, supporting her cheek with her hand and looking out the window where white foam painted "MERRY CHRISTMAS". The greatest happiness was to expect a meal about to come when one was hungry and cold. She saw her reflection in the glass smiling slightly, with pink blushes on her cheeks.