Meeting Young Master Kong Again

Chloe glanced at Jaxon and continued walking forward, showing no intention of acknowledging Manager Huang, which left him feeling quite embarrassed.

The look in Chloe's eyes made Jaxon feel uneasy.

"What did that look just now mean?" Jaxon wondered to himself.

However, it was clear that Chloe had no intention of explaining to Jaxon.

With no other choice, Jaxon followed behind Chloe, heading towards the private room.

"Yan'er, you're here? Come on in," a familiar voice called out as the door to the private room opened.

Was it him?

Jaxon, who followed Chloe into the room, immediately recognized the man standing there with a smile on his face, waiting for Chloe. It was the third judge from last night's cooking competition—the "Young Master Kong" mentioned by Wang Shao.

Jaxon hadn't expected to see him again so soon, and under these circumstances.

Young Master Kong seemed to remember Jaxon as well. He was taken aback for a moment when he saw Jaxon entering with Chloe.

"Yan'er, who is this?" Kong asked.

Last night, although some people had mentioned Jaxon's name in front of Kong, he hadn't paid much attention to him. In his mind, Jaxon was just a physical education teacher with decent cooking skills, not someone worth remembering. So, he didn't know Jaxon's name at the moment.

However, now he realized that he might have underestimated this teacher. The fact that he was with Chloe seemed to indicate that he was no ordinary person, or perhaps their relationship was not ordinary?

Kong preferred to believe the former.

"Jaxon, my friend," Chloe said.

Jaxon was somewhat surprised to find out that he was now considered Chloe's friend.

"Hello," Jaxon said, extending his hand politely.

"Hello," Kong shook Jaxon's hand, but his face didn't show much politeness. Instead, he frowned slightly and didn't introduce himself.

This was clearly a very impolite behavior, or rather, Kong simply didn't take Jaxon seriously.

"His name is Kong Hailin," Chloe suddenly spoke up, clearly addressing Jaxon.

Seeing Chloe's consideration for Jaxon, Kong felt even more displeased inside, but he didn't show it on his face. Instead, he smiled and said, "Yan'er, come sit over here. I happened to be in Goldenleaf this time, so I thought I'd come see you. How have you been lately?"

Kong Hailin was busy attending to Chloe and once again ignored Jaxon. Jaxon didn't mind, as Chloe had already told him earlier that he only needed to focus on eating and not worry about anything else.

"Jaxon, sit next to me," Chloe said, not responding to Kong Hailin.

Jaxon had originally planned to just eat and not get involved in anything else, so he intended to sit in a random spot, away from the two of them, and just be a bystander. However, he didn't expect Chloe to say this as soon as he sat down.

"Oh, okay," Jaxon didn't refuse. After all, eating was the same no matter where he sat.

Kong Hailin's lips twitched slightly as he saw Jaxon sitting next to Chloe, but he still forced a smile on his face.

The waiter quickly brought out a large table full of dishes. There was no doubt that even if there were three more people in the private room, they wouldn't be able to finish all the food.

"Yan'er, try this. The taste of the dishes here is not as good as those at the Imperial Capital Mansion, but it's still pretty good," Kong Hailin said. Then, he looked at Jaxon and added, "Of course, compared to the chef next to you, the head chef here is still a bit lacking."

Chloe had originally planned to just eat a little and get through the meal, but Kong Hailin's words piqued her interest.

Chef?

Was Jaxon a chef?

Seeing Chloe's gaze, Jaxon smiled and said, "I did learn some cooking skills before."

However, Chloe believed that Jaxon must have more than just a little cooking experience, given what Kong Hailin had said.

"Which restaurant did Mr. Jaxon work at as a chef before?" Kong Hailin asked with a smile. "Are you interested in coming to my place? My family is just looking to hire a new chef. Don't worry, for Yan'er's sake, the salary will definitely not be bad."

Jaxon inwardly thought, Just as I expected.

He had felt earlier that this dinner wouldn't be so simple, and now he was starting to see the signs. When Chloe introduced him as her friend, it didn't matter whether this "friend" was real or not. Since Chloe had already said that, Kong Hailin's seemingly "kind" invitation was suspicious.

As expected, after hearing Kong Hailin's words, Chloe's expression also turned a bit sour as she asked, "Kong Hailin, what do you mean by that?"

"I'm just being kind-hearted," Kong Hailin said with an innocent look. "I'm just trying to help your friend. At the very least, the salary will definitely be better than what he's getting here."

"His affairs are none of your concern," Chloe said coldly.

Then, to everyone's surprise, Chloe actually picked up a dish and placed it on Jaxon's plate, saying, "Try this. It tastes good."

Both Jaxon's and Kong Hailin's eyes twitched almost simultaneously.

"Thank you," Jaxon forced a smile and said, though he was already regretting agreeing to come to this dinner.

Come to think of it, Chloe, who usually treated advances from the opposite sex with cold indifference, had invited him to dinner today. There must be something behind it. Now it seemed that he was likely being used as a shield.

"What do you mean by that, Yan'er?" Kong Hailin, who had been trying hard to maintain his image, seemed unable to keep it up any longer, his face darkening like ink.

He knew Chloe all too well. When had she ever been so attentive to a man? People in the Imperial Capital would sooner believe that the sun would rise in the west than accept that Chloe could be so solicitous.

Yet, it was happening right before his eyes, and Kong Hailin had no choice but to believe it.

"There's no particular meaning," Chloe replied indifferently, then softened her tone as she spoke to Jaxon, "Eat slowly. Would you like some soup?"

From beginning to end, Chloe's gaze was fixed on Jaxon, her eyes filled with tenderness that made Jaxon feel overwhelmed inside.

The contrast of a usually aloof and noble woman suddenly acting like a doting lover was both hard to believe and strangely captivating, leaving one dazzled and enchanted.

Of course, while Jaxon was basking in this tender attention, Kong Hailin's eyes were practically glaring with hostility.