Chapter 486 - 319: The L in Los Angeles is for Li Wei

Chapter 486: Chapter 319: The L in Los Angeles is for Li Wei

"I heard her," Li Wei said without looking up. "She’s your best friend, not mine. It’s perfectly normal for her to think I’m just an athlete and not good enough for you."

Anya had been a little sullen, but seeing Li Wei’s reaction, she felt relieved.

"Don’t be mad at her," she said, squatting down and giving Li Wei a kiss. "I think she’s just a bit too blunt. I already gave her a piece of my mind."

"I’m really not mad," Li Wei said, putting down his Switch with a helpless look. "But if you’re willing to offer some compensation, I wouldn’t object."

Anya rolled her eyes and gave Li Wei a playful slap.

"It’s still light out," she said.

"But it’s still a long time until dinner," Li Wei said, checking the time.

Anya shot him a look, then slowly knelt before him and slipped the hair tie from her wrist.

...

Around 5 PM.

Daria messaged Anya about dinner.

Daria: [I finally managed to have someone book a table at Nobu Malibu.]

Daria: [A string of emojis]

Daria: [Do you know how hard it is to get a reservation? I found a scalper in Los Angeles and paid four times the price to get it!]

Anya: [Nobu is pretty good. The pictures turn out great there, too.]

Daria: [Want to come? I’ll have him add another seat to the reservation.]

Before Anya could reply, she saw Daria had sent several more messages.

Daria: [To be honest, I’ve had my eye on this restaurant for half a year.]

Daria: [Last time I was in Los Angeles, my trip was too short. By the time I found out about this place, they were already booked a month out.]

Daria: [This time, I was introduced to a scalper who runs errands for Hollywood stars. It was 1200 USD a seat! That’s the only way I got in!]

Anya looked at Daria’s messages and typed a resigned reply.

Anya: [Sure, let me ask Li Wei if he has plans tonight.]

Daria: [Okay, okay, seats are limited. I can only add one or two people, so let me know soon~]

Anya put down her phone and turned to Li Wei. "Do you have plans tonight? Daria invited us to Nobu Malibu."

"Nobu?" Li Wei had just stepped out of the bathroom. "What’s so great about Nobu?"

To put it bluntly, Nobu was just a slightly more high-end chain of Japanese restaurants. Elizabeth had first treated Li Wei to a meal there. At the time, Li Wei hadn’t yet "leveled up," so he couldn’t even get full. On top of that, the set menu cost over 500 USD—a total rip-off.

Anya and Li Wei had gone a few times since, but since the head chef had been in Los Angeles opening this new location, they’d never run into him.

"I don’t know," Anya said with a shrug. "Maybe living in London made her silly."

"Whatever, then," Li Wei said after a moment’s thought. "I think Jason is also arranging dinner. Let me ask him."

Before Anya could text Daria back, her phone was already ringing with a call from her.

"It’s over, it’s over!" Daria cried anxiously. "The scalper just called me and said tonight’s reservation was canceled."

"Calm down," Anya said. "How could that be?"

"It wasn’t just me. All the reservations for tonight were canceled," Daria said, exasperated. "They said they’re not open to the public tonight. Some VIP booked the entire place."

"I’m so pissed, so pissed, so pissed," she repeated. "I spent almost 5,000 USD, and they cancel just like that! Without even giving a reason!!"

"Just calm down," Anya soothed. "There are plenty of other great restaurants in Los Angeles."

Just then, Li Wei also received a call from Jason Miller. "Mr. Li Wei, dinner for tonight has been arranged. Chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s personal assistant contacted us at 3 PM. The chef would like to personally prepare a meal for you tonight at Nobu Malibu. The time is set for 7:30."

"Mm..." Li Wei glanced at Anya, who was still consoling Daria. "Okay. Go ahead and send me the invitation and text confirmation."

"Understood."

"...There, there. Next time you come to New York, I’ll take you to the Nobu there. It’s all pretty much the same."

As Anya was comforting Daria, she suddenly saw Li Wei holding out his phone to her.

When she saw the message on the screen, Anya froze for a moment, then pointed at Li Wei.

Li Wei nodded.

’That’s right. We’re the VIPs who got Daria’s reservation canceled.’

Anya suddenly burst out laughing.

"Ah, no, no," she explained hastily. "I wasn’t laughing. Um, I just sneezed."

"So where are you guys eating?" Daria asked. "My parents are just going to find their own place to eat. Let me join you guys for dinner."

Anya looked at Li Wei, who shrugged and nodded.

"We’re at Nobu Malibu."

"..."

"Uncle Ruslan and Auntie should be able to come too if they’d like."

"..."

Silence hung on the line for a few seconds.

"I didn’t realize you had this much pull in the United States of America," Daria said faintly. "If I’d known, I wouldn’t have gone to London. It’s so boring there, it makes you depressed."

"It’s not my connections," Anya said with a laugh. "It’s all Li Wei. He’s in Los Angeles for a show, and this was arranged to welcome him. I’m just tagging along~"

...

The food at Nobu wasn’t that amazing, Daria had to admit.

What you were really paying for was the atmosphere, the status, the moonlit Pacific outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the lights of the Malibu coastline.

And, of course, the prestigious experience of being personally served by Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, a man worth hundreds of millions.

"We meet again, Mr. Li Wei." That’s what she heard him say to Li Wei.

"We meet again," Li Wei also said with a smile. "The Matsutake Crab fried rice you made before was delicious."

’The head chef has personally served Li Wei before?’ Daria was a little shocked.

She spent most of her time in Europe and had no interest in sports. It was only after Anya and Li Wei started dating that she learned that American football was apparently a big deal in the United States of America.

But now, she was getting the feeling that "a big deal" didn’t even begin to cover it.

Anya and Li Wei were on Daria’s right, with Jin Heon and Chen Haisheng on her left. Jason Miller sat on the outer edge.

When Nobu Matsuhisa personally brought out the second course, he didn’t just set it down and leave. Instead, he stood for a moment across the counter from Li Wei.

"Mr. Li Wei, last time in New York you mentioned you liked Matsutake Crab," he said, his voice a mixture of humility and pride. "Today, I’ve prepared it with an innovative new method that isn’t on the menu yet."

"Not on the menu?" Li Wei smiled. "Does that mean I get to be the first to try it?"

"You are the very first guest to taste it," Nobu Matsuhisa said earnestly. "Ever since that day after the Super Bowl, I’ve been conceptualizing a special dish, designed specifically for someone who will one day be in the history books."

’Li Wei is going to be in the history books?’ Daria glanced at Anya, but Anya showed no surprise at the compliment.

"I know the Super Bowl halftime show," she couldn’t help but ask Nobu Matsuhisa. "Is the Super Bowl that hard to win?"

Nobu Matsuhisa turned to look at her. He opened his mouth, closed it, but then couldn’t stop himself from speaking.

"Miss," he said tactfully, "winning a Super Bowl is of course difficult, but that’s not the point."

"Then what is the point?" Daria couldn’t help but ask.

"The point is that Mr. Li Wei just completed the first perfect season in over 100 years," Nobu Matsuhisa said with gravity. "The NFL has been around for over 100 years, and never before has a team won the Super Bowl without losing a single game all season. Never."

He glanced at Li Wei as he said this.

"Something like that," Li Wei said with a small smile, not elaborating.

During the pause before the third course arrived, Nobu Matsuhisa emerged from the kitchen once more.

This time, he came to ask for a photo and an autograph.

Even after the photo, he seemed reluctant to leave and brought up something else.

"Oh, by the way, Mr. Li Wei," he said, "I have a friend in the food service supply chain. He saw your LW beverage and said he’s very interested in discussing a potential partnership."

Daria’s ears perked up again.

"LW?" she whispered to Anya. "What’s LW?"

"Li Wei’s own sports drink brand. It did a collaboration with LV, too," Anya said in a low voice.

"I’m honored," Li Wei said, shaking his head. "But our production capacity can’t keep up right now, so we’re not in a position to expand the supply chain any further."

"I heard that Pepsi paid a hefty price to keep LW from expanding in the United States of America. Is that true?" Nobu Matsuhisa asked curiously, then quickly added, "Just making small talk, haha, if it’s inconvenient to answer—"

"It’s no trouble," Li Wei said with a wave of his hand. "I won’t get into specific numbers, but it’s true that I’ve been looking for overseas production lines recently. If you have any suitable resources, Chef Matsuhisa, I’d appreciate an introduction."

"I don’t really know much about that area," Nobu Matsuhisa said after a moment’s thought. "But I will keep an eye out for you."

Then he added with a sigh, "Valued at two billion after less than three months... If your production capacity could really keep up, I’m afraid I’d be witnessing the rise of the youngest self-made ten-billionaire in history."

"That’s probably a long way off," Li Wei said with a laugh.

’How... How much?’

"Did he say two billion?" Daria couldn’t hold it in any longer. "Is this sports drink that famous?"

It must have been too hot in the room, because she could feel her face and ears burning red.

"Of course," Anya said, picking up a piece of sashimi and popping it into her mouth. "Pepsi paid 450 million USD just to get him to ’take a break’ for a few years, weaken his influence, and keep him from expanding too quickly."

Two billion, 450 million... one number after another was thrown out, making Daria’s head spin.

"Okay..." she mumbled. "I admit I was biased. In my circle, an athlete is just an athlete. But he’s really different."

"You’re only just figuring that out?" Anya said, exasperated. "I’ve been telling you all along."

"I thought you were just love-struck! It’s your first relationship, so that’s pretty normal, right?" Daria said, almost blaming her. "I never thought everything you said was actually true."

She paused, then looked past Anya to Li Wei.

"Li Wei," she said. "I want to apologize to you."

"My attitude this afternoon was terrible. I have a stereotype about athletes, thinking they don’t earn enough and aren’t good enough for Anya..."

"It’s nothing," Li Wei said casually. "Don’t worry about it."

’It really was an incredibly trivial matter.’

Anya just smiled and shook her head. That was Daria for you—prejudiced but frank, always speaking her mind, and quick to admit when she was wrong. She never held a grudge.

"Wait," Daria suddenly remembered something and whispered to Anya, "So you weren’t exaggerating about anything with Li Wei?"

Anya shook her head. "Nope. I always tell it like it is."

"Then..."

Daria leaned into Anya’s ear and whispered something.

Anya’s face instantly turned red. She shot Daria a glare, but then nodded anyway.

"Oh my god," Daria gasped, covering her mouth. "Then how did he even fall for you?"

"Do you have a needle and thread?" Anya asked, turning to Li Wei. "I think Daria’s had enough to eat. I should help her sew her mouth shut."