Chapter 374: Poking the Sore Spot to Death

The voice was as gentle as a mother cooing to her child. If it were a young mother in her twenties or thirties comforting a toddler, no one would have found it the least bit odd.

But Pan Xiaomei was over fifty, and Shen Haichen was nearly thirty. For her to still be using that babying tone with him made everyone’s skin crawl.

Even Father Luo and Luo’s Mother, who had come full of expectations for this blind date, now wore complicated expressions. They suddenly felt that letting their daughter spend the rest of her life alone would be better than marrying her off to a man like this.

At Pan Xiaomei’s prompting, Shen Haichen, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly stood up from his chair. His face instantly turned bright red, and his gaze began to dart away from Luo Xiwen.

“Hello.”

“I… I’m… I’m Shen Haichen.”

“I really… really… really like… you.”

“My mom said… said it’s okay… to make you my wife.”

“If you’re willing… willing to marry me, I’ll… I’ll definitely be good and listen to you and my mom from now on.”

In just a few sentences, Shen Haichen managed to stutter more than ten times.

By the end, his face was so red it looked like it might burst, and his fists were clenched tightly.

With a performance like that, it wasn’t just Luo Xiwen and her family; even Zhou Shun’an, standing silently behind her, couldn’t help but feel the corner of his mouth twitch.

Well…

He was a professional—unless he couldn’t help it.

“Xiaoluo, our Haochen has been like this since he was a child.”

Pan Xiaomei didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed. On the contrary, she seemed to think her precious son was exceptionally simple and pure. She spoke with a sense of misplaced pride, “He gets shy and stutters whenever he meets a pretty girl. He’s only acting this way because he really, really likes you.”

Luo Xiwen smiled but said nothing, a hint of pity coloring her gaze as she looked at Shen Haichen.

Shen Haichen snuck a glance at Luo Xiwen. Seeing no reaction from her after he had mustered all his courage to confess, his fragile little heart was dealt a heavy blow. The moment he sat down, he looked to Pan Xiaomei, a hint of anxiety on his face.

Seeing this, Pan Xiaomei’s expression darkened slightly.

Just then, a procession of waiters emerged from the service room, carrying exquisitely plated dishes on exceptionally large platters.

Two other servers followed, holding two bottles of red wine. They first made a circuit of the table to display the bottles before, without any delay, uncorking them on the spot and pouring the contents into a decanter.

A flicker of amusement crossed Luo Xiwen’s eyes as she watched.

‘So you want to put on a show, huh?’

‘You’re in for a nasty surprise!’

Luo Xiwen snorted inwardly. Having been by Gu Heng’s side for so long, accompanying him to all sorts of events and listening to the casual banter of powerful figures, she had picked up a thing or two about being devious.

Now, the time, the place, and the people were all on her side.

‘Could she really let Pan Xiaomei’s family look down on her and bully her?’

‘It was time for this little play to come to an end.’

Luo Xiwen gently wiped her fair hands with the now-warm, damp towel, casually lifting her eyes to give Zhou Shun’an a meaningful look.

He received the signal and immediately sprang into action.

“Distinguished guests…”

“Thank you all for your tremendous support of the Zhenshui Banquet!”

“And now, allow me to introduce tonight’s grand finale!”

Zhou Shun’an announced loudly as he walked toward an empty space on the table.

At the same time, the doors to the service room opened once more.

A chef in a white uniform walked in, pushing a trolley. On the trolley was a charcoal stove, and on top of the stove sat a giant conch shell, its rich, fragrant juices bubbling away inside.

“This is our restaurant’s largest wild conch, weighing a total of 9.4 jin!”

“Based on the normal growth cycle of a conch, this particular wild specimen is likely over ten years old. It’s truly a rare and precious delicacy of the sea!”

As Zhou Shun’an gave his vivid introduction, the chef behind the trolley picked up a bottle of white wine and splashed it over the charcoal-grilled conch, causing flames to erupt instantly.

“This is a thirty-year-old aged Huadiao wine!”

Zhou Shun’an continued his presentation, “It makes the conch’s texture even more tender, crisp, and springy.”

By now, both Pan Xiaomei and Shen Zhengsheng had a faint sense that something was wrong.

A rare sea delicacy, prepared tableside, with a thirty-year-old aged wine… none of this looked cheap.

The four-jin Australian Lobster from before just had a bit of dry ice placed on the platter with some water poured over it for a smoke effect. Compared to the spectacle before them now, it was nothing.

Shen Zhengsheng forced himself to remain calm. After Zhou Shun’an finished his explanation, he asked nonchalantly, “I was too lazy to look at the menu earlier. What’s the price on this wild conch of yours? It certainly looks impressive.”

“President Shen, our prices are absolutely fair.”

Zhou Shun’an replied with a smile, “It’s only 1,688. Forget about whether you can even find something of this quality anywhere else in Ji Province—even if you could, you would never get it for a price of 1,688.”

Pan Xiaomei, who had been holding her breath, let out a sigh of relief when she heard the conch was only 1,688. She immediately regained her elegant and composed demeanor, that of a wealthy matriarch. “For such a heavy wild conch to only be 1,688… that price is indeed very reasonable.”