181: Chapter 181 Brother Tong's Ambitions!

Mr. Shen's slightly urgent tone also gave Maria a bit of a start.

Adding to that, seeing that Monica beside her didn't seem to mind being alone with Mr. Shen at all, it was hard for her not to speculate.

"Could it be that Mr. Shen and Princess Monica have already developed feelings? Or have they been secretly dating all along?"

Maria thought this to herself, suddenly feeling quite proud.

Her boss, the man she worked for, had actually won over Europe's lofty, treasured princess.

If this matter weren't something to be spread casually, she probably would have already been shouting it from the rooftops.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Shen Zhou and Monica waited a while longer. Only after the venue completely emptied did everyone slowly leave through the main doors.

When leaving, the seven or eight bodyguards around Monica naturally followed, not a single one missing.

Among them, male and female bodyguards were split evenly.

"Are these bodyguards of Monica's coming to dine with us as well? Then I'm afraid I'll need to make some arrangements first."

Shen Zhou was taken aback. He had originally thought this would be a private date for just him and Monica.

He hadn't expected this group of bodyguards, each one sticking close to Monica, clearly intending to provide close protection.

"Bringing them all would be rather inconvenient with so many people. It's fine, wait a moment, I'll go talk to them right away."

Monica said a bit shyly. She, too, actually wanted to have a private date with just Shen Zhou.

Having bodyguards along would naturally be somewhat inconvenient.

She went over and quickly explained the situation to her close protection team.

However, the bodyguards immediately looked anxious.

"This won't do, Princess Monica. We must ensure you remain within our line of sight at all times."

"After all, your charity work has upset quite a few people. We fear there might be ill-intentioned individuals waiting in the shadows."

The one speaking to Monica was a female bodyguard, and clearly the leader.

At this moment, she felt very helpless. It was her duty, but how could she dare to casually leave Monica's side?

"How about you follow behind us, but not too closely? I have some matters I need to discuss properly with this Mr. Shen."

After a moment's thought, Monica ultimately decided to compromise.

After all, these bodyguards were just doing their jobs.

They were always diligent and thorough in protecting her daily.

She didn't want her momentary willfulness to cause the bodyguards to lose their jobs for nothing.

"Very well, Princess. But please wear this earpiece first."

As she spoke, the female bodyguard resolutely handed a miniature earpiece to Monica.

Full of reluctance, Monica was finally moved by the bodyguard's somewhat pleading gaze and placed it in her ear.

"Princess, if anything happens, you just need to speak a bit louder, and we'll rush to the scene immediately."

Seeing Monica put on the earpiece, the lead female bodyguard finally let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Alright, don't worry. I won't go anywhere secluded with him."

Monica said, both amused and exasperated.

She really didn't know what to say about these bodyguards of hers.

But regardless, they were thinking of her well-being, which could be considered a day's worth of well-intentioned effort.

After thoroughly persuading her bodyguards, Monica walked alone, her steps light and skipping, over to Shen Zhou's side.

A gentle smile already graced her face, complementing the purple gown she wore, making her look like a true, whimsical forest fairy.

"Now there's no one else to disturb us, Shen Zhou."

In her great delight, Monica's voice when speaking to Shen Zhou became even more lilting.

"That's wonderful. The restaurant I'm taking you to today is a very special one I've been to before."

Shen Zhou chuckled as he led Monica forward.

In the end, the two arrived at a local Swiss restaurant where they had eaten once before.

The prices at this restaurant weren't cheap, but the various dishes served were exceptionally authentic.

For instance, the cheese fondue Shen Zhou had tried once before was served again.

Even Monica, as a European, was tasting this particular type of fondue for the first time.

So, as she ate, she exclaimed with delight.

Her delicate face was frequently flushed, a mix of heat and color rising.

It was also the first time Monica ate with such a hearty appetite.

Most crucially, even as Monica devoted herself to the delicious meal before her, her every move remained impeccably graceful.

Furthermore, since it wasn't peak dining hours, there were no other customers in the restaurant at all.

Thus, the dining environment for Shen Zhou and Monica became even more refined.

Shen Zhou specifically gestured to order a bottle of Romanée-Conti. A red wine costing nearly a hundred thousand euros was only fitting for such an occasion, serving as a slight embellishment.

"This should be a 1998 Romanée-Conti. Shen Zhou, your taste in red wine is quite good."

Monica said again, her eyes smiling.

"Well, you guessed wrong this time. I don't drink red wine often. The waiter recommended this bottle."

Shen Zhou didn't mind at all, straightforwardly telling the truth.

This prompted another light laugh from Monica, who covered her mouth, a sly glint flashing in her eyes.

Actually, she had already noticed the waiter recommending this wine to Shen Zhou and had said that on purpose.

But she hadn't expected Shen Zhou to actually admit it so honestly.

"Shen Zhou really is different from other men. Those guys are dead set on showing off in front of me, but Shen Zhou is much more low-key."

Monica thought this to herself, feeling increasingly satisfied with Shen Zhou.

Soon, the meal neared its end. Shen Zhou was the first to rise and pay the bill.

At the same time, the system's notification tone sounded in his mind.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, Host. You have spent one hundred and thirty thousand euros for Monica.]

[This expenditure triggers a hundredfold cashback, totaling thirteen million euros!]

Hearing this, Shen Zhou couldn't help but marvel inwardly.

"It seems Monica indeed has many suitors in Europe. But how exactly is this number of a hundred people determined?"

Shen Zhou couldn't help but ask System Bro in his mind.

Soon, a stream of information flowed directly into his consciousness.

It turned out the system had a simplified evaluation mechanism for qualified women regarding the number of suitors around them.

For a situation like Monica's, where she had many suitors, it would be roughly estimated as a hundred people.

Of course, this was also judged based on Monica's own influence.

If in the future, a woman Shen Zhou pursued had extremely strong global recognition, then once the number of suitors exceeded a hundred, it would be roughly categorized as a thousand.

"Hiss!"

"System Bro, you want me to pursue women of even higher status, don't you?"

"Now you've really stumped me!"

Even Europe's treasured princess, Monica, her own influence was only judged by System Bro to a certain degree.

Finding a candidate who could trigger a thousandfold cashback would be exceedingly difficult.