81: Chapter 81 Lakeside Lunch

As noon approached twelve o'clock, the car slowly pulled into the parking lot of the Jiangyuan Homestay.

The homestay was backed by a tea plantation and faced the forest, situated in an open area on the mountainside, surrounded by dense vegetation, making the air very fresh.

Qiao Yichen parked the car and turned his head to take a look—Liu Yanran had fallen asleep at some point, her head tilted slightly toward the car window.

The two in the back seat were even more soundly asleep, slumped over; Lin Wei was curled up into a ball, her head resting against the door.

Su Qing was leaning against the window on the other side, her posture looking rather uncomfortable, her brow slightly furrowed.

Qiao Yichen didn't wake them up and gently opened the car door.

He walked alone along the small bluestone path toward the homestay lobby.

The path was lined with bamboo, which rustled as the wind blew past.

After walking about a hundred meters, a three-story small building appeared before his eyes, with white walls and black tiles, and a few potted green plants placed near the entrance.

Pushing the door open, he entered. The receptionist was a young woman who looked up when she heard the door open, as she had been looking down, organizing something.

"Hello, I have a room reservation under the name Qiao."

The young woman checked the system, and when she looked up, an apologetic expression was on her face: "I'm sorry, Sir, the previous guests just checked out, and the room is still being cleaned. You can check in around two in the afternoon."

Qiao Yichen nodded, his tone calm: "Alright, then we will come back later."

Leaving the lobby, he walked back the way he came.

From a distance, he saw that Liu Yanran had already gotten out of the car and was standing beside it stretching—her arms extended upwards, her waist forming a beautiful curve; she must have been tired from sitting in the car for too long.

Seeing him return, Liu Yanran lowered her arms and walked over to naturally loop her arm through his: "How was it?"

"The room is still being cleaned; we can get in at two," Qiao Yichen said. "Let's go eat first. There’s a waterside restaurant nearby, less than three kilometers away."

Liu Yanran nodded, turned, and opened the rear door, leaning in to call out: "Wake up, we're here, let's eat first."

Muffled grumbling sounds came from the back seat.

Lin Wei opened her eyes groggily, rubbed them, and then slowly crawled out of the car.

As soon as she was out, she started doing stretching exercises—twisting her waist, extending her arms, shaking her head. Her movements were exaggerated and comical, resembling a sloth that had just woken up.

Su Qing got out from the other side; her condition wasn't much better.

She supported her neck with one hand and slowly rotated it, her brow slightly furrowed.

Qiao Yichen looked at her appearance and couldn't help but laugh: "What's wrong with you?"

Su Qing sighed helplessly, her voice still a bit hoarse from sleep: "Sleeping against the window, I think I might have slept wrong and strained my neck."

Lin Wei's focus, however, was not on that.

She was staring at the sign of the restaurant not far away, and her eyes immediately lit up: "'Lakeside Waterside Restaurant'—it really is built by the lake."

Behind the sign, a wooden structure of the restaurant jutted out over the water, reflected on the shimmering lake surface, gently swaying with the ripples. It indeed looked quite interesting.

Qiao Yichen took Liu Yanran's hand. "Let's go in and have a look."

Lin Wei and Su Qing followed behind.

Pushing open the restaurant door, a wave of heat mixed with the aroma of food rushed towards them.

The hall was almost full of people, the noise was clamorous, the sound of clinking cups and plates rose and fell continuously, and waiters shuttled between tables carrying dishes.

The proprietress came forward, greeting them with a beaming smile: "How many people?"

Qiao Yichen: "Four people, do you have a table?"

"Yes, yes, yes, follow me." The proprietress led them further inside, stopping beside a recently cleared empty table by the window, and casually wiped the tabletop again with a cloth. "Is this table okay? It's by the window, and you can still see the lake."

Qiao Yichen nodded, pulled out a chair for Liu Yanran to sit down, and took a seat next to her. Lin Wei and Su Qing sat opposite them.

The proprietress handed over the menus, but Qiao Yichen didn't take one, pushing it slightly to the side: "It's our first time here, could you recommend a few signature dishes?"

The proprietress smiled, confidence in her tone: "Then you must try our Farmhouse Old Hen Soup, stewed with free-range chicken, it's very fresh. And the Snails Meet Frog, that's a must-order for returning customers too, though it is a little spicy."

Qiao Yichen nodded, flipped open the menu, and ordered a few more dishes: "Salt and Pepper Prawns, Soy-Braised Spare Ribs, and a Stir-fried Seasonal Vegetable."

"Five dishes, that should be enough to eat," the proprietress noted down the order, took the menu back, and walked toward the kitchen.

Qiao Yichen got up and took a few bottles of drinks from the nearby refrigerator—two bottles of juice and two bottles of milk. He walked back and placed one bottle in front of each person.

"Quench your thirst first."

Lin Wei unscrewed the cap and took a big gulp, letting out a sigh of relief, then lowered her voice to ask: "Why didn't we just eat at the homestay?"

"I just asked; the rooms are still being tidied up," Qiao Yichen said. "By the time we finish eating, it should be almost ready."

In the noisy environment, the few people chatted intermittently. Lin Wei talked about the dream she just had, where she dreamt of falling into a hot pot; Su Qing leaned back against the chair, occasionally rubbing her neck; Liu Yanran occasionally interjected with one or two sentences, but mostly just listened, a slight smile on her lips.

Not long after, the dishes started arriving one after another.

Su Qing first served herself a bowl of soup, blew on it, and carefully took a sip.

As the broth entered her throat, her eyes narrowed slightly, as if the entire person had been awakened by that sip of soup.

She put down the bowl and said earnestly: "This is what you call eating." Then she added: "Nibbling on a sandwich this morning was so boring."

Lin Wei had already picked up a prawn, biting it until it crunched, and mumbled in agreement: "Exactly, exactly."

She sipped the snail, her eyes lit up, and quickly called out to Liu Yanran: "Yanran, you try this too, it’s really quite good."

Liu Yanran’s chopsticks hovered over the Snails Meet Frog dish for a long time, hesitating about which piece to pick up.

In the end, she picked up a small piece of frog meat, gently wiped off the excess sauce on the edge of the bowl, and put it into her mouth.

After chewing twice, her movements froze.

A fiery sensation spread from her tongue down to her throat.

Her face also began to flush slightly, and even her earlobes felt a bit hot.

Qiao Yichen, with his sharp eyes, immediately handed her the bottle of milk from beside him: "Too spicy? Drink some milk, or you can rinse it in water."

Liu Yanran took the milk and took a sip, and the burning sensation slowly subsided. She took another sip, and the redness on her face gradually faded.

Lin Wei looked at her appearance, smiled, and shook her head: "You still can't handle things that are too spicy, what a pity. Such a delicious dish, and you can't enjoy it."

Qiao Yichen didn't respond, picking up a piece of Soy-Braised Spare Rib and placing it in Liu Yanran's bowl.

Qiao Yichen picked up a piece of spare rib coated in thick, bright red sauce, which looked very flavorful: "Try this, it's not spicy, and the flavor is quite good."

Liu Yanran lowered her head and took a bite. The meat was tender and the sauce was rich; it was indeed delicious.

She nodded and finished that piece of spare rib.

The other dishes were not spicy.

As for Qiao Yichen, Lin Wei, and Su Qing, they ate everything without restraint.

Lin Wei single-handedly finished half a plate of snails and frog, hissing as she ate.

Although Su Qing had a stiff neck, her chopsticks never stopped moving.

Qiao Yichen occasionally picked up food for Liu Yanran beside him.

Between the rising and falling of the chopsticks, the dishes on the table disappeared at a rate visible to the naked eye.

After eating their fill, the four people didn't rush to leave.

The bowls and dishes were more than half empty, with bones and shrimp shells piled up like small mountains on the table.

But no one moved; they all leaned back against their chairs, looking out the window.

The afternoon sunlight sprinkled onto the lake, and when the wind blew, it created shimmering waves of light.