Chapter 10 First Date

About a week after they made love confession to each other, Leena and Miguel started dating. That day, Leena woke up early to change clothes. She had not been so serious and so energetic for a long time. She seldom dressed up at school because she was devoted to her work when the night fell. She always remained as a person with a taste for simplicity in her classmates' eyes. There wasn't anything special about her appearance.

Only Rena knew exactly what kind of person she was—tender and fresh and a rather versatile character. She could play two different roles on the same day. A simple student at day and a hotel director at night.

That day, she dressed up according to Miguel’s request—long hair, long skirt, and light makeup. In fact, normal men liked girls with clean and tidy makeup. If they dressed excessively for themselves, men would be discouraged, let alone respect them.

Leena stood in front of the mirror and she was satisfied with how she looked. She went out with such joy in her eyes. Rena made a wish for her, "It will be a magical and romantic date!"

"Are you kidding me? Why don't you go out with your boyfriend too?"

Rena continued to pester Leena with more questions. "Is he really your first love? It seems that you both have taken your relationship seriously! I'm so jealous!"

Leena didn't feel the need to hide her feeling in front of her friend. She replied with sincerity, "I love him so much, I've been waiting for him for so many years, and I don't think I'm going to fall in love with someone else."

Rena gave her a thumbs up with a smile on her face and said, "I wish you have a happy ending!"

After talking with her for a while, Leena went out happily. She herself hoped that she and Miguel could have a happy ending. After all, that was what she always wanted ever since she was a child.

Just like how she was never late for work even once, she wouldn't let anyone wait too long alone, especially someone like Miguel. Maybe she was a one-of-a-kind girlfriend. She even arrived half an hour earlier than her boyfriend. So she walked around and found that time went so slow. However, when their appointed time came, Miguel was still nowhere to be seen.

She remained patient and waited for 30 more minutes. She felt strange because it wasn't the girl who was late for their first date but the boy. She prepared some words and intended to tease Miguel later. But after 30 more minutes of waiting was up, she felt a little anxious and tried to call him. She called him several times, but not a single one of them was answered. Well, not until the supposed last call. His secretary answered the phone and asked, "Excuse me, are you Miss Yang? Our vice CEO is currently on a meeting, and he asked me to tell you to go home for now. He will contact you immediately after the meeting. I'm sorry!"

Hearing that his secretary kept apologizing to her, she naturally felt disappointed. It turned out that their first date wouldn't happen anyway. She got up early to dress up and spent a long time polishing her nails. She even picked up the dress early and stayed up late while her hair was being fixed. She tried her best to keep a good appearance, but he didn't even appear.

"When did he start the meeting?" Leena asked unwillingly.

"Around 9:30," the secretary answered.

They set up the date at 9 o’clock in the morning. There was about half an hour window when he could’ve told her himself, but instead he sent out his secretary to take care of it. What did he think of their first date? Perhaps in the past few years, he had become more self-absorbed that he turned into someone who wouldn't think of others.

But she thought she should be tolerant if she loved him. She was not cruel. How could she make trouble out of nothing when her boyfriend was busy with important things? Shortly after exchanging a few words with the secretary, she hung up the phone.

She wanted to go back, but she felt ashamed when she thought of the excited look in Rena’s eyes. Besides, she couldn’t bear to disappoint her, so she just wandered around outside all alone, trying to pass the time. To her surprise, Miguel ended the meeting early. Two hours later, it happened to be just the perfect time for lunch. He called Leena himself in order to apologize and invite her for lunch.

Leena replied, "It doesn't matter. Your work is the first priority. We have been together for a few days already, and we don't need to care so much about this date."

Despite that, he apologized further, "I'm very sorry to keep you waiting. But it happened so suddenly. I simply couldn't ignore the urgency of the meeting. I want to give you a gift as compensation. What do you want?"

"No, thanks. I don't need anything," Leena replied.

"How about a piece of jewelry? Would that make you happy?"

"No, thank you! Anyway, didn’t you say we would have lunch together? Why haven’t you come out yet? That can also be a date." She quickly changed the topic. In fact, she could feel his sincerity through his way of offering an apology, so she forgave him. She didn't feel the need to receive jewelry or any material things as compensation.

Miguel was left with no choice. "Okay. What do you want to eat?" he said.

Leena pondered for a while and

flashed a grin. "Whatever. You make the decision."

"Then how about some Japanese cuisine? I still remember how much you love sushi. I've heard that there is a Japanese restaurant that opened recently. Some reviews say the food is very delicious."

Leena was taken aback by his words. When did she start to like Japanese cuisine? She obviously hated Japanese cuisine the most! Because she hated the odor of nori. She had once vomited when she ate these kinds of smelly food back when she was a child, so she kept herself away from other food that was too fishy for her taste. She didn't like nori, kelp, and, of course, sushi. She remembered telling Miguel about that, but he must have forgotten it after so many years.

However, if she firmly denied Miguel's decision, he would be embarrassed. It would ruin the romantic atmosphere of the date between them. She decided to just find an opportunity to tell him later. Besides, there wasn't only sushi in the Japanese restaurant. It was fine for her as long as she avoided anything fishy. "Whatever, it's up to you!"

Miguel was overjoyed to take her to a Japanese restaurant. Of course, Leena didn't have any sort of excitement during the meal. She continued to pick up food for Miguel. She ate very little herself and carefully avoided various dishes. As his mind was still preoccupied with his work, Miguel was talking about the meeting earlier with Leena while having their lunch, and he didn’t once notice that she had no appetite at all

It wasn't easy to have a meal together for the first date. After that, she felt a sense of relief, but at the same time, upset and disappointed. They were having their date, but why did she feel something was odd? However, looking at the serious and keen look on his face while he was analyzing the matters about his business, she thought that he was extremely good-looking. It was worth grieving herself for such a man. She admired him so much, not to mention his immense wealth.

When they happened to pass by a gift shop, she saw a giggling doll that looked like a monkey through the glass window, and she couldn't help but take a few more glances at it. She was very fond of this kind of stuff. She received some when she was a child, but there wasn't any big ones. When her father was in serious trouble, her family moved away. She had been very busy with her work since then and would seldom receive a birthday gift. She didn't even receive any sort of gift when she got into the university. But every time she saw a little boy send a present to his girlfriend on the streets, she felt that it was so pure and romantic. Perhaps because she didn't have such a pure and innocent relationship before, she felt a sense of regret when she witnessed them send gifts to each other.

Miguel noticed her hesitation. He pointed to the dolls inside and said, "Do you like it?"

"No, I don't like that kind of childish thing!" she quickly replied.

"Well, just stop pretending. I’ve seen you admire it!" Miguel handed her his suit as he chuckled. "Wait a minute, I'll be right back."

When he was about to enter the shop, she quickly pulled his arms to stop him. "What are you going to do?"

"I can buy one!" He didn't even try to lie.

Leena couldn't help but feel embarrassed. "Wait! We are basically fifty years old when combined, and it’s so big! Who do you think will hold it?" She was a 24-year-old adult. How could she be so shameless as to walk on the street holding a giant monkey doll?

Miguel replied with a generous smile, "Why don't you hold it? Alright, fine, since I owe you something, I will hold it for you. But you have to carry my suit and tie later. Besides, it's not that big!" Then he proceeded to go into the store.

After hearing that, she could only heave a sigh. She didn't know whether she should cry or laugh. It was quite a fun experience for Miguel to walk freely on the street while holding a big doll. It seemed to be a scene written in a novel, romantic and touching. If the man didn't love the woman, how could he even be willing to do this for her? She was looking forward to it again. And Miguel said the doll wasn't that big, but it was as tall as a man.

She then realized why he said that when Miguel came out with a fox doll in his arms rather than that huge monkey. Although it was very cute, Leena was still surprised to see it.

With the fox doll in his hand, Miguel shook it in front of her and said, "Well? You don't like it?"

Leena glanced back at the monkey doll through the window, and then looked at the doll he was holding. She really didn't know whether she should laugh or cry. Why did she feel something negative inside her? Why did she feel that a certain void was still left unfilled inside her heart? She thought, ‘Why do I feel depressed?’

However, she simply took the doll from his hand and gave him a warm smile. "Thank you. It's adorable."

Miguel withdrew his hand at once and said, "Let me hold it for you. Remember the deal? I still don't understand why you like such a childish thing. Are you moved now that I've bought you this gift?"

"Thank you, Miguel. You're so kind to me," said Leena. She didn't have much of a choice now but to act like a spoiled child!

Miguel suddenly burst into laughter.