Li Qin Yao was amused as she watched the two men in front of her.
Although Zhang Jing looked as if he was angered at his assistant's act to stop him from entering the restaurant to eat, Li Qin Yao could see that he was not truly annoyed. Perhaps, the old man understood his assistant's concern about his health. Therefore, he can only pretend to be mad.
Zhang Yu Han's grandfather was rather cute.
After a while, Li Qin Yao stepped up, "Grandfather, it's getting late. It would not be good for your body if you eat any later."
Zhang Jing stopped scolding his assistant and turned to Li Qin Yao with a smile on his face. "Grandfather shall listen to you, then."
At this time, Assistant Huo felt wronged. He had tried to persuade the Chairman for half an hour and yet, Li Qin Yao only had to persuade him once to stop their argument. He had served Zhang Jing for years, but the old man chose to listen to his girl he barely knew.
"Miss Li, it would be dull for an old man like me to eat alone. Why don't you accompany me to eat? It will be my treat," Zhang Jing said.
Li Qin Yao glanced at Assistant Huo and smiled. "Don't you still have your friend to accompany you to eat?"
"What's good about two old men having dinner together?" Zhang Jing said with a sigh. "I've been looking at his face for years almost every day. I think I might not have much appetite."
Assistant Huo was sure that Chairman Zhang was only trying to coax his the lady to have a meal with him, but his words still made him want to cry without tears.
Chairman Zhang was a foodie! He was the kind of person who ignored everything around him once he had delicious food in front of him. The only time he lost his appetite was right after his wife's death.
"Really? Shouldn't your appetite increased when you eat with someone you comfortable with?" Li Qin Yao said. "Looking at the two of you, I can see that your relationship shouldn't be that bad."
Zhang Jing turned to his assistant with narrowed eyes. Because his grandson, Zhang Yu Han, had to go to the Capital City for work matters, Assistant Huo had to accompany him to his meal. Zhang Jing was initially glad that he did not have to eat alone, but now, he thought that his assistant was a nuisance. If he was not around, then he can persuade his potential granddaughter-in-law to accompany him to dinner.
"But since Grandfather said you were going to treat me, how can I say no?" Li Qin Yao continued.
Instantly, Zhang Jing's expression brightened up.
Li Qin Yao almost laughed at the old man's childish attitude. Then, she turned to the middle-aged man and took the initiative to introduce herself. "Hello. I'm Li Qin Yao. This is the first time I see you, uncle."
Assistant Huo was startled at her sudden introduction. He held out his hand with a reserved smile on his face. "Hello, Miss Li. You can call me Assistant Huo." Li Qin Yao's polite manners left a good impression on Assistant Huo.
Seeing the way his assistant was chatting with his potential granddaughter-in-law, Zhang Jing immediately separated the two and led Li Qin Yao to the restaurant. To Assistant Huo's relief, the Chairman did not enter the barbecue restaurant and instead, entered another restaurant next to it.
Zhang Jing asked for a private room and started to order some food. He passed the menu to Li Qin Yao and she only ordered a light snack since she had her dinner with Han Yue Xiu not long ago.
"Will that be enough?" Zhang Jing asked. "Miss Li, I can assure you that I can afford to treat you to dinner."
"It isn't that. I don't eat much for dinner," Li Qin Yao said.
"You're dieting? The young people these days are too concerned about their body, huh?" Zhang Jing said.
Li Qin Yao merely smiled as Zhang Jing continued to lecture her eating habits.
Once their food arrived, Zhang Jing would push some of the dishes to Li Qin Yao and insisted on her to try. Once Zhang Jing picked a dish for Li Qin Yao to try, she would pick another dish for him as well.
Meanwhile, Assistant Huo could only eat silently as he continued to watch the way Chairman Zhang was treating the girl as if she was really his granddaughter-in-law. Somehow, he thought himself as the third wheel.
His gaze softened when he started to notice that every time the girl would pick up the dishes for the Chairman, she would let him eat more vegetables. Since Li Qin Yao was the one who picked the dishes, naturally, Zhang Jing ate them happily.
It was rare to see Chairman Zhang that amount of vegetables as he did right now. Even if Zhang Yu Han had to force him to eat vegetables, Chairman Zhang would only eat them with a dissatisfied look on his face. It was surprising for Assistant Huo to see the Chairman eat them with a smile on his face.
Li Qin Yao took a sip from her drink and looked up to Assistant Huo. Though she pretended that she did not see it, Li Qin Yao knew that Assistant Huo has been looking at her all through dinner. "Sorry, Assistant Huo. It seemed that I have disturbed your dinner with Grandfather together."
"It's fine. I was glad that you accepted Chairman Zhang's invitation. It was rare for him to eat that much vegetables," Assistant Huo said.
Zhang Jing's face darkened at his assistant's words. He made him feel as if he was a five years old child who was picky about his food. Although it was a fact, Assistant Huo should not be saying these words in front of his Li Qin Yao.
As Li Qin Yao watched the two old men started to get into another argument, her lips curved into a smile. Once Zhang Jing noticed that Li Qin Yao has been staring at him for a long time, he immediately stopped arguing with his assistant. Suddenly, he felt very childish in front of this young girl.
"Sorry, Miss Li. We embarrassed ourselves by letting you see these two old men arguing like children," Seeing the Chairman's shy expression, Assistant Huo took the initiative to apologize.
"It's alright," Li Qin Yao waved her hands. Although had only met Zhang Yu Han's grandfather a few times, Li Qin Yao thought that this old man was adorable. At the thought of her relationship with her grandparents on both sides of the family, Li Qin Yao felt a bit sad.
Her maternal grandparents were not close to her due to her identity as the young miss of QL Group. While her relationship with her paternal grandfather soured after the scandal two years ago. Although her paternal grandfather tried to repair their relationship and make up for his misunderstanding, Li Qin Yao thought that everything was no longer the same.
"That's right," Li Qin Yao turned to Zhang Jing with an inquiring gaze. "I heard Assistant Huo addressed you as Chairman Zhang. Grandfather, if you don't mind me asking, who are you exactly?"
Zhang Jing exchanged a look with his assistant. "Yu Han never said anything?" he asked Li Qin Yao.
"We're not that close," Li Qin Yao admitted.
When Zhang Jing heard that, he silently chided his grandson. He knew that his grandson never had any relationship with any girls, but right now, Zhang Jing could not think that his grandson was very hopeless.
They were not that close? What was his grandson doing? Didn't he know how to chase a girl? At his pace, when will he be able to have a granddaughter-in-law?
"Have you heard of Zhang Group Worldwide?" Zhang Jing asked.
Li Qin Yao nodded. "That hotel group?"
"Well, I am the Chairman of that hotel group," Zhang Jing said.
Li Qin Yao's eyes widened. She had never thought that this adorable grandfather would be the Chairman of Zhang Group Worldwide. A frown appeared on her face as she recalled something. Back then, didn't Zhang Yu Han told her that he was in the hospitality industry?