The phone call ended in silence.
After a while, there was a burst of noise from Jing Si's side. Then, Jing Si hurriedly said, "Anan, are you alright? My agent is calling me. I have something to deal with."
Gu Yi'an abruptly awakened. "Oh, I'm fine. You go ahead. Call me when you're done."
After hanging up, Gu Yi'an realized her palms were sweating.
Jing Si had just said that Lu Moran had returned.
Gu Yi'an exhaled deeply and rubbed her temples. So many years had passed. If Lu Moran returned, then so be it.
After sitting alone for a while, Gu Yi'an took out her phone and made a reservation.
Jing Si flew all over the place throughout the year. Their chances of meeting were really rare. This time, Jing Si happened to be in S City, so it was absolutely necessary for them to have a meal together.
The environment at Linjiang Pavilion was quite nice, and the privacy of their private rooms was good, making it an ideal place for her and Jing Si. Jing Si had been a rather stifled celebrity, after all. She couldn't even publicly show her face when eating out and was constantly chased by paparazzi.
Gu Yi'an had good luck. Initially, she thought she might not be able to book the Linjiang Waterside Pavilion, but it turned out she did. She also requested Linjiang Pavilion to arrange a large bouquet of lilies in the room. Jing Si liked lilies.
Around six o'clock, Gu Yi'an got off work. On her way out, she called Jing Si, who didn't pick up, but soon sent a text: "I'll go straight to Linjiang Pavilion at 7:30."
Gu Yi'an smiled and went home to change into casual clothes before taking a taxi to Linjiang Pavilion.
Thinking about her small QQ car, Gu Yi'an felt a bit regretful. Whatever, there was no time to fret about it now. She could call Tan Jincheng after dinner with Jing Si to discuss the situation. Not having a car was really inconvenient.
By the time Gu Yi'an arrived at Linjiang Pavilion, it was already seven. She headed straight for the Linjiang Waterside Pavilion.
Unexpectedly, someone was already in the Linjiang Waterside Pavilion!
Gu Yi'an was puzzled. Just then, a server passed by, whom she stopped to ask, "I booked the Linjiang Waterside Pavilion, right? Why is it given to someone else? I didn't cancel the reservation."
The server immediately said, "Please wait a moment, Miss. I will check the situation and get back to you."
Gu Yi'an nodded and stood in the hallway.
Soon, the server brought over the manager.
"Hello, Miss. Is there an issue?" the manager asked.
Gu Yi'an calmly replied, "I booked the Linjiang Waterside Pavilion around 4:30 this afternoon, but when I arrived, the private room had been given to someone else."
At this moment, a middle-aged woman walked out of the Linjiang Waterside Pavilion with a face full of impatience. "What's going on? What's all the noise about?"
Gu Yi'an ignored the middle-aged woman and looked straight at the manager.
After careful verification, the manager discovered that Linjiang Waterside Pavilion had indeed been reserved by Gu Yi'an. But now, Linjiang Waterside Pavilion was already occupied by this Mrs. Lin. What to do?
"My apologies, Mrs. Lin has a particular fondness for Linjiang Waterside Pavilion. Today is her birthday, so we gave the room to her. Miss Gu, could you consider our adjacent Flowering Splendor room? The view there is equally lovely. I can offer you a 30% discount on your bill tonight." The manager said.
Gu Yi'an frowned. "My friend and I haven't seen each other in a long time. She also likes the environment of Linjiang Waterside Pavilion. Besides, I have lilies arranged for her inside. So I'm sorry, but I cannot yield."
The manager looked troubled.
Mrs. Lin was the first to get angry. "Who are you? If you say you won't give it up, then you won't?"
At this moment, a young man in his twenties, looking very elite, walked out from behind Mrs. Lin.
"How about this, Miss. Don't make things difficult for the manager. We'll cover all your expenses for tonight. This room is for my mother's birthday, so we definitely won't give it up." The young man smiled and looked at Gu Yi'an with a hint of admiration.
Gu Yi'an looked displeased. "I believe this room is my reservation. If there's someone who doesn't want to give it up, that should be me."
The middle-aged woman became unhappy. "What else do you want? We've already agreed to cover your expenses for tonight, isn't that enough? We are determined to stay in this room."
Gu Yi'an sneered, "So you're just being unreasonable?"
"So what if I'm being unreasonable?" The middle-aged woman looked at Gu Yi'an with disdain.
Gu Yi'an was furious and was about to say something to the manager when her phone rang. Without looking, she answered the call, her tone not very pleasant. "Who is it?"
The other side was silent for a moment before a pleasant male voice came through.
"It's me."
Gu Yi'an was taken aback and then softly said, "Do you need something?"
"Where are you?" Tan Jincheng asked directly.
"I'm out. Do you need something?" Gu Yi'an replied.
"Where?"
"…Linjiang Pavilion." Gu Yi'an said helplessly.
Unexpectedly, Tan Jincheng on the other end chuckled, "It seems you like the food there. Wait a bit, I'll be there shortly."
After saying that, Tan Jincheng hung up the phone directly.
Gu Yi'an felt helpless.
"Miss Gu, today's issue is entirely our fault. Our server made a mistake by not recording your reservation correctly, which is why the room was given to Mrs. Lin. Out of consideration for Mrs. Lin's birthday, could you please accommodate us?" the manager asked, smiling.
Gu Yi'an frowned, her face looking unpleasant. What did the manager mean by this? Mrs. Lin's birthday, but she hadn't seen Jing Si in a long time either!
"Is this how Linjiang Pavilion does business?" Gu Yi'an said coldly, "You don't even have basic integrity."
"How can you be like this? We've already offered to cover all your expenses for tonight. What else do you want? Money? How much? Name your price." Mrs. Lin said impatiently, looking at Gu Yi'an.
Gu Yi'an's face turned pale, and she said nothing.
For a moment, the atmosphere was extremely awkward.
Just then, a middle-aged man came up—it was Mrs. Lin's husband, Lin Chengjian.
Lin Chengjian glanced at Gu Yi'an and pulled out a business card. "Here is my card. Today is my wife's birthday. Thank you, Miss Gu, for offering the room. Consider this as a future favor from us. If you need anything, you can call the number on the card. I'll do my best to help."
"Lin Chengjian, what are you doing? It's my birthday today, and you want to flirt with this vixen in front of me?" Mrs. Lin became even angrier seeing this.
Lin Chengjian frowned. "Don't talk nonsense."
Mrs. Lin, however, was furious and directly ranted to Gu Yi'an, "Shameless vixen, always seducing men. Do you think you can afford Linjiang Pavilion? I bet you're some rich old guy's mistress. Why don't you take a look in the mirror? Get back to serving your sugar daddy! Offend us? Hmph, don't think you'll even be able to stay a mistress!"