I'm a Villain! Why Are You Trying to Date Me? - Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Lin Tian Is Stunned! Miss, Are You Trying to Feed Me?

“The Zhao Family Head’s youngest daughter? Zhao Mengmeng?”

The woman with the lazy, half-lidded eyes raised her brows in surprise. That little girl actually came down the mountain?

Given everything that had just happened in the Zhao family today, it made no sense for Zhao Mengmeng to be allowed off the mountain. At the very least, for safety reasons alone, they shouldn’t have let her leave. In powerful clans like these, decisions were rarely bound by the law…

A few fleeting doubts passed through the woman’s mind, but she quickly dismissed them.

To her, only things that were truly interesting or unusual were worth paying attention to. Everything else? Not even worth a glance.

And the youngest daughter of the Zhao family? Clearly not important enough to warrant her concern.

“Don’t worry about them. Get me a private room… the most discreet one,” she instructed lazily.

But the next second, something seemed to click in her mind, and her eyes lit up slightly.

“Who came with Zhao Mengmeng?”

The female attendant thought for a moment, then shook her head.

“I’m not sure. It was a man in a black suit—not particularly handsome—and the two of them didn’t seem very close… maybe her driver? He was the one driving the car.”

Since it was her boss asking, the attendant naturally gave a detailed answer.

The more the woman listened, the more intrigued she looked. By the end, a smirk was already forming on her fiery red lips—she knew who it was.

“Which room are they in?”

“Room Six, the Ice Room.”

“Arrange Room Three for me. Make sure they don’t notice.”

The attendant bowed respectfully.

“Yes, ma’am.”

……..

Lin Tian and Zhao Mengmeng naturally didn’t notice any of this. Under the guidance of the attendant, they arrived at the Ice Room.

All of Arctic Fresh’s private dining rooms were named after different types of ice—like Polar Ice, Warm Ice, Black Ice, and so on. The interiors were decorated in pure white accented with hints of icy blue. A comfortable chill drifted through the room, making one feel instantly refreshed upon entering.

In both his lifetimes, this was the first time Lin Tian had ever been to such a high-end private kitchen. Normally, he might have taken the time to look around and take it all in—after all, it was a rare experience.

But now, with Zhao Mengmeng beside him, he really wasn’t in the mood.

All he wanted was to eat quickly and go home to sleep.

“Dear guests, today’s Arctic Fresh menu features some new seasonal dishes. May I ask if either of you has any dietary restrictions?” The attendant asked considerately.

Zhao Mengmeng shook her head, then turned to look at Lin Tian and asked softly, “Lin Tian, is there anything you can’t eat?”

Lin Tian was a little surprised. No matter how you looked at it, Zhao Mengmeng was the daughter of the Zhao family—words like pampered and spoiled didn’t even begin to cover the life she led. And yet, this little girl actually took the time to ask about his dietary preferences?

【Maybe it’s precisely because of this kind of attentiveness that she eventually becomes a key figure in Jiang Yifeng’s harem… Who could possibly guard themselves against such a sweet and considerate girl?】

Lin Tian sighed inwardly. But he also understood—an environment that could nurture such a delicate personality in a young girl was likely one filled with constant hidden dangers.

He shook his head and replied calmly, “I don’t have any dietary restrictions.”

Zhao Mengmeng gave a gentle nod, then turned to the attendant with a soft smile.

“We’ll go with the chef’s selection. Also, could you bring me a glass of light honey water, please?”

“Of course, right away,” the attendant replied.

After the attendant collected the menu and left, Lin Tian and Zhao Mengmeng weren’t the only ones in the private room. There were also two chefs assigned exclusively to their meal. These chefs were responsible for inspecting the ingredients, slicing, plating, preparing dipping sauces, and handling every other step involved in the process.

In a sense, it was clear that Arctic Fresh couldn’t possibly serve too many guests at once.

Among all types of cuisine, raw dishes like sashimi might not be the most delicious or the most complicated, but they were undoubtedly the most demanding in terms of ingredient quality.

Even the slightest off smell or a single mishandled step—any diner would notice immediately.
Whether the fish was too fishy, or the geoduck carried a muddy taste—who wouldn’t be able to tell?

At that point, it wasn’t even about sauces anymore. It all came down to the timing, steps, and methods used in the sourcing, preservation, handling, and slicing of each ingredient. Everything had to be executed to perfection to deliver the best flavor.

By the time a single meal was complete, the mental and physical effort those two chefs expended was likely no less than what it would take to cook a dozen or more hot dishes. And how many such meals could they realistically prepare in one day?

Serving too many customers would inevitably compromise the flavor—and ruin the reputation.

For a private dining venue like this, nestled in the heart of Licheng’s bustling district, it was clear the owner wasn’t short on money. There was absolutely no need to turn a ten-guests-a-month setup into an unlimited service. Regardless of the profit, the prestige would be gone.

…

While the two of them waited, the chefs brought out a pre-meal dessert.

The dessert was incredibly light—just enough to cleanse the palate of any lingering flavors, so they could better appreciate the upcoming dishes.

As Lin Tian and Zhao Mengmeng nibbled on their sweets, elsewhere, the woman in the white dress with her lazy, elegant gaze was already seated in Room 3—Frost Crystal Room—her expression tinged with curiosity as she looked toward Room 6—Ice Room.

This was a hidden door left behind intentionally during the design phase. Every room had another from which it could be discreetly observed.

As she watched the man and woman in Ice Room, the white-dressed woman’s crimson lips curved upward, like smoldering flames, exuding a lazy elegance tinged with noble charm.

Lin Tian and Zhao Mengmeng, of course, had no idea they were being quietly observed.

The chefs continued meticulously preparing one delicate, small-portioned dish after another. Before long, a knock sounded at the door.

“Pardon the interruption, guests—here is your honey water,” the server said as she entered, carrying two cups of warm water, which she gently set down beside Lin Tian and Zhao Mengmeng.

Lin Tian asked casually, “Miss Zhao, do you like honey water?”

Zhao Mengmeng shook her head, her charming phoenix eyes curving into a smile.

“You coughed a few times while driving earlier. Your throat probably isn’t feeling great, right? This lightly sweetened honey water should help soothe it.”

“You ordered it for me?”

“Mhm.”

Lin Tian was genuinely surprised. What was Zhao Mengmeng playing at?

Even after he’d treated her with such cold indifference, she wasn’t angry—instead, she was still being so thoughtful?

Staring at the honey water beside him, Lin Tian sighed quietly.

He really didn’t dare soften his heart toward Zhao Mengmeng anymore—not after the lesson he’d learned from Shang Chan.

In fact, when Zhao Mengmeng had suddenly insisted he call her “Mengmeng” during the ride here, he’d already sensed something was off!

But turning back right then had felt a bit too harsh.

Now it looked like even Zhao Mengmeng’s carefully maintained persona was beginning to crumble…

Damn it, I’m supposed to be the villain here! Can’t you female leads just stick to your characters? Don’t get all buddy-buddy with me before the male lead even shows up!

With that thought, Lin Tian shook his head lightly and said with cold indifference, “I don’t like honey water. Thank you, Miss Zhao.”

Zhao Mengmeng froze for a moment, a trace of disappointment flickering in her eyes. But she didn’t show any other reaction—no forced smile, no playing the victim.

【She’s not even mad? Seriously… Zhao Mengmeng’s supposed to have a gentle nature, but this is a bit too calm, isn’t it? Tch… maybe I need to say something harsher—but not too harsh, or what if she starts crying again?】

Lowering her head, Zhao Mengmeng suddenly heard Lin Tian’s inner voice.

A girl’s thoughts are the hardest to guess, but a small smile crept onto her lips.

She thought, Maybe… from the beginning, he never really disliked me. All that coldness and distance—it’s probably just his way of protecting me.

With that thought warming her heart, Zhao Mengmeng smiled softly and said gently, “It’s okay, Lin Tian. What do you like to drink? I’ll order it for you.”

Now Lin Tian was even more confused. What’s with this Zhao family’s second daughter? She really has no temper at all?

What he didn’t know was that in Room 3—the Frost Crystal Room—a languid woman in a white dress and crimson lips was observing everything with a puzzled expression.

At that moment, she was even more surprised than Lin Tian was.

This woman was none other than Bai Bing’er, whom Lin Tian had briefly met at the Zhao family’s ancestral worship banquet.

At that banquet, although Bai Bing’er and Bai Ze had accepted their loss with composure, showing the dignity befitting the Bai family—one of Licheng’s prominent clans—in the end, they still had to hand over 51% of Ice Eye Group’s shares, along with a piece of land in a highly strategic location.

There was no way father and daughter were in a good mood after that.

So, Bai Bing’er had come straight to the private restaurant she owned, hoping to forget all the chaos through a good meal.

Yet unexpectedly, she ran into Lin Tian and Zhao Mengmeng…

Even she found the coincidence rather baffling.

But what truly shocked her was Zhao Mengmeng’s attitude toward Lin Tian.

As the daughter of a wealthy family herself, Bai Bing’er knew all too well how the children of noble clans behaved. Whether male or female, a sense of superiority was almost inevitable.

Having lived long within the extravagant palaces built from wealth and power, people eventually forget the virtues of humility and modesty.

Resources could certainly make success easy to obtain—but at the same time, they could also corrupt completely.

Before her brief clash with the Zhao family, Bai Bing’er hadn’t taken it too seriously, but even so, she had her subordinates conduct a thorough investigation.

The files on the Zhao family head’s two daughters, Shang Chan and Zhao Mengmeng, were still lying in Bai Bing’er’s office.

According to that report, Zhao Mengmeng, while not as depraved as the typical pampered children of elite families, was ultimately just an ordinary young lady.

As the daughter of the Zhao family patriarch, there were few in that ancient courtyard with a higher status than her.

And yet, she was showing such obvious attentiveness to a man named Lin Tian?

Bai Bing’er suddenly recalled something Shang Chan had said at the Zhao family’s ancestral banquet.

“…Is this the person you’re so wary of?”

At the time, Bai Bing’er—who was almost demonic in her ability to read people—had already thought of that man who had only crossed paths with her once, yet left a very distinct impression.

And now, seeing that same man appear late at night with the Zhao family’s little princess, her curiosity was completely piqued.

“How interesting…”

Her red lips parted slightly, voice laced with amusement.

She continued watching in silence, her expression gradually returning to calm.

Meanwhile, in Room 6, the Frost Crystal—

The chef brought out a new dish: a small bowl filled with bluefin toro sashimi (the fatty belly of a bluefin tuna). It had already been finely minced, leaving behind only the soft, marbled flesh and none of the sinew—making it look almost like a scoop of ice cream.

Zhao Mengmeng’s eyes lit up with delight.

“Lin Tian, this one’s supposed to be the best dish here… try it!”

As she spoke, she picked up a thumb-sized silver spoon, scooped up a small portion of the bluefin toro, and brought it to Lin Tian’s mouth.

His hand twitched slightly.

Young Miss, are you trying to feed me right now??