Sound of streaming water and crickets welcomed them as they stepped inside the restaurant, giving the restaurant a peaceful ambiance. Wooden furnitures, bamboo weaving lamps, Monstera and Heliconia plants that were used for the restaurant, making them feel like they were transported to South East Asia themselves.
"This place is so nice. It gives us a sense of tranquility." Mia said, looking around at the decor of the restaurant while following the staff that guided them towards a private room.
"Well, thank you," said a man who was standing at the door of the room.
"Brother Ethan. You're here!" Mia leap into Ethan's open arms and gave him a hug.
Ethan looked at the other two people that came with Mia, "Let's come inside and have a seat first." He gestures for them to move inside the room.
Without further ado, Mia introduced Phoenix and Ethan to each other.
"This is my brother, Ethan Han, the president of Glorious Han's Group. This restaurant is their newest addition," Mia said to Phoenix, "And brother, this is Ms Phoenix Li, the lady that saved me that night." She looked at Ethan while introducing Phoenix.
"It's nice to meet you, Ms Li." Ethan extended his hand for a handshake.
Phoenix received his extended hand and returned his pleasantries, "It's a pleasure to meet you too, President Han."
"Please have a seat," said Ethan. He looked at Phoenix with interest.
Once everyone had settled comfortably in their seats, Ethan passed the menu to them and looked at Phoenix, "Thank you for accepting this dinner invitation and please accept my sincere gratitude for saving my sister the other night. We owe you a big favour and this is just a small appreciation for what you've done for Mia. Feel free to order anything you like."
"Yes, Ms Li. Thank you for saving Mia the other night. If you need any help in the future, please don't hesitate to reach out to us." Ashton, who sat beside Mia at the round table, added.
Phoenix looked at the two men alternately and said, "You're welcome. I'll keep that in mind." She gave a restrained smile, accepting their gratitude.
With that being said, everyone looked at their menu, and soon a server walked in to take their order.
"I have ordered Vietnamese rice paper rolls, Pho and Mango sticky rice for you Mia," Ethan said to Mia.
"Thank you brother Ethan, but I'd like to taste the green curry too," she batted her eyelashes and pouted her lips, hoping for Ethan to give in to her.
Ethan looked at Mia and sighed, shaking his head with a doting smile, "Alright. I'll order Green curry chicken for myself and give some to you later." He turned towards the server and stated his order.
Ethan then looked at Phoenix and Ashton, one after the other, as a sign for them to order.
Phoenix scanned the menu in front of her, "I'll have a chicken satay set, Pad Thai and halo-halo for dessert, and an ice cold water," she said, while pointing at the said dishes on the menu.
Following Phoenix, Ashton gave his order, "I'll have Kinilaw, Assam Laksa and Watermelon juice,".
The server nodded his head while jotting down their order, then walked out of the room to send their order to the kitchen.
As soon as the server walked out, surprisingly, it was Ethan and not Mia who started the conversation inside the room.
"I heard you stayed in Camellia Hotel, that's how you encountered Mia with the two men in the elevator, what brought you to City M, Ms Li?" Ethan asked Phoenix, even though he already knew why Phoenix was in City M.
"I recently got promoted and will be moving to the city. I stay at the hotel before finding a house to move in." Phoenix answered straight to the point, she still felt awkward to talk to others, especially people she just met.
"Have you found a place to move in, Ms Li?" asked Mia. She was curious to know where Phoenix would live.
"No. I haven't had the chance to search for a real estate agent as I have been occupied with work," said Phoenix.
Mia looked at Phoenix with a wide smile and said, "Ms. Li, let us help you with this. Our family happens to have a real estate business, right, brother? She turned to her brother and batted her eyelashes.
She turned back to look at Phoenix and said, "Take it as returning your favor for helping me. This is just a small payment compared to what you did for me. I don't know what would have happened to me if it wasn't for your help. It still gives me nightmares if I remember what would have become of me if you weren't there. My future will be ruined," she said it in a dramatic way, stressing a few crucial words to get his stone cold heart brother's attention. But, deep in her heart, she really meant the word she said but chose to hide it to not worry her brothers.
Both Ashton and Ethan were clenching their jaws hearing Mia's words, they glanced at each other; they knew Mia's intention and what Mia actually felt, but nevertheless, what Mia said was true, if it wasn't for Phoenix, they don't know what will become of Mia.
Phoenix was feeling powerless to reject the offer after seeing the dramatic way Mia said things, but she was not that clueless to not notice the subtle meaning behind Mia's action, and the constrained behavior of Ashton towards her since the beginning.
"I don't want to impose on anyone, Ms. Qin. It's —"
Before Phoenix finished her sentences, Ashton cut Phoenix's words. "No, Ms Li. It's no trouble. I'll assign someone to help you with the houses. It's no trouble at all. I did say, I'll give you a hand for helping my sister. Please don't reject my offer."
Phoenix looked at Ashton with a complicated gaze, but still reluctantly nodded her head to agree with the offer. "If you say so," she said.
Mia was beaming in happiness at seeing her success in making both Ashton and Phoenix agree with her suggestions. She really wanted to get close to Phoenix. There was something else that Mia was planning to ask from his brother later, and she hopes that her brother will agree.
At that instant, the door of the room opened and a flood of food was brought in. The smell was tantalizing.
Phoenix's eyes were secretly lit up seeing the mouth-watering dishes. Being with the people she just met made her forget she was hungry, but seeing the foods, her hunger emerged.
The presence of the dishes wasn't affecting Phoenix alone, all the other three people in the room were also affected by it. Once the food was in front of them, they started eating and savouring its taste. Mia squealed in happiness, eating the rice rolls and slurping the Pho broth.
Ethan and Ashton both transferred some of their dishes to another bowl to give it to Mia, as promised.
Seeing this action from both men, Phoenix asked Mia, "Do you want to have some of this chicken satay and Pad Thai, Ms Qin?" She transferred some of it onto a clean plate and passed it to Mia.
Mia sheepishly smiled, she blushed as she thought her action of eyeing the satay and Pad Thai was caught by Phoenix. "Are you sure?" she asked before slowly reaching out to the plate with satay and Pad Thai on it.
Phoenix gave a small smile and said, "Yes. I'm sure. It's all yours."
"Thank you," said Mia. She smiles in happiness, looking at the food on the table.
They all enjoy the delicious foods while talking, commenting on the taste of the food, and the success of the restaurant. Ethan also asked Phoenix about her work and her opinion of moving to city M. Phoenix answered questions and converse mostly with Ethan and Mia, while Ashton just occasionally hummed and nodded with what the other two said.
Ashton may seem like he was uninterested, but secretly, he was analyzing Phoenix. He had been scrutinizing Phoenix since Phoenix walked out of the hotel. No, he was not interested in Phoenix. He was assessing Phoenix's behaviour and her interaction with Mia.
He noticed how Phoenix kept a distance from Mia while his sister was trying to get close to her. It baffled him seeing that, as people were usually easily charmed by Mia to be her friend.
During the little squabble in front of the restaurant, he did see how Phoenix protected Mia, his opinion of Phoenix was mixed. He still couldn't fully trust her, but it didn't mean that he would prevent Mia from making new friends. He could see that Mia really put Phoenix in high regards.
The dinner ended with all of their stomachs filled with those delicious foods. Mia suggested for them to take a walk around the restaurant vicinity, but Phoenix declined as she had a routine phone call to make.
'That's a bummer. I really want to spend more time getting to know her.' Mia was feeling sad inside but didn't show it on her face.
Mia and Ashton send Phoenix back to Camellia Hotel and bid her goodbye.