Chapter 61: I Hope This Matter Can Be Kept Confidential For Now

"Huh?" She looked up blankly, somewhat startled, her gaze fixed straight on Wen Jinhuai.

He was watching her in return, as if waiting.

What he had just said did not sound angry or like a joke; it was stated in a very calm tone.

Jiang Mian, call my name.

This phrase echoed in Jiang Mian's mind once more. She blinked again and looked toward Wen Jinhuai, who did the same.

"Wen Jinhuai?" Her voice was very soft, almost hesitant and spoken with uncertainty as she uttered his name.

Upon hearing this, the man slowly curved the corners of his lips into a smile, then gave a slight nod.

"Mhm."

That sound was so faint that Jiang Mian was somewhat confused as to whether he had actually acknowledged it or not.

Afterwards, he lowered his gaze and stood up from the chair, smoothing out the hem of his jacket with his fingers. "Let's go inside."

He had booked a small private dining room to ensure they would not be disturbed during the meal.

One side of the restaurant featured floor-to-ceiling windows offering a view of the outside. Because of the one-way glass, however, people outside could not see in.

Until they took their seats, Jiang Mian felt a bit as if she were floating.

The shift in their relationship seemed a little too rapid. Here she was, able to sit down and dine alone with Wen Jinhuai—especially considering they were about to obtain their marriage certificate shortly.

This feeling was so extraordinary that she did not know what words to use to describe her state of mind.

She also felt somewhat cautious, worried that she might displease Wen Jinhuai in some way.

The restaurant served the food promptly. It was a Chinese establishment, and every dish appeared exquisite and tasteful.

As she used her chopsticks to eat, her movements were restrained, and on a few occasions, she could not help casting glances at the man sitting opposite her.

He was very elegant.

This was something she had already sensed during Elder Wen's grand birthday banquet. His movements while eating were very restrained—not in a deliberate way, but rather with the ingrained habit of a lifetime.

It made watching him eat feel like a thoroughly pleasing experience.

When he was chewing food in his mouth, his hands would never reach out to pick up more dishes; he would always wait until he had finished chewing before reaching for food again.

This prevented anyone from perceiving you as overly hungry or disheveled.

Of course, these were manners typically taught within prominent families: for instance, chewing food thoroughly and slowly not only aided digestion but also made one appear more poised in appearance.

Consequently, Jiang Mian's eating pace was not particularly fast either.

Throughout the meal, the two did not converse much. The maxim of remaining silent while eating and sleeping was something she had known since childhood.

Furthermore, whatever casual topics might be brought up, Wen Jinhuai might not necessarily care to listen.

Their social strata were simply too far apart. In his eyes, she probably belonged to the category of people who worked somewhat hard but still stood nowhere near high enough.

Someone truly on the same frequency as Wen Jinhuai should be a woman like Gu Yuezhao.

Her mind could not help but wander through a vast expanse of wandering thoughts until the person opposite her suddenly spoke.

"Jiang Mian, don't let your mind wander while eating."

"Huh?" She snapped back to her senses, instinctively closing her mouth, only for her teeth to bite down hard on her chopsticks.

She quickly withdrew the chopsticks from her mouth and set them down, but because she had closed her teeth too forcefully just then, her teeth felt rather sore and jarred.

"Got it." She nodded hastily, lowering her gaze with a trace of embarrassment as she felt her entire face burning.

Letting her mind wander was one thing, but how on earth had she managed to get called out for it?

This was simply too humiliating.

In her peripheral vision, the man opposite seemed to give a slight shake of his head, looking quite helpless.

After finishing the meal, the two descended the stairs together.

There were not many people in the elevator. He turned his head slightly to ask her, "Did you drive here?"

"Mhm, I drove."

"Then let's take your car. I took a taxi here." He had handled some minor business earlier in the morning and, figuring she had probably driven when she went to send off Shen Xieyao, he had simply hailed a cab.

The reason he knew Shen Xieyao was leaving the country today was, of course, not because of the flurry of messages Shen Xieyao had sent at the time.

It was simply that Elder Wen had mentioned it in passing yesterday, so it was no surprise that he knew about it.

Jiang Mian, on the other hand, was privately worrying whether Wen Jinhuai would look down on her modest little car.

If she remembered correctly, the car Wen Jinhuai drove himself seemed to be an Aston Martin.

By comparison, her BMW appeared rather shabby.

However, Jiang Mian merely kept these thoughts to herself. When the elevator reached the ground floor, she and Wen Jinhuai walked outside together.

He was wearing a black shirt today, secured at the cuffs with square cufflinks that caught the sunlight with a subtle gleam.

The black Richard Mille watch on his left wrist remained partially concealed beneath his cuff, coming into view in fleeting glimpses.

She thought for a moment, averted her gaze, and looked straight ahead.

The last time she had driven Wen Jinhuai home, she remembered him wearing a silver-toned Patek Philippe on his wrist.

Still, for children of such illustrious families, having multiple watches to rotate was probably quite normal.

In the past, even her father had owned several wristwatches he took turns wearing.

Once inside the car, Wen Jinhuai lowered his head to fasten his seatbelt.

Jiang Mian gave him an extra glance of two, unable to help the curve of her lips.

Her seat cushion was cherry blossom pink, and with Wen Jinhuai sitting here, he looked somewhat out of place. Moreover, she had placed two bobblehead ornaments on the dashboard in front of the passenger seat.

It was entirely a young woman's car.

Withdrawing her gaze, she calmly started the car and pulled forward, then paused as something occurred to her. "Are we going to the nearest one?"

"Right," he nodded.

Throughout the journey, Jiang Mian did not speak again, focusing entirely on driving.

As they approached the vicinity of the Civil Affairs Bureau,正好 a parking space opened up. She straightened the car and parked properly, after which the two unbuckled their seatbelts and got out.

Wen Jinhuai glanced toward the rear of the car with a faint smile at the corner of his lips. "Jiang Mian, you drive quite well."

It was a compliment, so she looked up and responded with a smiling nod.

She had learned to drive right after graduating from high school because her father had said it was better to master driving early for convenience, plus there was a car at home for her to use.

By the time she was in college, she had already been frequently driving her roommates out.

As for her driving skills, while she wouldn't dare boast they were extraordinary, they were definitely up to standard.

The two entered the Civil Affairs Bureau together. The staff member inside raised their head, their gaze falling first on Wen Jinhuai's face before shifting to Jiang Mian.

Before she could react, someone emerged from the inner office. "Director Wen."

Wen Jinhuai shook hands with the person with complete composure and was led toward an inner room rather than staying in the main hall.

Jiang Mian said nothing, obediently following behind toward the reception room.

"I hope this matter can be kept confidential for the time being." His words were explicit. The man who had brought them in nodded. "Rest assured, our staff all adhere to professional ethics."

Since he had promised her that it could be kept confidential if she did not want it made public, he naturally intended to keep his word.

As she took her seat, she could not help casting a few extra glances.

Wen Jinhuai was truly vastly different from the way rumors portrayed him.