Rebirth: Looking Back in a Sudden Realization - Chapter 6

The revolving restaurant at the Jinghua Hotel was famous for its 360-degree floor-to-ceiling glass windows. The décor was elegant and refined, not garishly gilded like most restaurants of the time. Its main colors were a graceful mix of pale gray and deep blue, with difficult-to-maintain whitewashed wooden tables and chairs. Deep crimson square tablecloths were paired with bright red napkins, and the entire set of tableware consisted of white Italian enamel porcelain with faint golden patterns along the rim.

The moment Shao Chuyan, dressed in a white camisole dress with her hair tied in a high ponytail, appeared, Shao Yiner happily said something to the middle-aged man opposite her and waved for her daughter to come over. As Chuyan walked closer, she carefully sized up the man sitting across from her mother—an urbane uncle wearing gold-rimmed glasses, dressed in a sharp suit and gleaming leather shoes. The man, who looked to be in his thirties, immediately stood and politely pulled out the chair opposite him. His Mandarin was crisp and pleasant:

“Chuyan, please sit here.”

Shao Yiner introduced warmly:
“This is your mother’s old classmate, Uncle Lu.”

Chuyan forced a smile.
“Hello, Uncle Lu.” She sat down, glanced at the well-dressed man in front of her, then at her mother’s charming smile, and secretly felt glad she had come.

With a gentle voice, Yiner continued,
“Your Uncle Lu is the vice principal of your school. Tianhua High School is the best in Shangcheng, not a place just anyone can transfer into. I originally wanted to trouble him to make arrangements for you, but you keep changing your mind. Fortunately, your Uncle Lu doesn’t hold it against you.”

Although the words were addressed to her daughter, the explanation was clearly meant for the man opposite.

Sure enough, Uncle Lu quickly waved his hand and said:
“No, no, since Chuyan is already a student in our junior division, it isn’t difficult to grant her a direct promotion. It’s no trouble at all—children will be children.” Then he turned to Chuyan and asked:
“I heard you want to transfer to Jincheng?”

“Yes,” Chuyan replied. “I want to be with my younger brother.”

Uncle Lu nodded understandingly.
“It’s natural for children to want to stick together, of course. Besides, the teaching quality in Jincheng is indeed better. My daughter Linlang lives there with my ex-wife. She’s the same age as you, just started high school. Her school is excellent—Qiushe Academy, the local branch of the prestigious British school. The graduation rate is very high, and the student training is well-rounded.”

Chuyan’s eyes lit up.
“Yes! That’s exactly the school I want to attend. But I’ve heard it’s really hard to get in.”

Uncle Lu grew a little awkward. This topic was difficult for him, since his daughter’s admission had entirely relied on his ex-wife’s current husband’s connections. Quickly changing the subject, he said,
“Why don’t we order first? Yiner, what would you like to eat?”

Yiner turned to the waiter.
“Waiter, please bring us the menu.”

Before the waiter could answer, a neatly dressed, manager-like man hurried over to their table. Smiling warmly, he greeted,
“Miss Shao, Miss Chuyan, it’s been a long time! What would you like today?” He then handed a business card to Uncle Lu. “Sir, hello. Any friend of Miss Shao’s is a friend of mine. My surname is Cheng—I’m the manager of this restaurant. Please come often, I’ll make sure you always get the VIP discount!”

Pleased, Uncle Lu stood to shake his hand.
“Lu, nice to meet you.”

Chuyan found the man very familiar. When he introduced himself, she remembered—Manager Cheng had often sent new desserts to the Shao residence back when her grandfather was alive, always attentive. The Shaos had long been regulars at Jinghua, and she herself had eaten countless meals here growing up. In a way, Manager Cheng had watched her grow up.

After exchanging pleasantries with Uncle Lu, Manager Cheng turned back to the Shao ladies with a smile.
“So, would the two beautiful ladies like your usual three dishes, or shall I recommend something new?”

Yiner smiled.
“We’ll leave it to you, Manager Cheng. Whatever you recommend is always the best.”

He bowed slightly.
“Then I’ll make the decision for all three of you?”

Uncle Lu followed suit politely.
“Of course, of course.”

Manager Cheng then looked at Chuyan with a teasing smile.
“Miss Chuyan, still unwilling to try our delicious Kobe steak?”

“Who says I won’t eat it?” she shot back. “I want a filet, medium-well!”

Both Cheng and Yiner looked surprised.

“You always hated beef,” Yiner remarked.

Chuyan had long forgotten her childhood dislike—well-done beef was too tough, undercooked beef too gamey. But she couldn’t explain that twelve years of living in New York had left her fond of steak. Instead, she hastily said,
“I just want to try it. Maybe it’s not so bad.”

Cheng laughed.
“Very well, I’ll bring you our finest filet steak!” Then, with a mischievous twinkle softening his formal smile into something almost doting, he added,
“To celebrate Miss Chuyan’s acceptance of Jinghua’s beef, I’ll treat you three to a bottle of ’82 Lafite!” With that, he turned and departed.

Uncle Lu, a bit uneasy, remarked,
“Manager Cheng is generous indeed. Yiner, you must come here often.”

Yiner smiled faintly, but under the golden sunset her slightly bitter smile looked delicate and pitiful.
“Father always loved the view here. I used to come often with him.”

Uncle Lu said apologetically,
“When your father passed away six years ago, I was studying in France. I regret I couldn’t pay my respects in person.”

Yiner shook her head softly.
“It’s fine. Don’t dwell on it.”

Objectively, Uncle Lu’s manners and appearance were decent, refined even, but compared to Father, he was still lacking. Listening to her mother and Uncle Lu chatting more and more animatedly, Chuyan wasn’t overly worried—her mother’s feelings for Father were too deep to be swayed by another man so easily. Still, she stayed cautious. After all, she wasn’t about to let her carefully laid plans for family reunion end up benefiting someone else.

She propped her chin on her hand, absently twisting her napkin. How could she get her parents back together? If it hadn’t been for her mother’s shaken reaction after Father’s suicide, she might never have realized how deep her mother’s love for him truly ran—how deeply it was buried. Remembering the grief-stricken life of her previous lifetime, Chuyan resolved firmly: they had to move back home soon!

By the time they finished dinner, night had already fallen. Through the revolving restaurant’s windows, the city glittered with lights. From afar, a slender crescent moon rose over the riverside, and at this time the night sky still carried bright stars. Unlike more than a decade later, when neon lights would smother the skies into a glaring tungsten haze.

Yiner declined Uncle Lu’s invitation to continue the evening and took Chuyan home early. Once they entered Shao Residence, the housekeeper Madam Rong greeted them with freshly brewed flower tea. When she left, Yiner’s previously composed face collapsed into impatience as she asked bluntly:

“Chuyan, tell me honestly—how exactly do you plan to get into Qiushe?”

Feeling guilty, Chuyan lowered her head.
“I… haven’t figured it out yet.”

It was no wonder Yiner lost her patience. Qiushe Academy was no ordinary school—it was the local branch of a five-hundred-year-old British institution, offering the same treatment and admissions standards as the main campus. It was one of the world’s top choices for aristocratic or wealthy families’ children.

The admissions requirements were notoriously strict. Neither money nor academic excellence alone was enough; students had to be well-rounded in talents and come from distinguished families. Originally a boys’ school, Qiushe had only started admitting girls in the last fifty years. Yiner knew very well that if the Shao family were still what they once had been, admission would have been no problem. But now, for Chuyan to attend, they would likely need the Zhao family to step in—just as Zhao Zhongyuan had.