Love Affairs in Melbourne-Chapter 44 - 42: Words of Deep Concern

Bao Bao and Shen Xi had picked up Qi Yi and Yan Yan from Crown Metropol at seven o’clock in the evening.

The Japanese private dining in East Bentleigh wasn’t entirely traditional and unmodified Japanese cuisine.

For instance, the most famous dish here, the sashimi, wasn’t the traditional Japanese salmon or scallop sashimi but an Australian lobster sashimi boat.

The enormous Australian lobster placed in a boat-shaped wooden dish.

Whether it was because the lobster was extremely fresh, or because the chef’s homemade mustard sauce was delicious, once you tasted the lobster sashimi here, you wouldn’t care for any other method of preparing lobster.

There was also the A5 Kobe Wagyu Shabu Shabu and the dessert Suki San, both dishes making an unforgettable impression on those who tried them. (note 1)

When they left the hotel, Yan Yan was the first to get into the car, and Qi Yi went to the trunk to put his luggage.

Bao Bao was driving, and Shen Xi was in the passenger seat, so neither Shen Xi nor Bao Bao noticed anything particularly intimate or "different" about Qi Yi and Yan Yan.

However, as soon as they got out at the private dining place, Shen Xi’s eyes locked gossipingly onto the hands that Qi Yi and Yan Yan held together, unwilling to even blink.

When Bao Bao parked the car and walked over, he saw the image of two people walking ahead hand in hand, and another extremely gossipy person staring from behind.

To Bao Bao, Shen Xi’s behavior was nothing new, but those intertwined hands ahead were a surprise.

Yan Yan really did get too heated sometimes.

"You know I am her ’boyfriend,’ right? Why did you go ahead and hold her hand?" Bao Bao, sensing something off, went up to Qi Yi and asked.

"Wasn’t it because I knew you had another fiancée hidden at home that I decided to take her back?" Qi Yi replied with a smile.

"Yan Xiao Yan, since when did you become so casual and unruly?" Bao Bao asked, frustrated.

"After I got to know you two," Yan Yan retorted with a laugh.

"What exactly is going on with you two now?" Shen Xi followed up, her curiosity insatiable.

"Well, it’s like your eyeballs are about to fall out of your head," Yan Yan said, pushing Shen Xi’s head, which was leaning too close, away from her.

"Bao Bao, you think she’s beyond saving, don’t you?" Shen Xi finally snapped out of her spectator mode and rejoined Bao Bao.

"Shouldn’t the two of you be saying she’s finally saved?" Qi Yi said to Bao Bao and Shen Xi with a laugh.

While Bao Bao called Yan Yan "inhuman," and Shen Xi said she was "beyond saving," Qi Yi knew they meant no harm, but he still felt he should say something, or else Bao Bao and Shen Xi wouldn’t let up on Yan Yan.

"Hey, what do you mean? Are you trying to meddle in our internal family matters too?" Shen Xi challenged Qi Yi.

"Your family matters, from now on, are my family matters too. I need to start learning to get involved, gradually," Qi Yi replied with sincerity and goodwill to Shen Xi’s challenge.

Qi Yi’s smile was particularly harmless. As long as Qi Yi’s face bore that smile, no matter what he said, it made people want to get closer to him.

Moreover, since Qi Yi was handsome enough, it instantly made Shen Xi feel helpless to counter.

"Bao Bao, this guy is too sophisticated for us. Our Yan Xiao Yan definitely won’t be able to outmatch him in the future. What should we do?" Shen Xi then gave up on her plan to keep needling Qi Yi.

Yan Yan, Bao Bao, and Shen Xi had various nicknames for each other, depending on the situation.

If they thought someone had done something particularly childish, they’d insert a "Xiao" in the middle of their name.

Childish Bao Xiaobao, Shen Xiaoxi, and Yan Xiaoyan.

Yan Yan rarely acted especially childish, so among the "three Xiaos," Shen Xiaoxi was mentioned most frequently, followed by the occasionally silly Bao Xiaobao.

As for the name Yan Xiaoyan, it was extremely rare to hear it.

Because of this, whenever there was a chance to use those three characters, Shen Xi would seize it and not hesitate to use it all day long.

"Rare things are precious," this was the same reason why gossip about Yan Yan particularly delighted Shen Xi.

"Our family affairs aren’t just anyone’s business, and tonight, you’re not here to manage our family affairs but to undergo a family review. If you can’t pass the review today, don’t think of Yan Xiaoyan’s hand as your own," Bao Bao said, as he "separated" Qi Yi and Yan Yan’s hands.

Bao Bao would never have a crush on Qi Yi, so unlike Shen Xi, he wouldn’t easily abandon his principles.

"You two, why are you making this seem like a struggle session? Is it really necessary?" Yan Yan finally spoke up again.

"Do you really need to elbow us out like that?" Shen Xi made a face at Yan Yan.

"Shen Xiaoxi, my elbows have always turned inward; with your ’rank,’ trying to gain an advantage from Qi Yi’s logical reasoning is definitely not zero, but rather a negative number," Yan Yan said disdainfully, looking at Shen Xi.

"Bao Bao, does this look like the demeanor Yan Xiaoyan should have when bringing someone to a family review?" Shen Xi knew she couldn’t outtalk Qi Yi, let alone compete with Yan Yan’s ranking.

Bao Bao and Shen Xi moved to the front and flanked Yan Yan from both sides.

Qi Yi had no choice but to follow behind.

"Yan Xiaoyan, what’s with you now? Going for anyone because you’re desperate? There are so many handsome guys around, and yet you suddenly go for someone from who knows where, with a time difference of seventeen or eighteen hours. Do you think your brain is functioning properly?" Bao Bao lowered his voice, trying not to let Qi Yi hear him, but he was quite straightforward.

"What do you mean ’from who knows where’? Don’t you know Qi Yi is my high school classmate?" Yan Yan responded to Bao Bao’s concerns with a smile.

"I’m not saying that long-distance relationships can never work, but you should at least think it over first. Yesterday you acted like you two barely knew each other, and today it has progressed to this," Bao Bao interlocked his fingers, mimicking their gesture.

Bao Bao felt as if he was speaking to Yan Yan with deep concern and earnestness.

In Bao Bao’s view, Yan Xiaoyan wouldn’t have made such impulsive, brainless, and reckless decisions today if she were just slightly saner.

.........

note 1:

When people talk about the best beef, they often mention Grade Nine Beef.

Often you hear about Grade Nine Wagyu, including mentions in some Australian food blogs, but this is actually a misconception.

The M1-M9 are levels used to rate Australian beef.

Japanese Wagyu is classified into three ranks and five grades: A, B, C, and further into 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, with A5 being the highest grade and C1 the lowest. free𝑤ebnovel.com

However, C1 does not mean that it’s bad meat; because it’s Wagyu, even at the C1 level, its quality is much higher than that of regular non-Wagyu beef.