The Margaux he mentioned is one of the five premier chateaux of France. Never mind whether a boy who looked like a student should even know such a thing—his other insights alone proved he had definitely drunk red wine from that vintage. And from more than one chateau.
It was a shame Anthony wasn’t more of an expert on China, otherwise he would have been moved to shout, "You’re a mind reader!"
Anthony knew he was wrong.
He had completely misjudged the young man’s intentions. The boy before him not only possessed a thorough knowledge of world geography but also a unique understanding of music and red wine. Anthony had originally assumed he just wanted to add a few toppings to the seasonal pizza to suit his taste. But coming from someone like him, a "pairing" was more than just a pairing.
It was a whole new recipe.
This was often the source of a gourmand’s burst of inspiration.
His entire attitude shifted. Anthony took off his apron, his expression no longer one of resignation or shock. He even felt a faint sense of anticipation for the young man’s suggestion. That’s right—to him, this was a *real* suggestion.
A great opportunity to refine a recipe.
Anthony gestured for him to speak, then stared solemnly at the young man’s face. The young man slowly opened his mouth and said:
"I’d like to add some fruit. Do you have any?"
"..."
Anthony suspected he had misheard.
’Yes, I must have misheard,’ he thought. ’My God, it could have been blue cheese, it could have been... even this jar of Lao Gan Ma I have on hand. But fruit? What the hell is fruit?’
’Don’t tell me the new recipe I was hoping for is just a so-called Hawaiian pizza?’
But I’m fucking Italian!
’This is bad,’ Zhang Shutong thought. ’The foreigner is completely stunned.’ He struck while the iron was hot:
"I have a friend who likes a mix of sweet and savory flavors. She also likes fruit-flavored pizza. So you just need to make a slight modification to the original base, and you can have free rein with the rest."
He thought about the fruit pizza from Pizza Hut, which was just pineapple slices with some ham.
But the Italian in front of him still hadn’t snapped out of it. Zhang Shutong had basically used up everything he knew from his previous chats with him; he couldn’t pull out anything more.
"That’s it?" Anthony asked blankly.
"That’s it."
It all made sense now.
It turned out this young man wasn’t some hidden master at all. And even if he was, it certainly had nothing to do with his taste in food.
It turned out the boy and the girl were at the same table. ’Then could you have just told me everything at once?’ he thought, wanting to cry but having no tears. ’Stop torturing a poor foreigner like me.’
The chili sauce, fine. The fruit, whatever. But he really couldn’t imagine what beef tenderloin with chili sauce and fruit would even be.
"Are you sure the previous request still stands?"
’The previous request?’
Zhang Shutong wondered what request he was talking about, but then he understood. He seemed to recall saying the chef could have free rein with the rest. So he said:
"It still stands."
"Fine," Anthony said through gritted teeth, glancing at a can of coconut jelly in the cabinet.
...
When Zhang Shutong returned to his seat, everyone was playing rock-paper-scissors. The loser had to drink.
The seasonal pizza finally had a purpose. ’I guess this counts as doing a good deed without seeking recognition, in a way,’ Zhang Shutong thought. He was really looking forward to seeing Gu Qiuyan’s reaction to the pizza.
It was a shame that in this timeline, he wasn’t supposed to know about this. Otherwise, there would have been no need to go to all this trouble and beat around the bush; he would have just discussed it with her when they ordered.
"Your turn, your turn!" Gu Qiuyan was giddy after coming back from the restroom, her eyes blinking over and over. "Geez, you’re so slow! We’ve all had to drink already, you’re the only one left."
Zhang Shutong joined the rock-paper-scissors battle. He knew this kind of custom pizza would be made first and served soon.
However, he had misjudged his own alcohol tolerance. He remembered the drink being just some sugary booze, but maybe due to his lack of sleep, after three glasses, Zhang Shutong was already feeling a little dizzy.
Looking over at Gu Qiuyan, a faint blush had appeared on her cheeks. She had been having a wild time today and was now enthusiastically calling the waiter over for another bottle. Zhang Shutong wanted to tell her to forget it, but the world started to spin, so he just slumped onto the table to rest for a moment.
"Wanna make a bet?" In his daze, the girl’s fragrance drifted into his nose.
Zhang Shutong lifted his head. "What?"
"I have a surprise for you later," Gu Qiuyan hummed.
"A surprise?"
"It’s a secret."
Zhang Shutong yawned and asked what the surprise was. ’You didn’t already buy the movie tickets, did you?’
"I already told you it’s a secret. You’ll find out in a bit."
"How long?"
"Hmm," Gu Qiuyan said, tapping her chin with a radiant smile. "The whole day counts."
"I have a surprise for you in a bit, then."
"Hey, I’m being serious! Stop copying me."
’I’m being serious too,’ Zhang Shutong thought, but he didn’t plan on explaining. She’d find out soon enough.
That "soon enough" arrived very quickly.
The five of them finished their drinks, arranged their cutlery, and ate the appetizer salad. Just then, a blond Italian man walked out of the kitchen.
"That’s the head chef, right?"
Du Kang asked in a low voice.
"Looks like he really is Italian?"
Qingyi also said.
"He seems different from the ones at Pizza Hut," Du Kang said, gripping his fork with some anticipation. Ruoping saw him and slapped his hand.
And so, under everyone’s expectant gazes, Zhang Shutong glanced at Gu Qiuyan, who glanced back at him. Just as he was thinking, ’You seem to be looking at me a lot today,’ Anthony’s voice drew his attention away.
"Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce today’s seasonal pizza."
Anthony lifted the cover with a deadpan expression and announced in his heavily accented Chinese:
"Lao Gan Ma, Beef, and Coconut Jelly."