Chapter 445 New Adventure

I could sense that he didn’t have much time to spend on the phone. Regardless, I was thrilled that he had given me a call and that he was inviting me out for dinner. My mind quickly took note of the date to see if today represented some kind of important day or occasion, but I couldn’t detect anything special.

“Sure, I’m free. I’ll be looking forward to it!” I replied enthusiastically without hiding my excitement.

“Don’t sound too excited, it makes me feel a little pressured,” Ace replied jokingly.

I couldn’t wait until the arrival of the evening so that I could spend time with Ace. After clearing my work for the day, I headed to the toilet where I could touch up my make-up and my hair. I wanted to look decent enough for Ace since it had been a while since we had had a proper dinner date together.

“This should do it..” I murmured to myself after having applied some lipstick to my lips.

The reflection that greeted me in the mirror looked satisfactory and I ended up smiling a little to myself. That day seemed filled with small miracles that made me optimistic about life in general. It “You make it sound like I’m always late,” Ace complained playfully.

“Oh, no. I’m just happy,” I replied with a giggle.

started off from that invitation to dinner with Ace and then Ace managed to turn up right at the appointment time without being late.

“You’re actually on time..” I said as I quickly got into the passenger seat of his car.

It was a risky move but after looking around the quite empty parking lot without seeing anyone, I quickly got into his car before anyone would spot us together.

“You make it sound like I’m always late,” Ace complained playfully.

“Oh, no. I’m just happy,” I replied with a giggle.

I wanted to ask where he would be taking me, but I figured that I would find out soon enough. Ace seemed to be in a very good mood, and I could tell that something great must have happened. Time had truly taught me to be patient and I had gotten used to holding my burning questions about the merger to myself. Asking him about it on a daily basis wouldn’t help move it along any faster and I would just be applying unnecessary pressure on Ace. I had also learned to control and manage my own anxiety and curiosity while I waited for Ace to update me now and then whenever there was notable progress. Something told me that today would be one of those days where I would get an update from him about the progress of the merger.

“I thought we should do something a little different for a change,” Ace announced when the car came to a stop.

I looked outside and was quite confused that we had arrived at a two-story house instead of a luxurious building or private restaurant. No matter how I looked at it, the place resembled a normal house rather than any dining place.

“Are we seeing someone?” I asked the first thing that came to my mind.

“Sort of..” he replied before getting out of the car.

I was left confused until Ace opened the car door for me and offered me his hand. I thanked him and let him help me out of the car. The breeze felt chilly as the strong wind blew strands of my hair back over my shoulders.

“Let’s go inside. It’s very windy tonight,” Ace said as he tugged on my hand. historical

“Ok..” I murmured as I followed after him.

The yard surrounding the house was quite dark and that was probably why I thought that the place did not resemble a restaurant at all. We arrived at the front door and Ace rang the doorbell. My heart beat a little faster in my chest as we waited for someone to answer the door.

“Good evening, we’ve been expecting you,” a woman who looked to be in her mid-forties greeted us with a smile after opening the door.

The warm orange light from inside the house leaked out from the doorway along with the warmer air inside. Ace exchanged some casual greetings with the woman as she led us inside the house. I was right that the place was a house and not a restaurant. We arrived in what appeared to be a living room that had a dining table to one side.

“I hope the traffic wasn’t bad and that you’re not too hungry,” the woman said with a smile.

“It wasn’t so bad,” Ace replied.

“Right then, shall we get started?” she said as she clapped her hands together enthusiastically.

“Umm..what are we..?” I asked hesitantly as I failed to understand what was going on.

“Oh, my bad. I forgot to mention it because it’s also supposed to be a little surprise. Rina, we’re going to cook dinner together today and Jacky is going to help us,” Ace announced while sounding a little proud.

“Oh..wow..” I exclaimed when everything started to make sense.

“Sorry for the late introduction, my name is Jacky, and this is my house that I also use as a cooking studio. I run private classes where people can enjoy dinner after doing a little cooking,” she explained.

“Great. So, what are we making today?” I asked while still feeling a little stunned at this unexpected activity.

“A couple of dishes that are not too challenging, so don’t worry. Please follow me this way,” she replied with a smile.

That was how the little cooking lesson that Ace had prepared for us started. Jacky had two more helpers who only helped us in the kitchen. It felt quite hectic at first, but nothing seemed too difficult as long as we followed their instructions. Soon enough, I started to relax and chatting along with Ace as our hands moved to chop vegetables felt like a good change of pace.

“Do you like this?” he asked as he stood next to me at the kitchen counter.

“Yes, surprisingly..” I replied before smiling brightly at him.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d like something like this to be honest, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt anyone to try it out. I just felt like going out to dinner like normal might be a little too boring,” Ace explained.

--To be continued..