Reborn Action Star: Starting in Hollywood

As night falls, the mansions in Douglaston are brightly lit.

The dinner is about to begin, Lin Yuan and GAKKI come to the kitchen to check the preparation of the dishes.

The three Chinese chefs that GAKKI specially invited from New York's Chinatown will be in charge of the dinner tonight.

These three chefs are good at Huaiyang cuisine, Sichuan cuisine and Fujian cuisine respectively. The delicacies of different cuisines can just satisfy the different tastes of several guests, while also ensuring that each dish presents the essence of Chinese food culture as much as possible.

Lin Yuan and GAKKI-chan just stood at the kitchen door, watching from afar through the glass window, and did not go forward to interfere with the work of the chefs.

The floor-to-ceiling glass windows of the kitchen reveal the busy figures of the chefs. The steaming hot air condenses into fine water droplets on the glass surface and then slides down the glass.

"It's going pretty smoothly. We've already started preparing the final cold dish, 'Moonlight over the Lotus Pond,'" said GAKKI.

I saw Chef Zhang carefully placing the last piece of winter melon carved into the shape of a lotus root on a blue and white porcelain plate.

On a white porcelain plate with blue and white patterns, various ingredients are carefully pieced together to create a night scene of the Jiangnan water town - the lotus leaves carved from cucumber peels have distinct veins, the carrot lotus soaked in ice water is slowly stretching its petals, and the translucent winter melon slices are arranged into ripples.

This dish not only tests one's knife skills, but also embodies the poetic realm pursued by Chinese literati.

Lin Yuan nodded. Fine cuisine is not only delicious, but also often a work of art in appearance.

"Looks like there's nothing to worry about. Let's go to the restaurant and wait for the guests to arrive."

Lin Yuan raised his wrist and glanced at his Patek Philippe watch - it was exactly seven o'clock, and the guests should be ready to go to the restaurant.

"If you go, I won't go tonight." said GAKKI.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Lin Yuan asked.

"I haven't been sick since drinking your 'magic medicine', so how could I possibly be feeling unwell?" Gakki asked with a smile. "It's just that I have an appointment with Taylor Swift tonight to listen to her new song."

This explanation is reasonable, but Lin Yuan always feels that it is not that simple.

Lin Yuan thought about it and guessed GAKKI's little thoughts.

Last time in Nashville, she and Liu Yufei were looking for excuses not to attend Taylor Swift's concert.

This is obviously the case tonight. If she attends the dinner tonight, it will be inconvenient for Lee Boo-jin to do many things.

But if GAKKI-chan doesn't participate, will Lee Boo-jin have any new fantasies?
"Come on, our bet depends on your performance tonight."

GAKKI knew that she couldn't hide it from Lin Yuan, and she didn't want to hide it either. She smiled, waved her hand, and went out.

Seeing Saragama following him out, Lin Yuan no longer had to worry about his safety, so he went to the restaurant alone.

In the restaurant, the bright Chinese chandelier casts soft light on the mahogany round table.

This is a hexagonal mahogany palace lantern. The frame is made of Burmese rosewood and carved with lotus patterns. The six sides of the lantern are covered with translucent mulberry paper, on which are painted flowers and birds of the four seasons. They are:

In spring, there are peaches and orioles; in summer, there are lotus and kingfishers; in autumn, there are chrysanthemums and quails; in winter, there are plums and magpies; on the other two sides, there are mountains, rivers, pavilions, fishermen, woodcutters, farmers and scholars.

The three layers of staggered LED light strips inside the lamp simulate the warm light of dancing candlelight, projecting flowers and birds onto the gilded ceiling, as if the ancient paintings have come to life.

Whenever a breeze blows through the hall, the entire palace lantern rotates slightly. As the light shadow flows, you can see the twelve strings of coral bead curtains hanging from the lamp cap. Each bead is wrapped in a gold mesh bag, and they make clear and melodious sounds when they collide.

This hexagonal mahogany palace lantern was customized by GAKKI herself from an old craftsman in Suzhou.

The hexagonal shape represents "six harmonies and peace" - after all, she didn't want to say it all the time, so she could only hide the words "peace and prosperity" in every grain of wood.

Judging from the exterior of Lin Yuan's residence, others might think that the restaurant inside should be of European style with white tablecloths.

But after Lin Yuan bought the house, he completely renovated the interior space.

When he is alone at home, he eats all Chinese food, so it is naturally more appropriate to choose a Chinese-style decoration, otherwise there will always be a sense of incongruity.

Not long after Lin Yuan arrived at the restaurant, Lee Boo-jin and others also walked in together.

Tonight, Lee Boo-jin was seen wearing a champagne gold silk satin dress with a 24K gold thread embroidered peony hand-sewn on the neckline, which shone with a low-key luxurious luster under the light. Paired with a pair of light gold high heels, one could not help but exclaim in admiration: graceful, generous and elegant.

Lin Yoona and Kim Taeyeon, who followed behind her, were obviously dressed up carefully.

Lin Yuner was wearing a haze blue gauze puffy dress, and Lin Yuan felt bright in front of her eyes. She seemed to be wearing the morning mist of Jeju Island:

Three layers of tulle of different shades create the perfect girlish curve, with a pure white velvet belt at the waist and tassels hanging at the end that sway gently as she walks.

Seeing Yoona's outfit, Lin Yuan had to admit that she really knew her strengths.

This dress greatly enhances her pure and lovely style, perfectly reflecting the image of first love in a man's heart.

Kim Taeyeon wore a cherry red short dress from Valentino's early spring collection. She is much shorter than Yoona, so the long dress was not suitable to show off her cuteness.

Her intentions are mainly reflected in her makeup:

The short golden brown hair is slightly curled, with the ends playfully turned outwards, and a small and exquisite pearl hairpin is pinned on the top of the head.

The makeup is peach-colored, with blush lightly swept on the apples of the cheeks, and the lip gloss has a slight jelly texture, as if you had just bitten into a piece of strawberry gummy candy.

Seeing the three beauties in front of him, Lin Yuan couldn't help but sigh again: Women are really beautiful in their own ways, each radiating their own light, and no one can overshadow the other's brilliance.

If the person seeing this scene is a literary youth, he would probably add a sentence: Beauty is like the fragrance of the four seasons - the graceful spring peach cannot hide the elegant charm of the summer lotus, and the rustling autumn chrysanthemum cannot steal the fragrance of the winter plum. Each has its own merits and complements each other.

Of course, if Lin Yuan told Taylor Swift this, she would definitely retort harshly, "Is this why you're so unfaithful?"

Apparently, after the three beauties checked in, they not only had a good sleep to replenish their energy, but also took a comfortable bath and spent a lot of time dressing up for tonight.

This reminded Lin Yuan of a piece of (cold) hot knowledge:
That is, women like to see their inner selves through their mood when dressing up.

Simply put, before a woman goes on a date with a man, she needs to take a shower, wash her hair, put on makeup, and choose clothes.

These are extremely time-consuming and energy-consuming.

Besides that, you have to choose perfume, decide what accessories to wear, what shoes to wear...

It is not an exaggeration to say that it takes two or three hours to complete the whole process.

They spent so much time just to see you and spend some time with you.

The way for women to see their inner selves clearly is that they will find that after spending so much time and energy, they do not feel annoyed at all, but are very happy and full of expectations.

Then she will know that she likes you.

Of course, they may also feel very annoyed, wronged, and not worth it during this process.

If this is the case, they will know that they don't like you at all.

Looking at the smiles on the faces of the three women tonight, Lin Yuan seemed to have the answer.

"Good evening, Mr. Lin."

A sudden male voice interrupted.

It's Lee Soo-man.

The squinting old man was still wearing the same black suit as during the day, and it was difficult to tell whether he had changed his clothes.

But it doesn’t matter. Lin Yuan doesn’t care whether he is dressed up or not.

"Good evening, President Li." Lin Yuan replied. "Lin Yuan, why don't I see Miss Aragaki?" Li Fuzhen looked around and didn't see Gakki-chan.

"She had something urgent to do tonight, so it's just a few of us." Lin Yuan replied.

Upon hearing this answer, Lee Boo-jin's face lit up with joy.

She couldn't help but feel a little excited: Did Lin Yuan deliberately send Miss Xinyuan away?
Doesn't that mean he also has ideas and is creating opportunities for us?
Seeing Li Fuzhen's expression, Lin Yuan knew that she had misunderstood, but he couldn't explain it.

I can only complain a few words about GAKKI-chan in my heart. She deliberately wanted Lee Boo-jin to think this way.

It seems that she really hopes to win the bet.

"How do we sit at night?" asked Lee Boo-jin.

Lin Yuan’s dining table is not a round table, but a rectangular table, so there is no need to consider any rules such as the main seat.

"You can sit wherever you want in my house. There are no rules. You can sit wherever you want and do whatever makes you feel comfortable," said Lin Yuan.

"Then please sit in the same seat as last time," said Lee Boo-jin.

Last time?

Lin Yuan immediately realized that she was talking about the seating arrangement at the Shilla Hotel last time, which also had a long table like this.

So Kim Taeyeon and Lim Yoona sat on Lin Yuan's left and right respectively.

Lee Boo-jin sat directly opposite Lin Yuan.

Lee Soo Man was embarrassed again: Then where should I sit?

It would definitely be inappropriate to squeeze to Lin Yuan's side, and he didn't dare to sit side by side with Lee Boo-jin.

So he quietly walked to the side and prepared to take a seat.

Seeing his pitiful look, Li Fuzhen couldn't help but burst out laughing: "President Li, you can just sit next to me."

You can't really let him sit alone on the side, right?

In the eyes of those who don’t understand, they would think that he was being excluded and bullied.

After hearing Lee Boo-jin's greeting, Lee Soo-man carefully sat down to Lee Boo-jin's right, and after sitting down, he moved his chair a little to the side.

Lin Yuan saw all of this, but he didn't say anything.

In East Asia, only China has undergone a thorough and earth-shaking transformation. Therefore, there may be class differences in wealth between people, but they are equal in personality.

No one would think that they are inferior just because they work for a rich man.

It's just a job. I sell my labor and earn an income.

Outside of the employment relationship, we are completely equal in personality.

However, in Japan and South Korea, the hierarchy is quite strict, and the lower-level people are truly afraid of their superiors from the bottom of their hearts. They dare not overstep the boundaries in the slightest, for fear of being punished.

"We're having Chinese food tonight. I'd like to invite you to try my hometown cuisine." After taking their seats, Lin Yuan said with a smile.

Chinese food? Hometown food?

In the ears of Yoona and Taeyeon, Lin Yuan's words were just about what they were having for dinner tonight and mentioned his Chinese identity.

Lee Soo Man sensed something different in his voice.

Lee Boo-jin was even more clear that Lin Yuan was telling her in this tactful way: I am of Chinese descent, but I identify myself as a Chinese.

This also hinted to her that if he had to choose sides in the future, he would undoubtedly choose to stand on the side of China.

Combined with what Lin Yuan wants to do next, it can be said that it is clear.

The question is whether Lee Boo-jin wants to follow.

Lee Boo-jin nodded gracefully. "I've eaten a lot of Chinese food, but I wonder if the food I eat at your house is any different."

Lin Yuan found this answer very interesting.

Under normal circumstances, you would reply: "You are very kind. We are all looking forward to the authentic Chinese food you prepare."

Wouldn't that be great?

What do you mean by I have eaten quite a few of them, and I wonder if the ones I tasted at your home are any different?
Interesting, quite entertaining.

Lin Yuan felt that it was not that easy for him to persuade the three-star princess in front of him.

But this is also normal. After all, it involves such far-reaching decisions. How can we just bet all our chips on it casually?

I have plenty of opportunities to slowly guide her to accept my ideas.

"Serve the food." Lin Yuan ordered the housekeeper.

The dishes were already prepared and the waiter immediately brought out the first course.

"This is our cold appetizer tonight - 'Moonlight over the Lotus Pond'," Lin Yuan introduced.

When the blue and white porcelain plate was placed in front of everyone, several guests were quite shocked, even Lee Boo-jin widened her eyes slightly.

The "scroll" on the plate is so exquisite that one can hardly put down their chopsticks - one can even see the carved veins on the green "lotus leaf", and "swimming fish" carved from shrimps can be vaguely seen under the translucent "water waves".

"Is this really food?" Lin Yuna exclaimed, and quickly picked up her Samsung SGH-D730 mobile phone to take a picture.

This is a new mobile phone launched by Samsung Electronics this year. Its 130-megapixel camera is considered garbage in later generations, but it is still acceptable for taking photos.

After all, people have not yet experienced the era of high-definition images, and their tolerance is quite strong.

Just like if you have never seen a high-definition movie larger than 10G, you will not find a 100MB action movie blurry.

In addition to Yoona, Kim Taeyeon and Lee Soo Man also took out their mobile phones to take pictures.

I have to say, taking a photo before eating seems to be a common practice in every era.

"Lin Yuan, this is just an appetizer, but it's eye-opening." Lee Boo-jin said.

"Chinese cuisine emphasizes the five elements of color, fragrance, taste, form, and texture," Lin Yuan explained gently. "'Color' comes first because we believe that food should first and foremost be a visual feast."

Kim Taeyeon carefully picked up a piece of "lotus leaf" with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth. Her eyes suddenly lit up: "The fragrance of cucumber combined with the special sauce is so refreshing!"

After tasting it, Lee Soo Man also praised enthusiastically: "The knife skills are indeed superb, but..."

He paused. "This seems more like the style of Japanese kaiseki cuisine?"

Lin Yuan's smile remained unchanged, but his eyes sharpened. "President Li, you may not know this, but China's food carving techniques can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, nearly a thousand years earlier than Japan. The carving techniques used in this dish originated from the Southern Song Dynasty court's 'reading the plate' tradition."

Lee Soo Man laughed dryly and said, "Mr. Lin really has a deep understanding of Chinese culture."

"The past thousand years of history have proven that whether it's Japan or the Korean Peninsula, the more willing it is to lean towards China, the more benefits it will gain. This was the case with Japan in the past, for example, with the kaiseki cuisine you mentioned. What about the future?" Lin Yuan said with a hint of meaning. (End of this chapter)