Chapter 289 - Soft Opening Day (7)

Minutes flew by in a flash and the sound of chopping and clacking of utensils enveloped the room. Smoke slowly formed from the pots and it slowly move its way to the ceiling until it dissipated in the air.

One after another, dishes were cooked and prepared by the staff in silent. 

On the side, Sofia quietly observed the staff that was carefully transferring the dishes in the serving plates. 

Beside her, Stephen secretly peeked at her expression that reflected a deep concentration. He raised his right hand yet hesitated for a moment. But, after a few seconds of thought, he softly placed his palm on the top of her head.

In an instant, Sofia's concentration was disrupted by the warmth of Stephen's palm. The thoughts in her mind vanished right away and Stephen's gesture gave her a relaxing feeling.

Sofia looked up and meet his gaze. Instinctively, her body moved closer to his side. Both exchanged a sweet smile yet no words came out of their mouth. 

Jing Jing also peeked at the two and secretly giggle. Joey on the other hand was busy fiddling with his phone and scrolling down the posts on his social media.

"Ehh... let's have a picture! Guys, come! Come!" Joey spoke and positioned his phone. His face instantly appeared on the screen. He slightly combed his hair using his other hand and then the group quickly joined him.

Stephen's hand that was on Sofia's head formed into a peace sign and he moved his face near her ear.

Jing Jing held her thumbs up and Joey was making an 'ok' gesture.

Sofia smiled while watching them making different hand signs on the screen. She only gave a formal smile and clasped both her hands.

"One, two, three... smile!" Joey signaled before he snapped their picture. He then look at the screen and mumbled the admiration of his photography product, "Nice, nice!"

Somehow, the smoke coming from the boiling pot behind them gave an illusory background of a heavenly image. It was indeed a good picture.

"Send the picture to our group chat, Joey. I will compile it with the previous photos of our group," Jing Jing stated after getting a glimpse of their picture.

"Okay, no problem! Hehe, our background looks so cool!" Joey said and quickly sent the photo.

"Let's take more pictures with Clark and Claire," Sofia simply said.

"Ahhh... Sof, maybe, they are having their own moments as a couple. Let's not disturb them," Joey chuckled in a teasing tone.

"Hmmn... right, right," Stephen hummed his agreement.

The daylight finally stretched the horizon. Many dishes were placed on the table in the serving dish. Danny was making his list to monitor the cooked food.

After a while, he put his list on the table and took four small plates and four spoons on the counter. He moved his feet and went towards Sofia and said, "Miss Sofia, do you want to taste the dishes?"

Before Sofia could speak her response, he already put the small plate in her hand and also distributed the others to Jing Jing, Stephen, and Joey.

"Okay," Sofia mumbled and stared at the small plate in her hand. One moment it was empty but in a blink of an eye, a piece of meat was carefully placed on it.

"This one looks delicious too," Stephen casually said. Then, he picked another dish and added it to Sofia's small plate.

Sofia smiled at him. She also scooped ground meat and put them on Stephen's plate to reciprocate his gesture. 

"Ugghh! Have some respect to singles like me!" Joey shook his head and rolled his eyes. 

"Haha, you are single? Bro, I saw you chatting with a girl earlier. You even called her 'darling'," Stephen smirked as he recalled Joey scrolling in his social media and chatting with a random girl with a pretty face in the profile picture.

"Joey ahh... if you have a girl, you can introduce her to us. No need to keep your relationship a secret," Sofia commented. A glint of playfulness flashed in her eyes and Joey pouted his lips. He took a deep breath and finally pick a piece of meat on the serving plate.

"I was just casually chatting. What girlfriend?" Joey grumbled and took a bite of the food that he picked.

"Ehh... if you play with girls... karma will hunt you down," Jing Jing stated. Her plate was already full of leafy vegetables.

"Hahaha... that's true. Ms. Jing Jing is considerate to give you a warning, bro!" Stephen chuckled.

Sofia took her time to savor all the tastes of every dish.

"How is it, Miss Sofia?" Danny asked with an expectant look on his face.

"It's good... Flavoury," Sofia softly replied and walked towards the sink. She put down her plate.

A staff quickly went next to her, "I'll handle this, Miss Sofia!"

"Thank you," Sofia replied to the staff. "I'll go to the dining area and check my emails first. Do you want to stay here?" she asked her companions.

"We will come with you," the group replied right away.

In the dining hall, every table was already arranged according to the numbers of customers that had a reservation to them.

They sat on the six-seater table and took out their phones. Their movements were almost synchronized from the time they took their seats and unlocked their phones. A staff that was passing by could not help but felt amazed by how their movements were the same.

There were no more discussions between the group. They focused their attention on their phone. Only Stephen did not do anything other than watch Sofia.

The young lady does not seem to mind his gaze while she read messages in her inbox.

After a while, Sofia exited the email and opened the videos about modeling that she had saved before.

"Let's watch these video clips. We can take ideas of proper pose to make later," Sofia mumbled and leaned closer to Stephen. 

Instinctively, his arms encased on the side of Sofia's chair and peered at her phone closer. "You've watched these videos before?"

On the phone screen were different shoes and sandals with models posing them. There was a model wearing a sporty attire and there was also in a casual clothes. Then, one of the models started to move slowly, giving a step-by-step explanation of his post. Even its advantage and such was discussed on it.

"Yes. I watched it once already. But, I haven't mastered their small gestures and subtle pose. I'm learning how to have a proper bearing in front of the camera," Sofia softly giggled. She tilted her phone for them to 

"I think you don't need to watch this, Sof. Hmmn... How you walk, how you stand, how you take a sit... even your small movements... even now... you look perfect," Stephen whispered. It was not a word of flattery nor a simple compliment. He meant it.

Sofia may not be aware of how she moves in the eyes of others, but even with Jing Jing and her other friends, she had a regal aura within her. It was something that not even models could easily replicate.

Sofia curled her lips into a smile for a split second before she composed her expression. She adjusted her sitting position and trained her eyes on the phone screen. For a moment she was rendered speechless.

For some reason, Stephen's words gave her a different sense of feeling. Almost as if it was causing her to feel shy but also confident.

"How about you? You don't want to watch it, Steph?" Sofia asked without looking at him.

"I will watch it. Let's watch, let's watch," Stephen mumbled and helped Sofia held her phone. Their hands made a very slight skin contact but its impact almost made their body trembled.

"Ehem! What are you two watching? Hmmn?" Jing Jing suddenly moved her chair and joined them.

Sofia quickly faced Jing Jing and said, "There are random videos about modeling here. Sister Jing, do you have recommendations?"

"Well, unfortunately, I never paid attention to modeling before. But, watching tutorial videos is definitely helpful. I'm sure you'll be able to pull it off," Jing Jing responded.

"Sof, just be confident when facing the camera. Hehe," Joey simply stated with random poses in the air, bending his arm and projecting his muscle with full of confidence.

"Bro, your muscle will not wear the sneakers! Why are you posing like that?" Stephen joked but reminded him about the product that they would shoot.

"Ahhh... hehehe," Joey scratched his head and laughed awkwardly. "Still, the key to good visual is confidence! Trust me!" 

"We trust you, Joey. After all, you are the most experienced member in our squad in terms of modeling!" Sofia responded thoughtfully. "Let's watch this video to gain more ideas. Come," Sofia urged him to join.

~

"Miss Sofia, there are people outside. They said that they will decorate for the wedding," one of the staff approached them.

"Ohh... they are early. I'll go met them," Sofia said and let Stephen held her phone.. She quickly excused herself and went to meet the decorators waiting outside.