“Hmm… I think I can’t do this alone? Do you mind if I call someone for help?” Lu Xinyi had been waiting for almost an hour now, and she was starting to get a headache.
What was taking them so long? A little appetizer being served at this time should have come to keep them busy.
“Who?” Her husband asked curiously.
Lu Xinyi picked up her phone and dialed her brother’s number.
“Who else, but my favorite big brother?” she winked at him.
She heard three rings from the other line before she heard Tian Lingyu’s voice.
“Xinxin? You need something?” he asked, and Lu Xinyi heard the sound of scribbling along with his voice.
“Are you busy? Let’s eat out. My husband’s treat,” she said, earning a fierce glare from Shen Yi.
“Sister Lu! Sister Lu! I want to eat out, too!” She heard Huang Shenghao’s voice next to her brother.
“Of course, Brother Huang can come, too! The more, the merrier!”
Shen Yi pinched the bridge of his nose and was about to give Qiao He a call to prepare stomach ache pills ahead at home when he remembered he was accompanying Zhang Qing at the hospital. He could only hope that Tian Lingyu would be a responsible brother that he was to Lu Xinyi later.
Tian Lingyu and Huang Shenghao didn’t waste time and arrived at Oriental Bliss under fifteen minutes.
“You two arrived in that?!” Lu Xinyi exclaimed as soon as she saw two grown-up men arrived in a scooter. The poor scooter must have been abused by their excessive weights.
“Yup,” Huang Shenghao said proudly. “Mine was broken so I forced Lingyu to give me some space.”
Tian Lingyu knocked his head lightly with the helmet in his hand.
“You received monthly allowances from the Lius, but you can’t bring your own scooter to the repair shop? Confess! Where did you bring that money you’ve received?! Did you buy expensive ingredients again?”
“Oww! Lingyu, that hurts you, dimwit! Of course, I have to buy it! I need to test my recipes. How would I know the cost will bite my ass with its insane price?” The other man rubbed the sore spot Tian Lingyu hit before taking the seat across Shen Yi and Lu Xinyi.
“Sister Lu, look at your brother. He’s bullying me again!” Huang Shenghao told Lu Xinyi who seemed very entertained with their argument. “We’re going to graduate and part soon, and this is how you treat me?”
“You sound like a married couple arguing like that,” Lu Xinyi deadpanned.
Tian Lingyu choked on his tea as he heard what his sister said.
“Xinxin! Do you invite me to hear such nonsense?!”
The little devil laughed and supported her chin with one hand. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
“I’m just pointing out my observation. Do you always have to come in a pair? I mean whenever the one goes, the other will follow,” she asked.
“Nonsense. I don’t follow Shenghao around. He’s the one who keeps butting in my businesses. He’s not my partner; he’s my dog.” Tian Lingyu looked at his friend’s direction and seen how Huang Shenghao’s eyes turned wide as saucers as the dishes were served in front of him one by one.
Huang Shenghao picked up his chopsticks and was about to take a piece of dumplings when Tian Lingyu snatched the plate away from him.
“Shenghao, bark.”
“Woof,” the other man followed Tian Lingyu’s order and barked absentmindedly.
“Good boy.” Tian Lingyu gave Huang Shenghao a head pat, returning the plate of dumplings on the table.
Lu Xinyi burst into a round of laughter, and it was Shen Yi’s turn to endure the pain of being hit by his wife’s hand as she continued to laugh maniacally beside him.
It was only then Huang Shenghao broke from his daze he realized what happened.
“Fuck. Lingyu, you tricked me!” he exclaimed. “Did you just say that I’m your dog?”
“Now, now, don’t be mad anymore, or else I’ll tell Xinxin to ask you to pay your share. You didn’t bring anything with you, right?” Tian Lingyu chuckled amusedly.
Oh, that was right. When Huang Shenghao heard Lu Xinyi invited Tian Lingyu to eat out over the phone in the middle of their study sessions, he ran ahead of Lingyu to wear his shoes before dragging him out of the dormitory.
Huang Shenghao grumbled to himself before asking Lu Xinyi.
“So what’s the occasion? Why’s President Shen giving us a treat today?” he asked and placed a dumpling on his mouth and blew it with an open mouth as he realized his mistake again. The dumpling was fresh from the kitchen; while the outside seemed to cool down, the inside was still piping hot.
“Idiot,” Tian Lingyu muttered as he watched Huang Shenghao struggle with the hot dumpling on his mouth.
“Treat this as our graduation gift to the two of you. Right, darling?” Lu Xinyi grinned at her husband.
“Xinxin, you shouldn’t trick them like this.” Shen Yi sighed. “Actually, I asked for her help to see and checked the situation of this restaurant before we purchase the establishment.”
Tian Lingyu blinked and turned to his sister.
“You two are running restaurants now?” he inquired.
“Actually there are already two restaurants under Xinxin’s name. She hired people to run it for her while she’s attending Silver Leaf,” Shen Yi said in a matter of fact tone.
“Shit. You’re still in your first year in the academy, and you already have two restaurants?” Huang Shenghao was impressed with Lu Xinyi’s achievements, but being a wife to a filthy rich man like Shen Yi should have made it easy.
Tian Lingyu checked the menu of the restaurant before his eyes swept around and saw that the restaurant itself was old but kept clean.
“The place isn’t bad at all, but with la Reverie restaurant nearby, it wouldn’t be easy to keep the customers’ interest.”
“That what I initially thought, too, Yu Gege; but that isn’t the only problem.”
