Danielle and her family of three returned to their seats and continued eating.
They had just taken a few bites when the three dishes that had been taken away earlier were brought back.
But…
Each dish had only one bite left, and they were covered with transparent lids and placed at the front desk.
Danielle coughed. "Wait, what are they trying to do now?"
Jin Shan came out in a hurry, holding three insulated lunch boxes.
"Miss Danielle, please enjoy your meal. Oh, and this is our restaurant's gold card. Any restaurant under the Jin family will give you a 50% discount."
"Please accept it."
Ning Lan's smile disappeared.
Even though the Jin family wasn't one of the top eight families, their cooking skills had earned them enormous wealth.
Some had said before that if the rankings were redone, the Jin family might even surpass the top eight.
This showed how powerful the Jin family was. Now they were so humble, practically begging a woman to take their gold card.
Ning Lan clenched her palm and forced out a smile. "Chef Jin, you're really showing favoritism.
I've never seen a gold card before. Why not let me see what it looks like too?"
She was clearly mocking. After all, she was from the Ning family too.
If Danielle got one, shouldn't she get one as well, for the sake of her family?
But Jin Shan didn't even look at her. His reply was cold.
"The Jin family gold card is only for those who have a connection with us."
Ning Lan...
Seeing her embarrassed face, Danielle felt quite pleased.
Did they really think that just because she was kicked out of the Duo family, they could bully her?
What a joke.
She hadn't planned to accept it at first, but she smiled calmly. "Though the food wasn't great, I'm still looking forward to your improvement."
Jin Shan wasn't upset by her comment. Instead, he looked very happy.
"Yes, please visit whenever you like. As long as you cook, we'll always pay one million per dish."
Everyone gasped. One million per dish?
If someone could cook ten or twenty dishes, that would be a fortune. Why bother hunting dangerous beasts? Just cook at home instead.
Everyone started to get excited, but Danielle simply smiled at the lunch boxes and said nothing.
Cooking was a matter of talent, after all.
If she agreed now, it wouldn't be good for raising her price later.
Better to wait until she had full recognition from the Jin family.
Jin Shan noticed her reaction, looked a bit disappointed, but still smiled and politely said goodbye before rushing off.
After Danielle and the other two finished their meal and stepped out of the restaurant, they saw four people outside looking shocked.
No doubt, the news of Danielle impressing the Jin family with her cooking had already spread.
Tie Xin looked at her with a mix of jealousy and hatred.
Danielle raised her eyebrow. Looks like they'd been rescued—though she wasn't sure how.
"You're so cruel! You have so much money, why didn't you help Brother Lu Yi?"
Tie Xin was still young and clearly in a rebellious phase.
She clenched her fists and started yelling at Danielle.
Lu Yi's face didn't look pleased either. Danielle was being stingy—what was wrong with helping a teammate with a bit of money?
Danielle laughed coldly. "I just didn't want to lend him anything. What, am I his mom? Why should I give him money just because he wants it?"
What a joke.
Lu Yi frowned. "Danielle, that's too much—"
"She's right," Leng said calmly. "Lu Yi, get it straight. You feel like you owe her. That doesn't mean everyone else does."
"If you still want to stay in this team, then shut up. If you don't, you're free to leave."
Leng saw things clearly. The bearded captain had helped them in the past, yes—
But if he didn't have such a strong smell of blood on him, maybe the beasts wouldn't have been drawn to him.
Yes, she admitted, she should've taken care of his daughter because of the bearded man.
But that didn't mean he could shamelessly waste all their efforts.
Lu Yi suddenly looked up, shocked, and stared at Leng.
"You're making me leave?"
"Yeah! Why should Lu Yi be kicked out? That's my dad's team! If anyone should leave, it should be you guys!"
Tie Xin shouted loudly beside him.
Fei Yang was getting anxious. "Come on, we're all teammates, what are you doing?"
He even looked at Danielle, hoping she'd say something. "Danielle, please, help calm them down."
But Danielle didn't say a word—she just turned around and walked away, annoyed.
"We're not in the mood to pick a mission today. If you want to go, go ahead. We'll just pay the fee and go home."
There were easy and hard missions. Danielle wasn't worried that they'd mess up without her and Leng.
They could just pick something easy. Or even pay and skip it.
Danielle walked into the main hall, paid the fee to delay the mission, and left without even glancing at Lu Yi's group.
Soon after, she turned to look back at Leng.
"You'd better find new teammates. We might be quitting."
She glanced at Lu Yi and Tie Xin.
Too annoying.
So she chose to leave.
Why get involved in a mess that wasn't hers?
And that medical bill... Danielle thought of the IOU Lu Yi signed and gave a small smile.
With the wristband system, he couldn't avoid paying, even if he wanted to.
Even after Danielle walked far away, Tie Xin's angry voice was still clearly heard.
"Did you see that? She actually threatened you! Who does she think she is?"
"As if we care about her in our team!"
...
Danielle's lips curled into a cold, sharp smile.
What a reckless girl... but let's see how long she can stay reckless.
Then a warm hand gently held hers. Danielle looked up into Zachary's worried eyes.
"Don't be sad. It's not worth it."
Her heart suddenly felt sore. She thought she had hidden her feelings well, but Zachary still noticed.
She forced a smile. "I'm fine. I just feel a bit sorry. Leng is actually a good person."
In her last life, she never had a close girlfriend. This time, she had finally tried to open up.
But it just turned into a mess.
The next second, she was wrapped in a warm hug.
"You have me. You have Rain. That's enough."
Danielle laughed, "Yeah. Having you two is enough."
Seeing her smile again, little Rain let out a breath of relief.
He wiggled his small body. "Mommy, now that you're happy again, can you ask Daddy to let go? I'm getting squished."
Danielle looked down and saw his little face all smushed.
She couldn't help but laugh out loud...
They met again five days later.
Leng forced a stiff smile.
"Danielle, we're here."
This time, Lu Yi wasn't with them. Only Fei Yang and Leng came.
Danielle raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Come in!"