Chapter 20: Conflict (Fourth Update)
Tang San left resolutely, without a hint of hesitation.
Although he was starving and the coarse biscuit was hard to chew, he had already come to see Grandmaster as a father figure since acknowledging him as his Master. He would not allow anyone to insult him.
"Forget it, Brother Sheng, don't mind that kid. He's got a weird temper. Let's eat first," someone advised.
Aotian grabbed Xiao Wu's hand and headed for the stairs.
Xiao Wu yelped, her small face turning crimson as her heart began to pound wildly. It was the first time a boy had ever held her hand like this.
She tried to pull her hand away forcefully but couldn't break free.
"Where are you taking me?" she couldn't help but ask.
"To the second floor to eat," Aotian replied without looking back.
"Ah— aren't we staying here to eat with them?"
Aotian stopped and looked back at Wang Sheng and the other eight. "My treat. Whoever wants to eat, come on up."
With that, he led Xiao Wu up the stairs.
The remaining nine boys looked at each other, all swallowing hard. The offer was incredibly tempting. Finally, they all turned to Wang Sheng.
"Brother Sheng, are we going?" someone asked.
Wang Sheng hesitated for a moment, gazing at the seemingly unreachable second floor. Gritting his teeth, he declared, "Since Aotian is treating, let's go up and see the world."
He thought to himself that if he didn't go up this time, who knew when he would ever get another chance to set foot on the second floor and taste its various delicacies.
The moment he decided to go, Wang Sheng was already prepared to owe Aotian a favor.
The group of boys quickly made their way to the stairs.
"From now on, Aotian is our friend, understand?" Wang Sheng instructed in a low voice.
"Got it. From now on, Aotian's business is our business."
"..."
Aotian didn't look back, but the corners of his mouth curved into a slight smile. He had won them over with just a small amount of money.
With a few underlings in Nuoding Academy, he wouldn't have to handle every little thing himself in the future, saving him a lot of trouble.
For instance, the work-study students' daily chore of cleaning the campus could be completely handed over to Wang Sheng and his friends.
If he didn't feel like attending class, he could also have Wang Sheng answer the roll call for him...
Unlike the first floor, which was just one large hall, the cafeteria's second floor was divided into individual private rooms.
"Aotian... let go of me," Xiao Wu said bashfully.
Although she found the warmth of Aotian's hand comfortable, she still had to maintain a girl's modesty.
Aotian released Xiao Wu's soft, smooth hand and led the way into one of the private rooms.
"You big scoundrel!" Xiao Wu muttered with a blush, following him inside.
"Look at our boss, she's already hit it off with Aotian on the first day," someone teased from behind.
Wang Sheng glanced at the guys behind him. "All of you, go home and take a good look at yourselves. Don't get any ideas about our boss in the future."
Instead of immediately entering the private room, the group stood at the doorway, curiously observing the second floor's environment.
The second floor wasn't crowded and noisy like the first; it was elegant and quiet. But upon arriving, Wang Sheng and the others couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.
It was their first time in such a high-class place.
Xiao Wu suddenly poked her head out the door and asked, "Aren't you guys coming in? What are you standing there for?"
Wang Sheng and his friends quickly entered the room.
Inside, Aotian had more or less chosen the dishes, basically ordering every signature dish they had.
Although it was his treat, there was no way he would let the others do the ordering.
Wang Sheng and his group had probably never eaten like this before; expecting them to order was impossible.
He checked off more than a dozen dishes in one go, then pushed the menu to Xiao Wu beside him. "Order whatever you want to eat."
Xiao Wu shook her head. "I don't know how. Can you see if there are any carrots?"
Aotian was a little speechless. A rabbit... she really does like to eat carrots.
He looked through the menu and found that there was indeed such a dish, so he added it.
After finishing, he tossed the menu to Wang Sheng across the table. "You guys take a look. Order whatever you want, don't worry about saving my money."
Wang Sheng and the others huddled together, curiously looking at the menu. Next to the dazzling array of dish names were the prices.
The moment they saw the prices, Wang Sheng's group nearly gasped again. A single dish here cost more than their meals for several days.
"Th-this is enough," Wang Sheng's voice trembled slightly.
Even though he wasn't paying, it was his first time experiencing something like this, so he was understandably nervous.
Just then, a female server who looked to be in her twenties pushed the door open and entered, her voice sweet. "Hello, have you finished order—"
Before she could finish her sentence, she saw the children inside. Almost all of them were plainly dressed, and a few even had patches on their clothes.
She frowned slightly and reminded them, "Are you sure you want to eat here?"
With his worldly experience, Aotian could easily tell what the girl was thinking.
Too lazy to waste words, he took out a gold soul coin and tossed it in the air. "We've already ordered. Hurry up and get our food."
The girl stared at the gold soul coin in Aotian's hand, then at the cute and handsome Aotian, taking more than ten seconds to react.
"Oh, okay. Please wait a moment."
The girl picked up the menu and left the room. Since these kids could afford it, she had no reason to worry.
But that little boy was really good-looking...
Before long, the dishes began to arrive one after another.
At first, Wang Sheng and his group were a bit reserved, but after tasting the delicious food, they could no longer resist the temptation.
The appetite of teenage boys is astonishing. The dozen or so dishes Aotian had ordered were ultimately swept clean, leaving not even a drop of soup behind.
Wang Sheng and the others had round bellies, and the sound of their burps rose and fell, making Aotian chuckle.
Their eyes were still fixed on the empty plates. Aotian felt that if he weren't there, these guys would have probably licked the plates clean.
Next to Wang Sheng was a box. It contained some food he had packed for Tang San after getting Aotian's permission.
Thinking back, he felt that his earlier actions—speaking ill of Tang San's teacher right in front of him—had been a bit out of line, so he wanted to apologize to Tang San.
Xiao Wu wiped her mouth. "Aotian, thank you for treating me to such delicious food. I've lived for... six years, and I've never eaten anything this good."
She patted her chest and let out a breath, thinking to herself that she had almost let the cat out of the bag.
Wang Sheng stood up and pulled the others to their feet as well, shouting, "Aotian, from now on, you can leave your work-study student duties to us! And Sister Xiao Wu's too, we'll take care of it all!"
Aotian smiled. "Alright. If you guys want to eat here again in the future, you can call me anytime."
Wang Sheng quickly said there was no need. He was already very satisfied after having such an expensive meal.
Just then, the door to the room was violently shoved open, and a group of teenagers with toothpicks dangling from their mouths walked in.
"Yo, it really is you, Wang Sheng. I heard your voice from outside. Since when are work-study students qualified to eat here? Aren't you lowering our standards?"
Boss Xiao walked with his nose in the air, his gaze sweeping over Aotian's group before finally landing on Xiao Wu.
"Boss, looks like we need to teach them a lesson. Otherwise, if they keep coming here, how are we supposed to have an appetite?" one of Boss Xiao's lackeys said.
"Makes sense." Boss Xiao laughed loudly. "Hand over all your money. Once your money is gone, you won't be coming to the second floor to eat anymore."
Wang Sheng slammed the table and roared, "Xiao Chenyu, you've gone too far!"
"Oho, a rebel." Boss Xiao raised his hand and patted Wang Sheng's face repeatedly. "So what if I've gone too far? What can you do about it?"
Wang Sheng clenched his fist tightly, veins popping on his forehead.
"Tch, coward," Boss Xiao said. "I'll give you three choices. First, hand over all your money. Second, let that little loli keep me company for two days. Third, we meet on the small hillside behind the Academy. If you lose, you hand over both the money and the little loli."
(end of chapter)
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