What's there to be afraid of! I'll face whatever comes my way. I think my life isn't rich enough already! I even ran away from my wedding, what else do I have to fear?
The naturally optimistic Lu Chen quickly understood. He patted Liu Li's shoulder and said with a grin, "Sister Li, don't worry, we'll just focus on our own path. If it's going to rain, it'll rain; if a mother wants to remarry, she'll remarry—we'll get through it!"
Seeing Lu Chen so cheerful, Liu Li couldn't help but smile. "I'm just afraid you'll be poached by someone else, really… if you're poached, I really don't know what I'll do."
Lu Chen pushed the million yuan in front of her. "I won't use this money to pick up girls. Sister Li, take it, consider it my investment. Let's quickly find a shop and open the second pastry shop! Are you relieved now?"
Liu Li was stunned and excited. "Xiao Chen, why are you so good to me?"
"Uh."
Looking at Liu Li's excited face, Lu Chen found her more and more endearing. He couldn't help but tease her, "It's because I want you to repay me with your body! Sister Li, would you repay me with your body?"
Liu Li froze, head bowed, silent, her feet fidgeting nervously on the floor.
She neither said yes nor no, and after a long pause, finally spoke: "Xiao Chen, don't tease me like that."
Her voice was gentle, tinged with shyness, and Lu Chen easily understood the implication.
His heart skipped a beat. Oh dear, it seemed he'd spent that million on a girl after all!
Considering, Liu Li was only three years older than him. "A woman three years older is like marrying a gold brick"—it didn't seem like a bad thing.
However, Lu Chen had no intention of getting married right now; he had a fear of marriage.
Disrupted by Yang Jiangyu's sudden appearance and the incessant chatter around them, neither Lu Chen nor Liu Li could eat.
"Let's go eat grilled fish! I know a barbecue stall; their grilled fish is delicious!" Liu Li said.
Fuqi Road Food Plaza was a well-known leisure spot for almost everyone in Yunzhou.
Actually, the food selection here wasn't extensive; calling it a food court was more like a barbecue area. Upon arrival, the air was thick with the aroma of grilled meat and the acrid smell of smoke.
The place was bustling with activity, and scantily clad beer girls swayed and danced—it was quite a sight.
Liu Li led Lu Chen to a familiar barbecue stall and ordered a pot of grilled fish and two bottles of beer. Soon, the fish arrived: a large, fragrant fish in a square pot, surrounded by bean sprouts, potatoes, cabbage, mushrooms, cucumbers, and other vegetables. It looked incredibly appetizing.
Lu Chen sighed, "Ugh, this grilled fish isn't cooked well… ouch!"
He shrank back, clutching his head in surprise.
Liu Li playfully tapped him on the head, saying coquettishly, "Alright, are you done yet?"
"Eat, eat, eat!" Lu Chen quickly picked up some fish for Liu Li. "This grilled fish is so delicious! Just the smell tells you it's a delicacy, a top-notch dish. As the saying goes, 'Grilled fish flips three times, even gods will fight over the plate!'"
Liu Li chuckled. "You really do have a silver tongue."
Just then, a sweet and charming voice came from nearby: "Oh dear! We came all this way to eat grilled fish, and there are no seats left! What a pity. We can't just stand here, can we?"
Following this, a strong, aged female voice said, "Miss, please wait a moment, there will be seats soon."
Then, an elderly woman, about seventy years old but with a sturdy build, walked up to Lu Chen and Liu Li, slammed three hundred-yuan bills on the table, and said coldly, "A table that can seat five or six people, it's too wasteful for just the two of you. Take these three hundred yuan, and get out of my way."
Liu Li was taken aback, then said indignantly, "Grandma, that's not right. Even between the two of us, there's a difference in who came first! We only just started eating."
The old woman slammed two hundred-yuan bills on the table. "It's not that there's no compensation. Five hundred yuan is enough for you to have a good meal elsewhere, enough for a late-night snack at a five-star hotel. Go on, don't make me waste my breath."
Bang!
A piece of paper was slammed on the table by Lu Chen. He said calmly, "Grandma, to tell you the truth, we were just kicked out of a restaurant and forced to come here for grilled fish. The person who kicked us out gave us this. If you want to kick me out, fine! Pay this much too! Only five hundred yuan, don't be afraid of losing face!"
The paper was a check. It had originally been given to Liu Li, but she was worried about its safety and asked Lu Chen to keep it.
Now, he was using it as a prop.
The old woman looked at the check and froze.
One million? Spending a million to kick someone out? Who has such an extravagant air about them?
"Young man, this is probably fake, isn't it?"
The old woman said, then suddenly paused, her expression shifting between anger and uncertainty. She saw the signature on it.
Clearly, she recognized the owner of the name.
Lu Chen also noticed her unusual expression; obviously, she recognized the name—Yang Jiangyu.
At that moment, four burly men approached, their faces filled with malice, exuding an aura of utter ruthlessness. One of them shouted at Lu Chen, "I don't care how much it costs, five hundred yuan plus your life, get out of here!"
Lu Chen was a little suspicious, but his face remained calm: "What a joke! This is the age of rule of law! Don't you respect the law? If our President Xi heard you being so aggressive, he would definitely crack down on you!"
"Get out of here or not?" the burly man yelled fiercely.
Then, the other three burly men clenched their fists.
"Zhong Ji, don't be so rude!" a pretty voice said. "This brother is right. This is an era of rule of law; you can't be so domineering."
Then, a girl around twenty years old approached Lu Chen and softly asked, "Hello, brother, my name is Shangguan Bei. May I share a table with you?"
This girl named Shangguan Bei was sitting in a wheelchair; clearly, she had some kind of leg problem.
Such a pretty young woman speaking so gently made Lu Chen feel much better. He nodded and said, "Is that so much better? So harmonious, so much more heartwarming. Some people, though they've eaten more salt than others, just don't know how to socialize. All that salt wasted."
The four burly men were furious. Zhong Ji was about to unleash his anger when the old woman, to Lu Chen's surprise, spoke up: "Zhong Ji, Miss is right. Let's share a table with him." As she spoke, she leaned down and whispered a few words in Shangguan Bei's ear.
Shangguan Bei looked at Lu Chen with some surprise, then suddenly said seriously, "This brother isn't an ordinary person either. May I ask your and this sister's names?"
Lu Chen naturally knew why she said he wasn't an ordinary person, but since she hadn't said it outright, he didn't press the issue. He simply gave her his and Liu Li's names.
"Liu Li? Lu Chen?" Shangguan Bei smiled immediately. "I know you two. You own a Moon Fang pastry shop, right? I especially love your pastries and admire your creativity. You even put your names on the packaging and say some words of blessing to your customers. I like that too."
Lu Chen and Liu Li exchanged a smile, both quite proud. Using that kind of design on the packaging was one way to promote the business and build rapport with customers; it was Lu Chen's idea.
"I didn't expect to meet you here so coincidentally. This meal is on me!" Shangguan Bei said generously.
Then, she ordered a grilled fish, plus some other signature barbecue items. Everyone ate and chatted, enjoying themselves immensely. However, the main topic of conversation was the amusing anecdotes about Lu Chen and Liu Li's pastry shop. Everyone avoided discussing Shangguan Bei's background or the details of the million-yuan check.
As the conversation progressed, Shangguan Bei and Liu Li started calling each other sisters. Shangguan Bei mentioned knowing several managers of star-rated hotels and suggesting they all source their goods from Moon's Tooth, because Lu Chen's pastries were simply delicious.
"Brother Lu Chen, I also love making pastries. When can you teach me?" Shangguan Bei asked earnestly.
"Sure!" Lu Chen chuckled. "But being my apprentice is tough. You'll have to come work at our shop as an apprentice, starting from the very basics."
"How dare you!" Zhong Ji roared. "What kind of status does our young lady have? To become an apprentice at your place? Are you out of your mind?"
"With your low manners, your parents must be very worried, right?" Lu Chen asked with a smile.
Zhong Ji glared, about to strike, when Shangguan Bei shouted, "Zhong Ji, if you continue like this, go back right now! I don't want you as my bodyguard anymore; I'm going to find someone more polite!"
Zhong Ji was terrified and quickly lowered his head, saying, "Miss, I'm sorry, I... I promise I'll be polite."
"Apologize to Brother Lu Chen!" Shangguan Bei said.
Zhong Ji helplessly said to Lu Chen, "Brother Lu Chen... uh, Mr. Lu, I'm very sorry!"
However, Lu Chen's eyes darted around, looking at his surroundings.
He seemed not to have paid any attention to Zhong Ji's words.
This infuriated Zhong Ji. He wanted to explode but had to hold back, hoping for the best, inwardly cursing, "You just wait and see!"
At this moment, Lu Chen's tone turned sinister: "Don't you all feel something's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" Shangguan Bei was taken aback.
Lu Chen's eyes narrowed, his gaze sharpening as he looked around. He couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong, but he felt a chilling killing intent emanating from the noisy crowd around him, making his bones feel cold.
Deep within him, a third energy seemed to be stirring, alerting him.
Zhong Ji shouted, "Kid, don't play tricks on me!"
Lu Chen coldly said, "Do you have some enemies? Be careful, protect your young lady."
If that killing intent was real, then it was most likely aimed at Shangguan Bei.
Upon hearing this, Zhong Ji's expression also turned serious, and he winked at his three brothers. Immediately, the four of them stood in a well-trained square, protecting Shangguan Bei in the center. They faced their surroundings, their eyes gleaming as they surveyed their surroundings.
Lu Chen silently released the energy of his cursed god, thinking to himself: Those with ulterior motives, reveal your true forms.
Soon, the people around them began to blur, while seven or eight eerie figures stood out clearly thirty or forty meters away.
It was just a lucky break, but it actually worked!
Just as Lu Chen was about to warn them, he suddenly saw one of the eerie figures move.
Instantly, a sharp arrow shot towards them.
It was only about two index fingers long, but incredibly sharp and fast. Lu Chen watched as it flew straight towards Shangguan Bei. He jumped to his feet and shouted, "Zhong Ji, watch out at your ten o'clock position!"
Zhong Ji almost instinctively reached out to grab it.