Just moments ago, Hu Qing had said it was a self-service barbecue where everyone had to do it themselves, but then she turned around and said Shen Tu Fan had hired a top chef, simply to highlight Shen Tu Fan's extraordinary influence. Hu Qing was determined to curry favor with Shen Tu Fan, going to great lengths to do so.
Fang Jing's face immediately lit up with joy, and she happily said:
"Great! Su He, let's go!"
Su He frowned slightly. Deep down, she didn't want any contact with Shen Tu Fan, but she couldn't bear to disappoint Fang Jing. Su He was well aware of Fang Jing's feelings for Shen Tu Fan, and Shen Tu Fan was clearly using Fang Jing to get close to her. As Su He hesitated, familiar footsteps came from the stairs outside, and a smile immediately appeared on Su He's face.
Sure enough, the next second Su He saw Chen Yang's figure turn out from the doorway. He still had a faint smile on his face, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, carrying a hint of unruliness. Su He hurriedly said to Fang Jing,
"Xiao Jing, I'm sorry, my friend is here. You'll be in a group with President Shen Tu! Excuse me!"
After saying that, Su He quickly walked towards Chen Yang, her steps light and cheerful.
"Su He!" Chen Yang said with a warm smile, "I ran into an old friend and was a little delayed, sorry!"
"Hmph!" Shen Tu Fan's attention had been on Su He, so he noticed Chen Yang as soon as he entered and couldn't help but snort coldly.
Hu Qing glanced at the livid Shen Tu Fan, strode forward, and made a gesture to block him. She said stiffly,
"Sorry, this place is reserved for us! Outsiders are not welcome!"
Chen Yang's smile didn't fade; he didn't even look at Hu Qing, his gaze directly bypassing Hu Qing and landing on Shen Tu Fan a few steps away. Shen Tu Fan glared at Chen Yang defiantly and said,
"Hu Qing, why waste your breath on him? Today is a calligraphy and painting club event. Anyone not authorized to participate, get out!"
Upon hearing this, Hu Qing immediately reached out to push Chen Yang out. Chen Yang gently raised his arm, and Hu Qing felt a sudden surge of energy, staggering back several steps and nearly knocking over a barbecue grill.
Chen Yang didn't even glance at Hu Qing, but slowly strolled over to Shen Tu Fan, smiling as he looked at his face and said,
"Shen Tu, it seems you're recovering quite well! You really didn't give up on treatment!"
These words immediately reminded Shen Tu Fan of his embarrassing moment on the basketball court that day. It was like ripping open his sore spot in front of Su He. He was extremely displeased and gritted his teeth, saying,
"Get out! You're not welcome here!"
Hu Qing also snapped out of his daze and shouted, his tone fierce but his words weak:
"I'm warning you, don't cause trouble at the resort! Otherwise, you'll regret it! This venue is booked by us! If you don't leave, I'll call security right now!"
Chen Yang smiled and shrugged, giving Su He a wink. Su He tacitly walked to Chen Yang's side, took his arm, and the two walked outside side by side. Shen Tu Fan wanted to stop Su He, but the thought of Chen Yang filled him with fear. Besides, Su He was there for a calligraphy and painting club activity; no one could restrict her freedom, and if she wanted to leave, no one could force her to stay.
As Chen Yang walked out, he said to Su He,
"Girl, I've prepared lots of ingredients. I want to taste your cooking later!"
Su He obediently hummed in agreement, tightening her grip on Chen Yang's hand.
Shen Tu Fan watched their retreating figures, his nails digging into his skin. He saw Chen Yang lead Su He out of the stilted house, and after walking a short distance, they stopped beside a barbecue grill set up on the beach. They enthusiastically started a fire, with some barbecue ingredients laid out on a small table nearby.
Hu Qing leaned closer, gave a disdainful snort, and said:
"This kid's obviously broke. He can only afford this makeshift grill. Barbecue on the beach… what a ridiculous idea! The grill will be covered in sand, let's see how he eats it…"
Shen Tu Fan also felt a surge of superiority, and said with a sneer:
"He wants to rent a better spot, but he needs the money!"
After saying that, Shen Tu Fan glanced thoughtfully at Chen Yang and his companion, who were busy on the beach.
…
"Oh dear! You've burned these chicken wings…" Su He exclaimed, pointing to the chicken wings on the grill with concern, "Chen Yang, you have to keep turning them when grilling chicken wings, otherwise they'll burn easily…"
Chen Yang chuckled and scratched his head. In his previous life, he was a scholar of vast learning, but he had absolutely no talent for cooking, and had hardly ever put any effort into it. The saying "A gentleman keeps away from the kitchen" still holds considerable sway among wealthy families. Any child from such a family who spends all their time in the kitchen is likely to be looked down upon and considered unambitious.
"I told you not to help! I can handle it myself!" Su He couldn't help but laugh and scold Chen Yang, seeing the soot on his face. "You're just making things worse!"
After saying that, Su He pointed to the beach chair next to her and said,
"Go and rest for a while! I'll call you when it's done!"
Just then, an untimely voice came from behind:
"Su He, it's not done yet? Oh dear! These chicken wings are burnt! And this lamb roe, it's covered in sand, how can we eat it?"
Chen Yang and Su He turned around and saw Shen Tu Fan standing behind them with Hu Qing and a chef wearing a tall white hat. Several students from the calligraphy and painting club had also come down to watch the commotion. Anyone with eyes could see that a fierce confrontation was about to occur between President Shen Tu and the boy who had led Su He away. "That ghost really won't leave you alone!" Chen Yang frowned.
Before Su He could speak, Hu Qing stepped forward and said with a smile,
"Luckily, the club president had the foresight! He made preparations in advance."
Shen Tu Fan said with feigned modesty,
"What foresight! I just thought we couldn't let Su He go hungry."
After saying that, Shen Tu Fan nodded to the middle-aged man wearing a chef's hat beside him and whispered,
"Chef Liu, take it upstairs!"
Chef Liu immediately carried the tray upstairs and placed it on the counter. The tray contained a golden-brown, sizzling chicken leg, as well as beef roe, lamb roe, lotus root slices, corn, chives, squid… a whole tray full of meat and vegetables. Shen Tu Fan said with a hint of smugness:
"Chef Liu is the resort's top chef. He rarely cooks himself, but his grilling skills are absolutely superb! Su He, you should try some!"
Hearing Shen Tu Fan's words, Chef Liu subconsciously puffed out his chest, a hint of arrogance appearing on his face. After speaking, Shen Tu Fan frowned, glanced at the burnt chicken wings Chen Yang had just grilled, pinched his nose, and looked disdainful.
Su He felt a bit disgusted. What business is it of yours whether we eat it or not, or what we eat! He even brought so many classmates; he's clearly trying to embarrass Chen Yang!
Thinking this, Su He said calmly:
"Thank you for your kindness, Shen Tu Fan, but my boyfriend has already grilled food for me, and I think it's very good. So please take your food back; we don't need it!"
When Su He said the word "boyfriend," her pretty face couldn't help but blush. This was the first time she had publicly acknowledged her relationship with Chen Yang in public. The thought of Chen Yang so easily winning over the delicate and pure school beauty filled the boys in the calligraphy and painting club with envy, while Shen Tu Fan's eyes burned with barely concealed anger.
Hu Qing said exaggeratedly:
"Su He, can that chicken wing even be called food? It's practically charred... I think you should try what the club president prepared for you! Chef Liu's cooking is very famous in the resort! If it weren't for the club president's influence, ordinary people couldn't even get Chef Liu to cook for them!"
Under the astonished gazes of Chen Yang and the others, Su He picked up the skewer of chicken wings that Chen Yang had just burned and was about to put it in her mouth when Chen Yang quickly stood up and stopped her. Although Hu Qing's words were sarcastic, it was true that the chicken wings were burnt beyond recognition. This stuff contains carcinogens and should never be eaten carelessly.
Just then, a respectful voice rang out:
"Mr. Fang, I've brought you some food. It's all freshly baked; please enjoy it while it's hot!"
Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to a round-faced, chubby man in a chef's uniform standing behind Chen Yang, carrying a tray and bowing slightly, displaying extreme respect.
Shen Tu Fan's expression immediately hardened. He looked at Hu Qing with displeasure, his eyes filled with accusation. Hu Qing innocently shrugged, indicating that he knew nothing about it. Just moments before, Chef Liu, who had been so arrogant, suddenly changed his expression. He scurried over and took the tray from the fat man's hands. The fat man glanced at Chef Liu and asked casually,
"Old Liu, you're here too!"
Chef Liu replied with a fawning smile,
"Yes! Mr. Wu..."
He then quickly turned to Shen Tu Fan and the others, introducing,
"Classmates, this is Mr. Wu, the executive chef of our resort."
The students gasped in surprise. They hadn't expected Chen Yang to be so powerful; even the resort's executive chef was personally serving him. In comparison, Chef Liu, whom Shen Tu Fan had brought, was far inferior, as evidenced by his obsequious behavior towards Mr. Wu.
Mr. Wu merely glanced at everyone present and gave a perfunctory nod as a greeting. Despite his respectful and cautious demeanor towards Chen Yang, he was no less arrogant than Chef Liu in front of others.
"Thank you, Mr. Wu!" Chen Yang said with a smile.
"Mr. Fang, you're too kind!" Mr. Wu unconsciously used polite language. "Please enjoy your meal, I'll take my leave now!"
Chen Yang smiled kindly and nodded. Mr. Wu bowed again before turning to leave.
Chen Yang snatched the chicken wings from Su He's hand and threw them directly into the trash can, then said with a smile:
"Silly girl! Now that food has been delivered, you don't have to eat charcoal anymore!"
Su He playfully stuck out her tongue. Chen Yang then looked at Chef Liu and said:
"Chef Liu, we can't finish all this food, please take this back! Thank you!"
Chef Liu glanced at Shen Tu Fan, then awkwardly stepped forward and picked up the tray he had just taken. Chen Yang was so familiar with his boss, he dared not be disrespectful in front of him.
"He's just an executive chef, isn't he? Look at how arrogant he is!" Hu Qing said sourly to her classmate beside her. "If he were really that great, he wouldn't be barbecuing on the beach. Let him work in those places!"
As she spoke, Hu Qing pointed to the upscale sanatorium area.
Almost at the same time Hu Qing pointed, a lazy voice came from inside the sanatorium:
"Chen Yang! Hurry up and come over when you've had enough fun! I just opened a bottle of '82 Lafite, the wine's almost decanted!"