"Enjoy." A pretty waitress said with a polite smile as she dropped off two dishes in front of the two men. She hovered over the table for a second, trying to make eye contact with the handsome youth that had his head strictly facing down.
"Thank you hun." Tan Huizhong said with an alluring smile. Despite being old enough to be the girl's grandfather, he appreciated her beauty. His flirty remark was enough to get the stubborn Chen Bohai to lift his head.
"What're you doing?" Bohai asked. He glanced around the restaurant, until his eyes met with the pretty waitress. Immediately, Bohai's eyes grew furious. "You're 3 times her age!"
"Aiya, why does that matter?" Tan Huizhong said with a smirk. Which was quickly wiped off of his face when his face contorted with pain. "What was that for?" Huizhong spat as he held onto the spot on his calf that Bohai had mercilessly kicked.
Bohai ignored the old man, and began to quietly eat his food. The waitress had dropped off the teacher-student pair two bowls of ramen. And while it would fulfill their hunger, it lacked compared to Xu Qingling's cooking. Neither Bohai or Huizhong smiled fondly while eating the bland food - as they had often done while eating Qingling's meals.
"We didn't even get to say goodbye because of that stupid Shen Zihao." Tan Huizhong mumbled. The Emperor's friend was quite meddlesome. Despite his friendship with the aspiring chef, he didn't want to go through unnecessary troubles just to bid her a goodbye. Especially when he cheated Long Guangli not too long ago. He was sure the Duke was avidly searching for him to fix his problem.
Chen Bohai pretended not to have heard the old man, but a frown unconsciously formed on his face. Ever since they had arrived at the Tan clan's property, his friendship with Xu Qingling had dwindled. He knew that she was scared of him, just like so many people he had encountered in the past. The Yuan family had been the only exception - albeit they had never seen his true prowess.
"Don't be too sad. We'll see her soon enough I assume." Tan Huizhong added after seeing the boy's sudden change in attitude.
"I'm not sad." Bohai retorted. He had no time in his life to be sad, not if he wanted to find out the truth behind his family's massacre. "I was just wondering as to how we are going to find the Lee clan."
"Did you say the Lee clan?" A small boy from the table besides them suddenly spoke.
"No, he said the He clan." Tan Huizhong replied with the utmost seriousness. Talk of the Lee clan was considered to be treason. And who knew who this boy worked for.
"No- No. I heard the Lee clan." The young boy said stubbornly. He stared at Bohai, his big blue eyes never moving. "I know the Lee clan." He said with no emotions on his face.
For some reason, this boy looked familiar to Bohai. Although he couldn't pinpoint why he recognized him. He stared into the boy's eyes, trying to remember where he knew him from when suddenly everything went black.
Chen Bohai fell on top of the table with a bang. His eyes closed, and his breathing stilled. He was out cold. Tan Huizhong had no time to react, when he looked at the boy in a daze, he too fell to the power of his unusual eyes.
-
A plate dropped from Xu Qingling's hands, shattering on the just-cleaned floor. On the second-floor of the restaurant, Tan Duyi sat alone. He watched amusedly, as Qingling hurriedly picked up the broken glass.
He had rushed to the capital as soon as he had heard the news himself, Tan Huizhong and Chen Bohai had left - without even saying goodbye. He had been frustrated. Tan Huizhong was his grandfather, he was supposed to teach him the secret ways of the Tan clan. Not some stranger, or worse, one with a crazy high bounty on his head.
To make himself feel better, he went to go find the one person who would be more upset than him. A girl he had recently found interesting, the girl that had arrived with the despicable Chen Bohai, Xu Qingling. And judging by the obvious betrayal on her face, he knew he was right. They had left without bidding her a goodbye. And now, she was on the verge of tears.