In the distance, Lui Chen remained vigilant. He secretly observed the two police officers having a conversation with Shing Xin . His eyes would sometimes wander to the other side, pretending not to notice them. But, once in a while, he would steal glances in their direction.
"Sir, this is the meal that our boss prepared," a sweet voice sounded on his side.
Lui Chen looked up and beamed at the beautiful waitress. She was carrying a tray of various dishes. A small smile curved on her lips while waiting for his acknowledgment.
"All of it?" Lui Chen asked when his eyes darted on various dishes. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 'It seems like this Shing Xin is going to feed ten people for this preparation!?' he inwardly commented.
"Yes, sir! Boss said that you had an accident because of starvation," the waitress mentioned and started putting down the bowls of meat on his table.
"Hahaha," Lui Chen forced an awkward laugh and watched until all the food was arranged in front of him. 'What the heck!' he mentally exclaimed while thinking about what the waitress had just said.
After the waitress left, he saw Shing Xin dismiss the police officers. Then, the man started walking towards him.
"Hehehe, how about that? Big meal, right?" Shing Xin grinned, looking proud of the food on the table.
"Yeah-- yeah," Lui Chen mumbled passively. He tried to scan the memory of the original body to check the reason why he was invited for the dinner. Yet, he was also shocked to discover that even the original Lui Chen did not know why!
"Hmmn... bro, how come it felt like you are a bit different? The last time we chatted, you are so down. I even thought you'd come here bawling about your squad's decision. But now, you look abnormally calm?" Shing Xin asked, giving him a suspicious look while pulling the chair across him. He slowly sat on it while maintaining eye contact with Lui Chen.
"I've moved on to their decision. Since they don't want me, I won't waste my time feeling down. I've already received greater realization after my distant uncle contacted me," Lui Chen smiled while crafting another alibi.
"Distant uncle? Your family wants you back again?" Shing Xin questioned.
Speaking of family, this Lui Chen was instantly disowned by his parents after knowing that he applied to join an E-Sports Club. He is not born rich and his parents put high hopes for him to finish school and be successful. They could not accept that their son had abandoned his studies and pursued playing online games.
"No, they never contacted me since they kicked me out of our house," Lui Chen sighed. 'What is it about gaming that this boy is so willing to be kicked out by his family instead of just obeying their wishes?' he suddenly pondered the decisions of the original Lui Chen. Even though he live several lives, such obsession was something that he could not relate to.
Surprisingly, even if he was a programmer during his fourth reincarnation, he never played online games. He spent his life too focused on building and cracking firewalls and creating anti-virus software.
"Then, who is this distant uncle that contacted you? When did he contact you?" Shing Xin probed further.
"Bro, why do you ask so many questions?" Lui Chen questioned back, feeling a little disturbed by how the man had acted.
"Of course, I'll be worried about your safety! Hmmph! Now, what is your plan? If you need work, I can hire you," Shing Xin offered.
"I can't work," Lui Chen muttered. He started tasting the dishes and focused his attention on the food.
Shing Xin stared at him for a long time. "You can't work? What do you mean? You were kicked out of that squad. How are you going to feed yourself? Where are you going to stay?"
Lui Chen's head nodded several times but his gaze remained lowered while continuously chewing. "As far as the contract of the E-Sports Club, they have to provide accommodation to me. I won't have a salary but I'll have a food allowance until the contract expired."
To put it simply, he was kicked out of the squad because of the captain's decision. But his contract with the gaming club was still effective. Thus, he could only continue to stream games on his own and split his income to the club.
"Food allowance? If you have food allowance why are you starving?"
"Ehuh-ahum-ehem!" Lui Chen choked and quickly grabbed a glass of water on the side. Then, he pondered how and could only release a long sigh. It turns out, such an amount could not even be considered as a food allowance. The money that he received was enough just to buy him a single snack for a day!
Really unfortunate!
"I'll be fine," Lui Chen whispered after recovering. 'How sad that your friend died because of this situation. But, since I am taking over his body, I will live the life that he had dreamed... no, more than he had ever dreamed!' he secretly thought and continued eating.
Without even realizing it, the food on the table slowly vanished. Shing Xin gaped at him eating wildly and asked, "Do you want another set of meals?"
"Huh? Ahh! No--- I'm full... I'm full," Lui Chen responded and also felt at loss with his sudden appetite.
"Are you really okay, Chen?" Shing Xin asked once more. This time, there was a genuine concern flashed in his eyes.
"Yes! Of course! My distant uncle said that he will help me. So, you don't need to worry," Lui Chen answered bringing up again this imaginary uncle.
"Alright. Don't hesitate to contact me if you encountered a difficult situation," Shing Xin expressed and suddenly stared at the briefcase that Lui Chen had placed on the floor. Somehow, his eyes were withdrawn to it but he did not continue asking him. "Be sure to work hard. Next time we meet, you must prepare the same meal like this for me!"
Lui Chen smiled and was extremely amused by the man's way of encouraging him. "I'll prepare the most luxurious meal for you the next time you want the two of us to meet."