"Fine, then I'll sit down and eat," Yang Xiaoyan said disdainfully, "I want to see how you're going to pay."
After sitting down, Chen Zihan's face turned red as she said, "Xiao Han, I'm really sorry."
"It's okay," Xiao Han shook his head and said, "Zi Han, what would you like to eat?"
"Just something simple," Chen Zihan, not wanting Xiao Han to be burdened or to hurt his pride by paying herself, ordered only a fruit salad.
"Why be so polite?" Yang Xiaoyan immediately said, "Bring on a large portion of beef, and lamb too. Also, add a few more…"
Yang Xiaoyan wasn't bashful, ordering several hundred dollars' worth of food in one breath. Had it not been Li Dapang but someone else, an average group of four would definitely have been unable to finish so much. Clearly, Yang Xiaoyan was intentionally targeting Xiao Han in revenge.
Xiao Han smiled calmly, not at all frightened by the steep price.
In his first year of high school, Xiao Han had read some culinary books, so he remembered how to eat barbecue very well. Korean barbecue consisted of a charcoal oven with an iron plate on top, covered in foil. He simply sprinkled some oil on the foil and threw the fresh meat on to grill.
Xiao Han, unhurried, laid the meat on the grill, then sprinkled on some seasoning.
Before long, the meat was cooked. Xiao Han quickly grabbed a large lettuce leaf, wrapped a piece of grilled meat in it, and handed it to Chen Zihan, saying, "Here, try my grilling."
Chen Zihan, her cheeks turning pink, said, "Thank you!"
Taking the grilled meat from Xiao Han, Chen Zihan gently parted her lips and lightly bit into it. The taste was good. Her eyes lit up, "Xiao Han, your barbecue is really tasty."
"Is it?" Xiao Han smiled and said, "If you like it, then eat more."
Li Dapang, who couldn't wait, swept all the meat inside into his own plate, grabbing a handful of lettuce before stuffing it into his mouth.
Crunch, crunch…
The sound of chewing was quite loud.
"You…" Yang Xiaoyan got upset, "I haven't eaten yet!"
"Didn't you look down on Xiao Han?" Li Dapang laughed, "Want to eat? Then grill it yourself."
"You!" Yang Xiaoyan was furious.
Chen Zihan quickly said, "Don't get angry."
To lighten the mood, Chen Zihan quickly asked, "Xiao Han, are you confident about the upcoming exam?"
"I am!" Xiao Han suddenly stopped what he was doing, his lips curling into a small, proud smile as he looked at Chen Zihan and said, "Zi Han, you'd better remember your promise!"
"What promise?" An intrigued Yang Xiaoyan asked.
"Ah?!" Chen Zihan was caught off guard, having not expected Xiao Han to publicly reveal their conversation. She quickly shook her head and said, "No… there isn't any promise!"
As she spoke, she glared sharply at Xiao Han with her eyes.
Yang Xiaoyan looked at Chen Zihan with some doubt.
Li Dapang put all his combat power into eating the barbecue; children from poor families seldom got to eat meat. Especially Li Dapang, whose father was a carpenter who knew the difficulty of earning money and whose mother was disabled with no income, leading to a life of significant frugality.
Now that he was finally able to earn money, indulging in food and drink was of course no issue.
Half an hour later, everyone had eaten their fill.
"Waiter, the check!" Li Dapang wiped his greasy hands and belched contentedly.
"I'll do it!" Chen Zihan offered, elegantly extracting a bank card from her wallet.
"No, let them pay!" Yang Xiaoyan snorted disdainfully.
"I will!" Li Dapang glanced at Yang Xiaoyan, pulling out a bundle of cash from his bag on purpose. Exactly five thousand yuan, this money he had saved to buy a motorcycle. Having been ridiculed by Yang Xiaoyan today, he naturally couldn't swallow his anger.
"Where… where did you get so much money?" asked Chen Zihan and Yang Xiaoyan in unison.
For students, five thousand yuan was definitely a huge sum. Although Chen Zihan and Yang Xiaoyan did not know about Li Dapang's family situation, seeing that he rode an old, decrepit bicycle every day, they assumed his family wasn't well off. So, they didn't think Li Dapang was wealthy at all.
"Heh, you don't need to worry about that," Li Dapang, picking at his teeth, grinned and said, "It's hard-earned money, I neither stole nor robbed."
"You!" Yang Xiaoyan was vexed, at a loss for words.
"Sir, the total comes to three hundred eighty-eight yuan," the waiter hurried over.
"Here's four hundred, keep the change," Li Dapang tossed over four red bills.
"Thank you!" The waiter was very polite.
Li Dapang had never enjoyed the immense vanity that money could bring; this was the first time in his life that he realized having money was such an exhilarating experience. No wonder everyone in the world strives for money.
"New rich!" Yang Xiaoyan suddenly retorted, pouting her lips.
"What's wrong with being new rich?" Li Dapang looked at Yang Xiaoyan and said, "In this world, those with money are the bosses."
"Hmph!" Yang Xiaoyan scoffed lightly.
They exited the Korean barbecue restaurant, walking together as a group.
Chen Zihan appeared extremely shy, her head bowed as she fidgeted with the hem of her clothing. Xiao Han, also inexperienced, had already kissed Chen Zihan, but he still seemed very wooden and lacked initiative. Xiao Han turned his head to look at Chen Zihan, and at that moment, Chen Zihan also turned to look at him. Their eyes met, immediately sparking flashes of connection. Chen Zihan's face turned crimson, and she lowered her head even more.
Seeing the two exchanging glances, Li Dapang quickly said to Yang Xiaoyan, "Let's go first."
"Where to?" Yang Xiaoyan glanced at Li Dapang once.
"Don't disturb them," Li Dapang murmured in her ear.
Yang Xiaoyan gave the pair a look and was about to speak when Li Dapang immediately grabbed her hand and ran forward. Yang Xiaoyan shouted in a hurry, "Big Fatty, let go of me, let me go... "
Li Dapang had no intention of letting her go; he held onto her and sprinted down the street.
Leaving the two naïve kids behind.
Xiao Han's mind was filled with two voices, urging him on.
Chen Zihan, with her gaze fixed on the ground, moved forward slowly.
Suddenly, Xiao Han stopped in his tracks. He reached out and took Chen Zihan's hand, saying, "Zi Han, I..."
"What's wrong?" Chen Zihan didn't pull away from Xiao Han's grasp but rather looked up at him expectantly, her eyes filled with deep affection.
"I..." Xiao Han swallowed, and said, "I want your help to review for classes."
"That..." Chen Zihan's eyes showed a faint disappointment, but then she smiled and said, "Sure, you're studying so diligently now, I should help you with review. I believe you can definitely get into the university of your dreams."
"I want to go to the same university as you!" Xiao Han said earnestly.
Chen Zihan was taken aback and said, "Really?"
"Yeah!" Xiao Han held Chen Zihan's shoulders with an unprecedented determination in his eyes and declared, "I will definitely go to the same university as you. Zi Han, believe in me."
"I believe you." Chen Zihan's face revealed a gentle smile, one of unwavering trust.
Just then, a pickup truck came barreling toward them.
Screech...
The vehicle stopped right beside them. Following that, more than ten men jumped off the pickup. Just one look at them and it was clear they were not the sort to be trifled with, their eyes filled with disdain and contempt. The leader was a man wearing a black leather vest, decorated with tattoos of black dragons on both arms, and around his neck hung a large gold chain. He had a cigarette dangling from his lips and clutched a galvanized pipe in his hand, his entourage of over a dozen people surrounding Xiao Han and Chen Zihan.
"This..." Chen Zihan started to get scared.
"Don't be afraid!" Xiao Han quickly shielded Chen Zihan behind him and said, "I am here, I won't let anyone harm you!"
"But there are so many of them!" Chen Zihan said in a hurry.
In truth, Chen Zihan had very little confidence in Xiao Han. At school, he was often bullied, ending up bruised each time. Thus, her worry and fear were considerable. Yet, this time her concerns were obviously unnecessary.
"You are Xiao Han?" Black Vest stepped forward with a contemptuous look on his face.
"That's right!" Xiao Han nodded, keeping his gaze fixed on the man.
At this moment, Xiao Han's brain was working furiously, his eyes like a mini radar, frantically scanning everyone present. Xiao Han's mind was exceptionally clear and transparent, capturing even the most minute details of people's movements. Any slight motion, and Xiao Han's brain instantly reacted.
"Realize who you've crossed?" Black Vest took a drag on his cigarette.
"Who?" Xiao Han asked almost reflexively, though he quickly pinpointed the likely culprit in his mind. Currently, the only two he had offended were Liao Zhijie and Jiang Xiaoliang.
While he had crossed Jiang Xiaoliang, it wasn't likely that he'd be able to enlist underworld figures against him. He was, at most, someone who would humiliate Xiao Han at school and then whine to the teachers. Therefore, Xiao Han essentially concluded that it must be Liao Zhijie who had hired these people to come after him.
Liao Zhijie, the official's second generation, whose father was a member of the Municipal Committee, usually hung out with riffraff and had good relations with some people in the underworld. Other than him, Xiao Han couldn't think of anyone else capable of inviting such company to deal with him.
"Heh heh..." Black Vest chuckled but did not reply.
"It's Liao Zhijie, right?" Xiao Han sneered.
"You're correct." Black Vest nodded and said, "This time, Young Master Liao paid good money for one of your arms. You get to choose, left or right?"
As he spoke, his entourage immediately closed in.