The name of the restaurant was "Eat for Slimness." Just three big characters, and that's the name that Cheng Baola came up with. Xu Zhengyang frowned when he saw it. What was even worse were the four smaller characters underneath, which read "Healthy Restaurant."
To top it off, there was a relief sculpture of an anteater on the sign. As a grown man, Xu Zhengyang really didn't find the name appealing at all. However, when Lin Yourong saw the sign, her eyes lit up.
"What's up?" Xu Zhengyang asked, puzzled by her reaction. He wanted to know what she saw in it.
"Nothing, it just made me want to eat a salad."
"Well, you're in the wrong place then. She's not making your typical healthy food—no random salads or chicken breast dishes thrown together. Her dishes are more of a fusion of Chinese and Western cuisine. It's kind of like... you know what, just try it later."
Xu Zhengyang stopped halfway through explaining, realizing he wasn't really sure how to describe it. But it did pique Lin Yourong's interest.
At that moment, the restaurant was closed. Xu Zhengyang sent a message to Cheng Baola, who happened to be out on an errand. She told them to wait a bit as she was on her way back.
Since Xu Zhengyang didn't have the keys to the restaurant, the two of them sat on the steps outside, chatting while they waited.
Just then, a Mini Cooper pulled up not far away. A trendy-looking man and woman got out of the car. From the backseat, a white fox-like dog jumped out, bouncing around energetically.
After getting out of the car, the man took out his phone and, holding it in a selfie position, began speaking into the camera:
"Hello, fans! YOYO and I have arrived at Beicheng Park."
The woman joined the frame, waving at the camera.
"Behind us is a health restaurant that's opening in a couple of days. They invited us to review it, promising a lot of sincerity and innovation, but we'll see how it really is after we try it. Stay tuned, folks!"
After the recording, they put away their fake smiles. The woman took out some gum and started chewing loudly.
Xu Zhengyang and Lin Yourong exchanged a glance. It looked like these were the influencers Cheng Baola had hired to promote the restaurant.
"I know these two. They're fairly influential local food bloggers with a decent following on KwaiDou. The guy's name is Yangyang, and he's got over 400,000 followers. The girl's called YOYO, and she's got nearly 600,000 fans. Their content is mostly focused on local food, so most of their followers are from around here."
Xu Zhengyang nodded. Nowadays, when opening a new restaurant, handing out flyers or running ads just doesn't cut it. The most efficient way to generate buzz is through endorsements. Where there's traffic, there's popularity. And influencers undoubtedly have the most traffic.
Of course, whether they would genuinely recommend the food or not depended on how well they were compensated. If the payment was right, everything would taste good. If not, who knows what they might say.
The guy lit a cigarette and then casually crushed the empty pack, tossing it into the bushes by the side of the road, even though the trash can was just a few steps away.
Xu Zhengyang frowned a bit. The influencer's manners were lacking.
At that moment, a pregnant woman passed by, holding the hand of a little girl. The mother and daughter were chatting and laughing, enjoying a walk in the sunshine and breathing in the fresh air as they headed towards the park.
Just then, the female influencer's white fox dog, which had just finished doing its business in the grass, spotted the little girl and ran over to her, circling around her feet.
The little girl, feeling something furry brush against her, screamed in fright. Her scream startled the dog, causing it to bare its teeth and start barking fiercely at her.
The girl burst into tears, and her pregnant mother quickly pulled her behind, trying to shoo the dog away, shouting in a panic, "Go away, go away! Whose dog is this? Someone take care of it!"
The girl, clutching her mother's clothes tightly, tried to pull her away from the dog.
Everything happened so quickly. Just as the pregnant mother was about to turn and run with her daughter, the dog lunged forward and bit the little girl's calf, tugging viciously.
The girl screamed and fell to the ground. The mother panicked and tried to kick the dog away.
At this point, the female influencer finally ran over. She shouted angrily, "What the hell are you kicking for?"
She then pushed the pregnant woman aside, scooping up her dog and cooing to it like a child, "Oh, oh, Yaya, don't be mad, don't be mad. Let go, quickly, be good!"
She continued to speak sweetly to the dog, completely ignoring the little girl's cries, as she tried to pull the dog off her leg.
But the dog, growling fiercely, refused to let go.
The pregnant woman, now desperate, reached down to twist the dog's ear. The dog yelped in pain and snapped at the woman's hand, finally releasing the girl's now bloodied leg.
Seeing the woman twist her dog's ear, YOYO glared and kicked the pregnant woman in the stomach, sending her sprawling to the ground.
The woman's belly was at least six or seven months along.
The little girl, despite her own injuries, rushed to help her mother.
"You crazy bitch! What the hell are you doing? That's my dog!" YOYO screamed, pointing at the woman as her dog snarled viciously.
Everything had happened so quickly. By the time Xu Zhengyang and Lin Yourong got out of the car, the pregnant woman was already on the ground.
The pregnant woman clutched her stomach, then frantically checked her daughter's leg. Overcome with anger, she shouted at YOYO:
"Your dog wasn't on a leash, it bit my daughter, and you're the one who's mad?? My daughter's leg is bleeding! How could you be so irresponsible?"
She was in complete disbelief. She was pregnant, for goodness' sake. Ever since she found out she was expecting, everyone around her had been so careful, treating her with utmost care. While she didn't expect to be treated like royalty, she certainly didn't expect to be treated like this. How could someone be so lacking in common decency?
"So what if it bit her? Are you blind? Didn't you see your brat scream first? If she hadn't screamed, my Yaya wouldn't have bitten her! Got it?"
YOYO spat out her gum onto the ground, cursing loudly. Her final words were directed at the sobbing little girl.
"You… Fine, I'm calling the police!"
The woman, feeling a sharp pain in her belly, realized she couldn't argue any longer. She had to protect her unborn child, so she nodded firmly, determined to call the police. No matter what, this woman needed to learn a lesson today.
But just as she pulled out her phone, YOYO kicked it out of her hand. The phone hit the steps and shattered.
"Call the police? Over what? You just want money, right? The dog bit you, so go get a shot. I'll pay! Three thousand! Is that enough? I'll cover your crappy Huawei phone too! Now get lost, you trash."
YOYO cursed her out, pulling out a wad of cash from her purse. The bills looked like large denominations, and she threw them in the pregnant woman's face.