He San Qing laughed. "You are jealous, jealous of Wang Wei Lian."
Si Ma Zhi laughed as well. "That's because we had to leave early. After a while, when Wang Wei Lian leaves, the activities later would be much more entertaining."
He San Qing said with a dirty smile. "Perhaps, there might be one for Wang Wei Lian as well?"
"The more you say it, the sillier it gets." Gao Yuan commented calmly.
When the elevator door opened, the five of them entered. From the 33rd floor of this high-rise building, they descended rapidly. Then they got into the cars and headed back to the Great 5-Star Restaurant.
After they got home, Zhang Sha Sha entered the bedroom. Following the instructions on the operating manual, she started to learn how to use the handphone.
He San Qing bought a crate of beers. Each one of them took a bottle; they started chatting and drinking together.
Bai Lu said, "I plan to start the renovations tomorrow."
"If the restaurant is under renovations, where would we go for a meal instead?"
"I want to be famous, even more so than Wang Wei Lian."
"Haha, I knew you were triggered by him."
"So low-class. You absolutely cannot even comprehend my higher level of thinking," Bai Lu said with a serious tone.
...
The four of them drank until 10.30pm. They finally disbanded after all the beers were empty. The Young Masters Trio completely disregarded drink-driving. They all insisted on driving back home individually. Bai Lu sighed, he decided firmly not to sell any alcohol.
The next day, Zhang Sha Sha woke up early in the morning. She wore the set of dark-colored western clothing that resembled a student uniform. She stood by the door and looked outside.
Bai Lu suddenly recalled that he had forgotten to buy educational supplies for her. Cursing himself secretly for being such a pig, he washed his face casually and said, "Come. I will send you to the school."
Zhang Sha Sha hesitated for a moment. She thought, "No school bag, no books, and no pencils. Am I going to school just like this?"
In the end, she did not question him. Sha Sha just followed Bai Lu and walked towards the school.
He said, "There's a shop outside the school gates. They sell all sorts of things there."
She made a "Uhm" sound to express that she had heard him.
The school was located very nearby because it was not a prestigious high school. There were not many students enrolled, with a total of just 16 classes and more than 800 students. There was indeed a store right outside the school gates, selling anything imaginable from handphones to lunchboxes.
Bai Lu brought Sha Sha in for a shopping spree: School bag, cups, napkins, a chair cushion and even a sleeve cover.
Carrying all these new stuff, they valiantly walked towards the school with vigor.
Since it was the first day of school, they had to visit the principal's office, and followed by the teacher-in-charge of the class. Afterward, they had to collect the learning materials for the course, following which the teacher-in-charge escorted them to the designated class. Bai Lu was a little nervous. He felt like he was the one coming to study in a school. He glanced towards Sha Sha and noticed that she was also looking right at him. He laughed, and said softly, "Remember that you have my phone number. If there's an issue, give me a call." He handed over $300 to her.
They soon arrived at the first class of the first academic year, Sha Sha found a seat and settled down. Bai Lu still refused to leave, and he kept staring at her outside the door. The teacher got uncomfortable and came out to inform him. "You may leave now."
Bai Lu nodded his head and agreed, he conveniently asked for the number of the teacher as well. "I run a small restaurant at Xiao Wang's Village Road. Come and try it out if you are free. I can assure you that you will not regret it."
Even though he had agreed that he would leave, Bai Lu still refused to step away. When the school bell rang to signify the start of classes, he was still guarding the door outside. In the end, he was forcefully removed and chased away by the teacher-in-charge. "How could there be such a brother like you? This place is a high school, not the kindergarten; there's no need to stand guard here the whole time."
Bai Lu laughed and agreed, then he apologized. After confirming the school dismissal timings in the afternoon and the evening, he finally relented and left.
It was the first day of school for Zhang Sha Sha, which Bai Lu attached great importance to. Therefore, he went to the food market to buy a bunch of delicious ingredients, sweeping up anything that was good for the body. Additionally, he kept looking at the time, to make sure that he could prepare everything in order before Sha Sha finished school. He wanted to deliver it to her personally.
It was 9.30am in the morning. Someone pushed open the door and entered. It was a woman in her thirties. She was very well-dressed, with a very professional aura from the way she behaved. She asked Bai Lu, "Are you the one that wants to rent an apartment?"
Bai Lu said yes.
The woman said, "Yesterday, some guy with the last name Huang gave me a call, to book an appointment for today to view the apartments. However, he is busy with work, so he asked me to visit you directly."
Her apartment was about 300 meters away from the restaurant, with two floors, two bedrooms, and a living room. It was more than 60 square meters, with all household appliances and furniture included. The rent was $5.5k.
They went to see the apartments. Even though the rent was a little bit expensive, but the rooms where tidy and clean, Bai Lu was very satisfied. Therefore, he signed the contract and paid the money right away.
He called Huang Feng, to ask him to inform the other landlords, that he would not be viewing their apartments.
After he retrieved the keys to the new apartment, he went back to the restaurant and saw He San Qing's bright red sports car parked right along the streets; he went over to knock on the car window. "What are you doing here?"
He San Qing came out of the car and said, "Let's go inside, it's sweltering outside."
After entering the restaurant, He San Qing said, "Yesterday, I was afraid that Sha Sha was listening. Therefore, I did not say it. So I came by today to remind you."
"What's the matter?"
"The skinny lad from the night before is called Yu Shan Yang, and he is an utterly despicable person. He has a defining characteristic. After coming back home for more than a year, who knows exactly how many girls he had slept with? Let's not mention the ones that were consensual. Just counting the girls that he forced or coerced would already amount to more than twenty. Please watch out for him."
Bai Lu nodded. "Thanks."
"I am serious. Do not appear so nonchalant. I went home yesterday and asked around. And I found out that with the establishment of Huan Entertainment, Yu Shan Yang was a key investor. He hopes that it would make his "operations" much more convenient."
"I am not nonchalant." Bai Lu smiled and responded.
At this time, people had already started queueing outside the door, waiting for a meal. He San Qing looked around, then he thoughtfully said, "This is not acceptable. It's not the right way to run a restaurant. With the level of your cooking skills, you should focus on a more high-end route."
Bai Lu smiled. "Let's discuss it another time." He looked at the clock. Since it was time to cook a meal for Zhang Sha Sha, he went back into the kitchen to work.
He San Qing saw the variety of meat and fishes, which all looked delicious. With his eyes opened as wide as a bull, he said, "You son of a bitch, cooking such delicious meals in secret while reserving the simple dishes of vegetables and tofu for us."
Bai Lu explained. "It is for Sha Sha's lunch. Since you came today, in a while, you should accompany me to deliver the meal."
For him to enjoy the delicious food, He San Qing humiliatingly agreed. He asked, "If you deliver the food personally, what would happen to the customers?"
"Let them wait."
In the afternoon, a very eye-catching red sports car pulled up to the entrance of the Northern City Eighteen High School. Almost at the same time, the school bell sounded to signal the dismissal of the students. After a while, the students rushed out of the school compound.
The two of them waited outside the car, watching numerous female students walking past them. He San Qing sighed with sorrow "It's much better to be a student, so youthful."
Three students were giggling and walking over. When they saw the beautiful sports car, with two not so ugly handsome men standing by the vehicle, one of the girls shouted. "Hey handsome, looking for someone? Are you waiting for us?"
Thus, He San Qing drowned in more profound sorrows. "Kids nowadays are so amazing, not like us in the past..."
Bai Lu did not bother to listen to his bullshit. He called Sha Sha on his phone. A while later, she came out and said, "You don't have to fetch me. I can make my way back by myself."
"Your brother is afraid that you were hungry. He insisted on delivering food to you personally," He San Qing said.
"Since it is so close, I could go back home to eat."
"That's true." Bai Lu nodded. "Let's go back."
On the first day of school for Zhang Sha Sha, a red sports car came by in the afternoon to pick her up. Some of the guys that walked by whistled and jeered. He San Qing felt emotional for the 3rd time. "Truly young and fearless... Little brats, if you dare to whistle again, don't blame me for getting physical."
The afternoon passed by in a flash, Zhang Sha Sha went back to the restaurant for a meal, then she went to see the new apartment, before returning to the school. Bai Lu forced He San Qing into hard labor. He helped Bai Lu with the relocation to the new house. Then Bai Lu called Wang Mou Dun and informed him that he wanted to renovate the restaurant."
Wang Mou Dun only said two sentences: "What's up?" and "You could do whatever you want, it's ok even if you demolish it." Then he abruptly hung up the phone.
In that short duration, before the call was ended, Bai Lu could hear a familiar voice on the other side. "Asshole, stealing the alcohol again, stop running..."
That was his father. The person who raised him up, his biological father, Old Man Wang. Bai Lu thought, "With 2nd Uncle accompanying him, it must have filled him up with lots of joy."
Bai Lu was holding up the phone in a daze. Suddenly, he wanted to go back home. Even though that dreaded place only had the sand, wind and the sun, without the glamour, liveliness and the convenience of the bustling city, but he had his father, Old Man Wang. However, the nasty images of how he was disciplined by his father slowly appeared. It made him shiver unconsciously. He thought, "That kind of happiness mixed with fear, it's best to let 2nd Uncle be the one to experience it."
His father wanted him to make a name for himself. Therefore, he should stand out from the rest. Bai Lu cleared away the distractions in his mind, and then he pasted a giant notification sign on the door: Under renovations, business is suspended.
Bai Lu always believed that eating was the most sacred activity, with ingredients being very holy things. However, the Great 5-Star Restaurant that belonged to Wang Mou Dun merely was too run-down. To have a meal in such a lousy place, no matter how delicious the food was, it would still be negatively affected by the ambiance. That was why he wanted to do a complete renovation.
Initially, Bai Lu had wanted to dismantle the rooms personally, but He San Qing stopped this idea, because he thought, "It was already tremendously exhausting to relocate to the new apartment, and now he wants me to help with dismantling the restaurant? Does he expect someone to perish after all this?" He San Qing sternly recommended. "Professional matters should be left to the professionals. Just look for a company that does renovations; let them come up with the plan and do all the work."
Therefore, they went to look for an interior design company, to hire some human resources. Under the supervision of Bai Lu, they proceeded to dismantle the interior and design the new floor plans.
Because the restaurant was created by isolating compartments, there were no load-bearing columns in the house. That was why the entire interior had to be torn down, including the toilet and bedroom.
Everything inside the house: The broken bed in the bedroom; the broken tables and chairs in the restaurant; also the crockery and other equipment, they were all sold to the rag-and-bone man.
Now the interior space could be planned out. By removing the bedroom, the kitchen was made with an open concept, to let the customers watch comfortably and eat without worries. Next to the new toilet, there was a small cloakroom...
They were occupied all the way until the evening. Bai Lu went to pick up Sha Sha from school, and He San Qing sighed. "If not for the small age difference, I would have thought that she was your daughter."
Bai Lu ignored him. Along the way, he bought two bedsheets and brought Sha Sha back home. When he came back he continued to work.
Gao Yuan came over after his work. Upon seeing the considerable mess piled outside the entrance, he sighed. "What an impressive dismantling skill. I just invited someone over for dinner, but you have already demolished the entire restaurant."
He San Qing also sighed. "Consider yourself fortunate. I was arrested by him to be his slave, working my ass off the entire day."
"What's the plan for dinner?" Gao Yuan asked.
Bai Lu exclaimed. "It's my treat. Let's go eat some street food."
"Eat your head. Make the reservations, let's go to the Second Residence. Call Sha Sha to come along together."
"What kind of place is this so-called Second Residence? An embassy?" Bai Lu asked.
"You moron. I do not wish to listen to your crap. Go and change your clothes. Where is Sha Sha? If you dismantled the house, where is Sha Sha going to live?" Gao Yuan looked around.
He San Qing laughed. "This madman had only just rented a new apartment this afternoon. And in the same afternoon, he had already demolished his old restaurant."
...
The Second Residence was not well-known, only a few people know of its existence, but the food is costly. It could be considered a high-class restaurant that specialized exclusively towards the famous clientele. It was located at the corner of a park, lined with green trees and colorful flowers, accompanied by flying birds and swimming fishes.
In comparison, the incredibly famous Great Heavens restaurant would only seem like an ordinary street-side food stall.
Since Gao Yuan was paying for the meal, Bai Lu did not reserve himself. He picked up Sha Sha, then the whole lot departed. When they reached the destination, Bai Lu gasped with admiration. "This park is a designated green area. By opening such a wonderful restaurant here, he must be competent."
He San Qing condemned him and said, "Stop showing off that set of ignorant facial expression."
"But I am truly an ignorant person."