As dusk drew near, a few handsome young men and beautiful young women arrived in Suotuo City, making a lovely sight as they walked through the streets.
"Big Brother Su, what's good to eat in Suotuo City? I went straight to the academy after arriving, so I haven't had a proper look around," Ning Rongrong said first.
"Good to eat?" Su Ling thought for a moment and realized that his predecessor had very few memories of such things.
He had spent almost all his time cultivating and rarely came to Suotuo City to spend money, much less splurge on satisfying his appetite.
He did remember a specialty rabbit restaurant, but if he took the initiative to bring them there, how would he raise Xiao Wu's affection for him?
Fortunately, while Su Ling was thinking, Oscar, who had eagerly tagged along, volunteered, "Boss Su, I went to a really good restaurant last year. I still haven't forgotten how the food tasted. It was..."
Oscar had meant to say that Dai Mubai had brought him there, but that seemed inappropriate to mention in front of Su Ling, so he swallowed the words.
Su Ling had yet to find a suitable place, so Oscar's suggestion saved him the trouble.
"All right, Oscar, lead the way. We'll go there. My treat today, so order whatever you like," Su Ling said with a smile. The two chests had yielded a total of 5,200 Gold Soul Coins, so he could certainly afford a meal.
Besides, Oscar was only a Soul Grandmaster.
He received just ten Gold Soul Coins a month from Spirit Hall, and most of those had to be handed over to Flender. How expensive could the place be?
"Big Brother Su, you've taken care of us as soon as we arrived. We should be treating you to this meal," Tang San offered.
"That's right! If you hadn't spoken up for us during the Fourth Trial, Big Brother Su, we might not have passed," Ning Rongrong agreed. To her, Gold Soul Coins were merely numbers.
"In that case, all right. I'll treat everyone next time," Su Ling replied with a smile.
"Follow me, everyone!" Oscar said excitedly. After all, this place was far from cheap, and he had only happened to eat there once.
Even a simple lunch had cost more than ten Gold Soul Coins.
Before long, a lavish restaurant with magnificent decor appeared before them.
Ning Rongrong thought nothing of it, and Zhu Zhuqing, who also came from a wealthy family, was accustomed to such sights. Tang San and Xiao Wu, however, were a pair of country bumpkins who felt rather out of place.
Tang San felt his money pouch. How could he have imagined Oscar would bring them to such a luxurious restaurant?
Seeing the hint of embarrassment on Tang San's face, Su Ling nearly laughed.
Tang San had spent two hundred Gold Soul Coins buying the rutilated quartz from Flender earlier that day. How much could he have left? Since he had offered to pay, he could hardly ask Ning Rongrong to foot the bill.
The crucial moment came when they ordered. Su Ling left it to the ladies rather than ordering himself, especially Ning Rongrong, the young heiress, who certainly did not hold back.
Soon, more than a dozen delicious dishes arrived at the table, along with wine and fruit juice.
"Tang San, you're already spending so much on our first visit. You're quite a bit younger than me, so how about I call you Xiao San from now on?" Su Ling said.
"It's fine, it's fine. Of course you can! Just call me Xiao San, Big Brother Su," Tang San hurriedly replied, though he kept going over the menu in his mind, calculating whether the Gold Soul Coins in his pocket would cover the bill.
While they were eating, the door to a private room nearby slowly opened.
"Isn't that Second Brother Dai? He brought me here the last time I came to Suotuo City," Oscar blurted out. He knew nothing of Dai Mubai's relationship with Zhu Zhuqing, and after a little wine, the words slipped right out.
They looked over, and sure enough, it was Dai Mubai.
Dai Mubai had drunk a little too much and was speaking rather loudly, with a voluptuous woman on either side supporting him.
"The pair yesterday did pretty well. Today, let's see what you two can do," Dai Mubai said loudly.
The two women helped him upstairs. Everyone knew perfectly well what was on the upper floor of this restaurant.
"That guy! My brother and I ran into him yesterday, too. He took a pair of twins to a hotel, and now today he's... Big Brother Su, you should've hit him harder today," Xiao Wu said indignantly.
"Exactly, exactly." Ning Rongrong nodded as she ate.
Tang San, however, did not really think Dai Mubai had done anything wrong, so he said nothing.
Only Zhu Zhuqing's expression seemed off. Her beautiful, icy face had gone pale, and even her body was trembling slightly.
Su Ling had a rough idea of where Dai Mubai spent his money and had intended to find an opportunity for Zhu Zhuqing to run into him, though he had not been certain they would succeed.
Now, that saved him the trouble.
But it was rather hard on Zhu Zhuqing. Beneath the table, she clenched one hand tightly into a fist, trying desperately to calm herself.
Yet after so many years of perseverance and grievances, how could she bear it?
"Zhu Zhuqing, are you feeling unwell?" Su Ling asked quietly beside her.
"N-no, I'm fine." Zhu Zhuqing shook her head, forcing back her emotions and trying her best to compose herself.
But sometimes, certain emotions simply could not be held back.
"I'm going outside for a moment." Zhu Zhuqing abruptly stood and headed out of the restaurant.
"What's wrong with Zhu Zhuqing?"
Everyone looked at Su Ling in confusion.
Su Ling waved a hand and said, "Keep eating. I'll go check on her."
Since everyone had drunk a little, they did not seem to pay much attention to Zhu Zhuqing's condition, so none of them followed.
When Su Ling came outside, Zhu Zhuqing was already crouching a short distance from the hotel, crying like a helpless little girl.
"Zhu Zhuqing, what's wrong?" Su Ling approached and asked. Although he knew what had happened, he still had to act as though he knew nothing.
"Big Brother Su." Overcome with hurt, Zhu Zhuqing threw herself into Su Ling's arms.
Su Ling let Zhu Zhuqing cry without saying anything, simply waiting for her to release the emotions she had bottled up for so long.
Only after quite a while did Zhu Zhuqing stop crying and pull out of Su Ling's embrace, looking a little embarrassed.
"Big Brother Su, actually, Dai Mubai and I... we're..."
Zhu Zhuqing then told Su Ling everything, because she felt he was someone she could trust.
"What?"
"Zhu Zhuqing, you're actually Dai Mubai's fiancée? Then how could he..."
"Big Brother Su, please keep this a secret!" Zhu Zhuqing said softly.
"Zhu Zhuqing, aren't you going upstairs to settle things with him?" Su Ling asked.
Zhu Zhuqing shook her head. At that moment, she seemed to have worked through many things. "There's no need. From now on, I have nothing more to say to him. He can live his life, and I'll live mine. We're finished."
"I respect your decision. Since you call me your big brother, feel free to tell me whenever you have any difficulties or need anything. Here, I'm your family," Su Ling said.
If an ordinary person had said this on the very first day they met, no one would have believed him. They might even have found him repulsive.
But Su Ling had already forcibly bound Zhu Zhuqing to him, and her affection was above sixty. Saying this posed no problem; it felt as natural as water flowing into its channel.
"All right!" Zhu Zhuqing nodded, then added, "Thank you, Big Brother Su."
"Come on, wipe your face. You look like a little kitten with a smudged face now. Don't let everyone notice when we go back inside."
"Mm!"
[Ding... Zhu Zhuqing's affection toward the host +5. Obtained Yellow Chest ×2, Purple Chest ×1.]
Her affection increased?
He had actually received another Purple Chest!
Judging by the chests he had opened before, the items from white and Yellow Chests were fairly ordinary. Only the Purple Chests yielded what he needed.
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