That'll Cost Extra

"Junior brother, is that coffee no good? Can I have coffee instead?" Wen Cai whispered to Lin Yu, thinking himself clever.

But even though he whispered, Ren Tingting, sitting beside them, still heard him. She already disliked the two of them, and now she added "country bumpkin" to her impression of them.

"Senior brother, shut up. They're the same thing. This is so embarrassing." Lin Yu felt as if his toes could dig a three-bedroom apartment out of the floor.

"Oh."

"Uncle Nine, about exhuming my late father's coffin and reburying him, have you chosen a date?"

Ren Fa and Uncle Nine began discussing business.

Ever since his father died, business had gotten worse and worse. He had worried until his hair turned white.

"I think you should give it some more thought. With matters like this, it's better to leave things as they are. Unless you have no other choice, it's best not to disturb him..."

"I've thought it through! The feng shui master said back then that the coffin had to be exhumed and reburied twenty years later to ensure the family's prosperity!"

The downturn in business over the past few years had left Ren Fa with no way out. He could only take a gamble and trust the feng shui master's words to bring about a change in fortune.

If things didn't turn around soon, his business was about to be swallowed up by Boss Huang next door.

"Hey, look... Mmph."

Lin Yu noticed that Wen Cai was about to undermine them again and hurriedly pinched his lips shut.

"Senior brother, Master and Master Ren are talking. Don't say anything."

Four Eyes, who had understood the gist of it, also spoke up to dissuade him. Exhuming and reburying a coffin for a prominent family like this was the most troublesome sort of business. The fewer such jobs, the better.

"Actually, Master Ren, your family's business is doing well enough. There's no need to disturb your late father. If this isn't done properly, it could have the opposite effect."

If anything went wrong, his senior brother would be the first person they came looking for. Four Eyes wanted to help him out too.

"The feng shui master also said back then that we had to exhume the coffin and rebury him no matter what. Only then would things go well for us."

"To tell you the truth, ever since my late father was buried, the family business has gotten worse by the day. Doing business now, it feels as if even the heavens are working against us. This is a last resort when there's no other way."

Ren Fa remained adamant. Seeing that his attempts to dissuade him had failed, Uncle Nine could only agree. "In that case, we'll prepare to break ground and exhume the coffin three days from now, during the hour of the monkey."

"Then, Uncle Nine, is there anything we need to prepare?" Ren Fa asked happily, now that the matter was settled.

"Money, of course."

Wen Cai had been trying to make an impression all along, but Lin Yu had interrupted him every time. Now he finally forced the words out.

The atmosphere turned awkward at once. Lin Yu rolled his eyes in exasperation. He had guarded against it every way he could, yet he still hadn't managed to prevent it.

Ren Tingting happened to see this. Amused, she poked Lin Yu's cheek.

"Stop it. I'm annoyed." Lin Yu reached up and slapped away the little hand teasing his face. Right now, he felt that Wen Cai was mud that couldn't be plastered onto a wall. He had stopped him so many times, yet Wen Cai still couldn't read the room.

At least Qiu Sheng had a little more tact. He had been standing awkwardly at the side the whole time, not daring to speak.

Seeing that she had been ignored, Ren Tingting pouted.

"How much do you want?" Uncle Nine glared at Wen Cai, his face dark.

"Uh..." Wen Cai smugly held up his hand to indicate a number. But when he took a closer look and saw that it was his master, he guiltily lowered his head.

"Heh, it's nothing, nothing..." Seeing this, Ren Fa smoothed things over. After all, he still needed Uncle Nine's help.

"Master Ren, Boss Huang is here. He's over there."

At that moment, the waiter arrived with the drinks.

"I'll go say hello over there. Please make yourselves comfortable. Bring them some egg tarts." Ren Fa asked the waiter to bring the food, then left.

Uncle Nine responded with a smile. Looking down, he saw one black cup and one white cup. How was he supposed to drink them?

"One black cup and one white cup. Which one do we drink first?" Wen Cai leaned over in front of Qiu Sheng and asked in distress.

"We'll play it by ear," Qiu Sheng said dismissively. He didn't know either.

"Let's see how other people drink it first."

Uncle Nine and Four Eyes, the two fellow disciples, were nervous too and decided to observe first.

No loyalty, Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng grumbled inwardly as they watched Lin Yu, who had already started drinking.

Lin Yu quietly held his milk and gulped it down by himself.

He couldn't help it. He had originally wanted to order coffee and show his master and the others how to drink it, but who would have thought Ren Tingting would change his order?

Besides, Tingting kept stuffing things into his mouth, so he couldn't even speak.

"Xiao Yu, don't just drink milk. Have an egg tart."

With Lin Yu there, Ren Tingting was too busy serving him food to drink her coffee, so she hadn't given Uncle Nine and the others a mistaken example either.

"Forget it, I'll take a gamble." Seeing that there was no one to copy, Uncle Nine picked up the black cup and was about to take a big gulp.

Lin Yu noticed and hurriedly gave his master a look, jerking his eyes toward the milk beside him.

Uncle Nine, just about to drink, paused. He looked at the milk and the black coffee in his hand, not knowing what the two had to do with each other.

Only when Lin Yu mimed pouring the two together and stirring did Uncle Nine immediately understand.

He poured the white milk into the black coffee. At once, the pitch-black coffee became a little lighter, giving it something of a cappuccino look.

"Mm, not bad." Uncle Nine took a tentative sip. It really wasn't bad.

Seeing this, Lin Yu relaxed and focused on eating. Between dealing with Tingting, eating, and secretly making gestures, he had been a little too busy to keep up.

"Uncle Nine, sorry about that. Drink your coffee while it's hot."

Ren Fa had returned.

After seeing what Uncle Nine did, Four Eyes and the others knew how to drink it too. They hurriedly prepared their cups, and the group drank and chatted.

"Daddy, I want to go buy some cosmetics~" Ren Tingting was bored sitting there and wanted to go out for a walk.

"All right, go ahead."

"I want Xiao Yu to come with me too. He can show me around."

Seeing Lin Yu eating happily, Ren Tingting wheedled at Ren Fa.

"Go on. It's good for young people to spend time together." Uncle Nine was happy to see it.

"Hm?" Seeing that everything had been arranged for him in such a short time, Lin Yu raised his head from the pile of cakes, his face full of questions.

"Master, junior brother is still young. We'll go too, and we can protect Miss Tingting while we're at it."

"Right, right. My aunt's shop sells cosmetics. We can all go together."

Seeing that they could spend time alone with Ren Tingting, Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng hurriedly volunteered.

"Don't you two cause trouble," Uncle Nine said sternly.

"Let's go, Xiao Yu." Ren Tingting didn't care whether the two followed. She picked Lin Yu up and headed outside.

Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng hurried after them, trotting along eagerly.

Holding an egg tart in one hand and a piece of cake in the other, Lin Yu looked longingly at the snacks receding into the distance.

"Masher, remember to pack them up!" Lin Yu shouted, his mouth stuffed full.

"Hahaha, Xiao Yu likes them. Uncle Nine, take some more home with you later." Ren Fa laughed too.

"Sister Tingting, where are you going~?"

On the street, Lin Yu, whom Ren Tingting had already dragged through four or five shops, spoke in exhaustion.

"Tingting, how about going to my aunt's shop? She has some goods sent over from the provincial capital. Do you want to have a look?"

Qiu Sheng sidled up to her ingratiatingly. All along the way, the two of them had been looking for every opportunity to get close to Ren Tingting.

By now, the two of them were laden with all kinds of things. Some were things she had bought for Lin Yu, and some were hers. All in all, they were all Ren Tingting's.

She really was a rich lady. Lin Yu had repeatedly refused and said he didn't want anything, but Ren Tingting paid him no mind. Whenever she saw something that suited Lin Yu, she bought it.

Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng watched with envy in their hearts.

But neither of them was worried. Lin Yu was just a tiny little kid. There was no way he could steal their Tingting from them.