Tang San left resolutely, without a trace of reluctance.
Although he was very hungry, and the coarse bread was tough to chew, since he had acknowledged the Grandmaster as his teacher, he already saw him as a father figure and would not allow anyone to insult him.
"Forget it, Brother Sheng. Don't mind that kid. He's got a weird temper. Let's just eat." someone advised.
Ao Tian grabbed Xiao Wu's hand and walked toward the stairs.
Xiao Wu let out a surprised yelp, her face quickly turning red, heart thumping wildly. It was the first time a boy had held her hand like that.
She tried to yank her hand back, but couldn't get free.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked, unable to hold back.
"To eat upstairs," Ao Tian said without even turning his head.
"Huh? We're not eating here with the others?"
Ao Tian paused, turned back to glance at the group of nine including Wang Sheng, and said, "I'm treating. Anyone who wants to eat, come along."
With that, he pulled Xiao Wu up the stairs.
The remaining nine exchanged glances, all swallowing their saliva with temptation. Eventually, all eyes turned to Wang Sheng.
"Brother Sheng, are we going or not?" someone asked.
Wang Sheng hesitated, looked up at the lofty second floor, then gritted his teeth and said, "Since Ao Tian is treating, let's go get a taste of the high life."
He thought to himself, if he didn't go now, who knew when—or if—he'd ever get the chance to step onto the second floor and taste such delicacies?
Having made the decision, Wang Sheng was already prepared to owe Ao Tian a favor.
The group of boys hurried toward the stairs.
"From now on, Ao Tian is one of us. Got it?" Wang Sheng whispered.
"Got it. Ao Tian's business is our business from now on."
"..."
Ao Tian didn't look back, but a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Winning hearts with just a small sum of money—worth it.
With a few little brothers at Nuoding Academy, he wouldn't need to handle everything personally anymore, saving him a lot of trouble.
Like, say, the student laborer's daily task of cleaning the campus—that could be handed off to Wang Sheng and the others.
Didn't feel like attending class? Have Wang Sheng answer roll call for him…
The second floor of the cafeteria wasn't one large hall like the first floor, but was divided into individual private rooms.
"Ao Tian… let go of me," Xiao Wu said shyly.
Although she found Ao Tian's hand warm and comforting, a girl still had to maintain her modesty.
Ao Tian let go of her soft, smooth hand and led the way into one of the rooms.
"Big jerk!" Xiao Wu muttered with a blushing face, following him in.
"Look at the boss, first day and already getting cozy with Ao Tian," someone joked from behind.
Wang Sheng shot a glare at the guys behind him and said, "Go home and take a good look at yourselves in the mirror. Stop thinking about trying to flirt with the boss."
They didn't enter immediately but stood at the doorway, curiously inspecting the second-floor environment.
Unlike the crowded and noisy first floor, the second floor was elegant and quiet. But upon arriving here, Wang Sheng and his crew couldn't help but feel uneasy.
It was the first time they'd ever been in such a high-class place.
Suddenly, Xiao Wu peeked her head out and asked, "Are you guys coming in or just going to stand there?"
Wang Sheng and the others hurried into the room.
Inside, Ao Tian had already picked most of the dishes, basically selecting all the signature items.
Though he was treating, there was no way he'd let the others pick the dishes.
He figured none of them had eaten like this before—expecting them to know what to order was laughable.
He quickly marked over a dozen items, then handed the menu to Xiao Wu and said, "Pick whatever you want."
Xiao Wu shook her head and replied, "I don't know how. Can you check if there's any carrot dishes?"
Ao Tian was speechless. A rabbit really did love carrots.
He searched the menu and, sure enough, there was one. So he added it.
Once done, he tossed the menu to Wang Sheng and said, "You guys take a look. Order whatever you want—don't worry about saving money for me."
Wang Sheng and the others huddled together, curiously scanning the menu. Each dish had a name and a price next to it.
The moment they saw the prices, they nearly gasped again—just one dish here cost more than their meals for several days.
"Th-that's enough…" Wang Sheng stammered.
Even though he wasn't footing the bill, this kind of experience for the first time naturally made him nervous.
Just then, a waitress in her twenties pushed open the door and entered with a sweet voice, "Hello, have you finished ordering—"
Before she could finish her sentence, she noticed the kids inside. All of them were dressed plainly—some even had patches on their clothes.
Her brows furrowed slightly as she asked, "Are you sure you want to eat here?"
Ao Tian, sharp and experienced, instantly understood what the girl was thinking.
He didn't bother explaining, simply pulled out a gold soul coin and flipped it in his hand, saying, "The order's done. Get it made quickly."
The waitress looked at the coin in Ao Tian's hand, then at his handsome face, and only after more than ten seconds did she snap back to her senses.
"Oh—alright, please wait a moment."
She picked up the menu and left. Since these kids could afford the food, there was nothing more to worry about.
Though that little guy… really was good-looking.
Soon after, the food began arriving one dish at a time.
At first, Wang Sheng and the others were still a bit reserved, but after tasting the food, they couldn't resist anymore.
Teenage boys had astonishing appetites. In the end, all the dishes Ao Tian ordered were devoured—down to the soup.
Wang Sheng and the crew were stuffed, their round bellies bulging, burping one after another. It made Ao Tian chuckle.
Their eyes lingered on the empty plates, and Ao Tian figured if he weren't present, these guys would probably start licking them clean.
Next to Wang Sheng was a box. With Ao Tian's permission, he had packed some food for Tang San.
He now realized that speaking ill of Tang San's teacher in front of him had been a bit too much and felt like he should apologize.
Xiao Wu wiped her mouth and said, "Ao Tian, thank you for letting me eat such delicious food. In my… six years of life, I've never had anything this tasty."
She patted her chest and sighed in relief, thinking she almost let something slip.
Wang Sheng stood up and pulled the others to their feet, loudly saying, "Ao Tian, from now on, we'll handle your work-study duties—and Sister Xiao Wu's too. All of it."
Ao Tian smiled and said, "Sure. And if you guys want to eat here again, just call me anytime."
Wang Sheng quickly declined. Just one expensive meal like this already had him more than satisfied.
Just then, the door burst open. A group of teenagers chewing on toothpicks swaggered in.
"Yo, it really is you, Wang Sheng. I heard your voice from outside. Since when do work-study students get to eat up here? Lowering our standards, aren't you?"
Boss Xiao, nostrils flared, scanned everyone in the room before locking eyes on Xiao Wu.
"Boss, looks like they need to be taught a lesson. Otherwise, if they come back here again, how are we supposed to eat in peace?" one of Boss Xiao's lackeys said.
"Good point," Boss Xiao laughed. "Hand over your money. If you're broke, you won't come up here again."
Wang Sheng slammed the table and roared, "Xiao Chenyu, don't push your luck!"
"Ooh, getting bold," Boss Xiao said as he lightly slapped Wang Sheng's face. "Yeah, I'm pushing it. What are you gonna do about it?"
Wang Sheng clenched his fists tightly, veins bulging on his forehead.
"Tch, coward," Boss Xiao sneered. "I'm giving you three choices: one, hand over all your money. Two, let that little cutie accompany me for two days. Three, meet us behind the academy on the hillside. If you lose, you hand over the money and the girl."
(End of Chapter)