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Ye Mingshang's reckless behavior made the Old Police Officer furrow his brow. His fearless demeanor resembled that of a sheltered second-generation official, as if he were saying, "My dad is Li Gang." However, looking at him, he didn't seem like the typical spoiled rich kid. Could he really have a powerful background?
The Old Police Officer felt puzzled, his hands clasped in front of his mouth, his eyes fixed intently on Ye Mingshang. Ye Mingshang remained calm, showing no signs of fear or trepidation. They held their gaze for five minutes without blinking, which left the accompanying Junior Officer wide-eyed.
"You can leave now," the Old Police Officer said in a deep voice.
"Tch!" Ye Mingshang scoffed, glancing back before turning to leave.
This unpleasant encounter didn't affect Ye Mingshang's mood much. As soon as he stepped outside, he returned to his usual self. This was thanks to the self-cultivation he had practiced in recent days; otherwise, his old temperament would have led him to unleash chaos in the police station.
As soon as he exited, he spotted Xu Guokun waving at him. Xu looked quite pleased with himself now; the wound on his mouth had been treated, and judging by the small tube of ointment from Li Lingling, it seemed she had applied it herself. "Good kid, making quick progress," Ye Mingshang thought.
"Big brother, over here!" Xu Guokun called out cheerfully, like a child.
Ye Mingshang smiled and walked over. "Why are you still here? Waiting specifically for me?"
Xu Guokun nodded. "Yeah, big brother, you saved us. We haven't figured out how to thank you yet."
"No need to be polite; it was just a small effort," Ye Mingshang shook his head. He wasn't the type to hold favors over others.
"That’s not possible! You saved my life! If you hadn't acted in time, I would have been stabbed to death by that Giant," Xu Guokun said earnestly.
"Right! Big brother, if it weren't for you, I would have been... well, that would have been more important to me than my life. Without you, I definitely wouldn't have survived. You are our savior!" Li Lingling added sincerely as she looked at Ye Mingshang.
Ye Mingshang scratched his head awkwardly. "But I have a flight at two o'clock..."
"That's okay! It's only eleven now; it takes just a few minutes to get to the airport. We can still grab a meal together," Xu Guokun said eagerly, looking at Ye Mingshang as if he wouldn't take no for an answer.
Ye Mingshang couldn't refuse them, so he agreed, "Alright, alright, it's just a meal. I'm a bit hungry too."
Hearing Ye Mingshang's agreement, Xu Guokun jumped up joyfully like a child, "Great!" The three of them walked together, and while chatting on the way, Xu Guokun asked, "By the way... Big Brother, why were you in there for so long? We only asked a couple of questions and came out."
Ye Mingshang felt displeased at the thought of that old face and pouted, "He found me friendly, like his deceased grandfather, so he kept me talking for a while."
"What? Is that really how it happened?" Xu Guokun exclaimed in surprise, his mouth agape, clearly believing it to be true...
Li Lingling was much more perceptive; she noticed that Ye Mingshang was upset. Although she didn't know why, after years in society, she had developed some insight and didn't ask further.
Li Lingling was a local long-distance driver and knew the city very well. She was aware of all the good places to eat and have fun. Before long, she led the two to a specialty hot pot restaurant. (Being in Sichuan, not trying the hot pot would be a waste.)
It seemed that Li Lingling was a regular at the restaurant. As soon as they entered, the staff greeted her warmly: "Hey there, bringing friends along?"
"Yes, please give me a quiet private room," Li Lingling replied with a smile.
Many restaurants nowadays love to give their private rooms unique names—like Elegant Pavilion, Sleeping Dragon Residence, or Lilac Hall. This particular room had an extremely 'unique' name... it could be described as bizarre... “Underworld Hall.” Wow, it really sounded like the lair of a demon king; what an imaginative name.
Unable to critique such a peculiar name any further, the interior environment was quite nice. The lighting was soft, and the small private room didn’t feel cramped. In one corner were several pots of orchids emitting a faint fragrance that refreshed the spirit. Ye Mingshang couldn't help but sigh, "With such a good environment, they could have called it Orchid Hall instead."
Xu Guokun, however, didn’t pay attention to the odd name; his heart was entirely focused on Li Lingling, acting as if he had never seen a woman before. Come on, can we have some dignity here?!
After sitting down, Li Lingling handed the menu to Ye Mingshang, who waved his hand dismissively. "You guys decide; I'm fine with anything."
Li Lingling didn’t insist further and ordered a Shrimp Hot Pot base along with a bunch of ingredients and some draft beer.
While waiting for the food to arrive, they started chatting. Xu Guokun asked, "Hey~ Big Brother, I've been calling you Big Brother for ages but still don’t know your name."
Ye Mingshang smiled slightly and said, "I overlooked that. My name is Ye Mingshang, with 'Ye' meaning night and 'Mingshang' meaning dark sorrow."
Xu Guokun rolled his eyes and thought, "Night. Ming. Shang? Wow! What a non-mainstream name." Of course, he only thought this in his heart; he wouldn't dare say it out loud.
Through casual chatting, Ye Mingshang learned that Xu Guokun was a budget travel enthusiast who would quit his job after a while to travel on a shoestring budget, visiting as many places and enjoying as many sights as possible. Whenever he ran low on money, he would find a nearby job to earn some cash before traveling again. Well, that was quite carefree and self-indulgent.
Li Lingling needed no introduction; she was a long-distance bus driver. When they asked her why a girl would want to be a driver, she said, "I originally wanted to be a ticket seller, but ticket sellers don't earn as much as drivers do. My family has some connections with the bus station, so I followed my uncle and became a bus driver."
She was indeed a child of hardship, and Xu Guokun felt a pang of sympathy. "It must be tough for you as a girl to be a driver..."
Li Lingling smiled casually. "At first, it was a bit tough. Those fellows always rejected me because I'm a girl, saying female drivers are road killers. I was so angry! Why should women be any less than men? Aren't the Yang Family Female Generals legendary? So I practiced hard and every time I took an assessment, I was first place. Those old drivers all fell silent."
The speaker was oblivious, but the listener was attentive. Ye Mingshang didn't mind much, but Xu Guokun felt deeply concerned. Ye Mingshang couldn't help but look down on him. "Wow, how long have we known each other and you're already so invested? If you really got married, you'd definitely be a 'whipped husband.'"
Snapping back to reality, Xu Guokun turned to Ye Mingshang. "Brother Ye, what about you? What do you do?"
"Me?" Ye Mingshang thought for a moment; he couldn't tell them he was an Exorcist—he'd be considered crazy. So he quickly said, "I'm still a student, studying in my first year at Nanjing Medical University."
They weren't surprised to hear Ye Mingshang was a student, but being in his first year at twenty seemed... unusual. Xu Guokun sized up Ye Mingshang from head to toe while Ye Mingshang felt uncomfortable under his gaze. "What are you looking at?"
Xu Guokun looked incredulous. "Wait, Brother Ye, how old are you this year?"
"How old? I'll be 21 in a few months. What's wrong?" Ye Mingshang replied curiously.
Xu Guokun and Li Lingling exchanged glances. Generally speaking, if one started elementary school at six years old, they would enter junior high at eleven, high school at fourteen, and college at seventeen or eighteen. Was Ye Mingshang a perennial repeat student? Well, there were plenty of people who started college at 21; last year there was even an elderly man in his seventies who got into university! That was certainly better than not finishing middle school like himself.
Thinking they had figured it out, they stopped asking further questions just as the hot pot base was served. Xu Guokun waved them over. "Nothing much; come eat vegetables!"
Ye Mingshang shot him a look like he was an idiot before starting to eat. After all, hot pot had to be Sichuan-style—spicy enough to be enjoyable! Ye Mingshang could handle spicy food well enough; being from Sichuan, Li Lingling could too. However, Xu Guokun suffered greatly; wanting to impress the woman he admired, he ordered an extremely spicy dish! Here, even mild spice could make someone unable to open their eyes; those who could handle spicy food were impressive people—extremely spicy? Ha! Very few could manage that in a year.
Watching Xu Guokun's face turn red from the heat while he struggled to endure it made Ye Mingshang give him another look of disbelief before sipping some soup under the admiring gaze of Xu Guokun...
Li Lingling noticed he couldn't handle it anymore and quickly handed him a glass of beer. Alcohol can help alleviate spiciness; when eating spicy food, one shouldn't drink water, as it only intensifies the heat. If you don't believe it, just try eating a small chili pepper and then drink a glass of plain water—it's quite the experience. Sure enough, after half a glass of draft beer, Xu Guokun felt much better. This time, he looked at the bright red and tempting Giant River Prawn but didn't dare to eat it; instead, he bitterly munched on some snacks.
Ye Mingshang once again garnered admiring glances with his astonishing appetite. Xu Guokun couldn't eat much, and Li Lingling had a small appetite, yet Ye Mingshang effortlessly devoured nearly an entire pot of Giant River Prawn and cleaned up all the hot pot ingredients on the table. The two of them, along with the onlooking waiter and boss who had rushed over, could only stare in disbelief. He was taking it easy; otherwise, he wouldn't even spare Xu Guokun's snacks.
"Wow! Brother, your appetite is impressive. I'll give you an 80% discount on this meal," the boss said with a thumbs up, speaking grandly.
"Thanks! Let's get another two pounds of lamb..."
After eating and drinking to their fill, Xu Guokun swallowed hard while watching Ye Mingshang chugging beer. It made him feel uncomfortable. "What are you staring at? I'm not gay."
"Damn! Neither am I!" Xu Guokun roared inwardly before saying, "Brother Ye, be honest—are you full?"
Ye Mingshang looked at him and answered without hesitation, "I'm full, but if I really let loose, I could eat a bit more."
Xu Guokun exchanged glances with Li Lingling and asked, "So Brother Ye, how much do you think you could eat in one sitting?"
Ye Mingshang thought for a moment and replied, "Probably around ten pounds..."
Impressive! A bold statement indeed; Xu Guokun felt like giving him three thumbs up in praise.
(To be continued.)
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