novelburst
Chapter 238: 239: Yujian Restaurant
Chapter 238: 239: Yujian Restaurant
Chapter 238: Chapter 239: Yujian Restaurant
He quickly climbed to his feet.
“Hey, Xiao Han, you’re up?” Liu Bin called out urgently.
“Yeah!” Xiao Han nodded.
“Um…” Liu Bin hurriedly said, “Da Gu just got back a while ago and suggested that the four of us get together tonight. What do you think?”
“This…” Xiao Han was about to nod in agreement, but he immediately thought of Li Ruobing, the beautiful girl, the one who had asked him to invite her to dinner. Xiao Han hesitated and said, “Tonight… I’ve already made plans with someone else.”
Liu Bin was taken aback, and a mischievous smile immediately appeared in his eyes as he said, “Just arrived at school and you already have a date? A girl, right?”
“Mhm!” Xiao Han nodded honestly.
Liu Bin instantly became interested. He eagerly leaned in close to Xiao Han and whispered, “Li Ruobing?”
“Right, it’s her.” Xiao Han, with a clear conscience, admitted it quite openly.
“No way!” Liu Bin was shocked and looked at Xiao Han in amazement before saying, “You’re quite something, on the very first day of school, you managed to score a date with the third beauty on Shuimu University’s campus beauty rankings. Tsk tsk, you’re really something.”
“Campus beauty rankings?!” Xiao Han was surprised and asked, “Shuimu University has that list?”
“Of course!” Liu Bin immediately nodded and said, “The top ten campus beauties of Shuimu University. They truly deserve their titles. Each one is top-notch, and they would be remarkable figures even in the entertainment industry.”
“You said Li Ruobing is ranked third, so… who is the first?” Xiao Han asked curiously.
“The first place?” Liu Bin grinned and then said, “Liu Yiyi from the Department of Arts.”
“Liu Yiyi?” Xiao Han frowned and shook his head, “I’ve never heard that name.”
“Of course, you haven’t.” Liu Bin immediately nodded and said, “You’ve been too busy to pay attention to such things in this world, right? I got this news from the Shuimu University forum last night. The top ten campus beauties list – of course, that’s from last year. There might be new faces this year. The list is probably going to be updated this year.”
“It doesn’t concern me.” Xiao Han shook his head.
“Look at you, starting school and already picking up an upperclasswoman, the third-ranked beauty of Shuimu University, Li Ruobing,” Liu Bin chuckled mischievously and asked, “Where do you plan to have dinner tonight?”
“She mentioned going to Yujian Restaurant!” Xiao Han replied.
“Tsk tsk, this is going to be interesting.” Liu Bin eagerly said, “Based on my many years of studying girls, she must certainly be interested in you. I read on the forum yesterday that Yujian Restaurant is perfect for couples. I’ve heard it has a nice ambiance, though the prices are not low. You’d need at least three to five hundred in your wallet, if not more. Better take a thousand just to be safe.”
“Why?” Xiao Han asked in surprise.
“Have a drink, book a room,” Liu Bin said with a laugh, “All this costs money, right? If you want to impress a girl, you need to be willing to spend. Do you have enough money? If not, I can lend you some.”
“No need, thanks!” Xiao Han quickly shook his head.
“Right, you are the top scholar of the college entrance exam, your award money alone is probably hundreds of thousands,” Liu Bin chuckled and added, “so you’re not short on cash.”
Xiao Han smiled and fell silent.
At five-thirty in the afternoon, Li Ruobing’s greeting duties came to an end, and she called Xiao Han. They agreed to meet at the school gate. At the school gate, Li Ruobing was still dressed in a white long dress, with a beautiful headband with two short ‘ears’ on top, looking very cute.
“Xiao Han!” Li Ruobing waved to Xiao Han excitedly.
“Senior sister!” Xiao Han quickly walked over.
Several guys were already by Li Ruobing’s side, all seemingly attempting to invite her for dinner. Li Ruobing ignored their awkwardness and hurried towards Xiao Han.
“I’ve already made plans with Xiao Han, you guys should get going,” Li Ruobing said bluntly to them.
The men were stunned, gave Xiao Han a look, and then departed with a hint of wistfulness, leaving Li Ruobing behind. Li Ruobing took Xiao Han’s hand, her face expressing disgust as she said, “These people are really annoying—they hovered around me all day, saying they wanted to take me out for dinner. So bothersome.”
“You could have refused them,” Xiao Han said with a smile.
“But they won’t take no for an answer,” Li Ruobing said helplessly, “They claim that as long as I don’t have a boyfriend, they’ll keep pursuing me.”
“So…” Xiao Han glanced at Li Ruobing and said, “You used me as a shield on purpose?”
“Not really,” Li Ruobing shook her head, “Let’s go, let’s take a walk.”
The two walked out hand in hand.
The University Town was just two hundred meters from the entrance of Shuimu University. In essence, University Town was just a commercial street catering to students from several schools. It targeted students, so this commercial street was fairly budget-friendly. Whether it was clothing, dining, or hotels, the services were inexpensive. The most expensive clothes were no more than a few hundred, and the same went for hotels.
Thus, students with more financial resources often opted to shop in the commercial centers of the provincial city. For those students from moderate-income families, the commercial street was clearly more suitable.
The commercial street appeared clean and orderly. Walking underneath the shaded canopy of trees on the street was quite cool. Li Ruobing introduced Xiao Han to the area, explaining that the street was shaped like a ‘well’. While Li Ruobing continuously gave introductions, Xiao Han gradually committed the layout of the commercial area to memory. His mind was filled with thoughts of starting a Hanmen Restaurant here, expanding his business into the provincial city.
After all, he now had plenty of money on hand, and if the money wasn’t used to generate more wealth, there would have been no need to pull in Liu Si’s investment in the first place.
“Here is Yujian Restaurant!” Li Ruobing pointed to a black sign not far away.
Xiao Han looked over to see a black sign with two very simple characters: Yujian!
The two characters seemed extremely elegant. At first glance, Xiao Han took a liking to the sign of this restaurant. At the entrance of the restaurant, there were two swings. The floor-to-ceiling glass windows allowed a view of the neatly arranged tables and chairs inside, where many people were already dining. The waitresses, dressed in black uniforms, were busily moving back and forth with trays in their hands.
“There are quite a few students from our school working here part-time!” Li Ruobing spoke up.
“Is that so?” Xiao Han replied, “It seems this restaurant really knows how to win people’s hearts.”
“Hehe, exactly,” Li Ruobing nodded, “I’ve worked here for a while too.”
“How was it?” Xiao Han asked curiously, “Pretty good, just that there’s no time for oneself. So, I stopped. After all, university life should be about enjoying to the fullest, not wearing oneself out too much.”
As they talked, the two walked into the restaurant.
The ambiance of the restaurant was really nice. Though not luxurious, it was full of artistic atmosphere and had its own unique style. The walls were adorned with lacquer paintings hand-drawn by Shuimu University students, and above their heads hung distinctive pumpkin lamps…
They chose a table and sat down, and a waitress immediately brought over the menu.
“What would you two like to eat?” the waitress asked politely.
“I’ll order,” Li Ruobing, not her first time here, took on the task of ordering.
Li Ruobing ordered a few signature dishes and added two drinks.
“Xiao Han, is there anything you don’t eat?” Li Ruobing asked curiously.
“No!” Xiao Han shook his head.
At this moment, a voice came from the entrance: “Hehe, Li Ruobing, are you here?”
Everyone curiously looked over, and two sturdy men barged in. Seeing these two, Li Ruobing immediately paled with fright. The two men walked straight up to the table, one of them with a ferocious expression, said, “Tell us, when are you going to pay us back.”
“I…” Li Ruobing’s face turned pale and said, “I told you, in three days.”
“Hmph, wishful thinking.” The sturdy man said coldly, “Who knows if we can find you in three days, you’ve been delaying for two months already. If you don’t pay today, don’t blame us for taking you away.”
“Don’t…” Li Ruobing immediately trembled with fear.
“Then pay up, nice and proper!” The sturdy man demanded.
“I…I don’t have the money!” Li Ruobing said, head lowered.
“No money, then pay with your body!” The sturdy man reached out to grab Li Ruobing.
Slap!
Suddenly, a hand swatted away the sturdy man’s hand. Wincing from the pain, the man turned his head to see Xiao Han who had intervened, and asked, “Kid, you dare to meddle in our business, are you looking for death!”
“Paying debts is natural and just,” Xiao Han said with a faint smile, “But grabbing someone and trying to force her into prostitution is just wrong.”
“Fuck off, none of your damn business,” the sturdy man grew angry, “She owes us money, and if she can’t pay, she has to find a way to repay it. Don’t worry, our boys can pay a high price, a thousand a night. She can pay back slowly!”
“How much does she owe you?” Xiao Han asked in query.
“Hehe, with principal and interest, it’s thirty-eight thousand now,” said the sturdy man with a cold sneer.
“Nonsense,” Li Ruobing hurriedly said, “I only borrowed five thousand from you. How can it be so much to repay?”
“I told you, it’s the principal plus interest!” The sturdy man snorted coldly and then continued, “Interest compounds on interest; for five thousand to become thirty-eight thousand is already cheap. Remember the young guy from a couple of days ago? Borrowed twenty thousand, and in a few months, it became hundreds of thousands. He jumped off a building and died.”
Xiao Han was startled and asked, “You borrowed high-interest loans from them?”
“Yes!” Li Ruobing wiped away tears and then said, “It’s a long story…actually…”
“Debtors pay debts, murderers pay with their lives!” The sturdy man laughed, “If you can’t pay, rest assured, your body can help you repay. Come with us, many guests are waiting for your ‘performance’. Hehe…”
As he spoke, a lecherous smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“Stop!” Xiao Han immediately stood up and rebuked, “Otherwise, don’t blame me for being rude!”
“Ha!” The man turned his head to look at Xiao Han, his eyes showing a disdainful smile, he said, “Piece of crap, at such a young age, you’re already trying to play the hero to save the damsel in distress? Of all the things you could learn, why’d you have to pick this crap, kid, aren’t you afraid of dying?”
COMMENT
0 comment
Vote
3 left
SEND GIFT