Chapter 135: Could I be that petty?

Wang Zhen doted on her, letting that guy shout like he was riding a horse.

Nowadays you don't need to wait for a holiday—you can book a large private room just by how thick the cash in your pocket is.

Liu Jiang gave his name at the front desk, and the waiter led everyone up to the second floor's Nuan Dong Ge.

He pushed the door open, and a wave of heat hit him.

In the center stood a large round table with a lazy Susan.

Along the side was a mattressed kang mat, and the heat came from there.

Liu Jiang was the first to enter, reaching out to feel the big round table.

"Brother, this table is warm!"

Li Jiaci laughed and patted him on the back of the head.

"Don't embarrass me—forget my words, you blockhead!"

Hearing that, Liu Jiang chuckled happily.

He didn't feel embarrassed at all.

Being able to eat a meal at Spring Happiness Restaurant—just saying it out loud gives you so much face!

The rest of the people entered the private room one after another.

Besides Wang Zhen, Wang Yingna, and Li Jiaci, the other guys were like Liu Laolao entering the Grand View Garden—poking around everywhere, finding everything novel, as if they'd never seen such things.

Before long, everyone was hot enough to take off their outer coats.

Li Yihu sat cross-legged on the kang mat and sighed, "You guys, tell me—can we still be petty thugs like before and get to eat at a place this nice?"

Zhang Chuqiang chimed in, "Exactly—back then we hated to split a single dollar into six dimes, and we still often went hungry."

"It's all thanks to our big brother—if he hadn't brought us into business, we'd never dream of eating at Spring Happiness Restaurant in this lifetime."

Zhao Chen, sitting at the big round table, said,

Inside the private room, a round of flattery ensued.

Li Jiaci, hearing it, felt a bit embarrassed and quickly waved his hands: "Alright, alright, hurry up and order!"

The waiter brought over the menu.

Li Jiaci handed it over to Wang Zhen.

"Brother Wang Zhen, you'll order the dishes today!"

Wang Zhen laughed and said, "How can I do that? You're holding a celebration feast—it'd be weird for me to order the food!"

Only seeing Li Jiaci grab his arm and bring him to the head of the round table, saying, "Today not only will you order the dishes, you'll also take the seat of honor—we've gotten this far thanks entirely to your behind‑the‑scenes help; if you don't sit here, nobody else would dare."

"Nonsense, how could that be me…"

Just as Wang Zhen was about to decline, Li Jiaci stepped from behind and tapped the back of his knee.

His legs went weak, and he slumped into the chair.

Li Jiaci then beckoned to Wang Yingna.

He pulled out the neighboring chair and said, "Come on, Nana, sit here!"

"Well, I'd rather obey than be formal!"

Wang Yingna loves to show off.

Sitting beside Wang Zhen is also fitting.

Left with no choice, Wang Zhen scratched his forehead and opened the menu.

Actually, Li Jiaci had another reason for letting him order.

That's because among those present, only Wang Zhen frequently comes to Spring Happiness Restaurant—he's practically a regular here.

Just now, when our group entered, the front desk saw the Wang Zhen siblings and their faces almost split from smiling.

They kept calling him "Wang LaoBan" over and over.

Li Jiaci knows what's primary and what's secondary.

After Wang Zhen finished ordering, Li Jiaci then asked the waiter for a few bottles of baijiu.

At that moment, Wang Yingna patted the chair beside her.

"Jiaci Brother, sit next to me!"

Li Jiaci didn't decline, pulled out the chair, and sat down.

Wang Yingna's mouth visibly curled up.

She hurriedly took Li Jiaci's chopsticks and bowl, paired them with her own, rinsed them in hot water, then neatly set them back before him.

Seeing this, Wang Zhen naturally handed over his own chopsticks.

Guess what happened.

Wang Yingna directly poured out the hot water used to rinse the chopsticks.

"You…"

Wang Zhen was speechless.

Wang Yingna gave him a white‑eye look: "Don't you have hands? Using your sister to wait on you—shameless!"

"I…"

"Alright, stop talking—hurry up and eat while it's hot, otherwise the water'll cool down!"

"Cheers!"

Wang Zhen gave her a thumbs‑up.

A group of people gathered around the table and sat down.

Soon, the waiter brought the dishes up.

Looking at the dazzling array of dishes, Wang Lan gripped her chopsticks, legs jiggling nonstop, waiting for Li Jiaci's signal to dig in.

Li Jiaci smiled.

"Don't wait, just dig in!"

"We're all family, no need for formalities!"

"Just eat freely!"

No sooner had the words been spoken.

Everyone promptly put down their chopsticks.

Wang Yingna picked up a piece of clearly layered steamed pork belly, paired it with some pickled vegetables from the small dish, and brought the chopsticks to Li Jiaci.

"Jiaci bro, open your mouth!"

Li Jiaci forced a smile, but still opened his mouth and ate it.

Before he could even swallow that bite, Wang Yingna's roasted goose leg was already at his lips.

"Come on, eat faster!"

"Cough..."

Li Jiaci looked at her big, blinking eyes and almost spat out his mouthful.

"Can't this guy be a little less obvious when he's sucking up?"

"How embarrassing!"

Just as Wang Yingna's hand was about to grow sore from holding the pickles.

Suddenly, a pair of chopsticks reached over from the right.

They precisely snatched away the goose leg that had been meant for Li Jiaci.

Wang Yingna snapped her gaze to the right.

Wang Zhen's cheeks puffed out as he mumbled, "Hurry up and eat, it'll get cold soon!"

"You're doing this on purpose to get back at me, aren't you?"

"Ridiculous, could I be that petty?"

"Aren't you?"

"Cao!"

Wang Zhen spat out a bone and gave her a fierce glare.

"Isn't that just a white-eyed wolf?"

Wang Yingna didn't stoop to his level.

Wang Yingna picked up Li Jiaci's bowl and served him a bowl of rice.

"Jiaci bro, you've worked the hardest—hurry up and eat more!"

"Otherwise, some long‑handed guy will snatch it all away!"

Hearing that,

Li Jiaci glanced embarrassedly at Wang Zhen, who sat one seat away.

Just then, Wang Zhen was also sneaking a glance at him.

Their eyes met.

It was like a sudden prickle; they instantly looked away.

Wang Yingna furtively pulled a box out of her pocket.

"Jiaci bro, this is my gift for you!"

"Your watch is all rusty—I bought you a new one at Baihuo Lou when I had a free moment!"

"Hurry up and take off that old one!"

For a moment.

Exclamations erupted all over the table.

Zhang Chuqiang stood up directly, craning his neck to look at the new watch.

"Whoa! It's really shiny!"

"It must be worth a lot of money!"

Hearing that, Li Yihu ran up behind Li Jiaci, just about to reach out and touch that ostentatious high‑end watch, when Wang Yingna gave him a cold stare that turned him away.

Li Jiaci fingered his old watch, hesitated a moment, then said, "This watch still works—I'll keep it for now."

"No way, I bought it especially for you!"

Wang Yingna grabbed his wrist, but couldn't budge it.

All that could be heard from the right was a sour, jealous tone.

"I don't even know how much longer I can wear this watch—the dial's getting hard to read. Anyway, I might as well find a repair shop to replace the dial; it'd be just like getting a new watch!"

"Bro, if you want it, just say so—stop beating around the bush!"

"I want it, but will someone actually give it to me? They wouldn't give me their castoffs, would they? I couldn't afford to enjoy that!"

"……"

Wang Yingna clicked her tongue.

She then pulled out an identical box from her other pocket.

Bang.

She slammed it down heavily in front of Wang Zhen.

"Yours!"