Chapter 248: That Little Bastard Really Deserves to Die

Everyone knew about Shen Lu and Fu Cheng’s relationship. They were engaged, after all, and Shen Lu had mentioned it more than once.

But they had rarely seen how the two of them actually interacted.

After all, Fu Cheng’s health had been poor before, so he mostly stayed in his room and didn’t come out.

Recently, Fu Cheng’s condition had improved greatly. After getting a wheelchair, he even started eating with everyone every day.

The man was noble and aloof, the young woman was focused on her food. There were never any affectionate gestures between them. But today, the two of them had shared food so naturally.

No matter how you looked at it, those were noodles that Fu Cheng had already started eating. If their relationship was just ordinary, they would never have done something like that.

Surprised as they were, no one was tactless enough to start teasing them on the spot. They exchanged knowing glances and silently went back to their meals.

After the meal, the usual bustle resumed. Shen Lu made a point to keep an eye on Song Zhigao.

His mood was a bit down today, but that was all. The heart above his head was still pink, not gray.

Most of the dishes were ready, leaving only the last two pots of braised pork belly and steamed fish head with diced chili, which still needed some time.

[Ding! New mission issued: Sell 790 Braised Pork Belly sets, 690 Kung Pao Chicken sets, and 350 Steamed Fish Head with Diced Chili sets. Achieve a total revenue of 175,000 and maintain a customer satisfaction rating of three stars or higher. Time limit: eight hours.]

Hearing the mission announcement, Shen Lu went to the front desk. It was time to edit and post her videos.

She hadn’t been sitting for long when a small head peeked over.

"Xiao Lang?" Shen Lu ruffled his hair. "Just finished your workout? Your hair is all wet. Hurry up and take a shower, or you’ll get sick."

"I won’t! I’m super healthy now, I never get sick!" Xiao Lang said, puffing out his little chest.

"You still have to go wash up." He smelled of sweat. Shen Lu poked his forehead. "If you don’t take a shower, I’m taking away your afternoon cookies."

"Okay, fine."

Xiao Lang scurried back to the staff dormitory to take a shower. Even though he was only five, he could already bathe himself.

About twenty minutes later, Shen Lu’s video finished uploading. She took out some prizes and arranged them on the table. These were the ones most likely to be won, so if someone won, she could give them out directly, saving a trip back and forth.

A freshly bathed Xiao Lang reappeared. He wasn’t there to cause trouble, but to help Shen Lu with her work.

He had successfully awakened and become a rare Superpower User.

Although he was only five, he felt he was already a grown-up who could do many, many things to help his mom and Sister Shen.

So, he gave himself a mission: to stand at the front desk with Shen Lu every afternoon and help run errands and such.

He wasn’t much help, of course, but he didn’t get in the way either, so Shen Lu tacitly approved of his behavior.

’It’s good for a child to help with things within his ability,’ Shen Lu thought. ’Spoiling him too much would only do him harm.’

Shen Lu glanced at the time. It was less than five minutes until 11:30, and a crowd of customers had already gathered outside.

She decided to go to the fast-food section to check on the day’s dishes, and Xiao Lang followed, skipping along behind her.

The floor was polished to a mirror shine, the tables were neatly arranged, the serving window was spotless, and the dishes in the large metal trays exuded an enticing aroma.

’Good, everything is normal, nothing out of the ordinary.’

"Sister Shen." Xiao Lang tugged on her hand.

"Hm?" Shen Lu looked down at him. "What’s wrong?"

Xiao Lang frowned like a little old man. "This dish’s smell and that dish’s smell are different."

Xiao Lang was pointing at the two large trays of Kung Pao Chicken.

With so many customers nowadays, they usually prepared two large batches first and would then cook more as needed based on sales.

Shen Lu didn’t dismiss his words as childish nonsense just because he was a boy. She had someone bring two clean small bowls and took a small sample from each tray of Kung Pao Chicken.

She smelled them first. The aroma was rich and tantalizing, but no matter how much she sniffed, she couldn’t detect any difference.

Shen Lu picked up a piece from one of the bowls, intending to taste it herself.

Suddenly, a figure rushed out and slapped the piece of chicken out of her hand just as it was about to reach her lips.

Everyone froze, staring in unison at the unusually agitated man.

"Song Zhigao, what are you doing?" Wang Daguo stepped in front of Shen Lu, shielding her and glaring warily at him.

"..." Song Zhigao’s face was grim, his eyes filled with conflict and anguish.

Without a word, he suddenly spun around and bolted for the exit as if possessed.

But he only made it a few steps before Ye Fan grabbed him and dragged him back like a helpless chick.

Both of Little Deer Cuisine’s dining halls had floor-to-ceiling windows, so the waiting customers outside had seen the whole incident unfold clearly. A few, forgetting their decorum, were even pressing their faces against the glass, desperate to get a closer look at the live drama.

Shen Lu, of course, wasn’t going to hold a public trial. She had Ye Fan take the man up to the third floor to be detained, had both trays of Kung Pao Chicken removed, and arranged for Little Mantis, who was running on its last bit of battery, to fry up a new batch.

There weren’t enough ingredients, so Shen Lu had to redeem more from the System Store. The back kitchen descended into a flurry of chaotic activity. By the time Wang Daguo opened the doors right on schedule, the newly fried Kung Pao Chicken was still in the wok.

There was no helping it; there just wasn’t enough time.

Shen Lu left the back kitchen in Shu Meng’s hands and went to the front desk to manage the prize draw.

「In the small villa.」

After hearing his lackey’s report, Boss Jin flew into a rage and smashed a teacup, scaring the daylights out of Master Luo, who was standing to the side.

With practiced ease, he dropped to his knees and began begging for mercy, tears streaming down his face.

"Boss Jin, I really did my best! It was that little bastard Song Zhigao who wouldn’t listen! If you’re going to punish someone, punish him! I follow your every command without the slightest hesitation!"

"Drag him out of here!"

The noise was making Boss Jin’s ears hurt. With a wave of his hand, Master Luo was dragged away by two men, one on each side.

He struggled unwillingly, his wails and cries sounding like a pig being led to the slaughter.

Boss Jin rose in fury, walked over, and kicked Master Luo several times, shattering a mouthful of his teeth.

Master Luo could no longer form a complete sound. The excruciating pain made his head spin, and finally, his head lolled to the side, and he passed out.

Boss Jin was on the verge of exploding, puffed up with anger like a pufferfish.

"I spent a fortune on that poison from the black market! It’s colorless and odorless, how could it possibly have been discovered?!"

"That son of a bitch Song Zhigao deserves to die! What was he thinking, rushing over to stop Shen Lu?!"

"If I’d known this would happen, I should have just sent Jin San to do the poisoning!"

Boss Jin roared. Boss Jin was furious.

He never should have trusted that old gambling addict Master Luo. If Master Luo was reliable, then pigs could not only climb trees but fly!

Boss Jin smashed a tea set, kicked two chairs to pieces, and ripped apart three sofa cushions before he managed to calm down even slightly.

This didn’t mean his anger had completely subsided.

Yesterday, his men had discovered that the Xiangmantian Chain Restaurant had returned to its original prices; only the prize draw was still ongoing.

He sent messages to Mr. Sun and General Manager Chen to ask what was going on, but they both played dead.

Boss Jin wasn’t an idiot. It didn’t take much thought for him to figure out what the two of them were planning.

But since they were lying low, he couldn’t exactly go after them to settle accounts in a big public way. Just then, one of his men mentioned that Master Luo’s gambling debt was approaching two million.

A plan suddenly occurred to him. Boss Jin bought expensive poison from the black market that very night. He had Master Luo summon Song Zhigao, and after a round of threats and inducements—using Master Luo’s life as leverage—Song Zhigao finally agreed to plant the poison.