“Nanhai Restaurant.”
As soon as they got off the car, Wen Yachuan took the lead and looked toward the signboard of their destination.
The storefront was small, but a short line had already formed at the entrance.
It was just the dinner rush, and inside, one could see the place packed with a mass of customers.
“So popular.”
Seeing the scene inside, Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but remark.
Both families stood in front of the restaurant. Even before going in, the fragrance of the dishes inside wafted out through the wide-open doors.
By the way, Xiaobai hadn’t come; it had been left at home to guard the house by its own “choice.”
After all, its disguise filter was that of a little dog. After what happened at Cat Hui Li, they decided not to bring it to the restaurant this time.
Among everyone, only Jiang Lingwei pretended not to know the truth; the rest all knew its true identity as a spirit. Only Wen Yachuan genuinely believed it was a little dog.
She’d even been puzzled at the time, wondering why the puppy was munching on potato chips.
Jiang Cheng had to admit, when it came to finding good places to eat, Wen Yachuan was indeed reliable. A shop with an unremarkable name and décor that didn’t stand out—yet packed with people—clearly had its strengths.
By contrast, Jiang Lingwei, despite maxing out her domestic skills, simply lacked this foraging ability. Whenever she dragged him out to eat, they’d end up with bad food eight times out of ten.
Mainly, Jiang Lingwei was just too trusting of those introductions.
Especially those so-called food vlogger recommendations on apps like Zhenyin and Mankick, advertising “all-you-can-eat seafood” buffets—Jiang Lingwei fell for them every single time.
But every time she excitedly pulled Jiang Cheng to the place, she’d discover that the so-called “seafood” amounted to nothing but imitation sea cucumber, mock abalone, and mock scallops…
Not that Jiang Cheng minded, though.
Being able to eat with the person he liked—even if it was imitation sea cucumber cubes, even bricks would taste like creamy steamed buns to him.
Mhm.
Humming with satisfaction, Wen Yachuan had already purchased a group-buy coupon on her phone, then led everyone to line up.
Once in the line, she stuffed her phone into her shoulder bag. Covering one eye with her hand, the other arm—tattooed with a black dragon—curved into a claw. With one eye widened theatrically, she declared in an affected tone:
“Keh keh keh keh, it was my Dark Flame Dragon who led me here. Endless delicacies await within—if we’re willing to pay a little gold coin—”
“Mom!”
Before anyone else could react, Lin Yu, face flushed red, cut her off.
“What is it?”
Wen Yachuan pouted. “We’re all part of the same adventurer party, what’s the big deal? Don’t worry, I’ll keep my familiar under control—won’t let it—”
“I’m begging you, Mom, please just talk like a normal person…”
In front of Jiang Yao’s family, Lin Yu could only plead helplessly.
“All right, all right.”
Seeing Lin Yu so desperate to stop her chuunibyou antics that she even resorted to doubling up on “mom,” Wen Yachuan could only grumble and stop, explaining in a normal way:
“This place ranks really high among local food spots. I checked; the reviews aren’t fake.”
The line moved slowly forward. Wen Yachuan glanced ahead:
“The main specialties here are all sorts of seafood. The owner probably has his own aquafarm. As long as you don’t order the more expensive snails or fish, it’s a great spot for fresh seafood at a lower price.”
“Let me check…”
She glanced down at her phone, then looked up again. “Besides the seafood hotpot, their signature is the seafood fried rice. Different price levels mean different toppings.”
“Now that I’ve seen it with my own eyes, I think it’s a solid choice. Luckily we came early—any later and we’d be waiting ages.”
For Wen Yachuan, expensive delicacies or Michelin-starred restaurants held no special meaning.
Those things tasted about the same anywhere.
Many foods that were now precious or even impossible to find, Wen Yachuan had long grown sick of before the Great Dark Calamity descended.
Compared to those, when traveling, she preferred local eateries.
Best if the place was recognized by the locals.
Only there could she find something she hadn’t tried before, something to offer a hint of novelty.
Since they’d come as a group and were a bit numerous, it took about ten minutes in line before they finally got a table.
Once a server came to verify their coupon code, it was time to eat.
“Let’s see.”
Wen Yachuan read off their order to everyone:
“One big seafood hotpot, a fried rice for each person, and two side dishes. If it’s not enough, we’ll order more.”
She didn’t go into detail, but since Wen Yachuan was handling the order, it was bound to be the best of the best.
“Great!”
Jiang Lingwei happily started passing out the disposable chopsticks.
She didn’t put on any airs, nor was there any need to.
Still, the current scene made her inevitably recall the past.
Back when they used to go out to eat, Wen Yachuan would always pick the place and foot the bill.
Sure, a meal out or a shopping trip meant nothing given Wen Yachuan’s net worth, but the magical girls weren’t the sort to freeload.
Whenever they tried to return the favor, Wen Yachuan always refused.
Her reasoning was:
“My magic is money magic. If you guys pay, wouldn’t that steal my ecological niche? Absolutely not! Only I, the Dark Flame Dragon Master, can wield the power of money magic~”
And it wasn’t just talk. Every time someone tried to pay in front of her, Wen Yachuan would always outmaneuver them. Even stealthily trying to settle the bill ahead of time, they’d always be told by the server: “That person already paid.”
No one knew when she’d managed to do it!
Still, Wen Yachuan didn’t always win. In the end, the magical girls managed to treat her to a meal.
Back then, Jiang Lingwei, being closest to her, was in charge of gathering intelligence—she found out Wen Yachuan’s “birthday,” the day she’d been found.
When Wen Yachuan arrived at base on that birthday, everyone released fireworks made from their own magic. Each person had cooked her a dish themselves.
Even Old Master baked a tray of cookies so sweet they could kill—he claimed it was a hometown specialty.
Sadly, only [Purple Lightning] could eat it.
All in all, everyone happily used magic to unfurl a banner, wishing Wen Yachuan a happy birthday.
Even Beifeng joked, “You always treat us, but now it’s finally our turn!”
Jiang Lingwei didn’t remember much after that, just Wen Yachuan bawling her eyes out…
A few minutes after they placed their order, a server came over and set up a stand in the center of their table, placing an alcohol stove in the round slot.
She explained that this was to keep the seafood pot warm while they ate.
After she left, some time passed before someone else arrived carrying their seafood pot.
“Wait, that person…”
Stomach rumbling, Jiang Yao had been keeping an eye on the seafood pot’s progress. She looked toward the tall, uniformed server carefully carrying a rectangular, lidded pan toward them.
She barely managed to swallow her words, only exclaiming in her heart:
(Isn’t that Shachong?!)
She honestly hadn’t expected to bump into an “acquaintance” in a restaurant like this.
Seems fate really tied them to Shachong—last time they’d met was at Cat Hui Li’s baozi shop, and now, twice in the same city, both times purely by chance. What were the odds?
(Huh?)
Hearing her daughter’s half-finished sentence and following her gaze, Jiang Lingwei also spotted Shachong.
She, too, was surprised but suppressed the urge to show it.
After all, she wasn’t [Aurora] right now. Theoretically, only Jiang Yao at the table had met Shachong before.
They watched as Shachong, looking almost overly cautious, slowly edged closer, set the pan onto the stand, and pulled out a lighter to ignite the burner.
“Supreme Seafood Hotpot—please enjoy…”
As she softly recited the standard line, Shachong’s peripheral vision caught sight of Jiang Yao sitting at the outermost seat.
On instinct, she turned her head to confirm—and found herself staring directly at Jiang Yao’s face.
Now she saw clearly.
“Ah!”
With a sharp cry, her hand under the seafood pot jerked upward, and the heavy pan, loaded with seafood, nearly flipped over.
But in the blink of an eye, Jiang Cheng reacted. With quick reflexes, he reached out and pressed the pot down, stopping it from toppling.
“S-sorry!”
Shachong’s hands shook as her mind buzzed in a panic.