In a rush, Chen Mo sprang to his feet, grabbing Nuo Nuo and Ben Ben, and dashed out.
Che Che looked at his own ultra-cool appearance, then sighed helplessly, reverting back to his shabby electric bike.
Within minutes, they hastily returned to the restaurant. Chen Mo burst through the door, scanning the room, only to find the broken jade necklace draped around Ye Rong's neck.
Without hesitation, he instinctively reached out to grab it, but Ye Rong unceremoniously slapped his hand away.
"Sorry! If you're hoping to be cheeky, try the restaurant across the street!" She shot him a glare, lightly clutching her chest, as though facing a lecher.
"Please, you're more like tofu scraps, what's there to savor?" Chen Mo rubbed his slightly sore hand and pointed at the broken jade necklace Ye Rong was wearing, sighing helplessly, "Well, that's not the point. The real issue is that piece of jade…"
"This?" Ye Rong asked, startled. "A guest gave it to me just now!" She had thought he was being improper, but after hearing his explanation, she was momentarily taken aback.
"Uh…" Chen Mo stood frozen for a moment, stunned by the shamelessness of the man who had gifted her the jade. Was this really how one courts a lady—picking out a broken shard of jade as a gift? Yet, with a resigned sigh, he continued, "Rong Jie, this piece of jade is actually mine, and that guy tricked you!"
"Really?" Ye Rong eyed the jade with suspicion, but hesitated before slowly removing it from her neck. Just as she was about to hand it over to Chen Mo, she abruptly pulled her hand back. "No! I need to ask him about this first. When he comes to the restaurant tomorrow..."
"Tomorrow?" Though Ye Rong's actions weren't wrong, Chen Mo still hesitated. He had a nagging feeling something would go wrong. "How about you give it to me now, and ask him tomorrow?"
"Fine! It's just a day. Why are you so anxious?" Ye Rong gazed at him, her eyes twinkling mischievously, before suddenly smiling sweetly and lifting her chin. "Actually, I could give it to you right now, if you're willing to run outside and shout three times—'Jadi, I will never marry you, even if I die!'"
At her proposition, Chen Mo rolled his eyes, silently thinking that if he actually went along with it, he might get the jade back, but his life would likely be lost on the way.
It was a joke, after all—those fifty bodyguards weren't just for show. Forget whether any of them carried weapons, just the sheer number of them would make him suffer more than going through the eighteen bronze warriors' formation.
"Forget it, you really have no sense of humor!" Seeing Chen Mo's hesitation, Ye Rong finally gave up teasing him and handed him the jade. But then, as if struck by inspiration, she added, "How about we take a photo? I think this jade necklace really suits me, and I'd like a memento!"
"Sure!" Chen Mo sighed in relief, took out his phone, and snapped a few pictures of Ye Rong, who was striking a proud pose. After receiving the jade, he carefully stowed it in his inner pocket and walked toward the kitchen with the rice cooker.
Of course, adhering to the principle of playful teasing and counter-teasing, just before entering the door, he turned and with a grin said, "Rong Jie, there's something I need to tell you—actually, this pose of sticking your chest out isn't really suitable for you. I mean, without any chest, what's there to stick out…"
Just before various hidden weapons could be thrown at him, Chen Mo swiftly shut the kitchen door. From outside came the unmistakable sound of a storm of fury.
Wang Pangzi, the restaurant's chef, looked up when he saw Chen Mo enter, his face breaking into a wide smile. "Mo Mo, sometimes I really admire you. You've been provoking Rong Jie for five years and still haven't been killed!"
"You should admire her," Chen Mo replied with a chuckle, thinking of how terrifying Ye Rong could be when in a fury. A warmth bubbled up in his chest.
Reflecting on it, perhaps one of the biggest reasons he'd stayed in this small restaurant for five years was because of his habitual banter with Ye Rong. It was easy and enjoyable, like having a friend with whom you could say anything without worrying about social niceties or the unspoken rules of the world.
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Soon, he snapped back to reality and placed the rice cooker in front of Wang Pangzi. "By the way, I brought this for you to use!"
"Don't let its modest appearance fool you. It's a new product I got from a friend. Essentially, you steam the ingredients in it before cooking, and the results might surprise you!"
"Really?" Wang Pangzi glanced at the seemingly worthless rice cooker and thought, could this be the legendary treasure of chaos? The outer appearance certainly didn't give it away.
However, after squinting at it for a while, he pushed it back towards Chen Mo, sighing. "Alright, even if it is real, I won't have the chance to use it because I'm leaving!"
"Leaving? Where are you going?" Chen Mo froze for a moment, but the one who asked wasn't him. It was Ye Rong, who had just entered the kitchen, followed by a few curious waitresses.
After a few seconds of silence, Ye Rong instinctively turned to look behind her and exclaimed, "Old Wang, don't tell me you're planning to go work for that foreign woman…"
"Sorry, Boss!" Wang Pangzi scratched his head awkwardly but still removed his chef's hat and placed it in front of Ye Rong. "You've treated me well, but she offered three times the pay. You know my daughter is about to start primary school, and the school fees are astronomical, so…"
"I understand," Ye Rong raised her hand, cutting him off mid-sentence. A strange silence descended. After a few seconds, she turned to the waitresses behind her:
"So what about you all? If Jadi's even poaching chefs, she's sure to take the waitstaff too. After all, she has plenty of money to burn. It's fine, I can handle it. You can all tell me if you plan to leave!"
"Rong Jie, we're not going!" The waitresses exchanged glances before one by one shaking their heads resolutely. After a while, the oldest, Lin Lin, took a few steps forward and gently placed her hand on Ye Rong's shoulder.
"Rong Jie, if you hadn't taken us in, we wouldn't even know where we'd be. Yes, Jadi offered double the pay, but we all turned it down. None of us want to leave!"
Seeing the waitresses gathered around her, Ye Rong's eyes began to glisten with unshed tears, but she still broke into a radiant smile and embraced them warmly.
In the quiet, heartwarming atmosphere, Wang Pangzi suddenly slapped his own face and marched towards the door. After taking a few steps, he turned around and whispered:
"Rong Jie, I'm sorry, but this is for my daughter… Before I leave, I've done one last thing for you. I've already chopped and prepped the ingredients for tonight's meals. You just need someone to cook it, and it should be enough to scrape by!"
With those final words, Wang Pangzi turned and left without looking back. Ye Rong stared after his retreating figure, her nose twitching as she wiped away a tear.
"Stupid fat man! I don't believe the world will stop turning just because you left! Girls, let's get ourselves together. Tonight, I'm cooking. Let's see if that foreign woman can steal me away too!"
Normally, such grandiose boasting would be met with cheers, but at that moment, hearing Ye Rong's words, the waitresses exchanged uneasy glances, their faces pale as though they were facing something terrifying.
The silence lingered for several minutes, until Ye Rong, frustrated and ready to snap, was interrupted by Lin Lin, who cautiously asked, "Um… Rong Jie, if we decide to switch to the other restaurant now, is it too late?"
"Uh… Is my cooking really that bad?" Ye Rong glared at them, her face turning various shades of red and blue, almost resembling a Sichuan opera performer changing faces.
The waitresses exchanged glances, then nodded in unison. They thought to themselves, "It's not just bad; let's put it this way: other people's cooking costs money, but your cooking is a matter of life and death!"
"Meow, fine! Then you do it, who will?" After being belittled, Ye Rong finally snapped and abandoned her previous playful attitude.
The waitresses exchanged looks, each unsure whether anyone could handle such a daunting task. After all, one chef had to cater to over a dozen tables outside, and it was no small feat.
"How about I do it?" Just as all hope seemed lost, a cheerful voice rang out from the side. Everyone turned in shock to see Chen Mo casually wiping a spatula, walking towards the iron wok with an easy smile.
For a moment, the entire room fell into eerie silence. You could hear a pin drop… but after a few seconds, the uproarious laughter erupted, everyone clutching their sides in uncontrollable laughter.
"Little Mo Mo, you're cooking?" Ye Rong, clutching Lin Lin's