The phone rang.

Yue Liyue suddenly noticed a hint of panic in his dad's eyes.

He froze for a second, and immediately a thought popped into his head:

"Dad, is that big-shot patron who pays fifty grand a month just to play games with me actually you?"

Zhong Huairen set down his chopsticks.

His expression was a little embarrassed:

"Your mom and I were worried you weren't having a good time in Beijing. You didn't want us to give you money, so we came up with this idea."

Yue Liyue opened his mouth.

No wonder that big-shot patron never wanted to voice chat.

No wonder that guy kept telling him to go to bed early.

No wonder every gaming session ended so quickly.

No wonder…

He always thought his top-tier skills and flashy moves won over this patron, but turns out it was just his old man in disguise.

He wasn't sure if he should feel touched or kinda bummed.

He originally wanted to make it on his own to show his parents.

Who'd've thought, in the end, he still had to rely on them to get by.

"Sorry, kid, your mom and I just worry about you too much…that's why…"

Zhong Huairen actually enjoyed hanging out with his son like this.

Every night after work, he'd sit on the sofa next to his wife. They'd listen to their son's yelling and commands while clumsily tapping away at the mobile game on their phones.

He didn't get any of the gaming lingo.

Had no clue about what made each character different.

Stuff like "mid lane" and "jungle" was complete Greek to him.

But he got to hear his son's voice, hear his son calling him "big-shot patron." At the start of every stream, Yue Liyue would greet politely, and at the end, say good night.

That was more than enough!

To stay in closer touch with his kid, Zhong Huairen made a new WeChat account, even turned on dual-app mode and set a special notification sound.

The goal? So he could get messages from his son ASAP.

But today, rushing out the door, he forgot to turn off the sound, letting his disguise slip.

Yue Liyue rubbed his face:

"I should be the one saying sorry, I was too stubborn and made you guys worry…"

The father and son who'd grown distant from gaming found a way back together at Lin Xu's restaurant.

Zhong Huairen picked up his chopsticks again.

His face broke into a gentle smile:

"Alright, alright, let's keep eating. Once the fish gets cold it's no good…From now on, if I want to play games again, you gotta play with me! Month's not over yet, need to get my fifty thousand's worth."

Yue Liyue lowered his head.

Secretly wiped away tears at the corner of his eye:

"Your account's rank is way too low. Later I'll get you a better one so we can team up!"

"Better not."

"How come?"

"'Cause I'm scared you'll call me a scrub teammate…"

When the father and son were full, Lin Xu and the gang were busy moving packed box lunches outside.

Box after box got loaded onto a small van sent by the Audit Bureau's logistics team.

Once packed, Shen Jiayue, feeling a bit stuffed, took the cart and two temp workers to go deliver meals over at the venue.

Noon.

After a whole morning of training, Tan Yajun arrived at the lounge near the venue.

He lifted a teacup soaked with chrysanthemum and honeysuckle and took a sip.

Finally, that dry scratchy throat feeling eased up.

Hadn't done training for ages—after lecturing nonstop, his throat still wasn't used to it.

He took a couple more sips of the cooling herbal tea. His assistant, Yuan Fei, came in holding a hot towel:

"Mr. Tan, the Audit Bureau's leaders have lunch ready in the cafeteria. They're inviting you to join them."

Tan Yajun waved him off:

"I'll skip it. I've been talking all morning, throat just got a break, and if I go join their lunch, I'll have to chat for ages again."

With that, he took off the gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.

Took the hot towel Yuan Fei handed over, opened it up, and pressed it to his face.

Nice!

Getting blasted by venue A/C all morning, his face was numb. Now, with a hot towel over it, it felt as if all his pores just opened up.

Once the towel was down, he took another sip of tea.

Finally, he asked:

"Have the box lunches arrived yet? Grab me one, veggie if possible. Meat makes you phlegmy—not good for speaking."

Box lunch?

Yuan Fei was a bit surprised.

Opt out of a fancy meal to eat box lunch with the trainees?

This…

But box lunches from Lin Ji's Food should taste good, at least.

Yuan Fei didn't say more, just hurried out.

Soon after, he brought back two lunch boxes and two bowls of Nori Egg Drop Soup.

"This one's Tomato and Egg Rice, this one's Noodles with Braised Eggplant and Pork Sauce. Which one, Mr. Tan?"

"Tomato and egg,"

Tan Yajun replied, lifted the lid off a bowl of Nori Egg Drop Soup, and the fresh savory scent instantly perked him up.

Whoa!

This soup's legit fresh!

It'd cooled to just the right temp now, great for drinking.

He picked it up, took a sip, and the delicious egg drop soup instantly whetted his appetite.

If the soup's already this good, the box lunch should be even better, right?

He opened up his lunch box, took the chopsticks and spoon from Yuan Fei, and grabbed a spoonful of egg drenched in sauce. Tender, fragrant—paired with the tangy-sweet tomato, every bite was a treat.

That young guy at Lin Ji really knew his way around a kitchen.

But then he remembered Audit Bureau missed out on such a talent, and he felt a pang of regret.

Would've been great if they'd hired him!

As he was eating, a thought popped up:

"How many box lunches arrived this morning? Is there enough for all the trainees?"

He remembered glancing at the contract yesterday evening.

It only listed the number of trainees.

He and Yuan Fei just ate two—would there be enough for the trainees?

"Shen Jiayue said they brought 335 portions today, 23 more than the 312 on the contract. Definitely enough."

Yuan Fei lowered his head, eating the Noodles with Braised Eggplant and Pork Sauce.

He'd eaten at the restaurant twice before but never ordered that dish.

Never thought it'd taste this good.

Mixed with rice—pure magic!

As he was eating, he heard Tan say:

"Since they sent 335, let's settle the bill for 335."

Yuan Fei almost choked on the rice.

Is that really necessary?

"Running a small business is tough. No need to nickel-and-dime them."

The owner of Lin Ji is the son-in-law of billionaire Shen Guofu. If that guy hears Audit Bureau shorted his son-in-law, half the cigars in my humidor'll get swiped!

Hmph, Fatty Shen's always looking for excuses to mooch my cigars as it is.

If we stiff his son-in-law—

May as well hand him the knife myself!

Back at the shop.

Every seat was packed.

Lunch rush had officially arrived.

"Boss Lin, I saw Yue Liyue post a story about eating steamed fish at Lin Ji's Food. Is the place launching new dishes?"

"Yeah, I saw it too. That fish looked amazing!"

"Is it possible to get steamed fish here right now? If yes—I'll take one!"

"Me too, I want one as well…"

Lin Xu said:

"We just tried making two Steamed Sea Basses this morning, turned out pretty good. We'll have a few available this afternoon. If you're after some, come by early."

As he was speaking—

Some logistics workers rolled in boxes on dollies.

The custom-made tableware had arrived.

Staring at these big boxes,

Lin Xu couldn't help but mutter inside:

"Last time, swapping out chili vinegar got me a Basic Techniques lottery spin. This time, switching out the shop's tableware—should trigger a reward too, right?"

——————

Second update's here, guys—begging for monthly tickets and recommends!

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