202 Paying the Bill

Tang Wulin grinned as he approached the tuna’s head and pulled apart the saltcrust, and revealing its delicate meat underneath. He slid a knife between thecheekbones and cut out a chunk of meat the size of his palm with one swiftcircular motion before placing it on a second plate.

He offered the plate to Ye Xinglan. “Try this; it’s the best part of the fish.Bluefin tuna has a lot of collagen because it swims in the deep sea, and thissection is packed full of it. The collagen, when combined with its tenderflesh, bursts with flavor on the tongue.”

Once he handed the plate to her, he grabbed his own and carved out anotherpiece for himself. He sat down with a grin and continued to eat.

Such carefree indulgence brought forward a splendid feeling.

It’s really good! Ye Xinglan thought to herself as she savored the supplemeat. She sent a furtive glance toward Tang Wulin.There’s no way this guy canbe this nice; he must be hiding something. I need to be careful of him.

This fish is so delicious though! I’ll finish eating first before dealing withhim.

The two continued to gorge themselves. The only dissatisfaction Ye Xinglanharbored was that Tang Wulin had never raised his head once to look at her—hewas too preoccupied eating.

She had thought that Xu Lizhi was the pinnacle of gluttony, but today TangWulin had proven she was wrong. Tang Wulin thoroughly surpassed Xu Lizhi inthis regard. She found it truly frightening. Heaps and heaps of meat enteredhis stomach like factory products traveling on a conveyor belt, yet his pacenever faltered. It even seemed to accelerate.

Ye Xinglan mulled things over as she chewed and swallowed. This guy really isan unrivaled glutton. Well, I admit that the fish is delicious.

The sea salt complimented the meat’s savouriness, preserving the juiciness andcreating an umami-filled adventure. Her plate had the most delicious tidbit,courtesy of Tang Wulin. The fragrant collagen and the tuna’s soft flesh wouldforever be engraved in her memory, standing out as her most spectacular foodexperience.

Half of the tuna had been consumed by the time Xu Lizhi returned. He howled atthe sight before promptly diving in to join the glutton forces.

In the midst of the excitement, Tang Wulin set aside a finger-licking morselfor the other boy. The moment Xu Lizhi dug into the piece of tuna cheek, hisface went slack with contentment. It was as if he had transcended to a higherrealm.

A while later, the restaurant’s boss stood stupefied as he stared at the triowith his mouth agape. Three kids had actually succeeded in devouring a fiftykilogram fish. Ye Xinglan’s cold haughtiness cracked open like a shell,revealing a demeanor irreconcilable with the initial impression of her. Sheleaned back into her chair. This was the first time in her life that she hadfelt so full. If she moved another inch, her belly would burst.

“Hey, what’s your name?” Ye Xinglan asked Tang Wulin.

“Tang Wulin.” Despite eating the most, Tang Wulin was still as calm as ever.He may have ingested more protein than usual during this meal, but the sheeramount of food he ate didn’t stray too far from the norm.

“How are you able to eat so much? Don’t you feel bloated at all?” Ye Xinglanasked in disbelief.

Tang Wulin beamed, “Let me tell you guys a secret; actually, I have a dragonin my stomach and it’s the one eating all this food.”

His half truths left Xu Lizhi and Ye Xinglan in a daze.

“A dragon in your stomach? How did it get there?” Xu Lizhi asked.

Tang Wulin shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I was born with it. This isthe reason why I can eat so much. By the way, your match today was so awesome!By the time I blinked, you guys had won.”

A look of pride crossed Xu Lizhi’s face. “Of course. We’re Shrek after all.We’ve always been peerless.”

Those words seemed to trigger Ye Xinglan’s alertness. She kicked the littlefatty’s leg under the table before craning her neck toward Tang Wulin. “We’releaving now. You settle the bill.”

“I already said I’m hosting!” Xu Lizhi was a man of his words.

Ye Xinglan scowled at him. “Do you have money?”

“Eh…” Xu Lizhi was at a loss for words. “How did I forget about that…”

Tang Wulin was speechless. Can’t he be more reliable… If I had known thisearlier, I wouldn’t have eaten so much!

“What kind of expression is that?” Ye Xinglan said as she glared at TangWulin’s stiffened face. “You should know, it’s an honor to treat us to dinner.”

After a moment of incredulity, Tang Wulin nodded his head. “Yeah! It really isan honor. You guys sit down first. I’ll go settle the bill.” Saying so, hestood up and walked away.

Since they were sitting in a lounge, he had to turn and make a beeline for thefront desk.

Once he was out of sight, Ye Xinglan smacked the top of Xu Lizhi’s head. “Whydid you sneak out! Let’s see how I’ll deal with you once we get back.”

Xu Lizhi pulled an indignant face. “Big sister Xinglan, I made a mistake, butdidn’t you eat happily, too? Everything’s fine if you had a good time. What areyou hitting me for?”

Ye Xinglan snorted. “We’re from Shrek; just how many people do you think arescheming about us? I don’t think that Tang Wulin is any good. I bet heapproached us with ulterior motives.”

After a few blinks, Xu Lizhi retorted “No way. When we first met, he gave mesome dried fish to eat. That was before he knew which academy I’m from.”

The corners of Ye Xinglan’s mouth began to twitch. “How are you so sure aboutthat? I bet the Skysea Alliance has been watching you and making plans on howto approach you. If you don’t believe me, then just wait. Once he he comesback, he’ll definitely think of some way to get closer to us.”

Xu Lizhi faced the direction Tang Wulin had departed. “Huh, shouldn’t he beback by now?”

Disdain dripped from Ye Xinglan’s words, “He probably went to the washroomafter eating so much.”

“Oh.”

After another quarter of an hour, Tang Wulin still hadn’t returned.

“He sure is taking a long time in the washroom! He ate a lot, so a lot comesout?” Xu Lizhi mumbled.

“Go look for him.” Ye Xinlan ordered Xu Lizhi, the beginnings of a stormrumbling in her chest. The reason she had been so forceful in having him paywas that she didn’t have any money either! Since they were here to representShrek, she hadn’t brought any cash.

It wasn’t long before Xu Lizhi dragged his chubby self back.

“I-I can’t find him. Big Sister Xinglan, I think he left! I bet it’s becauseyou were so rude to him. He probably dipped after paying the bill. See? I toldyou he wasn’t trying to get close to us.”

Ye Xinglan said, “This is the so-called ‘capturing by letting loose’, youknow? Let’s go then.”

She got up with Xu Lizhi and set off.

“Hey, you two children. Hold up. Aren’t you going to pay the bill?” The bosscame over and stopped the two.

☀

On his trip back to the hotel, Tang Wulin couldn’t help but feel invigoratedas the cool sea breeze brushed against his face.

As for the bill? He wouldn’t have acted that way had Xu Lizhi not promised topay. It was a pricy meal after all! He didn’t believe that students from ShrekAcademy’s students could be short on money.

What really put him in a bad mood, however, was how Ye Xinglan tried to takeadvantage of him and how cheaply she treated him.She acted as if having a mealwith me was charity work! Since that’s how she views it, then she can pay thebill herself. I’ll save myself some money.The thought of her made him roll hiseyes.

For this reason, Tang Wulin didn’t hesitate to leave immediately. Why should Ikiss the asses of those Shrek Academy students if they look down on me! If theydon’t want to be friends, then I’ll just keep my distance.Naturally, Tang Wulinhad his own bottom line and paid his share of the bill—one third.   

He was really self-indulgent today, so he began meditating as soon as hereturned to the hotel. Of course, he didn’t forget to block Xu Lizhi’s numberfrom his soul communicator. He didn’t want any trouble; he’ll pretend that hehad never met them.

In reality and unknown to Tang Wulin, Ye Xinglan’s arrogant eyes had arousedhis own pride.