Ming Lingyi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when she saw so many familiar faces.

Among the diners, she even spotted a few familiar faces of a different sort. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

They were the scholars who used to read books in the restaurant.

Ming Lingyi didn’t say much, simply having Xiao Chun and Shi Mingyue deliver the drinks she had prepared to every table.

She had received the goodwill of others, and she certainly wasn’t stingy about returning the favor.

When Jiang Yuchuan rushed to Ming’s Restaurant after receiving the news, it was already evening. Inside, Ming Lingyi and her staff were sitting together, having a meal.

She had received the goodwill of her regulars at noon, but her neighbors in Huaide Fang weren’t all wealthy. She would accept their kindness, but not charity.

That was why there weren’t many people in the restaurant that evening, and Ming Lingyi had taken the opportunity to let everyone rest and eat an early dinner together.

When she saw Jiang Yuchuan appear, Ming Lingyi waved him over.

"What brings Lord Jiang here today? Care to join us for a bite?" Ming Lingyi asked with a smile.

Jiang Yuchuan was too ashamed to face Ming Lingyi. He had clearly promised her he would go to the Xie Mansion to have a proper talk with his uncle, but instead, Wangxian Building had begun to brazenly compete against Ming’s Restaurant.

Wangxian Building was backed by the Xie family, and it was a business the family had run in Shangjing City for decades. Whether in terms of financial resources or manpower, it was far beyond what Ming’s Restaurant could match.

"No, thank you. I ate before I came."

Ming Lingyi could tell he had something to say. She stood up and walked outside with him before asking, "Is Lord Jiang here about Wangxian Building?" She had already guessed his purpose.

Jiang Yuchuan nodded.

He had gone to the Xie Mansion again that day. This time, his uncle was not as amiable as before. Instead, he had sternly asked Jiang Yuchuan whether he wanted to help a presumptuous outsider or his own family.

"Ming Da, I have never demanded anything of you, but you shouldn’t have gotten involved in this matter. In a competition between two businesses, the stronger one naturally wins. For you to demand that the Xie family back down—do you think that’s fair? Is the ’fairness’ you seek truly fair, or is it just you being partial to that woman from the Ming Family?"

For a moment, Jiang Yuchuan was at a loss for words.

"Last time, it was Wangxian Building’s Shopkeeper who was in the wrong, and he has already been punished. This time, it’s not as if Wangxian Building has done anything out of line. Ask yourself, is this fairness you’re seeking, or favoritism? Also, don’t forget, your mother arranged a marriage for you back then."

After leaving the Xie Mansion, Jiang Yuchuan felt too ashamed to see Ming Lingyi, yet his feet had carried him toward Ming’s Restaurant anyway.

"I’m sorry..." Jiang Yuchuan didn’t make any excuses. In truth, as someone with a different surname, he had little right to interfere in the Xie family’s businesses to begin with.

"I’ve said it before, you have nothing to be sorry for. As for what’s happening now, just think of it as a competition between two businesses. This sort of thing is extremely common in the West Market and the East Market," Ming Lingyi said.

Jiang Yuchuan didn’t know how to respond. There was something else he hadn’t mentioned—something he didn’t dare to say.

His uncle’s words today were not a reminder, but a warning.

His mother had indeed arranged a marriage for him back then, but he had already rejected it before coming to Shangjing.

His uncle was using this to warn him: if he insisted on helping the woman from the Ming Family, this matter would inevitably be exposed.

A marriage contract was supposed to be arranged by parents and matchmakers, but he had been headstrong back then, insisting on breaking the engagement.

If this matter got out, it would only harm his reputation.

Previously, Jiang Yuchuan hadn’t cared. He broke the engagement because he believed that if one were to grow old with someone, it should be with a person they truly loved, someone with whom they shared mutual affection. He had no feelings for his former fiancée, so he broke off the engagement without hesitation, allowing her to find a better match sooner.

He owned his actions, but he didn’t dare to take the gamble now.

He didn’t dare tell Ming Lingyi, afraid she would think him treacherous and stay away from him from then on.

"What if, one day..." Jiang Yuchuan began, but under Ming Lingyi’s gaze, he found he couldn’t say the rest.

’What would happen if, one day, Ming Lingyi discovered he wasn’t the person she thought he was?’

"One day what?" Ming Lingyi asked.

Jiang Yuchuan shook his head with a bitter smile. "Nothing."

Jiang Yuchuan left quickly, and Ming Lingyi didn’t pay much mind to his earlier hesitation.

However, the meal didn’t remain peaceful for long. Shortly after Jiang Yuchuan left, the restaurant welcomed two more diners.

Zhang Zhidong and Liu Lingxing came running to the restaurant, afraid that if they were a step too slow, Ming’s Restaurant would have already closed for the night.

When they saw the lights were still on, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness, we made it just in time," Zhang Zhidong said.

As he spoke, he noticed that the staff of Ming’s Restaurant were all sitting together eating grilled meat. The aroma was so enticing he couldn’t help but gulp.

This grilled meat didn’t seem to be on the menu at Ming’s Restaurant, but Zhang Zhidong’s eyes were now glued to the glistening cuts, which looked perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

When it came to the matter of eating, Zhang Zhidong could be said to have the thickest skin in the entire Imperial College.

’If one wasn’t shameless, how could one be the first to eat their favorite food?’

So, Zhang Zhidong strode toward Ming Lingyi’s table, completely ignoring the tugs and pointed looks from Liu Lingxing, who had already seen right through him. "Boss Ming," he asked directly, "can we join you?"

’Watching a group of people eat always gave him a much better appetite than eating alone.’

’Most importantly, since Boss Ming hadn’t put it on the menu, this grilled meat probably wasn’t served to customers. His only option was to join them.’

Liu Lingxing: "..."

’Was it too late to run away or pretend he didn’t know the person next to him?’

Upon hearing Zhang Zhidong’s words, Ming Lingyi and the others were all momentarily stunned.

In all their time running the restaurant, they had probably never met someone who warmed up to strangers as quickly as Zhang Zhidong.

However, Ming Lingyi was quick to react. She smiled and said, "Of course."

The words had barely left her lips when Zhang Zhidong, in a flurry of motion, had already grabbed a stool and sat down next to the Wu Brothers.

Wu Zhao Yi and Wu Zha’er: "..."

’This guy is a little too informal, isn’t he?’

Seeing this, what else could Liu Lingxing say? Zhang Zhidong had even grabbed a stool for him. To act shy now would just be spoiling the mood.

The grilled meat was made by Wu Zhao Yu, using an exclusive secret marinade that made it different from any other.

Since there weren’t as many customers as usual that day, Wu Zhao Yu had prepared many different kinds of grilled meat.

With the addition of Zhang Zhidong and his friend, there was no concern about the food not being enough.

"Why are you two eating so late?" Ming Lingyi, who was nearly finished, put down her chopsticks and asked curiously.

Zhang Zhidong didn’t even look up, and his reply came without much thought.

"Don’t ask. We went to Wangxian Building first to check out the commotion."