My System Forces Me to Live off Women-Chapter 34 - 32: Master and Disciples’ Dinner Gathering

Chapter 34: Chapter 32: Master and Disciples’ Dinner Gathering

The four of them were having Chaozhou fresh beef hotpot for this meal, chosen by Zhao Qingge.

The hotpot restaurant was just five or six kilometers from North China Normal University, and despite the traffic, they arrived in half an hour.

Li Peifeng actually wanted to dine in one of those high-end restaurants where a meal costs ten to twenty thousand. Three meals there would have completed Zhao Qingge’s task, but unfortunately, he was too shy to propose it.

When it was mealtime, Zhao Qingge led the three of them into the private room she had reserved, took the menu from the waiter, and handed it to Li Peifeng.

"You guys order."

"Snowflake beef, hanging tender, brisket, chuck, tender meat, tongue, beef balls, tendon, and rib-eye... one plate of each!"

Li Peifeng glanced at the menu, ordered assorted beef parts, and then passed it to his junior sisters, who ordered some vegetables and staples before they stopped.

Li Peifeng roughly estimated that the meal would cost around six or seven hundred yuan, which made him lose interest.

After all, he had given up Australian lobster at home, and eating out lowered the standard, so he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

But when the dishes came, he picked up a chopstick full of tender beef, put it in the boiling nourishing base, and after a dozen seconds, picked it up again, dipped it in satay sauce, and put it in his mouth.

With one bite, he savored the firm and elastic, or rich and juicy texture, the cow flavor lingered long, causing Li Peifeng, who was holding his bowl, to transform into a little calf in the cattle pen: "Moo~~~"

"Hm? What sound was that?" Zhao Qingge looked at her eldest disciple suspiciously.

"I think I heard a cow mooing."

"Nonsense!"

Li Peifeng blushed: "I clearly said, it’s delicious!!"

"Really? I thought you were possessed by a calf!"

"Haha!"

...

Twenty minutes later, in the hotpot restaurant’s private room, steam filled the air, and everyone had taken off their coats. The ladies were about sixty percent full.

Zhao Qingge took the opportunity to inquire about the academic progress of the two junior sisters and gave them a few small testing questions, but was not very satisfied with their answers.

"You’ve attended the classes, but haven’t read enough books. How will this do?!"

After saying this, Zhao Qingge verbally gave them a list of around ten books and assigned them a final assignment, which was to finish reading all the books on the list and then write a review to hand in to her.

"Oh right." Zhao Qingge glanced inexplicably at Li Peifeng and said, "Add one more book to the list, ’108 Treasures of the Matriarchy; I’m the Boss on Liang Mountain.’

"..."

Li Peifeng’s hand, holding the meat with chopsticks, remained motionless, but his eyes darted between the window and the door of the private room, calculating which escape would be quickest.

"What’s this book?"

"Sounds so strange!"

Lu Jing and Lin Zhihui were filled with curiosity.

"You’ll know once you read it," Zhao Qingge smiled, "Submit the review before the end of the term. These are all new books from recent years, including both internet literature and traditional literature, and are part of a research project on novels in the first two decades of the new century. Write sincerely."

"Mm-hmm, understood."

Lu Jing and Lin Zhihui nodded compliantly, secretly groaning, losing even their appetite.

The two girls exchanged looks and finally turned to the meat-devouring Li Peifeng.

"What about Senior Brother’s final paper?"

Lu Jing asked with curiosity and a hint of anticipation, "If it’s similar in material, maybe we can exchange ideas and study together."

You little rascal, your conscience is greatly faulty!

Li Peifeng immediately saw through her sinister intention. Exchange ideas? She wanted to drag him into the pit, reminding Old Zhao to assign him a final assignment as well.

"Your Senior Brother doesn’t need me to assign tasks,"

Zhao Qingge said with a smile while chewing slowly, "He already has his own paper to write, but if you encounter something you don’t understand, you can consult him."

Failing to drag him down...

"Oh."

Lu Jing was slightly disappointed, but Lin Zhihui asked, "Is Senior Brother writing a graduation thesis? Can you tell us the topic?"

Li Peifeng mumbled, "You’ll know once it’s published."

Zhao Qingge, smiling, said, "It’s related to his own work, you don’t know this yet, do you? Your Senior Brother is an online author, signed with the Endpoint Female Channel novel network, having written seven or eight novels."

"Huh? Really?"

"Senior Brother, what’s your pen name? Why haven’t you mentioned it before?!"

"Yeah, yeah, tell us. We can contribute some recommendations and subscriptions on the website for you!"

These words were said as Lu Jing and Lin Zhihui expressed their surprise very openly, chattering away non-stop. Due to Li Peifeng’s tight confidentiality, they had no clue about his novel-writing activities online.

"Senior Brother, why aren’t you speaking?"

"Tell us what book you’ve written, I can also recommend it to classmates, rally the students to read together!"

"Yeah, yeah, advertising is important in online novels!"

Seeing Li Peifeng remaining silent while eating, Lu Jing provocatively said: "Is it because the performance isn’t great, and you’re too embarrassed to let us know..."

"I’m full!"

Li Peifeng put down his chopsticks, sat upright, and said seriously, "Director, when are we leaving?"

Couldn’t continue eating! If Old Zhao gave any more hints, the fact about writing sow articles would be completely exposed.

"You kid, not listening!"

Zhao Qingge appeared amiable, yet her eyes had a teasing glint: "I told you to eat less at lunch, but you wouldn’t listen. You used up over three hundred on my meal card, and now look, you can’t eat anymore, can you?!"

Over three hundred? That’s not right! How did you know about this? A meal card isn’t a bank card, and there’s no text notification, unless someone...

Li Peifeng was startled and instinctively looked at the two junior sisters. There’s a mole!!

Lu Jing looked disdainful: "What are you looking at? I thought that lunch was on you, and only found out when chatting with the teacher downstairs that you actually used the teacher’s meal card!"

Lin Zhihui whispered: "Hanging a scale in the toilet—it’s a bit too much!"

Noble graduate students in the Chinese department, are you only responsible for studying colloquialisms or what?

But... this can be explained, let me make excuses!

"What?!"

Li Peifeng, like a possessed acting emperor, was utterly shocked: "I used your meal card, teacher? That can’t be right! I clearly used my own..."

Before he finished, he slapped his thigh, filled with remorse: "I must have picked up the wrong one! Ah, this is really bad, how about this, next time, next time we have a meal, I’ll cover it!"

"When’s the next time?"

"Set a time and place, so it won’t be uncertain next time!"

Lu Jing and Lin Zhihui egged him on, and Li Peifeng didn’t flinch: "You guys decide, you say when and where, and I don’t care, I’ll just handle the bill."

Amidst laughter and banter, the meal passed, but what puzzled the three students was that, usually when dining with their mentor, Zhao Qingge would pay the bill and leave early.

This was mainly to prevent the students from feeling pressured or reserved when eating together with their teacher, but this time she stayed until the end.

And during the meal, she completely let go of her teacherly airs, not mentioning academic matters at all, and joked with them like peers about trivial gossip.

This made Lu Jing and Lin Zhihui feel a bit strange, and after leaving the restaurant, they whispered amongst themselves...

"Director Zhao seemed a bit different today, so friendly, like a sister."

"Yeah, maybe because we’ve spent a long time together, got familiar... Senior brother, what do you think?"

Li Peifeng casually said, "I think you best grab some books and focus on your reviews. If your end-of-term assignments fail to satisfy Director Zhao, she might keep asking for revisions until you delay graduation, then you’ll know whether she’s your considerate elder sister or a stern taskmaster."

Lu Jing and Lin Zhihui exchanged glances.

"What are you chatting about?"

Having just paid the bill, Zhao Qingge emerged from the restaurant, and a system notification popped up before Li Peifeng’s eyes...

[Zhao Qingge treated the meal, spending 645 yuan. Distance from completing assessment task (Zhao Qingge) is 29,023 yuan remaining.]

"Ah, nothing much, please drive on."

Lu Jing quickly said, "The three of us can just take the subway back."

"No need, it’s on the way anyway, get in, I’ll drive you back."

The two juniors didn’t realize it, but Li Peifeng knew all too well. From there to Beihua Teacher’s Campus home and Zhao Qingge was completely in opposite directions, "on the way" was utter nonsense.

Perhaps it’s the profound benevolence of a mentor, as thunder and rain alike show the mentor’s grace, all we need is gratitude.

Li Peifeng thought so...

Over twenty minutes later, the car arrived at the entrance of Beihua Teacher’s School.

After Lu Jing and Lin Zhihui said their goodbyes and left the car, it was just Li Peifeng and Zhao Qingge left inside, but Li Peifeng’s rented place was only five hundred meters ahead, just an accelerator away.

Thinking of this, Li Peifeng thanked her and was about to get out when Zhao Qingge said, "Your research assistant funding will increase by a thousand each month. I’ll personally add another thousand, but don’t talk about this outside."

An unexpected piece of good news! Perhaps the postings of ribbing photos pretending to be poor had moved the mentor’s compassionate heart.

Li Peifeng subconsciously pondered whether the thousand from Zhao Qingge would be recognized by the system, while gratefully smiling, "Thank you, Director!"

Zhao Qingge also smiled slightly, and said, "I don’t know what your article fees are, but in the future, you’ll have four thousand just from the research assistant funding each month, plus scholarships and grants, it should average at least six thousand monthly. That should be enough, right?!"

Li Peifeng wasn’t sure: "It should... be enough?"

"Good."

Zhao Qingge nodded warmly but with a touch of a non-negotiable command, "Then don’t post photos in the group asking readers for red envelopes. Even though I can’t control your actions, if I find out again, I’ll definitely tell your parents."

You at most add two thousand a month for me. A wave from group friends would be at least twenty to thirty thousand. You’re cutting off my financial path...

Li Peifeng obediently nodded, "Okay!"

"Then go home."

"Goodbye, Director!"

Li Peifeng got out of the car, standing outside, and just as he was about to close the door, he seemed to ask casually, "By the way, what’s your TT nickname? I’ll add you as a friend when I get back, and we’ll have another contact method for future academic exchanges."

Zhao Qingge sat in the driver’s seat, one hand on the steering wheel, pushed her glasses with a gold rimmed frame with the other hand, and smiled enigmatically, "I don’t think that’s necessary."

Li Peifeng was puzzled: "Why not?"

"You guess."

Watching the departing BMW, Li Peifeng gritted his teeth, "I’ll guess, keep guessing, don’t let me guess it right. If I do, I’ll give this pirate-watching wicked woman a free ticket on an airplane!!!"