The anger in Wu Yunyi's eyes was almost explosive, his teeth chattering as he said, "That friend of yours is too much. Just look at the plates on the table; they were clearly ordered for me, yet that guy finished them all while we were talking."

Inside, Su Ning was laughing her heart out, but she put on an innocent face and said, "He’s my elementary school classmate. We’re only meeting for the first time after more than ten years."

Wu Yunyi had no place to vent his frustration and could only growl lowly in irritation.

Su Ning cautiously suggested, "Why don’t we change places? I don’t want to be with someone so uncouth."

Wu Yunyi perked up a little. "Alright, let’s pay the bill and leave."

At the cash register, Su Ning pulled out a stack of cards from her Hermès bag and said somewhat shyly, "I’m really sorry about today; let me treat you to this meal."

Wu Yunyi was unwilling to let go of the chance to pay, even if the meal would likely cost several thousand yuan. If he let Su Ning pay, she might not say anything at the moment, but would surely think less of him. With this thought, Wu Yunyi put on an air of grandeur, behaving generously as he said, "I told you I’m treating today. What’s this, not giving me face?"

Su Ning was just pretending to be modest; she felt insecure inside. Seeing Wu Yunyi say that, she just went along with it. "Well, I feel a bit embarrassed."

"There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Here, waiter, the bill!" Wu Yunyi confidently took out his credit card, ready to hand it to the cashier.

"Hello, sir. After the discount, the total comes to 12,800 yuan."

Wu Yunyi stumbled back a bit, his expression akin to being struck by lightning. His mouth hung open as he exclaimed incredulously, "Waiter, are you mistaken? How can a meal cost tens of thousands?"

The cashier smiled broadly and explained, "You ordered five plates of Hai Bao Qi Zhen, each costing 5,888 yuan, totaling 29,440. You also ordered three plates of steamed yellow croaker, each for 3,888 yuan, totaling 11,884..."

"Wait a minute!" Wu Yunyi's heart raced, and he exclaimed, "How come there are five plates of Hai Bao Qi Zhen? I thought we only ordered three!"

The cashier patiently clarified, "You added two plates to go later."

"To go?" Wu Yunyi's forehead throbbed, his eyes filled with rage as he shouted.

"Yes." The cashier was taken aback by Wu Yunyi's expression, sounding a bit weak as she added, "Including one serving of steamed yellow croaker and one serving of deep-sea sea cucumber..."

"I’ll be damned!" Wu Yunyi could no longer hold back his anger and began to curse.

Though the cashier maintained a smile, she was clearly growing impatient. Glancing at Su Ning behind Wu Yunyi, she silently mocked, What a loser trying to impress a girl without money.

At that moment, Zheng Zheng walked over from a distance, carrying a large bag. He smiled innocently and said, "Brother, I noticed you didn’t eat much at lunch and were in a hurry to leave, so I took the liberty of ordering a few extra dishes for you to take home."

"You... you... you..." Wu Yunyi trembled all over, his eyes burning with fury, unable to articulate his thoughts.

"Brother, what’s wrong? Did you catch a cold?" Zheng Zheng said, pretending to be concerned.

Wu Yunyi almost spat blood from frustration and shouted, "You’re the one who’s sick! Your whole family is sick!"

Zheng Zheng placed the bag on the service counter, his expression suddenly turning cold as he said, "Brother, it’s just a meal; you don’t need to act crazy over it. If you really can’t afford it, I can cover it. But please, in the future, don’t brag about having the means if you really can’t handle it. You look all fancy, but turns out you’re just a freeloader."

Wu Yunyi’s vision darkened, completely stunned by the humiliation. In his entire life, he had never been slapped in the face so blatantly. Seeing Su Ning’s expression shift from anticipation to disdain, he gritted his teeth and decided, So what if it’s over a hundred thousand? I can earn that back in a couple of weeks.

Resolutely, Wu Yunyi handed the card to the cashier.

After taking the card, the cashier quickly typed a few things on the keypad and swiped it.

"Ding!" A crisp prompt sounded as the cashier said, "Sir, please enter your password."

Wu Yunyi trembled slightly as he reached out, staring blankly at the keypad. After a moment's hesitation, he gritted his teeth and entered the password. At that instant, it felt like a piece of his heart had been ripped out, continuously bleeding.

120,000! How many flights could that buy? Wu Yunyi felt like crying.

After all the commotion, the three finally exited the Bi Hai Qiong Lou.

Zheng Zheng turned to Su Ning and Wu Yunyi, saying, "Thanks for the treat today. If you ever come to Pingyang again, I’ll treat you to our local delicacies."

Su Ning clapped her hands, her eyes sparkling, and said, "Great! I haven’t had Teng Jiao dumplings and beef soup in over ten years. I’ll definitely come find you next time."

Wu Yunyi scoffed inwardly, I spent over a hundred thousand, and you think you can brush it off with a couple of hundred? No way.

Zheng Zheng waved for a taxi, and as he opened the door, he waved goodbye to the two, saying, "I’ll be off first. Let’s keep in touch."

Su Ning waved back, watching as the taxi slowly disappeared from view, feeling a surge of mixed emotions. After more than ten years, seeing Zheng Zheng again left a deep impression on her—sometimes witty, sometimes mature, sometimes calm and collected, sometimes playful and irreverent. So many contrasting traits merged into one person, forming an inscrutable enigma. What kind of person was he really? Su Ning was filled with curiosity.

Just thinking about the two of them orchestrating the scheme against Wu Yunyi brought a smile to her face.

She opened her palm to reveal a strange talisman made of yellow paper, folded neatly, lying quietly there. Holding the talisman felt unique, slightly cool yet warm, bringing a comforting sensation. Su Ning's lips curled up slightly, wearing a smile that was not quite a smile. What era is it, and there are still people who believe in talismans to ward off evil? But given Zheng Zheng’s kind intention, she decided to keep it for a month or two.

"Su Ning, your classmate has already gone far. What shall we do next? Go to a movie or shopping?" Wu Yunyi interrupted Su Ning's thoughts, his eyes fixed on the talisman in her hand, a hint of disdain flashing across his face, though jealousy was evident as well.

"Because love doesn’t easily lead to sadness..." Just then, Su Ning's phone rang. She quickly stuffed the talisman into her bag, answered the call, and after chatting for a moment, her expression turned serious.

After hanging up, Wu Yunyi hurriedly asked, "Su Ning, what’s wrong?"

With an apologetic look, Su Ning replied, "I’m sorry, my dad just called. There’s been an incident at my uncle’s place, and I need to leave."

"What happened? Maybe I can help a little," Wu Yunyi said quickly.

Su Ning shook her head. "You can’t help with this. Let’s contact each other when we have time."

"Oh." Wu Yunyi’s hopeful expression turned into deep disappointment as he tentatively asked, "How about I give you a ride?"