Chapter Twenty-Five: Teamwork
The woman Jin Shaoyan was embracing looked familiar; I felt like I'd seen her in some movie. When the head waiter approached, he glanced at us with a puzzled expression. He seemed somewhat relieved when he noticed Jin Shaoyan's absence from our table and led the way to us.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to me, I quickly stood up and stopped them. I whispered in the supervisor's ear, "Pretend you don't know us. Young Master Jin is picking up girls."
The waiter was indeed a professional; he calmly led Jin Shaoyan and the young actress to a table away from us. Jin Shaoyan even gave us all a serious look.
Only then did I realize that two fine beads of sweat had already trickled down my neck. If any one of these people spotted Jin Shaoyan, it would cause a lot of trouble. The most important thing was to prevent Baozi from seeing him. If Baozi, who hated evil, discovered that Jin Shaoyan had "turned his back on him," it was hard to say what might happen.
Jin Shaoyan was currently facing away from us, so there was no immediate danger of being discovered. I went behind Baozi and said, "You lead them ahead and wait for me in the parking lot." Baozi glanced at me, puzzled, and said, "We haven't finished eating yet, why are we leaving?" I didn't explain further, but gave her a firm squeeze on the shoulder and winked at her. Baozi knew something was wrong and whispered to me, "Did that kid Jin Shaoyan run away? Who's paying the bill?" I started pushing her away, and Baozi, thinking she was right, huffed, "That kid's a real jerk—ask him how much it is!"
“Even if I sold you, I couldn’t afford to pay for it—it’s not about the money, I saw two of my old creditors.”
I regretted saying that, because Baozi glanced around and spotted the young actress. Excitedly, she exclaimed, "Hey, isn't that the actress from 'The Dog's Tail Flower'?" She started walking towards them. I grabbed her and shoved her away, but Baozi, pulling at my hand, pointed at Jin Shaoyan's back in surprise and said, "Isn't that...?"
"No!" I carried her to the door, shoved her through the revolving glass door, grabbed one side and spun her around, sending Baozi flying. I ran back, pulled the chairs from under Qin Shi Huang and Liu Bang, and told them to follow Baozi outside to wait for me. Qin Shi Huang said discontentedly, "What are you doing?" I lied to him, saying, "Let's eat somewhere else." Only then did he go out.
After everyone left, I wiped away my cold sweat, took out my phone, and called the number edited as "Jin Shaoyan (2)". Jin Shaoyan No. 2 answered casually and said, "What did you remember now? If you want to eat vinegar or garlic, just ask the waiter."
I said in a low voice, "Listen, Jin Shaoyan is sitting in the lobby with a girl right now. If you come out now, Caesar Restaurant is filming a ghost movie today. You two will turn into ghosts the moment you meet, right? I don't know about others, but even someone as brave as me can't stand it."
The future version of Jin Shaoyan gasped for breath and said, "I remember I went straight home after returning from Hong Kong that day. How did I end up eating Western food here?"
I said, "Let's not talk about that now. Let's think of a solution. You can't just stay in the bathroom until they finish eating, can you? He and that girl are still looking at the sheet music. This meal will definitely take two or three hours to finish."
Just then, their supervisor came over with a tray, asking me to pay the bill. I was holding the phone in one hand and didn't pay any attention to him, casually saying, "Looking for Jin Shaojie." He smiled at me and went straight to Jin Shaoyan, number 1. It wasn't until he stood smiling behind number 1 that I realized what was happening. I pulled him back with a chill, still shaken, and told him to wait a moment. Jin Shaoyan gave us a strange look.
I hummed in agreement and said, "Now there's another problem. They're asking me to pay, and if you don't come out soon, they'll settle the bill with you. Paying for yourself five days from now, that's considered overspending."
Jin Shaoyan, sitting in the toilet, said dejectedly, "You have to find a way to get him out of here. I've never spent so much time in the toilet before."
I held the empty bottle of Moutai in one hand and said, "Are you afraid of pain? I'll take him to the hospital, and he should be fine in five days."
Jin Shaoyan: "Boss, stop playing around and think of something!"
I said, "Put yourself in her shoes. When you're having dinner with a pretty girl, what would attract you?"
Jin Shaoyan thought for a long time, then said very seriously, "Then it can only be another pretty girl." He suddenly had a brilliant idea, "That's it! Let your cousin seduce him!"
"You're clearly taking advantage of someone's misfortune and kicking them when they're down. If you seduce him now, won't you be the one who benefits later? This method is not worth considering."
"Xiaoqiang, no, Brother Qiang, please, I really just want to get out of here. Just have your cousin do something polite, she's not really trying to seduce him."
I thought about it and realized this was the only way, so I called Baozi again and told her, "Have your cousin answer the phone." Then I gave her a series of instructions.
A few seconds later, Li Shishi walked in. As she passed Jin Shaoyan and his group, she "accidentally" stumbled and fell face-first onto the table, spilling a glass of water all over Jin Shaoyan. Jin Shaoyan frowned, only to see a stunningly beautiful woman awkwardly saying, "I'm so sorry, so very sorry." He froze. The young actress helped him wipe the water off, and the boy, his eyes fixed on Li Shishi, stammered, "It's okay...it's okay..." Seeing his state, the actress angrily threw a tissue at him. Jin Shaoyan then snapped out of his daze, chuckled, and said, "Excuse me," before getting up and heading to the restroom.
I immediately called Jin Shaoyan, number 2: "He's already in the restroom. As soon as you hear someone come in, head out immediately—is there no one in the restroom?"
Li Shishi completed her task and left, basking in the disdain of the young female star. I had already told her it was urgent, so although she found Jin Shaoyan (number 1) strange, she didn't ask anything. It was then that I realized another critical problem: what to do with this young female star?
The spot where he and No. 1 Jin Shaoyan were sitting was right in front of the restroom, so even if No. 2 Jin Shaoyan was wearing a watermarked outfit, she couldn't possibly not recognize him!
I immediately yelled into the phone, "The situation has changed, the plan is delayed."
Number 2, Jin Shaoyan, said anxiously, "What's going on? I've already seen him come in. If I don't go out now, I'll miss my chance!"
"The foxtail grass sits right across from the restroom, blocking the road!"
Jin Shaoyan paused for a moment, then realized what he meant and exclaimed, "She's a little slut, find someone to seduce her!"
Damn, who can I ask for help? If only Pan An and Song Yu were here.
After thinking about it, I had no choice but to call Baozi again. This time, I just asked her to call Liu Ji in.
When Liu Bang arrived, I pointed to the foxtail grass and asked him, "What do you think of that girl?"
"She's quite pretty..." Liu Bang said, looking at the puffed-up foxtail grass.
Damn it, that line again! I told him, "Brother Liu, I'm sorry to trouble you to go and flirt with her. Just sit across from her, and your job is to make her only look at your face."
Liu Bang stroked his chin and said, "I don't have any flowers growing on my face..."
“Those with flowers are monsters. Brother Liu, it’s time to show your charm. Remember: Once upon a time, your mother dreamed of a dragon coiled above, and that was you—anyway, you’re not human, so have confidence in yourself.”
"I'll give it a try." Liu Bang straightened his back, walked confidently to the opposite side of the foxtail grass, sat down, and said in a deep voice, "Want to hear my story—beauty?"
The foxtail grass, resting her chin on her hand, giggled, "It's been a long time since anyone called me that..."
I called number 2: "Come downstairs right now!"
Just as I hung up, Baozi called back: "Why aren't you guys out yet?" I told her to park the car at the entrance. At that moment, Number 2, Jin Shaoyan, rushed downstairs, threw a card at the supervisor, and ran off. Seeing him run outside, I grabbed Liu Bang by the collar and pulled him out. Just then, I heard Dogtail Flower saying, "You mean you're Liu Bang? Haha, you're so funny..."
I dragged Liu Bang outside and saw the car was already parked. I climbed into the driver's seat, tried to start the engine, but it wouldn't start. I tried twice, still nothing. I yelled, "Brother Yu, help!"
Xiang Yu jumped off the car and hoisted it onto his shoulder. Our car lurched and sped out of the parking lot. I picked up Xiang Yu, and we sped away, disappearing from everyone's sight.
Chapter Twenty-Six: The Squirrel Boy
On the bus, Baozi looked around at this and that, and tried to open his mouth several times, but I stopped him with my eyes.
Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer and turned sharply to Jin Shaoyan, saying, "Did you see that? There's someone at the restaurant who looks exactly like you. I didn't see his face, but the back of his head alone is amazing. I reckon if he went on a talent show to imitate you, he could win first place just based on his back."
Li Shishi gave Jin Shaoyan and me a deep look. Jin Shaoyan said awkwardly, "Is that so?"
Baozi: "Why don't we go back? I'll point it out to you. I think it's fate that there's someone in the world who looks just like you—even if it's just a similar appearance."