“Rong Jie, so you were here all along?”

Zhang Hao’s voice drifted in from outside. Rong Qian looked up and saw Zhang Hao, along with Xu Yang and Lu Huayi, all making their way over.

Noticing the boss standing nearby, Zhang Hao asked, “Rong Jie, who’s he?”

“He’s the owner of this restaurant, surname Chen — just call him Boss Chen.” Rong Qian stood up, stretched lazily, said a brief farewell to Boss Chen, and made to leave.

Boss Chen glanced at Zhang Hao and the others, then turned to Rong Qian. “Among these gentlemen, surely one must be this young lady’s boyfriend? Let me guess — which one is it?”

At those words, both Zhang Hao and Xu Yang instinctively checked their own appearance, and even their posture changed. Lu Huayi, on the other hand, remained completely indifferent.

With a single glance, Boss Chen could already tell who had feelings for Rong Qian.

“No need to guess — none of them.” Rong Qian gave him no chance to speculate, said her piece, and walked out first.

At that, Zhang Hao’s shoulders drooped and he deflated entirely, listlessly turning to follow Rong Qian.

Xu Yang, by contrast, revealed nothing on his face — it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Only after Lu Huayi had also followed Rong Qian out did Xu Yang’s gaze drift to the photograph of Shen Yi on the wall.

“Sir, please come down to the dining room.” Boss Chen stepped into his line of sight and gestured toward the stairs.

Xu Yang nodded. Before leaving, he stole one more glance at the photograph. That man — he felt as though he had seen him somewhere before.

The restaurant was packed with guests, yet the dishes still arrived quickly.

But before even half their food had been served, Boss Chen came rushing down the stairs. He offered his apologies to every table, explaining that someone had booked the restaurant on short notice and that all guests would unfortunately need to leave at once.

Furthermore, to make up for the inconvenience, not only would tonight’s dinner be entirely on the house, but he would also personally reimburse each guest for their meal.

Even so, some customers were furious — cursing under their breath as they slammed down their chopsticks and stormed out. Boss Chen could only bow repeatedly, absorbing every word of displeasure without complaint.

“What’s going on? We can’t finish eating?” Lu Huayi, oblivious to the situation, hadn’t quite grasped what was happening.

Zhang Hao explained, “Apparently some bigwig has reserved the whole restaurant. Not only do we not have to pay for our meal, the owner is actually going to compensate us for it.”

“So we’re actually coming out ahead?” Lu Huayi took it in his stride — he genuinely couldn’t see what there was to be angry about.

Xu Yang spoke up then, his tone mild: “Money is one thing. What matters is face.”

“Oh, right, I get it now.” Lu Huayi feigned a look of deep reflection, but quickly decided that persona didn’t suit him, and went back to eating with his head down. They were leaving anyway — no point in wasting food.

Xu Yang was also among the guests who took issue with the slight. He set down his chopsticks, pulled out a napkin to dab at his mouth, and his expression had turned distinctly sour.

When Boss Chen made his way over to their table to offer his apologies, Xu Yang looked him squarely in the eye and said: “Boss Chen, I don’t appreciate being turned out halfway through a meal. And reserving a restaurant while guests are still eating — that’s a deeply unpleasant thing to do.”

He lifted his teacup, took a slow sip, then continued: “I’ll pay for the reservation myself. Tonight, this restaurant belongs to Xu Yang.”

Lu Huayi watched with the expression of someone witnessing a very wealthy man being very wealthy — now that was imposing.

Boss Chen apologized sincerely, “Sir, I’m truly sorry. It isn’t that I’m unwilling to reserve the restaurant for you — it’s that this particular guest is someone I simply cannot afford to offend.”

“And who is this guest?” Xu Yang asked directly.

Boss Chen didn’t try to hide it. “I don’t know if sir has heard of the Yao Family. This evening, Mr. Zong Yutang is bringing his wife for dinner. If you’re not familiar with the name, it may be worth looking into.”

“The Yao Family?” Xu Yang’s brow creased. When it came to Hong Kong’s most prominent Yao Family, there was really only one that everyone knew.

Much as he hated to admit it, Xu Yang knew he didn’t have the standing to pick a fight with that particular family.

Boss Chen read his expression and knew exactly what he was thinking. He smiled faintly and gestured toward the exit.

“Is there a particular reason they chose tonight?” Rong Qian spoke up suddenly.

Boss Chen had a good impression of her and was willing to answer. “Well, from what I understand, Mr. Zong Yutang and his wife are coming specifically to speak with a young lady — surname Rong, given name Qian.”

Rong Qian blinked. Zong Yutang and Yao Na were here to see her? How did they even know she existed — let alone that she was in this restaurant?

Could it be that from the very moment they landed, she had already been under surveillance?

“Rong Qian? Officer Jie, what a coincidence — same name as you!” Lu Huayi caught Boss Chen’s words and turned to tease Rong Qian without thinking.

Boss Chen overheard and looked at Rong Qian with curiosity. “Is that so? This young lady is also called Rong Qian?”

“Stop looking — I’m the one they want to see. Just tell them to come find me.” Rong Qian calmly lifted her tea and took a sip, no longer in any hurry to leave.

Zhang Hao was immediately curious. “Rong Jie, do you know this man called Zong Yutang?”

“No.” Rong Qian answered truthfully.

Zhang Hao’s eyes went wide. She didn’t know them, yet she dared to let them come find her? You couldn’t just go around doing that because you happened to share the same name, surely?

Boss Chen’s expression also turned slightly odd. At that moment, a message arrived on his phone. He picked it up and found a photograph — it was Rong Qian, taken just after she had landed.

Boss Chen hurriedly addressed her with new politeness. “Miss Rong, I apologize for my earlier presumption. Please take a seat and wait a moment — I’ll go pass the word along.”

“Off you go then, thank you for your trouble.” Rong Qian gave him a little wave.

The shift in Boss Chen’s attitude was not lost on Xu Yang and the others — they were all visibly surprised. Lu Huayi even checked with Rong Qian directly: “Officer Jie, are you really sure you don’t know the Yao Family? If you don’t, isn’t this a bit risky — showing up in someone else’s name?”

“Who said anything about showing up in someone else’s name? Am I not called Rong Qian?” Rong Qian was completely unruffled, her logic airtight.

The calmer she was, the more anxious the rest of them became. When the guests arrived and realized something was off, would they all get thrown out by the security guards?

Rong Qian’s own expression, however, had turned serious. She was thinking: who had instructed Yao Na to come looking for her?

And once they met — what was it Yao Na wanted to say?