Martin Wu, stone-faced, was suddenly poked in the chest by Simon Yu. He reflexively slapped Simon’s hand away and snapped, “What are you grabbing at? You’re the one who’s soft and pudgy! Your whole family’s soft and pudgy! Everyone in your neighborhood’s soft and pudgy!”
With that, Martin Wu stomped off in a huff, leaving Simon Yu clutching his face, half-shouting, half-muttering, “Hey! You actually hit me? I was just being nice, and you treat me like I’m some kind of punching bag!”
Martin Wu returned to his seat, his face beet red. Lily Evans eyed him suspiciously and asked, “Martin, why do you look so flustered? You’re all out of breath—did something happen?”
Thinking of that dashing guy just now, Martin Wu felt both embarrassed and annoyed by that little slap. He stammered, “N-no, it’s nothing. I just ran into a stray dog on the street. It kept barking and drove me crazy!”
“A dog?” Lily Evans looked puzzled. She remembered that Arthur Evans’s restaurant didn’t keep dogs—just cats, for catching mice. So how could Martin Wu have run into a dog in the restaurant?
Just as she was thinking about it, Lily Evans subconsciously turned around and spotted a palm print on Simon Yu’s face. She shot Martin Wu a disapproving look—he was, after all, younger and one of her students. So even though Simon Yu had slapped him, she held back and just glared at Martin Wu, letting her eyes do the scolding.
Martin Wu could feel those eyes boring into his back. He whipped around, thinking, ‘This guy looks all gentlemanly, but why’s he always so handsy? I’m just a regular dude—what’s he poking me for?’
Could it be... he’s batting for the other team?
Rumor has it that in the capital, men loving men isn’t exactly rare. Take that Crown Prince Zhao Yanchuan from Chu—he’s famous for it! Folks from Six Fan Gate even found him covered in bruises in a men’s club.
Martin Wu shuddered at the thought. He’d rather go wrestle pigs than get tangled up in that kind of drama!
After Lily Evans and her students had finished their feast, everyone raved about the hot pot. During the meal, Lily noticed several diners popping in and out of Arthur Evans’s office, clearly interested in joining the hot pot franchise.
Lily Evans smiled, lips pressed together. With business booming on day one and so many eager to sign up, this hot pot shop was destined to be a gold mine!
Once the meal was over, the students dispersed. As their teacher, Ms. Yu was naturally invited by Arthur Evans—the parent and restaurant owner—for a private tea.
Inside, Mrs. Chen came in grinning from ear to ear, clutching today’s ledger. She beamed at Lily Evans, “Lily, take a look! Here’s our sales tally from opening until now—just half a day’s worth!”
Lily Evans took the ledger and laughed, “Well, would you look at that! Business is absolutely booming!”
“Isn’t it though? It’s off the charts!” Mrs. Chen was positively glowing. “First off, our shop’s right across from Eight Flavors Treasure House, so foot traffic’s huge. Then there’s the hot pot—branded with the Princess Qin’s name, and Lily, your cooking is practically legendary in the capital. The minute folks heard Princess Qin had a new dish and opened a shop, they just had to come try it! And finally, this hot pot is so good, once the customers taste it, they’re hooked. Our reputation is about to go through the roof!”
Mrs. Chen’s smile was so wide her eyes nearly disappeared. “See? I knew following Lily into business would be a silver mine! With the way this hot pot shop is going, it’ll out-earn our old family jewelry store in no time. When business is this good, you can’t help but feel fired up—I can’t wait to dive in and make it big!”