"Sir, here are your dishes."
The waitress smiled warmly as she brought each dish to the table.
Evan Lin sat in his seat, thought for a moment, then nodded. "You can have someone pick me up. I'm at a restaurant next to the commercial street."
After hanging up, Evan picked up his chopsticks and took a few bites.
Meanwhile, Mandy Yu was frozen in place, unable to move.
"Mandy?"
Noticing Mandy's strange reaction, the girl beside her waved a hand in front of her eyes. "What's wrong? Did you spot some handsome guy?"
After speaking, the girl followed Mandy's gaze and saw Evan Lin eating alone. Instantly, her eyebrows shot up. "Oh my god, why is he dressed so sloppily? He probably smells, too."
She turned to Harvey Jiao. "Harvey, doesn't your family's restaurant have any dress code? That guy is kind of ruining my appetite."
She spoke loudly, and since she was sitting close to Evan, her dissatisfaction was obvious.
Harvey Jiao glanced at Evan Lin sitting over there and spoke up. "My dad never set any real standards for this, but since you brought it up, I'll mention it to him when I get home."
"Let's just leave it for today. Dressed like that, he's lucky to even get in for a meal. I doubt he can order much—the prices here aren't cheap. He might just eat and leave."
Harvey wasn't planning to get up and throw Evan out directly.
After all, it was peak dining hour and the restaurant was pretty full.
If he insisted on kicking Evan out right now, for whatever reason, it would definitely hurt the restaurant's image.
"Harvey really is kind-hearted, always saving people's face. If this were my restaurant, I'd have the security guards kick him out in a heartbeat."
The girl beside Harvey covered her mouth and giggled. She looked across at Mandy Yu, who was still staring at Evan, and asked curiously, "What's up, Mandy? Why aren't you saying anything? Are you feeling sick?"
"Or is it that guy over there ruining your appetite? If that's the case, Harvey can call security and have a talk with him. He can just get his food packed up and eat outside. Worst case, we comp his meal."
As she spoke, her expression showed how proud she was to be with a rich second-generation like Harvey.
"No, it's just... he looks a lot like someone I know."
Mandy Yu looked hesitant, still not entirely sure.
Back in Whitewood County, the Evan Lin Mandy had seen was thinner and darker, not nearly as fair as he was now, and honestly, he looked pretty rustic.
Now, even without the Fire Spirit Body, Evan's features hadn't changed much, but he was noticeably sturdier than before.
Mandy watched Evan eat quickly with his chopsticks, her mind full of doubts.
"Who?"
One of the girls glanced over. "The way he eats, it's like he hasn't had a proper meal in ages. You actually know someone like that?"
"He's a friend of Ken Feng. I think he's studying in Jinnan now. Ken mentioned him to me before."
Mandy spoke softly.
She felt an inexplicable fear toward Evan Lin.
In Mandy's memory, Ken Feng, Evan Lin, and Hank Chu spent the most time together.
Ken Feng was the type who always liked to hang around her, Hank Chu was big, athletic, and straightforward, but Evan Lin always gave Mandy Yu the impression of someone hiding his true strength.
"Ken Feng? That toad from the little county?"
Hearing Mandy's words, Harvey Jiao immediately snorted. He glanced over at Evan Lin in the next seat, squinting as he sized him up. "Raymond Rong keeps saying he wants to teach that peeping toad a lesson, but now that the toad's friend is here, I guess it's time to give him a taste too."
Harvey thought for a moment, then waved his hand.
Soon, a waitress came over.
"Hello, is there anything I can help you with?"
The waitress smiled warmly.
"Could you call your manager over?"
Harvey said this, and the waitress didn't ask any questions, just nodded.
Shortly after, a middle-aged man in a suit walked over.
At first, the manager thought he was dealing with a difficult customer and was ready to make excuses. But after a few steps, he spotted Harvey Jiao sitting there, immediately smiled, and walked over. "Young Master Jiao, what brings you here?"
"If you're coming to eat, just let me know ahead of time so I can have the kitchen prepare something special for you."
Clearly, the manager knew Harvey Jiao.
"No need to be so polite, Manager Cui. I'm just here for a simple meal with some classmates, but now my mood's been ruined."
With that, Harvey glanced coldly toward Evan Lin. "Normally, I wouldn't bother with this, but when my dad opened this restaurant, he wanted it to be high-end."
"Now, with some shabby-looking kid eating here—not only does he ruin the atmosphere and spoil everyone's appetite, but look at how much food he ordered by himself. Can he even afford to pay?"
While Harvey and his friends were talking, waiters kept bringing out dish after dish.
Within just a few minutes, Evan's table was crowded with all kinds of dishes.
Among them were some extremely expensive items, including two massive Australian lobsters, each weighing over ten pounds—their size was impossible to miss.
Evan ate quickly, completely different from the other diners who nibbled politely at their food.
"Uh..."
Manager Cui paused and glanced quickly at the table.
The total for this table was around five thousand yuan—not something an average person could afford.
"Think about it, my dad opened this restaurant and hired you to make money," Harvey Jiao said with a smile. "But when people like this order food, I think it's best to take payment up front."
"Otherwise, if he finishes eating and can't pay, you can't exactly sell him off to cover the bill, right? So who eats the loss?"
Harvey looked completely at ease.
As soon as he finished, the two girls beside him nodded eagerly.
"Exactly! And that guy's from some small county, too. I bet he came here planning to eat for free."
"He totally looks shady. When you take someone's order, you should judge by the person! Otherwise, what if Harvey's family's restaurant loses money because of him?"
The two girls chimed in, one after the other.
After a moment's hesitation, Mandy Yu also nodded. "I think so too!"
Mandy glanced at Evan Lin; though her eyes still held a trace of unease, she ultimately chose to side with Harvey and the others—and with Raymond Rong.