Chapter 351 - 351: Barbecue
“Squeak!” Zhou Chao smoothly parked the car near a barbecue restaurant.
“We’ve arrived, it’s this restaurant!”
Jiang Li looked in the direction Zhou Chao was pointing. Many people were eating barbecue and drinking by the roadside.
“Brother Chao, is this a good place?”
“It’s decent. 1 checked the online ratings just now; it’s rated 4.2, and it’s the highest-rated barbecue place nearby.”
“Okay.” Jiang Li nodded.
Then the two of them opened the car doors and headed towards the barbecue restaurant.
“Are you here for barbecue? Feel free to sit anywhere!” The owner, who appeared to be in his forties, greeted them and continued to skewer food.
Zhou Chao glanced around, finally choosing to dine outside since it was more comfortable with better ventilation.
“What do you want to eat?” Zhou Chao walked to the fridge with a basket in his hand.
“This, that, and some chicken feet. Hmm, let’s get more of this and a fish!” After a moment, Zhou Chao’s basket was filled to the brim.
“Can you finish all of this?”
Jiang Li glanced at Zhou Chao and smirked.
“It’s not just for me; there’s you too!”
Zhou Chao was speechless.
He handed the basket to the owner’s wife and grabbed two bottles of water. The two of them then headed to the small tables set up on the sidewalk.
“Wifey, do you have plans for tomorrow?”
“What’s the matter? 1 should be going to work tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow is the 2nd, it’s the weekend! You’re going to work on the weekend?” Zhou Chao looked at Jiang Li as if she was an idiot.
“Uh, tomorrow is indeed the weekend. I forgot. Well, then I’m free. What’s up?” Jiang Li quickly took out her phone and checked, confirming that it was indeed the weekend.
“Just now, the neighbor’s steward came by and invited us to their place for a visit tomorrow. I wanted to see if you’d like to join me!”
Jiang Li thought for a moment and shook her head.
“Never mind, Brother Chao, I won’t go. 1 don’t know them well, and it might be a bit awkward.”
“What’s there to be awkward about? Are you afraid they’ll eat us? It’s fine if you don’t want to go. Then, you can enjoy a lazy day at home tomorrow.”
“Okay!”
Soon, the owner’s wife brought over two large plates and one small plate of barbecue. The small plate contained the grilled fish Jiang Li had ordered.
Jiang Li, who had been hungry for a long time, picked up a skewer and started munching. Zhou Chao, on the other hand, wasn’t very hungry because he had eaten a lot of fruits and snacks while gaming earlier.
Jiang Li had a lamb skewer in her hand, but they were small portions, not the big, juicy lamb skewers. She swiftly finished more than twenty of them.
“Take your time eating; no one is competing with you!”
“I’m so satisfied; it’s really delicious. Let’s come here for supper in the future!” Jiang Li looked at him with hopeful eyes.
Zhou Chao nodded helplessly.
“Alright, we can come here whenever we want to eat!”
“Thank you, Brother Chao! Brother Chao, you’re great!” Jiang Li’s laughter attracted the attention of many people who were having supper.
Meanwhile, not far from them, two middle-aged men in their forties were sitting at a table, eyeing them.
“Third Brother, did you see that? The couple at the last table, the guy is handsome, and the girl is beautiful!” A bald middle-aged man with a beer bottle in hand was assessing Zhou Chao and Jiang Li.
“I’m not blind. Fuck! I’ve only seen such a beautiful woman on my phone, what a pity!”
“What’s there to pity? With your appearance, why do you think you deserve such a beautiful woman? What makes you think you have a chance? You’re so drunk that you’re starting to daydream!” Perhaps due to excessive drinking, the bald man mocked directly.
“Get lost!” Third Brother shouted angrily, as if he had touched a nerve.
Third Brother’s voice echoed through the entire street, drawing the attention of many people, including Jiang Li and the others.
“Why are these people so irritable tonight?” Jiang Li turned to ask.
“How would I know? Maybe it’s because their day job is too stressful, so they seek indulgence at night.” After all, Zhou Chao hadn’t experienced such things, so he couldn’t understand their feelings.
Oh.” Jiang Li nodded with a vague understanding and continued to eat.
“Brother Chao, 1 need to use the restroom.”
“Sure, do you want me to accompany you? There’s a restroom inside the barbecue restaurant.” Zhou Chao put down his chopsticks upon hearing Jiang Li’s request.
“Is there one inside? Then I’ll go by myself!” Jiang Li got up and headed inside.
“All!” But soon, a scream came from inside.
“Jiang Li!” Zhou Chao, who had been eating and playing with his phone, turned pale as soon as he heard the scream. He hurriedly rushed inside.
Upon entering, he saw the man who had shouted outside blocking Jiang Li’s path with his arms wide open.
“Hey beautiful, can I have your contact information?” Third Brother, who was clearly drunk, looked at Jiang Li with a lecherous smile and occasionally licked his lips.
“I’ll give you a piece of my mind!” Zhou Chao, who had arrived just in time, kicked him aside onto the nearby freezer.
“Ouch!” Third Brother fell onto the freezer and then onto the ground, groaning in pain.
“Wifey, are you okay?”
Jiang Li, who had regained her composure, shook her head.
“I’m fine. I just came out of the restroom, and he startled me. Nothing else happened.”
Zhou Chao carefully examined Jiang Li and confirmed that she hadn’t suffered any injuries. He breathed a sigh of relief and then turned his gaze to the still-sitting Third Brother.
Perhaps due to excessive drinking, Third Brother tried to stand up, but after several attempts, he couldn’t get up. He decided to sit on the ground, leaning against the freezer.
At this moment, his middle-aged friend also entered the scene and hurried over when he saw Third Brother sitting on the ground.
“Third Brother, are you okay?”
“Brother, you came just in time. He kicked me a moment ago. Help me up, and let’s confront him together!” Third Brother tried to get up with the help of his friend’s shoulder, but he stumbled and sat down again.
The middle-aged man also learned about what had happened from the conversations of the people around him.
He approached Zhou Chao and Jiang Li to apologize.
“Brother, I’m sorry. My friend had a bit too much to drink today and offended you both. 1’11 compensate you on his behalf.”
As the saying goes, don’t kick a man when he’s already down. Watching the middle-aged man’s behavior, Zhou Chao felt some of his anger subside. He glanced at Jiang Li, who gave a gentle nod in agreement.
“You should advise your friend to drink less or not at all if he can’t handle alcohol. It’s better to avoid situations where he might get into trouble when he drinks too much,” Zhou Chao said in a calm tone, glancing briefly at the man sitting on the ground.
Having said that, he didn’t pay any more attention to the two men and instead looked at the owner not far away.
“Boss, how much is it?”
“258 yuan!”
“Brother, I’ll handle this, consider it compensation for your trouble!” The middle-aged man quickly offered.
“No need, 1’11 take care of it myself.” Zhou Chao took out his phone and made the payment. Then he held Jiang Li’s hand and walked out.
Before long, a faint rumbling sound echoed through the street, and the people at the barbecue restaurant saw Zhou Chao and Jiang Li, who had left moments ago, disappearing into the night in a Lamborghini.
“Damn, I didn’t expect he’s a rich second-generation. He’s wearing pajamas to eat barbecue, so cool!” An unimown passerby, while skewering food, looked envious.
By the time they returned home, it was nearly two in the morning. Jiang Li had been silent throughout the way.
“What’s wrong, Wifey? Are you still thinking about what happened earlier?” Zhou Chao was also pondering. If his wife was genuinely unhappy, he would need to teach that person a lesson.
“It’s nothing. It was just a little startling at the beginning. I’m actually thinking that I haven’t been to work for half a month, and 1 have no idea what’s going on there!”
Zhou Chao smiled and rubbed Jiang Li’s head.
“Don’t worry too much. With those executives in charge, what do you have to worry about? Right now, all you need to do is freshen up and get some sleep!”
“Okay.” Jiang Li nodded and headed for the bathroom.
After they both finished freshening up and went to bed, it was already three in the morning. In less than three minutes, they both fell into a deep slumber.
The next day, in the morning.
Zhou Chao woke up close to 10:30 am and looked at Jiang Li, who was still fast asleep. He rubbed his slightly tired face and got out of bed.
He took off his pajamas and headed for the bathroom.
When Zhou Chao came out of the bathroom, he noticed that Jiang Li had already woken up.
“Why didn’t you sleep a little longer? Did I disturb you?”
“No, I woke up on my own.”
“Well, you can figure out lunch by yourself, order takeout, or cook something.”
“Don’t worry, I’m a grown-up. I can still make some food. You make it sound like I’m a child!” Jiang Li looked at Zhou Chao with disdain.
Zhou Chao walked over to Jiang Li and lifted her small head with his index finger.
“You’ll always be my little treasure!” He kissed her on the forehead.
But Jiang Li blocked his advance with her hand.
“I haven’t brushed my teeth!”
Zhou Chao burst into laughter and the more he laughed, the louder it got. He ended up falling onto the bed.
“You crack me up! 1 never thought you were so particular about these little details!”
“Of course!” Jiang Li had a somewhat smug look on her face.
Zhou Chao rubbed his face, which had become a bit red from laughing too hard, and stood up from the bed.
“I’ll head out for a bit, and I’ll be back later.”
“Okay, off you go!”
After giving Jiang Li a gentle kiss on the forehead, Zhou Chao made his way downstairs.
Just as he was about to leave, he paused.
“Should 1 bring a gift with me? It feels a bit impolite to arrive empty-handed.” After a moment of consideration, Zhou Chao decided to fetch two bottles of premium Maotai from the wine cellar. Although they were not as expensive as the previous red wine, they were still quite valuable.
Carrying the bottles of Maotai, he walked over to the neighboring villa.
“Wow, how did I never notice this before? This place has a more luxurious vibe than my own!” Zhou Chao marveled. Beneath an elegant European-style arch, there was a small wooden door that was now wide open. Several welcoming staff were standing at the entrance.
Without much thought, Zhou Chao walked towards the main entrance. As he approached the door, the butler who had previously invited him to his residence came forward.
“Mr. Zhou, you’ve arrived. Please come in.” The butler’s respectful attitude surprised the welcoming staff at the door, but they quickly regained their composure.
“No trouble at all.” Zhou Chao walked inside, and the butler followed closely.
“Master, Mr.. Zhou has arrived!”