Chapter 12: The Destroyer of Harmonious Dinners

Seeing the strange expression on Yang Xiaoyu’s face, I instantly understood the implication and felt a bit at a loss. If she hadn't pointed it out, I wouldn't have realized that a man spanking her really did come across as a bit too flirtatious.

"Well... I’m your brother; it’s only natural to spank you when you say something wrong," I said, pretending everything was perfectly normal. I quickly put my hands behind my back and turned to walk toward the restaurant first.

"Sure, sure..." Yang Xiaoyu mimicked my posture, walking behind me while staring at the sky with a naive, dazed look, putting on a show of her own.

Ever since that awkward moment, we both walked with perfect decorum. Even Yang Xiaoyu, who loved to mess around, maintained a rare, quiet silence.

"This is it." Reaching the sidewalk, I looked up at the restaurant sign to confirm it, then waved at Yang Xiaoyu to signal for her to go in first.

"Honestly, Brother Yang, even if there are fewer cars at night, this is way further than the 'it’s just a short walk' you told me earlier," Yang Xiaoyu pouted, sounding rather dissatisfied.

"You didn't say anything earlier... why complain now that we’re here?"

"You." Yang Xiaoyu stared into my eyes for a moment, and her face flushed red again.

Seeing her delicate little face flush, I knew she was thinking about our earlier intimacy. I wanted to slap myself—why was I so loose-lipped? We had finally moved past the awkwardness, and now I had blown away the hard-won calm.

"Um... you go in first. Tongtong and Zhang Jiaxin should already be there; I’ll wait for the others," I said, gesturing toward the entrance with my chin.

"Oh." Yang Xiaoyu was unusually obedient this time, heading inside without a word. It almost gave me the illusion that this girl only behaved when she was given a spanking.

"Room 666," I called out to her back, realizing she was walking in blindly without even knowing the room number.

Turning back to the empty street, the snow had stopped falling. A sense of loneliness seemed to flow through the air, cool and biting, seeping into my lungs and chilling my heart.

With my hands in my pockets, I looked in the direction of the wind. The street was lined with dimming shop lights, and the few pedestrians were mostly middle school students who had just finished tutoring. Each of them carried a heavy-looking backpack, wearing small but thick glasses, chatting and laughing as they walked.

"Brother."

I followed the voice a few steps forward and glanced at the sidewalk on the same side. From a distance, I saw Zhao Kewen walking quickly toward me through the snow.

"My dear brother, have you been waiting long?" Zhao Kewen was dressed as luxuriously as ever: a dark yellow short mink jacket, a dark leather skirt that looked thin but was made of an unknown material, and a pair of extremely thin cotton leggings over her long, slender legs. She looked sexy without appearing bulky.

"I just got here myself." I made a "please enter" gesture and followed Zhao Kewen into the restaurant.

I pushed open the door to the room we had reserved, and the sight before me left me dumbfounded.

"Tongtong, you’re too slow! No way, you have to drink this one for me." Yang Xiaoyu was pouting, seemingly having just lost a round, and was complaining to Zhang Tongtong. Inside the room, Zhang Jiaxin, Yang Xiaoyu, and Zhang Tongtong were playing cards. It was clearly a game of Fight the Landlord. The part that left me speechless was that the three girls were playing for drinks—one glass for every loss, with the doubling rules of standard Fight the Landlord.

"Little Yu, how’s the record?" Zhao Kewen hung her coat on the rack and ran behind Yang Xiaoyu, watching the game with excitement.

"Don't even ask, I've already lost a bottle of beer..." Yang Xiaoyu touched her cards in frustration, seemingly having lost all hope of a comeback.

Hearing this, I couldn't help but laugh. Under Yang Xiaoyu’s angry glare, I said, "You’ve only been in this room for a few minutes. Even if you lost every hand, you wouldn't have lost a whole bottle."

"Mind your own business," Yang Xiaoyu snapped at me, then organized her hand and ignored me, focusing back on her cards.

Looking at how Yang Xiaoyu and Zhang Tongtong held their cards, I knew they were total amateurs, nowhere near the level of Zhang Jiaxin, a seasoned veteran who had been playing with me for years.

I quietly stood behind Zhang Jiaxin, looked at her cards, and whispered in her ear, "They’re both rookies. Take it easy on them; it’ll be trouble if they get too drunk."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Zhang Jiaxin whispered back when the others weren't looking. However, this didn't escape Zhao Kewen’s notice. She smiled at me and said, "Brother, you aren't allowed to help your ex-girlfriend, or I’ll get jealous."

Damn. Where did that come from?

Sure enough, as soon as Zhao Kewen’s provocative words came out, Zhang Jiaxin’s aura shifted. She looked up, staring coldly at the poised and smiling Zhao Kewen, and said in an unfriendly tone, "What's the meaning of pointing fingers from the sidelines? If you're so good, why don't you play?"

"Fine, Mermaid, give me the cards." Zhao Kewen was clearly the type who loved to stir up trouble; she wasn't intimidated at all. She took Yang Xiaoyu’s cards and sat down across from Zhang Jiaxin.

I watched Zhao Kewen’s smiling face with a dark expression. I didn't know what she was playing at; it was supposed to be a nice dinner, and now she was making things tense.

Even though I was dissatisfied with Zhao Kewen’s behavior, I couldn't say it outright. Since they were already playing, I decided to just watch and see.

"Three with one."

"I’ll match that three with one." Zhang Jiaxin responded immediately to the cards Zhao Kewen had played.

"Oh, the little girl has a stubborn temper, doesn't she? Let's see if you can handle these." Zhao Kewen licked her lips with her pink tongue and played three Aces and a Two.

"Sorry, but mine is just a little bit bigger." To my amazement, Zhang Jiaxin threw out all her best cards at once—three Twos and a small Joker...

"Um... Sister Xiaoxin." Zhang Tongtong looked at the few cards left on the table. There were no small cards, and she seemed a bit confused.

"Well? Are you going to beat it?" Zhang Jiaxin was no longer treating this as a casual game; she was treating it as a battle against Zhao Kewen.

"No... I just thought..."

Zhao Kewen waved a hand to stop Zhang Tongtong from speaking, signaling for Zhang Jiaxin to continue.

I knew Zhang Jiaxin was acting out of spite, but her hand was indeed strong. If she hadn't been acting on impulse, she could have played slowly and won without any issues.

"Big Joker." Zhang Jiaxin seized the chance when Zhang Tongtong played a single card and sealed it with the Big Joker.

No... I wanted to stop her, but it was too late; she had already thrown the card.

"I win!" Zhang Jiaxin laughed, ready to toss her cards.

"Wait... little sister, you didn't check for bombs? You aren't even counting the cards, are you?" Zhao Kewen smiled confidently and threw four Fives onto the table. "Sometimes, if you're too impatient, you lose miserably. You know that?"

Listening to Zhao Kewen, I sighed softly. In truth, Zhang Jiaxin had been too impatient. She still had one Ace left; she should have played that first and finished with the Big Joker. Since there was a single Two out there, having the Big Joker meant she had a great chance of winning even if she got bombed.

Zhang Jiaxin looked at the four Fives on the table with a sour expression, her last Ace hovering in mid-air, unplayed.

"What should I play now... you only have one card left..." Zhao Kewen held her remaining cards, looking indecisive.

Zhang Jiaxin pulled her hand back and fell silent, losing her earlier energy.

"I remember you have a King. I’ll top you with a King, and Tongtong can take it and play a pair to finish." Zhao Kewen threw a King in front of Zhang Jiaxin and kept signaling for Zhang Tongtong to follow suit.

"Yay! I won!" Seeing the King, Zhang Jiaxin realized what was happening, excitedly threw her last card on the table, stood up from her chair, and subconsciously grabbed my hand, cheering happily.

"Done, I'm done. This is boring." Zhao Kewen threw her remaining cards into the pile, then turned and walked out to tell the waiter they could start serving the food.

Looking at the cards Zhao Kewen had discarded, I smiled inwardly. Was this Sister Kewen’s way of hitting someone and then offering a candy?

"Oh, Sister Kewen, you lost too, so you have to drink another glass!" Yang Xiaoyu only cared about the results. Seeing Zhao Kewen lose, she lost all her energy, looking at the beer bottles that had just arrived with even more discouragement.

"It's fine, Sister will drink for you." Zhao Kewen generously grabbed a bottle of beer.

Zhang Jiaxin, sitting next to me, was feeling satisfied after her win against Zhao Kewen. She was very quiet now, a faint smile on her face as she watched the other three girls bickering.

Amidst the chatter and laughter, the dishes were finally all served. I filled the glasses with beer and stood up to propose a toast: "Everyone here is either a sister or a younger sister to me, Yang Chen. You have all helped me so much in the past. The opening of 'Seek' and its current success could not have happened without every one of you. Today, I finally had time to gather you all for a meal to express my gratitude as an incompetent boss."

With a shout of "Cheers!", everyone downed their first glass in one go. I smiled knowingly and said, "Eat up, beauties. Don't worry about dieting for this meal."

"Wait a second..." Just then, Zhao Kewen softly interrupted the rhythm I had managed to keep under control. She said, "We shouldn't just focus on eating. Since we were fated to gather here, everyone should stand up and have a toast."

Looking at the excited Zhao Kewen, I helplessly refilled the glasses, muttering to myself: Sister Kewen, shall I give you the title of "Harmonious Dinner Party Terminator"? What are you trying to do now?