Chapter 7 - Time to Eat!

Chapter 7: Time to Eat!

In the end, Teacher Zeng was the one who backed down, decisively giving up any thought of resistance. As a result, Chen Yuze, Lu Zhanbo, and Lin Wanyu smoothly moved into Apartment 3601, filling it to capacity—truly a cause for celebration.

Over in Apartment 3602, there was still one vacancy left, but Ziqiao and Meijia hadn’t moved in yet, they were still hauling their luggage. Of course, the others weren’t the type to just stand by and watch, so they helped the two settle in without a hitch.

Once everything was moved in, Ziqiao, wanting to thank Teacher Zeng, offered to treat him to a meal. Just then, Chen Yuze and the others arrived at the door. Hu Yifei and the rest rushed in excitedly: “A treat? Great! What are we eating? What?”

Lü Ziqiao was completely dumbstruck by the sudden crowd. He had heard about a nice place called Xiao Nanguo nearby, but it was also pretty expensive. With this many people, wouldn’t it bankrupt him? Thinking fast, he suggested, “How about I treat everyone to hot pot? All-you-can-eat, no limits!”

Hu Yifei and the others mentally switched to “vibration mode”: “Never mind, forget it.”

The mention of hot pot instantly killed their enthusiasm. They had hoped for a decent meal to celebrate the new tenants, but all they got was a bowl of hot pot—something none of them in Love Apartment were particularly fond of.

“Alright, I’ll call and order KFC instead,” Wanyu volunteered to take charge of arranging dinner.

The others were more than happy with that—KFC was definitely better than hot pot. Lin Wanyu picked up the phone and dialed, and the KFC staff answered promptly. Holding the receiver, she said, “Hello, I’d like one order of KFC!”

“Just KFC. Do you have different sizes? How big is the large mashed potatoes? This big? And the medium? That big? Then what about this big?” Her bizarre line of questioning left everyone baffled. She was gesturing sizes over the phone—could the person on the other end even see her?

Somehow, Wanyu seemed perfectly content with this absurd exchange. It was a mystery how she and the staff managed to communicate via “phone sign language” for so long. Eventually, the others couldn’t take it anymore.

“You know what? Hot pot actually sounds pretty good. Who’s in?” Hu Yifei deadpanned, looking around.

Teacher Zeng nodded. “Great idea! I’m all for hot pot. Let’s go?”

The two of them turned to the group. Chen Yuze sighed. “I know a nice place called Xiao Nanguo. I’ll treat everyone—consider it a celebration of us officially moving in. We’ll all be under the same roof from now on!”

“Hooray!” Teacher Zeng cheered. Everyone quickly got up, ready to head to Xiao Nanguo—it was a bit of a trip, after all.

Lin Wanyu watched as the others prepared to leave, then smiled faintly. “Heh… I still just want KFC…”

Finally, the KFC staff had had enough and hung up. Chen Yuze gave Wanyu a helpless look. “Wanyu, don’t order like that next time—especially not KFC. You might get blacklisted. People will think you’re deliberately messing with the customer service rep.”

Wanyu laughed sheepishly and hurried off to her room to finish unpacking. As Chen Yuze watched her, he couldn’t help but worry about the group’s collective IQ. She was decked out in designer brands—just one outfit of hers could probably buy a house. Had none of them wondered why someone like her would move in here? If he’d known how oblivious they were, he wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble disguising his own background.

Five minutes later, everyone had changed and gathered downstairs. Since Xiao Nanguo was a fair distance away, they’d need to drive. Currently, only two people in Love Apartment had cars: Teacher Zeng’s Xiali and Chen Yuze’s SUV.

The guys all wanted to ride in the SUV, it was rugged, imposing, and just plain cool-looking. But the girls ruthlessly overruled them. In the end, Hu Yifei, Chen Meijia, and Wanyu secured spots in the SUV, along with Chen Yuze as the driver.

As for the others? They all squeezed into Teacher Zeng’s Xiali. It wasn’t too cramped—with Teacher Zeng driving, there were only three of them. Love Apartment was seriously lacking in women, and once Guangu moved in, the gender imbalance would only get worse.

Hu Yifei, sitting in the passenger seat, examined the SUV’s interior. “Yuze, I didn’t realize you were so well-off. Genuine leather seats? And the whole setup must’ve cost a fortune!”

Only Lin Wanyu noticed something odd—she spotted a label in one corner. The leather wasn’t just real; it was a high-end brand, the same one used in her family’s cars. But she kept quiet. Everyone had their secrets.

“Necessary, I guess. I used to spend a lot of time in this thing—it was my first home. And the people I dealt with were either rich or powerful. Couldn’t have it looking shabby. Sometimes I’d be driving for over half a month, so I made sure it was comfortable,” Chen Yuze explained vaguely.

“By the way, Yuze, what do you do for a living to afford such a luxurious ride?” Chen Meijia was practically drooling over the interior—it was like a home on wheels.

“Didn’t Yifei tell you? I’m an adventurer. Or, more accurately, an extreme tour guide,” Chen Yuze replied simply. The less he said, the better.

“Oh! I know about that!” Wanyu chimed in. “Extreme tour guiding is a booming industry in the U.S. lately—taking people on adventures everywhere. Sounds amazing! You must’ve been to so many places!”

“Not really. Just for fun,” Chen Yuze deflected. He couldn’t risk elaborating—what if they asked him to take them somewhere or show them photos? That’d be the end of him.

“Wait, is it profitable?” Meijia, currently jobless (and so was Ziqiao), perked up at the mention of money, not out of greed, but necessity.

“Meijia, this industry pays extremely well. From what I know, they charge by the hour, sometimes even by the minute. But it’s dangerous work. One wrong move, and things can go south fast. The higher-tier guides make the most,” Wanyu explained. Meijia shook her head—this wasn’t the job for her.

“Hey, Yuze, got any assignments coming up?” Hu Yifei turned to him, eyes gleaming with something like excitement.