The waiter soon brought the tray in. "I apologize, there are only sixteen scallops. We only have one Australian lobster—shall we make congee with it?"

Actually, the legs and head of the Austrailian lobster would be better for making soup, but the problem was there was only one lobster, meaning how much meat could there possibly be? Deciding who to give it to was an issue, and it was better to just make congee with it.

The waiter mumbled an "oh," set down the scallops, and retreated.

The waiter left, and everyone looked at the scallops on their respective plates. There were eighteen people present, but only sixteen scallops, meaning two people wouldn't get any.

"I'm not that fond of scallops anyway; you all eat them." Wang Qiqi hadn't expected that there would truly be two missing. Well, she definitely wouldn't eat one, but who was the other person who wouldn't get one?

Just as everyone was contemplating who among them wouldn't get a scallop, a loud burp suddenly echoed. "Yingying, have you eaten enough?" Han Meina said without reserve, "But then again, you ate so much just now, five steamed buns too. It'd be strange if you didn't burp."

Han Meina spoke with utter disdain. Gong Yiying truly suffered a double loss this time. She had originally intended to tarnish Wang Qiqi's image, but unexpectedly, the counterattack came so quickly, and it was a massive joke at her own expense.

Gong Yiying patted her bulging stomach. She truly regretted it. She hadn't even eaten scallops that many times before. She never expected Wang Qiqi's man would be generous enough to treat them to scallops, and an Australian lobster too. "Qiqi, you didn't deliberately order too few scallops and the lobster, did you?" Two scallops short, only one lobster—what was the meaning behind that arrangement?

Wang Qiqi shot Gong Yiying a glare. "If I had known there would be scallops, would I have let you eat steamed buns? Besides, you said you were hungry yourself. Should I have stopped you from getting full? That would just lead to more accusations later. Moreover, when I ordered, I didn't even know they stocked seafood here. I only asked casually when I saw some seafood earlier. The owner said they had to buy it fresh, otherwise, if they purchased it and no guests wanted it, wouldn't he suffer a huge loss?"

"Exactly, this meal is already quite good." After interacting with Han Tao a few more times, Duan Xiaomin really admired him. Being a high school student yet already working as a tutor—his tutoring fees were no less expensive than a teacher's. Even so, many parents desperately wanted Han Tao to tutor their children. What terrifying capability that implied.

Bai Ge finished eating her scallop and shot Gong Yiying a contemptuous look. "Just now you were clamoring about wanting this and that, and now you’re saying Qiqi is bullying you? The waiter also said that was all they had." This meal was already very good, much better than when Deng Zhi and the others treated them. If it weren't for the fear of making the scene awkward, Bai Ge would have told Gong Yiying that if she wanted to eat them, she should have asked her man to buy them—wasn't she always boasting about how wealthy Deng Zhi's family was? Deng Zhi wouldn't possibly lack the money for a few scallops.

Wang Qiqi glared at a certain someone, swallowing the fire rising in her belly. So, everything was her fault? "You already burped because you were full. As long as you can eat it, you can have Han Tao's portion." Hmph, it was just scallops, not like they couldn't afford them. When the weather gets warmer, we’ll go to the seaside and eat them; it’s hardly a major issue. "As for the Australian lobster, besides making congee, how else can we divide it?"

"Deal." Gong Yiying immediately agreed.

Han Meina shook her head repeatedly. She was clearly already full; how much more could she eat? Han Meina wondered if she might throw up what she had just eaten later. That would be truly impolite and a sign of terrible upbringing. Deng Zhi must have committed some great sin in a past life to end up with such a girlfriend.

Wang Qiqi had just placed the scallop into Gong Yiying’s bowl when Gong Yiying instantly passed it over to Deng Zhi. "I'm full; you eat it." Humph, she could choose not to eat it herself, but she couldn't let her share go unaccounted for.

Wang Qiqi had assumed that Gong Yiying, even if she choked, would eat the scallop herself. She never expected her to give it to Deng Zhi. Wang Qiqi gave Deng Zhi a thumbs-up. "You have a girlfriend who cares deeply for you."

Whether Wang Qiqi’s comment was meant to help Deng Zhi out of the awkward situation or not, Gong Yiying’s action greatly surprised everyone present. If Gong Yiying hadn't gotten any scallops today, people would have just said she was out of luck, or perhaps if she hadn't insisted on eating the buns first, she would have gotten a share. But now, her behavior was crossing a line.

Wang Qiqi returned to her seat and saw Bai Ge and the others looking at Gong Yiying with expressions of contempt. Although they didn't say anything out loud, the scorn in their eyes was evident. "She has some thick skin," Bai Ge whispered quietly.

Wang Qiqi smiled. "Two missing, so it's normal for Xiao Han and me not to eat." There was no need to fall out with Gong Yiying over this. Everyone present could see who was truly being unreasonable. Besides, Deng Zhi's slightly fallen expression said enough, didn't it? Did this foolish girl think she had won? If Wang Qiqi were Deng Zhi, she wouldn't think this was kindness; she would only see it as utterly petty. It was a pity about the scallop, Wang Qiqi mused. If Deng Zhi hadn't already eaten his own portion earlier, she suspected he wouldn't even eat that one. "But Deng Zhi is very fortunate to have found such a considerate girlfriend."

While Wang Qiqi’s words, taken literally, suggested Gong Yiying was good to her boyfriend, a deeper reading revealed what Wang Qiqi truly meant: it was Deng Zhi's great fortune to have found such a girlfriend, though one could only imagine how many times she might embarrass him in the future.

"Next time we go to the seaside to play, I'll buy you some," Han Tao knew Wang Qiqi liked seafood. Unfortunately, even if he had the intention before, he hadn't had the means. But things were different now. Perhaps he should take Qiqi to the beach in the summer and treat her to some seafood then.

Wang Qiqi didn't care much about a small portion of food; it wasn't that they couldn't afford it. The important thing was the sentiment. "Okay, I'll make sure to eat you poor then!" Wang Qiqi said fiercely, though she wondered if they had those small frozen sea crabs now; they would be great stir-fried with rice cakes.

Wang Qiqi and Han Tao were completely unconcerned about missing out on the scallops. Meanwhile, Deng Zhi, who had been entitled to two scallops, felt his anger surging. Especially the looks from the people at his table. Even though they had paused briefly before resuming their conversation, Deng Zhi knew they were certainly laughing at Gong Yiying. And he, naturally, wouldn't escape their judgment either. Deng Zhi truly resented himself for getting involved with such a girlfriend.

Gong Yiying noticed Deng Zhi wasn't eating his scallop and found it strange. "Didn't you say you like scallops? Eat it; there aren't many." What Gong Yiying implied was that because there weren't many scallops today, he could only eat a little.

Dai Lijun, despite only having this in-depth interaction with Gong Yiying for the first time, knew her mind wasn't always sharp. Frankly, he was curious about her principles of conduct—how she managed to get into university? Rumor had it she had been quite popular in junior and senior high school.

Gong Junyu and the others silently thought the same thing: in the future, when looking for a girlfriend, prettiness shouldn't be the only criterion. They initially thought Gong Yiying was attractive and spoke well, but they hadn't realized she was such a character. Having a beautiful girlfriend was certainly a show of status, but if that girlfriend was brainless, it was better to forget it.

Zhang Han lowered his head to eat, masking his smile. Heavens above, Gong Yiying's skin was truly thick! Even though Deng Zhi always said Gong Yiying followed his lead, only daring to go east when he told her to go east, the problem was she genuinely lacked sense. What good was a docile girlfriend if she acted like this? Nana sometimes embarrassed him and often gave him a hard time, but outside, Nana always saved his face. As for this person, she would absolutely never do something like that.

Han Meina felt incredibly delighted. Wasn't this person usually so clever and sharp-minded? How could she do something so foolish today? So what if her man liked scallops?

"I'll eat it later; I just ate one." Deng Zhi thought that if he ate this scallop now, he would become infamous throughout the entire school—no, perhaps even famous at University A. "Zhang Han, let's have a drink." At this moment, Deng Zhi deeply regretted not having made the firm decision to dump Gong Yiying when Jin Canrong and the others had suggested it. Now he was excruciatingly embarrassed.

Since his brother explicitly asked for a drink, how could Zhang Han refuse? At this moment, Zhang Han was grateful that only soft drinks were on the table; otherwise, he predicted he’d get drunk again. "Cheers."

Dai Lijun watched them take sip after sip of Coke and Sprite and found the situation rather irritating. Although it wasn't alcohol, it was carbonated, and drinking too much would make one uncomfortable.

Gong Yiying watched Deng Zhi prefer drinking soda to eating the scallop, and she became anxious. This scallop represented the first fruit of her victory in confronting Wang Qiqi; how could she not eat it? If it weren't food, she would have wanted to take it home and worship it as a souvenir.

Deng Zhi watched as Gong Yiying eagerly tried to spoon the scallop meat to his lips. He kept turning his head, desperately trying not to eat it. But how could Gong Yiying let Deng Zhi not eat? One insisted he eat, and the other resolutely refused. As the two dodged back and forth, the scallop slipped and fell onto the floor. The scallop Gong Yiying had fought for was wasted just like that.

Bai Ge stared blankly. She whispered, "Even if you don't want to eat it, you shouldn't waste it. That's too much." This was the ultimate waste, dropping it on the floor. Who knew if it was intentional or accidental? But in the eyes of Bai Ge and the others, this was likely a pre-arranged maneuver between Deng Zhi and Gong Yiying; otherwise, how could such a coincidence happen?

As the scallop hit the ground, Deng Zhi knew that Gong Yiying’s recent good deeds had been thoroughly cemented. He closed his eyes for a moment. "Wang Qiqi, Han Tao, I have something urgent; I need to leave." He didn't have the face to stay any longer.

Gong Yiying was about to offer some explanation when she saw Deng Zhi stand up and leave without even calling her. She panicked. At this moment, Gong Yiying didn't realize how upset Deng Zhi was—it was as good as death for her. She grabbed her coat and chased after him.

Today is Ghost Festival; everyone head home early. (To be continued)

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