Jeanne looked at the giant neon sign flashing with dazzling lights before her; it was said to be a characteristic sight of Lungmen. However, even in this environment, compared to the signs of the surrounding shops, the neighboring signs looked like children. There wasn't much promotional text on the sign; only three giant Yan characters, "Li Guang Kee," stood right in the center, with the neon lights around the text creating a radial effect.
"This shop is quite famous in Lungmen. Generally, the people who come to eat here are locals who have lived in Lungmen for a long time; foreign tourists usually prefer going to Paci Plaza."
Ch'en, having parked the car, walked over to Jeanne's side and introduced this popular restaurant to her. The shop was indeed as she described; as they spoke, a steady stream of diners walked in. There were even quite a few diners who were clearly there on their own but seemed surprised, greeting others as they arrived, and the look in the other party's eyes suggested they hadn't expected such a coincidental encounter with an acquaintance.
"Although the service at that shop in Paci Plaza is quite a bit better than this one, I still prefer the things sold here. That shop over there is simply a scam for outsiders."
When Ch'en was with Jeanne now, she was clearly much more talkative. However, looking at her expression when she mentioned the other shop in Paci Plaza, it seemed as if she had been cheated by that shop herself.
"You... seem to particularly dislike the other shop you mentioned? If it's a chain-type thing, shouldn't their stuff be about the same?"
While speaking, Ch'en and Jeanne walked into the restaurant. The doorman responsible for hosting recognized the famous Officer Ch'en at a glance and enthusiastically led them to a quiet spot. Compared to the magnificent neon sign outside, the interior decoration of this shop appeared far too ordinary. Without exquisite decorations or luxurious furniture, the interior seemed simple and unadorned, even possessing a sense of age—it looked like an old shop that had been in business for many years.
"That's not it. That shop is called 'Li Cai.' Their boss is actually the brother of the boss here, but the things he sells are far inferior to this shop's boss. Even the chefs were headhunted from here at high prices."
After taking their seats, Ch'en began to tell Jeanne about the grievances and hatred between the two shops. Unlike Li Guang, the boss of this shop, Li Cai was better at managing a restaurant than cooking. Logically, it would have been a beautiful thing for the two brothers to join forces and run such a shop together to make it go further.
But unexpectedly, after managing the shop for a period, the younger brother actually lured away a large number of chefs carefully trained by his older brother to set up his own business at Paci Plaza. Afterward, the two shops were embroiled in a period of turbulence, attracting everyone's interest in the drama. A few years ago, there was even a TV series based on these two shops, which was said to be extremely popular when it aired.
As for Ch'en, she fully utilized the innate skill possessed by all Yan people: sitting in a corner and diligently eating popcorn while watching the drama.
"If it were just that, I wouldn't be in a position to judge them. The key is that he hired gangs to find trouble for his brother! Back then, I had just become a police officer and stayed up for several nights over this case."
At that time, in order to catch the gangs causing trouble, the green Ch'en chose the method of waiting for the prey to come to her, staying in the shop to wait for the troublemakers. It just so happened that those few gang lackeys were hospitalized for a month due to a drunken brawl, and they even took full responsibility. Because the 'innocent passerby' they intentionally picked a fight with... was Hoshiguma, who had gone to a bar to drink and relax after work.
Later, Li Guang chose a private settlement out of consideration for the mastermind being his own brother. After fining his brother a large sum of money, it ended just like that. However, because of this incident, Li Cai's name became completely tarnished in the hearts of the people of Lungmen. Thanks to them, Ch'en's first case in life ended so inconclusively. Although it could be said to be completed, Ch'en, who had wasted a week for nothing, also had a bit of a mental breakdown.
"You say, they are clearly blood brothers, so why did they end up at this point?"
Ch'en rested her chin on her hand and chatted with Jeanne. Her arrival even alerted the boss, Li Guang, who even managed to squeeze out some time from his busy schedule to come over and chat for a bit. Although it wasn't Ch'en herself who caught the troublemakers back then, Li Guang was greatly appreciative of her act of squatting in the restaurant for a week.
"I reckon it's a difference in viewpoints, right? Both of them believe that what they are doing is for the other's own good, but the other doesn't think so. Over time, the contradiction eventually explodes one day."
Jeanne thought for a moment; two family members who worked together in good faith eventually evolved to the point where they wished the other would die. It seemed the disagreement between the two was definitely not as simple as money. The older brother wanted to maintain the old order, while the younger brother wanted to change the status quo. The clash of thoughts between the two was like two flints; it was only a matter of time before they ignited the surrounding objects. In the end, the older brother still chose to forgive the younger brother who had deeply hurt him, suggesting that in his heart, he still missed their past.
Jeanne's words earned a nod of agreement from Ch'en. The two of them continued to chat about everything under the sun while waiting for the food to arrive.
"Eh, Miss Jeanne and Officer Ch'en? I didn't expect you to be here too! Do you mind if we share a table?"
Unexpectedly, before the food arrived, they bumped into unexpected acquaintances. The Penguin Logistics trio, along with Lemuen, appeared before them. Jeanne looked at the clothes Lemuen was wearing; it seemed she must have been taken shopping by her sister today.
"Yo, what a coincidence! I didn't expect you guys to come here at this time too. Take a seat then; fortunately, this table can accommodate us all."
Since it was dinner time, Ch'en didn't have a particularly surprised expression at running into the Penguin Logistics people. Because there were really no empty tables at this time, and since they were all acquaintances, Ch'en agreed to the request to share a table, and Jeanne beside her also nodded in agreement.
However, was it her imagination? Why did it feel like Exusiai became a different person the moment she saw Jeanne? That sudden transformation was like a delinquent girl suddenly turning into a model student in the next second. Could it be that this troublemaking angel was actually afraid of Jeanne?
Once the two of them nodded in agreement, the four sat down. Fortunately, the table the waiter had specially chosen for Ch'en was large enough that the six of them didn't feel crowded at all. For some reason, Exusiai, sandwiched between Jeanne and Lemuen, felt extremely restrained. To Croissant and the others, she felt like a fan sitting beside her most admired idol, not wanting to embarrass herself.
Although Exusiai had already lost all the face she could in front of Jeanne last night, she still wanted to try and redeem a bit of her image in Jeanne's heart. This was the Saintess! An existence that was extremely difficult even to catch a glimpse of, yet she was actually sitting down for a meal with her...
"Eh, what's wrong with Exusiai? I saw her when she was staying with her sister today, and she didn't seem that restrained. Why does she seem like a different person as soon as she sits next to Jeanne?"
Croissant looked at the abnormal Exusiai and leaned over to ask Texas. The two of them had really never seen Exusiai like this; they hadn't expected her to have such a side.
"I'm not sure, looking at Exusiai's expression, it doesn't seem like she's afraid. See the expression on her face while sitting there? Isn't it quite happy? I just don't know when she'll remember that she hasn't ordered any food yet."
Because this time Exusiai had volunteered to treat them to dinner, the person primarily responsible for ordering was naturally Exusiai. However, the two of them looking at this angel who was only preoccupied with smiling foolishly felt that it was still an unknown when they would actually get to eat tonight.
"Be normal! Don't just stay there spaced out by yourself."
Lemuen looked at her sister's state and secretly kicked her under the table, bringing back the Exusiai who was immersed in happiness and unable to extricate herself.
"Ah, right. Ordering, ordering. Sister, let me tell you, this shop is basically only visited by locals. The first one I went to was the one we just saw, and only later did I find out it was just a shop meant to scam outsiders..."
"Have I heard this sentence somewhere before?" Jeanne thought to herself while sitting beside Exusiai.