"Huihui, so where are we going to eat?" Hu Ke asked.
As she spoke, she intentionally glanced at Jiang Sifan.
Huang Hui hesitated.
Jiang Sifan took the initiative and said, "How about we go to..."
Before he could finish, Huang Hui cut in. "Kaelin, which place was it that you went to with your boyfriend? Why don't you take us there?"
Chen Kailin heard her and explained, "We went to that new Japanese place that just opened by the school gate."
"Is that Japanese place any good?" Hu Ke got excited. "I haven't had Japanese food in forever."
"It's a little expensive. Maybe we should... pick another place," Chen Kailin suggested kindly.
After all, Huang Hui's boyfriend was paying, so she couldn't take advantage.
But Hu Ke couldn't be bothered with that. She said excitedly, "It's fine! It's not like we do this every day. Huihui, let's just go there."
Huang Hui then looked at Jiang Sifan and asked, "Sifan, what do you think?"
This put Jiang Sifan in an awkward position.
The Japanese restaurant was huge, and he'd heard from his dorm mates that it was pricey. But seeing the hopeful look in Huang Hui's eyes, he finally gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, let's go there then."
"Awesome! Huihui, I told you your boyfriend would be generous." Hu Ke immediately started pulling Chen Kailin and Huang Hui in the direction of the restaurant.
Jiang Sifan glanced at the 400 yuan in his WeChat wallet. 'A Japanese meal can't possibly cost that much, can it?'
'Worst case, I'll just have to work a little harder at my part-time job to earn it back.'
He was too embarrassed to ask Jiang Yixia for money. Jiang Sifan knew how much his mother had suffered over the years for him and his sister.
Now that he was an adult, there was no reason he should be asking his mom for money.
Spending 400 yuan on one meal was definitely a splurge, but Huang Hui was the girl he loved most. He had already decided he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
'As long as she's happy, that's all that matters.'
Jiang Sifan had always believed a man had to be devoted; that was what made a good man.
He thought about how his own irresponsible, philandering father had hurt his mother, which was why Jiang Yixia had worked so hard all these years.
He would never make the same mistake!
The group of four arrived at the Japanese restaurant. The moment they sat down, Hu Ke eagerly asked the server for a menu.
"Kaelin, what did you and your boyfriend have? Give us some recommendations, quick!" Hu Ke urged.
Chen Kailin recommended a couple of sushi dishes, explaining, "These are all really good."
"What about sashimi? Did you have any? This one looks really good," Hu Ke asked curiously.
At that moment, the server chimed in, "The sashimi is our signature dish. Almost every customer orders it when they come."
Chen Kailin looked a little awkward hearing that.
She didn't dare lie—she had indeed tried that sashimi before, but it was quite expensive.
So she said tactfully, "I didn't recommend it because I was afraid you guys might not like it."
"No way!" Hu Ke took charge as if she were the host. "Then let's order this one, okay?"
As she said this, she looked at Huang Hui, completely ignoring Jiang Sifan, who was the one paying.
Huang Hui had never eaten sashimi this expensive either, and judging by the picture, it was perfect for taking photos to post on social media.
So she also looked at Jiang Sifan and said, "Sifan, can we order this and give it a try?"
"Sure."
Jiang Sifan looked at the 188-yuan price tag on the sashimi, gritted his teeth, and nodded.
After they finished ordering, the server collected the menus.
When the dishes started to arrive, the three girls began taking all sorts of pictures.
Huang Hui also pulled her roommates in for selfies, getting ready to write a caption for her social media post.
Just then, Hu Ke asked curiously, "Huihui, why aren't you taking pictures with your boyfriend? Aren't you going to post a photo of the two of you?"
Huang Hui smiled and waved her hand. "Sifan doesn't like having his picture taken. It's fine."
Jiang Sifan, listening from the side, felt a little awkward.
Because Huang Hui had never even asked him if he wanted his picture posted.
He didn't think too much of it, though.
'After all, a girl's social media is usually full of nice food and well-crafted photos.'
'A guy like me would look pretty out of place in a collection of pictures like that.'
Meanwhile, Lu Fan was sitting at a table diagonally across from them, observing Jiang Sifan's group.
His bodyguard, Chen He, remarked with a sigh, "The Young Master is really something else. Eating with three girls at once... his charm knows no bounds."
But Jiali saw things differently.
It was obvious: one was the girl Jiang Sifan cared about, while the other two were just freeloaders.
Furthermore, the dishes they ordered were clearly beyond their usual budget.
Lu Fan, of course, saw it too.
'After being a scumbag for nearly twenty years, how could he not recognize these ploys?'
Looking at the innocent, earnest, and responsible Jiang Sifan, he couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
'Thank god my son didn't inherit my scumbag personality.'
'Being a scumbag is no good.'
'You don't just have to manage your time, you also have to spin all sorts of lies.'
'It's exhausting being a scumbag.'
If he could do it all over again, Lu Fan definitely wouldn't have been a scumbag.
'In the end, women are all pretty much the same anyway.'
'They all have two eyes and a mouth, no different from men. At most, certain parts are just a bit more... prominent.'
Now, Jiang Sifan had grown into a handsome young man, and he really did look a little like his younger self.
The more Lu Fan watched, the more pleased he became.
Soon enough, Jiang Sifan's table had eaten and drunk their fill.
Hu Ke took out her phone and started scrolling through TikTok, naturally making no mention of the bill.
Chen Kailin took the initiative and said, "Huihui, why don't the four of us just split the bill?"
Huang Hui, of course, wasn't going to agree. 'If we really split it, how am I supposed to hold my head up in the dorm?'
She thought about how generous Chen Kailin's boyfriend was; her own boyfriend couldn't seem inferior.
So Huang Hui shook her head. "It's fine. Sifan said he was treating you guys. If we split it, he'll get mad. Right, Sifan?"
After speaking, Huang Hui shot a look at Jiang Sifan.
Jiang Sifan had no choice but to nod. "It's okay, this one's on me. I just hope you'll all look after Huihui in the future."
"Well, thanks, handsome! Don't worry, Huihui is the baby of our dorm~ We'll definitely take good care of her," Hu Ke chirped.
Jiang Sifan immediately stood up and went to the front counter to pay.
"Hi, your total is 676."
Jiang Sifan was stunned when he heard the total from the server.
'This meal cost almost 700 yuan?!'
'But I'm not even full!'
'The malatang from the campus food street would have been more filling!'
Right then, he only had 400 yuan in his WeChat wallet. He couldn't cover the bill.
Of course, if he asked Jiang Yixia for it, he could get the money easily.
But his pride wouldn't let him do that.
Jiang Sifan couldn't bring himself to ask his parents for money just to treat his own girlfriend to dinner.
After weighing his options, his only choice was to ask Jiang Silu.
So he sent a message to Jiang Silu: "Silu, do you have any money in your WeChat? Can you transfer me 300 yuan?"
After sending the message, Jiang Sifan looked at the server sheepishly. "Sorry, can you give me a second? I'm out of money in my WeChat. I'm just having someone send some over."
Just then, Lu Fan walked over.