Li Xiaotong cheerfully said, grabbing Li Qianfan’s hand and pulling him to sit by the table, then quickly grabbing a cloth to wipe the already clean tabletop.

“The decor is pretty decent,”

Li Qianfan said, glancing around at the environment.

Although this small restaurant wasn’t very big and the decor was quite simple, it looked clean and tidy, giving off a comfortable feeling.

Li Xiaotong smiled and said, “This restaurant was already renovated when we got it, so my mom was able to use it directly after renting it.”

“No wonder you guys moved so quickly,” Li Qianfan said.

Li Xiaotong brought over the menu, and Li Qianfan started choosing dishes with Lin Jingying.

Li Qianfan ordered a huge table spread, totaling over twenty dishes. After all, they had a lot of people, so there was no worry about not finishing it.

“Everyone, dig in. It’s my treat today,” Li Qianfan said.

“How about I handle the bill instead,” Lin Jingying said.

“No need, I’ll take care of it,” Li Qianfan insisted.

Unable to argue, Lin Jingying nodded in agreement.

Li Xiaotong’s mom, Cheng Shufen, also came out from the kitchen, and upon seeing Li Qianfan, her face immediately lit up with joy and gratitude.

They had a brief chat, and then Cheng Shufen returned to the kitchen to cook, with Li Xiaotong joining her to help.

Li Qianfan grabbed a box of beer, chatting and laughing with Lin Jingying, Chen Feng, and the others while drinking.

In just over ten minutes, dish after dish was brought out from the kitchen.

Of course, this wasn’t all of them—out of the more than twenty dishes Li Qianfan ordered, Cheng Shufen had only managed to prepare three or four dishes so far. No matter how fast she worked, there was no way she could manage such an extraordinary speed.

“Brother Li, you all eat first. My mom’s still cooking, and I’ll bring more dishes out as they’re ready,” Li Xiaotong said.

“Alright, no problem. We’re not in a hurry,” Li Qianfan said.

Li Xiaotong nodded her head and returned to the kitchen to assist her mother.

Before anyone realized, half an hour had passed, and Cheng Shufen had finished preparing all twenty-plus dishes. The table was practically full to the brim.

“How about it? Aunt Cheng’s cooking is pretty good, right?” Li Qianfan asked with a smile.

“It’s really impressive,” Lin Jingying said, clearly satisfied.

Then, with curiosity written all over her face, Lin Jingying turned to Li Qianfan and asked, “Li Xiang, how do you know this mother-daughter duo? What’s your relationship with them?”

“Just regular friends, that’s all,” Li Qianfan responded.

“Really just regular friends? They seem quite enthusiastic about you, especially the girl named Li Xiaotong. The way she looks at you…”

Before Lin Jingying could finish her sentence, Li Qianfan awkwardly started coughing.

“Hurry up and eat. Why so many questions?” Li Qianfan said.

Seeing that he was reluctant to explain further, Lin Jingying stopped pressing him.

But in her heart, Lin Jingying was puzzled.

Because she and Li Qianfan, along with Liu Ruyan, had arrived in Dadong City on the same day.

Moreover, Liu Ruyan had mentioned that she and Li Qianfan were visiting Dadong City for the first time; they’d never been here before.

Yet here was Li Qianfan, so familiar with Cheng Shufen and Li Xiaotong, as if they’d known each other for ages. Naturally, this piqued her curiosity.

But with Li Qianfan unwilling to explain, there was little she could do.

Suddenly, a blonde-haired young man stood up abruptly and shouted, “Waiter! Come here! Look at this!”

Wearing an apron, Li Xiaotong hurried out of the kitchen and walked over to ask, “What’s the matter?”

“Look at what’s in this dish!” The blonde-haired youth pointed at the plate in front of him.

Li Xiaotong stared wide-eyed at the plate for a while before finally spotting a single strand of hair.

“I deeply apologize—I’ll replace this plate for you,” Li Xiaotong quickly said.

“Just replacing the plate isn’t good enough,” the blonde-haired youth snapped.

“I’m very sorry,” Li Xiaotong said, bowing and apologizing repeatedly.

But the blonde-haired youth wouldn’t let up, arrogantly proclaiming, “I demand this entire meal be waived, plus compensation of one thousand yuan for emotional distress. Otherwise, I’ll call the municipal authorities to file a complaint against you right now!”

Hearing this, Li Xiaotong started to panic.

And the other diners in the restaurant turned their heads to look, making Li Xiaotong even more flustered.

Cheng Shufen hurriedly came out of the kitchen to apologize to the blonde-haired youth.

But instead of calming down, the blonde-haired youth grew even more arrogant.

“Hurry up and pay! Quit wasting my time!” the blonde-haired youth sneered.

Cheng Shufen hesitated and started to reach for her wallet, seemingly ready to pay up to avoid further trouble.

Just then, Li Qianfan strode forward.

“Wait a moment!”

Li Qianfan’s appearance brought a look of relief to Li Xiaotong and Cheng Shufen, but before they could say anything, Li Qianfan had already stretched out his hand to pick the hair out of the dish.

“Take a closer look at this hair. It’s less than ten centimeters long and it’s blonde. Does this match either of your hair?” Li Qianfan asked Li Xiaotong and Cheng Shufen.

Li Xiaotong shook her head repeatedly, and Cheng Shufen also denied it.

Both of them had long black hair, neither bleached, so this hair clearly didn’t belong to them.

They’d been so flustered earlier that they hadn’t even noticed this obvious discrepancy.

“So the problem is clear now: this hair isn’t yours—it’s the blonde-haired youth’s! He put his own hair into the dish to extort you!” Li Qianfan said firmly.

Li Xiaotong and Cheng Shufen both breathed a sigh of relief, while the blonde-haired youth flew into a rage.

“Who the hell are you to meddle in my business? You wanna die, huh?”

The blonde-haired youth roared and grabbed Li Qianfan by the collar.

But when he tried to pull, he couldn’t budge Li Qianfan, and instead dragged himself closer to him.

“The one asking for trouble is you! If you can’t afford to eat out, don’t bother coming. People like you are the epitome of trash!”

Li Qianfan grabbed the blonde-haired youth’s hand and, with a flick of force, elicited a series of pig-like squeals.

“Let go… or I’ll call the police…”

The blonde-haired youth cried out, struggling with all his might, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t break free from Li Qianfan’s grip.

“Who are you trying to scare with the police? Fine, call them—I’ll do it for you!”

Li Qianfan released the blonde-haired youth’s hand and dialed the number for Luo Haiyang, the police chief of Dadong City.

Within minutes, Luo Haiyang arrived.

With both evidence and witnesses at hand, the blonde-haired youth was immediately taken away.

“This guy committed extortion and blackmail—make sure to deal with him seriously!” Li Qianfan said firmly.

“Absolutely, Mr. Li, don’t worry. I’ll make sure this scumbag is dealt with appropriately,” Luo Haiyang replied promptly.

Once Luo Haiyang left with his team, Li Xiaotong and Cheng Shufen looked at Li Qianfan, tears of gratitude forming in their eyes.