Chapter 141 — Old Buffon's Origins

But on second thought, this was something Li Dadong would have to face sooner or later; there was no way on earth Yang Ce would give up Lin Yanhe, so there was no point tiptoeing around it. He dismissed the idea, picked up the menu, and ordered a plate of fried rice and a small dish of braised beef.

Lin Yanhe's home was very close by. Yang Ce had barely set down the menu when she drifted in. Perhaps Li Dadong had seen her too and, fearing awkwardness, had lowered his head—so Lin Yanhe did not notice he was there.

"Yang Ce, why didn't you come to my place to eat?" Lin Yanhe was a little put out that Yang Ce would come to a restaurant to eat when her home was right there.

"Aunt Shen isn't home, is she? There'd be no one to cook for me. And even if she were, it's not mealtime—how could I put her out like that?" Yang Yan said.

"But I can cook! Fried rice and things like that don't take long at all," Lin Yanhe said.

Yang Puqi was taken aback, then it dawned on him—so Lin Yanhe could cook, too. These days, girls who could handle a kitchen were few and far between; Yang Ce hadn't expected to have more than one such girl around him.

"Hey, Dadong—isn't that your Lin Yanhe?" The hearty young man drinking with Li Dadong suddenly caught on.

Li Dadong could only smile bitterly. The men drinking with him were all good friends from high school, and they knew his business well; many of them knew Lin Yanhe and knew how Li Dadong felt about her.

They had all assumed the two were a match made in heaven—yet here was Lin Yanhe, laughing and chatting away with another man.

Earlier, the hearty young man had asked Li Dadong to invite Lin Yanhe to join them, and Li Dadong had fudged his way around it. The hearty young man hadn't thought much of it at the time—but now he understood: Li Dadong had been jilted.

The thin one at the table also knit his brows and said to Li Dadong, "Dadong, what on earth's going on? Who is that guy? How come he's sitting with our sister-in-law?"

"Ah—" Li Dadong knew the game was up. He sighed. "He's Zhiyun's boyfriend."

"What the hell, Dadong—what's going on? What happened between you and Lin Yanhe?" the hearty young man demanded anxiously.

"I don't know either. I came back this New Year and she already had a boyfriend." Li Dadong shook his head, his words steeped in bitterness.

"Then go ask her straight! You two had years of history—how could that lose out to some boyfriend she just met?" The thin one was baffled too. "We all went to the same high school; we all watched you and Lin Yanhe grow up together. How could she just up and get a boyfriend like that?"

"Forget it. Some things—especially matters of the heart—can't be explained." Li Dadong lifted the glass of beer before him and drained it in one go.

"Damn it, Li Dadong, are you even a man? Giving up just like that?" The hearty young man's eyes went wide. "You call yourself a grown man—watching the woman you love laugh and chat with another man, and you can actually sit there and take it?"

"I—" Li Dadong flushed crimson and could not find a word to say.

The hearty young man's voice had risen, and both Lin Yanhe and Yan heard it. At that moment, Lin Yanhe also spotted Li Dadong sitting not far away.

"Brother Dadong." Lin Yanhe understood Li Dadong's feelings well enough, but between her and him there was simply no chance. To avoid awkwardness, she rose and went over to greet him.

"Zhiyun—" Li Dadong opened his mouth, and only after a long pause managed those two syllables.

"Lin Yanhe, what's going on here? How come you've got a boyfriend?" The hearty young man was hot-tempered; when Li Dadong said nothing, he could hold back no longer.

"Brother Yaoyang, what's so strange about me having a boyfriend?" Lin Yanhe clearly knew the hearty young man.

"We all had high hopes for you and Dadong being together—how could you just betray him?" The thin one's words were not nearly as pleasant as those of the hearty young man called Yaoyang.

Lin Yanhe frowned. Yang Ce, sitting beside her, had grown a little impatient with the talk as well; he cut his eyes at the thin man and said, "This doesn't concern you, does it?"

"How is it none of my business?" Skinnyman, needled by Yang Cen, was instantly riled. He turned to Li Dadong and said, "Li Dadong, if you're still a man, get up right now and smash a beer bottle over this little bastard's head."

"Let it go, Zheng Zetao." Li Dadong shook his head, then said to Lin Yanhe with some embarrassment, "Sorry about that. He's had too much to drink."

"Li Dadong, you're a fucking pushover!" Zheng Zetao slammed the table and shouted, "There are three of us here—you're afraid of him?"

Aunt Hong had noticed the quarrel by now and hurried over to smooth things down. "What's going on here? Everyone, calm down."

To be continued.

697. With Lin Yanhe

"Aunt Hong, this is none of your concern. Go about your business," Zheng Zetao said darkly.

"Let it go, Zetao. Do it for my sake—don't stir up trouble, all right?" Li Dadong said, deeply embarrassed.

"Dongzi, I'm your friend, so I can give you that face—but will others give you face?" Zheng Zetao berated him loudly. "They've bullied you right to your doorstep, and here you are still sticking up for them. I honestly pity you."

"Aunt Hong, I'll take mine to go. I won't eat here." Yang Ce shot a cold glance at Skinnyman Zheng Zetao, then turned back to Aunt Hong. For the sake of Lin Yanhe and Aunt Hong, Yang Yongjin was willing to let a drunkard off the hook.

"What, scared? Lost your nerve?" Zheng Zetao sneered at Yang Juehuan's words. "What dirty, underhanded trick did you pull, eh? Feeling guilty now, want to run? I'm telling you, Dongzi, you're the only one who can swallow this insult."

Zheng Zetao had struck right at Yang Juehuan's sore spot. The way he had come to know Lin Yanhe was the one thing Yang Ce felt most ashamed of. Though the means by which he had won her had not been his own intention, they had indeed been somewhat despicable.

"Li Dadong, I'll give you face today." Yang Ce stood up and glared at Zheng Zetao. "Your friend's had too much horse piss. Tell him to settle down."

Li Dadong smiled bitterly and was about to speak when Zheng Zetao slammed the table and shot to his feet. "You little brat—who the hell are you talking about? Tired of living?"

Zheng Zetao saw that Yang Puqi's clothes were nothing grand, and eating in a little snack bar like this—how high-class could he be? He himself had seen his share of the world; the only reason he had come here today was for Li Dadong's sake. Otherwise he would never have set foot in such a low-class place.

So Zheng Zetao naturally felt a cut above the rest, and now that Yang Ce had dared to curse at him, he was certainly not about to take it lying down.

"You've got food at home, right?" Yang Ce suddenly turned and asked Lin Yanhe.

"I do. Why? Didn't you already buy fried rice?" Lin Yanhe asked, puzzled.

"As long as you've got some, that's enough." Yang Puqi grabbed the freshly served fried rice from the table and slapped it straight into Zheng Zetao's face.

"Aah!" Zheng Zetao let out a strange howl. The fried rice, just out of the wok, was steaming hot, and as it hit his face it scalded him so badly that he hopped about wildly, flailing his arms and legs.

The burly young man beside him, the one called Yaoyang, could not stand by any longer. He had only been watching before, but now he could not keep silent. He rose to his feet, pointed at Yang Ce and said, "That's going too far!"

"Whether it's too far, you know in your own heart. You've got ears—you heard what your friend said." Yang Ce's voice was cold. "I don't want to use my hands today, but don't push me. This is none of your business—best stay out of it."

Yaoyang was by nature a bold and generous sort. When a friend was in trouble, right or wrong, he could not simply stand by and watch—especially since Zheng Zetao had only been speaking up for Li Dadong.