20: Chapter 20 Rival in Love?

"Hello, I'm the one who made the reservation. My name is Cao Xiao."

Mother He had instructed him to say exactly that. Cao Xiao had called to make the reservation a few days ago; besides fabricating a false identity as a wealthy second-generation heir surnamed Cao, he had also prepaid the 220,000 yuan for the meal.

At the time, Cao Xiao had been puzzled, not knowing why Mother He wanted him to make the reservation in his own name. The cost of 220,000 yuan for a single meal had left him dumbfounded, especially since it had to be paid in advance. If he had truly been just an ordinary office worker, he might have retreated in the face of such difficulty and stayed away from He Yueyou from then on. Although Mother He didn't require him to pay, if that were the case, he would have felt too ashamed to face a table of food that would cost years of his salary to afford.

"The Shuiyue Room upstairs is ready." The middle-aged man saw Cao Xiao and the others, turned his head to say this, and then continued to tease the little boy.

"Uh!" Faced with the middle-aged man's indifferent attitude, Cao Xiao didn't know what to say and could only lead Liu Chang upstairs.

Arriving on the second floor, he found only five rooms. Faint sounds of people talking came from a few of the rooms, but the voices were quiet, not as noisy as dining in other places.

Finding the room named Shuiyue Room, Cao Xiao pushed the door open and went in. Sure enough, a small, rustic solid wood round table was already filled with dishes, all covered with lids.

The owner of this private restaurant really had a personality; after preparing the dishes, he ignored the guests, and there wasn't even a waiter.

Taking advantage of when Cao Xiao wasn't paying attention, Liu Chang secretly lifted a lid. Immediately, the aroma of the food hit her nose, and she couldn't help but reach out to grab some. Just then, a pair of hands appeared from the side and slapped her hand.

"Brother, since it's just the two of us right now, just let me have a taste. I've never smelled food this fragrant before. This is authentic Steamed Pork Ribs with Black Bean Sauce. I know why this place is called Xiangya Ju now; the chef here must be a master of Hunan cuisine. The flavor definitely can't be wrong; Steamed Pork Ribs with Black Bean Sauce is one of the signature dishes of Hunan cuisine. There's also a faint scent of cured meat in the room; that dish must be Stir-fried Nanhu Cured Meat. This aroma is just too tempting. Brother, let's make a deal."

Liu Chang was truly a standard foodie; her nose was exceptionally sensitive, able to identify the covered dishes just by their aroma. After being interrupted by Cao Xiao while trying to sneak a bite, she said this with a pleading look.

"The guests haven't arrived yet, so don't even think about it. Pay attention to your table manners later; don't embarrass me. Otherwise, if you mess up my plans, watch out, or I'll cut off your allowance." Cao Xiao said with a straight face.

"It's not like that. If I can't eat it, I won't eat it. It'll end up in my stomach later anyway. I'm asking if we can eat here every day in the future. The chef you hired is 100% not as good as the master chef here. Brother... I'm begging you. After eating the food here, I can't eat anything else. Are you just going to watch your cute cousin starve to death?" Liu Chang shook Cao Xiao's arm in a whiny, coquettish voice.

"You want to eat here every day? Keep dreaming. Do you know how difficult it is for your brother to reserve a table here? I'm currently just a nobody. Without a certain social status, they won't even pay attention to you when you try to make a reservation. I had to fabricate an identity to book this meal. If I'm found out next time I come, it'll be impossible to eat a meal here again. Plus, this private restaurant only prepares ten tables of food a week, and each person can only book three times a year. You wanting to eat here every day is impossible. Besides, do you know how much a table like this costs? 220,000 yuan, and that's just the average; higher-end ones are even more expensive. If you ate here every day, you'd bankrupt me in no time. You should be satisfied with being able to eat here once. When you're hungry, you can eat several bowls of plain rice, and you can't stand missing even one meal. You're going to starve to death?" Cao Xiao curled his lips and mocked her.

"Can you even talk? You don't love me at all. If it's not possible, then it's not possible. This owner is too excessive, making the food so delicious but not letting people eat it every day. Good things should be shared with others, and setting the price so high is simply hateful." Liu Chang said, sounding a bit frantic.

"I think I hear someone talking downstairs; it must be them. I'll go down to meet them. Don't mess around." Cao Xiao seemed to hear Mother He's voice coming from downstairs, so he warned Liu Chang and headed downstairs.

When Cao Xiao got downstairs, he found that Mother He and her daughter had indeed arrived. However, there were two other people Cao Xiao didn't recognize: a middle-aged woman dressed in elegant, luxurious attire and a dashing young man wearing a casual suit. Were these two trying to get on TV? Mother He hadn't mentioned anyone else when she spoke to him this afternoon, so where did these two pop up from? Cao Xiao was a bit confused.

At this moment, Mother He was being chased out by the owner. He Yueyou was trying to persuade him to stop, and the middle-aged woman was also chiming in, though her tone sounded quite awkward. The young man dressed like a playboy was also trying to intervene, but Cao Xiao noticed that guy's paws were reaching out towards He Yueyou's shoulder.

Cao Xiao deliberately walked quickly between He Yueyou and the playboy. The playboy's arm was bumped by Cao Xiao, causing his body to stumble to the side; he staggered a few times before regaining his balance. Cao Xiao pretended not to see it and went straight up to grab the owner, saying, "Owner, what are you doing? Opening a business to welcome guests, how can you chase them away?"

"This is none of your business. I don't welcome this person here, and she is not my guest." The middle-aged owner said to Cao Xiao unhappily.

"But she is my guest. I am hosting a meal here. As the owner, you are chasing away my guest; what do you want me to do?" Cao Xiao said, staring seriously at the middle-aged owner.

Cao Xiao was also getting angry. Regardless of what feud Mother He had with this owner, as an owner, even if an enemy comes in to spend money, you shouldn't chase them away; otherwise, what would other customers think? Moreover, Mother He was Cao Xiao's guest. Although Cao Xiao didn't consider himself anyone special and others wouldn't give him much face, this was his self-proclaimed future mother-in-law. If he couldn't handle this properly, how would he face He Yueyou's family in the future?

"Since she is your guest, then you are not welcome here either. I will return your money immediately, and you will take them and leave at once." The owner said firmly and decisively.

"I'm not short on money. But since I've already paid and invited my guests here, you're telling me to take a refund and leave? Are you playing games with me?" Cao Xiao approached the owner, staring at him sharply and seriously.

"This is a matter between her and me. Since you insisted on interfering, you naturally have to bear the consequences. Leave quickly; don't ruin my mood." The owner said indifferently.

"You don't need to return the money; I'm not short of that amount. But please, owner, remember what you said today and be prepared to bear the consequences!" Cao Xiao suppressed his anger and said in a measured tone. Then he turned to Mother He and said, "Auntie, I'm sorry about today. Let's go eat somewhere else."

"Then I'll wait. In Huanghe City, I, Master Chu, have never been afraid of anyone!" The restaurant owner looked at Cao Xiao carefully and said.

"Cao Xiao, there's no need for this. You, surnamed Chu, are you really going to do this? I've already said that matter was an accident and had nothing to do with me, but you refuse to listen. You won't even let me in the door and you're taking your anger out on others. Have you really decided that we should never see each other again?" Mother He stopped Cao Xiao and asked the owner seriously.

"Cousin, don't be like this. Master Chu might just be in a bad mood today. Let's go back and come again next time. Young man, how can you speak to Master Chu like that? Do you know who Master Chu is? Hurry up and apologize to Master Chu!" The middle-aged woman who had been trying to intervene earlier first persuaded Mother He, then spoke sternly to Cao Xiao.

"Auntie, who is this?" Cao Xiao was already feeling some anger, and now being pressured by this woman, he needed to clarify if she was a relative of He Yueyou before letting his anger out. As for what shocking identity this Master Chu had, Cao Xiao didn't care. Besides, this Master Chu didn't look like the type to use unscrupulous means; if he came at him upright and honestly, Cao Xiao really wasn't afraid.

"This? She's a distant cousin-in-law from my maiden family. Why?" Mother He likely saw through Cao Xiao's thoughts and asked, knowing the answer.

"Oh, wait a moment, I'll call my cousin downstairs and we'll leave!" Cao Xiao naturally understood what Mother He meant. A distant cousin-in-law from her maiden family meant the relationship was very distant and insignificant. So, Cao Xiao ignored her completely, spoke to Mother He, and headed upstairs.

"How can you be so rude? I'm doing this for your own good. Do you know how serious the consequences of offending Master Chu are?" Seeing that Cao Xiao ignored her, the middle-aged woman said this to his back. Cao Xiao just continued walking upstairs, and the woman became infuriated. She turned to Mother He and said, "Cousin, who is this kid? How can he be so impulsive? Sooner or later, he's going to suffer a big loss."

"This is Yueyou's boyfriend. He did well this time. A man should maintain his dignity like this. I'm becoming more and more satisfied with him." Mother He said, looking at Cao Xiao's back with appreciation.

"Yueyou has a boyfriend? How come I didn't know? Cousin, how can this kid compare to my Huang Tianyi? My Huang Tianyi is a big star with an annual income of tens of millions, and he's much more handsome than this kid. After offending Master Chu this time, his days will likely be very difficult. He doesn't even look like much; how can he be worthy of a great beauty like Yueyou? You should tell Yueyou to dump him!" As soon as the middle-aged woman heard that Cao Xiao was He Yueyou's boyfriend, she got excited and said this to Mother He.

"You don't need to worry about our Yueyou's affairs. As for my son-in-law, who would dare to bully him? They wouldn't have the guts!" Mother He glanced at Master Chu and said domineeringly. Then she looked curiously at the person dressed like a playboy and said, "Huang Tianyi, isn't it hot dressing like that in such weather?"

When Cao Xiao came downstairs pulling an unsatisfied Liu Chang, he happened to hear what the woman said. He had already given her enough face earlier; if it weren't for the fact that she could be considered a relative of He Yueyou, Cao Xiao definitely would have sprayed her with words, telling her to stop meddling and helping outsiders. To think she was now bad-mouthing him behind his back, and she was the mother of his love rival! If he didn't teach her a lesson, Cao Xiao wouldn't be able to vent his hatred.

Cao Xiao used his collection ability to remove a thin piece from where the woman's high heel connected to the sole. This was equivalent to the heel of the high heel breaking, but since the woman wasn't moving right now, the heel was still stubbornly supporting her.

"Auntie, Yueyou, let's go! You two, please feel free to do as you wish. This is a private dinner I'm hosting, so it's not convenient to invite you both." Cao Xiao said when he reached He Yueyou.

"Friend, that's not how you treat people. It's just a meal. If you can't afford it, I'll pay for it in a moment." The playboy Huang Tianyi said, frowning unhappily when he heard Cao Xiao say that.

"Exactly! I am, after all, Yueyou's elder. Ah..." Huang Tianyi's mother was about to say something to Cao Xiao, but unexpectedly, mid-sentence, her body tilted and she fell to the ground. One of her high heels had broken. Just as she was struggling to balance her body, one foot didn't touch the ground, and she flipped over and fell face-first onto the floor.

"Mom, are you okay?" Huang Tianyi said, helping his mother up with concern.

"My newly bought Gucci high heels, they broke in less than a week! They cost over ten thousand yuan! Is my makeup messed up? Ah..." As soon as the woman was helped up, she complained, wiped her face, and asked her son if her makeup was ruined. She hurriedly took a mirror out of her bag, took one look, and let out another shriek.

Cao Xiao hadn't expected it to turn out like this. Seeing the woman's disheveled state, he felt much more relieved, but Liu Chang, standing to the side, couldn't help but burst into laughter. The woman's face looked absolutely ridiculous now, completely different from how it looked before. Earlier, it could be said to be passable, but now one could clearly see the yellowish skin and tangled wrinkles on her face. He really didn't know how many pounds of powder this woman had applied before going out.

"Let's go first. Auntie, sorry, goodbye." He Yueyou didn't pay any attention to the mother and son and urged everyone to leave quickly.

"Cousin, Yueyou, wait up, let's go together." Seeing everyone about to leave, the woman didn't care about her image anymore and hurriedly grabbed Huang Tianyi to follow them.

Cao Xiao actually admired this woman a little; she was really going all out for her son. Cao Xiao and Liu Chang got into the car first to lead the way, He Yueyou and Mother He followed behind in a sports car, and that woman and Huang Tianyi followed at the very back in a white Mercedes AMG. Cao Xiao was very helpless; they were shamelessly following, and he couldn't shake them off or chase them away, as it was their freedom after all.

The destination this time was a five-star international hotel in the district. Cao Xiao was very familiar with the area; he hadn't been to that hotel before, but since it was a five-star hotel, the food inside shouldn't be bad.

It was already 8:30 PM; if they didn't eat soon, it would turn into a late-night snack. After parking the car, Cao Xiao went to the hotel front desk to book a private room, and incidentally, he also booked a room in the hotel for himself. He had nowhere to stay, so he would have to stay at the hotel tonight.

A waiter led everyone into a private room. This time, Cao Xiao didn't let Liu Chang order; instead, he handed the menu to Mother He. Mother He, logically speaking, should be a food lover, otherwise she wouldn't have gone to such lengths to try and sneak into Xiangya Ju to eat. Sure enough, Mother He skillfully rattled off the names of the dishes, making even Liu Chang, who was pouting with dissatisfaction on the side, light up with excitement.