Chapter 111 |
"Son, you’re truly amazing! No wonder you handed me the keys and asked me to bring the car up—it was all part of your plan, wasn’t it?"
Fang Yuanyuan excitedly hugged Qi Lin and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. The problem that had left both parents feeling embarrassed and helpless was resolved so easily by their son. Qi Feng also beamed with pride, giving Qi Lin a thumbs-up. After working hard for a week to prepare for the Lobster Food Festival, it had finally become a huge success. Now, all that was left was to see how Qi Lin would profit from it.
"Hah… this lobster is amazing, but it would be a waste to eat it without beer!"
"If the organizers could provide free beer, that’d be perfect!"
"Are you stupid? They’ve already spent a fortune giving out free lobsters, and now you want free drinks too? Why don’t you just rob them?"
"If you want beer or water to cool off the spice, just buy it over there!"
Chen Shimeng grinned and pointed to Wang Siling’s drink stand. Many visitors hadn’t realized that alcohol was being sold. Seeing this, Chen Shimeng and his men dove into the crowd to act as hype men. Braised Spicy Lobster was the spiciest dish on the menu. While delicious, the heat was intense. Before long, a flood of tourists rushed to Wang Siling’s stand for drinks. Seeing that his efforts had paid off, Chen Shimeng quickly ran back to help Wang Siling move more beverages.
"Little sister, give me two bottles of water!"
"Five bottles of Jianlibao for me!"
"Three bottles, quick! This lobster is insanely spicy, but it’s so good I can’t stop eating!"
Wang Siling’s eyes widened in disbelief as she watched the massive crowd cramming around her stall.
"Brother Qi Lin is incredible!"
Just a moment ago, she had worried about not selling enough. Now, she worried about keeping order—these thirsty tourists seemed desperate enough to break in and grab drinks by force. Luckily, the police were patrolling, or else a stampede might have happened. Crates of drinks vanished like crazy. In just an hour, more than 6,000–7,000 cases had been sold. Delivery trucks continued arriving, ensuring an endless supply for the crowd.
Qi Lin watched the chaotic scene below—many guests didn’t know how to eat lobsters properly, wasting a lot of meat before throwing the shells away. He chuckled, picked up a microphone, and said:
"I see that many guests still don’t know how to properly eat a lobster. So here’s what we’ll do—I’ll randomly pick one lucky guest from the audience and personally teach them how to peel a lobster!"
The moment he finished speaking, countless young women in the crowd had stars in their eyes, gazing up at him.
Tall and handsome. Witty and confident. From a billionaire family.
Which young girl wouldn’t want to have a romantic encounter with him?
But Qi Lin ignored all the expectant gazes. Instead, he scanned the crowd searching for someone. Suddenly, he smiled.
"You, the lady in the dark green cheongsam."
He pointed to a young woman.
Xia Sha’s face instantly flushed red.
She had heard about Qi Lin’s Lobster Food Festival in Rose Bay Plaza. Since it was close to her shop, she had impulsively closed her business for the day and sneaked over to watch. Even though she was familiar with Qi Lin—after all, he was her niece Yuxi’s boyfriend—she still felt too embarrassed to approach him. So she had simply stood in the crowd, quietly enjoying the lobsters. And she had to admit, they were delicious. Even as someone who had tasted countless delicacies and was an excellent cook herself, she was impressed by the flavor.
But she never expected that despite keeping such a low profile, Qi Lin would still spot her. Not only did he pick her out, but he also described her outfit in detail. Even though she was shy, with so many eyes on her, she had no choice but to go on stage.
"Here, hold a lobster, grip its head, and then remove the shell—"
Before Xia Sha could even react, Qi Lin suddenly grabbed her from behind. He took hold of her soft, delicate hands and started teaching her how to peel the lobster.
Xia Sha’s face turned as red as a tomato. She lowered her voice and whispered:
"Qi Lin, did you bring me up here on purpose to embarrass me?"
"I’m your aunt, you know! What does this look like?!"
Qi Lin grinned.
"Aunt? You’re Yuxi’s aunt, not mine."
"Besides, I’m just teaching you how to peel a lobster—why are you overthinking it?"
"Look at all the jealous stares from the girls below. They wish they could switch places with you!"
Hearing his nonsense, Xia Sha blushed even harder and playfully scolded him.
"Hmph! Who would want to be here?! Just wait—after we get offstage, I’ll teach you a lesson!"
Qi Lin laughed. "Teach me a lesson? I’d love that! Feel free to bully me anytime!"
He tightened his embrace slightly, making Xia Sha even more flustered.
Her heart started to race.
"What is this brat trying to do?! Is he taking advantage of me?!"
"But… but I’m Yuxi’s aunt! How dare he be this bold?!"
Meanwhile, countless male spectators in the audience burned with jealousy.
Xia Sha was breathtakingly beautiful.
Her dark green cheongsam accentuated her S-shaped curves, making her look like a high-class lady from the Republic era.
Yet here she was, in Qi Lin’s arms, being taught how to peel a lobster.
It was too much!
Fortunately, Lan Gang, who was busy maintaining order, had no time to look at the stage.
Otherwise, if he saw Qi Lin flirting with his sister-in-law, he’d probably pull out his gun and fire a few rounds.
Everyone knew the saying: "A man’s sister-in-law is half his wife."
Even Lan Gang himself didn’t dare harbor any improper thoughts about Xia Sha.
Yet Qi Lin had already made his move.
Could Lan Gang really let that slide?!
After finally peeling a lobster, Xia Sha glared at Qi Lin with her face still burning red before fleeing the stage.
Qi Lin, inhaling the lingering fragrance in the air, casually walked backstage.
He stopped a waitress carrying a plate of lobsters.
"Take this plate to the front row—to that beautiful lady in the black business suit."
He then took one lobster from the plate and slipped the Beetle prize ticket inside.
That’s right.
Despite hyping up the prize, Qi Lin hadn’t actually placed the ticket in any lobsters until now.
If the audience found out, they’d probably die of frustration.
"Oh!"
The waitress nodded and carried the plate to the VIP seats.
Feeling guilty about secretly eating a lobster, Chen Shuyi picked up another one and peeled it as Qi Lin had demonstrated.
"Mmm~! This ugly bug actually tastes amazing!"
Closing her eyes in satisfaction, she sighed.
Girls loved spicy midnight snacks, and lobsters were the ultimate craving.
"Miss, would you like some more?"
The waitress handed her the plate.
Seeing that Qi Lin had sent it, Chen Shuyi’s face turned red.
"He… he really did that just for me?"
Seeing Chen Shuyi looking at him, Qi Lin playfully winked, as if saying, "Shuyi, hurry up and eat. This is my special lobster just for you."
Chen Shuyi was momentarily stunned by Qi Lin’s teasing expression, and her face turned red. But she knew Qi Lin’s personality—if she didn’t eat the lobster now, there was no telling what kind of outrageous stunt he might pull next. The image of the lady in the dark green cheongsam was still fresh in her mind. She didn’t even need to guess—clearly, that was another poor soul who had fallen victim to Qi Lin’s mischief.
Ten minutes later.
"Hey! This lottery is fake, isn’t it? How come no one has found a prize ticket yet?"
"Yeah! If you don’t want to give out prizes, just say so!"
"Hah, what a stingy organizer. So what if the lobsters taste good? There’s no sincerity at all!"
An hour had passed, and no one had found the prize ticket. The crowd was growing impatient, and the protests were getting louder. If this continued, it could turn into another crisis.
At that moment, Chen Shuyi clenched her fists tightly, her cheeks flushed red.
Because the prize ticket that everyone was yearning for was right in her hand.
Chen Shuyi never expected Qi Lin to be so biased in her favor. She wasn’t stupid. It was obvious that Qi Lin had secretly placed the ticket inside one of the lobsters meant for her.
Hearing the growing complaints and accusations against Qi Lin, she felt torn.
"What should I do? Should I go up there and claim the prize?"
"If I don’t, Qi Lin’s event will completely fall apart, and he’ll suffer a huge loss."
"I’ve always disliked him. He bullied me, stole my first kiss—I should hate him."
"But… why do I feel guilty at the thought of his event failing?"
Chen Shuyi wanted to slap herself awake. She didn’t understand why she couldn’t control herself as she slowly stepped onto the stage. Closing her eyes, she bit her lip and spoke to the protesting crowd.
"The prize… the prize ticket is here. I found it."
"Wow!"
The moment she made the announcement, all the accusations against Qi Lin collapsed in an instant.
"Someone actually won?"
"Damn! Why couldn’t it be me?"
"Wow, this girl is really beautiful. And she has such crazy luck."
"A car worth 260,000 yuan… I can only be jealous."
The event host smiled as he approached and took the ticket from Chen Shuyi. He carefully examined it several times before holding it up and announcing, "Congratulations to this beautiful lady! You are the lucky winner of today’s grand prize—a Volkswagen Beetle!"
"Aaahhhhhh!"
"Qi Lin, you bastard! How dare you use my family’s car to impress Shuyi?! You deserve to die!"
Down below, when Li Jiaming saw Chen Shuyi winning the prize, he nearly fainted from rage.
As an insider, he immediately figured it out.
There was no such thing as "luck" in this lottery.
Qi Lin had clearly rigged it by placing the prize ticket in Chen Shuyi’s lobster.
That car was supposed to be his gift for Chen Shuyi!
Now, Qi Lin had used it to curry favor with her instead. Was there anything more disgusting than this?
"Miss, may we have your name?" The host handed her the microphone.
"I… I’m Chen Shuyi."
Chen Shuyi smiled shyly.
"Congratulations, Miss Chen Shuyi! As today’s grand prize winner, we will now have a photo session with the event organizers to commemorate this moment."
The host stepped aside, making way for Qi Lin, who was grinning mischievously, Qi Feng, who was still confused, and Fang Yuanyuan, who was giving Chen Shuyi a curious look.
"Lin’er, this girl looks kind of familiar…" Fang Yuanyuan whispered to Qi Lin.
Qi Lin chuckled. "She’s Aunt Chen’s daughter—Chen Shuyi."
"What?! She’s Aunt Chen’s daughter?!"
Fang Yuanyuan’s eyes widened in shock.
"Please stand closer together. Otherwise, you won’t fit in the frame."
As the photographer directed them, they arranged themselves in position. Fang Yuanyuan stood on the far left, followed by Chen Shuyi, then Qi Lin, and finally Qi Feng.
Chen Shuyi’s face turned crimson.
Because at that moment, a hand had sneakily wrapped around her slim waist and pulled her close.
Now, she was tightly pressed against Qi Lin’s chest, making them look like an affectionate couple.
Seeing this, Li Jiaming nearly lost his mind.
His beloved was on stage, taking intimate photos with his greatest enemy, while he stood below like a fool watching.
If not for his rationality holding him back, he would have rushed onto the stage and killed Qi Lin on the spot.
"Shuyi, do you like my gift?"
Qi Lin whispered playfully in her ear.
There was no way he was going to give such a nice car to those freeloading guests.
It was better to use it to benefit his own people.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about. I won this fair and square."
Chen Shuyi’s cheeks were red as she shot him an annoyed glance.
She knew exactly what had happened, but she didn’t want to give Qi Lin the satisfaction.
Qi Lin simply shrugged.
Women always said one thing but meant another. As long as the goal was achieved, it didn’t matter if she admitted it or not.
With the award ceremony over, Chen Shuyi took the car keys and left the stage.
And with that, the first-ever China Lobster Food Festival was a complete success.
But not all the girls connected to Qi Lin had come to the event.
At that moment, in Qi Lin’s villa.
"Wuuu… wuuu…"
Qi Xueyao sat on the sofa in her nightgown, hugging a pillow, tears streaming down her face.
On the TV in front of her, a broadcast showed Qi Lin holding Chen Shuyi by the waist, smiling brightly as they posed for a picture.
She had fought with Qi Lin for so many days.
But in the end, her innocence had been taken away by him in a drunken mistake.
And worse, during that moment, he had been calling out Lan Yuxi’s name.
The pain she felt that night had been unbearable.
She was devastated about losing her purity, but what hurt even more was Qi Lin’s heartless behavior.
"Ring, ring—"
Her phone rang.
Without looking, she picked it up.
"Xueyao, why didn’t you come to work today? I called you so many times this morning, but you didn’t answer."
Jiang Lei’s anxious voice came through the receiver.
Hearing his voice, Qi Xueyao’s expression turned pale, her eyes filled with tears.
She had lost the last bit of resolve she had left.
What was she supposed to do with Jiang Lei now?
"I… I’m not feeling well. I’m resting at home."
She tried to hold back her sobs.
"Are you sick? Do you want me to come see you?"
Jiang Lei asked immediately.
"No need… I just want to rest at home alone today."
Qi Xueyao wiped her tears with a tissue.
"Alright then, take care of yourself and drink lots of warm water."
Warm water again. That useless advice.
After hanging up, Qi Xueyao broke down completely, sobbing uncontrollably.
At her weakest moment, Jiang Lei could do nothing for her.
The overwhelming pain and suffocation were something she could only endure alone.