Conflict

Tang San walked away resolutely, without a hint of attachment. 

Though he was very hungry and the biscuit was tough to chew, since he had become the Grandmaster's disciple, he regarded the Grandmaster as his father and would not allow anyone to insult him.

"Forget it, Brother Sheng, don't bother with that kid. He's got a strange temper. Let's just eat," someone advised.

Ao Tian held Xiao Wu's hand and headed for the stairs.

Xiao Wu let out a startled cry, her face turning red quickly, her heart beating rapidly. It was the first time she had been held like this by a boy.

She tried to pull her hand away but couldn't.

"Where are you taking me?" she couldn't help but ask.

"To the second floor to eat," Ao Tian replied without looking back.

"Ah—aren't we staying here to eat with them?" Xiao Wu asked.

Ao Tian stopped in his tracks, turned to look at Wang Sheng and the other nine people, and said, "I'm treating, whoever wants to eat, come with us."

With that, he took Xiao Wu and ascended the stairs.

The remaining nine people exchanged glances, all feeling their mouths watering and tempted. Finally, they all turned to look at Wang Sheng.

"Brother Sheng, are you going?" someone asked.

Wang Sheng hesitated for a moment, gazed at the seemingly unattainable second floor, gritted his teeth, and said, "Since Ao Tian is treating, let's go upstairs and broaden our horizons."

He thought to himself that if he didn't go this time, he wouldn't have a chance to set foot on the second floor and taste all those delicious foods anytime soon. 

By deciding to go, Wang Sheng had already prepared himself to owe Ao Tian a favor.

Several young men quickly walked up the stairs.

"In the future, Ao Tian is our friend, understand?" Wang Sheng whispered to the others.

"We understand. Ao Tian's affairs are our affairs."

...

Ao Tian didn't look back but had a faint smile on his face. He had managed to buy their loyalty with just a small amount of money. 

There were a few underlings in Nuoding Academy so that he wouldn't have to personally handle every little thing for anymore. For example, the daily campus cleaning tasks for work students could be assigned to Wang Sheng and the others.

If he didn't want to attend classes, he could have Wang Sheng help with answering...

The second floor of the cafeteria was not as crowded and noisy as the first floor; it had an elegant and quiet ambiance. However, when Wang Sheng and the others arrived, they couldn't help but feel a bit anxious.

It was their first time in such a high-class place.

Suddenly, Xiao Wu stuck her head out of the room and asked, "Why aren't you guys coming in? What are you standing there for?"

Wang Sheng and the others quickly entered the room.

Inside, Ao Tian had already chosen the dishes, essentially ordering all the signature dishes here.

Although he was treating, he couldn't rely on the others to place the order; they probably hadn't experienced anything like this before.

He selected over a dozen dishes in one go and then handed the menu to Xiao Wu beside him, saying, "Order whatever you want."

Xiao Wu shook her head and said, "I don't know. Can you see if there's any carrots?"

Ao Tian was a bit speechless. Definitely a rabbit, and she really liked carrots.

He looked up and found that there were indeed carrots on the menu. So, he added another dish. After ordering, he tossed the menu to Wang Sheng across from him and said, "Take a look and order whatever you like. Don't worry about saving money because of me."

Wang Sheng and the others gathered around, curiously examining the menu. The various dishes had prices listed next to them.

When they saw the prices, Wang Sheng and the others were almost taken aback. A single dish here could cover their food expenses for several days.

"That's... enough," Wang Sheng said, his voice trembling slightly.

Although he wasn't the one paying, experiencing something like this for the first time made him nervous.

Just then, a young waitress in her twenties pushed open the door, her voice sweet as she said, "Hello, have you made your choices..."

Before she could finish her sentence, she saw the children inside, almost all of them dressed modestly, with a few even having patches on their clothes.

She furrowed her brows slightly and asked, "Are you sure you want to eat here?"

Ao Tian was a shrewd person and could easily sense what the girl was thinking. He couldn't be bothered to say much and took out a gold soul coin, tossing it casually as he said, "The order is placed; please prepare the food quickly."

The girl looked at the gold soul coin in Ao Tian's hand, then at the charming and handsome Ao Tian, taking more than ten seconds to react.

"Oh, alright, please wait a moment," she said.

The girl picked up the menu and left the room. Since these kids could afford to pay, she had no reason to worry about anything.

But that little kid was really good-looking...

Not long after, the dishes started arriving one by one.

At first, Wang Sheng and the others were a bit reserved, but after tasting the delicious food, they couldn't resist the temptation.

The appetites of young people were astonishing. Ao Tian's order of over a dozen dishes was completely wiped out, not even leaving any soup.

Wang Sheng and the others had rounded bellies, and they were belching one after another, much to Ao Tian's amusement.

Their eyes lingered on the empty plates, and Ao Tian couldn't help but think that if he wasn't here, these guys might resort to licking the plates clean.

Beside Wang Sheng, there was a box containing some food that he had gotten Ao Tian's permission to pack for Tang San.

Now he realized that he had been a bit too harsh when he had spoken ill of Tang San in front of him, so he wanted to apologize to Tang San.

Xiao Wu wiped her mouth and said, "Ao Tian, thank you for bringing me such delicious food. I've been alive for... six years, and I've never had such delicious food before."

She patted her chest and took a deep breath, thinking she had almost spilled the beans.

Wang Sheng stood up, pulling the others up as well, and loudly said, "Ao Tian, from now on, leave the work-study students' work to us, and also, leave Xiao Wu's tasks to us; we'll handle them all."

Ao Tian smiled and said, "Sure, if you want to come here to eat in the future, you can call me anytime."

Wang Sheng repeatedly said they didn't need to; being able to eat such an expensive meal was already satisfying for them.

Just then, the door was pushed open forcefully, and a group of young men with toothpicks in their mouths walked in.

"Oh, it's really you, Wang Sheng. I could hear your voice from outside. Since when did work students become eligible to eat here? Isn't this lowering our standards?" Boss Xiao sneered, his nostrils flaring. His gaze swept over Ao Tian and the others before finally settling on Xiao Wu.

"Boss, it seems like we need to teach them a lesson. Otherwise, if they come here again, how can we enjoy our meal?" one of Xiao Boss's lackeys suggested.

"Good point." Boss Xiao chuckled and said, "Hand over your money, or else you won't be coming to the second floor to eat anymore."

Wang Sheng slammed the table and shouted angrily, "Xiao Chenyu, don't push your luck."

"Oh, pushing too far?" Boss Xiao raised his hand and started slapping Wang Sheng's face repeatedly, asking, "I pushed too far, what can you do about it?"

Wang Sheng clenched his fists tightly, veins popping on his forehead.

"Spineless." Boss Xiao sneered. "Now, I'll give you three choices. First, hand over all your money. Second, let that little girl accompany me for two days. Third, meet me behind the academy on the small hill. If you lose, you hand over the money and the little girl."