Chapter 73 - Love Rivals Everywhere! (1/2)

Qiu Ling was saved from that embarrassing situation, because at that moment, a man positively jumped into the teahouse.

”Haha!” He stood with his hands on his hips and guffawed. If this wasn't the capital and if the man wasn't richly dressed, everyone might have mistaken him for a bandit.

Zhong Gang's lips twitched. ”Shao Chen, you said you'd come by. But you didn't say you'd come to scare my customers away.” He made his way over while laughing. ”Come, come, have a seat. Ah, did you bring your son?” He looked around the big man and indeed, behind him stood a boy, who had a remarkable resemblance to him.

”Of course! How could I let him miss this?”

”Great, great. You remember my cousin I told you about? The one who I said I'll invite to manage the teahouse?”

”Yes, yes! Is he here?” Shao Chen looked around and noticed Mister Zhong at the counter nearly instantly. ”Ah! That must be him. You look so much alike!” He stormed over with heavy steps and looked Mister Zhong up and down, stroking his chin all the while. ”You're only cousins, but you're looking more alike than my brother and me!”

Zhong Gang followed him over. ”Indeed. It was even more so when we were young. You should have seen us. We looked like twins. Twins! I tell you. Haha. There was even one time when —”

”Daddy!”

Zhong Gang flinched and looked over to where his daughter stood. The little girl, that had acted well-behaved at the beginning, had started to frown when Qiu Ling crashed his cup, clenched her fists when Shao Chen and his son came in and now screamed at the top of her lungs when the commotion still didn't die down. How was she supposed to win over her Prince Charming like this?!

While she concentrated on her father, Jing Yi slipped out of his seat and around her back. The preparation room was on the other side of the room behind the counter Guanyu was facing right now, so he wouldn't be able to go there. He ran straight for the entrance, but he only managed to reach halfway.

Shao Chen's son stood in front of him. Jing Yi stopped awkwardly, scared stiff, because not only wasn't he able to flee, there was even an unknown person in front of him! Who knew if that was someone dangerous?

Shao Chen's son, Shao Hai, stood frozen to his spot, too. His heart was like a horse bolting. He couldn't get its beating under control. His ears turned red and he scratched at the floor with his foot, evading Jing Yi's gaze.

With both of them hesitating for so long, Zhong Gang had finally managed to calm down that spoiled daughter of his. Inside, Guanyu was still fuming, but she did remember her mother's words and felt bad about how she had just resorted to screaming in front of Jing Yi. Now she'd have to begin from square one. It was all her stupid father's fault!

Though Zhong Gang certainly wouldn't have liked that evaluation of him, he still understood that his daughter wasn't that wrong. They couldn't get this excited with guests around. The man on the other side of the room didn't seem to mind, but the women looked a little piqued. Well, this was a teahouse, after all. It should be a place to relax in silence with only hushed conversations of great value. Not some old gossip loudly regaled between uncultured laughter.

Zhong Gang coughed. ”Let's go up into one of the rooms. We wouldn't want to disturb the guests.”

Shao Chen nodded instantly, but Mister Zhong hesitated. ”What about the teahouse? Shouldn't I —”

”Hogwash!” Zhong Gang slapped his shoulder and pushed him to the staircase. ”There are only three guests. Your wife can do that and if it's not enough, there are still the girls in the kitchen. Even your son could help. At least spend some time with us.”

Mister Zhong looked at his wife, but she only nodded and waved him away. Honestly, it would probably be better if he wasn't there. He smiled in appreciation and followed the other two up, while Madam Zhong went into the preparation room to get another cup of tea for Qiu Ling. She was sure, he was her family's benefactor even though he had taken on another appearance once again.