Chapter 22: Chapter 22

what do you mean, pay the bill

———”what the f*ck! ma yunyun’s words really didn’t match her actions! didn’t she just say that she didn’t want to eat, now look at how much food she’s brought back!”

———”but does gu ran really have the ability to afford this? she’s not going to swindle this off to the production crew to pay, is she?”

———”+1! move this to the top!”

———”what kind of things can people like gu ran not pull anyway?”

———”my fengfeng is still the kindest and nicest person forever and ever! even if he wanted to eat something nice he would use his own money to pay for it! he would not resort to underhanded tactics such as stealing and extortion!”

———”oi, can the feng cheng stans shut up and p*ss off? if feng cheng hadn’t wasted all that money yesterday, gu ran would not have to resort to dining and dashing anyway!”

———”what’s wrong with my fengfeng? yesterday’s accommodation and food were agreed upon by everyone! how could you pin the blame solely on him!”

———”if yall want to fight, go home and fight! stop distracting everyone from watching this!”

———”am i the only one who’s noticed that gu ran could speak french? and she sounds so pretty doing it!”

after everyone had eaten their fill, they all collectively looked at gu ran.

“are you paying the bill?”

gu ran: “what do you mean, pay the bill!”

everybody’s faces slackened with horror. feng cheng was the first one to jump out with an accusation. with crossed arms, he sneered, “as i suspected, you’re going to just dine and dash, aren’t you? and then let the production crew pay for you?”

gu ran glared at him. before she could say anything, an employee snapped, “no! the production crew will not be paying for this!”

“we’re done! we’re toast! this time we’re really gonna be sold to someone!” ma yunyun was so anxious she could burst into tears.

liao ping furrowed her brow and looked at yan hao and mo yancheng. “what if we talked to the boss and put in a few good words to settle the payment?”

gu ran shot liao ping a look. without a word, she got up and walked towards the front desk and spoke quietly to the maître d’, who nodded at her. gu ran gave him a finger heart, before she took a few empty boxes. she made a round around the buffet area, and filled the boxes with food before making her way back.

ma yunyun was shocked. “gu ran! how could you take so much! how much work do we have to do for this!”

gu ran rolled her eyes. “do chores if you so wish. i have no time to wait for you.”

after she finished speaking, gu ran packed up the boxes and turned to look at mo yancheng. “coming?”

mo yancheng nodded, retrieved his jacket, and followed gu ran out of the restaurant. nobody stopped them in the process.

ma yunyun was completely befuddled by what she had just witnessed. she glanced at liao ping in shock, who also had her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. yan hao had been in this life long enough to know that gu ran had settled everything, however, and so told everyone to gather their belongings. they left the restaurant in a group.

standing outside the door, ma yunyun felt bewildered by the events that had just occurred. they had managed to leave… just like that?

“gu ran, do you know the boss or something?” liao ping asked once they were well on their way.

“nope.” gu ran was messing around on her phone and did not even deign to lift her head.

“then how did we manage to have a free lunch? it couldn’t be another event… could it?”

“mn. i told ma yunyun already.”

“when did you tell me!” ma yunyun burst out in anger, only to remember after she finished speaking that gu ran did, in fact, tell her back in the restaurant that there was some kind of event it was hosting…

“i- i thought you were joking!” ma yunyun mentally slapped herself in frustration. “if i had known that it was real, i should have eaten more just now!”

with that, ma yunyun remembered that gu ran had packed quite a lot of takeaway food back at the restaurant. she jogged over to where she was at, and warmly took gu ran’s arm in her own. “gu ran gu ran! did you take the strawberry cake just now? and the chestnut biscuits, those are really yummy too!”