Chapter 371 - 369: I’ll Treat You

"No rush. It’s almost noon, so I’ll treat you to lunch!"

"Whoa! Making money really changes a person, huh?" Estelle Goodman’s eyes lit up instantly. "Four thousand dollars a day! That’s like the annual profit of a small or medium-sized company. We have to have a feast!"

"No problem. You guys pick the place!"

Cecilia Sterling and Estelle didn’t try to stop her. Usually, they were the ones who insisted on not letting Blair spend money. Sometimes, even when Blair offered to treat them, they would just choose Lily’s Stir-fry on the snack street behind the school.

This time, it was rare for Blair to be so confident, and it was certainly something worth celebrating. A feast was in order.

The Loft.

Cecilia Sterling and Wesley Yates had eaten at this restaurant once before. It was a high-end Hong Kong-style hot pot place of excellent quality, specializing in fish maw chicken soup, which was then used as a broth to cook premium seafood.

But just as they reached the entrance, they were stopped by a staff member.

"Excuse me, ladies. It’s not convenient for us to seat new customers right now. Could you please wait a moment?"

The staff member’s words were a bit baffling. Asking them to wait implied that the restaurant was open for business.

But why was it temporarily inconvenient to seat them?

"Did something happen inside?" Cecilia asked subconsciously.

But before the staff member could answer, a large group of people came marching out from inside.

They looked aggressive. They were in pairs, flanking a person in the middle and escorting them out.

’Are the police arresting people?’

For some reason, upon seeing the scene, Cecilia’s heart leaped into her throat. She stared intently at the people being escorted out, terrified she would see Wesley Yates among them.

"Excuse me, please make way. The police are conducting an investigation."

Lost in thought, Cecilia was pulled aside by a staff member to make way. The people being arrested all had calm expressions, showing no signs of distress.

Cecilia only let out a slow sigh of relief after all of them were escorted into police vehicles and she confirmed Wesley Yates was not among them.

Estelle exclaimed in shock, "What’s going on? Were those people arrested while they were eating here? Did they get into a fight?"

Blair shook her head. "It wasn’t a fight. There wasn’t a single tear on their bodies or clothes. They must have committed some crime and been taken away by the police."

"Sorry about that, ladies. We didn’t let you in just now because we were worried about unforeseen circumstances. You can dine normally now."

This little incident didn’t seem to affect Estelle or Blair, but the unease in Cecilia’s heart hadn’t completely dissipated.

She made an excuse to go to the restroom and called Wesley Yates.

The phone rang for a long time before it was answered. "Hello, Cecilia?"

"Brother, what are you up to?" Cecilia’s tone was relatively normal.

"I’m at the office. What’s up? Is something wrong?"

"No, it’s just that I came to The Loft for lunch with my friends and it suddenly reminded me that I haven’t seen you in a while. When are you free? Want to get a meal together?"

After she said this, there was a long silence on the other end of the line.

"Brother?"

Only after Cecilia called out again did Wesley Yates finally respond, "I’ve got a lot on my plate recently. I probably don’t have time."

Cecilia paused, then said, "Oh, I see. Okay then. If you have time, just give me a call, and we can schedule something?"

"Sure. I’m hanging up now."

After the call ended, the unease in Cecilia’s heart grew even more pronounced.

Because every other time she had asked her brother out, he had always agreed without hesitation.

’Busy? How busy could he be? Too busy to even have a single meal?’

She recalled what Duane had told her—that her brother had told his men to lay low and behave themselves recently...

...and what Saul Thorne had said about the ongoing "Special Campaign to Combat Organized Crime" in Lorcain...

Connecting that to her brother’s recent strange behavior...

Cecilia felt a tingling sensation on her scalp.

Just then, her phone rang again. It was Wesley Yates, calling her back.

Cecilia quickly answered, "Brother?"

"Cecilia, how about next Monday?"

"Okay. Aetherium, then?"

"Deal. See you next Monday."

The call ended again. Cecilia took a deep breath. She decided she had to get clear answers from her brother next Monday.

That evening, at the entrance of No. 2 High School.

"Boss, how much for the starch sausages?"

"Four dollars a piece."

Standing before a fried skewer stall with his two friends, Golden Blade opened his WhatsApp to check his balance upon hearing the price.

"How about three for a cent?"

"Can’t do it, young man! These are quality sausages, the real deal. Guaranteed one hundred percent meat-free. If you find a single scrap of meat, you can come back and complain to me!"

Monkey, who was standing to the side, glanced at Golden Blade’s WhatsApp balance and said, "Blade, don’t you still have some money in your account?"

"Isn’t that for buying cigarettes later?"

"Oh."

The three of them stared at each other blankly. They used to get a bit of income from Kai every month, but because they kicked a bicycle, Kai had docked their allowance for two months. Now, they could barely even afford cigarettes.

"Forget it, I’m not eating. You two can have some." Golden Blade then looked at the owner. "We’ll take two, then!"

"Go ahead and eat. It’s on me."

Ethan Sterling had appeared behind Golden Blade at some point, and his sudden words, though quiet, made Golden Blade jump.

Turning around, he saw Ethan Sterling straddling a bicycle, looking at him with a deadpan expression.

"N-No, that’s okay." Seeing it was Ethan Sterling, Golden Blade subconsciously refused.

Now, whenever he saw Ethan, all he could think of was Kai’s fists. He was scared to death; how could he dare let Ethan treat him to food?

"Don’t be polite. You guys helped me out the other day. It’s only right."

"You already said thank you to us." Golden Blade shook his head, his expression unnatural. "Really, it’s not necessary, bro."

"A verbal thank you doesn’t count. Let me treat you to something. Order whatever you want."

Monkey looked at Ethan, then secretly glanced at Golden Blade before whispering, "Blade, I want to eat..."

Golden Blade shot him a glare, frightening Monkey into quickly lowering his head.

Ethan got right off his bike, parked it, and walked up to the stall. He was about to speak when he saw the pot of dark, murky oil that looked like it hadn’t been changed in days.

He frowned.

After a moment of internal struggle, he shook his head. "Don’t eat this. Let me treat you to something else."

"Bro!"

Golden Blade grabbed Ethan’s arm. When Ethan looked up at him, he hesitated before saying, "Really, don’t. We... we kicked your bike. Kyle said it would have cost over ten dollars to fix, but you didn’t even ask us for the money."

"But didn’t you get beaten up by Kai? My sister said the beating you took covered the compensation, so the whole bicycle thing was settled that day."

"I’m treating you now because of what happened at the school gate that day. Let’s keep things separate."

Hearing Ethan say this, a rare feeling of guilt stirred in Golden Blade’s heart. "We..."

"Let’s go. My mom’s not home today, so I was going to eat out anyway. Just think of it as keeping me company!"