Chapter 228 - 227: Longevity Noodles

A little over ten minutes later, Yvonne Lowell opened the door and came back in.

She was pushing a food cart. On the top shelf sat a porcelain bowl, covered with a silver lid.

Leo Grant quickly walked over, his brow furrowed. "Why are you doing this yourself? Where is everyone?"

A world-renowned, top-tier restaurant chain, and they don’t even have a single free server? They might as well just shut down.

Yvonne: ’Isn’t this my restaurant? You don’t have to be so harsh.’

"It’s fine. I wanted to push it myself. Now, get out of the way."

Yvonne brushed his hand aside and pushed the cart next to her seat.

Leo followed behind her. Just as he was about to help her with the porcelain bowl, she looked up and shot him a glare.

"Sit."

Leo had no choice but to obediently retract his hand and sit back down in his seat.

The peanut gallery: ’We see nothing. We dare not look. We can’t laugh. We dare not laugh...’

’But we really want to secretly record this! This is the only time we ever get to see The Living Yama looking so timid!!’

’We’re a bunch of pigs standing right in a hurricane, and we still can’t manage to fly. We’re missing out on a fortune!!!’

Yvonne placed the porcelain bowl in front of him and lifted the lid. "Here, longevity noodles."

Leo froze for a moment. He looked down, and his eyes fell upon a bowl of longevity noodles that looked and smelled delicious.

It had a rich, white broth base, topped with a soft-boiled egg, several large shrimp, and abalone, with a stalk of green vegetable for garnish.

An outrageous thought suddenly popped into Leo’s mind. But that couldn’t be right. He hadn’t heard any fire alarms. ’Is the kitchen at Prosperity Pavilion actually explosion-proof?’

Looking at the beaming smile on her face, Leo asked tentatively,

"This... you didn’t just run downstairs to make this, did you?"

Yvonne’s expression turned a little unnatural. "Is it that obvious? It doesn’t look that bad..."

Leo’s lips parted a few times, but he felt as if something was caught in his throat, and he couldn’t utter a single word.

He stared at her without blinking, the love in his eyes surging.

’So the manager needing her for something was just an excuse.’

Yvonne was still talking, mostly to herself. "Actually, the kitchen made the broth and prepared the toppings. I just cooked the noodles and arranged the plate. I even used a timer and followed the chef’s instructions for cooking them, so they shouldn’t be too..."

This was the first time she’d ever cooked in a kitchen without blowing it up, though this only counted as half-cooking at best.

Leo squeezed her palm, interrupting her slightly distressed rambling. "It looks delicious. I love it, really!"

The peanut gallery: ’BURP~ Prosperity Pavilion really is something else. It might be a bit pricey, but the portions are generous and filling. See? We’ve barely had a few bites, and we’re already so full of their lovey-dovey stuff we could puke.’

Yvonne cleared her throat. "Hurry up and eat. The noodles are going to get clumpy."

"Okay, I’ll eat every last bite." Leo let go of her hand, picked up his chopsticks, and started eating.

Evan Donovan, who was beside them, teased, "Leo, I hear that with longevity noodles in Aurelia, you have to eat the whole thing in one go without biting it in half. You’d better be careful."

Leo didn’t say anything, just glanced up at him, his eyes clearly saying: ’Like I need you to tell me?’

Yvonne, however, wasn’t worried. ’Sure, the noodles are a bit long, but isn’t that for good luck?’

’Besides, I specifically chose the thinnest noodles in the kitchen—super fine—so he can definitely slurp it all up in one bite.’

’Don’t ask how I know. I already tested it. If he can’t finish it in one slurp, that’s on him, not me.’

’And besides, he seems to be handling it with ease, doesn’t he? He’s eating with such relish, too. I guess it really isn’t bad.’

He ate the noodles rather quickly, but not in a crude way, and he didn’t make any SLURP SLURP sounds.

「Author’s fact-check: Lol, Mr. Perfect, so obviously fake. Even I, your mother-in-law, slurp my noodles.」

After he finished, Leo leaned close to Yvonne and said, "It was delicious. Especially the noodles—they were tender and smooth, springy and chewy, and bursting with flavor. It makes you want more."

Yvonne’s ears grew hot. She shot him a cross look. "Then you can just keep on wanting."

After the meal, a server brought out the cake that had been prepared.

The cake had a full three tiers, but it wasn’t huge. Yvonne had calculated the number of guests before having it made.

On the very top was a Q-style fondant figurine made in Leo’s likeness, with the number ’26’ piped in frosting beside it.

Nolan Crawford came forward, lit the candles, and said excitedly, "Leo, come on, make a wish!"

Leo glanced at Yvonne, then clasped his hands together and closed his eyes.

After making a wish in his heart, he blew out the candles.

He made a few symbolic cuts in the cake, handed the first slice to Yvonne, and then gave the knife to Nolan Crawford, letting them handle the rest.

The peanut gallery: ’So in the end, we’re the unworthy ones...’

Yvonne blinked. "What did you wish for?"

She paused, and before he could answer, added, "Actually, don’t tell me. It won’t come true if you say it out loud."

Leo reached out and wiped a bit of frosting from the corner of her mouth, his voice gentle.

"Whatever you say. Besides, you’re the only one who can make it come true. You’ll find out eventually."

Yvonne gave him a suspicious look but didn’t press further.

The group behind them seemed to have planned it, lining up one after another to toast Leo, with every toast having something to do with Yvonne.

One person wished them a long and happy life together and hoped they would tie the knot soon.

Another said they looked like a married couple, a match made in heaven.

Someone else even said their future children would definitely be good-looking.

Only Yvonne’s cousins, one older and one younger, took an unconventional route. They walked right up, filled his glass to the brim, and jutted out their chins without saying a word.

But their expressions clearly said: ’You drain it, we’ll sip. If you don’t drink, you’re disrespecting your future brothers-in-law.’

Yet, he accepted every challenge, downing each and every glass.

After two rounds, most of the others were already getting tipsy.

But he remained seated, calm and composed. His eyes were clear, though the tips of his ears were slightly red.

A flash of surprise crossed Yvonne’s eyes. ’This guy can really hold his liquor, huh?’

’Looks like I’ve found myself a drinking buddy. Not only will the treasures in my wine cellar no longer gather dust, but I’ll also have to start stocking up on even more.’

But Yvonne gradually noticed something was off. Leo’s reactions were starting to slow down. He was like an emotionless drinking robot.

When they toasted him, he never replied, only nodding or grunting "mhm."

He just drank with each person who came up, which was why Yvonne hadn’t noticed anything strange at first.

Yvonne tugged on his arm and asked softly, "Are you drunk?"

Leo turned to look at her, blinked slowly twice, then shook his head. "No, not drunk."

’Yep, he’s drunk. People who are drunk never admit they’re drunk.’

Yvonne sighed to herself. "It’s getting late. Should we go home now?"

"Okay, let’s go back to our home." It took Leo a few seconds to react before he nodded obediently.

Yvonne said her goodbyes to the others, telling Nolan Crawford and Nina Jennings to take them to the after-party, and then pulled Leo out the door.