Supremely Talented Tyrant

Chapter 1962 - 2163: Let Me Treat You to a Meal!

Hao Jian had no idea how happy Zhang Danlin was when he agreed. She was practically jumping for joy. Instinctively, she reached over and held Hao Jian's hand, saying, "Let's go."Hao Jian was taken aback, not expecting her to be so forward and directly hold his hand. This was an intimate gesture typically reserved for couples.

However, after seeing the joyful smile on Zhang Danlin's face, he felt too embarrassed to pull away. If he were to shake her off, she'd undoubtedly be upset, suspect something, and feel downhearted. That would go against his original intention; it would be better to directly refuse to walk her home.

Besides, it had been some time since class ended, and most people had left. There was no harm in her holding his arm; after all, there weren't many people around to see them.

So, Zhang Danlin held his arm, and the two of them slowly headed in the direction of her house. Hao Jian guessed that perhaps her personality was more outgoing, and she interacted more easily with guys, unlike other girls who generally kept their distance from boys. So, her instinctively holding his hand might just be habitual.

He didn't think much of it, and the two of them soon exited the school gate and walked under the dim streetlights. Neither of them spoke, slowly walking side by side.

Suddenly, Zhang Danlin seemed to realize something. She noticed that she had been holding Hao Jian's hand and they were walking very close, almost too close. She actually liked it this way, but she suddenly thought that it might make her appear not very reserved, as a girl should be.

Thus, she slowly released his hand and maintained about a fist's distance from Hao Jian. Hao Jian naturally noticed this small change. When Zhang Danlin consciously distanced herself, he felt a bit excited; he no longer had to endure that kind of torment.

He couldn't help but wonder what this little girl had been eating to grow up like this. Though she was young, that part of her body was not small, and it often brushed against him while she held his arm. Being a man, how could he endure such a thing without saying something? Yet, he was too embarrassed to let her down by pulling away or saying anything, so he continued to bear the sweet torment.

Now, finally maintaining some distance was actually a good thing for him.

The two continued to walk silently, with Zhang Danlin initially waiting for Hao Jian to say something. But as they walked, she realized they might reach home before Hao Jian said a word. So she spoke up, "By the way, thank you for the other night!"

When Zhang Danlin mentioned it, Hao Jian recalled how she had vomited all over him that night and how Liang Xiaohan had interrogated him the next day at home. Thinking about it made him a little annoyed. It was the first time someone had vomited on him like that, covered in nauseating vomit.

"Ha... no thanks needed, just don't call me the next time you drink. I don't want to get vomited on again!" Hao Jian said, half-joking and half-serious.

Zhang Danlin immediately looked embarrassed and said, "Ah! Sorry about that, I had a bit too much to drink because I was in a bad mood that night. I'm really sorry."

Though her memory was a little fuzzy from being drunk, after Hao Jian mentioned it, she could vaguely remember what she'd done that night—vomiting all over Hao Jian and feeling deeply apologetic.

Hao Jian quickly waved it off, saying, "No big deal, no big deal, just don't call me next time you drink. Even if you do, I won't come."

Zhang Danlin had been full of guilt a moment ago but seeing Hao Jian's joking expression, she immediately rolled her eyes at him.

They were both initially silent—Hao Jian silent because he didn't want to speak, and Zhang Danlin because she wanted to say something but preferred for Hao Jian to start the conversation. This created a slightly awkward atmosphere. But once the topic was opened, the atmosphere shifted instantly, and within a few brief exchanges, the distance between them lessened significantly.

Under the amber streetlights, they walked slowly, but Zhang Danlin's steps became much lighter, her whole demeanor seeming buoyant with happiness.

"Hey, are you hungry?" she suddenly stopped and turned to Hao Jian, asking.

Hao Jian, instinctively replied, "Not hungry!"

"How can you not be hungry?" Zhang Danlin rolled her eyes at Hao Jian, saying, "You clearly didn't have lunch in the afternoon, and now it's almost ten o'clock. I don't believe you're not hungry after so long without eating."

Hao Jian was taken aback. How did she know he hadn't eaten lunch? Could she have been spying on him? What he didn't realize was that, although Zhang Danlin left in apparent anger after class, she had actually been observing him quietly from a corner.

She had seen Hao Jian sitting in the classroom all afternoon without moving, so she naturally knew he hadn't eaten. Meanwhile, she had also noticed Lin Dongyang.

But just as Hao Jian was about to speak, he held back; asking seemed pointless, so he simply didn't ask.

Zhang Danlin suddenly grabbed his hand and said, "Well... I was planning to invite you to a meal to express my gratitude, but you said at noon you didn't have time. Since you haven't had dinner, why don't I treat you now?"

"Ah!" Hao Jian looked surprised.

And before Hao Jian could refuse, Zhang Danlin was already pulling him toward a street food stall by the roadside. Seeing this, Hao Jian was dumbfounded. Didn't we agree that just sending you home would be enough? How did we end up eating? This is... Liang Xiaohan saw her talking to me just now, if I get back late, that girl is definitely going to bombard me with questions again. If we have to eat, then going back, won't Liang Xiaohan be grilling him, interrogating him thoroughly?

But before he could say anything, Zhang Danlin was already pulling him over, and before he could refuse, she had dragged him to the entrance of the stall.

The owner saw customers arriving and eagerly brought over the menu: "Two of you, please, what would you like to eat?"

Zhang Danlin looked at Hao Jian and seeing he had a somewhat reluctant expression, asked, "What's wrong, don't you like this?"

Hao Jian quickly shook his head and said, "I like it, I like it!"

In fact, he didn't want to at all; eating would take at least half an hour to an hour. If he got back this late, wouldn't Liang Xiaohan grill him and skin him alive? Though she couldn't really do anything to him, he couldn't handle her making a fuss.

Seeing Hao Jian say this, Zhang Danlin directly led him inside and said at a table, "Since you like it, then sit down."

Saying this, Zhang Danlin sat down herself, then took the menu from the owner and started ordering for herself. Hao Jian wanted to say something but held it back again. Things had developed to this point, so he had no choice but to sit down obediently. Since that's the case, he might as well enjoy the meal.

Honestly, he was quite hungry—after all, as the saying goes, 'people are iron, and food is steel, skip a meal and you'll feel hungry.' He wasn't some Daluo Immortal who could go without food. He would just eat first and explain later to Liang Xiaohan, say that he didn't go back for dinner and ended up eating a late-night snack.

As long as there's a reasonable excuse, the rest is easy to explain.

With this, he thought, let's just go with the flow. He sat down, and Zhang Danlin had already ordered and handed the menu back to the owner. At this moment, Hao Jian glanced around; there weren't many customers, just two or three scattered tables. However, the owner's service attitude was quite good—the lack of customers might be because the location was a bit off the busy track, making it seem less crowded.

Zhang Danlin had big eyes, the bright and animated kind, appearing extremely lively and soulful. Now, she blinked those big, dark eyes, looking at Hao Jian, asking, "If you don't like it here, I could invite you somewhere else to eat."

Hao Jian didn't speak, paused, and she continued, "But I do really like this environment, open air, inviting friends for a drink and some skewers when bored, and chatting is a really joyful thing."

Hao Jian nodded and said, "I like it too."

Hearing that they liked the same thing, Zhang Danlin's face lit up with a happy smile.

Hao Jian wasn't just humoring Zhang Danlin; he genuinely liked eating at street stalls, drinking and having skewers—it really was a happy affair.

At this moment, his attention occasionally shifted to the large table next to them.

There weren't many customers, just two tables besides his and Zhang Danlin's. One looked like a family with adults and children, while the other was the one Hao Jian was currently observing.

At that table, everyone looked like a small-time gangster type—wearing tank tops or with legs crossed and smoking, speaking in a slangy, thuggish way. Clearly, they were a group of gangsters.

That wasn't surprising, gangsters drinking and having skewers at a street stall was quite normal, so it didn't particularly catch Hao Jian's attention. What intrigued him was something else.

He saw the people at the table drinking, having skewers, and talking rudely, but when someone went to light a cigarette, the apparent leader of the group patted the subordinate's hand.