In the private room next door, there was only a thin wall separating it from Chen Shuo's private room.
However, the atmosphere was like two different worlds.
Su Xiyan and Chen Shuo's mother Xu Mei sat together, while Auntie Zhang was playing on her phone next to them, occasionally looking towards the door.
They were all waiting for someone - Su Xiyan was waiting for Chen Shuo, while Xu Mei and Auntie Zhang were waiting for their "business partner" Tang Zhiyuan, who had stepped out to take a phone call.
Unfortunately, the two elders did not know that the people they were waiting for would never show up again.
It was unexpected for Su Xiyan and Chen Shuo to appear at the restaurant, so they would have to properly explain things to the elders to avoid rousing any suspicion.
And so, Su Xiyan's gaze shifted as she came up with a reasonable excuse: "Chen Shuo and I didn't know what to eat at home, so after discussing for a while, we decided to just come to Auntie's restaurant here to eat!"
"Chen Shuo said that this restaurant has a nice environment and the food tastes pretty good too! After the meal, we can take both aunties home with us."
"So that's why that brat Chen Shuo asked me for my location!" Xu Mei looked at the future daughter-in-law in front of her, liking her more and more.
While they were talking, the door of the private room opened.
Everyone's gaze concentrated on the doorway.
The person who entered was Chen Shuo.
"Mom, have you eaten yet?" Chen Shuo pretended not to know anything.
Xu Mei said, "Not yet! I won't say much about work matters to you. Take Xiyan to order some food first! If your Auntie Zhang and I finish up, we'll call you."
"After you guys eat, you can also walk around the shopping district nearby."
Chen Shuo nodded: "Okay."
Then, Chen Shuo's gaze shifted towards Su Xiyan: "Let's go take a look at what we can eat."
Su Xiyan followed behind Chen Shuo. The two of them went downstairs and found a window-side table in the first floor lobby, casually ordering some food.
"Tang Zhiyuan..." Chen Shuo thought he should still tell Su Xiyan about having gotten rid of Tang Zhiyuan.
Before Chen Shuo could finish speaking, just uttering the three characters of Tang Zhiyuan's name,
Su Xiyan already understood what he wanted to say, interrupting him: "I see."
"He shouldn't have, he really shouldn't have gone after your family."
"Chen Shuo, don't feel guilty. Tang Zhiyuan's actions are considered a serious crime according to the demon hunter organization's rules."
"The demon hunter rules are very clear. Ordinary humans absolutely must not get involved. So Tang Zhiyuan brought this upon himself."
Su Xiyan still remembered how she felt when she hunted and killed her first vampire.
Although they were enemies, having a life vanish by her own hand still left her with some unspeakable distress.
This was not being a saint, but the necessary path of growth. She hoped Chen Shuo would not suffer too much pain.
Su Xiyan was just a bit surprised. She knew Chen Shuo would definitely punish Tang Zhiyuan, but did not expect he would directly take Tang Zhiyuan's life.
Who was to blame? It was still Tang Zhiyuan himself who had walked the road of no return.
Chen Shuo poured Su Xiyan a cup of fruit tea and asked, "Now that the top demon hunter in Suzhou City is gone, will you guys elect a new leader?"
Su Xiyan took a sip of the sweet fruit tea and answered:
"Yes, there's already a new leader in place. I told you about this before, remember? In that private kitchen incident, Tang Zhiyuan made a serious mistake and had already been stripped of power. He was no longer the boss."
"Suzhou City will soon have a new officer-in-charge coming to take over. The order has already been issued and we're just waiting for him to arrive."
Chen Shuo did not seem interested in the incoming person-in-charge: "Oh, okay then! I thought that after getting rid of Tang Zhiyuan, you could become the boss!"
Su Xiyan: "I don't want to be any officer-in-charge! Don't have time for that."
"Chen Shuo, do you want to become human again now that you're the Vampire King?"
Without much thought, Chen Shuo directly answered: "Of course! I don't want to be a vampire, I just want to be an ordinary human being."
Su Xiyan was worried: "But during this period of time as a vampire, you offended not just the demon hunters, but earned the resentment of vampires as well. If you become human again, it would mean you completely lose your battle power. What if the vampires come looking to get revenge on you? What would you do then?"
"No problem, I still have..." Chen Shuo suddenly stopped talking mid-sentence.
No problem, I still have my system!
But he couldn't let Su Xiyan know about his system! And that damn system didn't even work in front of Su Xiyan anyway!
Su Xiyan immediately picked up on Chen Shuo's underlying meaning, her tone becoming wary: "Oh? There's still what else?"
"Chen Shuo, could it be you still have something very important that you're hiding from me??"
Faced with Su Xiyan's questioning, Chen Shuo's expression remained extremely calm. His psychological endurance had strengthened to the point he could now confront Su Xiyan.
Meeting Su Xiyan's eyes with his own, Chen Shuo's eyes closely resembled that of a well-behaved, silly and cute little puppy: "Because I still have you!"
"You'll definitely have to protect me in the future!"
Su Xiyan's gaze shifted. Reading between the lines, she said: "I can certainly protect you, but you'll also have to promise me one thing. When Suzhou City's new officer-in-charge takes over, if there ever comes a day you confront him, I hope you can... show mercy."
Without much thought, Chen Shuo agreed.
Tang Zhiyuan had brought it upon himself. Chen Shuo was no murderous madman either. As long as the other party behaved themselves, he would not easily make a move.
The two of them finished their meal, each occupied with their own thoughts.
During the meal, Su Xiyan also sent a message to the Suzhou City demon hunters to get someone from the company to casually make up an excuse to terminate the partnership with Chen Shuo's mother Xu Mei's company.
This resolved Xu Mei's questions as well.
After the meal, Chen Shuo drove Su Xiyan, Xu Mei and Auntie Zhang back home.
On the way there, Xu Mei and Auntie Zhang complained about the credibility issues of partner companies without realizing anything was amiss.
Chen Shuo and Su Xiyan understood perfectly well, but said nothing.
It was already Saturday afternoon. Chen Shuo and Su Xiyan also had to return to school.
It would be Monday tomorrow bright and early. There would be many things to handle!
Xu Mei had finally come back home for a bit and was in no hurry to return to work. She said there were still other companies she needed to meet for potential partnerships in the area.
In the afternoon, Chen Shuo and Su Xiyan returned to school.
When saying farewell, Xu Mei held onto Su Xiyan's hand tightly, extremely reluctant to part. She repeatedly exhorted Chen Shuo that he must not anger Su Xiyan and treat her well and attentively.
"Xiyan, if that brat Chen Shuo upsets you, call and tell me! I'll come and deal with him!"
Su Xiyan looked at Chen Shuo triumphantly. Her pointy chin tilted up proudly: "Don't worry Auntie, he won't bully me."
Chen Shuo thought inwardly: Who would dare bully her? Wouldn't that be asking to suffer?