Chapter 38
The following day, they slept until 10 o’clock before finally getting up. They had a relaxed breakfast at the hotel. On their way to the airport, Zhou Chao called his Third Brother, Xu Wenzheng, to let him know that he and Li Yang were en route to the airport. If Xu Wenzheng had the time, he could come to Modu and join them for some fun.
Their flight was at 12 o’clock, and by the time they landed at Modu’s Hongqiao Airport, it was already 3:30 in the afternoon. Zhou Chao and Li Yang arrived at the parking lot, where Lin Wu had been waiting in his Rolls-Royce Phantom for quite some time.
“Big Bro, are you going home or coming to my place?” Zhou Chao asked Li Yang.
“I’ll go to your place. I’ll also enjoy the meal you cook.”
“Alright, we’ll have dinner at home. Lin Wu, how’s your father doing? Is he still in the hospital?”
“He’s much better now. He’ll be discharged soon. My dad has been saying he wants to thank you properly after he’s out.” Lin Wu, who usually appeared rigid, had a smile on his face.
“Okay.”
“Big Bro, you mentioned that Qin Shao came back to Modu. When should we arrange to meet up and hang out together?”
“I’ll check with Qin Lang first, and when it’s confirmed, I’ll give you a call.”
As they chatted, they soon arrived at The Palms Residence. Once Zhou Chao entered his home, he immediately flopped onto the sofa. “Ah, it’s so comfortable to be home.”
“Go and cook. Tonight, I want to have a big feast,” Li Yang said, lying down next to Zhou Chao.
Zhou Chao reluctantly got up and called Lin Wu, who was basking in the sun on the balcony. “Lin Wu, go buy some groceries, get more meat, and do you have enough money with you?”
“Master Zhou, I’ve only used a small portion of the 200,000 yuan you gave me. It’s enough,” Lin Wu replied before leaving to buy the groceries.
“Big Bro, call Qin Lang and the others and ask if they want to come over for dinner. It’s rare that I’ll be cooking this time. There might not be many chances in the future.”
Upon hearing this, Li Yang sat up. “I’ll give them a call and see if they’ll come.” He then went to the balcony to make a phone call to the three friends. After a while, Li Yang came back.
“Qin Lang and Yang Shuo will come later if they have time. Yin Keting went to Macau, seems like he’s gambling there.”
Hearing that Yin Keting was in Macau, Zhou Chao couldn’t help but think of his gambling skills. Maybe he should go to Macau someday and try his luck to earn some extra pocket money.
“System, how many days have I accumulated?”
“Currently, the host has accumulated 7 days.”
Zhou Chao considered it for a moment but decided against it. He could check in later. He and Li Yang lounged on the sofa, playing with their phones, waiting for Lin Wu to return with the groceries.
In less than half an hour, Lin Wu arrived with two large bags of groceries. Zhou Chao quickly got up, took the bags from Lin Wu, and placed them on the table. Upon inspecting the groceries, Zhou Chao found king crabs, Australian lobsters, beef, spare ribs, and various vegetables.
With a plan in mind, he headed to the kitchen, where the sound of pots and pans clanging echoed. Li Yang explored the kitchen briefly but couldn’t find a way to help, so he went out and engaged in small talk with Lin Wu.
While Zhou Chao was still busy in the kitchen, Qin Lang and Yang Shuo arrived. As soon as they entered, they saw Zhou Chao cooking and greeted him before Li Yang dragged them to play Landlord (a card game).
“Time to eat!” Lin Wu came out from the kitchen with a big crab in his hand. The table was already filled with a variety of dishes.
“Come and eat, all of you, Lin Wu, join us too.” Zhou Chao called out, not waiting for Lin Wu’s response, and headed towards the others who were playing cards.
At this moment, Li Yang, Qin Lang, and Yang Shuo had white strips all over their faces, nearly concealing their faces. Fortunately, Zhou Chao was cooking; otherwise, they would have run out of tissues to use for the game.
“Alright, let’s eat first, and then we can play later. The four of us can play cards together. ” Upon hearing this, they stopped their fight over the food.
“Wow, it smells so good! Your cooking skills are impressive,” praised Qin Lang as he savored the aroma.
“Try it, and you’ll know,” replied Zhou Chao with a smile. The hungry group eagerly grabbed their chopsticks and indulged in the delicious dishes. The flavors were beyond words.
Silence fell over the table as they all enjoyed the meal. Even Lin Wu couldn’t resist joining the feast. After finishing all the dishes, they sat back in their chairs, rubbing their full bellies.
“Zhou Chao, I’ll be coming over to eat at your place every day from now on,” joked Qin Lang, still savoring the taste of the food. Everyone chimed in with laughter.
“You guys are dreaming. I won’t be cooking anymore unless I find a girlfriend,” said Zhou Chao, knowing that he couldn’t keep up with their appetite.
Shaking their heads, the others understood that Zhou Chao wasn’t the type to jump into a relationship hastily. They could only hope for the occasional chance to enjoy his cooking.
Since Lin Wu’s father was still in the hospital, Zhou Chao suggested that he should take care of him, while the rest lay on the recliners by the outdoor swimming pool, engaging in conversation.
Zhou Chao joined them, asking, “What are you guys talking about?”
“We were discussing Yin Ketin. We wonder how he’s doing in Macau.”
Li Yang looked up at Zhou Chao and said, “Maybe we should go to Macau too.”
Shaking his head, Zhou Chao gazed at the enchanting night scene of the Bund and replied, “Let’s see. If there’s a chance, we can go and have some fun.”
Suddenly, Zhou Chao thought of something and asked Qin Lang, “Is your brother still in Modu? If you get a chance, ask him if he’s free to hang out.”
“He’s in Modu City. I heard he’s been busy with the Supercar Club lately. There’s a competition coming up. You should come with me.”
“Sure, I have time anytime. Just give me a call in advance.”
Li Yang suddenly said, “Hey, let’s continue the game we didn’t finish earlier. I’m going to cover your faces with sticky notes.” Li Yang’s words reignited the excitement, and Qin Lang, Li Yang, and Yang Shuo immediately got up and headed to the game room. Zhou Chao followed them.
After they entered the game room, Qin Lang turned to Zhou Chao and asked, “Do you want to join us? It’s just for fun, no big bets involved.”
Zhou Chao hesitated and asked, “Are you sure you want me to join?”
“Of course! Even if you lose, it’s just for fun,” Yang Shuo chimed in.
“What game should we play?”
“Are you guys familiar with ‘Banzi Pao’?” Zhou Chao asked.
“That’s simple, let’s play that,” everyone agreed.
“Alright, I’ll play,” Zhou Chao decided. He shuffled the cards they had just played and dealt 13 cards to each player.
In Zhou Chao’s hand, he had four 2s, four Aces, four 7s, and a single Queen. Li Yang had four 3s, four 5s, four Jacks, and a single Queen. Qin Lang had four 10s, four 8s, four Kings, and a single Queen. Yang Shuo had four 9s, four 6s, four 5s, and a single Queen.
Qin Lang and the others were confident with their cards. They thought they would win this round. Zhou Chao, holding the Black 7, went first, “I pass.”
Confused by Zhou Chao’s move, Qin Lang and the others wondered why he didn’t play any cards. They exchanged glances and smirked, “Let’s raise the stakes for this round. The loser will have to shout ‘I am a pig’ on the terrace 200 times.”
Zhou Chao couldn’t help but worry about bursting into laughter. He hesitated, “Why don’t we play something else if we lose?”
Seeing Zhou Chao’s expression, Li Yang said, “We’ll play this. No slacking off.”
“Alright.” Zhou Chao pretended to hesitate.
“I play a Queen.” Zhou Chao made his move.
“Four 3s.”
Qin Lang and Yang Shuo decided to pass. Zhou Chao confidently played four 7s and caused an explosion.
“I play four Jacks.” Li Yang smiled and drew four cards.
Zhou Chao played four Aces, leaving the others stunned. They couldn’t match that.
“Now, I have only four cards left. If I play them all, three of you will have to shout ‘I am a pig’ 200 times,” Zhou Chao removed his disguise and said with an evil grin.
“Four 2s,” the others helplessly saw Zhou Chao finish his cards and dropped theirs. They then looked at each other’s cards and found all of them were bombs, leaving them in disbelief.
Zhou Chao casually got up and walked outside, saying, “Remember to shout ‘I am a pig’ 200 times on the terrace.”
Before they could react, Zhou Chao had disappeared from sight. After a while, they all got up and ran outside, shouting, “Zhou Chao, you cunning scoundrel! You played the cards so well and tricked us. Just you wait!”