Chapter 37

Page Thirty-Six Farewell to Draft (Additional Update)

“Chairman, please let Li have some more,” Xiao Lei pleaded with her palms clasped together, a pained expression on her face.

Looking at the mountain of grilled meat before me, my eyes began to glaze over, my mind wandered, and my stomach churned as if something was about to spew out of my throat.

“I can’t anymore, there’s still food in my stomach that hasn’t been digested yet. If I eat more, I’ll throw up.”

“It’s all because Xiao Lei took too much… Ugh!” Orange sat slumped in the chair, covering her mouth as she belched.

“I’m sorry, I overestimated my appetite…” Xiao Lei’s current appetite was probably less than half of Zhao Zhao’s.

“The reason is mostly due to the crab roe; it’s too filling.” Xiao Hai Tang prodded at the remaining crab shells on the table with her chopsticks, sighing, “It was such a miscalculation, I fell for such a low-level trap.”

The cheese crab roe recommended by Li Jianlian was definitely the restaurant’s biggest conspiracy… although it was delicious… it was too sweet and greasy. After eating one, the feeling of fullness rose sharply, making it impossible to eat anything else.

“Let’s burn our last bit of energy! My little universe!” After a brief pause, Saint Soldier Xiao Lei charged towards the small meat mountain like a death march.

Without even weighing it, this small meat mountain certainly exceeded the compensation standard of 60 grams. To avoid spending too much, I followed Xiao Lei’s lead.

Eating grilled meat was originally such a happy thing, but now the grilled meat in my mouth only gave me a sense of greasiness, my throat resisting swallowing.

Noticing our predicament, Li Jianlian brought four ice cream balls.

“When you can’t eat anymore, try these. They don’t take up space and can also help clear the grease.”

“Oh, thank you!”

He gave me a green ice cream ball, mint-flavored. Although refreshing, this cheap mint flavor made me feel like I was eating toothpaste.

“It’s better to wrap the grilled meat with lettuce when eating. Don’t think it will make you eat less; in fact, it will help you eat more and scrape off the grease.”

Hearing this, Xiao Lei tried wrapping the grilled meat with lettuce and couldn’t help but exclaim, “So that’s how it is.”

“Although she looks like that, she’s surprisingly proactive.” Xiao Hai Tang seemed to have a good impression of Li Jianlian… should I tell her who prevented her from eating pizza?

After lunch, we bid farewell to May Rome and Li Jianlian, and it was already past one o’clock.

We hadn’t decided where to go next, so we wandered aimlessly through the skywalk to aid digestion.

“I didn’t expect us to finish everything. Looks like we still have potential to explore.” I agreed with Xiao Lei’s statement. Indeed, it was thanks to Li Jianlian’s tips. Next time we come here, we should be able to eat more.

“Don’t talk about exploring potential. Look at your stomachs, girls shouldn’t always eat like this.” Xiao Hai Tang’s reminder made me look at their three stomachs.

Xiao Hai Tang maintained the best figure; she had abs and could control her body shape well. The main reason was that she did not binge eat and ate in moderation.

Orange, due to her small appetite, couldn’t eat much even if she tried, causing her stomach to slightly bulge.

But Zhao Lei… she did not inherit the stone-like muscles of Zhao Zhao. Added to that, her white blouse was designed to be fitted, and her bloated stomach made it tight, more prominent than her underdeveloped chest, looking like a pregnant woman at three months.

Orange and Xiao Hai Tang were also checking Zhao Lei’s stomach. Noticing our gaze, she blushed and covered her belly in protest.

“Stop staring! It’s your fault for not helping! I wouldn’t be like this!” Xiao Lei’s angry and embarrassed look was quite cute, even Xiao Hai Tang couldn’t help but laugh.

By the way, because I didn’t want people to notice my thin build, my clothes were loose, even if my stomach was bigger, no one would notice.

It was the hottest part of the day. After walking on the skywalk for a while, Orange was drenched in sweat.

“In the afternoon, let’s move to the underground shopping street. It’s too hot outside.” Xiao Hai Tang suggested.

Actually, the wind in the skywalk between the buildings wasn’t bad, but it was all hot air, uncomfortable. At night, it might become cool and pleasant.

“Good timing, I was planning to buy Orange a phone.”

The ground mall was filled with chain stores, while the underground shopping street was the territory of individual shops. Here, most were small shops with one or two storefronts. Shops selling 3C digital products were mostly concentrated here, as well as places selling milk tea and snacks… of course, we couldn’t eat any of it right now.

However, this underground shopping street was famously complex, a real maze.

What they called an underground shopping street was essentially the entire underground level of the Balance Commercial District. Like the skywalks connecting malls and buildings above, there were tunnels below connecting multiple malls. Because direction sense was blurred underground, it was hard to distinguish directions, and the design of individual shops was often similar, easily leading to confusion like “Did I come here before?” and “Am I coming from this direction?”

Therefore, as soon as Xiao Hai Tang stepped onto the downward escalator, she held Orange’s hand, “Everyone must stay together, especially Orange, follow me closely!”

Although Xiao Hai Tang’s words made sense—without a phone, Orange could easily get lost—it felt strange that she didn’t suggest following me instead.

I wanted to argue with Xiao Hai Tang about whether Orange was my sister, but I noticed two familiar figures.

Two police officers, old and young. Though they weren’t wearing uniforms today, making them seem different, Lei Luo Uncle’s ruggedly handsome face was very striking, leaving a deep impression.

Honestly, I wasn’t eager to see him right now because I turned his rebellious son into a daughter. Although he surely wouldn’t connect me to it, I still felt uneasy. So, I planned to pretend not to see him and walk past, especially since I was without glasses that day, which made a noticeable difference.

Perhaps it was because the three pretty girls behind me were eye-catching, everyone kept looking back, inadvertently drawing attention to me. Lei Luo Uncle stared at me for a long time, then smiled politely and approached.

… This new pair of glasses doesn’t seem right, it’s not enough to blend in. Why does someone spot my true identity every day?

“Isn’t that the young man who got beaten up that day? On summer vacation with his girlfriend?” Hearing this, I glanced at the three sisters behind me, wondering which one he thought was his girlfriend.

“Stop joking around. I don’t have a girlfriend. Today, I came to get a phone for my sister. What’s with your outfit? Are you cosplaying as a Punisher?”

Uncle Lei Luo was wearing a black T-shirt with a large skull print, likely borrowed from Police Officer Xiao Ge. The shirt was a bit small, stretched tight by his muscular frame.

“Because wearing uniforms would draw too much attention, we changed into casual clothes to approach the target more easily.”

“Yeah, have you found any leads about… Thunder Tiger?”

Afraid that Xiao Hai Tang might do something drastic, I didn’t want to reveal the relationship between Lei Luo and Thunder Tiger.

“Sigh, recently they’ve been unusually quiet, so there’s no witness information. We only know that his underlings have been seen in the Balance Commercial District, so we came here hoping for luck.”

Lei Luo Uncle sighed, taking out a rolled cigarette from behind his ear and inhaling, then putting it back, seemingly just for stimulation.

“Oh? So you’re the police chasing after Thunder Tiger?” Xiao Hai Tang, having understood the situation, joined the conversation with a sharp tone, “Spending a week on a bunch of hooligans and getting nothing? The police’s efficiency lately seems too low, don’t you think?”

Even to my ears, Xiao Hai Tang’s words sounded rather sharp.

Lei Luo Uncle didn’t say anything, but the young and hot-tempered Police Officer Xiao Ge was indignant, “These hooligans aren’t causing trouble anymore, hiding and lurking. Isn’t it already difficult enough for a few of us police to catch them in such a huge commercial district?”

“Brother, the other day he was extorting protection money from street vendors, and the day before he beat up my friend. Is that what you call not causing trouble?”

The police officer wanted to say more but was stopped by Lei Luo Uncle.

“Sorry, we indeed failed in handling this matter.”

“Alright, you should keep your opinions to yourself. Having hooligans isn’t entirely the police’s fault… probably.”

Upon reflection, the existence of Thunder Tiger is truly the fault of the police, specifically Lei Luo Uncle.

Afterward, I exchanged phone numbers with Lei Luo Uncle, “If you encounter any problems or troubles in this commercial district, feel free to call me directly. It’ll be faster than calling the emergency number.”

I assumed Xiao Hai Tang and Lei Luo Uncle would have common ground, but Xiao Hai Tang didn’t give him a good look, even making me a bit annoyed.

“Why are you looking at me? That was to stimulate them into catching Thunder Tiger! Yesterday, I spent the whole afternoon with the student council and Orange, nearly catching them. Then today, seeing two policemen strolling around, how could I not be upset?”

“You shouldn’t… Wait, you nearly caught them yesterday?”

“Just a little more! It’s frustrating. That KTV said we were underage and wouldn’t let us in, so Thunder Tiger escaped through the back door.” Xiao Hai Tang complained, and Orange nodded beside her, confirming the incident.

A student council composed of middle school girls, could they be a secret organization responsible for national security?

初中女生组成的学生成员，难道是一个负责国家安全的秘密组织吗？