After being reborn, I'm no longer going to play the role of a spoiled rich kid.

Chapter 102: Close to the face and open up

“Okay.” Yusjia nodded. “There’s a French restaurant called Kiol. Their caviar and crab meat is their signature dish. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it.”

Zhou Qishuang only said those words to strike up a conversation with You Sijia. Of course, he had to have the same taste as You Sijia. Otherwise, how could he naturally bring up the topic of inviting You Sijia to dinner later?

"Of course I've heard of it, it's very famous." Zhou Qi nodded with a smile on his face. "Their caviar is very fresh and tastes great."

That's what he said, but only Zhou Qishuang knew in his heart that he had never even heard of this French restaurant called Kiol.

What he said was a catch-all phrase, seemingly infallible.

Yuska seemed to be fooled by his words, her eyes shining as if she had found a kindred spirit.

"Really?" Yusja asked. "This shop is actually quite niche."

Zhou Qishuang remained unfazed. "Really, their French food is actually quite authentic in China. It's probably because it's not very popular among Chinese people."

Just as Zhou Qishuang thought he could appropriately invite You Sijia to go out for dinner that night, he saw You Sijia's smile deepen.

“Yes, their business was indeed too niche. So, they were acquired,” Yusjia said with a smile. “Do you know who acquired their store?”

Zhou Qishuang frowned. How would he know?
He hadn't even heard much about the French cuisine that Yuska mentioned.

"I'm not entirely sure about that..."

Yuska: "What a coincidence, their family was acquired by the Holy Court." Seeing the surprised and embarrassed look on the person opposite her, Yuska continued with a smile: "So, one of the signature dishes of the Holy Court's restaurants is caviar and crab meat. However, I don't eat caviar much, so I never order this dish."

Zhou Qishuang not only felt embarrassed, but also a little ashamed and annoyed that his lie had been exposed.

But now, looking at Yuska's smiling face, he felt that he really couldn't bring himself to get angry at her.

"Really? I've never heard of that before." Zhou Qishuang tried to change the subject.

But Yustia was determined to teach him a lesson.

She wasn't usually the type to hold a grudge, but the young lady hadn't forgotten how this person had slandered her online.

Moreover, she despised men who lust after women and then try to take advantage of them. If she didn't vent her anger, Yuska worried she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

Therefore, when she looked into Zhou Qishuang's eyes, her smile deepened.

"You didn't know that? That shouldn't be the case. If you like Kiol, you should know that Kiol's owner is friends with Hu Yihai, the second owner of Shengting. Kiol wasn't acquired because of poor business. Kiol's owner's wife fell ill last year, and he had to return to France to be with her. The businesses in China were originally just investments he made for fun. He thought that every time he came to China, he could have an authentic French meal, which led to the creation of Kiol. In the end, he announced the merger of the restaurant into Shengting several months in advance, putting up posters in the restaurant to inform customers who enjoyed dining there before, hoping they would still be able to find the place in the future."

Yusijia spoke slowly and deliberately, but her eyes remained fixed on Zhou Qishuang.

In the past, she wouldn't have done something so embarrassing. But being slandered and not fighting back, pretending nothing happened, and peacefully coexisting with the rumor-monger—Yusika felt she couldn't do it.

She would despise herself to death first. Yu Sijia's words contained no accusation that Zhou Qishuang had lied, nor a single insult, but to Zhou Qishuang, each word seemed to open a mocking mouth, laughing loudly in his ear.

Almost instantly, Zhou Qishuang's face turned bright red.

It's unclear whether he felt more ashamed and indignant or more angry at that moment.

After hearing Yuska's words, Harai realized why the latter had stopped her earlier, and she simply burst out laughing.

"So, Zhou Qishuang, do you even know which restaurant Kiol is?" Harai asked, seemingly oblivious to Zhou Qishuang's embarrassment.

Zhou Qishuang glared at Yuan Jingyi, but Yuan Jingyi, who seemed friendly, was not afraid of him at all and glared back without hesitation.

Sitting next to Zhou Qishuang, the male artists who had been egging him on earlier, seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, couldn't help but try to smooth things over, thinking they were being very "thoughtful." "Maybe Brother Shuang is mistaken, or maybe this young lady is mistaken? Haha, is this young lady joking? Do you even know who the second boss of the Holy Court is? This joke has gone a bit too far."

"That's right, that's right, Miss, please don't scare our Brother Shuang. Brother Shuang is very innocent. If you say that, he'll be embarrassed and won't know how to talk to you."

Mochi and Abao couldn't stand it anymore. These men were probably the most stubborn of all, able to make even the black seem white.

Just as Mochi was about to open her mouth and press her face against Mochi's, a slightly deep male voice suddenly came from behind them—

"Yustya?"

Almost at that moment, everyone at the dinner table turned their attention to the man not far away.

Yuska was somewhat surprised when she heard someone call her name and turned around.

When she saw who it was, she raised her eyebrows in surprise, looking genuinely taken aback.

In that short time, Hu Yihai had already strode towards her.

"It really is you." Hu Yihai hadn't expected to see You Sijia while inspecting the store today. He then glanced at the people at You Sijia's table, quickly looking away without any intention of getting to know her or striking up a conversation. He simply looked at You Sijia and asked, "Dinner with friends?"

“No, our website’s annual meeting is held here,” Yusjia explained.

She sighed inwardly. This was her little secret! Was it really going to be exposed like this?
Hu Yihai certainly didn't know what website the Holy Court used to host its annual meeting, unless it was a listed company that he paid attention to and had considerable influence in the industry. Clearly, comics were not among those that needed his attention.

It was Hu Yihai's assistant who stepped forward and whispered a few words of explanation before Hu Yihai nodded.

“In that case, put all today’s expenses on my tab,” Hu Yihai said.

Yustya exclaimed "Ah!" before realizing what she meant and quickly waved her hand, "How can that be?"

Hu Yihai said nonchalantly, "You are now a shareholder of our Holy Court. Consider this a welcome ceremony for your joining our Holy Court. It's not much money."

(End of this chapter)