Races: Online (VR Smartphone App)

Chapter 287: Cutscene of Dinnertime Madness

Tonight was the time for fine dining and wineand Han Jing did choose a good restaurant, or else forever be called a cheapskate by the rest of the people he brought with him. To some extent, he still did care about what they thought of him, no matter how ridiculous that was. But that wasn't the problem.

He failed to account for one thing, when he looked at Odele across from him.

She was still wearing the swim suit he got her.

It was a little difficult to check the menu in his hands when he knew that everyone in the restaurant was giving them looks. They were still close enough to the beach to not make it too disturbing, but was Odele freezing in here? This place was air-conditioned. Did he bring a fish into the freezer?!

"Someone's head was clearly focused on one thing alone." Jilanya scoffed and picked up the glass of red wine that the waiter had poured earlier for her. The Demon Lord took a careful sip and then returned it back on the table. "Not bad."

"Haha, sorry I kind of expected her to stay for like one day?" Han Jing resumed his focus on the menu in front of him.

Another reason why he brought them here was because he also wanted to eat too.

"Waiter, please bring me these dishes, and this one tooand make sure my utensils are not wrought from cold iron." Faeran instructed the man in front of him carefully and critically. "You know what, bring me whatever it is that your people use those wooden sticks."

"Chopsticks for him, please," Han Jing said. He looked up and watched the waiter nod and move towards Odele tiredly. Yikes, he needed to give an adequate tip because the people here had been fussy to deal with it, almost close to children Odele had tried to say hi to the fish in the aquarium close by when they arrived.

All of them were giving him some headaches.

Well, Jilanya was acting like the classy aunt in this scenarioor the drunk one, depending on her body's sensitivity to alcohol. But she was also the one most aptly dressed, overdressed even with the people she was surrounded by.

"What do you recommend?" Odele asked and eyed the menu in front of her.

"Hmm, we have the refreshing but filling Shrimp Verde if you want seafood"

Han Jing's eyes widened, but before he could signal the waiter to cut it out. Odele looked up and stared at the waiter. "Shrimp?"

The waiter nodded. "We also have other gourmet dishes like Lobster Thermidor, or Thai Steamed Mussels?"

"Sure." Odele's eyes twinkled. "I'd like to sample the Lobster Thermidor, what about you Han Jing? What will you be having tonight?"

Non-vegetarian Mermaids no, a Mermaid who ate her fish friends. Han Jing managed a weak grin and looked at the menu and quickly noted the prices written on each item they ordered. "Uh this sour plum duck, please?"

"Would you like to have Osmanthus Wine, sir?" the waiter jotted down his order. "We have some for the entire week with the upcoming festival this Monday."

"Ah, I'm good we'll be buying mooncakes later." Han Jing said. The Demon Lord already ordered them their 'best wine' earlier, and he wasn't extravagant enough to add another one to the bill.

"Noted. Is there anything else anybody would like to order?"

"No, we're good." Han Jing said. It was better to drive this man away before either Faeran or Odele ordered anything else of their fancy. Well, it was Faeran who looked more than happy to sample dishes.

Once the man left to ask the chef to prepare their orders, he barely stopped himself from sighing in relief. It had been good timing that the Autumn Festival was coming up when he started selling flowers, but he wasn't made of money.

Neither did he have a golden finger that turned everything he touched into gold.

"Thank you for bringing us here, Han Jing," Odele said with a smile. She looked around happily and with complete ease in their surroundings. "I can't wait to eat cooked food for once."

"No worries."

It was there and then that a sudden silence formed in their table. Jilanya was content to stay standoffish and sipping her wine, Odele was looking around curiously and Faeran was just resting against his chair and humming to himself. All of them were from different walks of life, and it was almost hard to imagine what their common ground was from one another.

"So" Han Jing felt the urge to pull out his phone and get used to the silence. His hand already moved instinctively to get it out. It was a common diversion

"Oh, is that your object of contract?" Jilanya raised a brow at him.

"What?" Han Jing looked down at his phone and showed it to her warily. "My phone?"

"Yes."

He held it tighter in his hand and nodded. "I guess I downloaded the app here for Races: Online?"

She pursed her lips. "I am not a child to wish to destroy your access point, I was simply curious since this artifact of yours"

"Gadget?" Odele said.

"This gadget of yours has a stronger aura than you have." Jilanya said with a small smirk. "I believe it might even outlive you."

Han Jing raised a brow. "An indestructible phone? Wow, the Moderators should look into becoming a manufacturing company if they're able to do as much. But what about you shouldn't you all have some sort of simulacrum or whatever it is you call it?"

"We do have those, naturally."

Faeran interrupted with a cough. "But some still need a medium to access them, like you with your phone and others with their own items."

"I use a seashell," Odele said distractedly. Her gaze wandered about the restaurant as if there was something that could have been more interesting than having four different Races in a single table and eating with one another. "Oh, Han Jingisn't that the guy from earlier?"

"Huh, what?" he looked up and followed her line of sight.

And lo, behold, she was right. It was Dai Song Lan in a long table accompanied by many other people which Han Jing quickly figured out to be his family. Both the immediate and the extended family and now the man's earlier excuse of being on vacation made sense.

Even a cultivator had enough time to spend a festival with their relatives.

Han Jing on the other hand was away from his familychoosing to be with people he met in another world and dine with them instead. Something akin to a heavy feeling settled in his chest, like a dark thundercloud that couldn't exactly be pushed away. He shouldn't feel guilty about it.

But he already made plans to avoid his family during the festival. Both of his parents and even his sibling and along down the line, he also missed the chance to see Chan Lee? What did she say about her plans this year?

"Han?" Jilanya's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, what huh?" He looked up automatically at just the word 'Han' and managed a grin. "Sorry, got distracted. What is it?"

"The guy's coming here by himself!" Odele whisper-shouted at him.

Faeran raised a brow and glanced at Dai Song Lan walking over and asked. "What's his deal? Or how come I do not know this man but you two do?"

"If you had come with me earlier to pick up Odele, then you would have." Han Jing muttered and then glanced over Dai Song Lan's shoulders. His family were looking over at them. What was running through their heads right now?

Is my son dealing with these strange bunch of people now?

Oh, your grandson has friends! How wonderful!

Woah, is Song picking up a girlfriend? The one in the red dress looks hot.

The one in the swimsuit seemed sweet

Han Jing blinked at the more-than-accurate thoughts and a ding in his background, before he gave a wave at Dai Song Lan. "Oh, hey you got away earlier."

"Song, right?" Odele beamed at him. She was completely ignoring the fact that she was the one who allowed this man to escape due to loss of concentration.

Dai Song Lan nodded. "Yes. My cousins were looking for me."

"Oh, so that's why." Odele said with a nod of her own. She was mirroring the cultivator's movements. "My apologies for holding you up then, it seems you are on a family vacation."

"Mhmm."

Han Jing scratched his head. "Well, it's not like we were going to attack you right now." He said it quietly enough for just their table to hear. "What do you want?"

"You have a lot of friends." Dai Song Lan's gaze flitted between Faeran and Jilanya. The former gave him a deceptively friendly grin, while the latter only narrowed her eyes at him.

Both were mischievous in their own ways.

Han Jing nodded slightly. "Yes, I do but they're not staying here for long if that's what you're worried about."

"I'm interested in the pearls."

"What?" He didn't seem like the type to get bribed.

"Well, not really." Dai Song Lan admitted. "But it's better to buy your silence."

Han Jing frowned. "What do you mean? I think you're a bit mistaken. I was interested in getting your silence earlier when you met Odelebut, now I thought about it and it's probably better for Mou Gu to know. Maybe he knows someone who actually buys pearls."

"I'll buy them."

What was this guy going to gain from this? He just said that he wasn't interested in them! Han Jing looked at the man carefully and then asked the most important question. "Do you have money?"