Chapter 115: A True Phoenix Does Not Cling to High Branches
He Huanhuan was eating abalone while scrolling through her phone when she came across Meili’s Moments post. The sight of that enormous whole abalone was astonishing.
Curious, she asked, “Didn’t you say you didn’t take any pictures? Then how come you have a photo of a whole abalone on your Moments?”
Meili explained, “I had it packed up for Liang Ye. Liang Zheng told the kitchen to cook it whole.”
He Huanhuan was stunned. “Liang Ye actually lets himself eat abalone that expensive? Wouldn’t it break his heart?”
The moment Liang Ye came up, Qi Meili couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “Who knows? Maybe being stingy is just an act. What do you call that kind of person again? Histrionic personality, right? Maybe that’s what he has.”
Who knew how deliciously he was eating it right now!
“So good!”
Wearing disposable gloves, Liang Ye held the whole abalone in both hands and ate with utter bliss. “Bro, this abalone is amazing!”
He loved abalone more than anything, but the ones sold at supermarkets were always too small to be satisfying. As for the large ones, he couldn’t bear to buy them.
Luckily, his brother would occasionally pack up a big one for him so he could satisfy his craving.
Holding the abalone, he wore an expression of pure happiness. “Bro, you’re too good to me.”
Liang Zheng looked at him and smiled helplessly. “As long as you like it. Next time you want some, just tell me. I’ll buy it for you.”
Liang Ye hurriedly shook his head. “Once a year is plenty. You know what our family’s circumstances are like. How could we eat this all the time? You’re great in every other way, Bro, but you’re just too wasteful...”
If he knew his brother had ordered four of them in one night, he would probably jump straight out the window the moment it opened.
“Shut up and eat.”
“Oh.”
After licking every drop of sauce clean, he couldn’t help asking, “Bro, I think I was a little extreme just now. It’s fine to treat yourself once in a while when something tastes this good. You only live once, so you should be a little kinder to yourself.”
Liang Zheng glanced at him. “What are you trying to say?”
Liang Ye gave an embarrassed chuckle. “Where is this restaurant? I want to take Huanhuan there.”
Something this delicious—Huanhuan would definitely love it.
Liang Zheng asked, “Split the bill?”
“Of course!”
...
“This place only does delivery. There’s no dine-in option.”
He had never told Liang Ye how much the abalone cost. If Liang Ye found out that he had just eaten 48,000 yuan in only a few bites, he would probably turn around and go howl at their grandparents’ graves for three days straight:
“Grandpa! Grandma! My brother was spoiled rotten by our parents! He’s gone astray! He ate a 48,000-yuan abalone! How is that something people from our working-class family can afford...?”
Liang Ye sighed regretfully. “How can abalone this delicious not be served in a restaurant?”
He had even been planning to grit his teeth and take Huanhuan there someday.
Even if the bill came to 48,000 yuan, split between them, he wasn’t afraid of being murdered by He Huanhuan.
“Right, Bro, what’s the name of the delivery place? I’ll keep an eye out and see if they ever offer a discount...”
He took out his phone and asked his brother. Liang Zheng smiled.
“They don’t deliver to your area. Don’t bother looking into it.”
“Oh.”
He obediently took his brother’s word for it and casually scrolled through his Moments.
The very first post he saw was from Qi Meili:
“One abalone costs 48,000 yuan. Let’s just say it—how extravagant is that?”
His hand trembling, he tapped on the photo.
It was exactly the same!
Exactly the same as the one he had just eaten!
Forty-four-four... 48,000?!
“Grandpa! Grandma!”
His eyes rolled back, and he promptly keeled over.
“Xiao Ye!”
That painfully familiar wail made Liang Zheng snatch the phone from him. The moment he saw Qi Meili’s post, he immediately understood why Liang Ye had collapsed.
He quickly pressed Liang Ye’s philtrum. “Xiao Ye, wake up...”
Liang Ye lay there motionless, like a dead fish.
“Bro’s abalone didn’t cost him anything.”
“Heh!”
The breath that had lodged in Liang Ye’s throat instantly returned. He sat up, still dazed. “Really?”
Liang Zheng nodded without hesitation. “Han Mo paid for it. Bro didn’t spend a cent.”
Liang Ye shot upright. “Han Mo is way too wasteful! How could he casually treat someone to a 48,000-yuan abalone?”
His brother patted him on the back and helped calm him down. “It wasn’t my money, anyway. Stop twitching.”
“But my heart still hurts! Forty-eight thousand! If I’d known, I would’ve eaten it more slowly...”
Liang Ye continued lamenting until he suddenly realized something was wrong.
“What about the abalones you used to bring me, then?”
His brother said, “A friend invited me to dinner, and I had one packed up for you afterward.”
Liang Ye’s heart ached. “Bro, don’t pack any more for me in the future. They’ll look down on you...”
His brother nodded. “It’s fine. I’m not afraid.”
Meili had no idea that her Moments post had nearly sent Liang Ye to the grave. By then, she and He Huanhuan had already returned to the hotel, where Meili was leaning over the front desk and chatting with Gu Jinghan.
Gu Jinghan stared at her in disbelief. “What did you say? You kissed who?!”
Was it the Liang Zheng he knew?
The Liang Zheng from the Liang family?
“It was Liang Ye’s brother. What’s the big deal?”
Meili didn’t understand why he was so worked up. Wasn’t it just a kiss?
She asked Gu Jinghan, “You want to kiss someone too? But aren’t you trying to marry a rich woman? You need to guard your virtue. A man’s virtue is his best dowry, remember? That’s what you said.”
Gu Jinghan’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Do you know how rich the Liang family is?!”
If Liang Zheng were a woman, he would be Gu Jinghan’s dream rich wife.
Rich, powerful, handsome, and not promiscuous—he was practically perfect.
Gu Jinghan nudged Qi Meili with his elbow and sighed. “You’re about to transform from a sparrow into a phoenix!”
Liang Zheng was just as impressive as his elder brother. He was devoted to his work and had an exceptionally clean private life.
He had actually kissed Meili. Didn’t that mean... his buddy had fallen for her?
Meili shot him a glance. “What do you mean, transform from a sparrow into a phoenix? I’m already a phoenix.”
She tugged at her clothes, revealing the phoenix tattoo on her shoulder blade. “See that? Even phoenixes have to fly up to my shoulder.”
Don’t think she hadn’t seen those TV dramas. That sort of “lofty branch” wasn’t anything special.
All she wanted was to buy a large three-bedroom apartment with Huanhuan and remain best friends for the rest of their lives. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Wasn’t that much more reliable than some illusory “lofty branch”?
He Huanhuan reached out and touched her phoenix tattoo. Its color had faded considerably since the day Meili first got it inked.
She turned to Gu Jinghan and asked, “Do you know what this is called?”
Gu Jinghan looked completely baffled. “Isn’t it just a tattoo?”
He Huanhuan flashed him a brilliant smile. “It’s called: A true phoenix never clings to a lofty branch, idiot.”