Chapter 128: Where Are the Fragrant Grasses Not Found Anywhere in the World

As usual, three requests! Votes, recommendations, collections, collections, collections, please collect, please collect, please collect, please collect!

What kind of look was that?

Bloody, tyrannical, treating human lives like grass, slaughtering without blinking an eye, corpses strewn everywhere... In short, all the words related to "slaughter" that Qin Yijian could think of at the very first moment applied to describing Yang Tang's gaze, leaving an indelible impression deep in his heart.

Looking at Yang Tang in return, upon seeing that it was Qin Yijian, he immediately relaxed his grip on Qin Yijian's collar. His gaze instantly returned to normal, his eyelids drooping halfway, and he forced a smile. "Brother Jian, I'm really sorry. I didn't know it was you just now. I—I wasn't leaning on anyone; it's just that I didn't sleep at all last night, and I'm practically on the verge of a nervous breakdown!" Amidst his words, he even reached out to smooth down Qin Yijian's clothes, secretly employing the Immortal Sound Purification technique to erase the lingering internal injuries caused by his abrupt burst of strength.

Therefore, after Yang Tang left, Qin Yijian leaned against the restroom wall and was astonished to find that his previously agonizing abdomen didn't hurt at all anymore. However, having suffered gunshot wounds in the past, Qin Yijian was certain that his previous pain was entirely real—it was a pain on par with a gunshot wound. At that moment, he had almost screamed out, but as his back hit the wall and his whole body jolted, he suddenly locked eyes with Yang Tang's terrifying gaze, which instantly subdued his spirit and left him utterly speechless for a moment.

In the private dining room, Yang's parents were chatting quite congenially with Qin Xuewu and his wife, while Qin Yilan sat to the side, sipping tea and ignoring the conversation. Seeing Yang Tang return, Qin Xuewu immediately greeted him, "Xiaohong, you don't mind me calling you that, do you?"

"Not at all, not at all." Yang Tang replied perfunctorily, thinking to yourself, *You've already called me that, what else can I do?*

"Xiaohong, just now I was talking with your parents about your future and settling down. What kind of wife do you hope to have in the future?" Qin Xuewu asked with a smile.

As soon as these words were spoken, not only Yang Tang, but even Qin Yilan to the side pricked up her ears, afraid that her parents would play matchmaker blindly. One had to know that over the past half year, she had already developed a subtle, ambiguous relationship with a certain male student in her department... As for Yang Tang, while she admitted that his looks rivaled Beckham's, her very first impression of him was that he was a poor student who "had once been reduced to attending a sponsored enrollment program."

It had to be said that women are emotional creatures, and their first impression of a man is immensely important. As long as the initial impression is favorable, most women will find excuses to gloss over the flaws that gradually reveal themselves in a man, until they can endure it no longer and completely reject him.

And the reverse is also true.

Yang Tang had become a victim of Qin Yilan's initial negative impression.

"Uncle Qin, I haven't really thought about finding a wife yet. I'll just let nature take its course!" Yang Tang prevaricated. "Besides, the world is so big, fragrant grass grows everywhere under the horizon. Why rush into things and hastily commit for life?"

*Fragrant grass grows everywhere under the horizon...*

This poetic line stunned everyone present, including Qin Yijian, who was just then pushing open the door.

After recovering from her momentary shock, Qin Yilan heavily stamped her teacup down, thinking, *Are you subtly mocking me for not being a "fragrant grass," huh?* She didn't speak aloud, though; she merely pressed her cherry lips tightly together and glared coldly at Yang Tang.

Had it not been for their brief confrontation in the restroom, Qin Yijian would never have thought there was anything improper about his sister staring at Yang Tang like that. But things were different now; he was genuinely afraid that Yang Tang would fly into a rage and hurt someone. The mere thought of that gaze made Qin Yijian shudder with cold fear. He then thrust his hands deep into his trouser pockets and pinched his thighs fiercely, secretly reminding himself, *You're an elite soldier from the reconnaissance company; how could you possibly be intimidated by a single look?*

Sensitively feeling the slightly awkward atmosphere in the private room, Yang Jixue quickly tried to smooth things over. "Xiaohong, what do you know about fragrant grass everywhere? Always letting your mind wander! Now that everyone is here, why don't you hurry up and tell the waiter to serve the dishes!"

Hearing this, Yang Tang glanced at Qin Yijian, whose face was pale and whose eyes lacked focus, and replied, "Yes, yes, Dad, I'll have the waiter rush them right away!"

Soon, seven portions of braised shark's fin were served.

As the waiter invited everyone to take their seats, Yang Tang added, "Uncle Qin, this dish requires a reservation. Let's start with this to tide us over, and the rest of the dishes we ordered will be served shortly!"

Qin Xuewu nodded. "I know, I've been to this restaurant before. It still takes the veteran chefs to make the food taste right, like this Buddha Jumps Over the Wall... Oh, by the way, waiter, is old Liu still here? Can we have him prepare the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall?"

The waitress was stunned for a moment. "Which old Liu?"

"Old Wang's junior fellow apprentice, Liu Qingsheng!"

"Ah? You mean Master Liu? He retired over a year ago."

"Retired? Well, all right then. Just tell the kitchen, if the flavor of this Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is even slightly off, it's equivalent to smashing your own signboard!"

"Oh, oh!" The waitress stammered her assent and, after the others finished ordering their dishes, hurried out of the private room.

At that moment, Qin Yilan secretly nudged Qin Yijian, who was sitting next to her, and whispered softly, "Brother, what's wrong with you today? You're all listless, and you didn't even order any dishes. You're acting nothing like yourself!"

"Lilan, stop talking. Anyway, the original plan has changed. After dinner, don't go to that club your boyfriend recommended."

"Why?"

"No reason, just listen to me and you won't go wrong!"

Meanwhile, the older generation—Yang's parents, Qin Xuewu, and Cao Wei—were sipping their braised shark's fin while discussing which hospital to contact for a medical checkup.

After waiting for about ten minutes, the ordered dishes began to arrive one after another. In addition, a person resembling a manager followed the waiter into the private room. He first scrutinized Qin Xuewu for a moment, then cupped his fists and asked, "May I ask this gentleman's esteemed surname?"

There was nothing inherently wrong with this question, but Yang Tang felt a bit displeased inside. Evidently, this manager of Tan Family Cuisine did not take their family of out-of-towners seriously.

"My surname is Qin, the Qin of the Qin and Han dynasties!"

The manager paused mentally for a second, then bowed deeply. "Could you be a descendant of General Anzheng?"

Qin Xuewu nodded. "That's right."

"Then our Tan Family Cuisine is truly graced with immense honor today!"

Qin Xuewu said, "Manager, let's skip the pleasantries. We just want an authentic meal..."

"Yes, yes, yes, I'll give the instructions right away!"

After the manager and the serving staff departed, Qin Xuewu turned to Yang Jixue and said, "Brother Jixue, don't be upset. The restaurants in the capital are all like this nowadays—they judge people by their appearance and treat them accordingly. The last time I came here with some classmates, I didn't say anything special, and as a result, that braised venison still tasted a bit gamey..."

Hearing this, Yang's parents exchanged glances.

Yang Tang also burst out laughing. "Going by Uncle Qin's logic, it would be better to cook it yourself!"

"You said it! Later on, when I went home, I per—" Qin Xuewu caught himself abruptly, stopped talking mid-sentence, and turned to glare fiercely at Cao Wei.

Cao Wei was bewildered at first, but her expression suddenly changed in sudden realization. She didn't know how to cook; in their generation, that was a shameful and embarrassing thing.

At that moment, Yang Tang suddenly heard a prompt of sudden enlightenment echoing in his mind: *The true desire of the heart is high culinary arts!*

*Good grief! Since when did I want to learn culinary arts?* Yang Tang thought helplessly, truly having no idea how this so-called enlightenment made its judgments.

The voice of enlightenment chimed in again: *Only the spontaneous expression of true feelings reflects the original heart!*

Yang Tang sneered at this answer, but unable to change the status quo, he could only let nature take its course.

Soon, the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, specially requested by Qin Xuewu, was served. Yang Tang took a bite, and the flavor was indeed excellent, no worse than the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall Yun Luoyue had treated him to at the Minjiang Hotel in Rongcheng last time.

Seeing Yang Tang nodding his head slightly as if savoring the flavor, Qin Yilan couldn't help but take a jab at him. "Have you ever eaten this Buddha Jumps Over the Wall before? What's the difference?"

Yang Tang replied, "The taste is about the same, just that the texture is a bit coarser than the ones I've had before."

"Where did you eat it before?" Qin Yilan pressed further.

Yang Tang originally intended to answer, but seeing that his parents had also pricked up their ears to listen, he immediately straightened his face and said, "Where I ate it is none of your business. Do I need to file a report with you?"

Qin Yilan was choked with anger. Qin Xuewu, however, laughed and said to Cao Wei, "Xiaocao, look at these two. Don't they look just like a bickering couple?"

Cao Wei was still feeling remorseful about not knowing how to cook. Hearing her husband say this, she quickly chimed in, "They really do look like a cute pair of enemies!"

At this, Qin Yilan was displeased. She grabbed Cao Wei's arm, shook it petulantly, and cried out, "Mom!" At the same time, she stamped hard on Qin Yijian's instep under the table.

As a result, Qin Yijian acted like a block of stone, showing no reaction whatsoever.

After they were mostly done with the meal, Yang Tang slipped out of the private room to secretly settle the bill, instructing the waiter at the same time, "If we order more dishes later, put them on a separate bill, understand?"

The waiter readily agreed without hesitation, because the bill for the dishes just ordered alone amounted to as much as thirty thousand yuan. One had to realize that the purchasing power of the currency in this world was on par with US dollars, so the average per capita consumption at Tan Family Cuisine was around three hundred yuan. Yang Tang and his party's table was more than ten times the average spending, giving the staff no reason to be negligent.

After heading downstairs, they checked the time and saw it was only a little past one o'clock.

After consulting Yang's father, Qin Xuewu arranged for Yang Tang to accompany the siblings Yijian and Yilan, telling the brother and sister to show Yang Tang around properly.

As for Yang's parents, they intended to find a place with the Qin couple to continue discussing which hospital would be best to take Yang Tang to for a comprehensive examination.

Following a flurry of exhortations and instructions, the seven of them parted ways—the elders going one way, and the juniors going another.

Not long after they separated, Qin Yilan stirred up trouble. "Brother, if you want to sightsee, you and Yang Tang can go! I still have to accompany my boyfriend."

Under normal circumstances, Qin Yijian would have readily agreed, thinking that once Qin Yilan left, he might even drag Yang Tang off to some secluded corner to teach him a lesson. But right now, filled with deep apprehension and fear toward Yang Tang, how could he dare to be alone with him? "Sister, Dad specifically said that the two of us are supposed to accompany Yang Tang, not just me alone. Don't tell me you want to defy imperial orders?"

Seeing this, Yang Tang waved his hand and said, "All right, all right, if you two have places to be, just go. I'm heading back to the hotel!" With that, he turned and walked toward the nearby Yujing Hotel.

"That won't do!" Qin Yijian hurriedly grabbed Qin Yilan and chased after Yang Tang's heels. In truth, he was convinced that Yang Tang was extremely dangerous, and while in the restroom, he had already tried to contact his former platoon leader. "My dad said we have to accompany you, so we have to accompany you!"

"Suit yourselves."

Seeing Yang Tang's indifferent attitude, and watching Qin Yilan teetering on the verge of an explosion, Qin Yijian broke out in a cold sweat of anxiety. He cursed inwardly, *Old platoon leader, oh old platoon leader, hurry up will you!* Little did he know that because of the circumstances when he made that call in the restroom, his former platoon leader, who was currently out on a mission, never received it at all.

New week, seeking collections, seeking collections, seeking collections!!