Super Zoo

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The onlooking crowd gradually dispersed, and the road started to clear up. Taking advantage of the parking break, Suming called Long Wu to inform him that the situation was resolved. Long Wu chuckled over the phone—this was a mere trifle to him, saying you young folks sure love to play games. If this had been twenty years ago, he could have made a call and summoned hundreds of people to back up Suming, scaring Ji Xiang to the point of peeing his pants and joining in the fun. But times have changed. Nowadays, just rounding up hundreds of people would have the police coming to talk to him.

Suming was speechless. Calling out a few hundred people just to watch someone get scared witless—really, who was the one with a playful heart?

Lin Mu got out of the car and smiled apologetically at Cui Bijia, "Sorry for getting you hurt. Is your face okay?"

"It's fine, just need to put some ice on it when I get home," Cui Bijia gestured that it was no big deal but still took a pair of large sunglasses out of her bag to cover half her face.

"So, are we still up for hotpot?" Lin Mu asked Suming.

Suming nodded, "Why not? YGQ is so famous; having come all the way here, we certainly should give it a try. It's just a pity that the gangsters in Xiangjiang are nothing like the tough guys in the movies."

Today's incident gave Suming some thoughts about the so-called underworld of Xiangjiang. From the gangster movies, it seemed like all those on the street were like Chan Ho Nam and Mountain Chicken, full of righteousness and daring. In reality, as evidenced by Ji Xiang, this so-called 'underworld' was nothing more than a quagmire that bullied the kind and feared the tough. These street tyrants only had the nerve to intimidate ordinary folks but wouldn't dare let out a fart in front of someone who could stand up to them.

The streets finally regained their peace, and Suming's group of four, plus Cui Bijia, entered YGQ Restaurant. It was a long while before two patrol officers slowly emerged from a milk tea shop around the corner of the street.

"Where are the troublemakers from just now?" the younger officer said in astonishment as he looked at the restored calm of the street.

Mr. Bing, the older officer, yawned indifferently, "What troublemakers? You must be seeing things, young man. Look, didn't I tell you? Go have a cup of milk tea, and by the time you finish, all will be peaceful."

...

The gangsters in Xiangjiang weren't as tough as the legends made them out to be, but the hotpot from YGQ was genuinely top-notch.

Having witnessed the scene unfold on the street, the manager of the hotpot restaurant greeted Suming's group with the utmost respect, arranging the best private room for them and treading carefully, fearing that these people who 'scared off' Ji Xiang might cause trouble over the parking issue.

Suming wasn't inclined to make trouble for YGQ Restaurant; he was all about the hotpot. He and Hou Longtao were tasting Xiangjiang's special hotpot for the first time, and indeed, the broth was explosively flavorful and lived up to Xiangjiang's reputation for delicious soups.

Unexpectedly, the variety of foods for the hotpot included buns!

Steamed soup dumplings, crystal char siu buns—dipping buns into the hotpot was particularly messy. The slightly sweet char siu with the chew of the crystal wrapper, as long as you're careful not to burn your mouth, you could easily devour one after another, making your mouth water uncontrollably.

It's traditional to eat piping hot hotpot and drink fiery spirits, fighting fire with fire. After entering the private room, Cui Bijia took off her large sunglasses. The atmosphere was indeed much livelier with a sharp-eyed and beautiful woman around, and she could hold her liquor well, generously offering toasts.

Even Song Lulu noticed that the actress was always looking for opportunities to show kindness to Suming.

"What's with this classmate of yours? What's his background?" Song Lulu whispered to Hou Longtao.

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...

In another private dining room at YGQ Restaurant, three foreigners were seated around a large round table.

Three foreign women.

One with blonde hair and blue eyes, a typical Westerner; another tall with a somewhat stern square face; and the last one much slimmer, accompanied by a middle-aged woman who looked to be in her forties, bearing the features and attire reminiscent of the Arab world.

Although their appearances were quite distinct, they shared one common trait: they were all very elegant.

Around the room, six men in black suits stood without taking a seat, wearing earpieces and expressionless faces, positioned around the room and by the door, resembling bodyguards, protecting the three women inside.

"Princess Annie, on behalf of the World Equestrian Federation, I welcome you to observe the Longines Cup event in Xiangjiang," said the middle-aged woman in her forties to the square-faced Western woman.

The square-faced woman smiled slightly but before she could speak, the slimmer young Western woman interrupted, "Sister Haya, you should be thanking me. My sister is a world equestrian champion, and the Longines Cup is all about speed competitions, which she doesn't enter. She's only here to keep me company on my trip."

"Princess Haya, my apologies for my sister's behavior. This little sister of mine, Eugene, has been a troublemaker since childhood. I have to keep an eye on her; otherwise, the royal family would never let her come to Xiangjiang alone," the woman referred to as 'Princess Annie' said to the middle-aged woman with a slight smile before looking affectionately at the slim young woman, "Eugene, you'd best not wander off in Xiangjiang, especially try to control that bad temper of yours. If a Lady of the British Royal Family were to make the news in a former colony, I'd have no way to explain it to our grandmother, the Queen."

Princess Haya of Jordan, the former chairwoman of the World Equestrian Federation, laughed, "Lady Eugene is a fashion icon in Europe. I've heard many of the British Queen's gowns were designed by Lady Eugene herself. Xiangjiang, being the fashion capital of the East, should surely please Your Ladyship."

"Let's hope so," Princess Annie said. "From today on, Eugene, you must stay within sight of either me or Princess Haya, else I'll call grandma and have the royal security take you back home." Princess Annie was clearly uneasy about her mischievous younger sister.

"Oh come on, dear cousin sister, I'm not one of your racehorses; don't saddle me with heavy reins and a bridle, okay?" Lady Eugene pouted, unhappy, "Besides, when have I ever been as much of a troublemaker as you say? Most of the time, I'm very well-behaved."

Princess Annie shook her head with a smile, but said nothing.

"We can eat now. The firepot here may not be on par with palace cuisine, but it has its own unique charm," said Princess Haya, deftly using chopsticks and teaching the two British nobles how to eat.

Princess Annie, being older and a world-class equestrian often competing around the globe, was fairly familiar with oriental chopsticks. On the other hand, Lady Eugene's activities were mainly in Europe and she seldom used chopsticks. She was clumsy and tried several times without success, nearly burning her own hand, which left her looking quite frustrated.

Just then, there was a knock on the door of the private room, and it was pushed open. The manager of YGQ Restaurant whispered something to the bodyguard standing by the door.

The bodyguard, expressionless, came over and whispered something into Eugene's ear.

"What?! My car has been vandalized?" Lady Eugene was instantly furious, stood up abruptly like an angered leopardess with her eyes round and wide: "Who did it!"