The hotel was a two-story building, with the first floor serving as a dining area and the second floor for accommodation.
Despite its modest appearance, the guest rooms were quite spacious.
After a brief discussion, the group decided to split up, with the boys and girls each taking a four-person room.
Having paid for their full board, the eight of them found a table in a corner on the first floor and sat down to await their meal.
Although it would take some time for the food to arrive, they were already ravenously hungry.
"I really miss Teacher Shao's meat buns," Ma Hongjun said listlessly, resting his cheek on the table.
Oscar, equally weak, supported his chin with his hand and echoed, "I miss Teacher Shao's cooking too. If Teacher Shao were with us this time, we wouldn't have to go hungry."
Tang San gently patted Tang Sui's head, who was also leaning against him listlessly, and was about to speak when the wooden door of the hotel was suddenly kicked open from the outside. The sudden noise startled the seven or eight tables of guests already seated on the first floor, all turning their heads towards the entrance, wondering who could be so rude as to kick the door.
The first to enter was a middle-aged man, around forty years old.
He wore a spirit master robe of red with purple trim, the intricate dark patterns of silver thread shimmering with a faint glow as he walked, giving him an air of nobility.
Following closely behind him were six men and one woman. They, too, wore spirit master robes of matching red and purple, though they lacked the middle-aged man's opulence and the elegant dark silver patterns.
On the left shoulder of each of their spirit master robes was an embroidered circular emblem, containing two imposing characters—"Cang Hui."
Upon seeing these familiar characters, Tang Sui was the first to frown. She shifted, leaning against Xiao Wu, and buried her head in Xiao Wu's arm, appearing to want to avoid seeing anything.
The eight people who had entered strode towards the most prominent table in the center of the dining area with arrogant expressions.
Midway, a young man who had just finished his meal and was heading to the counter to pay walked towards them. As he neared the group of eight, a male on the outer edge reached out and shoved him. The young man, who had intended to stop, suddenly lost his balance and fell backward, landing awkwardly on the floor.
However, the culprit behind this incident merely cast a look of disgust at the young man, then ostentatiously flicked his hand as if he had touched something filthy, a deeply insulting gesture.
The young man who had fallen to the ground wanted to curse back, but upon seeing their uniform and school badge, he swallowed his retort. He could only begrudgingly stand up and wait for the group to pass.
A waiter carrying two trays saw this and, with a quick mind, waited for the eight to be seated before moving towards Tang Sui and her companions.
Unexpectedly, as he passed their table with the trays, another male casually glanced at the passing waiter. His foot, which had been placed under the table, suddenly shot out, blocking the waiter's path. Caught off guard, the waiter stumbled, and the food trays he was holding crashed to the ground, scattering steaming hot dishes everywhere.
The roast chicken that Ma Hongjun had ordered even rolled several times on the dusty floor, landing ignominiously at Dai Mubai's feet.
However, the waiter who had been tripped dared not show any dissatisfaction. He quickly got up from the floor, turned to the culprit, bowed apologetically, and then, under the other's contemptuous gaze, turned back to Dai Mubai with a crestfallen face and said, "My apologies, guests. Your order might take a little longer."
Dai Mubai, who had been hungry all day, twitched his brow. He didn't make things difficult for the waiter, but his expression became much colder.
Tang San, who had always disliked seeing the weak being bullied, frowned. His gaze towards the people from Cang Hui Academy lost its warmth.
Xiao Wu, with her straightforward and righteous nature, also looked at their arrogant behavior with disgust, her fists itching to act. Even Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong's expressions were not pleasant to see.
The other guests at their tables also frowned, their expressions varied.
As for the restaurant owner, as soon as the eight entered, he quickly tidied things behind the counter, wiped his hands, and hurried forward, bowing and scraping to the middle-aged man with an extremely humble attitude.
"Who are they? Why are they so arrogant?" Tang San asked quietly, looking at Dai Mubai.
Dai Mubai's brows were cold. Without lowering his voice, he said in his usual tone, "Just a small Cang Hui Academy. What's so arrogant about them?"
Rarely seeing Dai Mubai curse, Tang Sui lifted her head from Xiao Wu's arm. With a sudden realization, she looked towards the Cang Hui Academy group, who had turned their heads to glare at them after hearing Dai Mubai's words.
Oscar, who had been listless moments before, his eyes suddenly lit up. He sat up spiritedly from the table and whispered, "Hey! Looks like there's some good entertainment coming!"
— Author's note —
See you tomorrow~