Chapter 489: Team Building

Chapter 489: Chapter 489: Team Building

Roman Rowe threw up his hands. "See? Stan Sterling is only Fifth Rank, and I’m Seventh Rank. What right do you have to call me out!"

Owen Warren shot him a look. "Dude, have you seen where he started from? I remember you were already Sixth Rank when you first got here."

"..." Roman Rowe was speechless.

Owen Warren smugly crossed his arms, scanning everyone present. He snorted twice. ’These guys are all small fry. None of them can match me, whether in strength or in wit~’

’So boring~’

’Only Lily Hart is interesting~’

He stood up to leave. No one said a word, feeling a little relieved.

They were glad he hadn’t targeted them; they wouldn’t have known how to argue back. The frustrating part was, he was right.

Only after Owen Warren left did Roman Rowe snort. ’If he wasn’t Tenth Rank and I couldn’t beat him, I would’ve pounded him this morning.’

He got up, feigning nonchalance, and brushed off the nonexistent dust from his pants. "I’m heading out too. Going to check on the clinic~"

He made it sound so plausible.

Once Roman Rowe left, everyone else went their separate ways. The atmosphere was gone, and there was no point in staying.

Frost Shaw lingered until the very end, then went upstairs to check on Lily Hart. Seeing her tucked in obediently and sleeping soundly, she quietly went back down.

...

「The next day.」

Lily Hart climbed out of bed and stretched luxuriously. "Aah, that was such a good sleep! I haven’t slept in this long in ages~"

She casually petted Jay-Jay, who was lying by the bed. Seeing this, the two kittens nudged their way forward, rubbing against her palm as if competing for her affection.

Lily Hart only had two hands, so she had to pet them one by one.

After bestowing her royal favor upon each of her little pets, a satisfied Lily Hart went to wash up and take a quick shower.

After her shower and drying her hair, Lily Hart came downstairs feeling refreshed and invigorated.

She had gone to bed early last night, so she woke up early today. Lily Hart opened up all four sides of the vehicle, only to suddenly remember that the shop wasn’t open to the public today.

So, she closed three of the sides, leaving only the one facing the other shops.

Once that was done, Lily Hart curled up on the sofa, spacing out while pondering what to have for breakfast. She wanted congee, but she also wanted dumplings, and egg noodles too.

’Ah, what a greedy woman I am.’

’Oh well. I’ll just find someone to play rock-paper-scissors.’

Just then, Seth and Stan Sterling came up together. She quickly waved them over. "Come on, come on."

The two found a place to sit near her. The moment they sat down, Lily Hart pointed at Stan Sterling and declared, "You’re dumplings."

Seth was no exception. Lily Hart pointed at him and said, "You’re tomato and egg noodles." She continued, "We’re going to play rock-paper-scissors to decide what I’m having for breakfast."

Her deadpan expression made them both chuckle. ’How can someone be this cute even when just deciding on breakfast?’

They laughed and agreed. They heard Lily Hart shout, "Rock, paper, scissors!" Her "paper" came out with such force it sounded like she was starting a fight.

The three of them threw their hands at the same time. Stan Sterling played scissors, while Seth and Lily Hart both played paper.

Seth and Lily Hart looked at each other and smiled.

Lily Hart clapped her hands and made her decision. "Alright, dumplings it is! I want them with a bok choy and pork filling." ’That’s my favorite kind of dumpling filling~’

The two men stood up at the same time and said in unison, "I’ll go make them."

Lily Hart nodded eagerly. "Okay~ I’ll wait for you guys here~ Hurry back~"

Her tone had a lilting, wavy quality, warming their hearts and making them rush to the kitchen all the more willingly.

They were afraid of letting Lily Hart go hungry.

In less than ten minutes, a large basin of bok choy and pork dumplings was placed on the table, along with a smaller basin of assorted fillings and three small dipping sauce dishes.

There was a pure vinegar dip, a chili oil dip, and a dip with both vinegar and chili.

’Man, ever since we started hanging with Lily Hart, we’ve never had to compromise on food. Even with dumplings, we have to eat until we’re stuffed!’

Big, plump dumplings! Lily Hart’s eyes lit up, and she was already waiting with her bowl and chopsticks ready.

She picked one up, dipped it in the last sauce, and it was so delicious she wiggled in her seat, her eyes narrowing in delight.

Seth watched her eat with a smile, while Stan Sterling ate and watched her eat.

’Even though she doesn’t cook, she really provides a lot of emotional value. Every time I see her devouring the food I’ve made...’

’The feeling of satisfaction is just overwhelming!’

As the three of them were eating, the others started to come up. Seeing such a huge basin of dumplings, they were struck by the sheer extravagance of it all. It was like they were feeding pigs!

But they were more than willing to be those pigs. They conscientiously went to the kitchen to grab bowls and chopsticks, sat down, and started eating.

Lily Hart was almost done eating when she had a sudden idea.

"Why don’t we do some team building today? Hot pot at the hot pot restaurant for lunch, free time at the bathhouse in the afternoon, and a barbecue on the rooftop at night?"

Everyone enthusiastically agreed. The plan sounded absolutely perfect, with nothing to criticize.

But silent agreement wasn’t enough; verbal agreement was needed too. After all, everyone needed that emotional validation. Roman Rowe nodded vigorously. "Yeah! I was just thinking I could use a massage!"

Owen Warren snorted twice and mumbled, "What about my shop? How come no one asked for my opinion?"

Lily Hart just gave him a look. ’What’s "yours" or "mine"? What’s yours is mine.’

But in Owen Warren’s eyes, it meant something else. ’Is she telling me to shut up?’

’Alright then! Looks like if I don’t teach you a lesson, you really won’t know who’s number two around here...’

’You’re the boss, so of course I’m your number two~’

Lily Hart had already made up her mind; this was just an announcement. There were still two hours until noon. She waved her hand. "See you at the hot pot restaurant at noon. For now, free time!"

Then, she announced it in the shop owners’ group chat and sent a private message to Cynthia Whittaker. With that, the matter was settled.

After finishing the dumplings with great satisfaction, Lily Hart began to wander around the RV, occasionally adhering to the principle of "taking a hundred steps after a meal," but more often forgetting about it.

After walking her hundred steps, Lily Hart sat back down with a long sigh. She was already looking forward to their, hmm, half-day of team building.

When it was almost noon, Lily Hart slowly ambled over to the hot pot restaurant. She ran into several other shop owners at the entrance, and they all greeted each other.

But they all tacitly let Lily Hart go in first. She didn’t notice these little details, which had already become a habit for them. After walking inside, she first greeted Cynthia Whittaker at the front desk.

Cynthia Whittaker looked up when she heard her voice and broke into a brilliant smile upon seeing Lily Hart. "You’re here, Boss Hart~ Come, come, head up to the second floor. There’s a super big private room. We just knocked down the walls this morning!"

"Wow? You can do that?" Lily Hart feigned a little surprise.

Cynthia Whittaker said proudly, "Of course~" In truth, it was only because Lily Hart had said she wanted to do team building at the hot pot restaurant that she had researched it and discovered this feature.

It was possible to combine three private rooms into one super-sized private room!

When Lily Hart stood at the door to the room, she realized it really was huge. ’So this is what people online meant by "some dishes, once you miss them, are gone for good."’

’Feels like you could play soccer on this table.’

She turned to Cynthia Whittaker and asked, "It’s this big? How are we supposed to eat hot pot, girl!"

Cynthia Whittaker waved her hand. "No problem! The restaurant can do individual pots for everyone now!"