Chapter 485 - 319: Don’t Tell Me She’s Pregnant?

Chapter 485: Chapter 319: Don’t Tell Me She’s Pregnant?

’That’s allowed?’

The confident look on Lin Chen’s face froze. He sputtered in exasperation, "You’re cheating!"

"How am I cheating?"

"But you just said..."

"I didn’t say anything just now~"

"?"

Lin Chen stared, dumbfounded, at the woman blinking her big, innocent eyes. This woman was clearly determined to cheat him, and there was nothing he could do about it.

He was the one who proposed the bet. If he had to be honest, he really hadn’t considered the possibility of her just cheating.

Getting angry over something so trivial would make him seem unmanly. Never mind women disliking narrow-minded men; he couldn’t even stand them himself.

Fine, he’d take the loss.

He opened his mouth, but in the end, he could only raise his hands in resignation.

"You win. Go on, tell me what you want me to do."

"What do you mean, I win? You still haven’t shown me a food that can make me feel happy right now!"

’Still have to go through the motions?’

Fine, if that’s how she wanted to play it.

He pursed his lips and walked straight out of the market. A moment later, he returned with an ice cream cone.

The moment she saw the cone, Erica’s eyes lit up.

’Ice cream?!’

Before Lin Chen could even reach her, she eagerly dashed forward, reaching out to take it.

"Hey!"

A mischievous glint in his eye, Lin Chen suddenly raised the hand holding the ice cream high in the air.

"What are you doing? Stop messing around and give it to me!"

Although Erica was 172 centimeters tall, she didn’t have a habit of wearing high heels, making her half a head shorter than the 180-centimeter-tall Lin Chen.

When he lifted his arm, she had no choice but to stand on her tiptoes and try to reach for it.

After a few failed attempts, she saw the surface of the chocolate cone starting to melt and drip. She grew even more anxious, grabbing Lin Chen’s shoulders and jumping up and down.

Originally, Lin Chen just wanted to see how desperate she was. This would prove she truly craved the cone, which in turn would prove it could bring her happiness once she ate it.

But he hadn’t expected Erica to press up against him while she jumped around.

At first, he didn’t think anything of it. But when she started jumping, his expression changed instantly, and he quickly thrust the cone into her hand.

Erica beamed with delight upon getting the cone. She licked it eagerly before the ring of melting ice cream could drip down the side.

"Alright, I admit it, you win!"

After a few more licks, she gradually calmed down. For once, she didn’t try to cheat.

Strangely, Lin Chen, who should have been happy, showed no reaction at all, as if he hadn’t heard her.

She turned her head and saw him frowning in thought, his cheeks slightly flushed.

"Hey, what are you thinking about? Want a bite?"

She held the licked cone up to his mouth.

"No thanks, you have it," Lin Chen said, shaking his head. He glanced at her, his eyes filled with a conflict between wanting to ask something and not daring to.

"What is it? You want to ask why I admitted defeat so easily?"

"No."

"Then what? Hesitating isn’t your style. Go on, ask."

Lin Chen looked around furtively before leaning close to her ear and whispering.

"Why did you leave the house without a bra?"

"PFFT..."

In an instant, Erica understood why he had suddenly been acting so strangely. She couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

"Is it that strange? Out on the street, probably five out of ten women aren’t wearing one. If you go to Europe, it’s probably nine out of ten. That thing is constricting. It’s more comfortable to go without."

"It’s very strange for us Da Xia People," Lin Chen said with a solemn nod. "Our culture is more traditional and conservative. Even though young people dress quite openly now, they still wear things like bras and safety shorts. If they weren’t, they would definitely wrap themselves tightly in a jacket and refuse to take it off no matter what."

What he didn’t say was that he had few friends to begin with, let alone female ones. Though he knew Western culture was very liberal and open, he never imagined he would experience something like this firsthand.

It was spring, and the weather was getting warmer. People weren’t wearing much—a short-sleeved or long-sleeved shirt was enough.

’To wear so little and be completely braless underneath, and not feel shy at all.’

’She’s so thick-skinned.’

Most importantly, the day was almost over, and he had only just noticed. If not for the physical contact just now, he wouldn’t have realized at all.

’Her concealment technique is so superb, it proves she’s a repeat offender.’

’How come I never noticed before?’

"It’s fine. You’ll get used to it. You’re in a foreign country now, after all."

Erica waved her hand with a smile, completely unconcerned. Her small, pink tongue kept gliding back and forth across the surface of the chocolate cone.

"You should be thinking about the bet now. Have you decided what you want me to do?"

"Don’t be hasty. I’ll tell you tomorrow. It’s the first time I’ve seen someone lose a bet and be so eager for their punishment."

Come to think of it, ever since they first met, they seemed to be making bets every other day. He could recall three memorable ones off the top of his head.

’Since she loves betting so much, could I possibly use this to help ease the tense relationship between her and her mother?’

Lady Marcia had indeed invested in him. On the surface, it looked like she valued his project’s potential, but deep down, he knew the truth as clear as day.

If Erica hadn’t been part of the equation, who the hell would know who he was?

Even if it was just to repay the favor, he had to take this matter to heart.

But this wasn’t something to be rushed. Things had only slightly improved two days ago; it wasn’t a good time to force Erica to do something she didn’t want to do again.

Nearly twenty years had already passed. A few more days wouldn’t make a difference.

After cleaning up the kitchen there, the two went straight back to the hotel to start editing footage. This had practically become a required part of their daily routine.

The "first survival experience" with Marcia had to be uploaded as soon as possible. In addition, they had to edit the video about the chocolate cake, the one about making spicy beef tendons, and the one about the beef hot pot. That alone was enough for four video installments.

They also needed to post an update on the construction progress at the territory, as a report for their "cloud shareholders," and to build up anticipation. It was a huge amount of work.

On top of that, he had to communicate with the construction team. Besides paving the roads, they needed to discuss the restaurant’s structural design, interior decor style, customer flow, and so on.

Oh, right, he also had to discuss opening the shop with the father and son from the butcher stall.

This was all about making money, so there could be no delays. It would be best to start posting renovation videos for the barbecue and hot pot restaurant right after the beef hot pot video was released. That way, they could convert viewership into foot traffic.

After listing all the upcoming tasks on a piece of paper, they both felt a headache coming on.

Especially Lin Chen.

There were still many fans online interested in participating in the survival experience. If possible, he needed to start the selection for the second round as soon as possible. He couldn’t let the hype die down; once it was gone, it was gone for good.

"This won’t work. The two of us can’t handle all this. Looks like it’s time to call for backup."

He took his phone, walked to the window, and scrolled through his contacts.

After a few rings, a familiar male voice came from the other end of the line.

"Hey, Lin, how have you been?"

...

「The next day.」

In the morning, he found time to film some tasting footage for the beef shank and beef tendon, which also served as their brunch. He then had Erica go back first to edit the video while he stayed behind to briefly discuss the shop opening with Mr. Beef.

Since it didn’t involve any complex cooking techniques and didn’t even require a skilled chef, the only barrier to entry was the knife work. For people who ran a butcher stall, that was hardly an issue.

The result of their discussion was simple: he and Mr. Beef would invest 50/50. Mr. Beef would be responsible for supplying the meat, while he would handle employee training and initial management. All that was left was to find a suitable storefront, start renovations, and hire staff.

He couldn’t trust a foreigner with the task of finding a location. Even though the guy seemed diligent every day, his work was just cutting meat; it had nothing to do with business.

If he asked Mr. Beef to find a storefront in his spare time, he’d most likely end up with some cheap, deserted corner.

In the restaurant business, you had to find a conspicuous location with high foot traffic. Otherwise, you were just shooting yourself in the foot, financially.

After handling things there, he went to sign a contract with Simon and received the two million in investment funds. Without stopping, he then rushed over to the territory to sign a contract with Wang Jun, who had already arrived with his construction team, and discuss the next steps.

By the time he was done with everything, the sun was gradually setting, dyeing the entire sky a captivating wine-red.

He didn’t return home immediately. Instead, he stopped by the side of the road, planning to see if there was any ready-made food he could get for takeout.

Even though he was a chef, after a long day of work, he didn’t feel like going home to cook.

Erica was a Westerner, after all. No matter how much she liked Chinese food, he couldn’t make her eat it for every single meal. They needed to switch things up with some Western food now and then.

It was just like how he himself quite enjoyed Western food, but if he had to eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day, he wouldn’t be able to stand it either.

There was a food truck selling Mexican tacos on a street near the market. It was doing good business, so he planned to buy some there to take back for dinner.

As he passed the Chinese convenience store at the market entrance, he saw the owner’s daughter sitting inside. Her small body was leaned forward as she scribbled on a piece of paper with a pencil.

He glanced over subconsciously and realized the little girl was tracing characters in a workbook.

Noticing someone staring at her, the little girl looked up. When she saw the familiar face, she stuck out her tongue and made a face at him.

’A character workbook?’

’A character workbook!’

His eyes lit up. He slapped his thigh and turned to walk into the store.

"Yo, if it isn’t Chef Lin! Buying groceries to cook at this hour?"

The owner was a young man around thirty years old. He greeted Lin Chen with a smile. They saw each other almost every day, so over time, they had become familiar faces.

"No, I wanted to ask where your daughter got that character workbook."

"The workbook?"

The convenience store owner was stunned. He clearly hadn’t expected a chef to ask about something like that.

"I bought it on Taobao back in the country and had a friend bring it over on a trip. Why, you want one? Don’t tell me Erica’s pregnant?"