Chapter 660 - 660: Special Ghost Soul

"What is it?" Hao Li asked hurriedly.

Zhao Yuan said, "How's the reconstruction of your Lakefront House coming along?"

Hao Li answered, "It's still a long way off. This time I'm definitely going to squeeze... ah, no, that's not right, I'm going to make Cheng Haoyu fully compensate me for my losses! Since he's footing the bill, I plan to tear down the entire Lakefront House and rebuild it in a pure Suzhou Gardens style."

Cheng Haoyu said in exasperation, "I knew you were trying to fleece me, but you wouldn't admit it. See? You just let it slip!"

"I'm not talking to you!" Realizing he had no leg to stand on, Hao Li decided to just be difficult.

"Well, this is a problem," Zhao Yuan muttered, ignoring their bickering.

Hao Li read between the lines and quickly asked, "Little Brother Zhao, are you planning on treating someone to dinner?"

"I am," Zhao Yuan didn't hide it, replying, "I'm transferring my sister to a school here in Rongcheng City, and I want to invite the new school's principal, her homeroom teacher, and the other staff for a meal to get things off on the right foot."

"That's no problem at all. Just bring them over," Hao Li said.

Zhao Yuan was exasperated. "But your place isn't rebuilt yet, is it? What would be the point of bringing them over? We can't eat in the middle of a construction site, can we?"

Hao Li laughed and explained, "Little Brother Zhao, you haven't been by in a few days, so you wouldn't know. I converted the parking lot outside Lakefront House into a temporary restaurant. Just bring them over when the time comes. I'll personally do the cooking; I guarantee I'll make a good impression for you!"

Cheng Haoyu immediately chimed in to cut him down. "Hmph, 'temporary restaurant.' Sounds grand, but it's just a makeshift shed."

Zhao Yuan wasn't too particular about the ambiance. He knew Hao Li's cooking was good enough to make anyone forget their surroundings and lose themselves completely in the delicious food.

So he said, "Okay, I'll give them a call. I'll let you know once we've confirmed."

"You got it," Hao Li agreed instantly.

Zhao Yuan then called Fang Yi and told him that he wanted to invite the principal, homeroom teacher, and other teachers from Qi Middle School to dinner.

"No problem, I'll get in touch with them for you right now!" Naturally, Fang Yi would never refuse a request from Zhao Yuan.

A moment later, Fang Yi called back. "It's arranged. They're free the night after tomorrow. How does that sound?"

"The night after tomorrow it is. We'll work with their schedule," Zhao Yuan agreed. After hanging up, he sent a message to Hao Li to confirm the time.

After a few phone calls, Zhao Yuan's phone was hot to the touch.

"You're quite the busy man," Lin Xue joked.

Zhao Yuan couldn't help but chuckle.

At a little after five in the afternoon, the car drove into Rongcheng City and stopped at the entrance of Lakefront House.

Just as Hao Li had said, a makeshift building had been set up to serve as the restaurant. While the atmosphere couldn't compare to the original, business was as brisk as ever. The place was packed, and many people were sitting outside the temporary structure, waiting for their numbers to be called while sizing up the construction site, pointing and offering their own critiques.

"Mr. Zhao, you're here."

As soon as he saw Zhao Yuan, the manager of Lakefront House trotted over to greet him.

The staff here were all very familiar with Zhao Yuan; they knew he and their boss were close.

"The boss left instructions," the manager said, pointing vaguely toward the area behind the construction site. "He said to take you to the back as soon as you arrived."

Zhao Yuan glanced over, but because the construction site was in the way, he couldn't quite make out where the manager was talking about, and asked curiously, "What's over there?"

The manager answered, "That's the old kitchen. The recent fire destroyed most of the areas, but the kitchen survived intact. The boss and his friends have been staying over there lately."

"Okay, let's go," Zhao Yuan said with a nod, though inwardly, he was thinking, 'What fire? Lakefront House was clearly demolished by Cheng Haoyu after he ate that Raccoon Dog Meat... Hey, wait a second. Didn't they say Cheng Haoyu brought several women with him? In the kitchen building, there's only one room on the second floor. He, his women, and Hao Li are all living there? Holy shit, what a total mess that must be!'

At that thought, Zhao Yuan's eyes widened in shock.

Led by the manager, the group made their way through the construction site to the kitchen building at the back.

This kitchen was no longer in use. All the equipment and tools inside had been moved to the temporary kitchen outside.

After leading Zhao Yuan and his companions to the building, the manager turned to leave.

"Thank you," Zhao Yuan said politely.

"Not at all, not at all," the manager said, looking slightly overwhelmed by the courteous gesture.

White Cat darted into the kitchen first; it had been here many times and knew the layout perfectly.

"Come on, let's go inside," Zhao Yuan said, turning to Lin Xue and Zhao Ling before leading them into the kitchen.

Once inside, Zhao Yuan realized his mind had been in the gutter. He also finally understood why Hao Li had been complaining that he hadn't had a moment's peace since Cheng Haoyu brought those girls over.

A corner of the kitchen had been cleared out, furnished with a bed, a bookshelf, and a computer desk.

Seeing the bookshelf filled with Ben and the 2B body pillow on the bed, Zhao Yuan knew without having to guess that this was Hao Li's temporary living space. It seemed Hao Li's original room on the second floor had been taken over by Cheng Haoyu and his girls.

'Poor Hao Li,' Zhao Yuan thought. 'Not only has his nest been stolen, but he's also tormented daily by the noises from Cheng Haoyu's Dual Cultivation. The fact that he hasn't suffered a Qigong Deviation is a true testament to his mental fortitude.'

At that moment, three people were sitting in the corner that served as Hao Li's living space.

Seeing Zhao Yuan enter with two beautiful women, they quickly rose to greet him.

Hao Li said, "Little Brother Zhao, you're here at last! These two have been getting impatient. If I hadn't stopped them, they'd probably have started eating and drinking without you."

Ying Ji rapped him on the head. "Bullshit! You're the one who wanted to start eating and drinking. Don't you go pointing fingers first!"

Seeing Hao Li get shut down, Cheng Haoyu was absolutely delighted and cheered on the spot, "You tell him, Sister Ying!"

Ying Ji ignored the two clowns. Her gaze swept over Zhao Ling and Lin Xue as she said with curiosity, "Aren't you going to introduce us to these two young ladies?"

"This is my younger sister, Zhao Ling, and this is my girlfriend, Lin Xue," Zhao Yuan introduced with a smile.

Zhao Mei floated out and piped up, "Daddy, what about me? Introduce me, too!"

Although she couldn't understand the human words exchanged between Zhao Yuan and Ying Ji, she could guess from their gestures that introductions were being made.

"Da... Daddy?"

Ying Ji, who could understand Ghost Talk, was stunned.

"Holy crap, since when do you have a daughter this old? And she's a Ghost! Wait a second!"

Ying Ji's expression suddenly shifted. "Her Ghost Qi is very strange. Don't tell me she's actually a special Ghost Soul?"