Chapter 140: Only Allowed to Be Weak Once

"I'm sorry, I'm here to deliver the food. The food has been delivered. Please pay the bill so I can go back to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival." Ye Jiayao said expressionlessly.

"Li Yao, this is where you're wrong. When you were in Tianshangju, didn't you also drink with the guests?" Xia Chunyu said with a faint smile, picking up the wine jug and filling a glass with wine.

"Drink this glass and pay the bill." Xia Chunyu pushed the wine over.

"How can one cup be enough? Chef Li is a famous chef in Jinling. He should drink at least three cups. Ying'er, bring two more cups. Yan'er, go get a gold ingot." Liu Yiyi said in a gentle voice.

Two maids responded, one brought a wine glass and the other brought a gold ingot.

"Chef Li, after drinking these three glasses of wine, this gold ingot will be yours." Liu Yiyi looked generous.

Ye Jiayao was so angry that she wanted to flip the table. This couple was working together to humiliate her. Did they think she was worse than a prostitute?

Xia Chunyu raised his eyebrows slightly, waiting for the show to begin.

Ye Jiayao walked over, picked up the gold ingot, weighed it, and smiled coldly: "Gold ingots, this is the first time I've seen them, it's really eye-opening, after all, she is the most beautiful woman in Jinling, so there are many men who give her money, but I don't want this kind of money, I think it's dirty."

Liu Yiyi's face changed when she heard that, and her hands hidden in her sleeves began to tremble.

She forced a smile: "Really? What can I do? All the money here was given by men. How about, Chef Li treat me to a meal?"

Ye Jiayao smiled and said, "The word 'please' should not be used carelessly. I only invite friends. You two are not related to me, nor are we friends. How can I say 'please'?"

Ye Jiayao picked up the wine glass and looked at Xia Chunyu: "I'll just treat this meal as... feeding the dog."

As she spoke, Ye Jiayao splashed the wine on Xia Chunyu's face, then walked away quickly without looking back.

Stinky man, a stinky man worse than a dog, just eat and drink, I will just consider it as a good deed.

Liu Yiyi exclaimed from behind: "Master... Quick, Ying'er, bring the handkerchief. This man is too rude and doesn't know what's good for him."

Yes, she has no rules. If someone steps on your face, she can't lick the shoe. She can only resist and throw you all over the place.

Yes, she is ungrateful and doesn’t want a hypocritical man.

Ye Jiayao kept walking, walking very fast, as if she was escaping. Behind her was the flashy world illuminated by bright lights, and in front of her was the dark night. She walked in the darkness, unable to see any light or hope.

How could he do this? Just because she went boating with Xiao Jing, and because she didn't agree to break up with Xiao Jing, he was humiliating her in this way?
Why is it always like this? Whenever she wants to give her heart to others, she will be hit head on. It was like this on the mountain, and it is still like this now.

She didn't want to cry, but she couldn't stop her tears.

The silver moon in the sky is like a disk, and lights are on in every home on earth. Every family is reunited, but she is alone, all alone in this strange world.

Ye Jiayao, don't think about it, don't be so pessimistic, isn't it just that you met a scumbag? Shake your head, pat the dust off your body, life still has to go on, you will live a good life, no one in this world will die without anyone else.

But I felt so uncomfortable, really so uncomfortable, as if my heart was being whipped by a thorny whip, whipping again and again, with bloody pain.

She ran to the river and burst into tears.

She told herself that she would only cry this time and be weak this time.

Xia Chunyu had already wiped his face and was sitting there drinking. In order to ease the unhappiness caused by Yaoyao's rudeness just now, Liu Yiyi spread her wide sleeves and danced gracefully.

The dance was beautiful, the music was pleasant, the food and wine were delicious, but he had no interest in appreciating them. When Yaoyao left, the moment she turned around, he clearly saw the hidden tears in her eyes.

At that moment, his heart seemed to be pierced by a sharp knife, excruciating pain. He wanted to chase her out and tell her that he did this only to let her experience the feeling of being betrayed by the person she loved.

But he couldn't move away and couldn't let go of this face.

He also has his pride.

Yes, he admitted that he was not cool and upright enough. Since he had decided to let go, he should do it freely and happily, but he couldn't do it. Ever since he met her, all his calmness and unrestrainedness were gone from him.

He used to laugh at those who were trapped in love and had no spine, but now, he has become such a person himself.

Perhaps, only in this way can I make up my mind to give up on her and let her and Xiaojing be together.

Xia Chunyu tilted his head back and drank a glass of wine, letting the hot liquid spread and burn his body. However, drinking to relieve his sorrow only made him more sorrowful.

Ye Jiayao cried enough and looked up at the lanterns on the other side of the river that were as bright as day. Then she remembered that there was a lantern festival tonight and Xiaojing had asked her to watch it together.

Ye Jiayao wiped away her tears, went to the lantern festival, guessed dozens of riddles in one breath, and took home a bunch of prizes. Only then did she feel better.

"Hey... Li Yao."

When Ye Jiayao heard someone calling her, she turned around and saw that it was Zhao Qixuan and the mysterious Young Master Su San. The two of them finally appeared in public together, which was a cause for celebration.

"Hey, it's you!" Ye Jiayao forced a smile. "I just heard that someone guessed 28 riddles in one breath. I thought it was some great scholar who came to Jinling to take the imperial examination. It turned out to be you!" Zhao Qixuan smiled when he saw the prizes in Ye Jiayao's arms. He also had a dozen riddles in his hands.

Ye Jiayao smiled shyly: "Haha, I was just passing by and guessed a few riddles."

Zhao Qixuan looked around and asked curiously, "Why are you alone? Where's Xiaojing? Didn't he say he wanted to invite you to watch the Lantern Festival together?"

"He should be at home. I still have work to do in the evening!"

"How about going to Baita Temple with us to watch the moon? It's a good place to watch the moon." Zhao Qixuan invited enthusiastically.

Ye Jiayao looked at Mr. Su San, who was calm and elegant. She didn't seem unhappy or have any intention of stopping him, but she couldn't be a light bulb!

"No, my family is waiting for me to go back and eat mooncakes! You guys go and have fun! It's time for me to go back too." Ye Jiayao said goodbye with a smile.

Walking back, passing by the pier, I saw people releasing lanterns. They wrote their wishes on the lanterns and let them float with the water, asking the river god and the moon god to fulfill their wishes.

Ye Jiayao looked around and saw a little girl selling lanterns not far away, so she walked over.

"Can I exchange these gifts for a lantern?"

The little girl looked at the things in her arms, which were quite impressive, and asked, "What's in there?"

Ye Jiayao said: "I don't know either, maybe some combs, brushes or something like that."

The little girl said cheerfully, "That's fine. I just want to buy a pen for my brother. Sir, you can choose it yourself!"

Ye Jiayao gave her all the gifts, picked out a lotus lantern, wrote "I want to make a lot of money" on it, then ran to the dock and put the lantern into the water.

From now on, her goal is to make money, lots of money, and then leave Jinling and travel around the world.

When she returned to the courtyard, Aunt Jiang and her family were still waiting for her to eat. She couldn't help but feel warm in her heart. Although this family was arranged by Chunyu, this family was really good to her and were like family members to her.

The special day passed just like that. Before going to bed, Ye Jiayao asked Aunt Jiang for an almanac. She had been having bad luck recently and she suspected that she was unlucky. Sure enough, people born in the year of the rabbit in August were in conflict with the Tai Sui.

Well, there are still more than ten days in August. Just hold on and it will pass. I hope the mold will go away soon and I can get out of this nightmare.

Putting down the almanac, Ye Jiayao lay down holding Xiaoji and Xiaorui.

Human hearts are too complicated. They are not as loyal as dogs. Once they recognize their master, they will stay with him for life and never leave him.

Xiaoji, Xiaorui, and Dabao and Erbao, I still have you, you won’t leave me, right?
As if sensing their owner's sadness, the two puppies rubbed their noses against their owner and whimpered to please him.

The bright moon hangs high in the sky, the glitz and glamour fade away, the noise goes far away, leaving only the silent night.

Xia Chunyu stood in front of the gate of the courtyard. He raised his hands several times but was unable to put them down. After hesitating for a long time, he finally left silently.

The next day, as soon as Ye Jiayao arrived at the restaurant, she was scolded by Manager Zhao.

"Li Yao, what's wrong with you? I asked you to deliver a dish, but you messed it up. Five taels of silver will be deducted from your wages this month. Also, all the unpaid bills from yesterday will be charged to you, a total of one hundred and twenty taels."

Ye Jiayao said nothing, turned and went into the kitchen, put on an apron, picked up a radish and started carving it, concentrating completely, as if what Manager Zhao was talking about just now was not her.

A group of brothers looked at her worriedly.

Deng Haichuan whispered, "What's wrong with Manager Zhao? Which restaurant doesn't treat the chef like a Buddha? What's more, a chef of Brother Yao's level is simply the God of Wealth."

"That's right, it's just that the bill hasn't been paid. We can just send someone to settle it later. Why do you have to deduct Brother Yao's money?" Cui Dongpeng complained.

Zhong Xiang frowned and said, "I don't think things are that simple. Everyone cheer up and get to work!"

The more Deng Haichuan thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. He found an excuse to ask for leave from the steward and ran to find Prince Jing.

"What? They dare to do this to Li Yao?" Xiao Jing was immediately angry.

"Yes, we all think something is wrong. Yesterday everyone was on holiday, leaving Brother Yao alone to work. After that, they asked Brother Yao to deliver wine and food to Zuichunlou. Today they said that Brother Yao messed up things, so they want to deduct his wages and also compensate for the wine and food, a total of one hundred and twenty taels. Brother Yao only gets fifty taels a month! Which restaurant would treat a chef like this? There's no other restaurant like this in the whole of Jinling City!" said Deng Haichuan.

Xiao Jing was furious. It turned out that Yao Yao refused to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with him last night because he was left behind to do some work. What messed up? It must be someone bullying Yao Yao. Which shameless person in Zuichunlou dared to bully Yao Yao? No, no, he must find out the mastermind immediately, otherwise Yao Yao would be bullied to no end.

"You go back first and persuade Li Yao not to be sad. I will find a way." Xiao Jing ordered.

After getting the promise from Prince Jing, Deng Haichuan felt much more relieved. He thought that there was nothing that could not be resolved with the prince's help.

　There are four updates today, and the second one is completed.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)